As we depart from Pesach, the holiday of faith, we must reinforce our commitment to embarking on the journey of faith. There is no greater embodiment of emunah than living a spiritual, holistic life in an often torn and chaotic world. As we read Parshas Kedoshim, the words “kedoshim tihiyu”-you shall be holy, ring in our ears. This is not a call to be transcendent, angelic beings, lofty and perfect, beyond the struggle innate within the human condition. This is not permission to deny our humanity and restrict our sense of self. This is a calling to be human, to be the ultimate human, to bring transcendence and spirituality into this world. We don’t aim to escape this world, we aim to transform it.

Kedushah in not transcendence or escapism, it’s marrying transcendence with the imminent. This is the journey of faith, whereby each individual must embark on a quest for internal and objective truth, where we must leave the comfort of the known and travel towards the infinite, towards the future we know we are destined for, towards our own personal and collective purpose. There are five stages in this journey of faith:

1- Emunah Peshutah- Simple Faith:

The first stage that we experience in life is emunah peshutah- simple faith. If you take a two year old child on a walk in the park, all he experiences is life itself. He’ll point at the birds and the trees and exclaim: “whoah!” or point at something and shout, “this!”

He doesn’t yet have a categorized mind, so he doesn’t give names to anything, he simply sees reality as it is. As this child, you experience life with no questions, and no options–everything is simply pure, true, and beautiful.

2- Blind Faith:

Then, you learn how to speak: The world suddenly becomes a mystery. You walk around in wonder and confusion; you have questions; you’re learning to communicate. If you’re taught to believe in Hashem, you do. Not because you have any reason to, but because your parents or teachers tell you that Hashem loves you, that he created you, that he cares about you, and that “He gave you this delicious cookie as a present”.

As you develop through these years, the things you are taught and told become increasingly complex: Hashem can see everything that you do, Hashem can forgive, and He gives you challenges. However you are still at an age where you accept these facts at face value, adopting them because that’s what people tell you is truth. At this stage, belief is obedience, not something you’ve discovered.

3- Experiential faith:

However, as you get older, you want more. You want to meet Hashem, to talk to him. You want to genuinely, deeply believe in Him, but you struggle, it’s hard. If only you could see Him, touch Him, or even hear Him, then you’d believe! You just want some indication that He’s here, watching and caring, just as you were told growing up.

Every once in a while, a “coincidental” encounter with Hashem, the sublime, occurs. Maybe your life was saved, maybe you just made your flight, or just missed it- and later heard it crashed. Maybe you found your soulmate, did well on your test, or got the job. Maybe you had your first child, your illness was cured, or you won against all odds. Maybe you were just in the exact right place, at the exact right time.

Suddenly, you believe. It’s real, at least to you. You’re convinced, you walk around floating on cloud nine. Life is good, pure, true, and beautiful. Here, faith becomes personal, not just something foisted upon you by others.

However, your faith at this stage is simplistic. Somewhere along the line this is no longer enough. You want more; you need more. Rational, logical, and philosophical questions come up. “If God exists then…”, and “How can God exist if….”, or “Why would God do….”. Maybe your life falls apart and you cry out, “How can this be happening to me?!”

4- Rational Knowledge:

The fourth stage is the rational stage. You need rational proofs: Logic, philosophy, science, math, algorithms, and intellect. So you begin to collect proofs.

A- The Big Bang may explain how the world came about, but where did the big bang come from? Something higher must have set it into action, there must be a source of the very matter that made up the Big Bang.

B- The world is so sophisticated and organized to an extent that is impossible to have randomly come about. It must have been created and ordered this way by something higher.

C- Quantum physics shows that the world is an expression of a supreme consciousness, so Hashem must be the neshama- the consciousness- of the world.

D- Einstein proved that time and space is relative, in that each human being experiences a present in relation to himself. Objectively though, there is a dimension that transcends time and space. Hashem must be that which transcends time and space!

This fourth stage is tremendously more developed than the two before it. At this stage, your faith is something you have worked towards intellectually and developmentally, something that you have devoted thought and research towards. However, in truth, this stage is limited as well. You may have proven that Hashem exists, but it ends there. Knowing that Hashem exists does not mean that you have a relationship with Him. It does not help you truly know Him, to connect on the deepest of levels.

The Ramchal- Rav Moshe Luzzatto- explains in his sefer Da’as Tevunos- The Knowing Heart, that rational proofs may reveal Hashem’s existence, but they do not allow for a deeper understanding and knowledge of Hashem. You may know that God exists, but what does that mean experientially, how does this manifest in your actual experience of life? You know that G-d exists, but there is more. While many people stop here, we are enjoined to push ourselves farther. This is why we need the fifth level.

5- Experiential Knowledge- Truly Experiencing and Knowing Hashem:

There are certain things which cannot be explained rationally. They transcend logical and rational explanations, they can only be experienced. These phenomena are not irrational, they are post-rational. Reason and logic lead you to them, but only experience itself can verify them. If you have experienced something from this realm, you cannot simply prove its existence to someone else, for one must experience it himself in order to truly know it. For example, if someone has never eaten chocolate before, it is impossible to explain to them what it tastes like. They need to taste it and experience it themselves. The same is true for spiritual wisdom:

A- Love cannot be explained, only experienced. The physiological effects of love on our bodies and minds can be observed, but the power and driving force behind love cannot be rationally explained.

B- Although it is impossible to logically and rationally prove the existence of free will, the fact that you possess free will is experienced every time you face a moral dilemma. The genuine pull towards evil and the rich satisfaction when we triumph is inherent to human decision making, and yet it is impossible to scientifically pin down the origins of decision making in our brains.

C- True goodness cannot be explained, only experienced. If you ask someone to explain the nature and meaning of what is good and right, he or she may be able to give you examples, but the truth of what is good lies beyond the realm of logic, it is something we know deeply within ourselves.

D- The fact that life has meaning and purpose is intrinsic to the human experience, and yet impossible to prove.

E- You know deep down that you are unique, that you were created for a reason, and that you have a unique mission in this world, yet again, it is impossible to prove.

The above phenomena defy logical and rational explanations. They are experienced deep within our consciousness, deep within our existential experience of reality.

Deeper Torah knowledge as well requires this post-rational experience, weaving your way into the inner dimensions of Torah consciousness. At this stage, you see reality as it is. No questions, no options, everything is just pure, true, beautiful.

But then you notice something grand, euphoric, and unexplainable: This was the exact experience you had during the first stage! Your journey through life was actually the creation of an epic and cosmic circle. You lost that transcendent connection to oneness, so that you could journey through life to rebuild it! Except this time, it’s real, it’s earned, and therefore it’s yours; you chose it, you built it, and now you get to experience it!

Life is full of ups and downs, light and darkness, clarity and faith. Belief is not static, it’s a process- something you must constantly build, mold, and develop.

When in the midst of struggle and darkness, remember how far you’ve come, remember why you’re here, remember your why in life, and then push forward, push forward, and take the next leap forward in your journey of faith!

This week, we saw the intersection, of another murder spree at a synagogue in America, Holocaust Remembrance Day in Israel, and the weekly Parsha (Torah reading), Kedoshim. This intersectionality brings us the news of the day, the edge of the abyss, and a deep deep learning…

“…Kedoshim Tihiyu – You shall be holy, because Holy (Kadosh) am I, HaShem (literally The Name, i.e. the God of Israel – implying a relationship of mercy) Elokeinu, your God (implying a relationship of restriction),” (Leviticus 19:2).

But what is Kedushah, holiness, sanctity?

On the most fundamental level, it means separation as in “You shall be holy to Me, for I HaShem am holy; and have separated you from the nations to be Mine,” (Leviticus 20:26). Its a restriction, from things forbidden by the God of Israel, in the Torah. The medieval commentator Rashi explains it as, refraining specifically from forbidden sexual relations, such as homosexuality and bestiality (as described in the parsha, Leviticus 20:13, 15-16), and Aveirot – sins in general. The Ramban, another medieval commentator, goes further and says it’s not limited to any particular Mitzvot (commandments), rather it is a mindset of moderation and self-restraint, self-restriction even in what’s permitted, going beyond the letter of the law, out of love for God, and that sanctifies a person.

Rav Avraham Yitzhak HaKohen Kook in his book, Orot HaKodesh (Lights of Holiness), refers to the Talmud, Sukkah 21b, that says, “the everyday conversation between Torah scholars needs learning.” He elucidates, that even when talking about the news of the day, their words are full of Kedushah, because they are concerned about how it effects Am Yisrael (the Jewish people), and Am Yisrael’s goal of bringing holiness to the world, in serving HaShem.

Rav Kook goes further, “Kedushah is a normal lifestyle, just on a higher plane of existence.” He continues, Kedushah, doesn’t mean separating yourself from daily life, but rather uplifting those seemingly mundane activities, and infusing them with deeper spiritual meaning, with the intention of doing good for Am Yisrael. Thus, fulfilling Am Yisrael’s mission, to live as a Torah nation, bringing ethics, morality, and a true understanding of divinity to humankind, through serving God in this world.

Rav Kook then explains, Kedushah is an internal developmental progression, from the individual ego concern, to grow to include, encompass and be part of the Klal (Am Yisrael). The intention of someone infused with Kedushah, is that every thought and action, be for the welfare and benefit, of the whole nation of Israel.

And what are Kedoshim?

“There are Kedoshim, holy individuals, who have sanctified themselves,” Rav Kook continues, “who have connected themselves to the Holy One, Blessed Be He (God), on the one hand, and to all of creation, all of mankind on the other. Through their holy visions, their holy perceptions, they actually go out and do things for the benefit of Am Yisrael, and for the good of mankind. They are the ones who bring blessing, pleasantness, feelings of peace and friendship from the source of all wisdom (God), to the world.”

Rav Kook then says, “These masters of this lofty Kedushah, negate their own personal life, and live a life that transcends and includes everything…the holiness of this person, the definition of this Kedushah, is not that he separates himself and is ascetic [like on a mountain top], because he lives with everybody’s heart. Someone like this, who restricts himself to his own Torah learning and prayer, his own service of God, will suffer, because his Soul which is filled with the entire creation, is being squeezed, like with a pliers.” This type of Kadosh, holy individual, wants to be a giver and not a taker, he sanctifies God’s name through his elevated character and behavior.

But there’s another meaning of Kedoshim…

Those who have been killed for being Jewish, like in the recent synagogue attacks in Pittsburgh and Poway, California, or during the Holocaust. And also, those killed defending the Jewish people, like IDF soldiers in Israel, Jews killed settling the land of Israel (a Mitzvah) in terror attacks, or defending the Jewish people’s way of life, the Torah and Mitzvot.

We call these people Kedoshim, holy ones, who died “Al Kiddush HaShem” (to sanctify God’s Name). There are Kedoshim (individual Jews) who live lives of holiness, and those who even if they hadn’t, died in holiness.

But whereas for an individual Jew, it is a Kiddush HaShem dying for God, Torah, the people and land of Israel, the inverse concept is true on the national level. Every attack on Jews, pogrom and holocaust, and war made against Israel, is a Chillul HaShem (as if, an emptying of God’s Name, His presence in the world). From the perspective of the nations, its as if, the God of Israel isn’t strong enough to protect His people. Like the way Nazis abused and killed Jews, laughed, and asked, “Where’s your God, if he’s so powerful, why isn’t he helping you now?”

So too, as it says in Ezekiel 36:20-21, “When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My Holy Name, for it was said of them, ‘These are the Lord’s people, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My Holy Name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations (Chillul HaShem), where they had gone.” It seemed to the nations, as if the God of Israel wasn’t strong enough to keep them in His land.

“Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My Holy Name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. I will sanctify My Great Name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am HaShem, says the Lord God, “when I am sanctified through you (Kiddush HaShem), before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you back into your own land,” (Ezekiel 36:22-24). Proving finally to the nations, that the God of Israel exists.

Anger, hatred, vengence, killing and bloodshed, are generally looked down upon, even forbidden in Judaism, and not the purview of elevated character for an individual, as in Leviticus 19:18, “You shall not take revenge…” Yet again, we see the inverse concept, on the national level for Am Yisrael.

The Book of Numbers (31:1-3), describes the battle against Midian, after what they did to the Jewish people, “HaShem spoke to Moshe saying: Take vengeance on the Midianites for the Children of Israel. After that, you will be gathered to your people [you will die]. So Moses said to the people: Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord’s vengeance on them.”

Moshe could have stalled for time, to live longer, but filled with Kedushah, he lusted to see vengence carried out on the Midianites (Kiddush HaShem), and rushed to carry out HaShem’s command.

The rabbis of the midrash (Tanchuma Matot 3) ask: HaShem say’s ‘the Children of Israel’s vengence,’ and yet Moshe tells the Israelites, ‘HaShem’s Vengence?’ They explain that Moshe, then said to God: “if we were uncircumcised idol worshippers, they wouldn’t hate us, but because you gave us Your Torah they hate us,” and the rabbis conclude by teaching, the vengence of Am Yisrael, to eliminate a Chillul HaShem, is God’s Vengence, and a Kiddush HaShem.

So while those indiviual Jews killed in hate crimes, terror attacks, and the Holocaust, died Al Kiddush HaShem; for the nation of Israel as a nation, its a Chillul HaShem, and needs to be avenged. To avenge the Jewish people’s honor, is to avenge God’s Honor in this world. To see the punishment of the wicked, brings Kiddush HaShem into the world. Then and only then, do the nations really know there is a God of Israel!

Ariel Natan Pasko, an independent analyst and consultant, has a Master’s Degree specializing in International Relations, Political Economy & Policy Analysis. His articles appear regularly on numerous news/views and think-tank websites and in newspapers. His latest articles can also be read on his archive: The Think Tank by Ariel Natan Pasko.