With at least 21 different topic areas, it covers all of life

“The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy” (19:1).

Great, a guide for how to be holy. This is going to be so helpful. One rule or two – that’ll be it. Right? And as we continue reading past the first few verses, one could become a bit overwhelmed or confused. First we talk about parents, then Shabbat, suddenly we’re speaking about agriculture, then work ethics. Before you know it, we’ve covered sexual morality, back to Shabbat and interpersonal relations. There are at least 21 different topics in this chapter, all under the same title: kedoshim tihiyu (“You shall be holy”).

And one could be left with the question…okay, so now what does it mean to be holy? What’s the key to success to be “kedoshim”? What it all about?

I think that the key to being “kedoshim” lies exactly in the structure of this chapter. It’s no accident that the chapter covers nearly every aspect of life. It covers the “spiritual” when it speaks of Shabbat, idol worship, and sacrifices, and the “mundane” when it speaks about workers’ wages, agriculture, and hatred for another. In short, this chapter covers the entire gamut of human existence in this world.

It appears then, that to be holy is to recognize that holiness does not exist is a small bubble that we can “the holy parts of life.” We all know that holiness is, and can be found in those moments. It’s easy to see and we know it by experience. However, the real holiness, the way that we don’t just experience holiness, but actually become holy is to be able to find, experience, and bring holiness into the most mundane activities in our life. Kedoshim Tihiyu is the charge to us to find and bring God, and holiness in every aspect of our life.

We are holy because God is holy, because we are made in God’s image. The Malbim (on Samuel 1 2:2) writes that what makes God different and unique from all other deities is specifically in the fact that He is involved in every aspect of life, from the most mundane to the most transcendental.

By doing the same, we too will become holy.