Parshat Kedoshim
Adapted from a d'var by Charles Raffel
The defining moment of Parshat Kedoshim is the command "You
shall be holy." For Ramban,
Rabbi Moses ben Nachman (1194-1270), holiness is the key to the fulfillment of
the entire Torah.
Without the all-encompassing prescription to be "wholly
holy," Ramban envisions the disturbing possibility of the "scoundrel
with Torah license." The
scoundrel mechanically fulfills all of the specific rules of the Torah, yet the
scoundrel's personality is not animated by Torah. Rather, the scoundrel
operates crudely, selfishly, and opportunistically in moments about which
specific Torah law is silent.
The generalized divine command to be holy negates the possibility
of being a "scoundrel with Torah license." The command to holiness requires us to aspire constantly
toward a divinely inspired sanctification. Holiness not only informs each specific command, but fills
in the gaps of silences between commanded moments.
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