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Holy, Holy, Holy Congregation Shirat Hayam (www.shirathayam.org) Rabbi Baruch HaLevi (www.rabbib.com) “Be Holy” Kedusha - Jewish Holiness The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | 1997 | JOHN BOWKER | 700+ words | Copyright Kedushah (Heb., ‘holiness’). In Judaism, set apart through holiness. The biblical commandment, ‘you shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy’ (Leviticus 19. 2) has consistently been understood by the rabbis as requiring that the Jews must be a people ‘set apart’. • How are the various uses of K-D-SH (Kadosh) used in Jewish text, practice thought (ie. Kadosh, Kiddush, Kaddish...)? ב דַּבֵּר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַת בְּנֵי־יִשְֹרָאֵל:א וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר :וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2. Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. • What does it mean to be told to “be holy”? •What is the reason given for this charge? WHAT IS HOLY? •Does it make “sense”? •How do the specific ho·ly examples in the rest of the 1. recognized or revered as sacred 2. dedicated to parsha affect the idea of God holiness? 3. Belonging to, derived from, or associated with a Potential divine power; sacred. 4. Regarded with or worthy of worship or veneration; revered: a holy book. 5. Living according to a strict or highly moral religious or spiritual system; saintly: a holy person. 6. Specified or set apart for a religious purpose: a holy place. 7. Solemnly undertaken; sacrosanct: a holy pledge. 6. Regarded as deserving special respect or reverence: The pursuit of peace is our holiest quest. 7. Informal Used as an intensive: raised holy hell over the mischief their children did. www.dictionary.com The Sfas Emes articulates the puzzling part as: How can the level of sanctity attainable by • What does this say a human even be mentioned about Jewish notions in the same sentence as the of “holiness”? sanctity of HaShem? Apparently, this question also Supernatural bothered the Medrash and the Zohar. The Sfas Emes reports In his commentary on their response to this this verse the Malbim question. The statement "You tells us that "kedusha" shall be holy" is conventionally understood as means conducting an exhortation. But the Zohar ourselves in a manner (and the Sfas Emes) point out "lema'ala min hateva" that this key statement can -- in a manner above also be read as a promise. In other words, we have here a promise that above nature (teva). HaShem can and will help us reach a proper level • What does it mean to be “above nature” or “super-natural”? of sanctity. Why and how? Because of His special relation with Klal Yisroel, each of us has special • What are the basic, base or natural aspects and activities of chiyus from HaShem. And with that unique chiyus, our lives? "bekocheinu lehiskadeish gam be'olam • What does this say about “holiness”? hazeh" (That is: we can sanctify ourselves even in this world.) -Dr. Nosson Chayim Leff Sex or Something Else Rashi - "Abstain from the forbidden sexual relationships and from other sin Ramban - But I have seen it(reference to “kedoshim”) mentioned without any qualification saying, "Be selfrestraining." Similarly, the Rabbis taught there: "And you shall sanctify yourselves and be holy, for I am holy - Just as I am pure, so you shall be pure." In my opinion, this abstinence does not refer only to restraint from acts of immorality, as Rashi wrote, but it is rather self-control in general. Congregation Shirat Hayam www.shirathayam.org www.rabbib.com Rabbi Dr. Baruch HaLevi 1 W A R R I O R Ya’All :וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם 1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2. Speak to all the congregation of the people of Israel, and say to them, You shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy. All Ya’All Kedoshim Tihiyu. You (plural) shall be holy. The plural sense of the verb indicates that holiness, while taught and exemplified by the kohanic priestly class, is an ideal which must spread out and permeate the collective Israel polity. Hermits & Holiness Rashi, citing Midrash Sifra and Leviticus Rabbah 24:5, observes that the apparently redundant phrase of "the whole congregation of" in our verse teaches us that the this parashah was uttered in the presence of the whole congregation. J E W Holiness & Perfection The Kotzker Rebbe used to stress "MEN of holiness you shall be to Me" [Shmos 22:30]. "G-d is not looking for more angels." “The Chosen People” The Torah was 6. For you are a holy people to the Lord, your God: the Lord your God has not given to angels chosen you to be His treasured people, out of all the peoples upon the face of [Brachos 25b]. the earth. It was given to human beings ּכִי עַם ָקדֹוׁש אַּתָה לַי־הֹוָ־ה אֱֹלהֶיָ ּבְָ ּבָחַר יְ־הֹוָ־ה אֱֹלהֶיָ לִהְיֹות לֹו לְעַם סְגֻּלָה מִּכֹל.ו who have :הָעַּמִים אֲׁשֶר עַל ּפְנֵי הָאֲָדמָה wants and desires and 7. Not because you are more numerous than any people did the Lord delight in are social you and choose you, for you are the least of all the peoples. animals. In that context ֹלא מֵֻרּבְכֶם מִּכָל הָעַּמִים חָׁשַק יְ־הֹוָ־ה ּבָכֶם וַּיִבְחַר ּבָכֶם ּכִי אַּתֶם הַמְעַט מִּכָל.ז we are commanded :הָעַּמִים to develop The concept of chosenness has often been misinterpreted by non-Jews as a holiness. statement of superiority or even racism. But the belief that Jews are the Chosen People actually has nothing to do with race or ethnicity. In fact, chosenness has so little to do with race that Jews believe the Messiah will be descended from Ruth, a Moabite woman who converted to Judaism and whose story is recorded in the biblical “Book of Ruth.” Jews do not believe that being a member of the Chosen People gives them any special talents or makes them better than anyone else. On the topic of chosenness, the Book of Amos even goes so far as to say: "You alone have I The Dalai Lama says, “The purpose of all major religious traditions is to create temples of goodness and compassion in our hearts” (paraphrased) singled out of all the families of the earth. That is why I call you to account for all your iniquities" (Amos 3:2). In this way Jews are called to be a “light to the nations” (Isaiah 42:6) by doing good in the world through gemilut hasidim (acts of loving kindness) and tikkun olam (repairing the world). Nevertheless, many Are the Jewish people holy? modern Jews feel uncomfortable with the term “Chosen People.” Perhaps for Are the Jewish similar reasons, Maimonides (a medieval Jewish philosopher) did not list it in This does not people the only mean the hermit's his foundational 13 Principles of the Jewish Faith. (Judaism.com) “holy” people? isolation and seclusion as a means of seeking the holy way. On the contrary, what is spoken of is the holiness of the community, a holiness What determines a people’s holiness? that springs precisely from being within a community, a congregation, mingling with other human beings. Congregation Shirat Hayam www.shirathayam.org www.rabbib.com Rabbi Dr. Baruch HaLevi 2