Seeking Holiness

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
Leviticus 16:1-20:27
Précis: Acharei Mot begins with Adonai speaking to Moses after the death (acharei mot) of Aaron’s sons. It describes the rituals for Yom Kippur, including the prescribed sacrifices. There are specific details about the purification of the Sanctuary, vessels, and the priests. Following this descriptions, rules for the slaughter of meat, including the prohibition against eating blood, are reiterated. The parasha concludes with a listing of prohibited marriages. The opening words of Kedoshim are “You shall be holy” (kedoshim tihyu), and it continues with various descriptions of how the People are to strive for holiness. Included are fundamental laws, such as fearing one’s parents and observing Shabbat. Consideration of the poor through the commandments to leave the corners of fields for gleaners is included, as are mandates which compliment the ethical principles of the Ten Commandments (being honest, avoiding vengeance). Specific bans against magicians, soothsaying, witchcraft and defiling the dead follow, as are reminders to avoid human sacrifice. This parasha is often viewed as an essential source of moral teaching for the Jewish People.

Leviticus 19:2 “Speak to all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy; for I, Adonai your God, am holy.’”

How are we to approach a transcendental concept such as “holiness?” The concept is central to this week's reading and is at the very center of Torah: we are to become holy in imitation of the Ineffable.

Writing in the Chancellor's Parasha Commentary (4/23/94), Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Schorsch suggested that holiness has three basic elements: self-denial, boundaries, and community.

First, holiness begins with self-denial. Self-denial implies that we are not governed by mere impulse, and that we should consider how and when we go about activities of daily life. The emphasis is on “self” because the action springs from within. We can think about self-denial as an act of intention: guarding against impulsivity. Just because something is available does not mean we should take it or make use of it. We get closer to holiness when we thoughtfully abstain from eating whatever we want, from working whenever we want, or from keeping everything that we want. Holiness requires a personal moderation of desire.

Second, our path towards holiness asks that we accept boundaries imposed by our tradition (the external parallel to self-denial). By accepting boundaries (what we eat, how and what we do) we can focus our energy on what is truly important and proper. As Chancellor Schorsch comments, accepting boundaries for our behaviors is “a way of contracting the self and shrinking the ego.”

Third, holiness requires a connection to community. Judaism is not a religion of private, isolated contemplation of the Divine. To be Jewish, and to enhance holiness, we must live with and among others. We seek communal holiness in our human daily interactions, in a minyan, at a wedding, or sitting shivah together.

The command to “be holy” – to imitate our understanding of God's holiness - is the central message of this week's reading and perhaps, of the Torah in general. It requires a thoughtful life, a life of limits, and a life of commitment to others.