You shall be holy (19:1). Commentators have been challenged by the interweaving of ritual and civil commandments in parashat K’doshim. Observing that both Leviticus 18 and 20 list prohibited sexual partners, Rashi suggests that 19:1 teaches that separating ourselves from forbidden sexual relations and transgressions is the path to holiness, “for every place (in the Torah) you find instruction to fence yourself in against such relations, you also find mention of holiness.” Nachmanides views this verse as commanding moderation in satisfying physical urges such as eating, drinking, and sexual relations.
Do not deal basely with members of your people (19:16). The Rabbis identify these words as the source for the prohibition against l’shon hara (evil speech or gossip). Even if what we are saying is true, if it is negative and the person is not present to defend herself, it is prohibited (Maimonides, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot De’ot 7.2). The Talmud teaches that l’shon hara kills three parties: the person speaking, the person listening, and the person against whom the comment is being made (BT Arachin 15b–16a).
Reprove your kin…incur no guilt on their account (19:17). The double verb in the command hochei-ach tochi-ach (whose plain sense is: “you shall [surely] reprove”) has inspired much commentary. According to BT Arachin 16b, the first part of this verse teaches that when someone has done something offensive, confrontation is essential. While many people might hesitate out of fear of stirring up conflict and resentment, Midrash B’reishit Rabbah 54.3 urges confrontation as a way to improve understanding and increase caring. BT Arachin 16b also suggests that the command to rebuke is doubled in order to teach us that when we do confront the offending individuals, if they do not correct their behavior we must go back and confront them again. But—the Talmud continues—we must not embarrass such persons, making sure that we “incur no guilt on their account.” Rashi advises that we avoid causing embarrassment by making sure not to confront others in public.
In BT Bava M’tzia 31a, Rava teaches that the Torah’s double verb in the command means that we must rebuke even an authority figure, such as a teacher, parent, or employer. Ibn Ezra comments that confrontation can clear up misunderstandings and obviate resentment or even hatred. BT Shabbat 54b insists that we speak out to prevent wrongdoing; failing to do so leaves us partly responsible for injustice, whether in our family, our community, or even the world at large. Our sources are divided on what to do about the person who will not listen. BT Shabbat 55a suggests that only God really knows how a person will respond, and so we are always obligated to confront the person who is doing something wrong.
Love your fellow [Israelite] as yourself (19:18). Rabbi Akiba said that this is the most important teaching in the Torah. For Ibn Ezra, this verse teaches us to treat others the way we want to be treated (so also Midrash Sifra, K’doshim 2.4). Other rabbis suggest we should express this love by being a good friend and neighbor, and by accepting the rebuke of others in a loving way.
If a man lies with a male as one lies with a woman…they retain the bloodguilt (20:13). While Rashi and others understood this verse as specifically prohibiting anal intercourse, BT Sanhedrin 54a-b saw it (along with 18:22) as prohibiting male homosexual acts in general. While Rabbi Judah forbade two bachelors to sleep under the same blanket, a majority of the Rabbis of the Talmud permit it (BT Kiddushin 82a). Maimonides agreed, stating that “Jews are not suspected of engaging in homosexual relations” (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Forbidden Intercourse 22.2). This disagreement persists in later codes, with some, like the Shulchan Aruch, counseling against two men sleeping under the same blanket.
The Rabbis limited their reading of this verse to male homosexual acts, noting that the Torah nowhere explicitly prohibits sex between two women. However, in BT Y’vamot 76a, Rav Huna argued that women who engage in lesbian sex cannot marry priests. Rabbi Eliezer urged leniency, on the grounds that sex between women does not involve penetration and therefore is “mere indecency.” Sifra, Acharei Mot 9.8, prohibits marriage between women as something done by the Egyptians that, based on Leviticus 18:3, we must not imitate. Maimonides combined these two teachings in his Mishneh Torah (Laws of Forbidden Intercourse 21.8), noting that sexual relations between women are prohibited because they are among the “ways of the Egyptians,” but that such acts are not punished with stoning or even lashes, as there is no act of penetration and the women violate no explicit biblical prohibition. A woman who has engaged in lesbian sex would be permitted to marry or stay married, even to a priest. Still, Maimonides says that such a woman should be punished with lashes for breaking a rabbinic law, and he advises husbands not to allow their wives to spend time with women known as lesbians, to avoid their being tempted to engage in sexual relations with another woman.
—Ruth H. Sohn