Leviticus Cycle Four Kedushim 19:1 to 20:27

Kedushim

In Kedushim we, the Israelite community, receive the holiness codes. The majority of the Torah’s essential laws are found here (Rashi). They include honoring one’s parents and loving one’s neighbor. They are well known for their poetic repetition of ani adonay elohechem (I am the Lord your God). And for the stringent repercussions if we mess up (Art Scroll).

What does kedushim mean though? The root word itself is formed from the letters kuf, dalet, shin. You will be holy, we read (19:1). Kedushim tihaiyu. Here, it is an adjective. Plural form. It changes though. It carries many transformations of vowel usage and grammar within Torah and our liturgy. Kadosh in Acherey Moth often refers to the sanctuary. In other parashot it also means holiness. In terms of liturgy, the Kedushah is a prayer formed by the merkavah mystics to show the angels praising Hashem . Kedushat Hayom is the blessing for Shabbat. Kiddush is a blessing that marks important distinctions in our liturgy.

This is what I see. One root word in heaven. Many vibrations on earth. It’s almost as if we as humans wouldn’t be able to swallow the concept whole so it’s gifted in pieces. It certainly doesn’t relegate itself to any one category of commandment or prayer. As we can see by the blocks of words in between ani adonay elohechem…sometimes there needs to be more to create the vibration, sometimes less.

The same idea can be applied to the power of Shabbat. The Zohar questions why two Shabbats are inferred in Leviticus 19:30. My Shabbats you are to observe. My Shabbats, it says in the Zohar, amplifies the meaning to include the range of Shabbat to 2,000 cubits in every direction (the traditional limitation on how far one may walk beyond the city limits on Shabbat) . So, the meaning is expanded to include the higher Shabbat and the lower, both included as one, concealed as one (1:5b).

The hugeness of both Shabbat and Kadosh therefore creates the necessity for the smaller vibrations that we, as humans, are able receive. And these are the mitzvoth. Simply observing them though without the over-arching mitzvah of holiness and with rote Shabbat energy leaves the manifestations themselves empty of meaning (Ramban). We must, in the end, approach all actions in our life within the scope of moderation and sanctity and with awareness that we arrive at pure connection only by facing the obvous schism. We only get to the sacred by witnessing the distinction between it and the secular.

How to apply this idea on earth: Try smiling at someone not just from habit but from a core place. Pay attention. Let your neighbor have the parking space and know it will make that moment easier for him…and feel good about it. When you see a homeless man find the dollar in your pocket. He may just spend it on food. Avoid spending money on Shabbat. See how it feels.

How to apply this to our meditation: Try making yourself into the vessel that filters the light. Let the oneness enter you and observe how you can bring it through your body and deliver it in a million smaller healing vibrations to the living energy all around you. Know the sanctity of the action. See how it feels when you have to slow it down and return to the quotidian world. Know the difference. Know the repercussions of stopping. Then begin again. Live it. Live in holiness.