Laws of Ordinary Holiness

Laws of Ordinary Holiness
D’var Torah for Parashat Kedoshim
By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman


The third book of the Torah, Leviticus, may seem to contain only archaic laws, reflecting customs that are no longer current. Yet, already within its restrictive rules lie the seeds of change. The book begins as a set of instructions for the priests—regarding sacrifice, ritual purity and regulation of behavior—down to the details of the priests’ clothes and whom a priest may or may not marry. But soon Leviticus turns to address the ordinary people too. Holiness is not only the realm of the priests, Leviticus teaches. It is as much the right and responsibility of the common man and woman, not only restricted to the area of the temple compound, but extending out to the street and the field as well.

This week’s portion, Kedoshim (“You Shall Be Holy,” Lev. 19:1—20:27) defines holiness in terms we human beings can understand, not in esoteric or philosophical language. Holiness is to be found not only through sacrificial and mystic rituals, but rather through laws that regulate how we behave toward one another. Verses from this portion form what is often referred to as “the Holiness Code,” a passage that is read at services on Yom Kippur. The respect and dignity we show everyone, from our parents down to the poor, the beggar and even the stranger in our community; the fairness and justice that should underlie all our interactions, whether social or business; these all can be summed up in what we have come to call The Golden Rule.

These laws of ordinary holiness (seemingly a contradiction in terms, but a phrase that relates to our behavior away from the temple, out in the field or about our daily business) come down to three Hebrew words: v’ahavta l’rei-acha ka-mocha, “love your fellow human being as yourself” (Lev. 19:18). These words became the motto for the great Rabbi Akiva (c. 50—c. 135 CE), who described them as “A great principle in the Torah.” The equally great Rabbi Hillel (died 9 CE) said of these words: “This is the whole Torah; the rest is commentary, now go and study it.”

All aspects of interpersonal relationships are illuminated by this parasha, as we learn to give meaning to our existence by striving for holiness. There is little given to the kind of relationship we should cultivate with God, beyond observing Shabbat and turning from idolatry to worshipping God alone. Perhaps that is so because our relationship with God is deep and personal and changes but a few times through our lifetimes, evolving as we go through life’s stages. Our relationships with other people, however, vary from one to another, from one day to another, even from one moment to another. Each personal interaction brings its own set of conflicts and—hopefully—resolutions. The rules are there to make sure that we stay within boundaries, that we don’t blur the lines between what is rightfully ours to want and to have, and what is not.

But it isn’t only the difference between right and wrong. Ultimately it is about the relationship between us and God. Kedoshim offers us a channel to God that did not exist prior to the Torah. In ancient times (and even in some philosophies and religions today), the only way to God is thought to be through death. It is in the afterlife, according to such thought, that we face God. Judaism, however, offers another path. We can achieve holiness—that is, we can achieve a certain unity with God—through every moment of our life on this earth, through the way we interact with the earth and its produce as well as through the ways we interact with one another—regardless of the many variances among us.

K’doshim tih’yu: “You shall be holy.” In life, not in the thereafter. Through the good you do and spread around you while you live, through the good name and the better world that hopefully you leave behind when you are gone.

Ki kadosh ani Adonai Elo-heichem: “For I, Adonai your God, am holy. That is what it means to be in God’s presence all the time—not only when we pray at the temple, but also when we are busy with all other aspects of our life. Not only in how we pray and worship, but also in how we speak and behave ordinarily. At all times should we strive to be holy, because long ago we bound ourselves in an eternal relationship with Holiness.


©2011 By Boaz D. Heilman