Kedoshim

:"This page is about Kedoshim, a parshah in the yearly Torah cycle. See Kodashim for the Order of the Mishnah by that name."

Kedoshim, K’doshim, or Qedoshim (קדושים — Hebrew for "holy ones,” the 14th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parshah) is the 30th weekly Torah portion ("parshah") in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the seventh in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes )
*To keep the Sabbath ()
*Not to reap all the way to the edges of a field, but to leave some for the poor and the stranger ()
*Not to insult the deaf or impede the blind ()
*To reprove kinsmen but incur no guilt because of them ()
*To observe God’s laws ()
*A man who has carnal relations with a slave woman designated for another man must offer a ram of guilt offering ()
*Not to practice divination or soothsaying ()
*Not to degrade their daughters or make them harlots ()
*To rise before the aged and show deference to the old ()

Penalties for Transgressions

God then told Moses to instruct the Israelites of the following penalties for transgressions.The following were called "toivah" a category of transgression that includes in other places in the Torah not observing dietary laws"":
*One who gave a child to Molech ()
*A man who lay with his father’s wife, and his father wife with whom he lay ()
*A man who married a woman and her mother, and the woman and mother whom he married ()
*One who had a ghost or a familiar spirit ()
*A man who lay with a woman in her infirmity, and the woman with whom he lay ()

God then enjoined the Israelites faithfully to observe all God’s laws, lest the Promised Land spew them out. ()

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Leviticus chapter 19

Rabbi Judah ben Pazzi deduced from the juxtaposition of the sexual prohibitions of to mean: “My children, as I am separate, so you be separate; as I am holy, so you be holy.” (Leviticus Rabbah 24:4.)

Rabbi Abin likened the two exhortations to holiness in was spoken in the presence of the whole Israelite people, because it includes most of the essential principles of the Torah. And Rabbi Levi said it was because it includes each of the Ten Commandments, noting that: (1) says, “You shall have no other gods,” and says, “And you shall not swear by My name falsely”; (4) (20:12 in NJPS) says, “Honor your father and your mother,” and says, “Neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor”; (7) (20:13 in NJPS) says, “You shall not steal,” and says, “You shall not go up and down as a talebearer”; and (10) “You shall fear every man his mother and his father, and you shall keep My Sabbaths,” to teach that one’s duty to honor one’s parent does not supersede one’s duty to keep the Sabbath. (Babylonian Talmud Yevamot 5b.)

A midrash noted that everywhere else, Scripture mentions a father's honor before the mother's honor. (E.g., mentions the mother first to teach that one should honor both parents equally. (Genesis Rabbah 1:15.)

Tractate Peah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the harvest of the corners of fields in and [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0319.htm#12 19:12,] ), “What is hateful to you, do not to your neighbor; that is the whole Torah, and the rest is commentary on that. Go and learn it.” (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 31a.)

Rav Nahman said in the name of Rabbah bar Abbuha that requires a man not to become engaged to a woman before he sees her, lest he subsequently see something in her that might make her repulsive to him. (Babylonian Talmud Kiddushin 41a.) Similarly, Rab Hisda taught that calls on the Israelites to obey God’s “statutes” ("hukim") and “ordinances” ("mishpatim"). The Rabbis in a Baraita taught that the “ordinances” ("mishpatim") were commandments that logic would have dictated that we follow even had Scripture not commanded them, like the laws concerning idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and blasphemy. And “statutes” ("hukim") were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to "shaatnez" (in ), purification of the person with "tzaraat" (in God says, “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)

Tractate Orlah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, and Jerusalem Talmud interpreted the laws of the prohibition in [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0320.htm 20:1–5,] and )
*Not to turn to idolatry ()
*Not to reap a corner of one’s field ()
*Not to gather the gleanings ()
*To leave the unformed clusters of grapes ()
*Not to deny possession of something entrusted to you ()
*Not to withhold wages or fail to repay a debt ()
*Not to curse any upstanding Jew ()
*A judge must not respect the great man at the trial. ()
*Not to stand idly by if someone's life is in danger ()
*Not to embarrass others ()
*To love other Jews ()
*Not to eat fruit of a tree during its first three years ()
*Not to be superstitious ()
*Men must not shave their beards with a razor. ()
*Not to act as a medium ()
*Not to commit injustice with scales and weights ()
*The courts must carry out the death penalty of burning ( is reflected in and in turn in the "Kedushah" section of the "Amidah" prayer in each of the three prayer services. (Reuven Hammer. "Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom for Shabbat and Festivals", 4. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2003. ISBN 0916219208.)

Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Biblical

*Exodus [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0219.htm#6 19:6] (being holy).
* (Molech); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0323.htm#22 23:22] (corners of fields).
*Deuteronomy [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0518.htm#10 18:10] (passing children through the fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0524.htm#14 24:14–15] (paying wages promptly).
*1 Kings [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09a11.htm#4 11:4–8,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09a11.htm#33 33] (Molech).
*2 Kings [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b16.htm#3 16:3] (son pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b17.htm#17 17:17] (children pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b21.htm#6 21:6] (son pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b23.htm#10 23:10–14] (Molech).
*Isaiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1057.htm#9 57:9] (Molech or king).
*Jeremiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1107.htm#31 7:31] (child sacrifice); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1116.htm#6 16:6] (shaving); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1122.htm#13 22:13–14] (paying wages); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1132.htm#35 32:35] (Molech); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1141.htm#5 41:5] (shaving); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1148.htm#37 48:37] (shaving); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1149.htm 49:1–3] (Molech or Malcam).
*Ezekiel [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1216.htm#20 16:20–21] (sacrificing children); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1218.htm#5 18:5–7] (the just does not rob); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1223.htm#6 23:6–12] (violations of the Holiness Code); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1223.htm#37 23:37] (sacrifice of sons).
*Amos [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1505.htm#25 5:25–27] (Molech or king).
*Zephaniah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2101.htm#4 1:4–6] (Molech).
*Psalms [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2641.htm#2 41:2] (consideration for the poor); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2682.htm#2 82:2] (unrighteous judgment); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26d5.htm#4 135:4] (God’s choice of Israel); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26e0.htm#13 140:13] (the poor).
*2 Chronicles [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt25b33.htm#6 33:6] (children pass through fire).

Ancient

*Confucius. The Analects (“Tsze-kung asked, saying, ‘Is there one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life?’ The Master said, ‘Is not Reciprocity such a word? What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.’”). China, circa 5th Century B.C.E.
*Aristotle. 4th Century B.C.E. (“We should behave to our friends as we would wish our friends to behave to us.”) Quoted in Diogenes Laërtius. [http://classicpersuasion.org/pw/diogenes/dlaristotle.htm "Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers",] 5:11. 3rd Century C.E. Translated by C.D. Yonge. 19th Century. Reprinted Kessinger Publishing, 2007. ISBN 0548116822.

Early nonrabbinic

*James [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James%202:8;&version=31; 2:8] (“If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right.”). Circa 45–62 C.E.
*Galatians [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%205:14;&version=31; 5:14] (“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”). Circa 49–58 C.E.
*Romans [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2013:8-9;&version=31; 13:8–9] (“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law. The commandments . . . are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”). Greece, circa 58 C.E.
*Mark [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%2012:31;&version=31; 12:31] (“The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."). Circa 70 C.E.
*Matthew [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:12%20%20&version=31 7:12] (“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”); [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2019:19%20%20;&version=31; 19:19] (“‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”); [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:39–40;&version=31; 22:39–40] (“And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”). Circa 70–100 C.E.
*Luke [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%206:31;&version=31; 6:31] (“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”). Circa 80–150 C.E.
*Acts [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%207:42-43;&version=31; 7:42–43] (Molech). Circa 80–150 C.E.

Classical rabbinic

*Mishnah: –8:9; Kilayim 1:1–9:10; Sheviit 1:8; Terumot 3:9; Orlah 1:1–3:9; Shekalim 1:1; Yevamot 8:6; Nedarim 9:4, 11:3; Kiddushin 1:7, 1:9; Bava Kamma 5:7; Bava Metzia 5:11, 7:7; Sanhedrin 1:3–4, 3:7, 7:4, 7:6–8, 7:10–11, 9:1; Makkot 3:5–6, 3:8–9; Keritot 1:1, 2:4–6, 6:9. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Mishnah: A New Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 14–36, 49–68, 70, 100, 158–66, 251, 356, 424, 428, 489, 515, 544, 548, 583–84, 589, 597–98, 602, 617–18, 836, 840, 851. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
*Tosefta: Peah 1:1–4:21; Demai 5:2; Kilayim 1:1–5:27; Maasrot 3:12; Orlah 1:1–8; Bikkurim 2:4; Shabbat 15:9; 17:1; Megillah 3:24; Sotah 5:11; 15:7; Gittin 2:7; Kiddushin 1:4; Bava Metzia 10:3; Bava Batra 5:7; Sanhedrin 3:1; 6:2; 9:11; 12:1; Shevuot 3:1. Land of Israel, circa 300 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Tosefta: Translated from the Hebrew, with a New Introduction". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 1:47–76, 103, 251–76, 292, 341–43, 349, 415, 423, 650, 853, 891, 901, 925–26; 2:1084, 1115, 1150, 1164, 1178, 1185, 1229. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 2002. ISBN 1-56563-642-2.
*Sifra 195:1–210:2. Land of Israel, 4th Century C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Sifra: An Analytical Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 3:85–159. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-207-0.
*Jerusalem Talmud: Berakhot 60a; Peah 2a–73b; Sheviit 12a, 59a; Kilayim 2a–; Orlah 2a–. Land of Israel, circa 400 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Yerushalmi". Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 2, 3, 6a, 6b. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
*Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 49:3; 45:1–2; 61:1; 62:1, 3; 66:1; 74:4; 76:3; 77:3. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai". Translated by W. David Nelson, 218, 249–50, 278, 282, 284–85, 294, 348, 355, 359. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0799-7.
*Leviticus Rabbah 19:4; 24:1–25:8; 26:7; 27:3; 30:10; 35:3; 36:1. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 4:242, 304–24, 330–36, 346, 391, 448, 456. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*Babylonian Talmud: Berakhot 10b, 21b, 35a, 36a–b; Shabbat 23a, 31a, 69b, 71b, 108a, 149a; Eruvin 17b; Pesachim 3a, 16b, 22b, 75a, 78a, 113b; Yoma 18b, 23a, 36a–b, 43a, 69a, 81b, 85b; Sukkah 34b–35a; Beitzah 3b, 5a, 14b, 25b, 28b; Rosh Hashanah 2a, 9b, 31b; Taanit 6b; Megillah 7b, 17b; Moed Katan 2a–b, 4b–5a, 9a, 14b, 17a; Chagigah 4a, 7a, 16a, 25b; Yevamot 2b, 4a–6b, 37b, 46b–47a, 54a–55b, 65b, 94b–95a, 97a, 122a; Ketubot 29a, 30b, 36a, 37b, 46a, 80a; Nedarim 2a–91b; Nazir 29a, 37a, 41a, 57b, 58b; Sotah 7a, 8b, 43b; Gittin 39b, 41b, 43a–b, 47a, 53a–b, 54b, 59b, 85a; Kiddushin 6a, 19a, 23a, 29a, 30b, 31b–32b, 33b, 34b, 35b, 37a, 39a, 41a, 54b, 56b; Bava Kamma 16b, 28a, 51a, 54b–55a, 68b–69b, 70b, 76b, 80b, 94a, 99a, 101a, 105b, 113a; Bava Metzia 5b, 9b, 10b, 12a, 21b, 26b, 31a, 32a, 49a, 55b, 59b, 61b, 75b, 83b, 90b–91a, 92b, 94b, 101a, 110b–11b; Bava Batra 24a, 27a, 36a, 89b, 94a; Sanhedrin 2a, 3a, 15a, 29a, 30a, 31a, 32b, 33b, 39a, 40b, 45a, 46a, 50b–53a, 54a–55a, 57a, 60a, 63a, 64a–65a, 66a, 67b, 69a, 70a, 73a, 75a–76a, 84b, 85b–86a; Makkot 4b, 5b, 7b, 8b, 13b–14b, 16a–b, 20a–22b; Shevuot 2a–49b; Avodah Zarah 6a–b, 10b, 22a, 54b, 62a, 64a, 65b, 68a; Horayot 4a, 11a; Zevachim 5b, 23b, 28a–b, 44a, 47a, 56b, 72a; Menachot 5b–6a, 16b, 25a, 69b, 90b, 110a; Chullin 3a, 7b, 13a, 26b, 29a, 31a, 71a, 74b, 78b–79a, 82b, 85a, 95b, 114a–15b, 120b, 121a, 130b–31b, 134b, 135b, 137a, 138a, 141a–b; Arakhin 16b; Temurah 3a, 4a, 6a, 28b; Keritot 3a–b, 5a, 9a–b, 10b–11a, 12b, 15a, 16a, 21a–b, 22b, 24a, 28a; Meilah 2a, 10a, 16b–17a, 18a; Tamid 27b; Niddah 17a, 41b, 50a, 51a, 57a. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Bavli". Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Medieval

*Rashi. "Commentary". [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=9920&showrashi=true Leviticus 19–20.] Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. "The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated". Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 3:225–59. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-028-5.
*Judah Halevi. "Kuzari". Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. "Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel." Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 148, 203. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
*Zohar [http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar&vol=33 3:80a–88a.] Spain, late 13th Century. Reprinted in, e.g, "The Zohar". Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 vols. London: Soncino Press, 1934.

Modern

*Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan", England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 503–04. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
*Immanuel Kant. "Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals", . Germany, 1785. (“There is therefore but one categorical imperative, namely, this: Act only on that maxim whereby thou canst at the same time will that it should become a universal law.”).
*Thomas Mann. "Joseph and His Brothers". Translated by John E. Woods, 79, 82–83, 152–53, 189, 201–02, 226–27, 336, 351, 384–86, 927. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as "Joseph und seine Brüder". Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*James A. Michener. "The Source", 106–20. New York: Random House, 1965.
*Mary Douglas. "Leviticus as Literature", 37, 42, 46, 84, 92, 99, 109, 123–24, 151, 156, 216, 231, 233, 237–40, 246, 250. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-924419-7.
*Jacob Milgrom. "Leviticus 17–22", 3A:1594–790. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41255-X.

External links

* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0319.htm Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation]
* [http://Bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=3&chapter=19&verse=1&portion=30 Hear the parshah chanted]