Parshat Kedoshim

This week we have a double parshah, Aharei Mot and Kedoshim - which makes for one long parshah when read in its entirety! Much of this is known amongst scholars as the “holiness code” – it’s a collection of laws that, if followed, are meant to set off the people of Israel as a holy people. “You shall be holy, as I your God am holy.” (Lev. 19:2) A nice interpretation of this is that holiness is not the condition of these activities, but the result – that is, it’s not that we should do these various things because we are a priori holy; rather, we should do these things so that as a result, we will become holy.

In ch. 19 v. 9-10 we read, “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field…[rather] you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” This is one of those great tzedakah verses of which I am so fond. It is where we begin to get the Torah’s teaching, re-emphasized over and over again, that caring for the poor is not largesse, but rather is justice – the root of the word “tzedakah” is “tzedek” – justice. It’s not a matter of charity, it’s a matter of right.

The Spanish commentator Ibn Ezra interprets this verse to mean that keeping everything for ourselves is a form of stealing. Rabbi Elie Munk, the chief rabbi of Paris in the mid-20th century, said (thanks to Torah Productions for this teaching, which is a paraphrase):

The purpose of these laws was not merely to support the poor with whatever pitiful leftovers the wealthy landowner might have, but to remind the propertied class that their land and its riches is not for them alone. The earth belongs to God, and God wants its produce shared with the disadvantaged -- not as charity, but as their just right. Assisting the less fortunate is not based on vague feelings of pity or sympathy, but on God's direct commandments.

This of course does not apply only to the wealthy among us. Even those receiving alms are supposed to turn around and give part of the alms, no matter how small, to someone less fortunate. But even for those of us in the middle, it is quite important for us to remember two things: first, that our material well-being is not solely the result of our own efforts, but is bestowed upon us by God - or, if you prefer, it is the product of being born in America, brought up by people who could give us advantages, etc. Either way, a lot of our success is due to circumstances beyond our control. This is why I very strongly believe that libertarianism of the teabagging, Voice for Liberty variety is antithetical to the values put forward by the Torah.

The second thing for us to remember is that our wealth is not for our benefit alone, but is given to us in large part so that we may pass along a certain significant percentage for the maintenance of those less fortunate.

We do this not because we’re so great, but in order that we may become great, morally speaking.