Thursday, May 17, 2012
Different types of sanctity
9:41 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
• • • • •
High
aspirations
“Speak to the kohanim,
the sons of Aharon, and you shall say to them, let him not defile himself with
the dead among his people.” (21:1).
It seems surprising that kohanim are warned
against coming into contact with corpses. After all, dealing with the dead is a
great mitzvah; in fact it is a chesed shel emmes (a chesed
whose recipient cannot return the favor). Furthermore, one would have thought
that it would be beneficial to be reminded of human mortality, since this
encourages a person to do teshuva before it is too late.
There are two paths of avodas Hashem, which we can choose to follow.
One possibility is to focus on man's lowliness compared to his Creator, and on
how much our actions do not match our responsibilities towards Him. Conversely,
we can focus on how Hashem craves out Torah and prayers and on how the upper
worlds’ very existence is dependent on our actions.
Part of the concept of kedusha entails an
awareness of one’s own potential greatness, and at the beginning of last week’s
parasha (kedoshim) every yid is enjoined to realize his
inherent kedusha, but kohanim are expected to attain even higher
levels of kedusha, and must therefore not be preoccupied with death, focusing
instead on their lofty mission in this world.
Kiddush
Hashem
“They shall be holy to
their G-d and they shall not profane the Name of their G-d” (21:6).
On the face of it, the order of the possuk should
be the reverse: not only should you not profane the Name of Hashem, but you
should reach a higher level and become holy to Him.
We can understand this in light of the Rambam (Yesodei
Hatorah 5:11) who states that the greater and holier a person is, the
greater the chilul Hashem if his behavior does not reflect his elevated
status. Even if someone is in reality not so elevated, but people think that he
is, and his behavior does not reflect their perception of him, he will be held
to account for the chilul Hashem which his actions cause.
In this possuk the kohanim are being warned that they
are holy and must therefore be especially careful to prevent any desecration of
the Divine name. Nowadays every ben Torah has the status of a kohen
and must endeavor to attain the appropriate levels of kedusha. However,
irrespective of his actual spiritual level, he must at least be aware of his
responsibility and make sure not to come late to davening or slacken in
his learning, and to generally act in such a way that everyone praises him,
loves him, and desires to emulate his deeds, so that way he will be sanctifying
Hashem’s name.
When
blood is not thicker than water
“For his father and
mother he shall not become tomei” (21:11).
The Kotzker Rebbe zt”l
suggests a rationale for the kohen godol’s prohibition to deal with the
burial of his parents. He says that the kohen godol was the agent of the
entire Jewish nation before Hashem, and as such every member of the nation is
considered to be his "relative". He should not feel a closer
connection to his blood relatives than to anybody else. This prohibition is
therefore designed to remind him of his unique position and responsibilities.
Putting
chumros on hold
“They shall be holy to
their G-d… and they must be holy” (ibid).
Rav Shlomo Kluger zt”l
explains this repetition of
the commandment to be holy as follows: the main manifestation of kedusha
is to be
meticulous about observing all the positive and negative commandments. Our job
is to utilize our time to the utmost, watch what comes out of our mouths etc. Only
once we have attained this primary kedusha should we start adding
praiseworthy chumras (see the gemoro in Moed Koton 5a on
the possuk in this week’s parsha: “They shall keep my charge” 22:9),
which is what the second “holy” in the possuk above refers to.
Sanctifying
the physical
“Any man of the House of
Israel
The gemoro (Menochos 73b) learns from this possuk
that non-Jews can bring voluntary sacrifices in the Beis Hamikdosh, but
only a korbon olo, which is completely consumed on the mizbeach.
The task of a person in this material world is to sanctify
his physical needs and desires. One example of this is a korbon shlomim part
of which is eaten by the person. If
performed with the proper intention, that act of eating can be no less a holy
endeavor then the act of sacrificing the remaining parts on the altar. However,
the non-Jewish conception of serving G-d consists in self-denial and a total
negation of this physical world. Hence, the only type of korbon they can
relate to is one which is dedicated totally to Hashem with no admixture of anything
physical.
Suffering
“When you sacrifice a
thanks-giving-offering to Hashem that it be favorably accepted for you, you
shall sacrifice it [alternative translation: you shall sacrifice it of your own
free will]” (22:29).
There was once a Rebbe who suffered tremendously during a
prolonged illness. When he recovered he said, "Before my suffering started
I would have given a million dollars to be spared them, but now that I have
endured them, I would not give them up even for a billion dollars, since they
have afforded me atonement for my sins”.
We do not desire suffering, and in fact pray to be spared
it (especially the type which affects our ability to learn Torah), but if it is
decreed upon us, we must try to accept it lovingly because of the benefits
associated with it. When a person brings a korbon todo after recovering
from sickness, being released from prison etc. he should sacrifice it "of
his own free will", i.e. not just because he is obliged to do so, and not
only because he is grateful to Hashem for saving him from his distress, but
also because he is happy to have endured the suffering.
The Vilna Gaon zt”l
once spoke to a group of students about the detailed punishments for aveiros.
When he finished, he went to visit a student who was sick, and told him that
whatever he had said in that speech did not apply to him, because his suffering
had cleansed him from his sins.
The
power of chazal
“You shall count for
yourselves, from the day after the day of rest (“Shabbos”) from the day on
which you will bring the omer wave-offering, seven complete weeks they shall be”
(23:15).
Chazal knew through their handed-down tradition
that “Shabbos” in this possuk refers to the Yom Tov of
Pesach, but the Sadducees insisted on a literal interpretation, i.e. the Shabbos
of Bereishis. Why did the Torah in fact choose to term Yom Tov as
Shabbos here?
The sanctity of Shabosos are fixed and not
dependent on any human activity. Yomim Tovim, on the other hand, are fixed
by the Beis Din. By calling the Yom Tov of Pesach “Shabbos” the
possuk is putting Yom Tov on a par with Shabbos and emphasizing
the power of Chazal whose rulings are no less valid than a Divine ruling
made by Moshe Rabbenu mipi hagevuro, thus clarifying the false views
held by groups such as the Sadducees who refused to accept the sanctity and authority
of Chazal.
This also sheds light on why the section in this week's parsha
on yomim tovim is preceded by one possuk about Shabbos (23:3).
This teaches us not to distinguish between our obligation to keep Shabbos,
which has been fixed since the days of Creation, and our obligation to observe
the Yomim Tovim, which are fixed on the basis of monthly rulings by the chachomim,
everything being part of one indivisible Torah.
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