This week’s parsha begins with Hashem commanding Moshe to gather all of Bney Yisrael and issue them a list of many important mitzvos, both bein adam l’chavero and bein adam laMakom. At the top of the list is the mitzvah of “kedoshim tihyu - you shall be holy”. What is the meaning of this seemingly ambiguous commandment and why is it deemed so important that it tops the list of the mitzvos in this parsha?
The Ramban explains that the Torah means to command us, “kadesh atzmecha b’mutar lach - make yourself holy with that which is permitted to you”. This makes the mitzva even harder to understand, Moshe is about to command Klal Yisrael to uphold some the most important mitzvos in the Torah, such as Shabbos and avoda zara. Why would he preface this with a mitzva that enjoins us to go lifnim mi’shuras ha’din - beyond what is strictly required?
The Body, a Map of the World
Many aspects of this world are an analogy for aspects of the ruchniyus world and shamayim. The human body is the best example of this. We are currently in the special era just preceding Mashiach, commonly known as “ikvesa d’meshicha”. “Ikvesa” is related to the word ekev - heel, connoting the end of everything. Earlier generations corresponded to the heart or head; we represent the heel.
Rav Pinkus explains that the body also represents differing times of the year. The head is of particular importance for it contains the mind, through which man can connect to Hashem instantly. He need only think about the Kisei haKavod and that is where he will be.
These lofty thoughts can then filter down to the rest of the body. And that is man’s duty.
He must seek to bring that which he knows into the realms of the rest of his body - “v’Yadata ha’yom va’hasheivosa el levavecha”. Knowing does not suffice - everything has to be “l’ma’aseh”.
The Neck
The pathway from the mind to the rest of the body is not a simple one. For this reason Hashem did not simply place the head directly upon the torso; He dedicated a very special limb to act as a conduit - the neck.
The neck connects to the body physiologically in several ways, most importantly in the transferring of blood. When slaughtering an animal the blood that spurts from the neck is not considered regular blood, but “dam ha’nefesh - lifeblood”. This blood is placed on the mizbeach and creates an attachment between us and Hashem.
The Neck of the World
Let us examine the world at large. The head represents all the shefa in the world of Hashem. The body represents Klal Yisrael who needs the shefa. That shefa must pass through the neck.
In the human body the head and torso are wide while the neck is narrow.
If one wishes to attack one’s enemy one grabs him by the narrow passageway of the neck, thus constricting his air and blood flow - the dam ha’nefesh. Pharaoh, for example, wanted to cut off the life and shefa to Klal Yisrael, so he grabbed them by the neck, the thin passageway. In fact, the word Mitzrayim is related to the word “meytzarim - narrow passageways”.
Pharaoh’s attack on Klal Yisrael’s dam ha’nefesh was also symbolized by his bathing in the blood of Jewish babies. This represented the fact that he wished to constrict the shefa, to rupture the connection between us and Hashem. This is why the first makah that he was smitten by was dam - the plague of blood.
This occurs each year on Pesach. Pesach is the head of the year, the time of our birth, the moment when all the shefa is available. However, it has not yet reached the body - it is yet to permeate the rest of the year.
Our Lifeblood
This is the role of the Yemey haOmer - a period that represents the neck. As we count the 49 days we receive a daily measure of dam ha’nefesh that will give us life throughout the year. And then, when we reach Shavuos, we receive the Torah - Toras Chaim. Then we can really begin to live.
In a spiritual sense these are crucial and sensitive days, a period when we absorb our very lifeblood from Hashem. Without sefiras ha’omer we would arrive at Shavuos and nothing could occur.
Since these are such sensitive days many tragedies have occurred within them, such as the deaths of talmidei R’ Akiva, Tach v’Tat, and recently the terrible tragedy in Meron. R Akiva’s talmidim were not necessarily ascribing less kavod to one another particularly during these days. It was just the fact that this period is so critical - such a narrow passageway - that even a slight mistake, a small blockage, had lethal consequences.
Absorbing the Blood!
There was once a woman who performed bris mila on her first son and he died. She had a second child, and the same thing occurred. She then had a third child and was unsure what to do.
She asked R’ Nasan haBavli who asked to see the child. He saw that the child had a reddish appearance and told her to wait until his complexion would lighten. Though the child had a healthy blood supply, the blood had seemingly not yet been adequately absorbed into the body. Once the complexion lightened it would be safe to perform the bris. This is what indeed occurred.
This avoda of havla’as damim - absorbing blood, is our duty during sefiras ha’omer. We spend 49 days absorbing 49 portions of lifeblood. However, the story above must make us consider our lives carefully. For while we have lots of lifeblood from the mitzvos we observe, this is not enough. The blood must be absorbed by the body - our mitzvos must penetrate us, not be performed by rote or without feeling and intent.
If we fail to make them part of us, we can, chas v’shalom, endanger ourselves. We must take our Torah and mitzvos, absorb them, live them, and make them part of us.
Getting Practical
Many of the halachos of the sefira are designed to help us tap into the spirit of the time. Perhaps one of the most challenging for this generation is the prohibition to listen to music.
In recent years many options of acapella or other forms of music (that sound almost as good as regular music) have become available. Strictly speaking these may fall within the boundaries of halacha, however, this is almost certainly not within the spirit of the law - or time. We might be observing the mitzva but it is certainly not becoming a part of us. Are we truly absorbing our lifeblood at this time if we conduct ourselves in this manner?
Even Before the Most Important Mitzvah
Before they were redeemed from Mitzrayim Bney Yisrael were given two, seemingly unrelated mitzvahs: dam Pesach and dam mila. Why did these two mitzvos hold the key to their redemption and why did they both relate to blood? The answer is that regular mitzvos would not suffice at that time; the people had to demonstrate to Hashem that they were not only leaving Mitzrayim, they were committing to live the mitzvos, to make them a part of their blood, their very life force.
This is why Parshas Kedoshim prefaces all of the mitzvos with the command, “Kedoshim tihyu”. The message is that performance by rote does not suffice, even if it fulfils the basis letter of the law. Mitzvos need to become part of us thus we must begin with the command, “kadesh atzmecha b’mutar lach”. Hashem’s message is this:
Don't do just only what I instruct you. Find those things that are permitted, strictly speaking and ensure that you infuse them with the spirit of the law - with the life of Torah. Know what I want. Develop a deep desire to do what I want, to go beyond the letter of the law. This will imbue all of your Torah and mitzvos with meaning. Then you will ensure that those measures of lifeblood will be absorbed within your bodies and you will truly live the life of “ki heim chayenu v’orech yamenu” and merit “u’bahem nehegeh yoman va’laylah”.
