May 9 • 2019 37
jn

I

n Judaism we use the Hebrew 
root kof-daled-shin a lot. We 
make Kiddush on Shabbat, 
we say Kaddish when we 
remember someone who 
passed away, we say the 
Keddushah in the Amidah 
(the central prayer of each 
service), we are called an Am 
Kaddosh (a holy people), and 
this week’
s parashah is called 
Kedoshim. 
The parashah begins with 
the command, “You (all) 
shall be holy, for I, the Lord 
your God, am holy.” We use 
this word in all its variations 
many, many times, but do 
we really understand what 
it means? What does it mean to 
be “holy” as the Torah uses it and 
as we use it throughout Jewish life 
today?
To be holy is to be different, set 
apart from the ordinary. It means 
to be special. But it is rare that 
something simply is holy. Rather 
something is made holy by the 
actions we take or how we relate 
to it. It is our actions that could 
increase the holiness of an object, 
an action, a period of time, a 
relationship or a place. 
When we engage in this process 
of sanctification, we are fulfilling 
our potential as humans and even 
more as Jews. When we elevate time 
from every day being the same to 
recognizing and declaring Shabbat 
as a “day apart from the rest — a 
castle in time” through reciting 
Kiddush, spending time with family 
and attending synagogue we are 
fulfilling the command “to be a 

holy people in the image of God.” 
When we recognize that when 
we eat in a manner that is elevated 
above a base level of pure 
survival, through reciting 
blessings and being conscious 
of what foods we are eating, 
then we are elevating both 
the food and the process of 
nourishing ourselves. 
Finally, and perhaps most 
important, holiness must 
exist in our relationships. 
When we treat others in a 
purely utilitarian manner 
— to get something done 
— we have taken away any 
possibility of holiness in such 
a relationship. But when 
we recognize the inherent spark 
of God that exists in every single 
human being and we find a way to 
treat each other in such a manner 
reflecting that recognition, then we 
have elevated our relationships to 
a place of holiness. Sometimes all 
it takes is a simple smile but that 
smile allows the other person to see 
the spark of God in us and creates a 
potential for holiness to emerge in 
the relationship. 
For us to fulfill our mission of 
being a holy people, we must look 
for those hidden opportunities 
of revealing sparks of holiness 
wherever we go. We must search 
out places of ordinary living 
and find ways of elevating them, 
allowing the Divine light of God to 
enlighten the entire world. ■

Rabbi Shalom Kantor is the rabbi of 

Congregation B’
nai Moshe in West 

Bloomfield.

jews d
in 
the
section

Rabbi
Shalom Kantor

That Which Is Holy

Parshat 

Kedoshim: 

Leviticus 

19:1-20:27; 

Amos

9:7-15.

spirit

torah portion

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