Parshah Kedoshim
On Friday as usually I went to the synagogue for our weekly parsha study with Rabbi Goldberger. I was very excited about this week’s parsha because it was Kedoshim from Vaikra. Kedoshim means Holy in Hebrew. This parshah actually is very interesting even for non religious people and for non Jewish people. Most of the things that are said in this parshah applies to our everyday life to our morals and actions. This is the part that seems to be controversial in regards to GL.
In the Chumash (Torah) version it sounds a little bit different then this link. I had some questions about the language use and certain parts of this portion. However, Rav Goldberger turned our attention to a different question that made me forget all my questions. He decided to ask our opinion about what it means to be HOLY.
Here is a short summary of our discussion that Rav Goldberger sent to the congregation after our class:
A Message From The Rabbi
“Be holy, for I, G-d, am holy.”
This would be a tall order, no matter who we were told to emulate. But here we are being told to emulate G-d Himself. How can we possibly imagine that we can become holy like G-d? Isn’t that light years beyond our pay grade?
Actually, our only problem here is that we need a good definition for holiness. Too often, being holy is defined as being G-dlike. But as a definition that doesn’t really work, as God proclaims Himself to be holy. Could Hashem be saying, “I am G-dlike”, when he IS G-d?
A better definition might be to say that holiness is selflessness. Hashem conducts the affairs of the world without a drop of self-interest. His every step, His every word, His every action is with our exclusive benefit in mind. Being holy means being removed from self-centeredness. In that way, holiness is indeed being like G-d, but it provides a framework that makes it something we can all strive to attain.
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Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Goldberger”
I thought it was a brilliant discussion and conclusion. This is the answer to my very personal question that troubled me before… I have observed that there are people that just do things wholeheartedly and don't think about the rewards and there are others that do things only because their eyes are on the reward only.
I have been always conflicted about using punishment and reward system as part of parenting. I was lucky enough to grow up in the environment with people who were in the first group and any suggestion of a reward before the job was done felt demeaning to these people. My role models were selfless people or in this case, Holy people and I am honored knowing all of them and being born to my parents who are truly selfless people.
In the Chumash (Torah) version it sounds a little bit different then this link. I had some questions about the language use and certain parts of this portion. However, Rav Goldberger turned our attention to a different question that made me forget all my questions. He decided to ask our opinion about what it means to be HOLY.
Here is a short summary of our discussion that Rav Goldberger sent to the congregation after our class:
A Message From The Rabbi
“Be holy, for I, G-d, am holy.”
This would be a tall order, no matter who we were told to emulate. But here we are being told to emulate G-d Himself. How can we possibly imagine that we can become holy like G-d? Isn’t that light years beyond our pay grade?
Actually, our only problem here is that we need a good definition for holiness. Too often, being holy is defined as being G-dlike. But as a definition that doesn’t really work, as God proclaims Himself to be holy. Could Hashem be saying, “I am G-dlike”, when he IS G-d?
A better definition might be to say that holiness is selflessness. Hashem conducts the affairs of the world without a drop of self-interest. His every step, His every word, His every action is with our exclusive benefit in mind. Being holy means being removed from self-centeredness. In that way, holiness is indeed being like G-d, but it provides a framework that makes it something we can all strive to attain.
[]
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Goldberger”
I thought it was a brilliant discussion and conclusion. This is the answer to my very personal question that troubled me before… I have observed that there are people that just do things wholeheartedly and don't think about the rewards and there are others that do things only because their eyes are on the reward only.
I have been always conflicted about using punishment and reward system as part of parenting. I was lucky enough to grow up in the environment with people who were in the first group and any suggestion of a reward before the job was done felt demeaning to these people. My role models were selfless people or in this case, Holy people and I am honored knowing all of them and being born to my parents who are truly selfless people.