The biblical portion Kedoshim, 19:1-20:26, is read together with the prior portion of Aharei Mot during non-leap years, as happens during the week beginning May 4, 2025. It contains many significant laws dealing with holiness. What is holiness?
Many think “Holiness” is an other-worldly, mystical concept, or a way of acquiring something divine. This is not true. This false notion does not help people improve. It supports people who prefer to be passive and depend on outside help. We should not be passive. We should act to improve ourselves and everything in this world.
The true definition of “Holiness” is rational and practical. It means being separate or set apart. God, for example, is holy because God is different and set apart from everything that is not God, and people are holy when they set themselves apart from improper behaviors. Another example is Shabbat, which is sacred because it is a day set apart to teach many lessons.
Verse 20:26 makes this definition clear. The Torah states: “You must be holy for Me, for I the Lord have set you apart from other people that you should be for Me.” Midrash Sifra explains that this means you should separate yourself from what is wrong.
The portion Kedodhim lists many acts that require holiness. We are told to “fear” our mothers and fathers. The decalogue mentions “honoring” fathers and mothers. There is no need to talk about fearing a father because, as Midrash Sifra and Talmud Kedushin 31a state, most children fear their dads, but do not fear their moms. The Torah tells us here to set ourselves apart from others who fail to do so and fear our moms as well.
Perhaps it is mentioned first because family is the core of society, and children living in one-parent homes frequently, but of course not always, stray from what is proper. We can and should learn how to behave with others from a good family setting.
Then comes Shabbat, undoubtedly because of what my Dad taught me when I went on my first military assignment, “Israel. Be sure to observe the Shabbat. More than you keep the Shabbat, the Shabbat will keep you.” He was right.
Next comes the prohibition against worshiping idols. Even today, many waste time and idolize improper things. We must learn to respect time, which is more important than objects. It is one of the lessons of the Shabbat.
These laws are followed by rules requiring not doing good things in the wrong way, giving charity even to strangers, prohibiting theft, lying, swearing falsely, not paying workers on time for which Talmud Bava Metzia 111a states, one who does not pay workers on time violates five prohibitions, one of which is theft, cursing even those who cannot hear the curse, and placing stumbling blocks before those who are blind, which includes non-blind people who do not see what you are doing.
We are warned to make proper judgments, not slander others, not stand idly when a neighbor’s blood is spilt, and not to hate other people, a rule that controls not only acts but also encourages us to train ourselves to think correctly. The Decalogue command not to covet what belongs to others is similar.
The list goes on, including many rules that should set us apart from those who violate them, such as 19:33 and 34 – one of Judaism’s favorites, certainly mine: “If a stranger lives with you in your land, do not wrong him. Treat him like a citizen…you must love him as yourself.” This is holiness.
Shadal reminds us that our ancestors also saw a prohibition against revenge implied in 19:33 and 34 and similar verses. Many people recognize that misbehavior against other people is wrong, but think revenge is an exception because it’s proper justice. Therefore, the Torah tells us to love others as we love ourselves. Just as we would not want others to take revenge against us, we should not take revenge on others, even when the revenge seems justified.
Shadal also tells us what Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) saw in the verse: The love of the other should be both in quantity and quality.
Mendelssohn valued reason and was the first Jew to bring secular culture to Orthodox Jews. He set himself apart from those who thought rational thinking was wrong and performed a holy act by doing so.
. God, for example, is holy because God is different and set apart from everything that is not God, and people are holy when they set themselves apart from improper behaviors. Another example is Shabbat, which is sacred because it is a day set apart to teach many lessons.
Is God not similar to us that we both have an intellect?
We like to think that God has intellect, but if God does have intellect, it is so different than ours.
I agree with Rabbi Drazin that God must have some kind of intellect because the universe reflects divine intellect. However, it is different from humans. The Archbishop of Dublin, William King, said the same thing in different words. The Archbishop said that God’s wisdom, knowledge, and intellect are as different “as weighing in a ballance is from thinking, or as light from motion.” He also said that there is no more likeness between God’s wisdom and ours than between our hand and God’s Power.
Yes, we agree.
From General to Lawyer
Israel speaks like a fine man
For all the Jews around the world
Education, education, education
The key to happiness
It shall be an ornament around your chest and a refuge
Clear and understanding
depthful and rational
Yet, he knows the depth of his knowledge
Unlike God who knows all
Who seeks the truth like our creator
The God of Israel, His servant Israel.
Life as precious as rubies and diamonds
He put his life on the line to defend freedom
His dedication, His Life, His Works
Wanted to display one of my poems for everyone to see!
Wow!!! What a compliment. Yes, we have to put together a book of your poetry and publish it.
Congrats Steve Chan Long !!! Bravo !!!
Thank you Stephen!
If you write a book about your poems, I’d read it.
Verse 20:26 makes this definition clear. The Torah states: “You must be holy for Me, for I the Lord have set you apart from other people that you should be for Me.” Midrash Sifra explains that this means you should separate yourself from what is wrong.
Many people misinterpert this text thank you for clarifcation rabbi.
Thank you Steve.
This is my favorite parsha of the year! I think this is not only what makes the Jews special but also unique. In a world where selfish wants and needs dictate people’s daily behavior , holiness is a concept most people don’t begin to comprehend. When I have to explain why I can’t eat something or can’t work on Shabbat and people give me the blank look of not comprehending, I often quote that were told to be holy because hashem is holy…we have to show restraint and elevate ourselves over our baser animalistic wants. We are holy and have to act that way. Love the review!
I agree entirely and love you too, Daniela Shoshana.
Dear Rabbi Israel Drazin ! I have also explored the philosophical implications of holiness, arguing that it is a state of being that is both rational and mystical. The rational aspect of holiness is reflected in the observance of mitzvot, or commandments, which serve as a framework for ethical and moral conduct. The mystical aspect, on the other hand, is experienced through the cultivation of spiritual intentions and the pursuit of divine love and wisdom. Best: stephen
Regarding holiness. Maimondes and Spinoza felt that nothing is inherently holy per se. We can only call a thing “holy” in a metaphoric sense. For example, the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are both sacred in the metaphoric sense as they are the foundations of the American country. In my view, they are holy for all Americans.
Nothing is inherently holy and there is no such thing as “holiness.” It’s a human construct. It’s a feeling we have toward something we value. Holiness does not exist in anything. The land of Israel is only holy if Jews live there and the Shabbat is holy in the metaphoric sense, for us, only when we observe it properly. In my view, however, there is no inherent holiness to the Sabbath day from the point of view of nature. The Sabbath is no different than any other day. The seventh day is a numerical division of time and nothing more. The annual revolution of the earth makes what we call a year. The year is artificially divided into months, the months into weeks of seven days, the days, the days into hours, etc. The period of seven days, like any other of the artificial divisions of the year, is only a fractional part thereof, contrived for the convenience of countries. They might as well talk of the Lord’s month, of the Lord’s week, of the Lord’s hour, as of the Lord’s day. All time is His, and no part of it is more holy or more sacred than another.
I am a fan of the Jewish deist Moses Mendelssohn. Mendelssohn was a rationalist. He is famous for his book, Jerusalem. Mendelssohn defended Jewish law as they do not conflict with government laws and he advocated for freedom of conscience and said that Judaism was compatible with the ideas of the Enlightenment.