Shabbat Shalom. This week, we have a double torah portion, "Acharei Mot" and "Kedoshim," which can be found in Leviticus, chapters 16 through 20. The first half of this portion deals with the special rituals which the high priest must perform on Yom Kippur, most notably the famous passage where the scape-goat is chosen, given the sins of the people, and then exiled into the wilderness.
The second part is what is known as the "Holiness Code." Here, God tells us, "You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy," and this is followed by many, many commandments dealing with specific actions that we should or should not do in our daily lives and relations which make us a holy people. For instance, we’re commanded to deal justly with our neighbor, be honest in business, use accurate weights and measures, give charity to the poor and leave them the gleanings of the field. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves, not to bear a grudge against him or take revenge, nor to stand idly by while our neighbor is suffering, but we should rebuke him when he sins. Certain sexual practices are forbidden, such as adultery, homosexuality, incest, and bestiality. We are not to call up spirits or talk to ghosts. We are not to curse the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind. On and on, so on and so forth...
Most of us are somewhat familiar with many of these mitzvot and try to incorporate them into our daily lives. Yet many of our gentile friends don’t seem quite able to understand the Jewish concept of holiness. In many non-Jewish religions, achieving holiness means moving away from the material, secular world and abstaining from most of the things we all take for granted: commerce, relationships, pleasant food and drink. To them, holiness is incompatible with physical comfort and therefore one must refrain from selfish pleasures. It is the monk in the monastery, the guru on the mountaintop, the ascetic hermit, who are revered for their holiness. The celibate life is the life most exalted.
But we Jews reject this notion. And it’s not just a matter of making concessions to the fact that we live in a real, not an ideal world. We honestly do not believe that isolation is sanctified; on the contrary, it is unholy because it cuts us off from our people. We are a community and our holiness comes from that community. And this "Holiness Code" which we read this Shabbat reminds us that it is how we interact with our neighbors and our ethical behavior everyday which make us holy.
We embrace our material world and recognize that it is all a gift from God. There is nothing wrong with a little indulgence. In fact we’re commanded to rejoice at the festivals, new moons, and life-cycle events. Ancient sacrifices (with the exception of the sin-offerings) were like great barbecues. The pilgrimage festivals are called "feasts" for a reason. And we’re commanded to drink wine on Shabbat. On Passover, we drink four cups. And at Purim, we’re supposed to get so drunk, we can’t recognize the difference between Haman and Mordechai. Heck, in our religion, it’s a mitzvah to have sex on Shabbat. The proudest Jewish toast is "L’chaim," ("to life"). All life around us. The world is a gift from God; by celebrating it, we keep it and ourselves holy.
Of course, it’s not an all-out, anything goes. That’s why we have this holiness code. As long as we refrain from vile practices and hurting our neighbor, and instead treat everyone honestly and justly, live by an ethical code of behavior, all of life is holy. Everything. Rather than trying to separate the sacred from the profane, we Jews unite them. Holy and secular are the same.
Some people have a tendency to pigeon-hole and compartmentalize the aspects of their lives, taking them out only at the so-called "appropriate" moments. Now it is Shabbat, so I will go to the synagogue and pray. Now it is a regular day so I will conduct business and cheat the customer if I have to in order to get ahead. No; the two cannot go hand-in-hand. That is not a holy life. Religion is not just for the holy days, it is for every day. And of course, that makes every day a holy day.
And when every day of our lives is a holy day, what wonderful lives we lead.
I think that is the essence of Judaism. L’chaim!