Our Torah portion, Parshat Kedoshim, opens this week by saying, “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be Holy, for I am holy.” What does it mean to be holy and what is holiness anyway? Our Chumash gives us an answer by saying, “(holiness) can be applied to G-d, to good people, to a book, to a period of time, or to an animal offered as a sacrifice. To be Holy is to be different…Holiness is the highest level of human behavior.” (Etz Chayim 693)
If holiness means exhibiting the highest level of human behavior and separating from the ordinary, what does that look like in our modern world? Early on in the Parsha it talks about keeping the Sabbath. Many people have different customs and practices for how they observe Shabbat. The benefit to observing Shabbat in any capacity is it allows us to separate our weekday work lives from our spiritual holy lives. It gives us time to connect with our family over a meal. It also gives us time to be outside on a Shabbat walk with our friends. Overall it changes the way we look at the week and slows us down which allows us to connect to a higher power.
Another way of being holy by being our best selves comes from verses 17 and 18 which says, “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall neither take revenge from nor bear a grudge against the members of your people; you shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” It is human nature to argue with the people in our lives. Many times people say things they don’t mean in the heat of the moment. We must remember that in order for us to be the best version of ourselves we need to let the frustration or anger towards someone else go. Otherwise it burns inside of us and makes us miserable. In order to separate from the ordinary we must learn to show more love to one another and talk to each other more with love rather than with frustration and hate.
If we try to be the best versions of ourselves we are being the holy people G-d wants us to be. It is not easy and requires a great deal of thought about our behavior and actions but really makes a difference. If we take the time and say I am going to be the best person I can be today and help my family, my friends and those in the community we become that much closer to G-d.
Please attend the Nassau County Police Department Homeland Security Presentation Thursday, May 16, 2019 at 7:30 PM
SERVICES Friday, May 10 - Thursday, May 16
Friday 8:00 PM Kabbalat Service - Bet Class Shabbat Saturday 9:00 AM Nosh and Drash 9:45 AM Shabbat Service 10:30 AM Junior Congregation Sunday 9:00 AM Minyan Monday 6:30 AM Minyan Thursday 8:00 AM Minyan
NOTICE - Friday Night Services Beginning September 13th Shabbat Services will start at 6:45pm
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