And when the Hakadosh Baruch Hu talks to Klal Yisrael and explains what Kabbalas HaTorah entails, so he says, ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש. Let's focus on the phrase Goy Kadosh, on the notion of Kedusha and as we'll see closely related to that, the notion of Mitzvah. Now in addition to the immediate association of the Ma'amarei Chazal which Rashi and the Ramban quote at the beginning of this week's Krias HaTorah, Rambam also has a discussion of Kedoshim Tiyu in Sefer HaMitzvos in the Shoresh Harevi'i. The Shoresh Harevi'i is שאין ראוי למנות הצווים הכוללים התורה כולה. You count individual Mitzvos. If there's a statement in the Torah which encompasses Kol HaTorah Kula, so you don't count them. Says the Rambam, he gives examples: כאמרו ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו וכאמרו את חקתי תשמרו ואת משפטי תעשו
V'shmartem Es Mishmarti ושמרתם את משמרתי ורבים כאלו. Okay. Then the Rambam continues and says וכבר טעו בשרש הזה גם כן עד שמנו קדושים תהיו.
The Geonim made a mistake and they counted Kedoshim Tiyu, מצוה מכלל מצות עשה, ולא ידעו כי אמרו קדושים תהיו והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים הם צווים לקיים כל התורה.
Ke'ilu Yomar, we have to read a few lines here and then we'll come back im yirtzeh Hashem to discuss it. Ke'ilu Yomar היה קדוש בהיותך עושה כל מה שצויתיך בו והזהר מכל מה שהזהרתיך ממנו. ולשון ספרי קדושים תהיו פרושים תהיו. רצו לומר הבדלו מן הדברים המגונים כולם שהזהרתי אתכם מהם.
Neither Rashi nor the Ramban, right? The same Midrash Rabbah, the same Ma'amar Chazal here, either like Rashi nor like the Ramban. ובמכילתא אמרו ואנשי קדש תהיון לי איסי בן יהודה אומר כשהקדוש ברוך הוא מחדש מצוה לישראל הוא מוסיף להם קדושה. רצו לומר כי זה הציווי אינו ציווי עומד בעצמו אבל הוא נמשך אחר מצוה שנצטוו בה ומקיים הציווי ההוא יקרא קדוש. ואין הפרש בין אמרו קדושים תהיו או אילו אמר עשו מצותי.
So there is a certain tension here within the Rambam, almost a שני כתובים המכחישים זה את זה מיניה וביה here in the Rambam. Mitzad echad, the Rambam says the line with which we just concluded here that ואין הפרש בין אמרו קדושים תהיו או אילו אמר עשו מצותי.
So Kedoshim Tiyu isn't mechadesh anything. Kihu Zeh. It's כאלו אמר עשו מצותי. It's simply reiterating and reinforcing Mitzvos. Kedoshim Tiyu translation asu mitzosai. Me'idach gissa, and this is probably something even if we didn't have a diyuk in the Rambam I think we would intuit but there is a diyuk in the Rambam. Rambam says earlier here that Kedoshim Tiyu is ke'ilu omer, כאלו יאמר היה קדוש בהיותך עושה כל מה שצויתיך בו.
De'hainu that Kedusha is something distinct which is attained which is realized through Mitzvos. So on the one hand the Rambam says that Kedoshim Tiyu is nothing more than asu mitzosai. Seemingly nothing more than כאמרו ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם תשמרו. And yet me'idach gissa the Rambam says היה קדוש בהיותך עושה כל מה שצויתיך בו. מקיים הציווי ההוא יקרא קדוש.
So there is a notion here of Kedusha which is... something distinct from the mitzvos, which is realized, which is accomplished. So there's a שני כתובים המכחישים זה זה here minei uvey in the Rambam. Now leaving that aside for the moment, especially coming back to let's say what is our first pasuk that kedoshim tihyu is asu mitzvosai. So be'emes this equation between kedusha and mitzvos, agam that it's not Rashi's take on the Chazal's perushim tihyu, it's not the Ramban's take, but lichora it's murgala befumei dechazal. The matbei'a beracha of every birkas hamitzvah, asher kidshanu bemitzvohsav, vekiddashtanu bemitzvohsecha, kadshenu bemitzvohsecha, so kedusha and mitzvos are tzmuddim zu lezu. It's interesting. So sometimes we say that kiddashtanu bemitzvohsecha, kidshanu bemitzvohsav, it's a fact. And other times we say kadshenu bemitzvohsecha that le'asid it should happen, we're mispallel that this should happen. And other times we refer to it as no, this is something which is already, which is already established. But what is, but what does a mitzvah mean? So we all know what a mitzvah means. A mitzvah's a commandment. A commandment. Asher kidshanu bemitzvohsav, so the translation is who, who sanctified us with His commandments, vetzivanu and He commanded us such and such. However, lichora there is a more basic meaning to tzivui than commandment. And the emes is that tzivui, mitzvah in the sense that we usually use it is probably a derivative meaning. And that's as follows. In Parshas Pinchas after Moshe Rabbeinu asked Hakadosh Baruch Hu יפקד ה' אלוהי הרוחות לכל בשר איש על העדה so Hakadosh Baruch Hu tells him to take Yehoshua and then Hakadosh Baruch Hu says והעמדת אותו לפני אלעזר הכהן ולפני כל העדה וצויתה אותו לעיניהם.
Vetzivisa oso. So what does vetzivisa mean here? So the Ramban says ולפי דעתי בפשט הכתוב טעם וצויתה אותו לעיניהם הוא המינוי שימנה אותו במעמדם להיות נגיד עליהם.
So tzivui here shouldn't translate according to the Ramban as command him, but appoint him. Appoint him. Or perhaps even a better English word than appoint is charge him. Give him a charge. Right, that when you speak of giving someone a charge, there's a sense of it's an appointment, but it's also entrusting him with a mission. That's what it means when a person or people are given a charge. So vetzivisa oso le'ineihem means charge him in the sense of tell him what his responsibilities, instruct him what his responsibilities are, what his mission is. That's what the lashon tzivui means. And it's in this way that Rashi is able to quote the Toras Kohanim and back in Parshas Tzav of אין צו אלא לשון זירוז. So how do you get lashon zerizus out of commandment? You don't really get it directly out of commandment. But out of a sense of charge, of to instruct, also has that sense to exhort, to be mezarez. And that's really the core meaning of a tzivui. The Sforno says the same as the Ramban here. וצויתה אותו לעיניהם תמנה אותו לנגיד עליהם לעיניהם כדי שיקבלוהו וישמעו בקולו כי יאמר או יעשה יאמר ציווי על המינוי כמו וצוך לנגיד ומן היום אשר צויתי שופטים.
And interestingly, the Rambam also lichora understands the lashon tzivui that way in the hakdama to the Yad, so the Rambam writes that אלעזר ופנחס ויהושע שלשתם קיבלו ממשה וליהושע שהוא תלמידו של משה רבינו מסר תורה שבעל פה וציווהו עליה.
So v’tzivahu aleha doesn’t mean he commanded Yehoshua, listen Yehoshua, you have to put on tefillin every day and you have to get up early and you have to davven every day. No, v’tzivahu aleha means he gave him a charge, he entrusted him with a masoret, that's what the Rav zecher tzaddik livracha used to say, that there was a chalos shem of mesira of תורה שבעל פה. It was entrusted to Yehoshua and that's what v’tzivahu aleha means, again it's a charge, it's a trust, it's a mission which is given. Mimeila from there it's easy to understand how it's nisgalgel to mean commandment as well. What does the lashon kedusha mean? This is yadua. So you find in Chazal הקדש לעבודה זרה. Such a thing as הקדש לעבודה זרה. What does that mean? Again kedusha doesn't etymologically mean holy. Or what does it mean when the Chumash talks about a kedesha? Ayei ha-kedesha? Lo tihiyeh kedesha? So kadosh in Lashon ha-Kodesh means something which is muvdal or mufrash, mezuman for a particular task, a particular function. הן לטוב הן למוטב. If someone set something aside la-avoda zara, it's הקדש לעבודה זרה. A woman who's mezumenes liznus is a kedesha. So kedusha again means, I think the English word which probably comes closest to capturing that sense is consecrated, more than, perhaps more than others, again that notion of being set aside for something, being muvdal, mufrash for something. When the Rambam in Sefer ha-Mitzvos defines the mitzvah of זכור יום השבת לקדשו, the Rambam says that you have to talk not only about yichudo shel yom, not only about the distinctness of the day, but הבדלו משאר הימים. How Shabbos is set aside, how it's muvdal, mufrash mi-sha'ar ha-yamim. That's what kedusha means, something which is muvdal, which is mufrash, which is mezuman for a particular task. The lashon אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו in every birkas ha-mitzvah, what it means is like this, that Hakadosh Baruch Hu consecrated us not just with his commandments. Not only a mitzvah is not only a commandment, mitzvah is a mandate, it's a charge, it's a mission, that's what it means, אשר קדשנו במצותיו וצונו. How does a person become muvdal u-mufrash? He becomes muvdal u-mufrash not just through a commandment, but because the mahut of the person is that that's his tzivui, וצויתה אותו לעיניהם, that's his tzivui, his mandate, the charge he receives the same way Yehoshua, so this wasn't just stam ich veis a nine to five job for Yehoshua. No, this was his mandate, this was his mission, this was his charge, that's what it means asher kidshanu that Hakadosh Baruch Hu again consecrated us with this tzivui in the sense of וצויתה אותו לעיניהם. Now this kedusha is on the one hand the fact, on the one hand the fact, Clal Yisrael, המבדיל בין קודש לחול בין ישראל לעמים, Clal Yisrael is muvdal, Clal Yisrael is mufrash, Clal Yisrael is kadosh. That's a fact. Asher kidshanu, v'kidshanu b'mitzvosah. Me'idach gisa, for every yachid, in order for that kedusha not only to be al pi din, but to be realized, to be b'foal, so that's something we have to strive for. That's something which has to be implemented. There's a level of kedusha al pi din, right, the de jure? So, so we're mekudashim by virtue of, by virtue of Ma'amad Har Sinai. So it's in the past. That's Asher kidshanu, it's v'kidshanu b'mitzvosah. But me'idach gisa, only to the extent that a person individually or that all of us collectively are mosur b'lev v'nefesh to Torah and mitzvos, how do we realize that tzivui b'foal? Kedushas atzmecha, kedusha me'avosecha as Rashi quotes. Coming back to, to that שני כתובים המכחישים זה את זה in the Rambam, so lichora the pshat is like this. So on the one hand, kedusha doesn't entail anything other than mitzvos. It's not mechadesh anything. It's asu mitzvosai in the sense because Kedoshim tihyu means accept the charge which Hakadosh Baruch Hu has given you. It's not mechadesh anything. It's not saying anything more than asu mitzvosai. Me'idach gisa, if you'll do that, if you'll respond to the Asher kidshanu, if you'll respond to the to the v'kidshanu b'mitzvosah, so then u'veniskayem v'kadshenu b'mitzvosah that a person not only al pi din is mekudash for this tzivui, but that b'foal a person realizes it and implements it and and acts on it. So m'chad gisa it's no different than asu mitzvosai, but me'idach gisa it's hevei kadosh. It's become, become muvdal and mufrash b'foal, not just al pi din in terms of the, the mission that's incumbent upon you, but become muvdal and mufrash in the sense of the mission that you live and the mission that you carry out. So al pi ha'amur ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש then should mean what rabosai? It means a nation who's consecrated to Hakadosh Baruch Hu. A nation whose, whose mission, whose charge is to be muvdal and mufrash to what? To Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Now, now listen to this, listen to this Teshuvos HaRambam rabosai. Rambam was asked about listening to Arabic music. So the Rambam says, the Rambam thinks that it's assur mi'kama v'kama ta'amim. He says as follows. He says first of all, he says aliba d'emes he says אסור לשמוע דברי טיפשות אפילו נאמר שלא בשיר. He says not, m'chad gisa the the songs he says, listen to the lyrics he says, that's already assur for that reason. Tipshus is is assur. ואם מנגנים אותו על כלים, he says יש כאן שלושה איסורים. If it's with musical instrumental accompaniment, so then there are three issurim. איסור שמיעת דברי טיפשות וניבלות הפה, issur shmias shira haGemara in Gittin, ורצוני לומר זמרה בפומה, v'issur shmias meisar. ואם זה במקום שתיית יין, yesh issur revi'i. Ve-im ha-mezameret isha yesh issur chamishi kol be-isha ervah. Then the Rambam says, listen rabbosai, כבר התברר האמת במופת, it's established unequivocally, compellingly, והיא שהכוונה בנו שנהיה גוי קדוש. What does that mean? ולא יהיה לנו מעשה ולא דיבור אלא בשלמות או במה שמביא אל השלמות.
What's the definition of goy kadosh? The definition of goy kadosh is that we strive, we strive, you have to work toward it, we don't wake up, don't wake up kadosh, but we strive that שלא יהיה לנו מעשה ולא דיבור אלא בשלמות או במה שמביא אל השלמות,
meaning that everything, everything is mechovan. Why? Because again, goy kadosh means that we're muvdal, mufrash, again, lehavdil, there's hekdesh la-avodah zarah, lehavdil, lehavdil, lehavdil, it means that it's muvdal, mufrash for that and for that alone. So a goy kadosh means מובדלים מופרשים לעבודת השם. הכוונה בנו שנהיה גוי קדוש and therefore that entails ולא יהיה לנו מעשה ולא דיבור אלא בשלמות או במה שמביא אל השלמות,
mefurash what we're discussing. Now, lichora, what also emerges here, and just this last he'arah, is an equation that on the one hand, Hakadosh Baruch Hu prefaces Ma'amad Har Sinai with ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש. What should result, what does result from Kabbalas HaTorah is heyoseinu goy kadosh. Me'idach gisa, in Sefer Vayikra, Hakadosh Baruch Hu emphasizes that his claim on Klal Yisrael, what we're supposed to be is עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים. Okay, so you'll say גם זה וגם זה. Who says there's a stira between the two? Ve-ein hachi nami, but the emes is it's deeper than that. The emes is there's an equation between kedusha and avdus in the sense that an eved belongs to the adon. An eved belongs to the adon, he has no independence, his time is not his own, his life is not his own, he belongs to the adon. So the emes is that kedusha and avdus, it's the same. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu is saying is that Hakadosh Baruch Hu, it's since the goal of Ma'amad Har Sinai is ואתם תהיו לי ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש, again, to be muvdalim, mufrashim שלא יהיה בנו מעשה ולא דיבור אלא בשלמות. So mimeila Hakadosh Baruch Hu says that that's why I took you out as avadim, that you should be my avadim, because the eved is, again, belongs to the adon. So mimeila he's מובדל מופרש מזומן מקודש la-avodaso. Lichora, it's a perspective to pause for a moment before being mekayeim a mitzvah. So again, we tend to think of a mitzvah as a commandment. It's a commandment. Okay. So a commandment is sort of self-contained, however long it takes me to davven, however long it takes me to put on tefillin, how long does it take to be yotzei lulav, mi-de-agbei nafek bei? It isn't. Every mitzvah really is part of one tzivui, part of one all-encompassing vitzvisonu oso, in the sense of it's a trust, it's a charge, and it's a mission. And that's what, and in making the birkas hamitzvah, is a perspective that we try to reinforce.