May 2nd 2008, 00:00

The week's Parasha, K'doshim, marks the literal middle of the entire Torah text, a point that has not been lost on our sages, rabbis, and commentators. Indeed, the words form what is known as the Holiness Code, and are so important and central to Jewish life, belief, and practice, that they are read on the holiest day of the year, on Yom Kippur afternoon.

The essence of K'doshim is that God is holy and we too must strive towards holiness. Naturally, only God can be completely and wholly holy, but as creatures created in the Divine Image, we have to work to infuse our lives and our world with holiness. It does not happen automatically; we have to actively do it.

I hear from parents all the time who say that they don't care who or what their children ultimately become as long as they are good people and as long as they are happy. Many people also argue that religion is not necessary because goodness and morality can be achieved outside of a religious structure. Judaism, and in particular this week's Torah portion, would beg to differ.

This week's Torah text reminds us that it is not enough to be good, not enough to be moral and ethical beings, but that we must strive towards holiness. That message and lesson are in the middle of the Torah to impress upon us its centrality to what Judaism has to offer this world.

And how does one go about being or becoming holy? Again, the Torah points us in the right direction. Two mitzvot are particularly worthy of note and have been the subject of much discussion and interpretation. First is "do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor." This can be understood in a variety of ways. The essence, I believe, is simple though, to have concern and to care for others. The other mitzvah is known simply as the Golden Rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself." These simple words also reflect Judaism's concern others.

In addition to those notable mitzvot, there are a number of other important commandments that are  later picked up by our sages and pointed to as central and essential to living a Jewish life. Among these is "do not place a stumbling block before the blind." These words, too, have been understood in a variety of ways and extrapolated to apply to a variety of situations, more notably in the area of business ethics, where a merchant cannot deceive a potential buyer in any way.

As progressive Jews, we constantly struggle to balance tradition with modernity. This week's Torah portion is a good reminder that when we infuse our lives with mitzvot we move from the profane to the sacred, from the ordinary to the extraordinary, from goodness to holiness. Indeed that is the central teaching of the Torah, and the essence of what it means to be a Jew.

Tonight we have our Family Shabbat service with birthday and anniversary blessings for May. Our 1st and 2nd grade religious school classes will also be participating along with our Jr. and 8th Grade choirs. Tomorrow we have Torah Study and our Shabbat morning service which will be led by our Alef and Bet Hebrew School classes. Have a great weekend.