When you hear the word Kedusha - holiness, what come to mind? Kadosh Kadosh Kadosh – Holy Holy Holy, L-rd of Hosts? The Aron Hakodesh - Holy Ark? The Beit Hamikdash - Holy Temple? Shabbat Kodesh – The Holy Sabbath? Ir Hakodesh – The holy city of Jerusalem. Kedoshim - Holy souls who gave their lives to sanctify G-d’s name? A holy Rabbi? An other-worldly meditation that makes a person’s spirit soar beyond the doldrums of daily life?
These are accurate. Etymologically, Kadosh means something set aside from the ordinary, generally used in an exalted context. Yet, we find something fascinating in the Torah, which is even more amplified by Maimonides.
The Rambam wrote a 14-volume code of Jewish Law entitled, Mishna Torah. Each volume has a unique name. The volumes that we are currently studying is titled Kedusha – Holiness. Based on the above assertions about holiness, one would presume that this volume deals with the loftiest areas of Jewish life, foundational beliefs and practices. In actuality, it covers two areas of Jewish law, eating and marital intimacy. The same is true for Parshat Kedoshim in the book of Leviticus that deals a lot with everyday life as directed by Torah. Tangentially, this caused ignorant foes of the Jewish people to describe Judaism as a religion obsessed with the kitchen and the bedroom.
Why does a holiness doctrine spill so much ink about what we eat and who we sleep with?
The answer to this lies in the mystery of G-d’s purpose for creating the universe. G-d desired that humans transform this world of concealment into a dwelling for Him. This cannot be done solely through lofty pursuits that pull us away from everyday life. Instead, we must also infuse the mundane, the corporeal, with holiness. It is not enough to be holy when wrapped in a Talis praying in the Synagogue. It is not enough to be holy when delving into the Wisdom of G-d’s Torah. It is not enough to be holy on Yom Kippur, Shabbat, and other Holy Days of the year.
We know holiness is real when it defines how we behave in the kitchen and the bedroom. We know holiness is real when it shapes our business practices and social lives. G-d declared, “Make for Me a Sanctuary, and I will dwell within them. G-d wishes to dwell within each of us, and in every element of our lives. Of course, our Synagogues and Study Halls are a sanctuary for G-d. We know the Sanctuary of our lives is real when that holiness spills over into the rest of life. The kitchen is a Beit Hamikdash. The bedroom is a Beit Hamikdash. The office is a Beit Hamikdash.
How does this fit with the etymology of Kadosh? It is about “setting aside” and elevating the ordinary and rendering it extraordinary. This is one of the reasons that the Rebbe objected to term used for non-observant Jews in Israel – Chiloni. The literal meaning is mundane or absent of holiness. There is no such Jew. We are all inherently holy and living on a trajectory of injecting that holiness into wherever we are found.
Shabbat Shalom my holy brothers and sisters! Best of luck in our shared quest for discovering and infusing holiness into every aspect of our lives.
Rabbi Mendel Rivkin