Leviticus is so often seen as a dry, religious text full of laws and seemingly endless, irrelevant sacrifices that have no bearing on the modern Jew. If we step back and look at the book of Leviticus, however, as an analog for a people striving to better itself and create a society steeped in equity, justice, and progress, we find a book richly steeped in the Jewish values we hold so dearly. No parasha demonstrates this as well as K’doshim, which is known widely as the core of the holiness code. Through analogy and juxtaposition, we find a series of laws that create a full picture of Israel’s idyllic values. While the examples are seemingly endless I will provide a few to demonstrate the principle. (Be sure to come to Torah Study for many more!)
Torah says: Leave the corners of your field unharvested, don’t harvest the entirety of your field, and don’t gather fallen fruit from the ground. As if anticipating the question why the Torah teaches, “you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger.” In other words, you who have must set aside that which you have for the most vulnerable of society.
Torah says: Don’t defraud or rob; pay your worker in a timely fashion. Don’t insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind. Judge fairly, do not show favor to the poor or deference to the rich, do not profit from the blood of your fellow.
Why? While the Torah isn’t as explicit in this section, if we are to read these verses as an analog for or extension of the previous verses, we see that these commands all recognize the plight of those who are inherently vulnerable either because of ability, poverty, or even wealth, which can make one vulnerable to injustice.
Judaism is unique in that the Torah is not the end of the conversation, but merely a (very important) beginning. This conversation of justice and equity continues to this very day and by engaging in these texts we negotiate with the wisdom of the past and needs of the moment.