HOME ABOUT JECEI STAFF SCHOOLS MELAVOT PARTNERS FELLOWS LENSES NEWS
Kídusha
(Holiness)
Kídusha ñ (Holiness) ñ Intentionality and Presence
Within Judaism, kídusha is viewed as separate realm; restricted, unique, limited, different, wholly other. Holy times are ones in which various mundane activities are either suspended or imbued with special meaning; holy places are those in which we feel ourselves to be fully present enough to appreciate the unique, the extraordinary, the divine. Human beings have the opportunity to be holy when we bring a particular intention and response to the world in which we live and the community of which we are a part. A time, place, or community becomes sacred to an individual when it is treasured, treated differently, accorded a sense of powerful significance in oneís life. At the same time, certain moments and places are considered by Judaism to be inherently sacred. We enhance our capacity to participate in this sort of kídusha through rituals, behavior, and full presence.
After Moses has smashed the first set of tablets at the foot of Mount Sinai, God has what appears to be an unusual request:
Be ready at the morning, go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and be there for me on top of the mountain. (Shemot 34:2)
Why would God insist that Moses be prepared, go up and be there? Once he went, isnít that where he would be? Possibly not. Whether kídusha begins internally or externally, full presence and intention seems to be a prerequisite for recognition of the sacred.
The first thing to be sanctified in Jewish tradition is time - Shabbat. In Genesis 2:1, God both blesses and sanctifies the seventh day by ceasing from all activities of creation. Is there a difference between blessing something and making it holy? RaSHI (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, one of Judaismís most renowned medieval commentators) suggests that blessing involves setting the stage for holiness to happen. The ìblessingî of Shabbat arrives in advance ñ it is in our preparation, our anticipation, our knowledge that at the end of the week there will be a moment of rest. By contrast, the ìholinessî of Shabbat is in the cessation of that which happens on all of the other days. Time is sanctified/distinguished/set apart by the actual absence of the ordinary, and we participate by being fully present, undistracted by the mundane. It is in our hands to shape our time in a way that enables us to appreciate this distinction between that which is sacred and that which is not.
Sacred presence is everywhere - it is through the movement of our hearts and minds, and the intentional construction of our material world that this Presence can be repeatedly and consistently realized. The purposeful use of materials, the manner in which work is completed, the reverence with which a space is used, all contribute to a shift in our perception. We move from a place of self-absorption to a place that leaves room for an encounter with the extra-ordinary, the sacred.
Torah gives us, in the instructions concerning the building of the Tabernacle, the most famous reference to the construction of holy space. ëThey will make Me a mikdash and I will dwell among them. (Shemot 25:8)î We so often think that the mishkan in the desert was built as a dwelling place for God. But we know from all of our teachings that there is no place devoid of Divine presence - how can we possibly confine God to a single building, or Aron/ark, or day, or hour? An alternative reading of the verse is that if we build a holy structure, God will dwell not among, but in us. Because we purposefully build a structure that is sacred to us, we are personally transformed by both the process and the product.
Certain times are sanctified; space can be sacred. But Torah never refers to individual human beings as ìkadoshî in and of themselves. That title is reserved for God. Individuals can be pure; individuals can be righteous. In the book of Leviticus, VaYikra, God tells Moses, ìSpeak to all the community of the Children of Israel - say to them, ëYou (pl) will be holy, because I, your God, am holy.í God commands us to be set apart, to be extra-ordinary, a holy people. What follows this verse is an extensive list of behavioral commandments - observe Shabbat, honor oneís parents, leave the corners of the field for the poor, do not place a stumbling block before the blind, and do not stand idly by the blood of oneís neighbor (just to name a few). The reminder that God is holy is liberally sprinkled throughout this passage of Torah, commonly known as ìthe Holiness Code.î Our collective behavior has the capacity to raise us communally to the status of kídoshim.
Each of us (all humanity) is created bítzelem Elohim (in the image of God). We can take this a step further, and become a sacred community by setting ourselves apart through action, not just thought or belief. The way in which we become holy is through our behavior. Making room for a Divine Presence in our community comes with a mandate to manifest that holiness through our behavior toward others.
We find confirmation of this idea each time we recite a blessing connected to our behavior in the world ñ each time we say, ìasher kidshanu bímitzvotav.î We are made holy through mitzvot. According to Jastrowís Talmudic Dictionary, the Hebrew root of ìmitzvahî carries the meaning not only of commandment, but of connection. We are sanctified through connection - through the whole-hearted participation in a moment or a ritual, a relationship or a glance. We are not alone in the world - our lives are not random acts or unrelated incidents. Our community becomes a holy one when each of us is fully present and intentionally open to the potential synergy of people coming together when the significance of the whole is more than the sum of its parts.
Kídushah calls upon us to infuse our days, our environments and our communities with added significance through full presence and intention. ìEntrances to holiness are everywhere. The possibility of ascent is all the time, even at unlikely times and through unlikely places.î (Bamidbar Rabbah, 12:4)
Lenses (cont'd): 1 l2 l3 l4 l 5 l6 l7 l8 l9
HOME ABOUT JECEI STAFF SCHOOLS MELAVOT PARTNERS FELLOWS LENSES NEWS