ROLE MODELS OF HOLINESS

WHAT IS HOLINESS?

Adapted from "The Search for the Sacred", Rabbi David Paskin

קדוש “kadosh” is most commonly translated as “holy.” It is found almost 900 times in the Bible, making it a fairly common word. Of these almost 900 occurrences, about 150 of them are found in the book of Leviticus – more than in any other book of the Bible. Traditional understandings of the word קדושinclude: set apart, sacred, hallowed, honored, dedicated, holy, and consecrated. From my students, I have learned still other understandings of קדושה​ including: worthy of respect, special, blessed, different in a meaningful way, God-like, rich, sanctified, Godly, on a higher level, blessed for all time, prayerful, very important, awesome, elevated, and of great respect.

A quick Google search of the word “holy” tells us that something is holy if it is “sacred, hallowed refer to something that is the object of worship or veneration. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “holy” can mean, (1) of God, (2) consecrated, sacred, (3) devoted to the service of God. In other words, something is קדוש if it is connected to God. On the other hand Rashi, the 11th century commentator and Ramban, from the 13th century, comment on Leviticus 19:2 and define קדושה​ (another form of the word “holy”) in terms of self-restraint, specifically in the realm of the physical. Rashi explains that קדשים תהיו (“you shall be holy”) as it is found in Leviticus means, “to be removed from arayot and from sins of a sexual nature.” Nachmanides builds upon Rashi’s teaching when he suggests that, “this abstinence does not refer only to restraint from acts of immorality as the Rabbi (Rashi) wrote, but it is rather the self-control mentioned throughout the Talmud, which confers upon those who practice it the name of P’rushim (Pharisees,) (literally: ‘those who are separated’ from self-indulgence or those who practice self-restraint).”

So, on the one hand, from our dictionary references, we have the impression that something is holy if it is connected or in relation with the Divine. On the other hand, to the rabbinic mind, we may understand קדושה as something that is separated from everyday indulgences. So it seems that קדושה is both separation and connection: Separation from the mundane for the sake of the connecting to and being in relationship with the Divine.