KEDOSHIM
By Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Greenbaum
Torah Reading: Parshas
KEDOSHIM, Leviticus 19:1-20:27
Haftara: Amos 9.7-15 (Sephardi ritual: Ezekiel 20.2-20).
BE HOLY
FOR I AM HOLY
This week's parshah,
KEDOSHIM TIHYU, "Be holy.", was specifically
addressed by G-d through His prophet Moses "to all of the assembly of the Children
of Israel" (Leviticus 19:2). In the words of the Midrash: "This
parshah was addressed to all of the assembly because most of the main bodies of
Torah law depend upon it. 'Be holy' -- be pure
(PERUSHIM), separate from the world's vanities. 'For Holy am I, HaShem your
G-d': This teaches that if you sanctify yourselves, I consider it as if you had
sanctified Me. And if you do not sanctify yourselves, I consider it as if you
have not sanctified Me. Could it mean that if you sanctify Me then I am sanctified
but if not, then I am not sanctified? No - because it says, '.for I am Holy' --
I am in My holiness whether they sanctify me or not." (Sifra,
Kedoshim 1:1).
The code of conduct whose
foundations are laid forth in the present parshah gives practical expression to
the challenge addressed to the Children of Israel when they assembled at Sinai
to receive the Torah. "If you will surely listen to My voice and guard My
covenant, you shall be a precious treasure out of all the nations, for the
whole earth is Mine. And you shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a HOLY
NATION: these are the words you shall speak to the children of
Following the account of
the Giving of the Torah in YITRO, parshas MISHPATIM
laid down many of the basic laws governing man's behavior with his fellows
including the prohibitions of murder, robbery and theft, the laws of
restitution for damages, etc. Many of the laws in MISHPATIM are somewhat
specialist in the sense that they apply particularly to Dayanim,
Torah judges.
However the code laid
forth in the present parshah, KEDOSHIM applies to everyone, as it is the basic
Torah code for everyday life, starting with the respect due to parents and the
observance of the holy Shabbos -- which overrides
even the former, should any conflict arise.
The next Mitzvah in the
parshah -- to eat sacrificial portions within their appointed time -- cannot
unfortunately be observed today in the absence of the
The Mitzvos
that follow in our parshah are those of giving gifts of produce to the poor,
and of basic integrity: "Do not steal, do not deceive and do not lie to
one another. Don't impound your friend's money, don't delay payment for
services rendered. Don't unjustly favor either the poor or the rich. don't hate
your brother in your heart, give due reproof, do not take vengeance or nurse a
grievance against the children of your people, and love your friend as
yourself, for I am HaShem".
The code of Holiness
contained in our parshah is not one that requires its followers to separate
from the material world and live apart in ascetic communities such as in
monasteries and the like. On the contrary, true KEDUSHAH comes to a person
precisely through living his or her life with family, friends and associates,
within the wider community and in the workaday world. Making
a living within the boundaries of the halachah,
taking into account the needs of the needy, dealing correctly in business,
abstaining from all theft and corruption, from hatred, vengeance, etc. etc.
It is precisely through keeping these commandments in our everyday material
lives, while actually dealing with all that we have to deal with each day, that
we become purer.
This "purity"
is the KEDUSHAH, the "holiness" which is the defining attribute of
the path of life set forth in our parshah. In mystical writings, KEDUSHAH is
particularly associated with the mental and spiritual faculties of CHOCHMAH,
BINAH and DA'AS, while the very foundation for their healthy functioning is the
purity of YESOD, moral purity.
In giving us a code of
"holiness" that governs the way we do business with one another, how
we talk to and about one another, as well as so many other details in our lives
in the world, the Torah is teaching us to constantly activate our CHOCHMAH,
BINAH and DA'AS powers in everyday life. In the words of the Baal Shem Tov,
"An everyday barter exchange also involves the Talmudic law of 'exchanging
an ox for a donkey'." In other words, everything we do, including in our
business lives, is a G-d-given opportunity for discovering buried
"sparks" of holiness within the very situations that confront us. We
need to activate our minds to recognize the holy potential contained within
everyday affairs. Nothing is more evanescent than today: the day is quickly
gone. But if we are alert to the mitzvahs we can perform every day,
particularly in the realm of "love your friend as yourself" -- which
includes all forms of kindness -- we gather great treasures day by day, all of
them stored in G-d's memory, where nothing is forgotten.
* * *
THE
FOUNDATION
As mentioned above, the
spiritual traits of CHOCHMAH, BINAH and DA'AT -- the ability to perceive G-dliness and to grasp the divine wisdom -- are bound up with
YESOD, the "Foundation" -- sexual purity. This is the subject of the
latter part of this week's parshah. Thus the Torah Code of Holiness in daily
life -- KEDOSHIM -- comes "sandwiched" between the concluding part of
the previous parshah, giving the fundamental incest prohibitions, and the concluding
part of this week's parshah, setting forth the penalties for their
infringement. This underlines the fact that the true KEDUSHAH depends upon
observance of the Torah moral code.
A fundamental principle
of Torah law is that wherever a punishment is laid down, the prohibition is
also explicitly stated in the Torah. This explains why the incest prohibitions
in KEDOSHIM appear to duplicate those at the end of ACHAREY MOS. In fact, there
is no duplication: the laws of ACHAREY MOS state the prohibitions, while the
laws of KEDOSHIM state the penalties for their infringement.
At the head of the list
of forbidden practices is the giving of seed to Molech
(Lev. 20:3). This is explained as a form of idolatry assumed by many to be
defunct today in which a father would give over some of his children to be
walked by priests through fire as a form of initiation and consecration.
Actual Molech-worship within the technical parameters of the term
may or may not be defunct, yet there are indications that various kinds of
rituals involving children including pedophilia and actual Satan-worship are
practiced in this day and age in many different places in the world. For
example, in
What innocent parents may
not realize when they submit their children to television, video, magazines and
the other communications media of contemporary society is that they may also be
exposing those children to a kind of Molech-worship.
Thus most secular TV and other media show images of the uncovered human form,
many unashamedly erotic, without the slightest compunction. Today images of the
uncovered form are so universal that few people can remember the world of a
mere fifty years ago, when indecency was still considered shocking.
With all this suggestion
and blatant eroticism around them, it is hardly surprising that many teenagers
growing up in a secular environment are deeply obsessed with their bodies and
their sexuality. The place of the body, sexuality and romance in the mind of
many teenage girls, for example, can be seen from a quick survey of the
literature they read. What the popular literature does not spell out is the
personal pain and agony of so many helpless victims of this culture and their
problems of depression, anorexia, substance abuse, thoughts of suicide, etc.
For parents who seek to
bring up children who will become and remain true Israelites all their lives,
there is no option today but to actively seek out ways of separating them
culturally from the secular mainstream. Ideally, the purest environment for
young Jewish souls to grow up in is one that is Television-Free from the
youngest age. It is of great importance to protect children for as long as
possible from the assault on their consciousness by the unhealthy images and
sounds of the contemporary secular media. Only with the power of deep inner
conviction together with imaginative educational methods is it possible to fire
young people with the zeal for the Torah that alone can immunize them from the
evil influences of the prevalent culture which sooner or later they will have
to face for themselves.
Shabbat Shalom!!!
Avraham Yehoshua Greenbaum