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Parashat Kedoshim: the Holiness of Moderation Leviticus 19:1-20:27 Rabbi Pamela Wax

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Parashat Kedoshim: the Holiness of Moderation Leviticus 19:1-20:27 Rabbi Pamela Wax Pitchei ha-Levavot (Heart-Openings) Weekly Torah Study Through a Mindfulness and Tikkun Middot Lens Parashat Kedoshim: The Holiness of Moderation Leviticus 19:1-20:27 Rabbi Pamela Wax (I have just returned from Spain where I visited historical sites associated with both Maimonides [the Rambam, 1135-1204, born in Cordoba] and Nachmanides [the Ramban, 1194–1270, born in Girona]. I would therefore like to pay homage to these two g’dolim by sharing their respective perspectives on holiness, the theme of this week’s parashah.) As Parashat Kedoshim begins, God tells Moses (Leviticus 19:2): Speak to the entire assembly of Israel, and 2 דַּבֵּראֶל כָּל תעֲדַּ בְּ נֵּייִשְּ רָּ אֵּל וְָּאמַּרְּתָּ say to them: Be holy because I the Eternal אֲלֵּהֶ םקְּ דֹשִיםתִהְּ יּו יכִ קָּ דוֹש אֲנִי ה' .your God am holy אֱֹלהֵּ יכֶם. This passage is reminiscent of what God said just before the theophany in Parashat Yitro: “You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Both statements embrace what Rabbi Jonathan Sacks calls the “radical democratization of holiness… a code of holiness directed to the people as a whole,” as opposed to just its priestly elite1. But the rendering here in Leviticus adds the component of imitatio dei that was absent in the Exodus passage: here we are to be holy because God is. It also seems to suggest that holiness cannot be achieved -- or should not be attempted -- in isolation, but rather, through the life of the community. Thirdly, it might also convey a notion of separateness. The Sifra notes that “you shall be holy” really means “you shall be distinct/perushim.”2 Indeed, the word l’havdil (another word meaning “to set apart”) is repeated four times at the conclusion of our parasha (vv. 20:24-26), in which it is implied that because we are a people whom God has set apart, it is incumbent upon us also to set apart/makes distinctions. Parashat Kedoshim expresses both the Levitical/priestly voice of a moral order that requires boundaries and distinctions between purity/impurity and holy/secular, as well as a prophetic voice of justice and compassion. Amongst our favorite prophetic verses in this Torah portion are those that emphasize human relations: about the prompt payment of workers, respect for the elderly, concern for the poor, honest conduct of 1 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Leviticus: The Book of Holiness, p. 284 2 You may wish to revisit the IJS Pitchei HaLevavot commentary on parashat Yitro which also makes this point about kedushah and separation. 1 Pitchei ha-Levavot (Heart-Openings) Weekly Torah Study Through a Mindfulness and Tikkun Middot Lens business, and, of course, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself”. There are also the ritual commandments of religious concern about proper worship and observance as well as avoidance of the taboo (such as not interweaving linen and wool). Of the latter, Rabbi Sacks reminds us that “the priest’s task is to protect order from the ever-present threat of chaos... This requires the maintenance of boundaries in both time and space.”3 Sacks concludes that the ritual and the ethical/prophetic laws in Kedoshim are part of a “total vision of an ordered universe in which each thing, person, and act has its proper place...”4 What does it actually mean to be holy? Is holiness its own commandment or is holiness only derived by fulfilling the other commandments that follow in Leviticus 19? According to Hertz, it is the latter: Holy stands for the fullness of God’s ethical qualities -- for more than goodness, more than purity, more than righteousness, it embraces all these in their ideal completeness. Thus HaKadosh Baruch Hu (“the Holy One, blessed be He”) is the most common name for God in Rabbinical literature.5 I like the idea of calling God HaKadosh Baruch Hu, The Holy One of Blessing, and invoking that notion of holiness when addressing the Divine. Hertz goes on to say: Holiness is thus not so much an abstract or a mystic idea, as a regulative principle in the everyday lives of men and women... Holiness is thus attained not by flight from the world nor by monk-like renunciation of human relationships of family or station, but by the spirit in which we fulfill the obligations of life in its simplest and commonest details: in this way -- by doing justly, loving mercy, and walking humbly with our God -- is everyday life transfigured.”6 Rashi, in contrast, does not focus on the parashah as a whole in his narrow definition of “holiness.” Rather, he connects the beginning of Parashat Kedoshim to the conclusion of the previous Torah portion, Acharei Mot, which ended with a list of forbidden sexual relations: 3 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Leviticus: The Book of Holiness, p. 293 4 Ibid. 5 Dr. J.H. Hertz, The Pentateuch and Haftorahs, 2nd edition, commentary to Lev. 19:2, p. 497 6 Ibid., pp. 497-8 2 Pitchei ha-Levavot (Heart-Openings) Weekly Torah Study Through a Mindfulness and Tikkun Middot Lens This means keep aloof from the forbidden sexual relations just mentioned and from sinful thoughts. It is evident that this is the meaning of “you shall be holy” because wherever you find in the Torah a command to fence yourself in against such relations you also find mention of holiness. Both Nachmanides and Maimonides add yet another component to our understanding of holiness: that of moderation. Moderation is, in fact, a very important concept in Mussar, and this is where I invite us to focus our attention this week as we consider holiness. After all, a middah means “measure,” and a proper balance in our attainment of a middah is a core undertaking of the practice. I write this during the week of setting boundaries/g’vurah in the counting of the Omer, and it seems that g’vurah- consciousness might also be important as we entertain the middah of moderation. In his comment on “to be holy” in Leviticus 19:2, Nachmanides at the outset quotes Rashi: that holiness is about avoiding forbidden sexual relationships, guarding against immorality, and being “self-restraining.” This self-restraint and self-control becomes central to Nachmanides’ understanding of holiness. He applies it to all of our behaviors, reminding us that we are to “practice moderation even in matters which are permitted.” In other words, he teaches that even if we keep all the laws of kashrut, we can still be gluttonous. Just because we don’t violate a biblical command by using vulgar language, doesn’t mean we should. And just because we are permitted to have sex with our spouse, does not mean that “this is permission to be passionately addicted to sexual intercourse.” In this commentary, Nachmanides coined the term naval b’reshut haTorah, meaning either “a vile person with the full permission of the Torah” or “a vile person within the bounds of Torah.” He enjoins us to not only avoid the illicit, but also to sanctify ourselves by restraining our desires for the permissible. With this term, Nachmanides pinpoints where Mussar and halakhah part company. What is permitted by Jewish law may not, in fact, be permissible by Mussar standards. Holiness, therefore, is more than what is explicitly prescribed by Torah. This gets at the distinction we often draw between “the spirit” and “the letter” of the law. But where “the spirit of the law” is typically used as an excuse for more lenient behaviors, here it means that we should actually be more exacting and self-regulating in matters that reflect “the spirit of the law.” For Nachmanides, the letter of the law may actually permit unethical excess. 3 Pitchei ha-Levavot (Heart-Openings) Weekly Torah Study Through a Mindfulness and Tikkun Middot Lens In this way, Nachmanides reminds us that holiness is not just about what we do or don’t do, but also about our character. Therefore, to be holy is to undergo an extended process in character formation and moral growth, a kind of Mussar immersion program. Rabbi Sacks reminds us that to assume that our only actions should be those permitted by Jewish law is halakhic reductionism, when, in fact, Judaism is more than law7. Maimonides establishes a similar idea about moderation (what he called the shvil ha- zahav or the golden mean/path) not from the verse “You shall be holy,” but rather from the verse in Deuteronomy 28:9 “You shall walk in God’s ways.” Nonetheless, he circles back to holiness. He wrote in the Mishne Torah8: The person whose character traits all lie in the mean is called wise… We are commanded to walk in the middle ways, which are the good and right ways. As it is said (Deut. 28:9), “And you shall walk in His ways.” Thus they [the Rabbis] taught in explaining this commandment: “Just as God is called gracious, you too be gracious; just as God is called merciful, you too be merciful; just as God is called holy, you too be holy.”9 Our holiness then derives from walking “middle ways” that are God’s ways. Maimonides goes on to say that in modelling oneself on God’s virtues, One shall habituate oneself in these character traits until they are firmly established. Time after time, one shall perform actions in accordance with the character traits that are in the mean. One shall repeat them continually until performing them is easy and they are not burdensome and these character traits are firmly established in one’s soul. Since these terms applied to the Creator refer to the middle way that we are obliged to follow, this way is the called the way of the Eternal.10 7 Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Leviticus: The Book of Holiness, p.
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