(5) Rabbi Ḥiyya taught: This portion was stated in an assembly ..... because most of the essential principles of the Torah are dependent upon it. Rabbi Levi said: Because the Ten Commandments are included in it. {He proceeds to find all ten commandments in it.]
Rabbi Yudan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai: Moses our master gave us in writing three portions in the Torah in each of which there are sixty mitzvot. They are: The portion of Passover, (Exodus 12). the portion of damages [Mishpatim], (Exodus 21–23:9), and the portion of “[you shall be] holy.” (Leviticus 19).
קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלו-היכם, “You shall be holy for I am holy, Hashem, your G’d.” According to the plain meaning of the text the word קדוש, means isolating oneself, being apart.
Everett Fox Translation:
Speak to the entire community of the Children of Israel, and say to them:
Holy are you to be,
for holy am I, YHWH your God!
(13) We may also interpret the words קדושים תהיו by emphasizing the future tense, i.e. תהיו, "you shall become holy." The implication is that this is a commandment which is an ongoing process. [Unlike other commandments that apply only to certain times,] the commandment of "be holy." ... applies day in day out throughout our lifetime. ..... Even while we are busy performing this commandment it is one that we never have mastered completely. ... The Torah writes תהיו in order to remind us that the ultimate realisation of the ideal of holiness will forever remain "in the future."
In this definition, holiness is defined by being separated from a state of non-holiness called Chol. Chol can be translated in various ways:
(יז) בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחוֹל, בֵּין אוֹר לְחֹשֶׁךְ, בֵּין יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַמִּים, בֵּין יוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי לְשֵׁשֶׁת יְמֵי הַמַּעֲשֶׂה, בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יי, הַמַּבְדִּיל בֵּין קֹדֶשׁ לְחוֹל:
Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who distinguishes between the holy and the profane, between light and darkness, between Israel and the nations, between the seventh day and the six working days. Blessed are You, O Lord, who distinguishes between the holy and the profane.
Everett Fox translation of 19:35
You are not to commit corruption in justice, in measure, weight, or capacity;
(35) You shall not falsify measures of length, weight, or capacity. (36) You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah, and an honest hin. I יהוה am your God who freed you from the land of Egypt.
(2) גדולה וקטנה A GREAT AND A SMALL — i.e. thou shalt not have a large one that contradicts the small one, — that one must not buy goods by the larger and sell by the smaller.
From the Talmud on weights and measures:
A wholesaler must clean his measuring vessels, which are used for measuring liquids such as oil and wine, once every thirty days, because the residue of the liquids sticks to the measure and reduces its capacity.
A storekeeper, who constantly sells merchandise in small quantities, cleans his measuring vessels twice a week and cleans his weights once a week; and he cleans the pans of his scales after each and every weighing, to ensure that no merchandise has adhered to the pans, thereby increasing their weight.
The Gemara further discusses weights and measures. The Sages taught: “You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in measure [bammidda], in weight, or in capacity [uvamesura]” (Leviticus 19:35). The baraita defines these terms: “In measure [bammidda],” this is referring to measuring land, teaching that in order to measure land in a just manner one may not measure for one person in the summer when the measuring rope has become dry and short, and for one other individual in the rainy season, when the measuring rope is wet and limp, and therefore stretches more. “In weight” means that one may not cover his weights in salt, as salt erodes the weights, causing a loss for the buyer. “Or in capacity [bamesura]” means that one may not cause liquid he is measuring to foam by pouring it speedily, as this results in a loss for the buyer, who receives less of the liquid than the amount for which he paid.
Rav Levi said: The punishment for using false measures is more severe than the punishment for transgressing the prohibition of forbidden sexual relations.
Bava batra 88a:12. 89b:8
(4) אשר הוצאתי אתכם WHO BROUGHT YOU FORTH [FROM EGYPT] for this purpose, that you shall be honest in your actions. Another explanation is: I distinguished in Egypt between those who were firstborn and those who were not firstborn (a matter which is hidden from human cognizance), I am also certain to exact punishment from him who secretly puts his weights in salt in order to take advantage of people who are not aware of it.
(7) Ben Azzai says: “This is the book of the descendants of Adam” (Genesis 5:1) – this verse represents the central tenet of the Torah. As it teaches that all men are created in the likeness of God, and therefore they should treat each other with respect and consideration. This is the basic tenet upon which the rest of the Torah is based. Rabbi Akiva says: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18) – that verse represents the central tenet of the Torah ...
(א) זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱלֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱלֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃
(1) This is the record of Adam’s line.—When God created humankind, it was made in the likeness of God;
From Netivot Olam, Neriv Ahavat Reia (translation courtesy of R. David Kasher)
You will find in the collection, "Ein Ya'akov," in the introduction, he says he found another version of this midrash.
Ben Zoma says: We have found the greatest verse, and it is, “Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One.”
Ben Nanas says: We have found an even greater verse, and it is, “Love your neighbor as yourself”
Shimon Ben Pazzi says: We have found an even greater verse and it is, “You shall offer the one lamb in the morning, and you shall offer the other lamb at twilight.” (Exodus 29:39)
Rabbi Anonymous stood up and said: And we rule like Ben Pazzi....
R. Shai Held, “Between Ecstasy and Constancy: The Dynamics of Covenantal Commitment” in The Heart of Torah, vol. 1. (2017) In serving God, consistency and constancy may just be the most important things in the world. The point is not really that the twice-daily sacrifice is more important than affirming God or learning to love; the point, rather, is that in order to affirm God with the totality of who we are and in order to love others in all of what we do, regularity and steadfastness are essential... Like romantic passion, religious experience does matter (though we should be careful not to assume that only ecstatic, “high-voltage” religious experiences count as experience). In serving God, as in loving another person, never “feeling it” can be disastrous. But covenant, like marriage, is not built on experience alone but also on loyalty, faithfulness, and “showing up.” This is what the rituals of constancy ..... serve to remind us: There is no spiritual life without discipline and commitment. This may just be the most encompassing – and for many of us, the most challenging – principle in the Torah.
(יז) רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן עֲזַרְיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם אֵין תּוֹרָה, אֵין דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ. אִם אֵין דֶּרֶךְ אֶרֶץ, אֵין תּוֹרָה.
(17) Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah said: Where there is no Torah, there is no right conduct; where there is no right conduct, there is no Torah.
Efrayim Miksha’a, disciple of Rabbi Meir, says in the name of Rabbi Meir: Abraham, our forefather, would eat non-sacred food only when he was in a state of ritual purity, i.e., he treated his food as though it were consecrated to God.
(יב) וְעַתָּה֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל מָ֚ה יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ שֹׁאֵ֖ל מֵעִמָּ֑ךְ כִּ֣י אִם־לְ֠יִרְאָ֠ה אֶת־יְהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ לָלֶ֤כֶת בְּכׇל־דְּרָכָיו֙ וּלְאַהֲבָ֣ה אֹת֔וֹ וְלַֽעֲבֹד֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בְּכׇל־לְבָבְךָ֖ וּבְכׇל־נַפְשֶֽׁךָ׃
(12) And now, O Israel, what does your God יהוה demand of you? Only this: to revere your God יהוה, to walk only in divine paths, to love and to serve your God יהוה with all your heart and soul,
אָמַר רָבָא: קַדֵּשׁ עַצְמְךָ בַּמּוּתָּר לָךְ.
Rava said: You must sanctify yourself through that which is permitted to you by Torah law.
(2) YE SHALL BE HOLY. “ [I]n the Torath Kohanim I have seen it mentioned saying: "Be self-restraining.” ... The meaning thereof is as follows: The Torah has admonished us against immorality and forbidden foods, but permitted [certain physical indulgences such as ]. sexual relations between married couples, and the eating of [certain] meat and wine. If so, a person of desire could consider this to be a permission to be passionately addicted to such pleasures, since this prohibition has not been [expressly] mentioned in the Torah... Therefore, after having listed the prohibited matters ...., Scripture followed them up by a general command that we practice moderation even in matters which are permitted,
Pan metron ariston - Everything in moderation.
Greek, 5th century B.C.E.
Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Oscar Wilde
When you are washing the dishes, washing the dishes must be the most important thing in your life.
Thich Nhat Hanh
From Sacks, Lessons in Leadership; A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible, Aharei Mot; Sprints and Marathons 8
There is a remarkable midrash in which various sages put forward their idea of klal gadol baTorah, “the great principle of the Torah.” Ben Azzai says it is the verse, “This is the book of the chronicles of man: On the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of God” (Gen. 5:1). Ben Zoma says that there is a more embracing principle, “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). Ben Nannas says there is a yet more comprehensive principle: “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). Ben Pazzi says we find a more inclusive principle still: “The first sheep shall be offered in the morning, and the second sheep in the afternoon” (Ex. 29:39) – or, as we might say today, Shaḥarit, Minḥa, and Maariv. In a word: “routine.” The passage concludes: The law follows Ben Pazzi.