Purity and holiness
Only the spirit is holy
October 19th 2019
When we say that a man or a woman is a saint, we generally think of their qualities such as goodness, patience, self-sacrifice, and forgiveness of offenses. These are the qualities of a heart that harbours no selfish or aggressive feelings – a pure heart. However, true holiness belongs to a higher realm, that of intelligence enlightened by divine light. That is why only the spirit is holy. According to cabbalistic tradition, God is called ‘the Holy One’. How many times, instead of saying ‘God’, do cabbalists use the expression ‘the Holy One, Blessed be He’! And in the book of Revelation, the seraphim who stand before the throne of God never cease repeating day and night ‘Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty.’
It is important to distinguish between purity and holiness. Purity is the condition of holiness: to reach the holiness of the spirit, one must first have purified one’s heart.