Rebbetzin Shira Smiles

SMILES

Faculty, OU Israel Center

Harnessing Holiness

We all want to live lives of kedushah and connection to Hashem. The midrash in Vayikra Rabbah unlocks three essential keys that provide a path to succeed in this endeavor. Parashat Acharei Mot begins with the discussion of the Yom Kippur service in the Beit Hamikdash. The Torah tells us, “bzot yavo Aharon el hakodesh” (Vayikra 16;3), referring to the incense offering that Aaron brought into the Holy of Holies. The midrash notes that we too can enter the realm of ‘kodesh’ through ‘bzot’- specific areas.

The midrash suggests that ‘bzot’ is a reference to Shabbat. Each person can access a sense of holiness by putting forth the effort to make Shabbat a spiritual island of sanctity separate from the mundanities of the week. Even small things, like saying ‘lichvod Shabbos kodesh’ before eating or singing a part of the tefilah that is particularly inspiring, enables one to feel an increased sense of holiness. After lighting candles, before Kabbalat Shabbat, one can learn something connected to Shabbat to help create a proper mindset for the next 24 hours.

Another view in the midrash posits that ‘bzot’ refers to Torah. The Piaseczna Rebbe in Derech Hamelech quotes the Maggid of Mezeritch saying that when one learns a piece of Torah that is particularly inspiring, know that it is like a ‘bat kol’ from Above to awaken him. Torah is not a medium of information as much as a medium of transformation. Each person should find the aspect of Torah that inspires him or her and allow the Torah to be a

Every choice we make has implications and ramifications

Rabi Yochanan offers a third view; he understands ‘bzot’ as ‘bekavarnitin’, one should always strive to be a sea captain, i.e. to take charge in doing mitzvot. Rabbi Freifeld, in In Search of Greatness, expands on this idea. Life is full of choices and decisions and each of us must take personal responsibility. Everything we do, every choice we make has implications and ramifications. To lead a life of holiness is to be consciously aware of the impact of what we do and say, to act with forethought and realization of the power we possess. The downfall of the world occurred when Adam and Chava each blamed someone else for their own actions; they could not own up to what they had done. In contrast, Dovid Hamelech’s ability to say ‘chatati laHashem’ was the hallmark of his greatness.

Living a life of holiness is not just relegated to one day a year, Yom Kippur. It is the ability to invest every day with actions that make us the captain of our destiny. We each need to take responsibility; namely, to have the ability to respond appropriately.

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