Part II of Sefer Vayikra (Yud Chet - Chaf Zayin): "V'Goy Kadosh"

The second half of the sefer shows us how to be a Goy Kadosh. It takes the ideas demonstrated in the first half and takes them from our religious lives and puts them into our normal, every day lives. This half starts off with what not to do (the Aryot). Perek Yud Chet is all about not walking in the ways of those that are settled in the lands, but instead we should walk in Hashem's ways. In order to stay in the land we need to act properly. All the people of Mitzrayim and K'naan represent all of the immoral actions that we shouldn't do, and if we fall into them also we will be just like them. It talks about the Aryot which are sexual boundaries that we must have. This shows us that something that seems so ordinary has boundaries, not just religious things. We must be Kadosh because Hashem is Kadosh. We are a separate nation, we have separate standards, requirements, and responsibilities. This focuses on how we interact with others because of this "separateness" that we have. This sefer becomes the blueprint of how to be a good, moral, just person by combining religious and moral practices together.

In K'doshim the Mitzvot that are between man and man focus on how to interact with our peers. Not only for a just society and business matters, but also for interpersonal relationships. The only way to actualize our Tzelem Elokim (the image of G-d that we were all created with) you need to act with ethical monotheism and emulate G-d. We were chosen by Hashem to be the "Chosen People." In order to live up to this, we have to put ourselves above the ordinary people of society. I don't know that it's saying that what they are doing is necessarily wrong.. but more that we want to separate ourselves in order to live up to that idea of being the "chosen people."

This section focuses on us as individuals rather than just society as a whole, which is very important. I think that this is an important concept that we all learn bright and early. You always hear your teachers say as your young "mind your own business," but not until your older do you realize that this truly means that we have to pay attention to our own faults and not others in order to fix things. If you're constantly trying to point out other people's faults you're only making matters worse. Once everyone realizes that what they're doing is just as bad, or maybe even worse, than what they see and criticize in others maybe we can actually start to make a difference in the world.