Self Made Holiness

Self Made Holiness  

Many people expect inspiration to come from above. “If G-d really wants me to follow the Torah”, they argue, “he would plant within my heart a burning desire to do so”. “If G-d felt it important that I dedicate time to Torah study”, they insist, “then I would be born with a natural draw to the wisdom of the Torah”. What they are saying in effect is, “if G-d wanted me to be holy  he would have made me holy from the womb, without any effort necessary on my part”. When  they think about holiness, they think of G-d descending on Mount Sinai to inspire a people who could not inspire themselves.

This, argue the last verses in Leviticus, is just one form of holiness. The highest form of holiness, however, is the one that is man made.

On the last page of the book of Leviticus, at the culmination of the book about the various offerings and the temple services, the Torah discusses two categories of holy animals which must be offered in the temple. The first is the Bechor[1], the firstborn animal; and the second, the last offering of the book of Leviticus, is the Maaser[2],  the tithe, every tenth animal born.

These two offerings represent the two forms of holiness; the first is imparted by G-d, the second is man made.

The Bechor is sacred by virtue of being born first. No human intervention necessary. As Maimonides explains:

It is a mitzvah to sanctify a firstborn kosher animal and say: "Behold, this is holy," as the verse states: "Every firstborn shall you sanctify unto God your Lord." Even if the owner did not sanctify it, it is sanctified as a matter of course. It is sanctified upon its emergence from the womb[3].

The last offering on the book, the Maaser, is not sacred until the Jew sanctifies it himself. As explained by Maimonides:  

He should gather all of the lambs or all of the calves born that year in a corral. He then makes a small entrance so that two cannot emerge at the same time. He positions their mothers outside the corral and they bleat so that the lambs will hear their voices and leave the corral to meet them. This is necessary, as implied by the verse which states: "all that passes beneath the staff," i.e., they must pass on their own initiative; one should not remove them by hand.

As they leave the corral one by one, the owner begins to count them with a staff: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. The tenth animal that departs, whether male or female, whether unblemished or blemished, should be painted with red paint, and the owner should say: "This is the tithe."[4]

The book  dealing with all offerings, culminates with the Masser offering,, specifically because its holiness is dependant on man. The person does not expect G-d to inspire him.  The person is required to take steps for self inspiration. He cannot rely on heaven to send him a first-born-already-assembled dose of inspiration. Here he must gather his lambs and calves, he must count, he must apply the red paint. It’s in his hands. By doing so he realizes that the true holiness is created only when a person is the one generating the inspiration.      

Don’t wait for the inspiration to come from above and fill your heart with a passion for G-d. Even if you are not in the mood, count your sheep and give one to G-d, take some time of your day and sanctify it, use it to pray, to study Torah, to do a Mitzvah. It may not be as dramatic as the holiness that comes from above, but it is what G-d finds most meaningful[5].

[1]           Leviticus 27:26: “However, a firstborn animal that must be [sacrificed as] a firstborn to the Lord no man may consecrate it; whether it be an ox or sheep, it belongs to the Lord”.

[2]           Leviticus 27:32: “Any tithe of cattle or flock of all that pass under the rod, the tenth shall be holy to the Lord”.

[3]           Bechorot 1:4.

[4]           Bechorot 7:1

[5]           Based on the teachings of the Rebbe, Lekutey Sichos Vol. 17, Bechukosay Sicha 3.