What is this holiness that the Torah commands us?
The Ohr Hachaim then wishes to understand what is the meaning of this commandment. How are we to be holy? He explains, at first, that this is a continuation of the previous Parsha. The end of Parshas Acharei discusses the illicit relationships a person may not cultivate. This possuk is a positive commandment that we sanctify ourselves by being careful not to have a relationship with any of the people on the forbidden list.
The Ohr Hachaim then adds another layer of meaning to this commandment. The Gemara (Kiddushin 39b) says that a person who sits and does not transgress a prohibition is rewarded as though he fulfilled a positive commandment. The Torah is telling us to sanctify ourselves by not transgressing any prohibitions. This is how we can merit extra reward for doing nothing, and this is how a person is called a kadosh.
This is why the Torah tells us that this parsha is to be told to the entire community of Klal Yisroel. This Mitzvah of being holy applies to everyone, not just those on a high spiritual level. There is nobody in the world who cannot prevent himself from doing an aveira.
This is also the reason the Torah writes the words דַּבֵּר and וְאָמַּרְ תָ . On the one hand, the Torah uses a tough expression of דַּבֵּר, but continues with the softer expression of וְאָמַּרְ תָ . This is because this commandment adds a positive commandment to guard against all prohibitions, making the issue stricter. However, it grants any person who refrains from sinning the title of ‘holy.’ This is a new honorific that was granted when they accepted this positive commandment. Only Klal Yisroel can achieve this level; only they can be called holy because of their refraining from doing aveiros. If a non-jew refrains from misbehaving, he will not be considered holy because their souls are not connected to holiness.
