Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel and say to them, be Kadosh (holy), because I, your G-d, am Holy. (Vayikra 19:2)

One of the greatest desires a person has is honor. People are willing to do almost anything to get honor. For example, this past March, a man jumped from 36 feet in the air into 12 inches of water. Why would anyone do something so foolish? The answer is because then he would be on TV and people would honor him. Everyone wants that moment in the spotlight.

This Friday, a young woman named Kate Middleton will be getting married to Prince William. Thousands of people will line the streets to honor the bride and groom. Imagine how this couple will feel as the whole world watches them get wed. It must be a great feeling! But this feeling is nothing compared to the feeling a “Kadosh” will feel in the Next World. Rav Avigdor Miller explains on the beginning of this week’s parsha that when a holy person passes away from this world, all of the angels sing praises to him when he arrives in Heaven. These are the same angels that sing praises to Hashem every day by saying how Holy He is! These angels know what holiness is and when they praise someone, it means something. A person getting praise from another person can appreciate it, but people are no where near the level angels are on. As millions watch the honor given the Prince and his bride, we should learn a lesson from it: the honor a holy person receives in the Next World is even better.

There is another lesson we can learn from the Royal Wedding that is connected to this week’s parsha. Kate Middleton has no royal blood. She comes from a simple working-class family, but now she is marrying into royalty.

At the beginning of this week’s parsha, it states “speak to the entire congregation”. All of the Jews were gathered together to state we should be holy. The reason is because everyone can become holy, no matter who they are or where they come from. Holiness is not only for the Sages, Rabbis, Roshei Yeshiva, or Talmidim Chachamim. Everyone can become holy, even if he has never been previously connected to holiness. The mitzvos are for everyone.

Want true honor? Connect yourself to holiness by performing mitzvos. And what better week to start than this one: this week’s parsha is jam-packed with mitzvos we can all perform. Although there are only 64 verses, there are 51 mitzvos! So as you watch the crowd standing in London on Friday remember that there is even a greater crowd waiting for the Holy Ones in the Heaven. Don’t lose out on this honor!

Good Shabbos!
-yes
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