Michael Berg
APRIL 27, 2022
The portion Kedoshim opens with a statement on holiness: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy,” and the word kedoshim itself means “holy ones.” Clearly, therefore, this is a portion that shares secrets about holiness, and what it means.
Rav Chaim Vital wrote a book called Shaarei Kedusha, Gates of Holiness, where he says that every person can, and is meant to, merit Ruach HaKodesh, divine inspiration. Having Ruach HaKodesh means to be constantly and completely connected to the Light of the Creator. So, how do we do that? The portion Kedoshim makes it clear we do so by becoming holy. But before we can even try to understand what being holy means and then take the steps to do it, we have to know it’s possible to achieve.
"Having Divine Inspiration means to be constantly and completely connected to the Light of the Creator."
There is something unique about the reading and Shabbat of Kedoshim. Very often throughout the Torah it says the Creator tells Moses to tell the Israelites something; however, this is one of the few times when the Creator calls everybody together to have Moses give them a message. The Creator wanted everyone gathered together to hear that every single one of us can merit Ruach HaKodesh, a complete and total connection to the Light. And in order to come to that place, we first have to know that we have that capacity and ability. Unfortunately, what happens is that the Negative Side tells us we can’t go very high spiritually, that there’s a limit, so we believe it and do not work towards achieving that level.
But the portion Kedoshim teaches us that every single one of us can deepen that connection, and as the Ohr HaChaim, the great Kabbalist Rav Chaim ben Attar explains, it’s a continual life-long process. We have to know and never forget that no matter where we are right now in our spiritual work, every single one of us can and is meant to get to that level of Ruach HaKodesh, divine inspiration. We need to know that even if it’s not tomorrow, or next year, achieving this level is in our future. Knowing this affects how we allow ourselves to act, and how to direct our lives.
On Shabbat Kedoshim, we can begin to really have clarity about the fact that it is possible for every single one of us to achieve the level of Ruach HaKodesh. Hopefully, this understanding will help us change the way we direct our lives, because when we don’t believe that we have the capacity for divine inspiration, we allow ourselves to act in ways that keep us from getting there.
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