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This week’s Torah reading contains one of the most unusual commandments in the Torah;
“And I (G-d) will be made Holy within the Jewish people”. (22:32)
It means to die for Judaism.
At first glance this is not understood.
Firstly, what is so great about dying? Judaism stresses LIVING in THIS world.
Secondly, how does this Torah sentence about being Holy imply giving your life for G-d?
Third: The Torah is a book of the Creator for purity and holiness! But death is a destroyer and brings ‘TUMA’ (defilement) which is the OPPOSITE of holiness!
Fourth: what does the G-d mean here by the words. “I will be made Holy” Isn’t G-d already Holy?

To understand all this here is a story I saw in a weekly pamphlet called “HaG’ula” (issue #254) that took place some 50 years ago.

Rabbi Shneur Zalman Gur-Arie a devoted and well-known Chassid of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Rabbi Menchem Shneerson, was important, respected and beloved, especially in Chabad circles.
So it wasn’t very difficult for him to arrange a private audience for a business acquaintance and friend of his whom we will call Yitzchak with the Rebbe.
This Yitzchak was in trouble. His fifteen-year-old daughter, his only child, was suffering from a large cyst in her stomach that the doctors said was life-threatening and had to be removed surgically but they weren’t optimistic.
The operation would not be an easy one, and they warned him that there was a definite possibility that it wouldn’t succeed.
All this threw poor Yitzchak into a panic. She was his pride and joy and the ‘apple of his eye. He couldn’t even bear the thought of ….. G-d forbid!! He was desperate.
Then an acquaintance suggested that there was a Rabbi called the Lubavitcher Rebbe who gave blessings and that people with worse problems had been helped.
Yitzchak was not much of a believer in such things, in fact he wasn’t much of a believer at all. But now he was willing to do anything. And that is where Rabbi Gur-Arie came into the picture. Yitzchak had known him for many years and now in desperation he telephoned him and asked him to arrange a meeting with the Rebbe for a blessing as soon as possible.
Rabbi Gur-Arie made a few phone calls and instead of having to wait months the next evening they entered the Rebbe’s room.
As soon as the door closed behind them Yitzchak was already wishing that he hadn’t come. This whole ultra-religion business was totally against his grain. He should have just sent a message with Rabbi Gur Arie. But it was too late now he was already inside. Not only that, but Rabbi Gur-Arie was his friend he couldn’t just walk out and leave him….  and, who knows, maybe the blessings really did work; he had to think about his daughter.
The Rebbe was very cordial, asked what the problem was and after listening intently, answered.
“I think it is better to put off the operation for a few months, say two or three, until the Jewish month of Adar. Adar is a joyous month and will have a positive influence.”
Yitzchak nodded his head in agreement. The Rebbe spoke with such certainty and authority that it left no room for doubt.
Then the Rebbe asked which school his daughter was learning at. Yitzchak replied with a proud smile that she was learning in a Jewish Hebrew school (that happened to be totally non-religious), not a public school.
The Rebbe replied. “You should enroll her in Bait Yaakov Orthodox Jewish girl’s academy. She will like it better there and it is important to her wellbeing. In the previous generations genuine Torah education was given at home and there was no influence from outside. But in our generation, it is necessary that girls get quality Jewish education.”
This was too much for Yitzchak. “Excuse me Rabbi” He protested. “My daughter is very happy where she is and so are her mother and I. We don’t want to be orthodox and neither does our daughter! I didn’t come to ask about that.”
To this the Rebbe smiled and replied. “I am not a doctor, but nevertheless you are willing to take my medical advice. Correct? On the other hand, I am an expert in education; In this I have been working all my life. So why do you oppose my advice in education?”
But it didn’t help. Yitzchak just mumbled a few words of thanks and backed out of the room.
The fact is, he was a bit angry for the Rebbe entering his personal matters but, as the Rebbe said, he did take the Rebbe’s medical advice and blessing seriously; He decided to push off the operation.
Time passed and Rabbi Gur-Arie was so busy that he all but forgot the entire incident. But a month later he happened to meet someone that knew Yitzchak and updated him.
He told him that Yitzchak had indeed pushed off the operation, according to the advice of the Rebbe and against the orders of the doctors. But his daughter’s situation, instead of getting better got much worse! In fact, the cyst grew to the point that the doctors were afraid to operate at all.
Rabbi Gur-Arie immediately dropped all he was doing and rushed to the Rebbe’s headquarters to report the shocking news about the girl and ask advice. The answer was quick in coming. The Rebbe replied. “Did her father enroll her in Bait Yaakov?”
Rabbi Gur-Arie understood what the Rebbe wanted; he should call Yitzchak and tell him. But there was no way that he could call him!
First of all, Yitzchak didn’t have any faith in these things from the beginning; he already got angry when the Rebbe suggested changing schools. So probably he was really mad now. He took the Rebbe’s advice and now his daughter was on the verge of death!
For SURE he wouldn’t enroll his daughter in a different school It was out of the question!! He would never accept the advice, never!! A phone call would just fan the flames of hatred! The best thing was to wait and pray for the best.
But Rabbi Gur-Arie was a Chassid, and a Chassid does what the Rebbe says….. in joy.
He ignored all his doubts, picked up the phone and dialed Yitzchak’s number. He would just give over the Rebbe’s message like a Chassid should.
Yitzchak answered, Rabbi Gur-Arie repeated the Rebbe’s message and after a few seconds of silence Yitzchak just said. “I understand” and hung up.
Two weeks later Rav Gur-Arie’s phone rang. He picked it up and it was Yitzchak.
“She’s better! It’s a miracle Rabbi Gur-Arie! A miracle!!
“After I hung up the phone with you, Rabbi, I called the offices of Bait Yaakov and enrolled my daughter. I thought to myself ‘What could it hurt’? Well, the next day she felt a bit better and the day after the cyst broke open and began drying up! The operation the doctor’s said was impossible wasn’t even necessary! It was a miracle! Now she’s back home completely healthy! Please give a big thanks to the Rebbe for the miracle. I also just wrote a letter to him but you thank him as well.”
The next time that Rabbi Gur-Arie was in the Rebbe’s office he repeated what Yitzchak had told him about how grateful he was for the miracle and how it had a deep effect on everyone who heard about it.
The Rebbe smiled and said. “The girl was a miracle but the real miracle was you! Namely that you overcame your doubts and gave over my message. That was the miracle!”

This answers our questions:

The essence of Judaism is that G-d is ‘ONE’ namely that the Heavens and earth (spiritual and physical) are His constant miraculous creations ….. from nothing.
This is the truth.
But G-d purposely made creation in such a way that it ‘hides’ this truth and He ‘Chose’ the Jews, and gave them His Torah, to ‘reveal’ it.
This is what it means to ‘Make G-d Holy”: to reveal this ONEness even here in every detail of the world. As the Torah says ‘Ain od Milvado’ namely there is no existence except the Almighty Creator.
But this often requires self-sacrifice; overcoming one’s own human nature and selfish logic as Rabbi Gur Arie did in our story.
That is why, since Abraham began Judaism 4,000 years ago, Millions of Jews have sacrificed everything, even their very lives, to assert (and not deny) G-d’s oneness: ‘unifying’ G-d.
But according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, now we must have self-sacrifice to do more good deeds, to benefit others and improve the world like Rabbi Gur-Arie in our story.
That is what the Rebbe meant when he said we must open our eyes and begin living in the days of Moshiach.
Namely, to rise above our natural selfish natures and do everything possible to create a world that is filled with meaning, blessing and joy, void of hatred, jealousy and strife and filled with the revelation of the Creator that we pray for daily especially in the ‘Alenu’ prayer.

And it is in our ability to bring Moshiach even one moment sooner, and not much is lacking.
We are standing on the merits of thousands of years of Jewish prayers, self-sacrifice, faith and suffering.
Now it could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can bring …. Moshiach NOW!!

Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel 

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