A. Things connected to God or cultic worship
(א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה אַחֲרֵי מוֹת שְׁנֵי בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן בְּקָרְבָתָם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה וַיָּמֻתוּ. (ב) וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה דַּבֵּר אֶל אַהֲרֹן אָחִיךָ וְאַל יָבֹא בְכָל עֵת אֶל הַקֹּדֶשׁ מִבֵּית לַפָּרֹכֶת אֶל פְּנֵי הַכַּפֹּרֶת אֲשֶׁר עַל הָאָרֹן וְלֹא יָמוּת כִּי בֶּעָנָן אֵרָאֶה עַל הַכַּפֹּרֶת.
(1) And the LORD spoke unto Moses, after the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the LORD, and died; (2) and the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the veil, before the ark-cover which is upon the ark; that he die not; for I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.
Friday night amidah, quoting the end of the creation account in Bereshit
אַתָּה קִדַּֽשְׁתָּ אֶת יוֹם הַשְּֿׁבִיעִי לִשְׁמֶֽךָ, תַּכְלִית מַעֲשֵׂה שָׁמַֽיִם וָאָֽרֶץ,
וּבֵרַכְתּוֹ מִכָּל הַיָּמִים, וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ מִכָּל הַזְּֿמַנִּים, וְכֵן כָּתוּב בְּתוֹרָתֶֽךָ׃
"וַיְכֻלּוּ הָשָּׁמַֽיִם וְהָאָֽרֶץ וְכָל צְבָאָם.
וַיְכַל אֱלֹהִים בַּיוֹם הַשְּֿׁבִיעי מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה,
וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיֹום הַשְּֿׁבִיעִי מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה.
וַיְבָֽרֶךְ אֱלֹהִים אֶת יוֹם הַשְּֿׁבִיעִי,
וַיְקַדֵּשׁ אֹתוֹ, כִּי בוֹ שָׁבַת מִכָּל מְלַאכְתּוֹ,
אֲשֶׁר בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים לַעֲשׂוֹת."
You made the seventh day holy to your name, the goal of the creation of heaven and earth, and you blessed it among all days, and made it holy among all times, and so it is written in your Torah: "And the earth and its hosts were completed. And God completed on the seventh day the work he had done, and rested on the seventh day from all the work he had done, and made it holy, because on it he rested from his work, which God created and made."
B. Holiness through separation
From the wedding ceremony:
You are blessed, God, sovereign of the world, who makes us holy with his commandments, and commanded us about sexual relationships, and forbade those we are betrothed to, and permitted those who are married to us by the canopy and kiddushin. You are blessed, God, who makes his people Israel holy by the canopy and kiddushin.
See, you are made holy to me with this ring, according to the faith of Moses and Israel!
(מד) כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי וְלֹא תְטַמְּאוּ אֶת נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל הַשֶּׁרֶץ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ. (מה) כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָה הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי.
(44) For I am the LORD your God; so sanctify yourselves, and be holy, for I am holy; and you will not make yourselves impure with any manner of swarming thing that crawls on the earth. (45) For I am the LORD who is bringing you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; and you will be holy, for I am holy.
(ב) דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם....(כו) וִהְיִיתֶם לִי קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָה וָאַבְדִּל אֶתְכֶם מִן הָעַמִּים לִהְיוֹת לִי.
(2) Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy. . . (26) And ye shall be holy unto Me; for I the LORD am holy, and have set you apart from the peoples, that ye should be Mine.
(ד) התשובה היא, כי הפרישות ודאי צריך ומוכרח והזהירו עליו חכמינו ז"ל, הוא מה שנאמר (תורת כהנים): "קדושים תהיו", פרושים תהיו
(4) The answer to these arguments is that Separation is certainly necessary and essential. Our Sages of blessed memory exhorted us concerning it (Sifra)," 'Be holy' (Leviticus 19:2) separate yourselves..."
How is holiness organized? Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath (1951)
...The mythical mind would expect that, after heaven and earth have been established, God would create a holy place -- a holy mountain or a holy spring -- whereupon a sanctuary is to be established. Yet it seems as if to the Bible it is holiness in time, the Sabbath, which comes first.
When history began there was only one holiness in the world, holiness in time. When at Sinai the word of God was about to be voiced, a call for holiness in man was proclaimed: "Thou shalt be unto me a holy people." It was only after the people had succumbed to the temptation of worshipping a thing, a golden calf, that the erection of a Tabernacle, of holiness is space, was commanded. The sanctity of time came first, the sanctity of man came second, and the sanctity of space last. Time was hallowed by God; space, the Tabernacle, was consecrated by Moses.
R. David Hartman, from “An Open Letter to A Reform Rabbi,” in A Heart of Many Rooms (1999)
The Jewish people is not just a faith community; it is not merely a collection of individuals, each longing to connect himself or herself spiritually with God. Rather, Judaism is a way of life of a people chosen by God to be a medium of His vision of holiness and justice.
Do we have a mission? Rabbi David J. Wolpe, Why Be Jewish? (1995)
Human beings bear God's image: we bow down in devotion, but we stand up in mission. To carry God's word and will into this world is not a trivial task and cannot be accomplished remaining on our knees. Those who jeer at humanity betray the most important thing about us: the sacredness of our obligation to ourselves, to each other, and to God. Though we are not always noble, our purpose is, and only by a combination of ego and effacement can we fulfill the proclamation of the prophet: "None shall hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain. And the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of God, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9)