Awakening holiness in all creation

במד' קדושים ואתה מרום לעולם ידך בעליונה רוממות אתה נוהג כו' ישלח עזרך כו' מקידוש מעשים ומציון מעשים כו'.

In the Midrash on Kedoshim: "And You are exalted forever" (Tehillim 92:9) — Your hand is uppermost; You conduct Yourself with loftiness… "May He send your help [from the Sanctuary]…" (Tehillim 20:3) — from the sanctification of deeds and from the "Tziyon" (marking/sign) of deeds… (Vayikra Rabbah 24:1)

The Midrash links the parshah of Kedoshim to verses about Hashem's exaltedness and to His sending help "from the sanctification of deeds." The Sefas Emes will explain how human deeds draw down kedushah.

וברש"י כ"מ שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה כו' קדושה.

And in Rashi: "Wherever you find a fence against immorality (gader ervah), you find holiness (kedushah)." (Rashi, Vayikra 19:2)

Rashi teaches that holiness is consistently associated with guarding against arayos (forbidden relationships) — separation in this area generates kedushah.

כי עריות הוא לשמור חק השי"ת להיות דבוק כ"ד במקומו הראוי לו.

For [the laws of] arayos are about guarding the statute of Hashem, that each thing should be attached to its proper place that is fitting for it.

The laws of forbidden relations express a deeper principle: keeping everything in its rightful place, bound to where it belongs according to Hashem's order.

וזה מביא קדושה כמ"ש הרי את מקודשת שמתיחדת אליו כן יש לכל דבר בן זוג.

And this brings holiness, as it says, "Behold, you are sanctified (mekudeshes) [to me]" — that she becomes unified to him; so too every thing has its proper partner (ben zug).

Kiddushin (betrothal) sanctifies precisely by uniting a couple correctly; likewise everything in creation has its rightful "match," and joining each thing to its proper place generates holiness.

ובנ"י בפרט מקודשין ומיוחדין להש"י.

And Bnei Yisrael in particular are sanctified and unified to Hashem.

Bnei Yisrael are uniquely "betrothed" — set apart and bound exclusively to Hashem.

כמ"ש מקדש עמו ישראל.

As it says: "Who sanctifies His people Yisrael."

This is the bond expressed in our berachos — Hashem sanctifies His people Yisrael, uniting them to Himself.

קדושים תהיו.

"You shall be holy." (Vayikra 19:2)

The mitzvah "Kedoshim tihyu" calls Bnei Yisrael to actualize this state of holiness.

וגם בכלל הבריאה השי"ת נתן קדושה לכל הבריאה.

And also in the generality of creation, Hashem placed holiness within all of creation.

Beyond Yisrael, Hashem invested a measure of kedushah within all created things.

רק כפי מה שמיישר כל אדם דרכו להיות מיוחד אליו מעורר הקדושה.

Only that according to how each person straightens his path to be unified to Him, he awakens the holiness.

This latent kedushah is aroused in proportion to how a person aligns his ways and binds himself to Hashem.

לכן גם בשבת קודש ע"י שמתיחדין כל הנבראים לעלות להתדבק בשורשם שורה קדושה.

Therefore on the holy Shabbos too, through all the creatures becoming unified to ascend and cling to their root, holiness rests [upon the world].

On Shabbos all of creation reunites with its source, and through this collective ascent and deveikus, kedushah descends and rests upon the world.

וז"ש ויכל כו' ויברך כו' ויקדש כו' כי בו שבת כו'.

And this is the meaning of "And He finished… and He blessed… and He sanctified… for on it He rested…" (Bereishis 2:2–3)

The Torah's sequence — completion, blessing, sanctification — reflects how Shabbos, when creation rests and returns to its root, becomes infused with holiness.

ובכל מצוה יש קדושה כמ"ש אשר קדשנו וע"י הרצון באדם להתבטל להשי"ת כעבד לעשות רצון רבו שמיוחד אליו.

And in every mitzvah there is holiness, as we say, "Who has sanctified us…" — and through the desire within a person to nullify himself to Hashem like a servant doing his master's will, being unified to Him —

Every mitzvah carries kedushah, as the berachah states. The holiness is activated by the person's ratzon to nullify himself before Hashem like a faithful servant, binding himself wholly to his Master.

עי"ז חל עליו קדושה וזה נותן כח לקיים המצוה.

Through this, holiness rests upon him, and this gives him the strength to fulfill the mitzvah.

That self-nullifying desire draws kedushah onto the person, and that very holiness empowers him to carry out the mitzvah.

וז"ש עזרך מקודש.

And this is the meaning of "your help from the Sanctuary (mi-kodesh)."

Hashem's "help from the holy place" refers to this kedushah that descends to assist a person in his avodah — "from the sanctification of deeds."

אח"כ צריך האדם לקבל רשימה מן המצוה בלבו.

Afterward, a person must receive an impression (reshimah) from the mitzvah in his heart.

After performing the mitzvah, one must let it leave a lasting mark upon his heart, so the experience is not lost.

וז"ש מציון מעשים שבידך.

And this is the meaning of "from Tziyon [the marking] of the deeds in your hand."

"Tziyon" denotes a sign or marking — the enduring imprint that each mitzvah leaves within a person, completing the Midrash's two phases: sanctification and the lasting "mark" of deeds.

ובמד' יכול כמוני ת"ל כי קדוש.

And in the Midrash: "Could it mean [holy] like Me? The verse teaches, 'For [I am] holy' [— My holiness is above yours]." (Vayikra Rabbah 24:9)

The Midrash limits the call to holiness: a person can be holy, but not on Hashem's level, for His holiness transcends all.

קדושתי למעלה כו'.

"My holiness is above [yours]…"

Hashem's kedushah remains infinitely above any holiness a person can attain.

פי' כי כאשר ברא השי"ת כל הנבראים בסדר מיוחד מדרגה אחר מדרגה אין בהם שינוי.

The explanation: when Hashem created all the creatures in a particular order, level after level, there is no change within them.

Creation was set up in a fixed hierarchy of levels, each thing remaining static in its assigned place, unable on its own to rise higher.

אבל ע"י קדושת האדם עולה למדרגה גבוה ואותו מדרגה עולה יותר כנ"ל.

But through the holiness of a person, he ascends to a higher level, and that level itself rises even higher, as above.

Human kedushah breaks the fixed order: a person can elevate himself beyond his assigned rung, and in doing so he lifts that very level higher still — adding holiness "above."

וז"ש לעולם ידך בעליונה.

And this is the meaning of "forever Your hand is uppermost."

Hashem's holiness always remains "uppermost" — yet human avodah continually raises creation toward it, in an ever-ascending movement.

וכתי' נקדש בצדקה ע"י הצדק שמתנהגים בו בנ"י להיות כ"ד במקומו הראוי מעוררין הקדושה למעלה כנ"ל:

And it is written: "[Hashem] is sanctified through righteousness (tzedakah)" (Yeshayahu 5:16) — through the justice with which Bnei Yisrael conduct themselves, keeping each thing in its fitting place, they awaken the holiness above, as above.

When Bnei Yisrael live with tzedek — keeping everything in its rightful, proper place — they arouse and elevate kedushah in the upper worlds, sanctifying even Hashem's Name, as it were.

Summary: Holiness comes from keeping everything in its rightful place — the deeper principle behind the laws of arayos. Bnei Yisrael are uniquely "betrothed" and unified to Hashem, and a latent kedushah lies within all creation, awakened in proportion to how a person aligns himself to Hashem. Through self-nullification in each mitzvah, holiness rests upon a person and empowers him; and uniquely, human holiness can break the fixed order of creation, lifting oneself and all of creation ever higher toward Hashem.