“Holy nation” is not simply an appellation describing the Jewish People, but, additionally, it is an imperative which obliges us to live in a specific manner. When one is holy, he cannot do what he wants. He has a responsibility, not only to himself and the collective Jewish People, he also has an obligation to Hashem. People are influenced by the actions of others. When one Jew sanctifies Hashem’s Name, it inspires others to follow suit, because kedushah, holiness, is intrinsic. Hashem is the source of holiness, and it is from our connection to Him that we draw kedushah.
Every Jew has a personal and intimate relationship with Hashem. This relationship exceeds beyond individual connections to encompass the entire Jewish community. So, if one Jew does not “avail” himself of Hashem’s kedushah, it remains available to him whenever he decides to connect. Each member of the Jewish community, regardless of his religious beliefs and practice, is inter-connected, sharing in the spiritual heritage and responsibilities of their forebears. Thus, when one individual within the community acts in a positive manner, his/her actions have a transformative effect on others. This is because the actions of each person serve as a reminder of the shared values and commitments that bind our nation together.
In essence, the interconnectedness of the Jewish People is seen as a reflection of their shared connection to Hashem. When one Jew is mekadesh shem Shomayim, sanctifies the Name of Heaven, he contributes to the collective spiritual elevation of the entire community. Even one who is not on par with his spiritual level will benefit from this act, because we are all connected to Hashem.
The following story underscores our collective kedushah and how one person’s action can inspire another. In one Bais Yaakov, girls’ school, in Yerushalayim, the morah, teacher, who always wore a shaitel, wig, walked into class wearing a tichel, fabric head covering. To the young students, this presented an anomaly. The young eight-year-old girls in her class would not quell their curiosity, “Morah, why is today different than any other day? We have never seen you come to class in anything but a shaitel.” The teacher looked at them in surprise, “Are you not aware of what happened in the frum, observant, community?” It was discovered that the wigs, which were imported from India, were not permissible to be worn. [Apparently, the hair from India which is used for making wigs is derived from women who grow their hair in honor of one of their gods, pledging to cut their hair at the temple as a sacrificial offering of gratitude for answering their prayers. This is a big business with millions cutting their hair as part of this idolatrous rite. The wigs derived from this hair have been prohibited by some of the leading poskim, halachic decisors.] As a result of the ban, this teacher removed her wig and, in the interim, before she purchased another wig, she wore a tichel.
At that moment, one of the young students stood up, and, in front of the entire class, removed the wig that she had been wearing. No one in the class had been aware that their classmate was suffering from a dread illness and the treatments she was taking had caused her to lose her hair. Imagine the incredible strength of character this young girl demonstrated. The moment that she heard that the gadol hador, Horav Yosef Shalom Eliyashiv, zl, had ruled that this wig was prohibited, she overlooked the embarrassment emanating from what she would look like without her wig, and she removed it. This young girl stood in front of her class, bald as a newborn – without shame, because she was adhering to the halachah. This is the meaning of kedushah. This girl’s parents must have maintained a home in which sanctity was a way of life.
