לע"נ מו"ר הרב חיים ישעיהו בן ר' דוד הדרי ז"ל, שהרבה להחדיר בתלמידיו קדושת השבת!
נפטר לבית עולמו בי' אייר תשע"ח
At the end of Parshas Behar [26/1-2] it says:
"לא תעשו לכם אלילים וגו' כי אני ה' א-להיכם את שבתותי תשמורו ומקדשי תיראו"
"Don't make idols etc. because I am Hashem your G-d. Keep Shabbos and fear the Mikdash"
In the Toras Kohanim cited by Rashi it says that it is referring to someone who is sold to an עכו"ם and he shouldn't say that "since my master serves idols, I will too. Since my master is engaged in גילוי עריות [forbidden sexual relations], I will too. Since my master violates Shabbos, I will too" - To disabuse him from these mistaken notions, says the pasuk -
"לא תעשו לכם אלילים וגו' כי אני ה' א-להיכם את שבתותי תשמורו ומקדשי תיראו"
Apparently, the words ומקדשי תיראו correspond to גילוי עריות [Shabbos and idolatry are explicit in the pasuk so by process of elimination ומקדשי תיראו relates to גילוי עריות]. What is the connection? Whenever you find a גדר ערוה - sexual purity, you also find Kedusha. THAT is the ומקדשי תיראו!! Fearing the holy Mikdash is linked to being careful about גילוי עריות.
But we have to understand why specifically these three sins we mentioned.
We find a need to distinguish between holy and profane, between the seventh day and the six days. So the pasuk says "ויכל א-להים ביום השביעי". Chazal tell us that Hashem stopped creating the SPLIT SECOND Shabbos started. If He would have added the holy on to the profane and stopped a little bit earlier, then it would have been a type of מעילה, when what is unholy benefits from what is holy. Thus, Hashem was careful not to stop His "work" even one second during the weekday. Had He stopped earlier, it would have been a "פגם" [blemish] on the Shabbos. Now that Shabbos retains it's pristine purity, we have a mitzva to add on to the Shabbos by stopping our work on Friday afternoon before the onset of the actual Shabbos. This can be done only by Am Yisrael who sanctify the holidays and instill Kedusha in the weekdays as well. Therefore, before the existence of the Jews who sanctified the holidays, it was not possible for the profane weekday to derive benefit from Holy Shabbos that is set and constant - קבועה וקיימת. That is what Chazal say [cited in Rashi Vayikra 23,3]
Similarly, בני נח are not commanded about שיתוף - serving Hashem together with another deity רח"ל [see Tosfos Sanhedrin 43b ד"ה אסור לאדם ובמהרש"א] because if they share a faith with us, that will cause a פגם [blemish] and type of מעילה in our pure faith and thus profane it. Therefore, even though בני נח are enjoined not to serve עבודה זרה, they are permitted to serve Hashem בשיתוף, in order that shouldn't have a portion in the G-d of Israel.
Similarly עריות - sexual impropriety, is different when it comes to בני נח, because it only applies to the relatives of the father as opposed to the prohibition of עריות among the Jewish people which applies to all relatives. This is also because "כל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה, אתה מוצא קדושה" whenever one finds a fence for forbidden relations, he finds Kedusha. The different laws of עריות ensure that they have no portion in true Kedusha and thus can't defile it.
Therefore, there is a thought in the mind of the servant who is sold to the idolater that with this sale he has descended in his level of sanctity and will thus want to be similar to his master in these three areas. Just like my master serves idols, meaning בשיתוף, so to will I, in order to preserve the Kedusha of אמונת ישראל - the pure faith of the Jewish people. He also thinks to violate Shabbos like his master, in order not to blemish it. Similarly גילוי עריות. He will want to sin in this area [with his mother's relatives?] in order to distinguish himself from Jews.
The Torah comes to disabuse him from these notions and tells him that he must keep Shabbos, the laws of עריות and believe in Hashem alone. This teaches us that despite his spiritual descent, he retains his Kedushas Yisrael and his special connection to Hashem.
"כל המקיים את המועדות מעלין עליו כאילו קיים את השבתות"
Anyone who keeps the holidays is considered as if he keeps Shabbossos.
This means that when one keeps the holidays, he can elevate the profane weekday and thereby keep Shabbos properly by adding on to the Shabbos and starting it during the weekday, to the point that the Jews will have the capacity to elevate and sanctify the ALL the weekday and they will be ultimately be transformed into Shabbos - ליום שכולו שבת לחיי עולמים.
Now, the idea of the elevation of the weekday is to elevate it to the Kedusha of Shabbos, on which day the holiness of Hashem is revealed in its sublime value above human comprehension. The Jewish people cling to this tremendous sublimity "ביני ובין בני ישראל אות היא לעולם" - "between me and the Jewish people a sign forever". The מדרש uses an analogy to explain what happens when a Gentile keeps Shabbos.
"משל למלך יושב ומטרונה יושבת כנגדו העובר ביניהן חייב מיתה". [שמות רבה פכ"ה]
A parable to a king [i.e. Hashem] who was sitting with his "matron woman" [the queen i.e. the Jewish people] opposite him. When someone walks in between them he is liable to capital punishment. Therefore, Shabbos is unique to the Jewish people and to none other. Because of this, a גוי who keeps Shabbos is חייב מיתה. When a גוי keeps Shabbos, he is committing a type of מעילה [misappropriation of holiness] which causes it to be profaned, therefore it is forbidden for him to keep Shabbos. It emerges then that when גויים violate the Shabbos, that bring great fortune to the world.
Similarly, בני נח are not commanded about שיתוף - serving Hashem together with another deity רח"ל [see Tosfos Sanhedrin 43b ד"ה אסור לאדם ובמהרש"א] because if they share a faith with us, that will cause a פגם [blemish] and type of מעילה in our pure faith and thus profane it. Therefore, even though בני נח are enjoined not to serve עבודה זרה, they are permitted to serve Hashem בשיתוף, in order that shouldn't have a portion in the G-d of Israel.
Similarly עריות - sexual impropriety, is different when it comes to בני נח, because it only applies to the relatives of the father as opposed to the prohibition of עריות among the Jewish people which applies to all relatives. This is also because "כל מקום שאתה מוצא גדר ערוה, אתה מוצא קדושה" whenever one finds a fence for forbidden relations, he finds Kedusha. The different laws of עריות ensure that they have no portion in true Kedusha and thus can't defile it.
Therefore, there is a thought in the mind of the servant who is sold to the idolater that with this sale he has descended in his level of sanctity and will thus want to be similar to his master in these three areas. Just like my master serves idols, meaning בשיתוף, so to will I, in order to preserve the Kedusha of אמונת ישראל - the pure faith of the Jewish people. He also thinks to violate Shabbos like his master, in order not to blemish it. Similarly גילוי עריות. He will want to sin in this area [with his mother's relatives?] in order to distinguish himself from Jews.
The Torah comes to disabuse him from these notions and tells him that he must keep Shabbos, the laws of עריות and believe in Hashem alone. This teaches us that despite his spiritual descent, he retains his Kedushas Yisrael and his special connection to Hashem.
"אין חלקו כעמים, וה' הוא חלקו ונחלתו לעד אני ה'!!"
[עפ"י מי מרום י' עמ' קי"ג-ד]
