Welcome back to Torah Thoughts from Adas Israel the Jewish Congregation of Northern Iowa and based in Mason City. I'm writing this on
Yom Ha'atzmaut or Independence Day in Israel. Seventy-four years ago, born out of the horror of the Holocaust, the State of Israel because a reality. For hundreds of years Jews waited and prayed for a return to our homeland. While it is a day of celebration it is also a day of great meaning. Happy "Re-Birthday"!
Kedoshim
This week we read a very appropriate section of the Torah. Parsha Kedoshim (Lev. 19 - 20) sums up what it means to be a Jew. The opening sentence reads, "Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: 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."
And it gets better: "Every man: Your mother and father shall you revere and My Sabbaths shall you observe - I am Hashem, your G-d."
There is so much to unpack here. Let us start out with defining the word Kedoshim. We read, and are told it means "holy" however there is a deeper meaning to the word. What exactly is the obligation to become kadosh and how does one strive to achieve it? In addition, everything in the Torah is carefully juxtaposed, so how is the next verse, which commands reverence for one’s parents, connected to this idea of being kadosh?
Separated
The word kadosh actually means to set aside or separate. For example, in a Jewish marriage ceremony the man indicates his intention to marry his wife by saying that she will be “mekudeshes” to him. This means that she is separated and designated for him alone, to be his wife. So what exactly does it mean that G-d is described as kadosh if we understand that word to mean separate?
By commanding the Jewish people to be kadosh, the Almighty is asking us to separate ourselves from our self-centered desires and to focus outwardly. The perfect example of such a separation is G-d Himself.
The Almighty is perfect with no intrinsic needs. His actions in creating the world had nothing to do with any perceived needs of His own; rather it is all a function of His wish to bestow the ultimate good on humanity. When it comes to G-d, there are no self-serving actions, only actions directed for others. Therefore, G-d is kadosh because His actions are “separate” from Himself.
What About Us?
We are likewise commanded to become kadosh like Him. The great sage, Rashi explains that this means separating from forbidden intimate relationships. This is why this Torah portion immediately follows the list of forbidden relationships. A person’s strongest desire is in this area because it is so self-serving. Exercising self-control in such cases is one of the keys to separating ourselves from egocentricity.
This also explains why the Torah immediately follows the exhortation of being kadosh with the commandment for reverence to our parents.
The antidote to a child’s self-centeredness is to have great reverence for one’s parents. We owe our parents for everything they do for us, because nothing is “owed” to us. We have to break the sense of self and learn to focus outwardly, just like the Almighty – and in this way we can begin to become kadosh like Him.
The Lesson
The great lesson here is that Jews are being told to be separate and apart from the ordinary world around us. You wonder why we celebrate our various holidays and festivals that are so very different from others? You wonder why the food we eat, or do not eat, is different from others? You wonder about the laws of family purity and how those are different than the majority culture? This is not to say we are ignorant of the world around us...how could we be...however what G-d wants from us is to, at all times, know that He is in charge and our duty is to live up to the many commandments we have been given. Why? Because they bring order to our lives apart from the world.
And, if we look at Lev. 20:26 we see that G-d actually tells us that. "You shall be holy for Me, for I Hashem am holy; and I have separated you from the peoples to be Mine."
Midrash
The month of May has me traveling, has Alan traveling so we thought it might be a good idea to do a virtual Midrash this Shabbat starting at 10:00AM. WATCH your email for the Zoom Link given to us by our friend Tracy Smith.
Catch you then and Shabbat Shalom!
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