Parashat Kedoshim starts off “And God spoke to Moshe saying, ‘Speak to all of the community of Israel, and say to them “Kedoshim tihyu, ki kadosh Ani, Hashem Ehloheikhem.” (You will be holy, because I, Hashem your God, am holy.)’”
“Kedoshim tihyu…” This is phrased in the plural; “You will [all] be holy…” Holiness is incumbent upon all of us within our community. What follows is a fascinating collection of mitzvot mostly addressing an individual’s interaction with others in the community. For the Torah there is no separation between the sacred and the profane. Every action, not just mitzvot, brings us the opportunity for holiness. Holiness goes well beyond the mitzvot. It is possible to fulfill all the mitzvot, and still not enter the realm of holiness; a separation between religiousness and observance. Holiness requires both. Jewish tradition teaches “Im ain kemach, ain Torah.” Literally this means “if there is no flour, there is no Torah.” If we only focus upon what we see as sacred actions or mitzvot then we miss the point. There can be no holiness without a balance in life.
What is equally fascinating in parashat Kedoshim is the repetition, no less than seventeen times, of “Ani Hashem;” “I am God.” Within those seventeen reminders, seven times God reminds us that God is “Hashem Ehloheichem,” “Hashem is your [our] God.” From this one can extrapolate that the actions, the mitzvot, listed in the parasha are also connected to God. As human beings we are made b’tzeslem Ehlohim, in the image of God. How can one be made in the image of a being without form or likeness? We know God through God’s actions, the presence of God we sense in the world. To be in God’s image we must follow in God’s actions, creating a holy presence in the world. After all, Hashem Ehloheichem.
