Achieving Kedoshim Tihiyu Through Consistency

Ramban comments in last week's sedra of פרשת בן סורר ומורה that הנה והנה יש עליו שני עונשים. The fact that the Ben Sorer U'Moreh that the Ramban is about to reference is נידון על שם סופו, that doesn't mean that he's not guilty of violating mitzvot HaTorah. Even with the special consideration of

נידון על שם סופו, אין עונשין אלא אם כן מזהירין.

It has to be an azharah that the Ben Sorer U'Moreh has violated. So

הנה יש עליו שני עונשים. ואחד שהוא מקלה אביו ואמו וממרה בהם.

First of all the fact that he's contemptuous of his parents. והשני שהוא זולל וסובא. He's a glutton and a drunkard.

עובר על מה שנצטוינו קדושים תהיו. ונאמר עוד ואותו תעבודו ובו תדבקון כאשר פירשתי שנצטוינו לדעת השם בכל דרכינו.

Oy vavoy. Ben Sorer U'Moreh albeit al shem sofo is chayav misa by Kedoshim Tihyu. Alternately, additionally ואותו תעבודו ובו תדבקון. We would think again even with, in the next line where the Ramban references the נידון על שם סופו, okay so maybe he's not yet guilty of first degree premeditated murder. But if he's gonna be chayav misa, so we would expect the azharah that the Ramban would identify as okay he's guilty of gram retzicha at this point. Something monstrous. Oy vavoy. But earlier in Vayikra in talking about Kedoshim Tihyu.

והעניין כי התורה הזהירה בעריות ובמאכלים האסורים והתירה הביאה איש באשתו ואכילת הבשר והיין אם כן ימצא בעל התאוה מקום להיות שטוף בזימת אשתו או נשיו רבות ולהיות בסובאי יין ובזוללי בשר למו וידבר כרצונו בכל הנבלות שלא הוזכר איסורן בתורה והנה יהיה נבל ברשות התורה. לפיכך בא הכתוב אחרי שפרט האיסורים שאסר אותם לגמרי וצוה בדבר כללי שנהיה פרושים מן המותרות.

And one application of that abstinence from excess, prisha min hamutarot that the Ramban gives is יקדש עצמו מן היין במיעוטו. He'll sanctify himself by moderating by limiting his consumption of yayin. כמו שכתב הכתוב הנזיר קדוש. He'll be kadosh in the same sense that the Nazir described as נזר אלקיו על ראשו, the crown of Hakadosh Baruch Hu is on his head, will be kadosh in the same sense that a Nazir is kadosh.

וגם ישמור פיו ולשונו מהתגאל בריבוי האכילה הגסה ומן הדיבור הנמאס ויקדש עצמו בזה עד שיגיע לפרישות כמו שאמרו רבנו הקדוש.

So what what's what's in front of us here rabosai? When we either if if we are privileged to have or to to know such an individual who's a kadosh, or if we haven't been and and we imagine the dmus dyokno of a kadosh, so I think we we think of any such individual as having adopted and and abiding by a different code of conduct, and because of that he exists on a different plane. He lives in a different world than than the rest of us. On the other hand, when we think of a rasha, so we think that more or less maybe mirechem imo he demonically perpetuates dramatic monstrous issurim. And we don't relate too much to either. We don't relate too much to either. But Ramban dispels that error. Ramban says the kadosh at one end and the rasha at the other end and all of us in between all exist in the same continuum. At least initially they live in the same world, they're confronted with the same challenges, the same tests. The kadosh, the rasha, as is true for all of us, both contend with the polarity of sechel and yeitzer. What sets them apart, and initially it's the difference is slight, gradually over time it increases. The difference is how respectively they respond to the mandate of kedoshim tihyu. The ben soreir umoreh is headed to the wrong side and end of the spectrum of the continuum, not because of dramatic monstrous actions and performances, but just because consistently he fails the challenge of kedoshim tihyu. Ramban describes that Rabbi Chiya שלא סח שיחה בטילה מימיו. But notice notice how the Ramban writes it. Ramban is describing what anyone responding, assuming the Torah's mandate, it's not optional, the Torah's mandate of kedoshim tihyu, vikadesh atzmo baze. A person will separate and thereby sanctify himself in this area, again the area in terms of kedushas peh, ad sheyagia incrementally, not not overnight, not not not with one leap,

ויקדש עצמו בזה עד שיגיע. ויקדש עצמו בזה עד שיגיע לפרישות כמו שאמרו על רבי חייא שלא סח שיחה בטלה מימיו.

Rebbi Chiya. Rebbi Chiya lived in the same world we did. He lived by the same Shulchan Aruch we did. He was confronted with the same challenges we did, but he consistently, steadfastly rose to those challenges. Kedusha, cultivating, attaining Kedusha doesn't require, doesn't entail dramatic action, just consistent, steadfast, disciplined daily life. My father, zichrono livracha, once made the following he'arah. Famous Rambam in Hilchos Teshuva about Tkias Shofar.

אף על פי שתקיעת שופר בראש השנה גזירת הכתוב רמז יש בו כלומר עורו עורו ישנים משנתכם והקיצו נרדמים מתרדמתכם וחפשו במעשיכם וחזרו בתשובה וזכרו בוראכם אלו השוכחים את האמת בהבלי הזמן ושוגים כל שנתם בהבל וריק אשר לא יועיל ולא יציל הביטו לנפשותיכם הטיבו דרככם ומעלליכם יעזוב כל אחד מכם דרכו הרעה ומחשבתו שלא טובה.

So the shofar is a wake-up call to those who have forgotten what's true, what's real in life because of their preoccupation with havlei hazman. All the futility of transient, ephemeral pursuits with no greater redeeming purpose. Havlei hazman. It's transient, it's ephemeral. Havlei hazman. When the Rambam earlier in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah describes the personality and profile of a Navi, so the Rambam depicts there's both an intellectual profile as well as a moral profile. We're focused on the latter. The Rambam says Adam shehu memula

פרק ז הלכה א מיסודי התורה בכל המידות האלו שלם בגופו

kesheyikanes lapardeis he's rauy to and learns

מעשה בראשית מעשה מרכבה וימשוך וימשך באותן העניינות הגדולים הרחוקים מתחילה לדעת נכון להבין ולהשיג

that belongs to an intellectual profile.

והוא מתקדש והולך ופורש מדרכי כלל העם ההולכים במחשכי הזמן והולך ומזרז עצמו

and he's continuously urging himself on forward, umelamed nafsho, and he's training himself שלא תהיה לו מחשבה כלל באחד מדברים בטלים now listen to this next phrase rabosai, ולא מהבלי הזמן ותחבולותיו. That same phrase. The Navi in some respects ends up as a Navi only because he scored a hundred on the same test that we all sit for. At the same phrase of havlei hazman. The message which is encoded in the shofar for every one of us, the wake-up call. For every one of us to extricate ourselves from the preoccupation with things which don't integrate into avodas Hashem, things which are futile. So who's the navi? He's the one who got a hundred on that test. We think, no, the navi's in a different world, he's a different, he's a ganz, he's a different beriah. No, he got a hundred on his bechinas zman test. We get whatever we get, not a hundred, unfortunately, but something less than that. And the navi scores a hundred. It's the same idea, right? The navi's on the same continuum. It's not looking for some different, higher Shulchan Aruch to live by. It's the consistency and the steadfastness of living by the Shulchan Aruch that we do have, that's there for all of us. That's the launching pad for the navi. It's the same continuum. If only we can, I know, another way of saying it is that the path to kedusha, to kirvas Elokim doesn't necessarily involve p'siya gasa. It consists of small steps, p'siyos k'tanos. But if a person keeps taking those little steps, keeps meeting the daily challenges, that's what differentiates the navi from someone who needs to go wash neigel vasser after he hears shofar on Rosh Hashanah.