Parashat Kedoshim
Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27

Topics (click on any link)
Synopsis of the Torah portion
Spiritual insights into Parashat Kedoshim
Key verses
Creative Midrash for Parashat Kedoshim


Synopsis                                return to top
Chapter 19  
In the midst of a long discussion of clean and unclean conditions, suddenly the Torah launches a double chapter summary of laws that demonstrates how to behave compassionately, in a variety of situations. We come across such principles as "do not steal"; "do not defraud your neighbor"; "do not insult the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind" and a host of other such acts of kindness. Here, too, we find one of the most well known statements in the Torah, "Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.

Chapter 20
God outlines to Moses the penalties that a person must pay for violating the regulations set forth in these last two chapters. The penalties that are described seem rather harsh, in most cases, the lawbreaker is to be put to death or cut off from his people, a punishment considered worse than death. All of this punishment is not designed for vengeance, but rather to impress the people not to follow the ways of the nations that God is driving out of the land. God wants the Israelites, as His chosen people, to possess the land, the land flowing with milk and honey.

Spiritual insights into Parashat Kedoshim                               return to top
Kedoshim begins with a statement by God directed to the Israelite community through Moses. You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy" (Lev. 19:1). Thus far into Leviticus we have encountered the subjects of sacrifice, purification, the distinction between sacred and the profane, clean and unclean and now holiness. Is there a connection between all of these issues discussed in detail earlier in the Book of Leviticus? Some say that Leviticus is the instruction manual for priests.

Would you agree with that or are these themes designed for our benefit today as well as centuries ago. Could these spiritual values that we have encountered thus far, add up to the most major of all Jewish concepts, holiness.  The title of this Parashah means, in Hebrew, holiness. As you read through the seemingly mundane laws presented in Kedoshim, can you see a connection with these earthly rules and the experience of holiness? Is it possible to achieve holiness by practicing simpler laws that pertain to everyday life? Holiness by Jewish standards means to be separated, like the sacred and the profane; holiness being an aspect of sacred. The Torah implores us toward holiness; it is telling us that we are created in God's image, the ideal of holiness. How would your life differ if you were more connected to the holy then to the profane?

Key verses                                return to top
This page is not a commentary on the text, but a chance for you to express your own comments and feelings in order to gain deeper insight into your own life.

Leviticus 19:18
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your kinfolk. Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
Food for thought:
1. How would you describe the commandments that come before and after this verse?
2. Do you think that "Love your neighbor as yourself" is an attribute of God?
3. Could you think of any other statement that defines the Torah better than "Love your neighbor as yourself"?

Leviticus 20:10
If a man commits adultery with a married woman, committing adultery with his neighbors wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.
Food for thought:
1. Do you think death is a just penalty for adultery?
2. According to the Torah, just how serious, for the good of the community, do you think adultery is?
3. What other laws does this verse prohibit?

Leviticus 20:24-25
I the Lord am your God who has set you apart from other people. So you shall set apart the clean beast from the unclean, the unclean bird from the clean.
Food for thought:
1. Since God set us apart from other people, is that any reason for us to set apart clean from unclean animals?
2. What does "setting apart" mean to you?
3. In what ways were we set apart from other people? Does that hold true today?
4. What does setting apart clean from unclean have to do with how we live our lives today?

Additional questions to ponder:
1. What is it about the story, a verse, a word that seems to resonate with some aspect of your life?
2. Is there something about the story that rings a bell?
3. Can you recall experiences in your life when you have experienced something similar to this story?
4. How would you describe the characters in the story? Who do you know who's like them?
5. Can you personally identify with any one of the characters in the story? Which one?
6. Can you find a similarity between yourself and all the characters in the story?
 
 

Reflections:
The Rabbis of old would meditate on such questions, sometimes for weeks at a time, to help find deeper meaning in the verses. You may wish to contemplate just one or a few of these questions at a time, rather than tackling them all.
In what ways we any of your responses to the questions personally meaningful?

Suggestion:
Some of the questions here are of a personal nature which in some cases could be emotionally upsetting. If so, try relaxing your body as much as possible and takes long slow breaths of air. That usually helps to relieve anxiety.

We would like to know if you find this method of Torah study particularly helpful to you. Click here to let us know
  

Creative Midrash on Parashat Kedoshim                                return to top

Leviticus 20:25
So you shall set apart the clean beast from the unclean, the unclean bird from the clean. You shall not draw abomination upon yourselves through beast or bird or anything with which the ground is alive, which I have set apart for you to treat as unclean.

The Rabbis of old would create parables, stories and narrative connections around such selected verses. What do you see between the lines, the sentences and the letters. The following questions can provide a launch pad upon which to create your own meanings of the Torah.

What does cleanness and uncleaness mean to you? What does sin mean to you? Why does the Torah use the phrase "set apart"? Why not simply describe the birds and beasts that are clean or unclean? Is there are relationship between uncleaness and sin? Do you think people today live in sin perpetually, or can they be cleansed of it? How would we cleanse ourselves today? What do you think you do, according to your definition of sin that’s sinful? What means do you have of cleansing yourself? Do you think in today's day and age its important to be cleansed of sin? Does this Torah portion give you any clues to what's sinful and what's unclean? Do you think its healthy to live under sinful conditions? What can you do about it? What are you willing to do about it?