Welcome to Torah Thoughts from the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa, Adas Israel. Each week we take a look at the portion of the Torah we read for Shabbat and offer up some contemporary thoughts. This week we read from Parsha Kedoshim ("holy") which can be found in Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27.
In this portion the Jewish People are instructed to be "holy". "Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them, You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem your G-d."
Beyond what it means to be "holy" there is another thing important in this first sentence from this reading: "Speak to the ENTIRE assembly..." In past references we've seen where G-d might say, "Speak to the Children of Israel..." but in this portion Moses is told to speak to the "entire assembly".
The inference is that everybody is "in". Nobody is removed from the commandment to be "holy".
This is one of the reasons Jews, for thousands of years, have been hated. Our unique call to become more like G-d through following His commandments is seen by many as being somehow "better" than others. However, that is not the case. We are commanded not to be "better" but to be holy. In striving to follow the commandments in living our lives as He told us we don't just merit favor we also face a great responsibility.
We are not only responsible for our actions but also we feel a responsibility to the entire world. A responsibility of goodness, kindness. Of taking care of each other, Jew and Gentile, and taking care of our planet.
It's not an easy task and it takes constant work and a commitment to always do the right thing. Sometimes we fail and that is because we are human. But, if we realize our failure and learn from it, pick ourselves back up and continue to move forward we truly are on the path to become a "holy nation".
We'll talk more about this during services on Friday the 10th at 7:15pm and then again during our Midrash (Torah Study) at 10:00am on Saturday the 11th. All are welcome to attend.
Candle lighting time on Friday is 8:06pm
See you in Shul!
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