Parshas Shemini

Rabbi Zev Cohen delivers a powerful, urgent sermon on Parshas Shemini and Kedoshim, arguing that Jewish survival hinges not just on ritual observance but on a deep, joyful commitment to kedusha—holiness through separation from non-Jewish norms. Drawing on Rashi, the Rambam, and the teachings of Rav Yerucham Levovitz, he warns that when Jews abandon halachic boundaries—especially in kashrus, relationships, and Torah study—the spiritual 'electricity' of the Beis HaMikdash is lost, leaving communities vulnerable to assimilation and anti-Semitism. He cites the anti-Semitic mayor of New York and the attempted assassination of the U.S. president as modern manifestations of a deeper spiritual crisis: when Jews disengage from their identity, they invite hostility. The solution? Not fear, but simcha—finding joy in being Jewish, in learning, in community, and in mitzvot. True kedusha isn't restriction; it's liberation through purposeful separation. The shir on Sunday morning, the early morning shiurim, the women learning Torah—these are not just habits; they are acts of resistance, of sanctification, and of protection. The episode is a call to action: to rebuild kedusha not through fear, but through intentional, joyful, and communal commitment. When we live with simcha, we become unassailable. When we lose it, we become like Nebuchadnezzar and Chaveirov—those who walk into the holy without permission, unafraid, because the holiness is gone.