Parshat Kedoshim

Kedoshim
Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27

The Children of Israel are commanded to be kedoshim or “Holy”. If one observes the Sabbath, honors his parents, and rejects idol worship, this state of kedoshim can be achieved. The practice of child sacrifice to the heathen god Molech is to be rejected. So too is witchcraft and sorcery to be rejected. Mutilating or tattooing the body is also forbidden. Forbidden mixtures of animals or the mixing of wool and linen (sha’atnes) are to be avoided. A person may not eat the first fruits of a tree for the first three years.

A Jew must be compassionate. Special consideration must be shown to the stranger because we were once strangers in Egypt. One must be sympathetic to the orphan and the widow. No stumbling block should be placed before the blind. The corners of the fields (peah) must be left for the poor. Business dealings must be conducted in an honest and fair way. A shopkeeper must maintain honest weights and measures. A judge should show no bias to any litigants. A Jew must do everything in his power to save the life of another Jew. He must admonish his erring fellow. He should love his neighbor as himself. Additionally, it is forbidden to engage in immoral sexual acts such as incest or adultery.

Parshat Kedoshim begins where “Acharei Mos” left off; immoral sexual acts. Starting with the opening verse of “You shall be Holy because I, the Lord your G-d am Holy”, this parsha is filled with the many ways in which one can become imbued with holiness. It is a guidebook for living in the real world. It mixes business ethics with mysterious chukim (like the prohibition against mixing linen and wool). It ranges from immoral sexual acts to having chesed for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the blind, and the stranger.

G-d expects us to be an Am Kadosh, a “Holy People” and not “Holy Angels”. The Torah recognizes our need for the physical attributes and desires for living. But Man is above the animals and so we must rise above those baser instincts. Holiness involves reflecting, at the moment, of the responsibility that one’s actions have on the community in general and our spiritual needs in particular. Being aware of what we do or say, even in private, is part of being an Am Kadosh. By starting the parsha with immoral sexual acts, the Torah is teaching us that how we act toward each other, even in private, can mean spiritual life or death. In the case of Sodom and Gemorrah, it meant physical death as well.

All of the laws enumerated in this parsha end with the phrase “I am the Lord.” This occurs sixteen times. I find the number sixteen significant since I believe that it relates to one of the blessing recited after the Shema on Shabbos morning:

“Emes v’yatziv, v’nachon, v’kayam, v’yashar, v’ne’eman, v’ahuv, v’chaviv, v’ne’che’mor, v’na’im, v’norah, v’adir, u’m’tukan, u’m’kubal, v’tov, v;yafah…”

“Your teaching is true and enduring, your words are established forever. Awesome and revered are they, eternally right; well ordered are they, always acceptable. They are sweet and pleasant and precious, good and beautiful and beloved…”

There are sixteen words in the Hebrew version of this prayer and by reciting it, we remind ourselves about the judgments, ordinances (mishpotim), and statutes (chukim) given to us with abundant love, by G-d, in the Torah. The repetitious “I am the Lord” after these moral teachings also serve as a reminder of their divine components.

There are many moral teachings presented in this parsha. Some of them, such as “Love your neighbor as yourself”, are very famous. Let us focus on just of few of them for better insight and meaning.

The Torah states: “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length, in weight, or in measures of content. Just scales, just weights and a just ephah and a just hin shall you have.” It should be noted that in the Torah an “ephah” is a unit of dry measure and a “hin” is a unit of liquid measure. Compared to the “golden rule” of love your neighbor, this one seems a bit different. The sages, in the Talmud, elevated this ordinance to a very high level. The Talmud states that the punishment for cheating on weights and measures is more severe than the punishment for immoral sexual acts. The reason for this is that someone who commits an immoral sexual act can repent. Repentance for fraud is almost impossible, especially if it has been going on for a while, since a person must return all that was “stolen” to each individual. This takes the commandment, “Thou shall not steal” to a higher dimension. Making loud noises late at night or very early in the morning, is akin to stealing since it robs people of their sleep!

The story is told about the Chofetz Chaim. One day when he was studying in Vilna, he spent the entire morning sending merchandise to his wife for their grocery store in Radin, Poland. The Chofetz Chaim owned a small store so that he would not be totally dependent on community support. One of the residents of Vilna used to bring him meals in the yeshiva. That day, the Chofetz Chaim refused to accept the meal. He said that since he spent the day dealing in business instead of studying Torah, that it would be considered stealing if he accepted the man’s food (since it was given on the assumption that the Chofetz Chaim would spend most of his time learning Torah).

Deceiving in weights and measures is also considered to be fraud in the Talmud. Tractate Bava Metzia also reminds us that there is also fraud in words. That is, using flattery or lying for a deceitful purpose. Jewish shopkeepers in Eastern Europe would pride themselves on keeping honest weights for both Jews and Gentiles. The Rabbis of the period, especially the Chofetz Chaim, would personally inspect all the scales in businesses to make sure that people were not being cheated.

The Torah states: “You shall judge your fellow man with righteousness”. In this verse, the Torah commands us to judge others favorably. This means giving them the benefit of the doubt. In our country, a person is innocent until proven guilty. As novel as this idea was in Western Civilization, the Torah instituted this commandment thousands of years earlier! How many times have we jumped to conclusions about someone? The yetzer hara will cause us to question the motives of someone. We might ask about a neighbor home during the day, “Why doesn’t he work?” We may suspect someone of having said something about us, or about having ulterior motives. The Torah commands us to control these instincts and get all the facts before making a decision.

Rabbi Aryeh Leib Alter, the Chassidic Rebbe of Ger, was also known as the

“Sfas Emes”. As a boy, he studied Torah diligently every day and night. One evening he became so involved with a section of gemara, that he stayed up all night. Finally, when sleep overcame him. He passed out on top of his sefer. His grandfather, the

“Imrei Emes”, seeing him asleep that morning, rebuked him for sleeping late and being lazy. When a friend, who knew the truth, asked the young Aryeh Leib why he hadn’t correct his grandfather, he said, “To hear admonition form my grandfather was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.”

To become an Am Kadosh, we must first learn to live together. When the Children of Israel were freed from Egypt, they lost a certain protection and guidance. Masters make decisions for slaves. Parents make decisions for children. To live in the real world, we must conduct business honestly and fairly, learn to respect one another, and respect ourselves as well.

	Oceanside Jewish Center Weekly Parsha By Jonathan Wolf
	Kedoshim Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27 The Children of Israel are commanded to be kedoshim or “Holy”. If one observes the Sabbath, honors his parents, and rejects idol worship, this state of kedoshim can be achieved. The practice of child sacrifice to the heathen god Molech is to be rejected. So too is witchcraft and sorcery to be rejected. Mutilating or tattooing the body is also forbidden. Forbidden mixtures of animals or the mixing of wool and linen (sha’atnes) are to be avoided. A person may not eat the first fruits of a tree for the first three years. A Jew must be compassionate. Special consideration must be shown to the stranger because we were once strangers in Egypt. One must be sympathetic to the orphan and the widow. No stumbling block should be placed before the blind. The corners of the fields (peah) must be left for the poor. Business dealings must be conducted in an honest and fair way. A shopkeeper must maintain honest weights and measures. A judge should show no bias to any litigants. A Jew must do everything in his power to save the life of another Jew. He must admonish his erring fellow. He should love his neighbor as himself. Additionally, it is forbidden to engage in immoral sexual acts such as incest or adultery. Parshat Kedoshim begins where “Acharei Mos” left off; immoral sexual acts. Starting with the opening verse of “You shall be Holy because I, the Lord your G-d am Holy”, this parsha is filled with the many ways in which one can become imbued with holiness. It is a guidebook for living in the real world. It mixes business ethics with mysterious chukim (like the prohibition against mixing linen and wool). It ranges from immoral sexual acts to having chesed for the poor, the orphan, the widow, the blind, and the stranger. G-d expects us to be an Am Kadosh, a “Holy People” and not “Holy Angels”. The Torah recognizes our need for the physical attributes and desires for living. But Man is above the animals and so we must rise above those baser instincts. Holiness involves reflecting, at the moment, of the responsibility that one’s actions have on the community in general and our spiritual needs in particular. Being aware of what we do or say, even in private, is part of being an Am Kadosh. By starting the parsha with immoral sexual acts, the Torah is teaching us that how we act toward each other, even in private, can mean spiritual life or death. In the case of Sodom and Gemorrah, it meant physical death as well. All of the laws enumerated in this parsha end with the phrase “I am the Lord.” This occurs sixteen times. I find the number sixteen significant since I believe that it relates to one of the blessing recited after the Shema on Shabbos morning: “Emes v’yatziv, v’nachon, v’kayam, v’yashar, v’ne’eman, v’ahuv, v’chaviv, v’ne’che’mor, v’na’im, v’norah, v’adir, u’m’tukan, u’m’kubal, v’tov, v;yafah…” “Your teaching is true and enduring, your words are established forever. Awesome and revered are they, eternally right; well ordered are they, always acceptable. They are sweet and pleasant and precious, good and beautiful and beloved…” There are sixteen words in the Hebrew version of this prayer and by reciting it, we remind ourselves about the judgments, ordinances (mishpotim), and statutes (chukim) given to us with abundant love, by G-d, in the Torah. The repetitious “I am the Lord” after these moral teachings also serve as a reminder of their divine components. There are many moral teachings presented in this parsha. Some of them, such as “Love your neighbor as yourself”, are very famous. Let us focus on just of few of them for better insight and meaning. The Torah states: “You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length, in weight, or in measures of content. Just scales, just weights and a just ephah and a just hin shall you have.” It should be noted that in the Torah an “ephah” is a unit of dry measure and a “hin” is a unit of liquid measure. Compared to the “golden rule” of love your neighbor, this one seems a bit different. The sages, in the Talmud, elevated this ordinance to a very high level. The Talmud states that the punishment for cheating on weights and measures is more severe than the punishment for immoral sexual acts. The reason for this is that someone who commits an immoral sexual act can repent. Repentance for fraud is almost impossible, especially if it has been going on for a while, since a person must return all that was “stolen” to each individual. This takes the commandment, “Thou shall not steal” to a higher dimension. Making loud noises late at night or very early in the morning, is akin to stealing since it robs people of their sleep! The story is told about the Chofetz Chaim. One day when he was studying in Vilna, he spent the entire morning sending merchandise to his wife for their grocery store in Radin, Poland. The Chofetz Chaim owned a small store so that he would not be totally dependent on community support. One of the residents of Vilna used to bring him meals in the yeshiva. That day, the Chofetz Chaim refused to accept the meal. He said that since he spent the day dealing in business instead of studying Torah, that it would be considered stealing if he accepted the man’s food (since it was given on the assumption that the Chofetz Chaim would spend most of his time learning Torah). Deceiving in weights and measures is also considered to be fraud in the Talmud. Tractate Bava Metzia also reminds us that there is also fraud in words. That is, using flattery or lying for a deceitful purpose. Jewish shopkeepers in Eastern Europe would pride themselves on keeping honest weights for both Jews and Gentiles. The Rabbis of the period, especially the Chofetz Chaim, would personally inspect all the scales in businesses to make sure that people were not being cheated. The Torah states: “You shall judge your fellow man with righteousness”. In this verse, the Torah commands us to judge others favorably. This means giving them the benefit of the doubt. In our country, a person is innocent until proven guilty. As novel as this idea was in Western Civilization, the Torah instituted this commandment thousands of years earlier! How many times have we jumped to conclusions about someone? The yetzer hara will cause us to question the motives of someone. We might ask about a neighbor home during the day, “Why doesn’t he work?” We may suspect someone of having said something about us, or about having ulterior motives. The Torah commands us to control these instincts and get all the facts before making a decision. Rabbi Aryeh Leib Alter, the Chassidic Rebbe of Ger, was also known as the “Sfas Emes”. As a boy, he studied Torah diligently every day and night. One evening he became so involved with a section of gemara, that he stayed up all night. Finally, when sleep overcame him. He passed out on top of his sefer. His grandfather, the “Imrei Emes”, seeing him asleep that morning, rebuked him for sleeping late and being lazy. When a friend, who knew the truth, asked the young Aryeh Leib why he hadn’t correct his grandfather, he said, “To hear admonition form my grandfather was an opportunity I didn’t want to miss.” To become an Am Kadosh, we must first learn to live together. When the Children of Israel were freed from Egypt, they lost a certain protection and guidance. Masters make decisions for slaves. Parents make decisions for children. To live in the real world, we must conduct business honestly and fairly, learn to respect one another, and respect ourselves as well.