Parshas Kedoshim – Don’t Stand By While Another Jew Drowns

This week’s parshah is Kedoshim. The Torah opens with the command:

“Kedoshim tihyu”—“You shall be holy.”

The word kadosh means separate, distinct, elevated. Holiness means living differently, rising above the ordinary pull of life, and reflecting the values Hashem wants from His people. The Jewish people are called to be a holy nation because Hashem Himself says:

“Ki kadosh Ani”—“For I am holy.”

The Birthday of the Rebbe Maharash

This day, the second of Iyar, is also the birthday of the Rebbe Maharash, Rabbi Shmuel, the fourth Rebbe in the Chabad lineage.

He was known for one of the most famous teachings in Chabad thought:

“The world says: if you cannot go under, then go over. But I say: lechatchilah ariber—go over from the start.”

In simple terms:

Do not think small.
Do not become trapped by obstacles.
Do not assume the only way forward is to squeeze through limitations.

Sometimes the right path is to rise above the challenge entirely with courage, faith, and boldness.

This message connects beautifully with the parshah.

Holiness means not surrendering to the world as it is. It means lifting life to where it can become.

Why Was Kedoshim Taught to Everyone Together?

At the opening of the parshah, the Torah says:

“Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of Israel.”

Rashi explains that this section was taught with everyone gathered together.

Usually, Torah was taught in stages: first Aharon, then his sons, then the elders, and afterward the rest of the people. Yet here everyone heard together.

Why?

Rashi says because many essential principles of Torah depend on this parshah.

Kedoshim is filled with foundational mitzvos:

• honesty,
• justice,
• honoring others,
• avoiding gossip,
• helping those in need,
• and living with holiness in everyday life.

These are not private ideals for a few spiritual elites. They are the shared foundation of the entire people. Therefore everyone had to hear them together.

Do Not Stand By Your Fellow’s Blood

Among the many mitzvos in the parshah, one verse stands out:

“Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa.”
“Do not stand by your fellow’s blood.”

Rashi explains: if someone is in danger—drowning in a river, attacked by bandits, threatened by harm—you may not stand idly by. If you can help, you must help.

The Rebbe asks:

Why is this written as a prohibition—do not stand by—rather than as a positive command to save another person?

The Torah could have simply said:

Help him.
Rescue him.
Protect him.

Why use the negative form?

More Than Ordinary Help

The Rebbe explains that the Torah is teaching something deeper.

We already know from other mitzvos that one must help another Jew:

• return lost property,
• unload an overburdened animal,
• prevent another person’s financial loss.

If Torah requires helping someone’s possessions, surely one must help save the person himself.

So this verse adds something more.

It teaches that one may not remain passive even in difficult situations—when helping may require effort, inconvenience, sacrifice, or some degree of personal risk.

Of course, one is not commanded to act recklessly. But where there is a real possibility to help, one cannot hide behind comfort or indifference.

The Torah rejects the excuse:

“It’s not my problem.”

Spiritual Rescue

The Rebbe extends this mitzvah beyond physical danger.

There are Jews who are not drowning in water—but drowning spiritually.

Many grow up with little connection to Torah, mitzvos, prayer, or Jewish identity. Some are swept away by distraction, assimilation, or emptiness. Outwardly they may seem fine, but inwardly they are disconnected from their inheritance.

Can one say:

“I take care of myself. What happens to them is none of my business”?

The Torah answers:

Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa.

Do not stand by while another Jew is being lost.

Why Shlichus Matters

This is one of the great ideas the Rebbe brought into the modern world through shlichus.

Young couples raised in strong Jewish communities are sent to places with few Jewish resources:

• distant cities,
• foreign countries,
• isolated campuses,
• places where Jewish life is weak or absent.

Why go?

Because another Jew is there.

And if another Jew is there, one cannot stand by.

Yes, there are challenges.
Yes, there are sacrifices.
Yes, it may be harder than staying in comfort.

But saving another soul outweighs comfort.

Why Hashem Sends a Person Somewhere

A famous story is told about the Rebbe Maharash.

A chassid moved from a thriving Jewish city to a spiritually empty town because he could earn a better livelihood there. When he later visited the Rebbe Maharash, the Rebbe told him:

You think Hashem moved you there only for business? Hashem can provide livelihood anywhere. If He brought you there, it is because you have a mission there—to influence Jews and bring Yiddishkeit where it is lacking.

The message was clear:

Livelihood may be the vehicle.
Mission is the purpose.

Lechatchilah Ariber

This brings us back to the Rebbe Maharash’s famous teaching.

Sometimes a person sees obstacles and thinks:

How can I manage?
How can I help?
How can I make a difference?

The answer is:

Lechatchilah ariber.

Rise above the obstacle from the outset.

Do not define yourself by the fence in front of you. Define yourself by the mission beyond it.

The Lasting Lesson

Parshas Kedoshim teaches that holiness is not escape from responsibility.

Holiness means:

• caring when others are in danger,
• refusing indifference,
• helping physically,
• uplifting spiritually,
• and recognizing that where Hashem places us is where He wants us to serve.

Do not stand by.
Do not think small.
Do not surrender to obstacles.

Be holy.
Help another Jew.
And when the path seems blocked—go over from the start.