PARSHA THEMES
Eitan Mayer
PARASHAT SHEMINI
Note: Our parasha records the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, sons of Aharon. We focused on that event in our discussion of Parashat Tetzaveh in Sefer Shemot, where we analyzed the proper role and orientation of the kohen (priest) toward his holy task, and in particular how Nadav’s and Avihu’s act violated that conception of priestly function. That shiur is available on the web at http://victorian.fortunecity.com/brutalist/608, the Parsha Themes archive.
TERMINOLOGY AND SEFER VAYIKRA:
Whenever we come across special terminology in the Torah, it is always our first job to re-examine our assumptions about its meaning. Are we just plugging in the understanding we’ve held since childhood, or are we willing to rethink our assumptions -- and perhaps reject ideas we have held for a long time? Take our discussion of the term “korban hattat,” for example: last shiur discussed the word “hattat” and what it means in Sefer VaYikra in particular. We began with the popular assumption that “hattat” means “sin,” and so a “korban hattat” would be a “sin-offering,” a korban brought to expiate sin. But we emerged with a very different conclusion: “hattat” in this context means to “clean up” or “purge”; a korban hattat is therefore not a “sin-offering,” but a “cleansing offering.”
This helped us solve some basic problems:
1) If the korban hattat is indeed a “sin-offering,” and its function is to expiate the sin of the person or people who offer it, why does the Torah demand a korban hattat from people who have committed no apparent sin (i.e., every woman who gives birth [yoledet], every healed metzora [sufferer of the biblical skin disease “tzara’at”], every healed zav and zava [people who have experienced irregular genital emissions], and several other cases)? In all of these cases, a serious form of tum’ah, ritual impurity, is present, but there is no sin to forgive -- so why an expiatory sacrifice? In addition, one who becomes tamei (impure) by contact with a human corpse must be sprinkled with the ashes of the para aduma, the red cow, as part of the purification process; but since there is no sin in becoming tamei in the first place, why does the Torah refer to the para aduma as a “hattat”?
If, however, we understand “hattat” to mean “cleaning up impurity,” it is clear why a hattat is necessary in each of these impurity-inducing cases.
2) What is the actual mechanism of the korban hattat in the Mishkan and the Beit Ha-Mikdash? *How* does it “take care of” or expiate the averot (sins) we have committed? We began with the assumption that the korban hattat is something like a gift to appease Hashem so that He will forgive us for the avera, but we ended with the idea that the hattat is less a gift than it is a “mopping up” of the Mikdash. We examined indications later in Sefer VaYikra that our averot impact on ourselves and environment: if we behave immorally, we defile not only ourselves, but Eretz Yisrael itself, and since Eretz Yisrael cannot tolerate impurity, it will eventually “vomit us out” (as the Torah so graphically puts it). Sefer VaYikra teaches that our averot also destroy the spiritual environment in the Mikdash, making it tamei; this is why, once a year, Yom Kippur provides us with an opportunity to purge (“hattat”) not only ourselves, but also the Mikdash, of all the accumulated impurities our averot have produced.
HOLY, HOLY, HOLY
Terminology appears all over the Torah, but defining it is especially critical in Sefer VaYikra, where we constantly encounter terms for concepts and actions outside of the realm of everyday life. One term which comes up all the time, especially in Sefer VaYikra, is the word “k-d-sh,” usually translated “holy.”
“K-d-sh” takes many forms in Tanakh (the Bible). Some examples:
1) “Kedusha,” “holiness” (noun)
2) “Kadosh,” “holy” (adjective)
3) “Kidesh,” “(he) sanctified” (third person singular past tense verb)
4) “Kiddush,” “a sanctification” (e.g., “Kiddush Hashem,” “kiddush” on Friday night)
“K-d-sh” appears in different forms almost 900 times in Tanakh, making it a fairly common word. Not only that, but it is particularly common in Sefer VaYikra, appearing about 150 times -- more than in any other Humash. Not only is “k-d-sh” very common in Sefer VaYikra, it is also very important.
One place where Sefer VaYikra highlights kedusha is Perek 11 (part of our parasha), which focuses on which creatures may be eaten and which can transmit tum’a (impurity) to people. After delivering instructions about which creatures are permitted to us and which transmit tum’a, the Torah calls on us to keep these mitzvot in order that we become “kadosh.”
Many of us are probably familiar with many different contexts which invoke the idea of kedusha, although we may not normally make explicit connections between them. In order to properly understand the real meaning of all of the mitzvot which the Torah connects with “k-d-sh,” and, moreover, to understand what the Torah is really asking of us when it calls us to become “kadosh” (as Sefer VaYikra does at several opportunities), we need to understand what “k-d-sh” really means. One way of doing this is to take a look at what the Torah tells us is kadosh, or can become kadosh, and also at how kedusha impacts on these contexts. First, we will move through the Torah, listing some major loci of kedusha. Once we have some idea of where to find kedusha, we will discuss what “kedusha” might mean.
Kedusha is to be found, according to the Torah, in what I have found convenient to split into five major categories:
1) Time
2) Space
3) Objects (animate and inanimate)
4) People
5) Hashem
KEDUSHA IN TIME:
1) The very first time kedusha appears in the Torah, it refers to time: Shabbat. Hashem completes the creation of the world after six days and then rests; He is “me-kadesh” the Shabbat. Later on, when Bnei Yisrael appear in the world, they are told that they must do the same thing: “Zakhor et yom ha-Shabbat le-kadsho” -- “Remember the Sabbath, to sanctify it.”
2) Other examples of holy time are also well known: the Mo’adim (festivals), i.e., Pesah, Shavuot, Succot, Rosh Ha-Shana, and Yom Kippur are described by the Torah as “holy.”
KEDUSHA IN SPACE:
1) The first space that the Torah describes as kadosh is Har Sinai: Moshe the shepherd sees the (non)-burning bush (situated at Sinai), approaches it, and is told to remove his shoes because “the ground you are standing on is ‘kodesh’ ground.” This kedusha comes to full expression when the nation emerges from Egypt and arrives at Sinai to receive the Torah. At that time, Hashem commands the people to stay off of the mountain because it is so ‘kadosh.’ Even the kohanim (priests), who might consider themselves holy enough to be allowed on the mountain, are specifically prohibited from ascending because of the great kedusha of the mountain.
2) The space most often described by the Torah as kadosh is, of course, the “Mikdash” (Temple), which means “sanctum,” after all. The essence of the Mikdash is kedusha.
3) One other space which the Torah describes as kadosh is the camp of Bnei Yisrael. Hashem commands that we keep the camp ‘kadosh.’ This is accomplished by making sure that high standards of dignified and moral behavior are upheld in the camp.
KEDUSHA IN OBJECTS (animate and inanimate):
A) Animals:
1) Bekhor: first-born animals are considered holy as a result of Hashem’s killing the Egyptian firtsborn and saving the firstborn of Bnei Yisrael.
2) Korbanot: in many places in the Torah, animals which are set aside and designated to become korbanot (sacrificial offerings) are called “kodashim.” This term is used by Hazal as the name for one of the six major sections of the Mishnaic corpus, the section which deals with things designated to various kadosh purposes.
B) Inanimate objects:
1) Clothing of the kohanim: the “bigdei kehuna” are constantly referred to by the Torah as the “bigdei kodesh.”
2) Klei ha-Mikdash: the “furniture” of the Mishkan/Mikdash is often referred to ak; even today, we call the Aron in our shuls the “aron ha-kodesh.” Also, during the inauguration ceremony for the Mishkan, Moshe is instructed to sanctify (“le-kadesh”) all of the furniture through different rituals, including anointing the kelim with the special anointing oil and sprinkling blood on the kelim from special inaugural korbanot.
KEDUSHA IN PEOPLE:
1) Bekhor: Hashem tells Bnei Yisrael on several occasions that all firstborn sons are considered “kadosh” as a result of His having killed all of the firstborn of Egypt and saved the Jewish firstborn. In practice, this means that for all generations, each firstborn son has a special kedusha which remains with him and requires a pidyon ha-ben (“redemption of the son”) to be done. The baby boy is brought to the kohen, since the kohen represents Hashem, and money is given to the kohen in order to ‘redeem’ the baby boy. The money is not to buy the baby, of course, it is to remove the kedusha of the baby and transfer it to the money, which the kohen can then use. (Note that halakha holds that the baby does not actually have kedushat ha-guf prior to the pidyon.)
Another aspect of the kedusha of the firstborn is their (short-lived) selection as priests. Originally, the firstborn son of each family was designated to serve Hashem as a priest. This function, however, was transferred to the Leviyyim in a process described in Sefer BeMidbar. This process removed the kedusha from the firstborn and transferred it to the Leviyyim.
2) Kohanim: In many places in the Torah, kohanim are identified as kadosh. In this week’s parasha in particular, Moshe is commanded by Hashem to consecrate Aharon and his sons to be kohanim: “kadesho le-khahano li,” “sanctify him to serve Me.”
In addition, when the Torah tells us later in Sefer VaYikra that a kohen is forbidden to come into contact with a human corpse (with the exception of immediate relatives, for a non kohen-gadol), the Torah connects this prohibition with the fact that the kohen is kadosh. And when the Torah tells us that a kohen may not marry certain women (divorced women, women whose sexual relationships have been transitory and non-marital, and others), the Torah explains this restriction by repeating that the kohen is ‘kadosh.’ His kedusha apparently prevents his marrying certain women.
3) Bnei Yisrael: The Torah associates kedusha not only with particular members of Bnei Yisrael, but with the nation as a whole. Before the Torah is given, Hashem tells the people that His goal for them is that they become a “mamlekhet kohanim ve-goy kadosh” -- we are to be a ‘kadosh’ nation to Hashem, a nation of kohanim to Hashem. A similar theme is picked up by Sefer Devarim, which repeats several times that Hashem chose us as His “am segula,” treasured nation, His “am kadosh.” (Shemot focuses more on the challenge to us to become holy, whilt Devarim focuses on our being dedicated by Hashem to His service).
In our parasha, the Torah gives us the rules about which animals we may eat and which not, and then explains this set of laws with the charge to us to become holy. Apparently, kashrut has something significant to do with holiness. Hashem’s command to us to be holy appears again -- probably its most famous appearance in all of the Torah -- in Parashat Kedoshim. Shortly after this command, the Torah gives us the laws detailing which sexual unions are prohibited. This section ends with a charge to us to keep these laws and thereby be kadosh. Apparently, maintaining sexual boundaries, too, has something important to do with achieving kedusha.
HASHEM’S HOLINESS:
Hashem is described by the Torah several times as kadosh. These appearances split into two categories:
1) Places where the Torah describes Hashem Himself as kadosh. [Note that in almost all of the places where Hashem describes Himself as holy, this is connected to the holiness of Bnei Yisrael through imitatio Dei; in other words, Hashem is usually saying something like, “Be holy because I, your God, am holy.”]
2) Places where Hashem demands that people sanctify Him. This should be familiar to us as the concept of “kiddush Hashem.” This means somehow adding to the glory of Hashem’s reputation among people. In our parasha, when Nadav and Avihu are killed when they bring an unbidden ketoret (incense) offering before Hashem, Moshe tells Aharon that Hashem has told him, “bi-krovai e-kadesh” -- “I am made kadosh through those closest to me,” or “I will preserve the kedusha of my immediate surroundings.” While this pasuk (verse) remains enigmatic, it does communicate clearly that in some sense, Hashem’s kedusha has been reinforced, protected, or enhanced by the incident which has just occurred.
A similar use of “kedusha” appears when Moshe hits the rock to which Hashem has commanded him to speak. Hashem punishes Moshe for not sanctifying Him before all of the people; speaking to the rock would have been more impressive, but Moshe ruins this opportunity and is therefore denied the opportunity to enter Eretz Yisrael.
HOLINESS AS A “SUBSTANCE”:
What does “k-d-sh” mean? One possiblity is the English word “holy”; something “holy” has an inhering (but not necessarily *inherent*) quality of “holiness.” Something “holy” is different than other things not just because the holy thing has been designated verbally or ceremonially for a particular purpose, and not just because there are different rules for how we are to behave with regard to the holy object, but is different in its very spiritual essence: it contains “kedusha,” “holiness,” a sort of spiritual-mystical-metaphysical substance or energy, so to speak, just as something which is “acidic” is full of acid and something which is “hot” is full of a certain type of energy.
Of course, this view of kedusha does not really provide us with a rationale for our pursuit of kedusha; instead, it posits the existence of an essence called “holiness” which can inhere in various objects, and toward which we are enjoined to aspire. It is not clear what relationship kedusha, in this conception, has with “goodness” or “rightness,” or even “religiosity,” for that matter. We are commanded to become holy, as we have seen, but according to this view, kedusha is not something of which we can make sense; it just exists -- in the spiritual universe -- as gravity and friction and radioactivity exist in the physical universe. We can certainly get a sense of the “mechanics” of kedusha, like where it exists, how it can be used, how we must relate to things which are “kadosh,” etc., the same way we have a sense of the mechanics of gravity, like where it exists, how it can be used, and how we must behave given the fact that gravity is a reality. But we do not connect gravity with morality or goodness or religion; it is just a reality.
On the other hand, the Torah clearly connects kedusha with obedience to Hashem, the mitzvot, Hashem himself, and even makes the achievement of self-sanctification a primary goal. But it is hard to understand why. (Not being a mystic, I can’t offer any kabbalistic conceptions of kedusha; I imagine kabbala has a lot to say about kedusha as an inhering essence.)
KEDUSHA AS A MEANS:
We now move to a second possible definition of kedusha: “Separated from other things to be dedicated to a higher purpose.” In this perspective, kedusha is not the goal in itself, it is only a means; it is not an essence or spiritual “stuff” with which we are to fill ourselves, it is a way of behaving toward things that have been dedicated, formally or informally, to a higher purpose. Of course, that means that when the Torah tells us to be holy, it is not supplying us with an end which represents a significant goal in its own right, it is instead providing us with a strategy to achieve the real goals of our mission as Jews.
But what are the “real goals” of our mission, and how is kedusha a means to achieving them, instead of an essential goal in itself? In order to answer this question, we need to look at the manifestations of kedusha which we discussed above. In pointing to various significant loci of kedusha, we have given kedusan address, so to speak. But who livat of these addresses -- in other words, what values or goals are communicated or achieved by these loci of kedusha? How does kedusha enhance these mitzvot and allow their core purpose to be achieved?
KEDUSHA IN TIME:
As we discussed above, Shabbat, Yom Kippur, Rosh Ha-Shana, Pesah, Shavuot, and Succot are described by the Torah as holy times. How does the kedusha of these days play out? Even a quick look at the descriptions of Shabbat and the Mo’adim in the Torah makes clear that kedusha is intimately connected with one very specific aspect of these days: the issur melakha (prohibition to do creative work):
SHABBAT:
Shemot 16:22-23 --
On the sixth day [Friday], they gathered double bread [of the “manna”], 2 ‘omers’ per person; all the princes of the nation came and told Moshe. He said to them, “It is as Hashem said, ‘A rest, a holy rest [”shabbat kodesh”] to Hashem tomorrow’; whatever you need to bake, bake [today], and whatever you need to cook, cook [today] . . . .
Moshe connects the fact that Shabbat is “kodesh” with the need to cook everything today because of the issur melakha on Shabbat. The kedusha of Shabbat, in other words, is expressed in the issur melakha. This is expressed more explicitly by the Torah in several other places, some of them quite well known:
Shemot 20:7-9 [Part of the Decalogue]:
“Remember the day of Shabbat, to sanctify it [”le-kadsho”]. <<How do we sanctify Shabbat?>> Six days you shall work, and do all of your labor, but the seventh day is Shabbat to Hashem, your God -- DO NOT DO ANY WORK . . . .
Of course, the opposite of “kodesh” is “hol,” or “non-holy,” sometimes translated as “profane,” but misleadingly so, in my opinion, since “profane” has taken on negative connotations, while there is usually nothing wrong with a lack of kedusha; “hol” is a neutral state. “Hullin,” for example, is Hazal’s term for non-sacred food, i.e., all the food we eat nowadays, when there are no sacrifices. Having said that, it must be noted that there are circumstances where a lack of kedusha is not at all neutral, and is in fact a capital crime. For example, Shabbat carries the death penalty (!) for one who removes its kedusha, one who makes it “hol”:
Shemot 31:14 --
Keep the Shabbat, for it is holy [”kadosh”] to you; its profaners [”me-HALeleha,” from the word “hol”] shall be executed. <<And then the Torah once again connects the kedusha of Shabbat with the issur melakha:>> For all who do work on it, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of its nation.
[The same pattern of kedusha --> issur melakha is observable in Shemot 35:2 and Devarim 5:12.]
MO’ADIM:
As mentioned above, the Mo’adim are described by the Torah as holy times. Like Shabbat, this holiness is directly connected with a particular aspect which all of the Mo’adim share despite their differences in other matters: the issur melakha. The Torah’s term for these days, other than “Mo’adim,” is “Mikra’ei kodesh,” “Declared times of holiness.” Whenever the Torah uses this term, “Mikra’ei kodesh,” to describe the Mo’adim, it is *always* followed by the explanation that the kedusha of the mo’ed is manifested in the issur melakha. One of the best places to note this pattern is in VaYikra 23 (see also Shemot 12:16 and BeMidbar 28-29), where Shabbat is also included among the Mo’adim:
VaYikra 23:3 --
Six days you shall work, but on the seventh day is a rest time, a “mikra kodesh”: do not do any work . . . .
VaYikra 23:7 --
On the first day [of Pesah] is a “mikra kodesh” for you: do not do any work.
VaYikra 23:8 --
. . . on the seventh day [of Pesah] is a “mikra kodesh”: do not do any work.
VaYikra 23:21--
. . . [Shavuot is] a “mikra kodesh” for you: do not do any work.
VaYikra 23:24-25 --
[Rosh Ha-Shana is a] “mikra kodesh”: do not do any work.
VaYikra 23:35-36 --
On the first day [of Succot] is a “mikra kodesh”: do not do any work . . . on the eighth day is a “mikra kodesh” . . . do not do any work.
One exception to the rule that “mikra kodesh” leads right into “do not do any work” is Yom Kippur:
VaYikra 23:27-28 --
. . . The Day of Purification [”Yom Ha-Kippurim”] . . . is a “mikra kodesh” for you: Make yourselves suffer [i.e., fasting, etc.] . . . and do not do any work.
But the truth is that Yom Kippur fits right in: in all of these cases, kedusha means restriction of some sort. On Shabbat, it means an absolute prohibition of work; on Hagim (holidays), a prohibition of most types of work; and on Yom Kippur, a prohibition of work and of enjoyment.
KEDUSHA AND RESTRICTIONS:
What does kedusha have to do with restrictions? Why is it connected in the Torah with all of the restrictions mentioned in the examples above? The answer is that kedusha does not *produce* or *require* restrictions -- it *is* restrictions! “Kedusha” means setting something apart for a higher purpose. The way to set something apart is to prevent the normal from occurring with regard to that thing. The way we set Shabbat apart from the other days -- the way we make it “holy” -- is “six days you shall work . . . but on the seventh day you shall rest.” It is not that Shabbat is infused with some mystical “kedusha” substance, it is that we are called to separate this day from the others, and this separation is accomplished by not doing work like we usually do.
But the act of kiddush -- the act of setting something apart for a higher purpose -- is obviously not an end in itself. The purpose of this setting apart is to allow special things to take place. Kedusha, to put it concretely, is a way of making space for important things to happen. It is a strategy to allow opportunities for important goals to be accomplished.
In describing many of the mitzvot, the Torah is quite clear about what these goals are. Let’s take Shabbat as an example. First, the requirement to sanctify Shabbat: this “wipes the day clean” by erasing our normal work agenda. By doing this, we have created space for the Torah to direct us to do important things on this day: to remember that Hashem created the world (the theme of Shabbat according to the Decalogue in Sefer Shemot), and to remember that He took us out of Egypt (the theme of Shabbat according to the Decalogue in Sefer Devarim). Kedusha does not create the issur melakha; it *is* the issur melakha. The “end” of Shabbat is to contemplate Hashem’s creation and His redemption; the means which makes this end possible is the imposition of kedusha, which, by demanding that we distinguish this day from other days, effectively clears our schedules of work and allows us the opportunity to engage in what Shabbat was created for.
The same is true of the Mo’adim as well. Kedusha clears a space of time by forbidding work; then the particular theme of that particular Mo’ed (not our topic here) can come in and get the attention it deserves. Kedusha is an opportunity-maker. For Yom Kippur in particular, the specific content of the day -- purification -- requires that more space, and more kinds of space, be cleared than usual. Not only is the work schedule cleared, the pleasure schedule is cleared as well. This is necessary for self-purification and Mikdash-purification to take place. So on Yom Kippur, since the day’s theme calls for more setting apart than other holy days, kedusha has a bigger job than usual in clearing the necessary space.
KEDUSHA IN SPACE:
To put it briefly, sanctifying space also creates opportunities. Dedicating a space to a special purpose means that the normal things cannot be allowed to occur there -- otherwise, in what sense could we call such a space “dedicated”? So when Har Sinai is dedicated to be the place where the revelation of the Torah will occur, it becomes a place where Moshe cannot come with shoes, shod in the normal way; he must show respect for the dedicatedness of the place by removing his shoes. The same is true of the prohibition for anyone to ascend the mountain; its being dedicated means restriction: although people can usually walk wherever they want, they cannot walk here because this place has been chosen for Hashem to appe. Kedusha is not the point, it is a preparatory strategy. It makes space for Hashem to des. The is true of the Mishkan, certainly a place whose kedusha restricts access; and the greater the kedusha, the more restricted the access, not because one produces the other, but because they are one and the same.
KEDUSHA IN OBJECTS:
[I think the point is made. We need not belabor it by demonstrating it in every context in which we mentioned the presence of kedusha. If you are unsure how kedusha-restriction creates opportunities in objects, drop me a line and I will try to explain.]
KEDUSHA IN PEOPLE:
Along the same lines, kedusha in people does not mean that the people are spiritually different. It simply means that they are separated from others to be dedicated to a special purpose. This is what Hashem is telling us when He calls on us to be holy: not to fill ourselves with “holiness,” but to be dedicated! “Kedoshim tihyu” and statements like it found all over the Torah are often connected with Hashem’s informing us that He has chosen us from among the nations as His special nation. Now, this does not mean that He has chosen us to fill with “holiness,” it means He has chosen us to fulfill the mission for which the entire human experiment was undertaken by Hashem: to mirror Him, to achieve our potential as “images of Hashem,” “tzelem Elokim.” Hashem frames humanity’s mission quites specifically: we are to be creative (“peru u-revu,” i.e., procreative) as He is creative, conquer the world and rule it as He rules the universe, and maintain the standards of morality (expressed by Sefer Bereshit as the prohibition to kill animals for food, an idea which is later compromised but which, as we have discussed, is echoed in Sefer VaYikra). This mission is originally commanded to all humans, but later, after humanity shows its fundamental corruption and must be destroyed in the Flood, Hashem focuses His “hopes” on the Avot (forefathers) as the seeds of His new plan. He chooses individuals to found a nation which will achieve the mission as is necessary and help guide the rest of humanity toward the mission as well. Later formulations in the Torah add another dimension: as that special nation, we are to be holy, as Hashem is holy: read, we are to be distinct, other, dedicated to higher standards, just as Hashem is all of these things. We are set aside by Hashem for this higher purpose: “Atem tihyu li mamlekhet kohanim ve-goy kadosh.”
In similar fashion, the kohanim among Bnei Yisrael are more holy than other Jews: they are to be devoted to serving Hashem. They are not inherently, metaphysically, spiritually holier or better than other Jews; they are merely designated to divine service. [No sour grapes here; I am a kohen myself.] The fact that they are set apart for this higher purpose plays out not only in their ability to perform the avoda (Temple service), but also in their being unable to marry women whose status would impinge on the kohen’s being dedicated to a higher function. In addition, being set apart to do the avoda means that kohanim cannot come into contact with corpses except under extreme circumstances: the kohen is at all times to be ready to drop everything and serve in the Mikdash. Contracting the severe impurity of a corpse negates the kohen’s dedicatedness to Divine service by making this service impossible for him. The Kohen Gadol is even more kadosh -- more dedicated -- than the standard kohen, so he may never contract this impurity, which is fundamentally inimical to his kohen-gadol-hood.
KASHRUT:
Just to briefly mention two other examples of mitzvot closely connected with kedusha: in our parasha, the Torah, with great “fanfare,” warns us that eating the prohibited animals is a problem because we are enjoined to be kadosh. Well, what do split hooves, chewing the cud, fins and scales, etc. have to do with holiness?
Perhaps nothing. The kedusha here is, as above, not the ultimate goal of this mitzvah, it is only a description of how the mitzvah functions. It is a set of restrictions: do not eat this, that, or the other thing. We do not refrain from eating these things in order to increase our holiness quotient; instead, the *act* of refraining is the kedusha itself. The Torah restricts these animals in order to make space for important values to be communicated and internalized. What are those values? This the Torah leaves largely unsaid, but the suggestion I find most compelling is that this perek brings together a number of disparate themes. Cloven hooves, chewing cud, fins, scales, are not inherent markers of virtue, they are ways of severely limiting the variety and number of living creatures we are able to kill for food (a value we have seen implicit in Sefer VaYikra and other places; and no, I am not a vegetarian). Many have noted that all of the forbidden birds are predators or carrion eaters; not eating them symbolizes our rejection of their cruel and bloody lifestyle.
SEXUAL CRIMES:
One last mitzvah: the “arayot,” the cardinal sexual crimes listed in VaYikra 18 and 20, are repeatedly connected with kedusha. But once again, I would argue that the point is not kedusha, the *restrictions* are kedusha. The point of the restrictions is the protection of important things: the incest and adultery prohibitions protect the structure of the family, and the homosexuality, bestiality, and menstruating-woman prohibitions protect the core value of using sex as a way to create (procreate), not an outlet for just enjoyment (a menstruating woman is, for those who may be unaware, at the point of the cycle where conception is most unlikely).
As always, the perspective in this shiur is only mine (perhaps I should say only one of mine). While I have explored the more rational side of what kedusha might mean, I do not mean to imply that the other options are silly or untrue.
Shabbat Shalom,
Eitan
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