עקידת יצחק — קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני

Q — What does the sweeping command "קדושים תהיו" actually demand? Why is it addressed to the whole assembly? Why bracket the parsha with kedushah at start and end?

A — Holiness is not mere ascetic withdrawal but a measured ordering of all of a person's affairs according to the Torah — in eating, speech, business, and relationships — so as to resemble the Creator to the extent a human can. It is given to "all the congregation" because this sanctity is the task of every Jew in ordinary life, not a few recluses. The parsha frames itself with kedushah to show that its many mitzvos, interpersonal and ritual alike, are the concrete substance of being holy.