Parashat Acha'rei Mot Ke'do'sim Leviticus 16:1-20:27

This week’s pair of portions are A’ch’arei Mot (which means “after the death,” as in after the horrific death of two of Aharon’s sons for sacrificing the “foreign fire,” discussed in “She’mi’ni” several weeks back -- an event that still has a lasting effect), and Ke’do’shim (which means Holy, as in “You shall be holy for I am Holy” said God).  Both are a chock full of life-coaching tips.  Both contain some of the best, and most well-known advice given by the scriptures – advice that, of course, is a binding decree upon those who consider them the word of God, but perhaps should be heeded by all of us regardless of degree of faith.  They are all sound, and are as fresh today as they were 3,000 years ago. 

Among those are: “You shall not curse the deaf, and before the blind you shall not place a hurdle” (the last one being extremely versatile; think of cookie-filled closet in the house of a person trying to loose weight, for one) (Levit. 19:14); “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.” (notice the restriction on “social engineering” on both ends of the social scale) (Levit. 19:15); “You shall rise before the elderly, and show deference to the old” (enough said) (Levit. 20:32); “And when a foreign resident dwells among you, do not defraud him; as a citizen like you he shall be to you.” (pointing to the undocumented employees of old, and the adverse treatment they have already received back then); 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 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).

Other than these – and many other – lessons for life, the two portions are centered around two themes: the incest restrictions, and the notion of holiness.  I want to the dedicate few words (very few) to each.

The Laws of Incest: What, and Why

In both portions, the laws of incest play a major role. In the first, we learn initially on the general restriction – “None of you shall come near anyone of his own flesh to uncover nakedness; I am the Lord.” (Levit. 18:5). This general restriction – which, in my mind, should first and foremost be understood as a complete restriction against sexual relations with sons and daughters – is followed by a very detailed list containing less obvious examples of restricted sexual behavior within the family, including sexual relations with one’s mother or father, with other wives of the father, with sisters, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, daughters-in-law, sisters-in-law, and others. The list concludes with more general restrictions (not incest-related) such as the restriction against homosexual relations, and – separately – bestial relations (hence the erroneous link frequently made between the two by self-righteous moralists) (Levit. 18:6-23).  

In the second portion we mostly find a repetition of that list, but this time with the penalty attached. This penalty – no surprises here – is mostly death. For example, “And a man who shall sleep with his father’s wife, exposing his father nakedness, both of them shall die their blood upon them.” (Levit. 20:11) The same punishment awaits both persons engaged in homosexual relations (20:13); death by fire awaits a man taking a daughter and her mother (20:14); a "regular" death to a man engaged in bestiality (20:15); and so on.  Other punishments, presumably for less than full sexual intercourse, include excommunications or “cutting off” of the persons involved.

Much more interesting than the “what” contained in these two detailed lists, however, is the “why” – the religious explanation given by God himself as to these restrictions.  One explanation is that the Israelite should not replicate the laws and customs of both Egypt (where they came from) or C'na'an (where they are destined to arrive) – apparently, in both countries these acts were prevalent.  Another explanation is that the land itself, according to God, became so “unpurified” by the prevalence of these acts, that it “spewed out” its current occupiers, presumably allowing the Israelites (who would not commit those acts) to come and settle in its midst. This is a fascinating humanization of the land, and one worth noticing on Earth Day (which we mark this week).    

These two explanations are in fact one. They are two sides of the same coin. And they both relate to the notion of holiness in Judaism, on which I (again) want to say a few words. 

The Notion of Holiness in Judaism                 

“You shall be holy for I am Holy the Lord your God.” (Levit. 19:2).  Thus opens the second portion of this week (“Ke’do’shim – Holy); it is also one of the quintessential proclamations on the notion of Jewish holiness.  As I have explained before (based on Leibowitz, who, in turn, is based on the Rambam), the notion of holiness is not based on the fact Jews are superior in any way to their fellow men and women. They are not better, in and of themselves. Such a mistaken notion was widespread among the Jews ever since ancient history, and is even more prevalent today: "We are Jewish, hence we are holier than thou."  Simply not true.

In fact, the notion of holiness in Judaism is properly based on the holiness of God: He is the only Holy entity; He and not us.  In order to become holy, too, Jews are supposed to do two things: in the affirmative, they should follow all of His rules; in the negative, they should not do "as the other people do." These two facets – the positive and negative – of Jewish behavior are the building blocks on which the notion of holiness lies. 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 more importantly, to the extent they do, they are only holy in their relationships with their God. Holiness, in other words, exists only in the person vis-a-vis God dimension, and not in the person vis-a-vis person dimension.  This is the entire concept, and the rest go and study. 

Thus, the next time you encounter a self-proclaimed “holy” Jewish person, ask them: (1) Do you follow all of God’s rules?; and, if so, (2) Do you refrain from doing what other, non-Jewish people are doing? If so – and only if so – you may proclaim yourself “holy” in your 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) men is not achieved in Judaism – neither achieved nor meant to be achieved.  This is an important lesson in humility.

Shabbat Shalom.