At the very beginning of this week's Torah portion, Kedoshim, there are three commandments: 1) "You shall be holy"; 2) "Every person shall fear his mother and his father"; and 3) "You shall keep My Sabbaths." The fact that these three mitzvot follow one another is significant and indicates that they are interrelated.
The term "holy" in this instance means separation, as it says at the end of our Torah portion, "You shall be holy to Me, for [I, G-d, am holy, and] I have separated you from the nations...." The Jewish people must be separate from the nations of the world. And they must separate specifically in those areas in which we are seemingly similar, such as eating, drinking, conducting business and so forth.
The ultimate purpose of a Jew's holiness and spirituality, though, is not egocentric--to be holy just for himself. Rather, as the Torah says of our ancestor Abraham, "in order that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of G-d..." So, one of the reasons for our remaining separate from the other nations is to be able to guide our children to walk in the ways of our ancestors.
And this is why the mitzva to be holy is followed by "every person shall fear his mother and his father"--which alludes to the obligation of Jewish education.
Parents are the first educators. The mother and father must instill in their children the feeling that they are different from the rest of the world, that they are part of a holy nation. The sequence in that verse is "his mother and his father," mentioning first the mother. For the mother is the foundation of the house, and a major part of the actual education is in her hands.
How does a person imbue his children, and himself, with the consciousness of being a holy nation? This is brought out by the third commandment, "You shall keep My Sabbaths."
The Sabbath is a sign between the Al-mighty and Israel. It signifies the certainty that the Alm-ghty is the Creator of the universe and continuously sustains and conducts it.
Shabbat was given only to the Jewish people. Observing Shabbat thus means to keep and guard not the sign and covenant between Israel and G-d. This is done by strengthening our faith in the fact that Jews are under the specific and individual providence of G-d.
This, in turn, will bring us full circle. It will reinforce in ourselves and our children the mitzva of "You shall be holy," to the point where our everyday activities will be infused with holiness.
Adapted from the works of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
By Rabbi Eli Friedman
In the Torah, the Jewish holidays are prescribed to happen on a certain day following the new moon. To celebrate these festivals, we need to keep track of the lunar cycle.
Along the way, we've come to identify with the moon.
The moon's ups and downs are similar to our own history. One moment we're shining bright, the next moment we're so oppressed that casual observers are predicting our extinction, G-d forbid. And the next moment, to their disbelief, we're back and growing stronger every day.
It's notable that G-d told Moshe about Rosh Chodesh, the Mitzvah that we celebrate the birth of the new moon, before the exodus from Egypt. By giving that Mitzvah right then, it meant that it would be given in the darkest spiritual locale in the world. G-d could have waited until we were out and told us about Rosh Chodesh in the desert. Why the rush?
A few weeks back, The Great North American Eclipse was a major event which had millions of people looking up to the Heavens. Now, solar eclipses only happen around the new moon. In fact, the Monday night of the eclipse, the Jewish people observed "Rosh Chodesh". This means that Monday was the day when the moon was at its very lowest point, the moment that symbolizes the challenging times of the Jewish People.
Precisely in its smallest, weakest moment, the moon looms largest: it can even eclipse the mighty light of the sun.
Is this not our story? Is this not why G-d told this to Moshe in Egypt, in our place of suffering? In the place of our pain, before the redemption, G-d stops everything and tells us to look at the moon and discover an eternal reminder that no matter what, Am Yisrael Chai forever.
The eclipse shows our darkest moments are when we shine brightest and loom largest, as we begin the great turnaround, the journey from darkness to light.
This year, the Monday of the Eclipse, marked the 3,336th anniversary of the day G-d showed Moshe the moon.
How perfect. During these painful days, days of insult and injury for Jews everywhere, the sun, 400 times bigger than the moon, is eclipsed by it. Far from faltering, the Jewish people are stronger than ever, more secure than ever, more influential than ever.
This week we will celebrate Rosh Chodesh once again, and yes, our best days lay just ahead. So in the words of the Lecha Dodi which we sing every Friday night:
"Wake up! Your light is coming, rise and shine! Say your song, because G-d's glory is revealed upon you."
Happy Rosh Chodesh!
