As the introduction to this last section the Torah gives a general issur—do not follow the practices of Egypt and Cana’an. Rashi says this implies that these two nations were the most corrupt societies in the ancient world. It is striking to realize that Klal Yisroel are leaving one deeply corrupt society and entering another deeply corrupt society. We are told that even though you are being exposed to these societies, do not imitate their behavior.

Chazal tell us that chief among the immoral practices done in Egypt were same gender marriages and marriage contracts. Something which has become one of the big virtues of the United States, the Torah labels it as a very low form of behavior.

What does it mean to “not follow their practices”? It is one of the negative commandments of the Torah. The Toras Kohanim asks: If they wear shoes, are we supposed to go barefoot? If they wear shirts and pants are we supposed to wear robes? They live in houses. Are we to live in caves?

The answer is that there are practices that have no practical utility but are done or worn as part of a culture and social identity.

The Maharik addressed the question of Jews wearing doctor’s coats. Does that come under this issur? No. Because such clothing doesn’t define you as belonging to a certain social group but only as belonging to a professional group. Therefore it is not a problem.

The issur of “bechukoseiheim lo seleicho” is divided into two groups. One group was described by the Rambam in terms of clothing styles and hairstyles. These styles are unique to a certain group of people. People identify this style as belonging to that distinctly non-Jewish group. If you identify as a Jew, you are not allowed to wear something or style your hair in a way that would identify you as belonging to a different nation or people.

The second category of this issur covers customs and practices whose origin ultimately started as a form of avodo zoro. It applies even if the Jew does not incorporate it into any avodo zoro belief or practice. So if a Jewish family would feel more comfortable in their neighborhood if they put a tree in their living room on December 25, it is still assur for this reason.

Furthermore, it is assur to adopt this practice even if the practice no longer is associated with any religious meaning by anyone. As long as the origin came from avodo zoro, it is supposed to be so repellent to you that you refrain from doing it.

Lighting firecrackers on July 4th is not a problem of bechukoseihem because celebrating the independence of the United States from England is not an idolatrous celebration. But having a big Thanksgiving turkey dinner in late November is problematic because it was a holiday established by the early Pilgrims to thank their savior for their successful settling of the New World. These were very religious Christians and it was a very religious day for them. So even if today there is no connection to avodo zoro, it would still come under this issur.

The origins of Halloween are clearly pagan and then lost any connection to avodo zoro over time. It would be assur for Jews to participate in those customs/costumes.

So this issur tells me two things. It forbids us to identify with a certain nationality or social group. This does not forbid general western dress. This is why the Taz held wearing a head covering for Jews is mandatory. It is to identify ourselves as belonging to a unique nation and group. Part of who I am is how I identify myself to other people. If you have pride in being a Jew, then you present yourself positively as being a Jew to the world and not try to hide your identity.

Then the Torah lists all the various issurei arayos.

At the end of the list, the Torah tells us the dire consequences of violating the issur arayos which are a to’eivoh and dehumanizing. The Torah made very clear fences and protective measures from ayaros. This leads to Kedoshim Tihiyu

The Ramban explains that while the Torah has many detailed, technical mitzvos, there are underlying messages and values that the Torah is trying to convey with these mitzvos. If a person keeps all the technical details of all the mitzvos, but still engages in indulgent hedonistic behavior, he is missing the point. He also violates the mitzvah of Kedoshim Tihiyu. So while there is no issur in the Torah per se for someone to get drunk, getting drunk would be a violation of Kedoshim Tihiyu.

The Rambam doesn’t count Kedoshim Tihuyu in his minyan of mitzvos, but that is only because it is the purpose and the goal of all the mitzvos. It is a mitzvah hakolleles. The Rambam does count the issur of “lo sosuru acharei levavchem ve’acharei eineichem.” People have goals in life. There are activities which are just means to achieving those goals. There is nothing wrong with enjoying a good meal and other physical pleasures in life. But for someone to take these pleasures and make them into the goal of his life—if this is what he lives for-- violates lo sosuru.

The purpose of our lives through Torah is to make us into a mamleches kohanim vegoy kodosh. Taking any pleasure of this world and making it an end in and of itself is assur. This is the culture we live in today. The Ramban describes the archetypical “novol birshus haTorah”. Engaging in all his taivos in an entirely permissible way as an entire lifestyle of indulgence.

Hashem gave us all these opportunities for enjoyment in order to use them to serve Hashem. We say in Tefilloh Zakoh on Erev Yom Kippur, Hashem gave us all the limbs of our body and organs in order to serve Him. When we use those tools and abilities to run after taivos and become more animalistic, instead of elevating ourselves above our animalistic nature, we drag Hashem’s lofty creation of the human being into the gutter.

Why is it that people talk nivul peh and use the language of the street? It is because that is where his mind is in general.

A certain talmid of mine left kollel at age 35 to become an accountant. He joined a frum accounting firm because he thought it would be a better environment. After a couple of months on the job he said that the hardest thing about leaving kollel was hearing nivul peh in the office all day.

It is so common in our society that people have lost any sensitivity to kedushoh in their lives. A person who wants to live a life of kedushoh will be incapable of conducting a normal western culture conversation. It used to be that newspapers would have a certain standard of appropriate language, politicians would have a certain standard, and anyone in public life would maintain that standard—at least in public. Nowadays it is common to find vulgar words in respectable articles and journals but they leave out two letters to pretend they aren’t really publishing obscenities.

It has become a very big nisayon in our circles. It may become the red line in our society which separates a Jew who is living his life on a higher level from one who is on a lower level. The nisayon of the workplace can bring people down in many ways to contaminate one’s neshomo. And this way of using vulgar language is very habit-forming. It becomes a gateway behavior to more vulgar thoughts and actions.

According to the Ramban it violates one of the purposes of the Torah and the goals of the Torah to elevate a human being above one’s animal instincts. Nivul peh puts a person in a place opposite of where the Torah wants you to be. The mitzvah of Kedoshim Tihiyu is not only for tzaddikim. It is an absolute obligation upon every single Jew to keep.

So when you immerse yourself in the world and you become a part of the media culture, you start to change subtly for the worse. People think that the only problem with the internet are the “inappropriate websites” with pornography etc. It is certainly a problem, but far from being the only problem. Even with an effective filter that can block out inappropriate images, there are still an ability to become absorbed in all the news outlets and social media and video clips that are constantly circulating. People become influenced by what they read and hear—not only what they see. Being absorbed in a culture that is dedicated to the glorification of the body and the pleasures of this world as the be-all-and-end-all of life, where there is nothing to enjoy in life but the pleasures of the body, destroys any sense of kedushoh in a Jew’s life.

This corrupts a Jewish neshomo as much any inappropriate website. All the filters in the world cannot protect you from an online culture that puts indulgence in physical pleasure as the highest value in life. It seeps into your entire mental approach to the world—it becomes a way of talking a way of thinking-- where there is no sense of spirituality and you are no longer a part of the mamleches kohanim ve’goy kodosh.

That is the most destructive thing, because at the end of the day you are constantly involved in that mindset and you lose your identity.

The issur of bechukoseihem lo seleichu tells us that our sense of identity must be expressed in a unique Jewish fashion and present ourselves to other people as Jews. Getting sucked into a mentality which violates every sense of Kedoshim Tihiyu is completely destructive to that identity.

So one might ask, what am I to do? Live on a desert island and cut myself off from the Western world? To this the Ohr HaChaim responds with a deep insight. He says the Torah began this section by emphasizing the fact that Klal Yisroel started in Egypt and is now going into Cana’an. The Torah knows full well that all these abominable practices were done by the nations which Klal Yisroel were exposed to, and nevertheless, the Torah is commanding us not to do them. This means the Torah has full confidence in us that we can be exposed to these cultures and practices and not allow them to affect us and infiltrate our life of kedushoh and taharoh. But it only happens if we are careful to make bounds, and when necessary, boundaries upon boundaries. Some boundaries are spelled out by the Torah itself. “Lo sikrav” forbids any kind of activity that brings a person into that mindset. According the Rambam it expands to the literature that pulls one into that mindset.

The bounds have to very strong, because the pull in the other direction is very strong. If you don’t make strong bounds at the outset, there is a slippery slope of arayos. This is especially true in the business world today. This is why the Torah and Chazal are most explicit about the bounds necessary in the realm of zenus and arayos.

I have a talmid who is a very successful businessman and has to circulate in very different social environments in the course of his business. He made very awkward and strong bounds for himself in terms of negiah and nivul peh. Eventually people caught on that he was living on a higher level of spirituality than everyone else, and they respected him for it.

Yom Kippur in the morning krias haTorah we read about the first part of Achrei Mos which discusses the avodo of the Beis Hamikdosh. In the afternoon krias haTorah we read the parsha of arayos to remind us to be careful about our weaknesses in this area. But we are malochim on Yom Kippur! We are fasting and davening all day! Still, Chazal were concerned that the women will come to shul all dressed up and cause a nisayon for people. We can never let our guard down. It is a tremendous limud. No one can be complacent and say to himself that he is above these temptations. Without gedorim, a Jew cannot life his life as a kodosh which is an absolute obligation. It is not an optional mitzvah.

Because it is a chiyuv gomur, the Torah and Chazal make countless gedorim. If we don’t keep these gedorim and become a menuval birshus HaTorah, we are violating the message and the whole purpose of the Torah. In the society that we live in we have to remind ourselves about these gedorim over and over. Without those gedorim one’s yiddishkeit will become corrupted and one eventually sinks down to the bottom.