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A Theology of Holiness\nAlec Goldstein
\nKodesh Press
\n258 pages<\/p>\n
A Theology of Holiness
\nAlec Goldstein
\nKodesh Press
\n258 pages<\/p>\n
Chapter 8 of this book starts with a quote from Socrates: \u201cWhat is piety? That is an enquiry which I shall never weary of pursuing.\u201d That quote might as well have come from the author given the origins of this book.<\/p>\n
While in Yeshiva University, Alec Goldstein took a course in \u201cHebrew Semantics and Lexicography.\u201d For his final paper, Goldstein selected to analyze the semantic overlap of the words kodesh<\/em> (holy) and tahor<\/em> (pure). He writes, \u201cI became fixated on every aspect of this relationship: linguistic\u2026, anthropological, exegetical, literary, and philosophical.\u201d The result of Goldstein\u2019s obsession is that he never completed the assignment but his voluminous research in this area has surfaced in the form of A Theology of Holiness<\/em>. (Also please note the name of the publishing house founded by Goldstein \u2013 Kodesh Press! Truly, this project represents a lifetime commitment on the author\u2019s part.)<\/p>\n As an author of books and articles on Jewish thought, I tend to treat the Hebrew word KDSh as if it means \u201cunique.\u201d God is kadosh<\/em> because there is no other being like Him. The Torah is kadoshah<\/em> because it\u2019s the only book dictated by God. The Jews are kedoshim<\/em> because they are God\u2019s chosen people. Israel is kodesh<\/em> because it\u2019s God\u2019s chosen land. And yet, even as I\u2019m treating KDSh as \u201cunique,\u201d I know that it\u2019s far from a perfect approach. \u201cUnique\u201d is an absolute \u2013 something can\u2019t be \u201ca little unique\u201d \u2013 but there are degrees of holiness. In the Temple, there was the Kodesh<\/em> and the Kodesh HaKedoshim<\/em> \u2013 the \u201cHoly\u201d and the \u201cHoly of Holies,\u201d respectively. Similarly, sacrifices included kodshim kalim<\/em> \u2013 offerings of a lighter degree of sanctity. If something can be \u201cmore holy\u201d or \u201cless holy,\u201d holiness is clearly not \u201cunique.\u201d So what is it? To paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, we may not be able to define holiness but we know it when we see it.<\/p>\n Or do we? And therein lies the premise of the current work.<\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, the first section addresses the linguistics of KDSh, not just in relation to THR (purity) but also in relation to PRSh (separation), ZMN (preparation), ChNK (inauguration) and other concepts. Most striking, to the extent of warranting its own section, is the “fourfold relationship” among KDSh, THR, ChLL and TM\u2019 (holiness, purity, desecration and impurity, respectively). Have you considered the conceptual similarity between things that are holy and those that are ritually impure? Each is restricted for use, albeit for diametrically opposed reasons. And yet, while impurity and holiness may serve as conceptual opposites, they are not lexical opposites.<\/p>\n And then there\u2019s meilah<\/em> (trespass). This is not a term that we would normally contrast with kedusha<\/em> and yet Devarim 32:51 does exactly that. There are many such concepts that are inextricably bound with that of kedusha<\/em> in ways we might not have imagined.<\/p>\n Those with less of an interest in linguistics and etymology might be tempted to skip the first section and head straight for \u201cComprehensive Theories of Holiness,\u201d but not only is the linguistic analysis an integral part of the work, it forms the foundation on which the rest is built.<\/p>\n Subsequent sections include \u201cHoliness of God and Man,\u201d \u201cHoliness of Place, Time, and Objects,\u201d \u201cBiblical Understanding of \u2018Being Holy,\u2019\u201d \u201cHellenistic Holiness,\u201d \u201cTalmudic Holiness,\u201d and the aforementioned \u201cComprehensive Theories of Holiness.\u201d The volume of scholarship collected is beyond impressive. It appears so daunting that one is amazed Goldstein was ever<\/em> able to complete his research!<\/p>\n Obviously, the full gamut of Torah sources is represented, from Bible verses to Talmudic interpretations, and from Rambam and Kuzari to Rav Hirsch and Rav Soloveitchik, but there\u2019s so much more.<\/p>\n We are treated to concepts of holiness from the ancient Near East, predating the giving of the Torah, in which holiness was limited to their deities. Only with the coming of Judaism was holiness something towards which the average person might aspire.<\/p>\n Socrates takes center stage in the section on Hellenistic Holiness, with emphasis on his works Euthyphro<\/em> and, to a lesser extent, Protagoras<\/em>. The work of Immanuel Kant also features fairly prominently, and was possibly an influence on the approach of Rav Hirsch. Authorities cited go all the way up to Prof. Burton Leiser (d. 2009), who observed that \u201cthe statements \u2018This is sandy ground\u2019 and \u2018This is holy ground\u2019 look very much alike\u201d but the latter doesn\u2019t tell us very much about the ground at all, illustrating that holiness refers to a “series of relationships” about an object rather than to an object’s quantifiable attributes.<\/p>\n In case it was unclear, make no mistake: A Theology of Holiness<\/em> is no light reading. It\u2019s an academic work that encompasses the breadth of Torah literature on the subject of kedusha<\/em> and extends its branches into relevant works in related disciplines, linguistic, historical and philosophical. This approach might be a little much for some people\u2019s pleasure reading but its indispensable if one hopes to broach the development of our understanding of kedusha<\/em> in any significant way.<\/p>\n Rabbi Jack Abramowitz is Torah Content Editor at the Orthodox Union. He is the author of six books, including\u00a0The Tzniyus Book<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0The Taryag Companion<\/a>. His latest work,\u00a0The God Book<\/a>, is available from\u00a0OU Press<\/a>\u00a0as well as on\u00a0Amazon<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A Theology of Holiness Alec Goldstein Kodesh Press 258 pages Chapter 8 of this book starts with a quote from Socrates: \u201cWhat is piety? That is an enquiry which I shall never weary of pursuing.\u201d That quote might as well have come from the author given the origins of this book. While in Yeshiva University,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":384,"featured_media":62383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[85],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration"],"yoast_head":"\n
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