Parashat Kedoshim 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Parashat Kedoshim contains the Holiness Code: God instructs the nation, “you shall be holy, for I am holy.” This is followed by a listing of mitzvot whose observance God requires of us. The positive commandments include honoring parents, keeping Shabbat, leaving the corners of your field and the gleanings for the poor, judging fairly, leaving fruit trees alone for three years, showing respect for the aged; having just measures. The prohibitions include worshipping idols, stealing, swearing using God’s name, cursing the deaf, putting a stumbling block before the blind, slandering, hating, taking revenge, eating blood, making cuts or marks in yourself for the dead, consulting mediums, wronging the stranger, sacrificing children to Molech, committing adultery, engaging in any one of a list of prohibited sexual relations. Each of the Ten Commandments appears somewhere in this list. The parashah finishes with a reminder that we will inherit the land, therefore we must be holy, since God has separated us as God’s own people.

This very short haftarah (nine verses) begins by reminding Israel that we are no different from other nations – all nations and races are equal in God’s eyes. As such, God will also destroy the sinful among us. The image that is used is of a large sieve that will separate out only the finest among us; this remnant will be restored to the land, never to be uprooted again. Each harvest will be so plentiful that it will last until the next one. We will again once again be called “my people”.

Both the parashah and the haftarah warn us that banishment from the land of Israel will be a consequence of being sinful (Lev. 20:22, Amos 9:14-15). Though we have been chosen as God’s own people, and are set apart from other nations, we may only realize our destiny through observance of the covenant. We must be holy, because God is holy, and demands nothing less from us.