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"Mitzvah to the Max," an But, I could also grill 17 exhaustive account steaks and eat them in one sit- of the lavish bar and bat mitz- ting. That would be kosher, vah parties that some in the but it would also be gross. Detroit Jewish community "And," tells us Ramban, "it throw certainly wouldn't be holy." The reporter wrote, "Many In commanding us "You worry that readers will mistak- shall be holy," the Torah does- enly conclude that all such par- n't repeat an admonition to ties are extravagant, a percep- keep the commandments God tion that may feed unflattering already enumerated. Rather, Jewish stereotypes." God teaches us that we must "Mistakenly?" "May feed RABBI learn to sanctify our actions unflattering stereotypes?" REUVEN even in the realm of the per- Whom is he kidding? SPOLTER mitted. God has no problem The article did contain one Special to the with my enjoying a beer or inaccuracy: "Some Jews, espe- Jewish News two. But, when I drink a keg cially in Orthodox families, still or two, it sure isn't holy. reject the spectacular for lower- While Kedoshim means "holy," the key luncheons ..." While technically true, Torah employs the word in its plural the casual reader might get the impres- form. While the word kadosh would refer sion that the Orthodox community to one holy person, kedoshim refers to doesn't suffer from this type of commu- many. In relaying this commandment, nal lavishness. Hardly. We in the God tells Moshe, "Speak to the entire Orthodox community are quite good at community of the children of Israel and drowning ourselves in debt to invite our , tell them, 'You shall be holy'' 600 closest friends to a wedding, corn- Holiness isn't simply a personal issue. plete with a full smorgasbord, French It's a communal commandment. When service and open bar. We have lost our each of us individually makes the right communal sense of tzniut or modesty. choices in our own personal lives, we ele- This is not a Conservative or Reform vate not just ourselves, but our commu- problem. It's a Jewish problem that we all nity as well. need to work on together. The Torah contains no prohibition "You shall be holy," demands God at against spending half-a-million dollars on the outset of this week's parshah (Torah your son's bar mitzvah. And it offers no portion). We all like to be holy. But it's a explicit injunction against serving steak pretty vague commandment. How do to 600 of my dosest friends at my you do it? How does one achieve sanctity daughter's wedding. But the question mired by the challenges and pitfalls of each of us must ask ourselves when we daily life? plan our simchah is: "Will it make my Rashi, the famous French medieval event holy? Will it make my community commentator, sees the commandment as holy? Is it really Mitzvah to the Max?" 111 an injunction to refrain from sexual Shabbat Kedoshim: Leviticus 19:1-20:27; Numbers 28:9-15; Isaiah 66:1-24. PREMIUM MEMBERSHIP INCLUDES: 1 WEEK New Members Only. Loud Residents Only. Come In For Details. ID Required. Torah Portion All Levels Are Welcome Bikram's YOGA COLLEGE OF INDIA 28857 Orchard Lake Rd. Come in for a tour! depravity. Others consider it an overarch- ing, general demand: Keep the entire Torah and it will sanctify you. But, Ramban (Nachmanides), a Spanish scholar who lived more than 500 years Reuven Spolter is rabbi of Young Israel of Oak Park. His e-mail address is rabbispolter@yiop.org Conversations At the end of the Torah portion, God explicitly connects observing the Torah and inheriting the land of Israel. (20:23-24) What can we learn from this important rela- tionship about the land of Israel? s : \