Mesilas Yesharim 1

והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני. So the Sforno says that what does it mean Vehiskadishtem is that you should be Nitzchiyim. A different Pshat then than we're used to in Kedusha. That to be Kadosh means that a person should behave in such a way that he should merit Nitzchiyus, eternity. So our immediate, our immediate association with the Kedoshim is the Drashas Chazal which Rashi and the Ramban discuss at the beginning of Parshas Kedoshim of Perushim Tehiyu. And here the Sforno says no, Kedusha implies Nitzchiyus, Nitzchiyus. Be'emes the Mahorsha in Brachos says the same. The Gemara comments on the Pasuk, I think it's in Tefillas Chana maybe, of אין קדוש כשם כי אין בלתך. So the Gemara says Ki Ein Biltecha should be understood Ki Ein Levalosecha. So how does the Gemara arrive at that and what prompts that? So you'll take a look there, the Mahorsha says that אין קדוש כשם כי אין בלתך seems to just be redundant. There's no one like you 'cause there's no one like you. So that doesn't, that doesn't offer any explanation. There's no one like you 'cause there's no one like you. So it's just a tautology. It doesn't, it doesn't add anything. So because of that, Chazal say that Ki Ein Biltecha should be understood Ki Ein Levalosecha and what it means is like this: Ein Kadosh KaShem because what Kedusha ultimately means is Nitzchiyus and therefore Ein Kadosh KaShem because Ki Ein Biltecha, because Ki Ein Levalosecha, that the one who is truly eternal and not dependent upon anything or anyone for that Nitzchiyus is HaKadosh Baruch Hu. So that's what it means: אין קדוש כשם כי אין בלתך. Same idea, the Mahorsha says that Kedusha means Nitzchiyus and the Mahorsha refers to the Gemara in Sanhedrin Tzadik Beis where the Gemara says מה קדוש קיים לעולם. The Gemara says that's what it means, the epithet of Kadosh means that, that the one who is described as Kadosh is Kayam L'olam. So Kedusha means Nitzchiyus. How, if at all, does this relate to the basic Pshat of Kedusha, of Prishus? The basic Pshat of Kedusha of Perushim Tehiyu would seem to be just the Pshuto Shel Mikra Lefiora. Because let's say Hekdesh. What's Pshat Hekdesh? Hekdesh means when something is set aside, when it's Parosh. That's why the Gemara even has a Lashon something can be Hekdesh La'avoda Zara. That's also Hekdesh Lahavdil בין הטמא ובין הטהור. That's also Hekdesh in the sense that it's, that it's set aside. That's why to devote, to dedicate, even in modern usage, Lehakedish Zman is to devote, to dedicate time, because again, what it means is that you set aside the time for this. Again, even the vulgar usage, or the description, not vulgar use, but the description of this in a vulgar context such as a Keideisha means that she's, that's what she's set aside for. That's what she does. That she's Mufkeres Umezumenes, Mezumenes, that she's Mezumenes Liznus. So that's what it means. So, given that that seems to be the basic, the basic Pshat, so how does it tie in to this other, this other component, this other element which the Sforno and the Mahorsha speak of in terms of Nitzchiyus? The answer is straightforward. The answer is, and basically, if you have to sum up in one sentence what the entire Sefer of Mesillas Yesharim is about, if you have to give a one sentence summary, this is probably as good a summary as you can give: is that Kedusha in the sense of Prishus is what leads to Kedusha in the sense of Nitzchiyus. from the from the from the starting bell in the Mesillas Yesharim so where he talks about how a person in Olam Hazeh is in a state of nisayon because of all the taivos hachomriyos and basically every every madrega that a person ascends represents yet a a further a further distancing from the the taivos hachomriyos from from simply being nichshal in in taking things a person shouldn't, from the קדש עצמך במותר לך to to even the the gashmiyus again, not just that a person's מקדש עצמו במותר לו but that he actually makes the gashmiyus itself into a into the avodas Hashem of the the the paradigm for that being כהנים אוכלים ובעלים מתכפרים as you take a look in Mesillas Yesharim in each of the ascending madregos when you go beyond Zehirus and Zerizus to Nekiyus and then beyond to Tahara Kedusha, all of them are defined in terms of a person's decreased involvement with taiva, with chomriyus, and and whatever involvement we're supposed to have being mekadesh that that involvement. So it's quite clear that the pshat is that the kedusha of prishus is what leads to the kedusha of nitzchiyus for the simple for the simple understanding that what's what's physical doesn't doesn't endure, right? What's physical ultimately it rots, it decays, physicality and and nitzchiyus are a tartei d'sasrei. It's only when a person lives a lifestyle of kadosh v'tahor of prishus meaning as the Ramban explains that his that the Torah mitzvos is characterized by prishus, not not that he contradicts the Torah mitzvos with a lack of prishus, but the Torah mitzvos is characterized and and induces prishus, so then that is is conducive to kedusha of nitzchiyus. It's a very big problem in today's generation and and today's society. We live in in such an affluent society, such an indulgent society where the definition of of what's average or what's needed or what's moderate is just so out of sync and and just so distorted that it's a tremendous, tremendous nisayon, this yesod, and it's it's almost impossible to exaggerate the importance of the kedusha of prishus to to have a correct hasaga of of what that means to live in terms of gashmiyus simply, simply. That's certainly the beginning of what it means. What it means for Baalei Avoda once they get further into Mesillas Yesharim I don't know, but just at the beginning level a person has to constantly, constantly monitor himself that he lives simply in terms of of gashmiyus. Simply a person should be dressed b'chavodik, b'chavodik, it shouldn't it shouldn't he shouldn't call attention to himself in his dress. If if a person walks around in torn rags so that's not tzanua either, he calls attention to himself by virtue of the fact that he's not he's not dressed properly. But a person's dress, the point of being dressed is that it should be inconspicuous, it should be inconspicuous, it should be inconspicuous. The same thing a person is is supposed to how how big of a house do you live in? Okay, so Chazal say in Gemara Sukkah that דירה נאה מרחיבה דעתו של אדם. I think for most people having some space and people not being on top of each other 100% contributes to harchavas hadaas. So lav davka that that's being indulgent. But obviously there's a difference between Not having six, eight, ten, twelve people in one room, in two rooms, that being a quiet room to sit and learn and think and be oved Hashem, obviously there's a line between that and between the just the type of opulence which characterizes what we consider average average houses and average homes and it's a big big problem in terms of avodas Hashem. It's not a question necessarily of even if a person even if all the money is in the bank everything is paid for upfront, there's just only so much gashmius and pompousness that a person can have without it interfering with his avodas Hashem. There's a point at which it does impede and it does intrude upon one's avodas Hashem and it's again it's almost impossible to stress the importance of maintaining what the Torah considers simplicity in our material and the physical lives. Is that true of money also? Is that true of what? Money also. For instance people use money just to have money money money money. LLC.