והתקדשתם והייתם קדשים כי קדוש אני (שמיני יא:מד)

Chazal teach that the words “והתקדשתם” refer to Mayim Acharonim—the washing of one’s hands before bentching after eating bread.

The Divrei Yechezkel of Shinova zt”l was exceptionally meticulous in the halachos of netilas yadayim, to the extent that even his chassidim could not fully understand his many stringencies. He once explained his conduct:

“Recently, people have begun addressing me in letters with the title ‘Harav HaKadosh.’ I wondered to myself—how can one refer to a human being as ‘hakadosh’? Then I found comfort in the words of Chazal (ברכות נג), who explain that ‘והתקדשתם’ refers to Mayim Acharonim, and ‘והייתם קדושים’—this, too, refers to Mayim Acharonim.

Nu! If one is careful in the halachos of washing his hands, he can be called ‘kadosh.’ That is why I am so stringent in these halachos,” concluded the Divrei Yechezkel.