Holiness Explained: What Does it Really Mean to Be Holy?

In this week's Torah portion, Kedoshim, we are commanded to follow many mitzvot related to holiness, hence the portion's name, "You shall be holy."

So, what does it mean to be holy?

Holiness is a demand one makes of oneself.

Many mitzvot and values are actions performed for others: consideration and compassion for others or for the whole nation: remembering our obligations together, celebrating together, caring for the poor, the stranger, and the kohen.

But holiness is a demand one must make of oneself. A person is made up of a horse and its rider: the body is the horse, and the soul is the rider. The rider must control the horse - not everything he sees is something he should indulge in.

What is interesting in Kedoshim is that the laws of justice and fairness come from a perspective of holiness. The prohibition against withholding the wages of a worker is not just about consideration for the worker but also about the holiness of the person holding the money, "and it shall not remain with you overnight," just like with sacrifices; the money of another is holy. Keeping inaccurate weights at home, even without using them, is an abomination, "You shall be holy and revere your Hashem." A person must demand of themselves to treat another's money as sacred, seeing any misuse as a betrayal.

The concept of holiness is foundational. A country can have laws of justice and equality, but all this is achieved through law, through the agreement not to harm others. But what about the person themselves? Do they become good by simply not harming others? Holiness is the individual's self-demand. The ability to restrain oneself, to greatly desire something but not act on it, even if no one sees and no punishment is imminent. Restraint, withdrawal, the ability to tell yourself "no," freeing oneself from the shackles of desire, from being a compliant slave to personal impulses. This is the difference between "doing good" and "being good." Doing good depends on place and time, whereas being good determines the fate of the individual and the nation forever.

The laws of holiness are characteristic of the people of Israel, thanks to which they inherited the land, and the annulment of family holiness and turning desire into a value in itself threaten the purity and morality of the people. The message of the Torah from 3334 years ago remains just as relevant. Just as the Israelites gathered when they left Egypt to hear the word of Hashem, a speech considered so essential that it takes the center of the Torah, so too must we gather in synagogues this Shabbat and listen to these words, "that the land does not vomit you out, as it spewed out the nation before you." Then as now, our stay in the land is not a given. It is threatened by strong and persistent forces. What will decide our fate is not the defense budget but the purity of character, honesty, inner strength, and holiness. These are what we must strengthen in order to live and inherit the land.