Weekly Portion: KEDOSHIM Torah: Leviticus 19:1 – 20:27 Haftorah: Amos 9:7 - 15 THIS WEEK’S TORAH READING Kedoshim is probably the best well known Parasha in all of Leviticus. Otherwise known as “The Holiness Code” it starts with the famous words: “You shall be holy for I the L-rd Your G-d am holy.” (19.2) The Torah does not simply say be holy. It then details the actions that make a person holy by listing laws which intersperse ritual and cultic law with what we sometimes call ethical law. Clearly, in the view of the Torah there is no dichotomy between these domains. The person who is “whole” and holy shapes’ his/her life in both of these areas by the standards expressed in this chapter. This chapter has always been seen as a key Torah text. Some even see this as an alternative “Ten Commandments” since one can find parallels to all of the Ten Commandments in this section. Another indication of the centrality of this section is the famous verse: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (19:18) Rabbi Akiva who lived in the second century C. E. called this “the greatest rule in the Torah.” It seems that this verse assumes that loving oneself is key to being able to love others. What difference would it have made if the verse had said simply: “Love your neighbor?” Take the opportunity to discuss the meaning of this famous verse as well as the following verses: “Each person should have awe for his mother and father and should keep My Shabbatot, I am the L-rd Your G-d.” Question: Why are these two laws – respect for parents and keeping Shabbat connected? “When you harvest your fields, don’t harvest all the way to the corners…leave that for the poor and the stranger. I am the L-rd.” Question: What could we do today that would be like leaving the corners of our field? “Do not curse the deaf and do not put a stumbling block before the blind and have awe for Your G-d, I am the L-rd.” Give an example for each of these that does not take “deaf” and “blind” literally.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Apr 2014 00:25:18 +0000
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