This week’s portion – Kedoshim (literally, “holy,” as in “you shall be holy to me”) – is a chock full of excellent advice for a better life, the bible’s version of a “self-help” book if you will. In addition, the portion – as its name suggests – may invite a discussion on the (often misunderstood) notion of holiness in Judaism. I will shortly comment on each of these subject today.
I. The Bible: The Best “Self-Help” Book Ever Written?
Much of the text of this week’s portion may be justly considered as the most useful and well written guidance-for-life ever given. To be sure, for religious persons these words are not merely “how-to-better-oneself” platitudes but actually binding religious decree; they are, however, equally useful for all of us, regardless of our level of faith. Indeed, what truly stunning about reading these words is how fresh and up-to-date they sound today, more than 3,000 after they were first written.
We begin with the Golden Rule – the Ur-text of all moral philosophy – which appears in this week’s portion: Love Thy Neighbor As Yourself; I am the Lord. (Levit. 19:18). Not for naught did Old Hillel considered this statement to be the entire Torah in a single sentence. There is a lot to it. (For an interesting Wikipedia summary of the Golden Rule across the ages and philosophies, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Rule#Judaism). Just by way of beginning to understand how fascinating this statement is, consider the following: According to most interpretations, the connection between the first and second parts of the statement is for, as in “love thy neighbor as yourself for I am the Lord.” This is the most logical interpretation, because this is a religious decree, and, like all other similar decrees, draws its authority on the divine. Thus, for the religious person, you should not act in a certain manner (such as loving others) because it is morally just, but rather because God ordered you to do so. But another provocative, and very interesting, interpretation to this well-known verse was suggested by Elie Wiesel (who, in addition to all other credential, is also a biblical scholar); he suggests to limit the first part to “love thy neighbor,” while the other part of the sentence should be read: “(for) as yourself I am the Lord.” In other words, the reason for the order to love others is that God is like all other humans; thus by loving others (humans) you also show your love for God. Obviously, such intriguing personification of God can only be made by one the most famous survivors of the most horrific experiences ever to be lived by man; still, this is a fascinating interpretation that I found extremely thought-provoking.
Other examples of useful advice that are relevant today as much – if not more – than at the time they were written: “You shall not curse the deaf, and before the blind you shall not place a hurdle” (Levit. 19:14) – two interesting decrees which Drash (non-literal interpretation) is much more interesting than the Pshat (textual interpretation), although the latter should also be extremely useful for every disable-rights minded society; “Do not carry injustice in a trial: do not favor the poor or show deference to the well-to-do; in justice you shall judge your peers” (Levit. 19:15) – an early, and very important warning against “social engineering” through using the legal system; “You shall rise before the elderly, and show deference to the old” (Levit. 20:32) - a decree that every generation seems to be in greater need; “And when a foreign resident dwells among you, do not defraud him; as a citizen like you he shall be to you.” (Levit. 19:33) – suggesting that the undocumented employees of old and those of today receive the same adverse treatment; and finally, for those who wonder about the origin of the symbol of justice – the famous balanced scale – a reminder that Wall Street moguls were not the first to commit (allegedly, allegedly, of course) a fraud on the financial markets: “Do not carry injustice in the law – falsely measuring size, weight, or capacity; you shall have a scale of justice – stones (weights) of justice, ruler of justice, and measurement of justice.” (Levit. 19:35).
I could dedicate an entire blog post to each of these – and many other – great, and very concisely written, “how-to” ideas. But I will let you, the reader, pick your own favorite advice and try to understand it more thoroughly. As usual, I will be happy to hear your comments.
II. On the Notion of Holiness in Judaism
“You shall be holy for I, the Lord Your God, am holy.” (Levit. 19:2). This is one of the most famous “opening statements” of all portions of the week; it is also one of the quintessential proclamations on the notion of Jewish holiness, and by far the most misunderstood. As I have explained before (based on Leibowitz, who, in turn, is based on the Rambam), the notion of holiness in Judaism is not based on the premise that we are, ipso facto, holy by the nature of our Judaism. This is a common mistake – perhaps the most common mistake – made by many Jews across history, and is even more prevalent these days: We are Jewish, hence we are holy. Not true.
In fact, the notion of holiness in Judaism is properly based upon the holiness of God himself: He is the only Holy entity; He and not us. In order to become holy – that is, to be raised to the level of holiness that only Jews, and none other religions, may ascend to – Jews are required to do two things: in the affirmative, to follow all of God’s rules and laws; and in the negative, to refrain from doing whatever other people, who do not believe in God, are doing. These two facets – the positive and negative – of Jewish behavior are the building blocks on which the notion of holiness is based. To the extent that Jews are not following God, or doing “as the rest of the people do,” they cannot claim their unique status. But, and perhaps most importantly, to the extent they do follow those two facets, they would only become holy in the relationships between themselves and God – not in the dimension (so often invoked) between Jews and non-Jews, that is between one person and the next. For that level, as we just learned, we must abide by the religious decree of “love thy neighbor (i.e., any person, not only Jewish persons) as yourself, (for) I am the Lord your God.”
So next time you encounter a self-proclaimed Jewish “holy” person, ask them: (1) Do you follow all of God’s rules? If so, (2) Do you refrain from doing what other, non-Jewish people are doing? If so – and only if so – let them know that they can proclaim themselves “holy” in their own relationship with God; this should be considered a huge achievement to every person of faith; but that is all that the achievement is. Holiness between (and among) other human beings is not achieved in Judaism – neither achieved nor meant to be achieved. This should be pursued – if at all – by other disciplines. And this should serve an important lesson in inter-personal humility for all Jews: We can achieve holiness (though it is extremely hard), but only with regards to our relationship with God.
Shabbat Shalom.
Doron
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