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Parshat Acharei Mot
1997
Holy Guacamole
Leviticus 19:1-12
1. YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying:
2. Speak to the entire community of the Children of Israel, and say to them: Holy are you to be, for holy am I, YHWH your God!
3. Each-man his mother and his father you are to hold-in-awe, and my Sabbaths you are to keep: I am YHWH your God!
4. Do not turn-your-faces to no-gods, and molten gods you are not to make yourselves, I am YHWH your God!
5. Now when you slaughter a slaughter-offering of shalom to YHWH, for your being-accepted you are to slaughter it.
6. At the time of your slaughtering it, it is to be eaten, and on the morrow (as well),but what remains by the third day is to be burned in fire.
7. Should it be eaten, yes, eaten on the third day, it is tainted-meat, it will not be accepted;
8. those who eat it his iniquity must he bear, for the holy-offering of YHWH he has profaned, cut off shall that person be from his kinspeople!
9. Now when you harvest the harvest of your land, you are not to finish (to the) edge of your field in harvesting, the full-gathering of your harvest you are not to gather;
10. your vineyard you are not to glean, the break-off of your vineyard you are not to gather - rather, for the afflicted and for the sojourner you are to leave them, I am YHWH your God!
11. You are not to steal, you are not to lie, you are not to deal-falsely, each-man with his fellow!
12. You are not to swear by my name falsely, thus profaning the name of your God? I am YHWH!
Your Kedoshim Navigator
1. What is the reason that we are required to be holy?
2. What does holy, kadosh mean?
3. List the things that a holy people are supposed to do.
4. How do these relate to each other?
5. What does keeping the Sabbath have to do with honoring one?s parents?
The word Kadosh can be defined as distinct. There are two aspects to this distinctness. One is to be different, separate for its own sake. Our identity should be a distinct one. We should have our own customs and our own rituals as Jews. Equally important, however, is our mandate to be distinct examples for how this world is to be sanctified.
To model the best of human behavior is a kedusha that distinguishes the individual by leading humanity to Godliness. This is our responsibility, not our right. It should be viewed as humbling and daunting because the potential for not measuring up is formidable.
Prepared by Rabbi Avi Weinstein, director, Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning.
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