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)
(Josh Franklin-What is Kadosh)
(3) And God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done.
In Genesis, God declares Shabbat to be holy, but in Parashat Kedoshim, we are holy because God is holy, and the obligation to keep Shabbat is put on us. In Leviticus 16:31, Yom Kippur is called a Shabbat Shabbaton, the Shabbat of all Shabbats. In what aspect do you think Yom Kippur is holy because we make it holy? In what aspect is Yom Kippur holy because God/the Torah/ Jewish tradition makes it holy?
דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל
SPEAK UNTO ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — This (the addition of the words כל עדת) teaches us that this section was proclaimed in full assembly because most of the fundamental teachings of the Torah are dependent on it (contained in it) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 1 1; Vayikra Rabbah 24:5).
(Rashi was a medieval French rabbi and author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud and commentary on the Tanakh)
1) Rashi emphasizes this was shared with "El Kol Adat Bnei Yisrael", all the congregation of Israel, as Kedoshim contains some of the most fundamental teachings. Which of these laws do you find the most important, and why?
2) Why do you think this is the Yom Kippur reading? In what ways does the observance of Yom Kippur impact your understanding of this text?
(יד) [יד] "ולפני עור לא תתן מכשול" – לפני סומא בדבר. בא אמר לך "בת איש פלוני מה היא לכהונה?" אל תאמר לו כשרה והיא אינה אלא פסולה. היה נוטל ממך עצה אל תתן לו עצה שאינה הוגנת לו. אל תאמר לו "צא בהשכמה" שיקפחוהו לסטים, "צא בצהרים" בשביל שישתרב, אל תאמר לו "מכור את שדך וקח לך חמור" ואת עוקף עליו ונוטלה הימנו. שמא תאמר "עצה טובה אני נותן לו!" והרי הדבר מסור ללב שנאמר "ויראת מאלקיך אני ה' ".
(14) 14) "and before the blind man do not place a stumbling-block.": before one who is "blind" in a certain matter. If he asks you: "Is that man's daughter fit for (marriage into) the priesthood? Do not tell him that she is kasher if she is not. If he asks you for advice, do not give him advice that is unfit for him. Do not say to him "Leave early in the morning," so that robbers should assault him. "Leave in the afternoon," so that he fall victim to the heat. Do not say to him "Sell your field and buy an ass," and you seek occasion against him and take it from him. Lest you say "But I gave him good advice!" — these things are "known to the heart," viz.: "And you shall fear your G d; I am the L–rd."
Sifra is a compilation of Midrashim (rabbinic textual interpretations) on the book of Leviticus
As we atone for the past year, we also make promises to do better in the coming year. Leviticus 19:14 is a negative commandment, a "do not." In the coming year, how can we flip this commandment? How can we actively remove the stumbling block before the blind?
In many Reform communities, Kedoshim is read during the Mincha (afternoon) service. During this service, the style of chanting switches from High Holiday trope (a specific way of chanting Torah during Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur) to the trope that we hear weekly during the year. This shift in chanting allows us to prepare to reintegrate into society and into the rest of the year after the fast is broken. Why do you think Kedoshim is used as this transitional text? What meaning can we take from this?