Shabbat Kedoshim: Morality
Chapter 19 of Leviticus, known as Kedoshim, Be Holy, includes a range of laws that concern ethical standards that were relevant then and today.
It starts with respecting one’s parents and then goes on to talk about the importance of giving charity and helping the poor and the indigent. Such basic ethical rules as don’t steal, don’t deceive, don’t lie to each, don’t oppress your neighbour, don’t rob, don’t refuse to pay workers on time, don’t curse a deaf person or put something in the way of someone who is blind, don’t abuse justice or be corrupt, judge all people honestly and fairly, don’t go around telling tales, don’t stand by when your neighbour is suffering, don’t hate your neighbour in your heart, don’t take revenge against your neighbour but love your neighbour as yourself( Leviticus 19:2-18).
However, interspersed in this collection are ritual laws as well and the repeated refrain “ Be Holy because I am holy,” Imitatio Dei in Latin,“ I am your God,” or “ I am your God who took you out of Egypt.” To the modern sceptical mind, they seem out of place. We are so used to thinking of morality and ethics as being divorced from concepts of God, that these ritual-based commands seem to be out of irrelevant to so many people.
Yet the Bible is based upon the principle that humans, are fallible, changeable, and unreliable and are often not the best judges of good and bad. Greek philosophical culture on the other hand thought that logic alone could determine what was right or wrong. The Torah established a concept of Divine Authority as a safeguard against overweening human arrogance. A safety net that links morality to everyday behaviour by reminding us before each action to consider ethical aspects and results. And to identify with and be part of a community, people that were bound by a common history and moral culture.
The anthropologist Margaret Mead discovered that there is a universal pattern that explains all this strange connection between morality and ritual. The ancient world was concerned with order. Each culture was regulated in its own way. The Torah too is concerned with order, a holistic approach to life that includes the spiritual as well as the physical. It is a template of the complete life, in which one finds room for a way of life that connects with God through ritual and behaviour.
In our case, the universal sacrificial system that once dominated our ritual life soon fell away. Instead, we have focused on the laws that make up what is called halacha. How we behave day-to-day and how all our actions should be predicated on forethought, consideration, and a value system. What once was purity in the context of the Temple, became taking care of oneself, the way we catch diseases or neglect our bodies, the interaction between our physical and mental health, sexual self-control, what we should and should not eat, atonement, and the celebration of festivals. All of this underlines a life that involves forethought, consideration, and self-control.
An ethical system predicated on a ritual one however irksome so many people feel about it today, adds a level of spirituality to our daily lives. However if religious behavior does not improve one’s morality or behavior towards others, it is failing. Holiness in the Torah means being other, but also better. Not automatically through birth but rather what we do, and how we behave. When we say be holy because God is holy, we’re not describing God. We may disagree as to what is good and what is bad, what is fair and what is not, and whether there is a God and to what extent God controls our lives. But, in the end, we should live a life of consideration and respect for ourselves as well as for the rest of humanity.
Leviticus 19-21
Rabbi Jeremy Rosen lives in New York. He was born in Manchester. His writings are concerned with religion, culture, history and current affairs – anything he finds interesting or relevant. They are designed to entertain and to stimulate. Disagreement is always welcome.
