The Holiest Altar

The verse in Parshas Tetzaveh states: “The Altar is holy of holies, all that touches it shall become sanctified.”

Chabad Chassidic teaching explains that the Holy Altar corresponds to the heart of every Jew. During exile, prayer – the “Service of the Heart” – stands in the place of the sacrifices. And Maimonides rules: “Every person, no matter who he is, that devotes himself to the service of G-d, becomes ‘holy of holies’ like Aaron the High Priest.”

A Jew’s body is intrinsically holy. The soul, which is “An actual part of G-d,” makes the body even holier than it already is on its own. And to this the verse adds: “All that touches the Altar becomes holy.” A Jew must know that whenever he comes in contact with anything in the mundane, physical world – whenever he “touches” the mundane with his thought, speech or action – he has a mission: to elevate it and make it holy.