{"id":45526,"date":"2018-12-11T14:29:58","date_gmt":"2018-12-11T12:29:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=45526"},"modified":"2022-07-06T10:47:37","modified_gmt":"2022-07-06T07:47:37","slug":"holiness-is-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/holiness-is-negative\/","title":{"rendered":"Holiness Is Negative"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[413,480,429],"acf":{"old_id":"45526","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":33859,"related_cahpter":"109","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Sanctify yourself - don\u2019t sacrifice others in your quest for holiness","content":"

In chapter 19, holiness is (almost) wholly negative.<\/span><\/p>\n

Not in the sense that it’s bad, but rather, \u201cnegative\u201d along the lines of Isaiah Berlin’s concept of ‘negative liberty’, as opposed to ‘positive liberty’. Holiness in chapter 19 is overwhelmingly defined as things we don’t do, not things that we must do. Even statements which are not phrased negatively are understood this way. To safeguard the Shabbat is expressed by observing its negative commandments, to fear one’s parents and honor the elderly are expressed by <\/span>not<\/b> sitting in their place, interrupting them or contradicting them. And the overarching principle of ‘love your neighbor’ is famously recast by Hillel as ‘<\/span>don’t <\/b>do to others what you yourself despise.’<\/span><\/p>\n

Why so negative? Wouldn’t it be more empowering to cast holiness in terms of positive actions we are enjoined to do, not just ‘thou shalt nots\u2019 to refrain from?<\/span><\/p>\n

In his two concepts of liberty on a societal level, Berlin is actually more positively inclined towards negative liberty, and vice versa. As noble as the idea of striving for positive liberty seems, when that becomes the goal of society, authoritarianism tends to flourish, and individual liberties tend to get trampled in the service of the “shared” goal, which is usually not truly shared by all members of society. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pursuit of holiness contains a similar danger. The first time Moses is told to make the people holy in the lead up to receiving the Torah (in chapter 19 of Exodus, coincidentally), an interesting thing happens. Instead of limiting the people (<\/span>‘hagbel et ha’am<\/span><\/em>‘), he limits the space around them <\/span>(‘<\/span><\/i>hagbel et hahar<\/span><\/em>‘). <\/span><\/i>Often, we see people’s striving for holiness expressed by imposing demands on others- where they can go, how they can travel, how they can dress, where they can sing. In the Israeli public space, it’s a point of constant contention, and a source of endless desecration of God’s name, <\/span>chillul Hashem<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The way to holiness, the Torah says, is – ‘<\/span>vehitkadishtem<\/span><\/em>!’.<\/span><\/i> Make <\/span>yourself<\/b> holy (20:7). The obligation is reflexive. <\/span><\/p>\n

We are not to sacrifice others for our own sanctity. <\/span>That<\/b> is Molech’s worship. <\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":67678,"id":67678,"title":"is45-good and evil","filename":"is45-good-and-evil.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/one-god\/is45-good-and-evil\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"is45-good-and-evil","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":67677,"date":"2019-12-24 14:55:32","modified":"2022-07-06 07:47:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1920,"height":1483,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-300x232.jpg","medium-width":300,"medium-height":232,"medium_large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-768x593.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":593,"large":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1024x791.jpg","large-width":1024,"large-height":791,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1186,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil.jpg","2048x2048-width":1920,"2048x2048-height":1483,"post_full_size":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-1200x927.jpg","post_full_size-width":1200,"post_full_size-height":927,"home_baner":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/is45-good-and-evil-544x420.jpg","home_baner-width":544,"home_baner-height":420}},"embedded_video":"","video_duration":"","show_fb_comments":true,"credit_media":""},"tile":{"top_caption":"","main_caption":"Holiness Is Negative","main_caption_size":"1","sub_caption":"Sanctify yourself - 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