“You shall be holy!

by HaRav Dov Begon
Rosh HaYeshiva, Machon Meir

The phrase “You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2) has two meanings. The first is a commandment to be holy, that is, we are commanded to separate ourselves from sexual immodesty and from other sins (Rashi, Ibid.). In the second meaning, the Torah is stating a necessary reality (Sichot HaRav Tzvi Yehuda HaKohen Kook, zatzal, Acharei Mot- Kedoshim). G-d is promising us that we are a holy nation whose purpose it is to be a light unto the nations, as was said to Abraham, “All the nations of the earth shall be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3).

Indeed, we must learn and remember and recognize the fact that we are a holy people, a special people, a unique creation in the universe. “I have created this people for Myself that they might tell My praise” (Isaiah 43:21); “Blessed be the L-rd... who has chosen us from among the nations and given us His Torah” (morning Torah blessings).

Today, in this generation, the most important issue that we have to learn and recognize is our uniqueness as a nation whose whole purpose is to bring light to humanity.

“When we reject our superiority and cease to recognize our chosenness, our greatness and excellence which surpass that of all other nations, this constitutes a fundamental error. If we forget our greatness, we are forgetting our essence.... Only when we forget our essence do we remain insignificant and inferior. By forgetting that essence, we forget our greatness” (Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, Orot HaTechiyah, 5, page 55).

Our national and political weakness are the result of this forgetfulness, lack of knowledge and lack of recognition of what we are and what our lives signify. We must educate ourselves and others to recognize the identity and unique essence of the Jewish People, chosen from among all nations to bring goodness to the world. We must realize that it is for this that we have been fighting throughout all of history, especially during the last hundred years, including the present war, which is a war between the people of light and the people of darkness.

The knowledge and belief that we are holy and that we possess a special soul that is revealed precisely in Eretz Yisrael -- and it is for this revelation that we are fighting -- will give us the strength and valor to emerge victorious in all the battles confronting us. Looking forward to complete salvation,