Lev. 19:1-20:27
Written for NefeshSoul by Debbie Belden
Plaut Translation: You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy.
You shall be holy to Me, for I the Eternal am holy, and I have set you apart from other peoples to be mine.
Fox Translation: Holy are you to be, for holy am I, Adonai your God!
You are to be holy to me, for holy am I, Adonai; I have separated you from the (other) peoples to be mine!
These are the bookends of the parsha. I thought it was important to see the faithful translation along with the traditional translation. Kadosh is an adjective meaning holy or sacred. It is also a noun for a martyr who has given his or her life for Judaism. Kedoshim is the plural.
God told Moses to tell the people, all the people, not just the priests, the regulations and abominations that set us apart from other nations.
We are not to be like the others. We are not to follow the cult practices of others; their social, sexual and dietary practices are not holy, they are tamei, unclean.
You shall be holy, is not automatic because God is holy, it is a command to be like God. We are to act and eat in such a way that separates us from others. To act in an unholy manner is punishable by death. To eat those foods that God has set apart as tamei makes a person tamei.
You are to be holy to me; you are to be a person who gives his or her life to Judaism.
Have you set yourself apart from the others? Are you holy to God? Do your actions identify you as belonging to God and Judaism?