"You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy" - Illuminating insights and pearls for Parshat Kedoshim, covering almost all the mitzvos (commandments) appearing in the Parsha from 5784 (2024), from the Gaon and Tzaddik Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a:

The Ramban (Nachmanides) asks: What is the meaning of "You shall be holy"? He answers that everyone is obligated to be holy; the mitzvah (commandment) is only to bring children into the world and not for amusement!!

Anyone who wants amusement should go to Jaffa Street; there are places of amusement there, we'll arrange a discount for him, give it to him for free. But a wife is not for amusement or pleasures; a wife is the other half of the person, she is his crown—"A woman of valor is her husband's crown." And a person must treat his wife like a crown that is being refurbished with diamonds and pearls! They put it in a special safe. A wife must be kept in a special safe, and not turned into amusement, into abominable things, into disgraceful things.

Because of disgraceful things, an entire tribe was nearly wiped out—the tribe of Benjamin. Rachel saw the "Ben Oni" (son of my sorrow)—she saw the tribe of Benjamin being killed, and Yaakov (Jacob) called him "Benjamin" because he saw the six hundred men who would emerge from him, among them Shaul (Saul) who were complete tzaddikim (righteous ones), who would re-establish the tribe of Benjamin. A person must know that a wife is not for amusement, and one should not do disgraceful things with her; it is only for the perfection of the soul, and therefore one must study with her for an hour every day.

Therefore, Moshe (Moses) called to the entire nation of Israel, as written in our Parsha, and said to them: "Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy" (Leviticus 19:2). For everyone is obligated to be holy; no one can say, "I am exempt from being holy, it's too hard for me." There is no such thing as "too hard"—it is a positive mitzvah (commandment) like all other mitzvos! Therefore, "Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel"—now we are going to obligate every Jew to be holy, every Jew to be pure! Tomorrow at six in the morning Shacharis (morning prayer) begins, and everyone must be here without exception, there are no exemptions, and at five everyone gets out of bed, leaves their beds.

"Each man shall fear his mother and his father"

A person needs an educated wife—a sharp wife. A person must have a sharp wife, because if not—the children will turn out simply foolish. Because the child is in the woman's womb for 9 months, for two years he nurses from her milk, then he nurses from her intellect. 90% of the intellect he receives from the woman, 90%. Therefore, "Each man shall fear his mother and his father"—the first thing mentioned is "his mother," because a person receives his intellect from his wife. A person needs his wife to be sharp, an understanding woman, a woman who knows; she reads the Parsha. Among us, the girls study the Parsha every week, they know the Parsha by heart, they know the Parsha, what is written in the Parsha.

"You shall not completely harvest the corner of your field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not gather, and your vineyard you shall not glean"

Here we learn the laws of Kilayim (forbidden mixtures/agricultural laws). "You shall not completely harvest the corner of your field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not gather, and your vineyard you shall not glean," because one must leave Leket (gleanings), Shikcha (forgotten produce), and Pe'ah (the corner). Ruth would glean two stalks; she did not agree to glean more than two. Therefore, when Boaz saw her acting this way, he asked, "To whom does this young woman belong?" What does this mean? How does he see women at all? It is forbidden to look at a woman at all! Rather, he heard that she was doing unusual things; she only takes two, everyone else takes sacks and she takes two. So, who is this unusual woman?

Thus says the Gemara in Shabbos 113b: "You shall not completely harvest the corner of your field," "You shall not steal and you shall not deny." She would only take two; she ruled the Halacha (law) according to Beis Hillel. Because according to Beis Shammai, it is permitted to take three; they go in favor of the poor, while he goes in favor of the homeowner, because the homeowner should not lose. With three, one is already obligated in Ma'aser (tithes), it is already theft; with two, one is exempt from Ma'aser. If it's three at once, one becomes obligated in Ma'aser; if they take it, then it is both theft and they are eating without Ma'aser—death at the hands of Heaven.

"Love your neighbor as yourself"

When the convert came to Hillel, Hillel told him that the entire Torah on one foot is "Love your neighbor as yourself." So the convert caught the point; he was a wise convert who understood that Hillel had hit the mark, telling him exactly the most correct thing, which he doesn't know how to do. No one knows how to do it. Everyone screams "Love your neighbor as yourself," everyone screams "We will love everyone," only we will love everyone.

The more a person says he loves everyone, the more he hates everyone. The more he talks, it only shows that he hates more, which is why he talks so much. So the convert grasped the depth of the matter, that a person is further from this than any other mitzvah. He is far from this mitzvah because it is the hardest mitzvah, because a person is egoistic, and he wants them to make him good food, and for his wife to speak nicely to him, and he wants everyone to speak nicely to him, and everyone to honor him, and everyone to bow to him, everyone to kiss the dust of his feet.

And the rest is commentary—go and study

Like Haman the wicked, (who said), "All this is worth nothing to me" (even though besides Mordechai) everyone bowed to him. Everyone is an aspect of Haman the wicked. So the convert understood how far he was from this thing. When he understood how far he was, Hillel said to him: This is the entire Torah, and the rest is commentary—go and study. Start learning Torah, start loving the other, start being humble, don't insult your wife, don't insult her even if she insults you. Not everything needs an answer that will result in a flaming fire. "And the rest is commentary, go and study." You want to start fulfilling "Love your neighbor as yourself"? "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow." This is easier. "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow" is easier than "Love your neighbor as yourself." Just don't do what you hate. What you hate being done to you, don't do to the other. They aren't telling you to love the other yet, but they are telling you this first.

Before "Love your neighbor as yourself," they tell you first: something you hate, do not do to the other. You don't like being insulted? Don't insult the other. You don't like being spoken to unkindly? Don't speak unkindly to the other. You want your wife to respect you? You respect her too. Simply start with this first; we aren't talking about love yet. Love is already the level of if you are a true tzaddik (righteous person). First, don't do the wrong things, don't do the negative.

The main test of "Love your neighbor as yourself" is at home with your wife

If a person doesn't work on love, and doesn't work to love the other, and it's not a daily labor for him to love the other and love his friend—and at home to love his wife, that is the greatest test. A person can walk in the street and commit a thousand flaws of the eyes (looking at forbidden things), and when he comes home, he'll give his wife two slaps. At home, that's the test. The Arizal (Rabbi Isaac Luria) says: "Love your neighbor as yourself"—the test is with your wife; that's where the mitzvah is.

A person has a moment of "I love the other, I really love him," but within a second it flips on him. Because a person is the "filth of the snake"; the snake poisoned everyone, and each person is full of filth. A person says, "The main thing is I love the other"—he's telling the truth, he's not lying, he loves for one second, a thought of love, "Yes, I love him, I really love him." He turns around now for a second, it seems like a year ago that he loved him—yes, truly there were moments I loved him, truly, yes, one second out of all the millions and millions of seconds in a year, billions of seconds, so he also had a second of love. But a person is entirely hatred, and entirely jealousy, and entirely desire. Guarding the eyes doesn't help him, guarding the covenant (purity) doesn't help him, nothing helps.

As Avraham ben Rabbi Nachman says in Sasson V'Simcha, that Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) is not related to guarding the eyes, not related to holiness; Sinat Chinam, he says, rises above them all. It's like what the Sfas Emes says about Lashon Hara (evil speech), that it rises above forbidden relations, and rises above bloodshed, and rises above everything. Lashon Hara is equivalent to them all. When a person wants to speak Lashon Hara about another, that's what burns in him 24 hours a day—to feel that he is the most righteous and the most holy. He guards his eyes, he has holiness of the Brit (covenant), and yet he will still speak.

One who guards his eyes and guards the covenant but would still sell Joseph

He will speak and he will sell Joseph; he will sell the other, and he will libel, invent libels against the other, and spread slander about the other, and build theories and imaginations, imaginations about the other. Since he has no inner work, he has no reality of humility and lowliness—because this must be his vitality. His vitality should be the opposite: "I am nothing, Baruch Hashem (thank G-d)." Like Rabbi Nachum of Kanna said: "I give thanks before You, Hashem our G-d and G-d of our fathers, that You have set my portion among those who sit in the Beis Medrash (study hall)." What do I have? Baruch Hashem I came here and they didn't kick me out; I did many sins before and Baruch Hashem they didn't kick me out, they still accept me. So a person's vitality is: "And I, through Your abundant kindness, shall enter Your house; I shall prostrate myself toward Your holy Temple in awe of You." A person's vitality is "through Your abundant kindness"—they still accept me into the Beis Medrash, they still let me enter the Beis Medrash. Who am I? What am I? What am I at all? This is complete work that a person must know; he must feel like Rebbe Nachman said about Reb Noson, that he feels himself like a piece of mud. What is "Ishtik Blate" (a piece of mud)? There is a person who is privileged to be born with this, and even he must work on it; if he doesn't work on it, it won't help him!

"You shall not round the corners of your heads, and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard"

"You shall not round the corners of your heads, and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard." From here we learn that one must go with Payos (sidelocks), and the Ben Ish Chai says to go with thick Payos.

This is what annoyed Haman; it is written "Mordechai is crowned with his etiquette (customs)." So what annoyed him? The Payos! Most annoying of all is that he has Payos! We would come every time to the borders, both in Rome and in Johannesburg, they asked us: "What are these Payos?" We said: "These are radars; with these we immediately pick up all the transmissions." A person knows what to study, all in the merit of the Payos, because the person grows from the Payos, not the Payos from the person. When a person becomes three years old, then he already has the merit to touch the Payos of Above—"I will climb the palm tree."

Because in the year 5642 (1882 - Etaleh B'Tamar), the Geulah (Redemption) was already supposed to happen. "I will climb the palm tree (Tamar), I will take hold of its branches." B'Tamar—5642 (1882), that was truly the Geulah. Then they built all the settlements: Zichron, Rishon, Metula, Rosh Pinna, Kfar Tavor, Yesud HaMa'ala—about twenty settlements they built, and everyone there had Payos. And the Baron's officials would trim a little bit each time; within a year, nothing was left. Therefore, the Baron actually died; he died an unusual death because he did not ensure that they didn't trim the Payos.

Because a Jew is only the Payos; without Payos, he is not a Jew. He has no connection to Judaism. The whole work is just to go with Payos, all day and all night. Now it is Parshat Kedoshim, "You shall not destroy the corners of your beard." We were at Kluger's, and the lady of the house asked: "Where is it written in the Torah that one must go with Payos?" All the gentiles ask because they also want to convert. Therefore, according to Rabbi Meir, it is possible to betroth a gentile woman; you see a gentile woman and you say to her, "Behold, you are betrothed to me," and when she converts, then she is betrothed. And a gentile can betroth a Jewish woman. "And My Sabbaths you shall keep."

"Before the elderly you shall rise"

"Before the elderly you shall rise, and you shall honor the face of the old, and you shall fear your G-d; I am Hashem." Because from the age of 60 it is called "hoary head" (elderly); for sixty one must already rise. Sixty is wisdom. Rav Yosef made a feast at age sixty, because if you die before sixty, it is death at the hands of Heaven. A person who has already reached the age of eighty can live until 120; if the body doesn't collapse, there won't be a system failure.

The lesson has undergone editing, and if an error has occurred, G-d forbid, it should not be attributed to our teacher the Rav shlit"a, but to the writer, "and with us dwells our error." Painting courtesy of the artist R' Yehoshua Wiseman. To purchase: www.yehoshuawiseman.com

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