Rabbi's Corner

We read in this week's parashah, Parashat Shemot, the following: " And He [HaShem] said, 'Do not approach here; take off your shoes from upon your feet, for the place upon which you are standing --- it is holy ground.'"(Shemot 3:5)  This command by HaShem is preceded by Moshe tending to Yitro's sheep near Har Sinai (Mount Sinai).  When he looked up at the mountain, Moshe saw a burning thorn bush on the mountain which did not appear to be consumed by the fire.  When he proceeded to investigate this "unnatural" phenomenon, Moshe was given this command by Hashem.  One question that might be asked is why Moshe was not told beforehand that the mountain was holy.  Even more important, what would cause the mountain to be holy in the first place?

Our tradition teaches that although HaShem infused all of creation with the potential to be holy, He expects human beings to "activate" the holiness found in this world.  In fact, the ability to make something holy was given over to humankind.  Our Torah tells us that it was Moshe - not HaShem - who made the Mishkan (the Wilderness Tabernacle) and all of it utensils holy. Each Rosh Chodesh (the Head of the Month) was determined by the Beit Din (the Rabbinical Court) in Yerushalayim. Before the Torah was given to B'Nei Yisrael (the Children of Israel) by Hashem, they were told the following: "And Moshe said to HaShem, 'The people may not ascend the Mountain of Sinai, for Y-u Y-urself have warned us saying, "Set a boundary around the mountain [Har Sinai] and you shall make it holy." (Shemot 19:23)  When Moshe first walked upon Har Sinai, the mountain itself was not yet holy.  Even though the Shechinah (HaShem's Holy Presence) was there, Moshe had not yet made it sacred.  It was only after Moshe recognized the Shechinah in the burning bush and received direct communication from Hashem that the ground upon which he was walking actually become holy.

A man-made material is defined as one that is manufactured through human effort.  The process is usually begun by using raw materials that become finished products through human effort and ingenuity.  But our job as human beings - especially our job as Am Yisrael ( the People Israel) - is to take the physical world which HaShem has given over to us and create holiness within it by following the mitzvot of the Torah.  The Torah thus tells us that holiness does not just happen --- it is made by us.