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How to Be Holy

Apr 24, 2026 By Raymond Scheindlin | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

This week, we read two parashiyot from Leviticus: Aharei Mot andKedoshim. Taken together, they cover five clearly defined topics. Aharei Mot deals with the rituals of the high priest on Yom Kippur; regulations governing the slaughter of animals for food and sacrifice; and the prohibition of various sexual relations, especially incest. This last subject is resumed at the end ofKedoshim. Between the two discussions of sexual relations is the famousChapter 19, which opensKedoshim. This chapter stands out from the rest of our double parashah鈥攊n fact, from the rest of the book of Leviticus. It is a reprieve from the seemingly endless ritual instructions, most of which are no longer applicable, that make up the bulk of the book; and, thoughChapter 19does include some important ritual instructions, it is mostly devoted to the kind of rules for life that should govern every well-organized society, rules that people of most cultures and religions have tried to inculcate for everyone鈥檚 benefit.

Love Beyond Grudges: Living the Mitzvah of Love Your Neighbor

May 9, 2025 By Jonah Guthartz | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

Parashat Kedoshim begins by laying out dozens of mitzvot, including the prohibition against idolatry and the mitzvot of charity, Shabbat, honesty in business, honoring one鈥檚 parents, and the sanctity of life. Perhaps the best- known mitzvah is 诇止纸讗志转执拽止旨证诐 讜职诇止纸讗志转执讟止旨专謾 讗侄转志讘职旨谞值郑讬 注址诪侄旨謹讱指 讜职讗指纸讛址讘职转指旨芝 诇职专值注植讱指謻 讻指旨诪謶讜止讱指 讗植谞执謻讬 讬职-讛止讜指纸讛變 (Lev. 19:19) 鈥淵ou shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against members of your people. Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself: I am the Lord鈥� Rabbi Akiva famously names this as a fundamental value of the Torah (Sifra, Kedoshim 4:12).

Who among Us Is Holy?

May 10, 2024 By Talia Kaplan | Commentary | Kedoshim

When God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites 拽讚砖讬诐 转讛讬讜, 鈥淵ou shall be holy,鈥� the injunction is to be delivered 讗侄诇志讻指旨诇志注植讚址支转 讘职旨谞值讬志讬执砖职讉专指讗值譀诇, 鈥渢o the entire community of Israel鈥� (Lev. 19:2). This week鈥檚 parashah opens with a message that seems easy to get behind. The question, though, of what it actually means to be holy, is answered by commentators in a way that paints a more complicated picture. Rashi explains that being holy entails refraining from forbidden sexual relations and transgressive thoughts, which are delineated both in this and the previous parashah.

Making God Holy

Apr 28, 2023 By Amram Altzman | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

Parashat Kedoshim, the second of the two parashiyot that we read this week, ends just as it begins: with an imperative for us, the Children of Israel, to be holy. Our parashah opens with, 鈥溩ё撟┳欁� 转讛讬讜/You shall be holy,鈥漚nd the penultimate verse tells us that, 鈥溩曌斪欁欁�诐 诇讬 拽讚砖讬诐/You shall be holy to Me, for I God am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine鈥� (Lev. 20:26). Although almost identical, our parashahends with the idea that we are not just holy in general, but are specifically designed as holy to God. How, then, are we supposed to not just be holy, but holy to God?

Fruit Trees and Foreskins

May 6, 2022 By Naama Weiss | Commentary | Kedoshim

In Parashat Kedoshim, the Torah introduces the commandment of orlah (注指专职诇指讛), where one is forbidden from eating fruit that grows in the first three years after a tree鈥檚 planting.
But the use of the word orlah here has puzzled generations of commentators, for though it appears frequently in the Torah, it is not typically connected to trees. Indeed we primarily associate the term with circumcision. How are the two uses of orlah related? And can tracing this relationship reveal something new about the rite of circumcision itself?

The Palace of Torah Expanded: 15 Years Later

Apr 23, 2021 By Daniel Nevins | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

For many modern readers, engaging with Torah presents a paradox. Biblical and rabbinic voices reaching us from the distant past are like starlight emitted millennia ago鈥攂rilliant and often shockingly current, but also artifacts from light sources that may have dimmed or even expired. This paradox can be constructive, drawing modern readers out of our own cultural assumptions, challenging us to notice wonders that we might otherwise miss. The Torah鈥檚 poetry, its stirring demands for justice, and its vast system of devotional rites prime us for faith and sanctity. And when we encounter a Torah text that rings false or hurtful, we may use that encounter to clarify our own understanding, to articulate our community鈥檚 sacred values. 

Holiness Through Restraint

May 1, 2020 By Joshua Rabin | Commentary | Aharei Mot | Kedoshim

I am a rabbi who works with teenagers, and you cannot talk to adults about teenagers without the conversation quickly focusing on smartphones and social media. And it quickly turns depressing.

To Whom is Honor Due?

May 10, 2019 By Jeremy Tabick | Commentary | Kedoshim

Who deserves our respect and why? This vital question is encoded in the verse:

Before grey hair you should stand;
You should honor the face of an elder;
You should fear your God;
I am YHVH. (Lev. 19:32)