Rabbi Shimshon Rafael Hirsch writes that holiness means establishing an entire foundation within the Jew, within his personality and powers; and channel, direct and develop all these human forces and drives; to attain moral elevation. Without this, one's foundation for performance of and fulfillment of the Torah is essentially crippled.

Only through holiness can we achieve the Torah's goals and standards for living. The midrash (Toras Kohanim) tells us that to achieve holiness, one must work to separate from this-worldliness. This is not for the purpose of cancelling the physical part of a person. We are put into this world to practice physical life. But physical life must be approached through spirituality. We are not asked to kill our nature. We are to channel, control and elevate our physical powers and inclinations. Through physical powers, we can implement spiritual powers. We take our physical powers, elevate them, make them holy and use them to serve Hashem.

Not one of the human powers, drives and tendencies are good or bad in and of themselves. All - from the most primitive to the most exalted - are given for the beneficial purpose of accomplishing Hashem's will on earth through all of the human powers. Rabbi Hirsch says that the Torah gives a positive aim and a negative limit to direct us in how to channel, develope, direct and use human powers and nature.

Holiness and spirituality give purpose and meaning to the nature and personality put into us because this enables us to use our powers and resources for that which is good, spiritual and holy. This requires separation from the purposes, powers, goals and values that lead us to all which is coarse, evil, physical, self-indulgent; to the midos (characteristics) of the material world. The Torah commands us to separate from earthly things and to develop our spiritual drives, qualities and values, and to elevate ourselves for holiness.

The goal is to gain mastery of oneself through restraint, self-control, discipline and a Higher Will governing our every move. Within the permissible limitations, that which we do within our physical selves and with our physical resources is holiness, is elevated and spiritual, is beyond the physical world. We make ourselves G-dly.

What comes next immediately after the commandment to be holy? "Be holy because I the L-rd your G-d am holy." Make yourselves holy because Hashem is holy! We are created in the image of G-d. We are obligated to model ourselves after G-d's spiritual qualities and to go in His ways. As He is separated from this world, we have to work to separate from this world. Since we are within this world, our lot is to separate from this world within this world. We are in this world for the purpose of rising above it! When we separate, elevate and refine ourselves, gain more control of ourselves and attain to higher morals, that is more and more becoming holy. Hashem is the source of holiness and His holiness is what makes us able to be holy by being more and more like Him. Through our becoming holy, we proclaim Hashem's holiness. Our achieving holiness makes sanctification of Hashem (kiddush Hashem) which is one of the obligation of the Torah incumbent upon the Jew. Everything that the Jew does must be infused with holiness. Anything which is absent of holiness, even "technical Torah," misses this. The Jew's character and behaviors show the imprint of holiness, modeled after Hashem's Holiness.

Let's tie this into our interpersonal context.

Hashem commanded Moshe to state this portion of Torah in front of the entire Jewish people because numerous essential principles depend upon it (Rashi).

The Chasam Sofer stated that to be holy, one cannot be isolated and withdrawn from the rest of society. The very fact that the Torah stated the admonition to be holy in an assembly means that the Jew must learn how to sanctify himself by behaving properly among other people.

A person once asked the Chazon Ish if he should go into isolation so that he could study Torah without bother or distraction. The Chazon Ish answered, "My heart cannot believe that you can have true acquisition of Torah by isolation from everyone. Society and friends assist in acquiring Torah." [to be continued]