Kedoshim Vayikra (Leviticus) 19:1 - 20:27

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Kedoshim VaYikra (Leviticus) 19:1 - 20:27 Parsha Kedoshim continues the transition that we have followed in this section of the book of VaYikra, from a work primarily directed toward the Kohanim, to one intended for the ordinary Israelite. The people of Israel were to be holy, because G-d is holy. That is the reason and the justification for a series of ethical, ritual and religious rules that comprise this and the following parshiyot in YaYikra. Whereas we might distinguish between the different types of Mitzvot, in Judaism they are all equal, and all equally binding. The people are to observe the commandments and the laws of the sacrifices. They are to provide for the poor and the stranger; leaving the edges of the fields unharvested and the fallen fruits of their vineyards ungleaned, so that the needy could come and gather food. One of the best-known and most beloved verses in the Torah is found in Kedoshim. “V’Ahavta L’rayecha Kamocha …You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (19:18). According to Rabbi Akiba, one of the greatest Rabbis of the period of the Mishnah, this is the greatest teaching in the entire Torah. Indeed, the idea that we all have responsibilities to all people, and the idea that there can be no service to G-d while simultaneously practicing cruelty to others, is one of Judaism’s greatest gifts to the world. Kedoshim warns against insulting the deaf or placing a stumbling block before the blind. Respect and deference must be shown for the elderly. The people were instructed to be fair in judgment and in commerce, and to not bear a grudge. .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Parshat Mishpatim 5773
Written by: Ruth Michaels Editor: David Michaels Parshat Acharey Mot-Kedoshim 5778 At the beginning of this parsha verse 2 states, “Speak to all the congregation of the to cleave to him (u'ldavkah bo). Moreover we are duty bound to do all that is good and children of Israel and say to them: holy shall you be... ". Rav Shimshon Refuel Hirsch perfect ...simply because G-d commanded us to do so." comments that only at the giving of the very first Law which Israel received, the command of the Pesach offering, do we find the order written in similar terms ,to He continues to ask " Why does the Torah say Kedoshim T'hihyu?" “You should be announce the Law to the whole community. The reason for this is because this holy...”. He answers that one should not think that kedoshim t'hihyu refers solely to admonition, "holy shall you be “ refers to the highest degree of moral human perfection forbidden sexual relations due to its juxtaposition to the laws at the end of Acharei Mot and every individual needs to be included in this call to very height of absolute morality. but this phrase refers to each of the Ten Utterances, This means the Jewish people should be holy and sanctify themselves in all matters. Rabbi M Miller suggests that Moshe had to speak to the whole congregation, to each one individually, because in the question of self restraint even from pleasures generally The parsha of Kedoshim follows the sedras from Vaiyikra to Acharei Mot. What is the permitted, each individual must know his own nature...detect in himself the inclinations significance of this order? According to Rav Shimshon Refuel Hirsch, the morality is that threaten to degrade him and exercise on himself those restraints that will restore learned from G-d’s word which rests beneath the wings of the keruvim.
[Show full text]
The Pentateuch – Holy God, Holy People, Holy Calling Pentateuch Sermon Series Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer November 15, 2020
The Pentateuch – Holy God, Holy People, Holy Calling Pentateuch Sermon Series Kenwood Baptist Church Pastor David Palmer November 15, 2020 TEXT: Leviticus 19:1-18 Good morning, beloved. We continue this morning in our study of the Pentateuch, the five scrolls, together with Bible Journey. The Pentateuch, or five scrolls, is the first five books of the Bible. They represent the basic storyline of the Scripture, introduce to us the God of the Bible, who we are in His image, and what we are called to do and be in this world. After the sweeping narratives of Genesis and the epic redemption of Exodus, we come at the end to the base of Mount Sinai. God speaks and then resolves to dwell among us. The book of Leviticus is the centerpiece of the Pentateuch. It's the middle book, and it is the high point, if you will. Most Christians, in my experience, undervalue this portion of God's Word. It is a great mistake. The book of Leviticus is, in fact, the first book that is taught in a traditional Jewish education. It is the high point of the Pentateuch, and it is practical holiness described for us. Repeatedly in this book, we have the exhortation to “be holy, for I am holy.” God dwells among us and calls us to Himself. In the Hebrew tradition, this book of the Bible is: “and the Lord Called,” after the first word of the book, wa-yiqra “and the Lord called.” This is the calling upon our lives to be a holy people in the world, a people who are reserved for God's use in the world, a people who live in a distinct manner in the world.
[Show full text]
LSS 53Rd Annual Dinner 7:52Pm Candle Lighting Kabbalat Shabbat Will Be at 7:05Pm You Can Register for Our Annual Dinner on Our LSS App, Online At
Parshat Behar-Bechukotai • Shabbat Mevarchim 24 Iyar 5777 • May 19- May 20 2017 Shaul Robinson Josh Rosenfeld Sherwood Goffin Yanky Lemmer Tamar Fix Shirley Stark ECHOD Senior Rabbi Assistant Rabbi Senior Cantor Cantor Executive Director President Shabbat Schedule 6:40pm Earliest Candle Lighting Starting next Shabbat, Early Mincha / LSS 53rd Annual Dinner 7:52pm Candle Lighting Kabbalat Shabbat will be at 7:05pm You can register for our annual dinner on our LSS app, online at Friday Night lss.org/annualdinner or by calling the shul office. 6:45pm Early Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Nathaniel Richman Cohen Guests of Honor: Miriam & Michael Laufer Sanctuary. Services led by Chazzan Yanky Yemmer and Kol Young Leadership Award: Judith & Daniel Sabba Haneshama. Dr. Adena Berkowitz will be speaking following Community Service Award: Karen & Ed Stark services 7:55pm Mincha/Kabbalat Shabbat in the Belfer Beit Midrash MAZAL TOV Shabbat Morning Dr. Evan and Pauline Sehgal in honor of the upcoming marriage 7:30am Pre-Hashkama Tefilla Shiur given by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob of Evan’s son, Marc Sehgal to Ilana Gorelick. Bernstein on Praying in the Direction of Jerusalem Grandparents Susan and Avery Neumark on the birth of twins, a 7:45am Hashkama Minyan in the Belfer Beit Midrash followed by shiur given by girl and a boy, to their children Alyse and Joshua Rozenberg. Mazal Tov to great-grandfather Melvin Neumark. Dr. Moshe Sokolow 8:30am Parsha Shiur given by Rabbinic Intern, Jacob Bernstein on Har Sinai or Gabrielle Lubitz on the publication of a scholarly article in the American Journal of Physiology.
[Show full text]
TORAH INSIGHTS for a MODERN AGE by DAVID ROTENBERG
TORAH INSIGHTS FOR A MODERN AGE By DAVID ROTENBERG Integrated Studies Final Project Essay (MAIS 700) submitted to Dr. Mike Gismondi in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts – Integrated Studies Athabasca, Alberta August, 2013 Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………….. 3 Introduction ……………………………………………………………………... 5 Essay One: Joseph vs. George – A Modern Look at Faith ………………….. 11 Essay Two: What’s in a Name? ……………………………………………….. 18 Essay Three: Talk to Strangers ………………………………………………... 23 Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………… 29 References ………………………………………………………………………. 34 2 ABSTRACT Today’s Jewish community features very different demographics from previous generations’ due to large sections of the population being unaffiliated, non-observant, or “Modern Orthodox”. As a result, any efforts to reconnect the unaffiliated and/or reach these other segments of the community for spiritual direction and Torah education must be targeted in new strategic ways. This project employs both the scriptural and comedic knowledge of its author, Rabbi David Rotenberg, a semi-professional stand-up comic, to develop contemporary Torah insights targeted at a modern audience. The project focuses on lessons applicable to three of the 54 weekly portions of the Chumash (Five Books of Moses), Vayigash, Kedoshim, and Emor, each developed as an independent essay, although numerous additional relevant sources are also discussed. Each essay establishes an accepted understanding of the relevant Torah concepts, rooted in the text and traditional commentaries. This conventional thinking is then challenged with original questions, and comedic sources are introduced as a form of unorthodox commentary. The essays conclude by demonstrating a connection and revealing the newly-inspired message. 3 Through the substantive content yielded by the integration of humour sources with Biblical content, the original query – whether new Torah insights could be developed to appeal to a modern audience – can be answered in the affirmative.
[Show full text]
Calendar of Torah and Haftarah Readings 5776 – 5778 2015 – 2018
Calendar of Torah and Haftarah Readings 5776 – 5778 2015 – 2018 Calendar of Torah and Haftarah Readings 5776-5778 CONTENTS NOTES ....................................................................................................1 DATES OF FESTIVALS .............................................................................2 CALENDAR OF TORAH AND HAFTARAH READINGS 5776-5778 ............3 GLOSSARY ........................................................................................... 29 PERSONAL NOTES ............................................................................... 31 Published by: The Movement for Reform Judaism Sternberg Centre for Judaism 80 East End Road London N3 2SY [email protected] www.reformjudaism.org.uk Copyright © 2015 Movement for Reform Judaism (Version 2) Calendar of Torah and Haftarah Readings 5776-5778 Notes: The Calendar of Torah readings follows a triennial cycle whereby in the first year of the cycle the reading is selected from the first part of the parashah, in the second year from the middle, and in the third year from the last part. Alternative selections are offered each shabbat: a shorter reading (around twenty verses) and a longer one (around thirty verses). The readings are a guide and congregations may choose to read more or less from within that part of the parashah. On certain special shabbatot, a special second (or exceptionally, third) scroll reading is read in addition to the week’s portion. Haftarah readings are chosen to parallel key elements in the section of the Torah being read and therefore vary from one year in the triennial cycle to the next. Some of the suggested haftarot are from taken from k’tuvim (Writings) rather than n’vi’ivm (Prophets). When this is the case the appropriate, adapted blessings can be found on page 245 of the MRJ siddur, Seder Ha-t’fillot. This calendar follows the Biblical definition of the length of festivals.
[Show full text]
042421 Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
Candle Lighting W E L C O M E T O T H E D A T M I N Y A N ! (earliest) 6:18 pm SHABBAT ACHREI MOT-KEDOSHIM (latest) 7:28 pm April 24, 2021 // 12 Iyar 5781 DAT Minyan - 560 S. Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO 80224 - 720-941-0479 - www.datminyan.org Havdalah 8:30 pm We are excited to have new space for our shul in the main sanctuary at TRI for weekday and We invite men and women to sign Shabbat minyanim. Our deepest thanks to The Jewish Experience for hosting us over the last many up HERE for our in-person daily months. Thank you to Rabbi Serota for welcoming the DAT Minyan into his building! and Shabbat minyan at TRI, located at 295 S. Locust st, and our additional Shabbat Outdoor D'var Torah by Rabbi Sacks zt"l Auxiliary Minyan, located in the Rabbi Sacks z’’l had prepared a full year of Covenant & Conversation for 5781, based on his book Polotsky backyard at 7369 E Byers Lessons in Leadership. The Office of Rabbi Sacks will carry on distributing these essays each week, Ave. All davening times and classes so people around the world can continue to learn and be inspired by his Torah. are published on our website and It was a unique, unrepeatable moment of leadership at its highest height. For forty days calendar. Moses had been communing with God, receiving from Him the Law written on tablets of stone. Then God informed him that the people had just made a Golden Calf.
[Show full text]
Acharei Mot & Kedoshim
Love Is Not Enough Acharei Mot & Kedoshim 2018 / 5778 The opening chapter of Kedoshim contains two of the most powerful of all commands: to love your neighbour and to love the stranger. “Love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord” goes the first. “When a stranger comes to live in your land, do not mistreat him,” goes the second, and continues, “Treat the stranger the way you treat your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt. I am the Lord your God (Lev. 19:33-34).1 The first is often called the “golden rule” and held to be universal to all cultures. This is a mistake. The golden rule is different. In its positive formulation it states, “Act toward others as you would wish them to act toward you,” or in its negative formulation, given by Hillel, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour.” These rules are not about love. They are about justice, or more precisely, what evolutionary psychologists call reciprocal altruism. The Torah does not say, “Be nice or kind to your neighbour, because you would wish him to be nice or kind to you.” It says, “Love your neighbour.” That is something different and far stronger. The second command is more radical still. Most people in most societies in most ages have feared, hated and often harmed the stranger. There is a word for this: xenophobia. How often have you heard the opposite word: xenophilia? My guess is, never. People don’t usually love strangers. That is why, almost always when the Torah states this command – which it does, according to the sages, 36 times – it adds an explanation: “because you were strangers in Egypt.” I know of no other nation that was born as a nation in slavery and exile.
[Show full text]
Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
In the Bible there are other similar verses with the same meaning, for e idea is that nothing can break through these boundaries, this is a Being a Good A Very Rich Torah Portion example: Can’t I Just be a Good Person? legalistic approach. In this portion we also learn about the concept of holiness. e following One of the questions that always arises in every religious discussion is the e second way is to understand that life is the goal behind them. God Person is Only famous saying appears in our parasha: “I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by following: If there's a person who does good, who seeks to help people, isn't presents us with the formula for a good, healthy, ecient, and correct life. If which the person who obeys them will live.” - Ezekiel 20:11 that enough? e answer is simple - he only fullls half of the work. Half of the Job “…Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.” - Leviticus a person lives according to the way God presents, he will be considered a [NIV] good person. 19:2b [NIV] He keeps the laws, but what about the decrees that sanctify people and bring them closer to God? You cannot separate the two, the decrees and Parashat Today, I want to discuss two questions: What are the decrees and laws that If there are commandments or situations that clash with morality, courtesy, laws go together. Acharei Mot-Kedoshim As a result of this holy requirement, we have a rather immense collection of we are to keep and obey? Second, what does it truly meant to live and abide life, or the value of life.
[Show full text]
January 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shemot
January 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shemot 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Va’eira 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Rosh Chodesh Bo Shevat 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Beshalach 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Tu B’Shevat Yitro February 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mishpatim 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Terumah Adar I Adar I 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Tetzaveh 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Purim Katan Shushan Purim Ki Tisa Katan 28 29 March 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 Vayakhel 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Pikudei Adar II Adar II 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Vayikra Zachor 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Purim Shushan Purim Tzav 27 28 29 30 31 April 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 Shmini Parah 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Tazriah Rosh Chodesh Nisan 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Metzorah Shabbat Hagadol 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Erev Pesach Pesach 1st Seder 2nd Seder Omer: 1 (tonight) 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Pesach Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Chol HaMoed Pesach Pesach Omer: 2 (tonight) Omer: 3 (tonight) Omer: 4 (tonight) Omer: 5 (tonight) Omer: 6 (tonight) Omer: 7 (tonight) Omer: 8 (tonight) May 2016 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Shabbat 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Acharei Mot Omer: 9 (tonight) Omer: 10 (tonight) Omer: 11 (tonight) Omer: 12 (tonight) Omer: 13 (tonight) Omer: 14 (tonight) Omer: 15 (tonight) 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Rosh Chodesh Rosh Chodesh Kedoshim Iyar Iyar Omer: 16 (tonight) Omer: 17 (tonight) Omer: 18 (tonight) Omer: 19 (tonight) Omer: 20
[Show full text]
1 Acharei Mot-Kedoshim I Have Always Been Fascinated That This
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim I have always been fascinated that this parsha, largely about the ritual of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, begins with and is called Acharei Mot — After the death of Aaron’s two sons Nadav and Avihu… You will recall that 3 parshiot ago, in Parashat Shemini, two fo Aaron’s four sons approached the altar with strange fire, esh zara, and were instantaneously immolated. Two questions immediately arise: in what way is the service of the high priest on Yom Kippur connected to the death of Aaron’s sons? is he atoning for their sin? If so, that sin has never been made clear, and certainly he, Aaron, has not been implicated in their actions. 2. Nadav and Avihu were killed three parshiot ago. Why bring it up now in relationship to Yom Kippur instead of immediately following their deaths? I will answer or at least attempt to address these questions but I want to say at the outset that my understanding of these words changed dramatically after my father-in-law died unexpectedly twelve years ago. I traveled home from St Louis to Cleveland following the funeral and a few days of shiva with the girls so that they could go back to camp and I could go back to work and David followed us a day or two later. I remember sitting in the airport, outside of the shiva home for the first time, and feeling so lonely and alienated. Nobody was asking me how I was because nobody knew what had just happened.
[Show full text]
“You Shall Be Holy” : Cornell University, Kedoshim 2011
1 —You Shall Be Holy“ Parashat Kedoshim Cornell University April 29-30, 2011 The 19th chapter of Leviticus is one of the richest in the Bible, replete with any num- ber of verses and even phrases that could be the subject of a d‘var torah in itself; beautiful, inspiring injunctions juxtaposed with verses that strike us as rather primi- tive. Perhaps the two most famous verses in entire book of Leviticus come in this parashah, and I will focus on one of them: 123456 4743 386 97:; 32 734< 1397:;, —You shall be holy for I the Eternal your God am holy“ (Lev. 19:2). Let‘s compare this verse to a passage that we shall be reading in another eight weeks: the account of the rebellion led by Korah against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Here is the challenge publicly hurled against Moses and Aaron: —You have gone too far, 1397:; 1572 4:D4 52 32, for all the community are holy–all of them– and the Lord is in their midst. W hy then do you raise yourselves above the Lord‘s congregation?“ (Num. 16:3). It looks as if Korah is making a telling point. If every member of the commu- nity is holy, if God is accessible to everyone, if each member has the inalienable right of dignity and freedom of thought, then any kind of leadership claiming the power to compel obedience becomes at best problematic, and at worst inherently illegitimate. God had commanded Moses to inform the whole Israelite community, kedoshim ti- hyu, —You shall be holy“, and Korah, apparently echoing this verse from our parashah and taking it very seriously, says, —All the community are holy“.
[Show full text]
Parashat Kedoshim
Parashat Kedoshim Leviticus 19:1–20:27 April 30, 2011 / 26 Nisan 5771 This week's commentary was written by Dr. Judith Hauptman, E. Billi Ivry Professor of Talmud and Rabbinic Culture, JTS. Kedoshim in Context Chapter 19 of Parashat Kedoshim contains some of the loftiest statements in the entire Torah. Consider, for example, "Love your neighbor as yourself" (verse 18) and "Light up the faces of the old" (verse 32). It is strange that this high-minded set of directives finds itself sandwiched between two chapters that focus on forbidden sexual liaisons: chapter 18 lists the bans and chapter 20 the punishments. The women forbidden to men on the list in chapter 18 include a mother, stepmother, sister, granddaughter, aunt, daughter-in-law, and so on. If we recognize that in a patriarchal society sexual relationships are more likely to be initiated by men than women, the sense of these verses is that men should not impose themselves on female relatives. It is difficult to imagine a scenario in which sex with one's granddaughter would be fully consensual. To this day, we speak in one breath of abortion following rape or incest, implying that both are acts against a woman's will. Later in the same chapter, we find a ban on giving one's seed to Molekh (verse 21), an act that would be against the child's will. It therefore stands to reason that the very next verse—"do not make a man lie with you as one lies with a woman"—is yet another instance of forced submission (verse 22).
[Show full text]