By: Miriam Cohen (9th)
The statement, “You shall be holy, for I, Adonai, your God am holy”, is mentioned more than 10 times in this week’s Parasha. How come? Our Rabbis suggest that when we hear an affirmation repeated, we are more inclined to absorb the truth. The Torah is making sure we understand that as Hashem’s children, we share His divine nature.
Our births are more than what science tells us: we come into this world with a divine spark. Our holiness comes from the breath of a force greater than ourselves and we therefore remain connected to it- whether we are conscious of it or not.
This can be seen when Hashem spoke to Moshe. He said, “Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, Adonai, your God am holy.” In this opening sentence, the nation is referred to as B’nai Yisrael, the children of Israel (Yaakov). Through Yaakov, we understand that we all have the potential to connect to Hashem ready to spark.