In both of this week’s parshiyos, Acharei Mos and Kedoshim, we read about the various forbidden marriages. And in both of these parshiyos we find that the Torah contrasts the kedusha that Klal Yisroel is charged with over and against the abhorrent actions of the nations (Vayikra 18:3 and 20:23). The question that comes to mind is; why is it important to highlight the fact that the nations were steeped in immorality when Hakodosh Boruch Hu calls upon His nation to live a life of kedusha? Isn’t it enough for us to know that the path of kedusha brings us closer to Hashem while the opposite path tears us away from Him?
Perhaps we can arrive at an understanding of this difficulty when we consider the words of the Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh in Parshas Acharei Mos (Vayikra 18:2). The Ohr Hachaim explains that the only way to overcome the Yetzer Hara of arayos is through the light of the neshama. In other words, man is made of body and neshama. The body pulls in the direction
of materialism and animalistic desires while the neshama enjoys closeness to Hakodosh Boruch Hu. It is only when the person experiences the pleasures of the neshama that he can overcome the pull of the body.
The nations of the world only know of the realm of the body and that is the direction that they lead their lives. This darkness covered humanity until Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov came upon the scene. Our forefathers carved a path for the neshama to lead the body towards kedusha. At Har Sinai all of Klal Yisroel was sanctified and elevated so that their neshamos were empowered to rule over their bodies.
This struggle between the neshama and the body is reflected in the very calling of Klal Yisroel amongst the nations of the world. Klal Yisroel represents a life of neshama, while the nations represent a life of bodily pleasures. Klal Yisroel sees fulfilling the yearning of the neshama as the greatest achievement of man while the nations idolize the pleasures of the body. Klal Yisroel stands for the principle that man is called for something higher than satisfying animalistic drives, while the nations oppose Klal Yisroel’s message because it goes against their understanding of the very purpose of life.
When a person chooses the path of kedusha and the pleasures of the neshama over the darkness of the body it is not only a personal victory for himself. This choice is a national victory in Klal Yisroel’s struggle against the nations of the world to bring humanity into the light of serving Hashem. Perhaps it is for this reason that the Torah highlights the immorality of the nations when calling Klal Yisroel to kedusha. The Torah is reminding us that this struggle between kedusha and immorality is not only a struggle that takes place on an individual level. This is a struggle between nations and every positive step that we take as individuals brings all of us closer to the national objective.
We can perhaps take this a step further and resolve another difficulty that is apparent in Parshas Kedoshim. When the Torah lists the punishments for the different forbidden relationships it also tells us about the punishment for a son who curses his parents. Why is the punishment for one who curses his parents placed in the setting of the forbidden relationships? Speaking against a father and mother is a terrible sin but how is this sin related the sin of arayos?
According to the explanation of the Ohr Hachaim we can see how these two sins are connected. If a person sees himself as a body then there is no reason that his parents would occupy a position of prominence in his life. From the perspective of the body and from the perspective of one who sees the satisfying of the body’s desires as the greatest achievement in life, there is no reason to attach significance to a father and mother. However, if someone sees the purpose of life as allowing the neshama to lead the way, such a person realizes that he does not stand alone. He realizes that the inheritance from Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov together with the impact of Har Sinai are the most important aspects of his very being. It is only through this precious inheritance that we can stand as a nation of neshama people and as individuals who live for the yearning of the neshama.
And this inheritance comes to us through our parents. From the perspective of a people who value the neshama and its yearnings, parents carry a tremendous significance because it is through them that we connect to our forefathers and it is through them that we connect to Har Sinai. Our parents are the ones who gave us this strength as they received it from their parents.
If we see the call to kedusha as a call to have the neshama rule over the body then we can well understand why the punishment for cursing parents should rightly stand alongside the punishments described for the forbidden relationships. Both of these mitzvos call us to see life from the perspective of the neshama and not from the perspective of the body.
May Hakodosh Boruch Hu grant us the strength to live up to our calling as a Goy Kadosh, a nation that lives out the yearning of the neshama. And may we be zoche to see in the ultimate victory of kedusha over the forces that oppose it.