Comentário sobre Levítico 11:44

כי אני ה׳ אלהיכם FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — Just as I am holy, I, Who am the Lord your God, similarly והתקדשתם MAKE YOURSELVES HOLY below on earth ( (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 12 3),

כי אני ה׳ אלוקיכם, "for I am the Lord your G'd." The major difference between Israel and any other nation is that G'd has not described Himself as the "Lord G'd" of any other nation. This obligates us to keep our distance from anything which contaminates us.

As I am holy. Meaning, because every use of the word כי is to provide a reason for what precedes it. Therefore Rashi explains: “Just as I...”

והייתם קדושים כי קדוש אני, so that your holiness will endure indefinitely. The reason why I desire this is because I am holy, and I would like you to become as close to My own essence as it is possible for a creature to become. All of this you will be able to achieve by adhering strictly to the legislation governing what you may eat and what you must eschew. Our sages paraphrased the result of observing this legislation in the following words: “when man sanctifies himself a little, the additional amount of sanctity supplied for him from the heavenly regions is many more times this.” (Yuma 39).

והייתם קדשים AND YE WILL BE HOLY, because I will then treat you as holy, above and in the world-to-come (Yoma 39a).

Sanctify yourselves. This is an extra phrase, for it would be sufficient to say: “You shall sanctify yourselves for I am Holy,” [and omit the phrase: “and you shall become holy”]. Rather, it is extra in order to expound in this manner.

והתקדשתם והייתם קדושים, "sanctify yourselves and be holy." The meaning of this statement is that if we do our share in trying to deserve the appellation "holy," G'd on His part will bestow such a title upon us by not allowing such contaminating elements to enter our bodies. We have already quoted the Talmud Chulin 4 in which G'd is described as insuring that even the beasts of the righteous do not eat matters unfit for the owner to eat. G'd would certainly protect the צדיק himself against erroneously consuming such matters.

ולא תטמאו NEITHER SHALL YE DEFILE [YOUR SOULS] etc. — This is repeated in order to bring it about that a person transgresses many negative commands when he eats such abominable things: and every single negative commandment involves for its transgression the punishment of lashes. This is the meaning of what they said in the Talmud (Makkot 16b): if one has eaten a Putisa (a shell fish or water reptile), he receives floggings (39 lashes) four times, (because four of the different prohibitions referring to שרצים apply to such a water reptile); if he has eaten an ant, he receives five such floggings; a hornet, six such floggings.

Many negative commandments. Otherwise, it is already written above (v. 43): “and do not make yourselves unclean...”

Another meaning of the word והתקדשתם is "sanctify yourselves by means of erecting protective legal fences," i.e. rabbinic ordinances designed to reduce the likelihood of contacting and absorbing impure material. G'd tells us that if you do this: "I in turn will help you become holy." The Torah then spells out in what respect you are going to be holy. כי קדוש אני, "for I am holy;" G'd made His presence amongst us dependent on our keeping ourselves apart from contaminating influences. This is why such people are entitled to the same appellation "holy" as is applied to G'd Himself. ולא תטמאו "and you will not become defiled, etc." This is a promise by G'd that if we make every effort not to become contaminated by the שרצים ושקצים swarming detestable things mentioned in this chapter, G'd's appreciation will become manifest in that we will not become the passive victims of other kinds of impurity. Pagans are included in the terminology שרצים ושקצים. G'd promises that if we make every effort not to become contaminated by the swarming or creeping things mentioned in this chapter, He will make sure that we will not be under the dominion of pagans.