Preparing for Israel and Holiness - by Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg

Kedoshim t’hiyu. . . You shall be holy

These are the opening words from this week’s parashah, Kedoshim.  It is always a familiar parashah, yet each year we come to it, I wonder, “what does it mean to be holy?”  Is holiness about how I live my life daily? Is it about being a “moral/ethical” person? Is it about how many mitzvoth I do, both ritual and ethical? Is it how often I attend services, pray on my own. . .?  The list of questions goes on and on depending on my frame of mind that year.

This year as we read Kedoshim, I am packing for a congregational trip to Israel.  As the new week begins, I will lead fifty adults to Israel, 80% of whom have never been before.  With Israel on the horizon, one can imagine that my questions about holiness, surround Israel and this visit.

What does it mean to be holy? Does this mean a visit to Israel? Is holiness praying at the kotel? Is holiness ensuring that one’s children visit Israel?  Is holiness walking in the footsteps, standing on the ground where our forefathers and mothers stood?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.  While I have been to Israel a number of times and even lived there for an extended period, I am excited and feel blessed and honored to be a part of this journey with our group.  I feel blessed to see Israel through their eyes, eyes that have not yet seen the beauty of this country, nor felt the power of being in a Jewish state.  As always, I look forward to walking the path of those who came before me.  I love that I can stand in Jaffa where the prophet Jonah once stood.  I always feel the power at Masada and think of those who gave their lives on that mountain.  I look forward to observing the power of Yom HaZikaron, to experiencing that moment of silence and the wail of the siren; and of course I am excited for the craziness of Yom Ha’atzma’ut and celebrating 66 years of the Modern State of Israel. 

Just a week ago we said, “next year in Jerusalem,” and how wonderful that instead of waiting for next year, we can shout out, “This year in Jerusalem,” and begin to experience holy moments and create incredible, lifelong holy memories of a land we hold so dear.   Holiness is in the sites that we will visit – religious, historic, and modern.  Holiness is in the people that we will meet – Israelis on the street, those in our sister region Yokneam/Megiddo, those in the hospital we will visit in the North, the soldiers we will sit with and share a meal.  Holiness will be in our experiences, as we “see, hear, feel, taste, and touch” this Promised Land, our Promised Land. 

Kedoshim t’hiyu. . . You shall be holy.