Parshat Kedoshim:

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.

Leviticus 19:1 - 2

The main thrust of this portion is to urge us to sanctify ourselves by abstaining from indulgences which are permissible. Whereas the previous parsha concerned itself mostly with the “depart from evil” aspect of Judaism, this portion is concerned with the “do what is good” aspect of our faith.

Shney Luchot Habrit

You shall be holy…restraint is a general concept…In my opinion, this “purity” is not, as Rashi holds, confined to the laws of chastity, but rather that associated throughout the Talmud with the pious…This is so because the Torah forbids certain relations and foods…Hence the specified total prohibitions are followed by a general exhortation of restraint also in things permitted: as indeed the Nazirite is called “holy” by the Torah…One must shun gluttony and unseemly talk in order to attain purity…

Ramban

In Ramban’s commentary “You shall be holy” signifies “Sanctify yourself with what is permitted.” However…the call for further strictness can not be derived from the Torah. …During the second Temple there were people who withdrew to the woods where they lived…on fruit from the trees and did not partake from the world. The Rabbis denounced such behavior. Those who worship God must in their conduct please both God and their fellow human beings rather than renouncing the accepted social and civic norms. Widespread withdrawal undermines the natural order…and destroys the fabric of our nation.

Tifereth Yonatan

In this parsha we are given a recipe for becoming holy. “Holiness is not something available to the few, to the select, to religious leaders. It is accessible to all. Nor is holiness achieved by turning one’s back on society and the world. It is achieved through daily living.

Sidney Greenberg

In Judaism the reason for doing the “right thing” is to that “You shall be holy for I am holy.” We act because it is the “right thing to do,” not for hope of reward.

Shlomo Riskin

The fact that someone does not steal or rob or otherwise break the law does not make such a person holy, saintly…Most of our sages have not been portrayed as saintly, although doubtless all of them were righteous and pious...Even a Rabbi Yossi, who never indulged in small talk, does not seem to rate the description “holy.”…Those who pursue money endlessly, who are considered wealthy by the general public, are not wealthy at all, in fact. An important element in the definition of wealth is “menuchah,” a state of rest, serenity, contentment. Only when serenity and peace of mind have replaced the constant urge to amass more riches, can one be said to have become wealthy…a treasure is something that one has, not something that does not give one satisfaction…Holiness is not achieved merely by abstaining from everything forbidden, only by the judicious rejection of even those pleasures which are inherently permissible but are not permitted when used simply to afford one an opportunity to indulge one’s senses…

Akedat Yitzchak