Normally, crafting a D'var Torah involves taking a verse or a text from the Parsha and weaving it into some type of living lesson. This is no normal week. This week's Parsha is Kedoshim. It means holiness. The opening chapter of Kedoshim contains such sublime teachings that one can't help but wonder how to add anything to these timeless teachings. To take only one verse of this chapter known as the holiness code is to miss so many other core concepts of Judaism. Let me therefore take you on a tour through the chapter, quoting a selection of verses. I assure you that I will not be able to resist offering some commentary along the way.
Our Parsha opens with the words, "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 G-d am holy.' The Hebrew words for you shall be holy are Kedoshim Tihyu." Kedoshim is based on the Hebrew word Kadosh. In rabbinical school, we learned that Kadosh means - separated from and elevated above. We are to be a holy people. We are to maintain ourselves as a separate entity in the world and try to strive to a higher level. When we say the words Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh in our liturgy, we try to rise higher and higher on our toes to personally experience this. We express this Kadosh in many ways. On Shabbat, at our Shabbat table, we chant Kiddush over the wine. In the Amidah, we recite the Kedushah. Mourners recite the Kaddish. Marriage is called Kiddushin, and when the groom gives the ring to his bride he said "Harey at mekudeshet lee - behold you are holy, set apart, elevated above to me." Note that there is no one holy class or caste amongst the Jewish people. These words are to be spoken to the entire community. Clergy are to me no holier than the laity. We are equally responsible to rise to that higher and higher level of holiness.
One may then ask what are the behavioral components to achieve a life of Kedushah - holiness. The rest of the chapter goes on to explain.
Verse 3 "You shall each revere his mother and his father and keep my Sabbaths: I the Lord am your G-d." Why in the same verse is the Sabbath mentioned with revering our parents? It's a lot for one sentence. When we keep the Sabbath we show our reverence for our eternal parent. Psychological insight has shown us that feelings for parents and for G-d are often similar. In this verse, they hold equal weight.
In Verse 9, we turn to matters of social conscience. "When you reap the harvest of the land, you shall not reap al corners of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger, I the Lord am your G-d." Here is a core text of Judaism's central concern for the underclasses of society. You may know the word Peyos as the sidecurls of the Hasidm. The singular Peah means corner. A corner of the field was to be left for the poor. The Mishnah elaborates. That corner must constitute at least 1/60th of the field. Which corner should be left? The Mishnah instructs the owner to leave the corner farthest away from his own dwelling so the poor would not be seen taking this "charity" and so can maintain a modicum of self respect.
The ensuing verses are of great import but in the interest of time/space and your patience I'll skip to Verse 14. "You shall not insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind." You shall fear your G-d. I am the Lord. There is an old Iranian proverb. "If you see a man lying in the street, kick him. Why should you be any better to him than G-d?" Our approach is just the opposite. G-d wants us to respect and care for those in need, those in any way handicapped, challenged. Towards the end of the chapter, in Verse 32 we find words displayed on most city buses in Israel. Only in Israel do you find the Torah and in its original language on a bus. "You shall rise before the aged and show deference to the old, you shall fear your G-d. I am the Lord." We Jews have been at the forefront of issues of social justice caring for those in need of care. We can trace our stance back to these verses. Xenophobia is a malady felt in many countries. It is a fear, dislike, enmity for the stranger. We have suffered much from others' xenophobia. Verse 33 continues "When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him. The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens; you shall love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I the Lord am your G d." We could have had a different ethic. Because we suffered as strangers, let the stranger now suffer from us. Most abusers were in fact abused at an earlier stage of life. The Torah tells us to break that cycle of abuse. There is great holiness to this.
How many countries today have fair and impartial judiciaries? It is central to the functioning of a just society. In Verse 15 we find "You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich: judge your kinsman fairly." Towards the end of creating a just society we find in Verse 35 "You shall not falsify measures of length, weight or capacity. You shall have an honest balance, honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. When you pay for a pound of corn beef, you want to know that it's a full pound and not an ounce less. The lady in front of my always wants to make sure it doesn't have any fat.
The highlight of this chapter falls in its middle. Rabbi Akiba called it the central verse of the Torah. Sermons and lectures can be given on this verse along, Verse 18 which contains those immortal words "V'ahavta L'rayakha Kamokha - Love your fellow (friend, relative) as yourself. This perhaps is the basis of the golden rule. Love is central to Jewish thought and life. We are to love G-d, to love others and it begins with loving ourselves. Linda Creed was right when she wrote those beautiful words, "The greatest love of all is happening within. Learn to love yourself; it is the greatest love of all." From loving yourself, you can love others and love G-d. We learn to love ourselves best by being loved as children. Those who were not loved well in their earliest years struggle with this for a lifetime. They believe they are not worthy of being loved but they are, you are. It is a commandment of the Torah. Begin with yourself and then love others.
Right after this verse the Torah says "And you shall observe my laws." The chapter ends similarly "I am the Lord your G-d who freed you from the Land of Egypt. You shall faithfully observe all my laws and my rules: I am the Lord."
There is that famous story of the heathen who comes to Hillel and says teach me the hole Torah while I stand on one foot. Hillel knowing his time was limited said "What is distasteful to you, do not do to others. All the rest is commentary. Go and study." If someone were to learn only one chapter of the entire Torah, this would be the chapter I would have them learn. If we could internalize the teachings of this chapter and express them in our lives, we would attain an incredible level of Kedushah - holiness. We would revere our parents and observe the Sabbath. We would care for the disabled, the poor and all those in need. Our interpersonal relations would improve immeasurably and we would create a just society in the judicial system and in our every day relations with each other. And we would love. We would love ourselves and others. This chapter is a goal to strive for. If we ever actually have a society that fully fulfills these teachings we will know that that this time, Messiah is finally amongst us. May it be speedily and in our day.
Shabbat
Shalom
