Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom,

This Shabbat’s portion of the Tora is called “KEDOSHIM-Saints”. After the book of Leviticus makes a detailed analysis of the purity and impurity issues of the material world, it is time to deal with spiritual issues of holiness. Recent Torah readings, mainly focused on what goes in and out of the body: the permitted and prohibited foods, the laws of kashrut, and impure secretions from the body, such as leprosy, skin lesions, excretions, and a woman's pregnancy. All of a sudden, in this week's, Parashat Kedoshim, the text moves from negative prohibition to positive and constructive commandments - from concern for the physical body to a clear desire for moral human behavior. The Torah portion begins with the verses: "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, ² “Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: ‘Ye shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy.” A question arises here, from this clear commandment, what do we have to do, to be holy? It is a subject that we discussed a few weeks ago, and the concept of holiness is not entirely clear. This commandment is, basically, an extension of the priests' sacred role towards the entire nation. After indicating the laws of sacrifice making, which are executed by the priests, and the law of leprosy, which entails a diagnostic role upon the priests, God now reaches to each one of us, and offers us direct access to approach the divine! Still, we do not have a clear answer, on how to reach that level of holiness. After all, it is not a genetic virtue given to us by birth, like it is for the Cohen, priests, whose priesthood condition passes from one generation to another. But instead, it is an attitude, a behavior, something that can be temporary, and that depends entirely on us.

The answer is found right in the following verses, enlisting a variety of human behaviors of high moral value. Those are commandments between humans, between man and his neighbor. Some are well-known, others are less familiar, and perhaps, it is important to make them known again. Here are some examples, taken from the same - chapter nineteen:      “³ You shall each revere your mother and your father, and keep My sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. ⁹ “And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy harvest. ¹⁰ And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy vineyard. Thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger: I am the Lord your God. ¹¹ “‘Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another. ¹² And ye shall not swear by My name falsely; neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord. ¹³ “‘Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbor, neither rob him. The wages of him that is hired shall not remain with thee all night until the morning. ¹⁴ Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord. ¹⁵ “‘You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kin fairly. ¹⁶ “‘Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand against the blood of thy neighbor: I am the Lord. ¹⁷ “‘Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart. Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbor, and not let sin come upon him. ¹⁸ Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord“.

Isn't it fabulous? All these commandments have something in common, beyond the correct social life and the expected laws of public order. There is something deeper to this list. It is about the sanctity of moderation, even if it is not understood explicitly from the text. We can understand the concept of holiness if we understand the opposing aspect of it, negative impulses, such as xenophobia, selfishness, and being insensitive to the anguish of others. To fight it, it is necessary to exhibit moderation, acceptance, and self-control. "Ye shall be holy" also tells us: "Ye shall be moderate", "Ye shall be modest", "Ye shall be sensitive", and "Ye shall be human". To be more human, it is necessary to conduct our lives with moral behaviors towards everything around us. Not only the Eternal, blessed be he, bestows holiness! We too, in our actions, can imitate the holiness of the creator of the Universe. It is a bilateral relationship between God and humanity. For this reason, he says - "You shall be holy because I am Holy."

       The deepest concept of this holiness is reflected in the signature of all these verses:לרעך כמוך  ואהבת " - "You shall love your neighbor as yourself". You cannot give love if you do not love yourself. And to love ourselves, we are asked to enjoy life, to be aware of life, and to absorb it with our senses. How many people go through their daily lives, in a routine way, almost like robots! Have you seen them, or maybe, you identify yourself as one of them? During COVID back in 2020, the virus we experienced, came to break the routines, and the apathy towards life. Does this daily routine sound familiar to you? Waking up, getting dressed, eating breakfast (or not), traveling in traffic to work or school, returning home tired, getting some rest, perhaps eating dinner, going to sleep. And this cycle is renewed at least six days every week, until Shabbat, or the day of rest. We get used to sink into this routine in our lives, without realizing, it is not "one more day", but THE DAY, the best day we have received as a divine gift, and for which we should be grateful. I recently heard from a friend in Costa Rica, when I told him that this was “another day”, we answered me… “No Rabbi, this is not ANOTHER day, is ONE DAY LESS in our lives”. And this approach actually gave me lots to think about.

"Kedoshim Tihiyu – Ye shall be holy" – reminds us, to be aware of the life around us, to see it from another perspective. During the daily blessings that we recite in the morning service, the text leads us to be aware of many details: “Baruch Ata Adonai Elohenu Melech Haolam…” - we sing and then we enumerate a long list of characteristics that only a few, pay attention to: "that you give us the understanding to discern between night and day", we have been given the ability to grasp the reality of the outside world, "that you open our eyes", so we have been given the gift of sight, "that you keep us upright" that we have control over our muscles, "that you dress the naked", that we have clothing, "that you give strength to the tired" that we are not sick, "that you gave us freedom" that we are not totally secluded as 133 people are still in Gaza with Hamas…

The list continues giving thanks for being part of Israel and for protecting our people. Thus, we begin the day, being instructed to be fully aware of the abundant blessings we enjoy in our lives. Then, during the day, raise your eyes to heaven! Did you know that what you see is UNIQUE and is never repeated? The way the clouds are arranged, the hue of the blue in the sky is UNIQUE, it will never be seen in the same way again, never ever... Observe the night! with its stars in the sky, which invite us to see them and marvel at the immensity of the universe. Can you imagine the reaction of a person who could travel in a time machine, from the year 1700? Imagine this person’s reaction, when he/she realizes that by moving a switch, we can have light in the house! Or if we move a handle, clean water runs! Even more, imagine his/her reaction discovering that we can see each other right now, in the distance, through a small screen in our cellphones. Keep in mind, that even today, millions of people do not have electricity or drinking water, which is not only scarce in their poor villages, but it is very likely, that they will never have it at all. So, aren’t we tremendously lucky?

In gematria, the Hebrew word TEVA, which means nature, and the word ELOHIM, which means God, have the same value of 86. To be close to God is to be close to nature, which He has created for us to enjoy. When you see a rainbow, when it rains, when you see a blue sky, with mountains of an intense green color, when you feel the need to say- “Ma ravu maaseja Adonai, kulam bechochma asita! - How great are your works Adonai, you have done them wisely!” - you will feel that holiness. When we join the beginning and the end of these verses together: "You shall be holy because I am Holy,", and - "Thou shall love your neighbor as thyself", we understand holiness from the perspective of life itself. Be holy, enjoy life, and be moral beings with everything that surrounds us, because that is one of the greatest values in Judaism.

Shabat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

May 10th, 2024