Commanded to Holiness: Reflections on Leviticus 19:1-2 and Contemporary Judaism
Graduation Date
Spring 2005
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Program Name
Humanities
First Reader
Lawrence Kushner
Second Reader
Scott Sinclair, PhD
Abstract
This thesis reflects upon the overarching ramifications for both ancient Jewry and contemporary Judaism of the single Torah commandment found in Leviticus 19.1-2. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord. Your God am holy.” Based on teachings culled from the Torah Talmud. Kabbalah, and the sages of Jewish tradition and scholarship, the study forwards the philosophical stance that the holiness commanded of the ancient nation of Israel in Biblical times is as vital, applicable, and achievable in contemporary . Judaism as it was then. Examining the Judaic precept of kadosh, holy separation from the profane, the work takes a philosophical approach to the startling, but foundational, Jewis teaching from Leviticus 19: 1-2, that a human being is commanded to be as My as God. The nefesh (human being), comprised not just of body, but of neshama (soul), and the Biblical expectations for both the body and the soul regarding the commandment holy, are explored.