Holy People, Holy Time, Holy Place, Holy Relationships
Defining קָדוֹשׁ
קָדֹשׁ: to be cut off, separated, to be/become pure, sacred, holy (Jastrow Dictionary)
This "separated" quality is probably the basic meaning of the Hebrew word kadosh. Much like the English word "distinguished," which can mean both "separate" and "special," kadosh begins by meaning "separate" and ends by meaning "special" or "sacred," "holy," "elevated" (Neil Gilman, Sacred Fragments, p.229)
Holy People
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר (ב) דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יי אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(1) And the YHWH spoke unto Moses, saying: (2) Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the YHWH your God am holy.
God is separate from the world and transcends it, but God is not withdrawn from it. Israel must in imitating God by being a holy nation similarly not withdraw from the the world, but rather radiate a positive influence on it through every aspect of Jewish living.
Martin Buber, Bechirat Yisrael
Questions to Consider
1. What does it mean for an individual to be holy?
2. What is the difference between being holy and being righteous? Is there a connection?
3. What is the relationship between human holiness and Godly holiness?
Holy Time
(1) And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. (2) And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. (3) And God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it; because that in it He stopped from all His work which God in creating had made.
Rabbi Alan Ullman: This is not just the first mention of Shabbat in the Torah, it is also the first occurence of the word קדש, holiness. Holiness here––and throughout the Bible–– is defined by the act of stopping. Before we can discover the holiness within our lives, we must first imitate God and stop.
Abraham Joshua Heschel, The Sabbath
Judaism teaches us to be attached to holiness in time, to be attached to sacred events, to learn how to consecrate sanctuaries that emerge from the magnificent stream of a year. The Sabbaths are our great cathedrals; and our Holy of Holies is a shrine that neither the Romans nor the Germans were able to burn . . . . The meaning of the Sabbath is to celebrate time rather than space. Six days a week we live under the tyranny of things of space; on the Sabbath we try to become attuned to holiness in time. It is a day on which we are called upon to share in what is eternal in time, to turn from the results of creation to the mystery of creation; from the world of creation to the creation of the world.
Questions to Consider
1. What makes the seventh day, Shabbat, special?
2. What is the connection between blessing and holiness?
3. What times are most holy in your life?
Holy Space
(טז) וַיִּיקַ֣ץ יַעֲקֹב֮ מִשְּׁנָתוֹ֒ וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אָכֵן֙ יֵ֣שׁ יי בַּמָּק֖וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה וְאָנֹכִ֖י לֹ֥א יָדָֽעְתִּי׃ (יז) וַיִּירָא֙ וַיֹּאמַ֔ר מַה־נּוֹרָ֖א הַמָּק֣וֹם הַזֶּ֑ה אֵ֣ין זֶ֗ה כִּ֚י אִם־בֵּ֣ית אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְזֶ֖ה שַׁ֥עַר הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
(16) And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said: ‘Surely the YHWH is in this place; and I knew it not.’ (17) And he was afraid, and said: ‘How full of awe is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’
Questions to Consider
1. What does a space need in order to be holy?
2. When have you felt God or holiness in a particular place?
3. When have you been surprised by a sense of wonder or holiness in a place or an activity?
Holy Relationships
(5) Now therefore, if ye will hearken unto My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then ye shall be Mine own treasure from among all peoples; for all the earth is Mine; (6) and ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and a holy community. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.’
ארוסין
הרי את מקודשת לי כדת משה וישראל
Jewish Wedding Vows
You are made holy to me, with this ring, according to the law of Moses and Israel
Questions to Consider
1. How can one person make another holy?
2. What does holy community look like