The attainment of kedushah is fundamentally bound up with perishus—separation—as the Midrash states explicitly (Sifra Kedoshim Parshah 1): “קדושים תהיו – פרושים תהיו”—You shall be holy—you shall be separate. Likewise, the Rokeach declares in the introduction to his sefer: “There is no kedushah like perishus.” This prompts us to reflect deeply: Why is kedushah acquired specifically through perishus?
Furthermore, a question arises from the avodah we have been engaged in during this recent period. We have clarified repeatedly that the highest level of the avodah of kedushah is realized precisely when it emerges from our involvement in the reality of ordinary, everyday life—based on the recognition that even these mundane aspects can serve as a dwelling place for the holy Shechinah. Yet perishus entails a complete withdrawal and disconnection from that very reality of simple life, as though mundane existence in and of itself could never truly be sanctified, requiring one to separate from it entirely. At first glance, these two ma’alos seem to stand in contradiction. How can we hold both ends of the rope?
The Inner Dimension of Kedushah
The core of the ma’alah of kedushah lies in the capacity to perceive an inner world that transcends external appearances—to discern profound messages and sublime content even in what might otherwise appear merely materialistic or animalistic. This higher vision does not negate the simple, surface-level perception; rather, it adds a deeper, more elevated layer upon it. For instance, food set before a person may evoke nothing more than a physical craving for consumption, yet from a loftier perspective it can awaken profound feelings of gratitude to the Borei Yisborach.
The Essential Role of Perishus
In order for these higher insights and understandings to become genuine—to be truly seen and lived, rather than remaining mere intellectual abstractions—we need the ma’alah of perishus. That is, we must step back somewhat, releasing our tight grip on gross materialism just enough to gain perspective. Only then can we view reality differently. So long as one remains fully immersed in the depths of desire, a higher perspective remains unattainable; any claim to it would ring hollow within the soul, amounting to nothing more than lip service.
Every mitzvah possesses the power to draw a person into a realm of kedushah. Through the mitzvah of tzitzis, one can behold a world suffused with the sanctity of garments; through the simple act of eating bread, entire worlds of chesed, bris, Torah, and Eretz Yisrael open up—as we express in Birkas Hamazon. Yet for this not to be an empty gesture—a check without funds behind it—one must first step back and separate to some degree from the yetzer hara’s hold. Only then can one truly perceive that inner dimension and, ultimately, live in accordance with it.
The Relationship Between Perishus and Kedushah
Indeed, the ultimate ma’alah of kedushah is to be revealed from within simple life itself. But to achieve this, we must first attain the ma’alah of perishus. In other words, perishus serves as a necessary prerequisite toward kedushah, upon which kedushah itself depends. This sequence is evident in the well-known teaching of Rabbi Pinchas ben Yair (Avodah Zarah 20b), where the rungs of perishus precede those of kedushah—for only through perishus can one reach the kedushah that ultimately sanctifies actual, everyday life.
The Distinction Between Yiddishkeit and Other Religions
When we contemplate this matter carefully, we discern the fundamental point of divergence between holy Yiddishkeit and the impure religions of the nations. The nations maintain that mundane life is inherently materialistic and incapable of holiness; sanctity, they hold, can be attained only by completely renouncing and disconnecting from all human, material reality. This is why they placed their idols upon mountaintops—to symbolize that only those who ascend to the summit and detach themselves entirely from ordinary life can be deemed holy. Accordingly, the priests of those nations practiced extreme separation from life itself.
Our holy Torah, however, fundamentally rejects this view. It asserts that we possess the capacity to sanctify our actual, lived lives as they are. Chazal therefore teach (Zevachim 54b) that the Beis HaMikdash was not built at Ein Eitam, the highest point, but rather as it is written, “Between His shoulders He dwells.” The Borei Yisborach desires a dwelling place specifically in the lower worlds (Tanchuma Naso 16). The pinnacle of the ma’alah of kedushah is to reveal Hashem from within ostensibly simple life and reality itself—even in a truly lowly place. There too a person can become sanctified and perceive his life through a higher lens, for the dwelling place of the Borei remains with Yisrael even “in the midst of their impurity” (Vayikra 16:16), right in the midst of their lived reality as it truly is.
With the conclusion of the period of Shovavim—during which we have merited to contemplate, clarify, and refine somewhat the ma’alah of kedushah and the means of acquiring it—let us offer a tefillah and hope that we may succeed, even modestly, in separating and stepping back from the yetzer hara’s grasp. In so doing, we will be able to perceive higher and more sublime layers of meaning within our simple lives, thereby meriting to sanctify our lives and to build within ourselves an actual dwelling place for the sake of His Name, Yisborach.