LEV279 See [[DEUT296]] Deuteronomy 6:18 good OXFORD 256

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LEV281 See [[EXOD325]] Exodus 19:6 holy OXFORD 39-40

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LEV276 Holiness is attained by living among other people. God commanded Moshes to state this verse in front of "the entire congregation," that is, in assembly, because the majority of the essentials of the Torah are summarized herein. (Sifra cited by Rashi). The Chasam Sofer commented that to attain holiness we need not be isolated and withdrawn from the rest of society. On the contrary, the admonition to be holy was stated in assembly. A person must learn how to sanctify himself by behaving properly amongst people. (Otzer Chayim, vol. 3, p. 114).

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LEV283 See [[LEV112]] Leviticus 11:3 eat SACTAB 69-71

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LEV275 Finally, how about the argument that “so few Reform Jews keep kosher--why should the Movement even pay attention to it? My very unscientific research has led me to doubt this old assumption. Yes, if you ask most Reform Jews, “Do you keep kosher?” they will reply in the negative. But if you ask them, “Do you eat pork?” a surprising number will say, “no.” If you ask them, “Do you eat shrimp or oysters?” a smaller number, but still a number, will also say, “no.” If you ask them, “Do you mix meat and milk?” some others will shake their heads as well. Our assumption that few Reform Jews keep kosher has been based on an all-or-nothing proposition. A survey of several hundred respondents among the regional URJ leaders attending the 2005 Biennial in Houston confirmed my feeling that there are many Reform Jews who keep some form of kashrut (see chapter 8). Is it legitimate to keep only some aspects of kashrut? Of course it is. Kashrut comprises a number of discrete mitzvot, and we may feel called by some of them but not necessarily by all of them. If we are to include oshek and tzaar baalei chayim in our definition, there are non-Reform Jews who according to our standards will also not keep all the mitzvot of kashrut. Such a situation would be a reminder that, for all Jews, kashrut is, as my erstwhile Hillel colleague Rabbi David Berner taught me, a continuum, on which a large number of Jews find themselves and on which many religious decisions remain before one takes all of the steps. It is a reminder, too, that Leviticus 19:2, K’doshim tihyu, “You shall become holy,” is a lifelong process. In the unique context of our own time, kashruth can be a “natural” for Reform Jews. It nurtures our yearning to deepen our spiritual lives; it responds to our classic imperatives for social justice; it brings us into closer contact with our godly role as guardians of Creation; it opens new opportunities to mingle with today's diverse population of Jews and non-Jews; it offers a variety of disciplines that can keep us from sliding into the maw of North American materialism. Freed from the restrictive bonds of the past, Reform Jews have remarkable opportunity to let kashrut flourish once again as a way to strengthen the nurturing bonds of the covenant between the Jewish people and the Creator of all life. (By Richard N. Levy, “KASHRUT: A New Freedom for Reform Jews”)

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LEV285 The concept of kedushah, therefore, would appear to be the most general and all-embracing term by which Judaism designates the highest religious quality that can be attained either in space, in time, or in man himself and that brings one closer to God, or into communion with Him. But, since in Judaism, the essential core of religion is morality, it follows that holiness for man is "basically an ethical value" [D. S. Shapiro, "The Meaning of Holiness in Judaism." Tradition 7, no. 1 (Winter 1964-65): 62], the "perfection of morality" and the "ethical ideal of Judaism." [M. Lazarus, The Ethics of Judaism (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1901), pt. II, pp. 25, 176]. The concept of holiness is also found in connection with the dietary laws and the rules governing sexual behavior. [Leviticus 11:44-45; 20:8, 26. See Rashi on this verse]. These two, however, must be seen as ultimately contributing to the development of the personal morality of the individual, i.e., his inner character traits and moral dispositions. For clearly, we are dealing here with the two strongest urges or appetites in men, which are biologically grounded in and thus have "natural" and useful channels of expression. Yet there is something in men that can convert these passions and sources of great creative energy into an "evil urge." ... While Judaism accepts the pleasures of food and sex as legitimate and as a positive good, it seeks, by the imposition of guidelines -- by laying down rules for the "how," "when," and "with whom" of these activities -- to encourage the individual to exercise a degree of control. Armed with deep insight into the psychology of desire and the dynamics of hedonism, Judaism strove to have man avoid the extremes of repression and obsession and instead cultivate an approach that would preserve for the individual the simple and satisfying joys of food and sex.

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LEV272 "Holy shall you be" -- separate shall you be [from illicit relations]; "for holy am I" -- If you sanctify yourselves, I shall consider it as if you had sanctified Me (Torath Cohanim).

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LEV290 Few are the Biblical commands thus introduced. This is significant. For it implies that the duty of being holy devolves upon each Jew and not upon a cloistered set of hermits only. The Jew must be holy not only in the synagogue and in the home but also in the office and in the workshop. Judaism is something more than a badge and a birth-mark; it is a life, a civilization. The virtues of trust, justice and mercy that are associated with our conception of God must be woven into the daily pattern of life. The mere accident of birth does not qualify one to be of the elect; it only designates him for enrollment among of the elect. God signs the covenant, but we have to seal it -- to seal it with a life of service.

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LEV291 Avoid Antagonizing Your Son: The Torah says, "Every person must respect his mother and father" [this verse]. Literally translated, this verse reads "Every person, his mother and father, they must respect," whereby tira'u, "they must respect," is written in the plural. It is as if the phrase "they must respect" refers to the son, his father, and his mother – – the three of them must respect each other. Thus, parents should not infuriate and antagonize their son to the point that he loses control of himself and rebels against them [Sefer Chasidim, paragraph 565].

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LEV295 See [[EXOD411]] Exodus 20:12 honor BOROJMV 310-11

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