Parshat Kedoshim/Rosh Chodesh
May 5, 2000
1 Iyar, 5760

GET HOLY!

We've all seen those blurbs on the covers of paperbacks that say: "If you read only ONE book this year, let it be this one!" 

Though that pitch never convinced me (and only made me suspicious that the reviewer himself had completed only one book that year), I am prepared to risk my good name and my hard-won highbrow reputation by loudly proclaiming-and you can quote me on this: IF YOU READ ONLY ONE TORAH PORTION THIS YEAR (Heaven forbid), LET IT BE THIS ONE!"

I'll go even further.  I'm tempted to say that the Almighty Himself has placed in this parsha His own equivalent of that infamous blurb!  How so?  

Well, it opens up with an unusual construction: "Hashem spoke to Moshe saying, 'Speak to the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, Hashem, your G-d."  (19, 1-2; Artscroll translation; my emphasis.) 

Moshe taught every portion of the Torah to the entire Jewish people, but it was customarily done in a succession of smaller groups; there was no Divine command to gather the "entire assembly" at once to learn together.  (One exception is in the Book of Exodus, parshas Bo, where G-d tells Moshe and Aharon to speak to the "entire assembly" and tell them to designate lambs for themselves, which would be slaughtered on the afternoon before the Exodus; significantly, the pesach-offering was the very first Law which Israel received, as pointed out by Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch in his Torah commentary.)

Here, however, in parshas Kedoshim, G-d tells Moshe to speak to the entire assembly together. 

Taking note of this fact, the Midrash offers a few explanations for the departure from normal custom.  One is that the Ten Commandments are included, in a modified form, among the 51 (!) mitzvos that appear in this portion; since the "Big 10" themselves, according to many commentaries, are like major subject headings that actually encompass all the Torah's commandments, this, in effect, is a way of saying that Kedoshim is a microcosm of the totality of the Torah.  Rashi quotes another opinion in the Midrash that conveys the exact same thought more explicitly: "…this portion was said before the entire assembly because the majority of the essentials of the Torah depend on it." (translation from the Artscroll Rashi)

If you read only one Torah portion this year, let it be this one…for the essence of the whole Torah is contained in it. 

What exactly is here? 

A truly inspiring collection of life-ideals, focusing heavily (though not exclusively) on interpersonal relations and including the most often quoted-if somewhat less frequently practiced-ethical directive of the Torah: "Love your neighbor as yourself."  The subjects range from different forms of theft (rationally understandable prohibitions) to forbidden mixtures of seeds and animals (supra-rational directives), from agricultural gifts for the poor (corners of the field, gleanings, fallen fruit) to the dark thoughts in the heart of man (hatred, revenge, grudge-bearing).  Tattoos, sorcery, unjust weights and measures on the one hand (avoid these) and honoring parents, keeping Shabbos, judging righteously and rising for elders on the other (embrace these). 

Both our relationship to our fellow man and our relationship to G-d are covered here, as they are in the 10 Commandments.  You can't lop off one of those twin branches of our Tree of Life, and try to pass the blemished remainder off as "the essence" of Judaism; there's no picking and choosing if we are to achieve our supreme goal as a people, which is to be what the parsha is entitled: Kedoshim-holy. 

That is what our whole faith is about, and when Hashem first made His offer to us (that we could have, but didn't, refuse), He said as much openly: 

"And now, if you hearken well to Me and observe My covenant, you shall be to Me the most beloved treasure of all peoples…You shall be to Me a kingdom of Ministers and a holy nation." (Exodus: 19, 5-6; Artscroll translation.) 

Every time we utter the standard form of the blessing before doing mitzvos, we are declaring that the ideal of holiness is achieved precisely through (heartfelt) performance of the these mitzvos: "Blessed are You, Hashem,  our G-d, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us to…"

And let's take note: this Torah portion includes a lengthy section on forbidden sexual relationships, the separation from which most defines what it means to be holy, in the estimation of Rashi (and other commentators).  

For Rashi comments on the words, You shall be holy with the following words-"Separate yourselves from forbidden sexual relationships, and from sin."

Finally, we should observe that becoming holy is something we can do only in conjunction with our fellow Jews, only in and through our connection to K'lal Yisrael. 

The blessing quoted above is precise in its language: "Who has sanctified us [not "me"] With His mitzvos…"   The Torah was given to a whole nation, and can only be  fulfilled by a whole nation.  This is another reason that this portion had to be taught in the presence of the whole assembly together: to teach us that when it comes to holiness (our highest goal), no man-and certainly, no Jew!-is an island.

May we enjoy the holiness of this Shabbos together as an assembly…and come to realize that it is only when we ARE together that we can attain our spiritual potential.

GOOD SHABBOS!

NEXT TUESDAY, MAY 9TH, AT 8:00PM AT THE J.E.A.-LECTURE AND VIDEO PRESENTATION BY RABBI YOSEF EDELSTEIN: "The Sights and Sounds and Symbols of the Jewish Wedding."  Part of Step's ongoing Life Cycle Series.