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A MESSAGE FROM THE RABBI
In the simplest of terms, what I love about Parashat Kedoshim is its clarion call to the Jewish people. To understand it, let’s look at the first 2 verses of Chapter 19:
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
The Lord spoke to Moses saying: Speak to the WHOLE Israelite community and say to them: “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
While God’s proclamation that the Jewish people must be holy is a highwater mark moment for the Israelites, what makes this moment truly extraordinary is the word “WHOLE”. God’s requirement is that EVERY Israelite be holy. Not just the priests, not just Moses, not just the chieftains, not just the judges, not just the men. The rule is addressed to the entire population.
Why is this important? Because it means that each one of us has an equal responsibility to represent the Jewish people. It is a burden but, at the same time, it is a privilege. Think of what holy means and then do holy.
The question to ask is: “What is holy?” “Kadosh” is often translated as “holy,” but it means more. It can be to devote, or appoint, or designate, or set apart, or different, or distinct. To be holy is not just to be moral, or pure, but also to intentionally be separated for a purpose.
When we say that God is kadosh, we’re saying God is distinct from anything else. Not just the all-powerful creator, but set apart as just and merciful, and ethical, and loving. This same God created us in God’s image and called on us to be kadosh too.
It might sound complicated or intimidating. But through Torah and our tradition, we realize what God is actually asking of us. God is not asking us to separate from the rest of the world or to pretend to be perfect. God wants us to live uniquely within, and of, the world. God does not want us to blend in with the mundane. God wants us to choose integrity when compromise would be easier, compassion when indifference would be less complicated, and to move through this world with positive purpose when distraction and danger loom everywhere.
Holy is about being different in a constructive way. It is about finding all those Mitzvahs in the Torah that help us to be the best human we can be. To consider ourselves holy (or chosen) is not about superiority. It is about identity. It is about a positive Jewish identity. It is about a positive Jewish identity that compels us to be make this world as good as it can possibly be despite all the negative around, and about, us.
We each need to go out and be unapologetically Holy, Holy, Holy.
Shabbat Shalom – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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