(2) Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy, because I, the Eternal your God, am holy.
The Hebrew word ki can be translated as "because", "if", or "when". How do the different ways of defining this word teach us about different interpretations of the meaning of the text?
Which definition resonates most with you?
The word kadosh can mean holy, separate, unique or special.
What are some actions that you do that are kadosh? Which definition of kadosh are you using?
(3) You shall each revere his mother and his father, and keep My sabbaths: I the Eternal am your God. (4) Do not turn to idols or make molten gods for yourselves: I the Eternal am your God. (5) When you sacrifice an offering of well-being to the Eternal, sacrifice it so that it may be accepted on your behalf. (6) It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the day following; but what is left by the third day must be consumed in fire. (7) If it should be eaten on the third day, it is an offensive thing, it will not be acceptable. (8) And he who eats of it shall bear his guilt, for he has profaned what is sacred to the Eternal; that person shall be cut off from his kin. (9) When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. (10) You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Eternal am your God. (11) You shall not steal; you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another. (12) You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God: I am the Eternal. (13) You shall not defraud your fellow. You shall not commit robbery. The wages of a laborer shall not remain with you until morning. (14) You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You shall fear your God: I am the Eternal. (15) You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kinsman fairly. (16) Do not deal basely with your countrymen. Do not profit by the blood of your fellow: I am the Eternal. (17) You shall not hate your kinsfolk in your heart. Reprove your kinsman but incur no guilt because of him. (18) You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against your countrymen. Love your fellow as yourself: I am the Eternal.
How would you define holiness according to Leviticus 19?
What does the text teach us about how we become aware of that holiness?
What is the connection between this text and the performance of mitzvot?
What makes doing mitzvot holy?
And Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “After the Eternal your God shall you walk, and Him shall you fear, and His commandments shall you keep, and unto His voice shall you hearken, and Him shall you serve, and unto Him shall you cleave” (Deuteronomy 13:5)? But is it actually possible for a person to follow the Divine Presence? But hasn’t it already been stated: “For the Lord your God is a devouring fire, a jealous God” (Deuteronomy 4:24), and one cannot approach fire. He explains: Rather, the meaning is that one should follow the attributes of the Holy One, Blessed be He. He provides several examples. Just as He clothes the naked, as it is written: “And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin, and clothed them” (Genesis 3:21), so too, should you clothe the naked. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, visits the sick, as it is written with regard to God’s appearing to Abraham following his circumcision: “And the Lord appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre” (Genesis 18:1), so too, should you visit the sick. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, consoles mourners, as it is written: “And it came to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac his son” (Genesis 25:11), so too, should you console mourners. Just as the Holy One, Blessed be He, buried the dead, as it is written: “And he was buried in the valley in the land of Moab” (Deuteronomy 34:6), so too, should you bury the dead.
What do you think it means to "walk after God"?
How does the Talmud answer this question?
Do you think doing mitzvot is an "imitation of God"?
Do you feel that this commands us or makes us more obligated to do such acts?
But if Torah is the word of God, then Torah speaks to us, either in response (as in the Torah reading) or as a call (in Torah study). What "continuing revelation" must mean is just that-a revelation. Torah calls us to something, tells us: "There are standards for that which you need to do." Torah pushes a bit of darkness away from light of God's purpose and asks us to continue the process, calling us to push away more and more darkness by the acts we do in response to the call.
Mitzvah: A Response to Divine Request
The reader may have noticed that I said, "Torah asks to continue the process," and not, "Torah (or God) commands us." Mitzvah means "command." But to understand Torah as a call suggests that the call comes in a manner befitting the relationship we have with God. Two of the important ways in which Jews have traditionally related to God are as a child to a parent and as a lover with a spouse...From human relationships we know that a child related most closely with a parent and a lover relates most closely with the beloved, in hearing not a demand, but a request: As my wife puts it, "This is something I want you to do that is very important to me." One may say "No," to such requests-but the act of saying "No," or as Rosenzweig put it, "Not yet," also is a response.
In all these cases, heeding the call of a mitzvah becomes an act of love...We are encouraged, when we study Torah, to feel ourselves invited to sit at God's study table, while the Author of the universe says, in a tone pitched differently for each of us, "This is a law that will help you live out more fully the direction of your life. This is a mitzvah by which you can further the harmony of the universe. I would like you very much to do it."
...the individual mitzvah that [sic] speaks to us differently, at different times, out of the darkness. But it is not we who choose - it is the text, and the God behind it, who chooses us. This is a text study that asks, "What do you hear in this mitzvah?" This is an encounter with a text that says, "Listen to the self in you that stood at Sinai when you first heard this mitzvah: What do you hear that self saying to you? What does your self today hear in it?
What is Rabbi Levy trying to teach us about the call to perform a mitzvah?
What would it mean to view a mitzvah as an act of love?
Are there moments in your day in which you can "hear the call"? How do you respond?
Do you see Jewish teachings as ways you can live out more fully the direction of your life? You can further the harmony of the universe?
There will be times when something will come your way and you will be uncertain whether or not to pursue it.
If you have studied Torah that day, however, you will be able to determine your course of action from your learning.
For this to occur, you must sustain your connection to God. Then, God will enable you to understand the connection between your studies and your life.