"You Shall Be Holy" — The Only Place in the Bible That Shows You How

Kedoshim Is the Only Place That Tells You What Holiness Actually Means

This Torah portion — (Acharei Mot-)Kedoshim — is the only place in the whole Bible that actually tells us what in practical terms it means to be holy. The command to be holy appears throughout the Word of God: Leviticus 11:44,45; 20:7, 26; 21:8; Exodus 19:6; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15,16; Numbers 15:40; 1 Thessalonians 4:7; Hebrews 12:10. The repetition of this command is an indication of its importance. The only problem is that most of us are not being taught practically what it means to be holy. So this command — to be holy like the Lord is holy — is for most Christians a very frustrating command. Normally we humans try to form God in our own image with our own weaknesses and inclinations. In Leviticus 19, the Lord wants us to transform ourselves to be more like Him.

The Jewish hermeneutical principle provides the key. In law practice this is a well-known principle: you state the rule and immediately give the breaking down of the rule into smaller practical steps that will help you fulfill and keep the rule. This is exactly what we have here. The principle is stated first: be holy because I the Lord am holy. From verse 2 to the end of chapter 19, we have the instructions of how to be holy. The Holy Spirit knew that we would have a hard time to understand the "how" — therefore, immediately after the command comes the instruction.

"Speak" — Not "Command" — Because Holiness Is a Free Choice

There is an important nuance that most readers miss. The Lord said to Moses "speak" — He didn't say "command." You can't command people to become holy. Just like you can't command people to love one another. You can speak, suggest, encourage, edify, but not command. Because to love and to be holy can only be a choice made freely and from the heart of an individual.

The Lord also made a promise: "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy." In this promise there is no time mentioned. It is emphatic — "you shall be holy" — and the reason is "for I the Lord your God am holy!" The Lord Himself will make us a holy nation. And the chain of texts about how He will do it:

Notice one important thing in this reading. There is no theology in it. There are no arguments about baptism, or the trinity, or the other stuff that Christians fight over and split the Body of Christ over. To be holy according to God's instructions is to be what is called in Yiddish "a mench!" The "how to" part is even more important than the theoretical part.

The Practical Steps — Starting at Home

The command comes with its instruction manual. Start at home.

Notice — mother is mentioned first. Our Western civilization orientation puts the father first. Not God. The Sabbath is not a punishment from God — it is a gift from God to give your life a rhythm of work and rest. One of the reasons why people in the West suffer from marriage problems ending in divorce is because they don't know the importance of dedicating at least one day strictly for the family.

You can't have a holy relationship with anyone without being faithful and trustworthy. The paradigm is simple: no one can serve two masters. As Bob Dylan said,

Idols are anything we as human beings create that pushes God aside — bad habits, addiction, hidden sins. Anything that is more important to you than the Lord is your idol. Even if you go to church every week.

The corners of the field — how the Bible says to give to the poor: when you reap the harvest, don't wholly reap the corners of your field. Leave them for the poor and the stranger. Don't package it and give it to them as charity. Let them come to your field after your harvesting is finished and harvest for themselves, where they don't have to look you in the face. They don't have to be beholden to you as the magnanimous, charitable, liberal giver. Their dignity is preserved. That's what Yeshua also taught: don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing.

I also have a personal reason for emphasizing the following teaching. When I was a young lad in Jerusalem, I did break some of these important commands, and when I could, years later, after becoming a disciple of the Messiah, I had to go back to my old Jerusalem neighborhood and repent and do restitution for some of these "pranks" and sins.

Gossip:

— is a very prevalent sin that so many of us are guilty of, and it is a serious sin. According to Galatians 5, gossip is a work of the flesh, and it could keep you out of the Kingdom of God.

The Two Rules That Sum It All Up

The most important statement in the whole Torah is:

Most often only half of the verse is quoted. The context is of great importance — if you want to be holy like God is holy, you shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Yeshua quoted this verse together with the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4,5) in Matthew 22:37-40:

Paul repeats the same two principles in Romans 13:9-10. Both Paul and Yeshua followed Hillel the Elder — one of the great rabbis and president of the Sanhedrin who preceded Yeshua's ministry — who put these two verses from the Torah together and said they are a summary of the whole Torah and the Prophets. This simplification of the Torah into two rules is not making the Torah easier. It is making the Torah much harder to keep.

And the last word in Galatians 5:

Most of the time — 99% of all the time — we struggle and strive to do only what we wish. I don't remember myself thinking: "I know that I wish to buy this Apple Watch, but I am not going to buy it because I am commanded by the Apostle Paul not to do the things that I wish. I must deny myself this wish. I will go home and pray about this and ask God's Spirit to guide me." Maybe I ought to do something for my neighbor in place of doing something for myself.