Achrei MoΘ- Kedoshim

 Language is imprecise. Words are ambiguous, they can have several different meanings. This is a problem when trying to communicate in  science. [Before the emergence of Large Language Models, it looked like the intercession of computers, with the very defined language that they use, could go a long way toward solving that issue. With LLMs that opportunity may be lost.] In ordinary life, and in evolution, ambiguity is an important part of the power of language. The lack of precision allows ideas to flower. This duality is a constant companion to my writing . 

Kadosh, translated as "holy", the root of the title of the second chapter we read in synagogue this week, evades precise definition. That parsha instructs the community to be kadosh (holy). The chapter opens with: 

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כׇּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י

Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them:

You shall be holy, for I, the ETERNAL your Gd, am holy.

This kadosh (holy) is some kind of matching a property of Gd, the most unfathomable entity in the universe.  Fifty one commandments ( mitzvoth) are then declared in this parsha. The commandments go from a prohibition of cheating in business  to the ban on mixing wool and linen in clothing. It is a whirlwind of admonitions  and prohibitions.

Does a person, after accepting these varied and numerous rules, emerge kadosh (holy?). The writings of the classic commentators on this sentence shows an evolution of the idea and purpose of holiness. Rashi (11th century) associates kadosh with sexual relationships. Ramban (13th century) asserts that kadosh implies moderation in all things. Sforno (16th century) sees kadosh as life affirming. 

If the parsha presents a  path to kadosh, it appears to be through the observance of laws that are stated, often followed by the phrase: 

I the ETERNAL am your Gd.

That phrase implies that the rationality (or lack thereof) of the commandment is not the reason for obedience. These laws are followed because they are (1) part of an agreement and (2) given by a far greater power [of both mind and retribution] than a human can fathom. [This list may be partial]. The road to holiness, to kedusha, is arbitrary and may not respect rationality. 

The lack of definition leads to  pronounced differences in the observance of these rules. For many, holy is a feeling (the undefined is kept in the realm of the undefined). You know holy when you feel it; more commonly, you can feel when you have violated it. 

For others, since the nature of the holy is unknown, only the strictest observance can cover all the possibilities; no detail is too small. This road can lead to the unholy states of self-righteousness and/or superstition. Is a thread of linen in a woolen garment the equivalent of offering a child as a sacrifice to Molech?  Who knows?

There is a relationship between holiness and place. This week's first Torah portion , Achrei, begins by recalling the death of Aaron's eldest two sons. It then immediately says:

דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֒יךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכׇל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת

Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die

The implication is that Aaron's sons' violation of this rule was (at least part of) the reason for their deaths. 

The text goes on to describe the Yom Kippur temple service, the one day in the year that a human was invited to enter the innermost sanctum, the home of the ark with its Cherubim, containing the tablets (both intact and broken).  The specialness of this place was enforced with extreme prejudice. Violators of this most private of properties w/could be killed. A place where trespass is so violently banned - that is a place that is (most) holy ( kadosh) 

The association between place and sanctity reappears with the restriction of the sacrificial rite to the the (designated) temple.

וַאֲלֵהֶ֣ם תֹּאמַ֔ר אִ֥ישׁ אִישׁ֙ מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וּמִן־הַגֵּ֖ר אֲשֶׁר־יָג֣וּר בְּתוֹכָ֑ם אֲשֶׁר־יַעֲלֶ֥ה עֹלָ֖ה אוֹ־זָֽבַח׃ 

Say to them further: Regarding anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who reside among them, who offers a burnt offering or a sacrifice  

וְאֶל־פֶּ֜תַח אֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ לֹ֣א יְבִיאֶ֔נּוּ לַעֲשׂ֥וֹת אֹת֖וֹ לַי

וְנִכְרַ֛ת הָאִ֥ישׁ הַה֖וּא מֵעַמָּֽיו׃ 

and does not bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting to offer it to GD: that person shall be cut off from their people.

 Acharei ends by tying  sanctity to the right to live in the promised land. 

וְלֹֽא־תָקִ֤יא הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ אֶתְכֶ֔ם בְּטַֽמַּאֲכֶ֖ם אֹתָ֑הּ כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר קָאָ֛ה אֶת־הַגּ֖וֹי אֲשֶׁ֥ר לִפְנֵיכֶֽם׃ 

So let not the land spew you out for defiling it, as it spewed out the nation that came before you.  

כִּ֚י כׇּל־אֲשֶׁ֣ר יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה מִכֹּ֥ל הַתּוֹעֵבֹ֖ת הָאֵ֑לֶּה וְנִכְרְת֛וּ הַנְּפָשׁ֥וֹת הָעֹשֹׂ֖ת מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמָּֽם׃ 

All who do any of those abhorrent things—such persons shall be cut off from among their people.

Kedoshim ends with the singularity of a people that is holy: 

וִהְיִ֤יתֶם לִי֙ קְדֹשִׁ֔ים כִּ֥י קָד֖וֹשׁ אֲנִ֣י יְ

וָאַבְדִּ֥ל אֶתְכֶ֛ם מִן־הָֽעַמִּ֖ים לִהְי֥וֹת לִֽי׃ 

You shall be holy to Me, for I GD am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be Mine.

In many years, these two chapters, Acharei and Kedoshim, are read together. Connecting these title words becomes an aphorism: After death, [they (those that died) are considered] holy. There is some implication that perhaps, had they lived, they would not have  been thought quite so holy. To me, this usage, to a degree, refers to the holocaust. The sanctification of those murdered because of antisemitism, in the name of nationalism, has great political repercussions. I do not think that is wrong, but it may be becoming dangerous. 

When are you holy? How do you measure its value?