There are five books of the Hebrew Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy and the Book of Leviticus is at the center of the entire torah. And the center of the Book of Leviticus? It’s a section of this week’s portion Kedoshim that we refer to as “The Holiness Code.”
The “Holiness Code” is so named because it presents rules and obligations for living a sacred or holy life. It is a seemingly relentless. Running on for almost ten chapters (Leviticus 17-26), the code includes laws for animal sacrifices, eating, cleanliness, priestly conduct, speech, and sexual regulations. The code stresses that the people of Israel are separate from the rest of the world because the Almighty has chosen them. By following these laws as presented in Leviticus, the Israelites are told they will be ritually pure.
The Holiness Code is lofty and an idealized vision of Jewish life and it asks Jews of every age and every sort of denomination to elevate themselves to attain its ideals. Some Jews interpret these rules as solely ritual and behavior. For example: keeping kosher, observing the strict letter of the law on Shabbat and the holidays, whether rituals are performed in the manner dictated by the laws and ordinances.
Other Jews see Judaism as a religion devoted to social justice and ethics. These Jews show support for social justice, write their elected leaders, and join demonstrations and protests.
But neither of these approaches really fully embodies the essence of the Holiness Code. The Holiness Code expresses a Judaism, that at its heart, is both the practice of ritual and ethics. Ritual behavior is informed by ethical behavior and ethical behavior is informed by ritual behavior. As contemporary Jews—this is our goal: to live lives that are sacred both ritually and ethically. Ritual without ethics becomes cruel and ethics without ritual becomes hollow.
The torah is complicated and the Holiness Code doesn’t make it any easier. The chapters’ series of laws and regulations are complex and at times often confusing and no justification for any of the laws is given aside from: “You shall be holy, for I the Lord, Your God, am Holy.”
This is a difficult challenge. A Jewish shopkeeper cannot rightfully observe all the rules of Shabbat and then refuse to pay his workers on time and a Jewish social activist cannot demonstrate for peace in Israel and then fail to understand why it’s not appropriate to hold a meeting on Saturday afternoon.
How do you balance ritual and ethics in your life?
What guides your ethical behavior?
What prompts your ritual actions?
How do you achieve holiness?
Shabbat shalom.