The Holy Sandwich
At the risk of being a bit too flippant with metaphors, Parshat K’doshim offers a theological “sandwich” that reflects core values that our tradition has taught to be the ultimate distillation of the entire Torah. Chapter 19 of Leviticus begins with God’s request that the Jewish people strive for holiness because God is holy. Right away, in a few terse words that form the top layer of the sandwich, God presents a daunting challenge: To strive for this indeterminate sense of “kedush/holiness,” and to do so as a way to emulate God. Yet the Torah does not leave us hanging in anticipatory curiosity. What follows is what I term “the minimum requirements for menchslikeit.” Some elements emerge from the Ten Commandments, while others mandate honesty and integrity in courts, business, and interpersonal relationships. The bottom layer of this sacred sandwich is carried by three little words that punch way above their number: Ve’ahavta l’re’echa kamocha—To love our neighbor as ourselves. Compassion, empathy, and an extension of self-awareness to others are universal to most faith traditions and philosophical systems. But for Western societies, this command-as-ideal is perhaps Judaism’s greatest gift to the larger culture.