Bar-Ilan University
Parashat Hashavua Study Center
Parashat Kedoshim 5771/ April 30, 2011
Lectures on the weekly Torah reading by the faculty of Bar-Ilan University in Ramat Gan,
Israel. A project of the Faculty of Jewish Studies, Paul and Helene Shulman Basic Jewish
Studies Center, and the Office of the Campus Rabbi. Published on the Internet under
the sponsorship of Bar-Ilan University's International Center for Jewish Identity.
Prepared for Internet Publication by the Computer Center Staff at Bar-Ilan University.
Inquiries
and
comments
to:
Dr.
Isaac
Gottlieb,
Department
of
Bible,
gottlii@mail.biu.ac.il
Dr. Joseph Priel
The Structure of Parashat Kedoshim
Several weekly readings of the Torah contain numerous commandments: Mishpatim, Re'eh,
Shofetim, Ki-Tetze and, of course, this week's reading: Parashat Kedoshim. Regarding each
of these readings the question arises whether there is some principle which can explain the
order in which the commandments appear or the connection between them.
Regarding this week's reading, Rabbi David Tzvi Hoffman1 tried to relate the structure of
chapter 19, which contains the vast majority of the commandments in the parashah, to the
phrase, "I am the Lord," or "I the Lord am your G-d," which according to his reckoning2
appears 15 times in this week's reading. Rabbi Hoffman proposed the following structure:
an introductory group of three items (verses 2-4), a second group of five ideas containing
commandments dealing with relations between one person and another (9-18), and a third
group of seven, dealing on laws whose reasoning we do not fathom (23-36)[and hence are
considered commandments between Man and G-d]. Between each group is a delimiting
verse that does not conclude with the words, "I am the Lord." The exceptions in the third
group – the two paragraphs that deal not with unfathomable laws but with commandments
between one person and another (33-34; 35-36) – Rabbi Hoffman ascribed to the fact that
these two commandments are motivated by the same reason: that we were taken out of
Egypt by the Lord. Thus these commandments as well join the category of unfathomable
1
David Tzvi Hoffman, Sefer va-Yikra, Jerusalem 1976, p. 26.
2
This expression actually appears a sixteenth time in verse 36, at the end of the chapter; more
on this below.
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laws. The last appearance of the expression, "I am the Lord," in verse 37, Hoffman took to
be the conclusion of the entire chapter.
Regarding this analysis, Nehama Leibowitz noted that Rabbi Hoffman's explanation is rather
forced and hence only strengthens the sense of a lack of clear structure. She noted further
that perhaps a clear structure is deliberately lacking so as to prevent human attempts at
creating a scalar rating of the commandments.3
In an earlier Parasha page, Rabbi Jacob Schapira presented a different explanation of the
logic in the structure of chapter 19.4 He suggested what is known in literary analysis as a
chiastic pattern or ring structure. This is supported by the similarity that he noted between
the beginning of the chapter and its end, as evidenced by the word tirau (rendered in the
New JPS Translation once as "revere," once as "venerate"), the commandment of the
Sabbath, which appear both in verse 3 and verse 30, and the prohibition against idolatry,
which appears both in verse 4 and verses 26-29.
One can indeed identify chiastic symmetry in the repetition of common motifs. Nevertheless
the chiastic principle does not explain why a given commandment is juxtaposed to another
commandment, and therein lies its weakness. A prime example is provided by the
commandment about picking one's vineyard bare or gathering the fallen fruit of one's
vineyard (verse 10), and the commandment which follows it, against swearing falsely. The
principle of chiastic structure does not help here.
As we mentioned, Rabbi Hoffman accorded great importance to the expression, "I am the
Lord," but he did not include in his structure the last occurrence of this phrase, whereas
Schapira noted that the expression, "I am the Lord," appears eight times and the expression,
"I the Lord am your G-d," appears another eight times. It seems to us that this expression,
which concludes many passages throughout the reading, carries the meaning of the entire
reading and explains its structure. In our proposed interpretation we seek to arrive at a
synthesis of the approaches taken by Hoffman and Leibowitz.
We assume that a given expression occurring many times within a specific passage is not
incidental. Moreover, the fact that two similar expressions appear near each other , each
the same amount of times, certainly requires explanation. Thus we shall approach the
chapter in terms of the principle of a leading word (Heb. milla manha), a leitmotif, employed
extensively in the Bible and analyzed by literary scholarship.
The two expressions "I am the Lord" and "I the Lord am your G-d" appear a total of twenty
times in the entire weekly reading, ten times each.5 We shall not dwell on the importance of
3
Nehama Leibowitz, Iyyunim Hadashim be-Sefer Va-Yikra, Jerusalem 1983, p. 222.
4
Jacob Schapira, "Keriah Ma`agalit be-Ferek 19," Daf Shavua Parashat Kedoshim 2005 (no.
599).
5
We prefer the division of the Torah into weekly readings and not into chapters, which is not a
Jewish division.
2
the number ten here, but suffice it to mention that this number has considerable
significance in Judaism as a typological number.6
The function of the two expressions becomes even more significant when we consider why
only some of the 51 commandments in this week's reading conclude with one of these
phrases, and why some conclude with "I am the Lord" and others with "I the Lord am your
G-d."7
In our opinion here lies the message that explains the structure of the reading. If we view
each passage that ends with either of the phrases, "I am the Lord"/"I the Lord am your G-d,"
as a concluding passage, we come up with the following: seven passages that clearly belong
to the realm of commandments between a person and G-d, and seven passages clearly
belonging to the realm of commandments between one person and another.8
The passages thus concluded that belong to relations between a person and G-d deal with
the following: prohibition of idolatry (19:4), of mixed kinds, relations with a slave woman
who has been designated for another man,9 and forbidden fruit (19:19-25), eating blood,
rounding off the side-growth on one's head, and gashing the flesh (19:26-28); harlotry,
venerating G-d's sanctuary and the Sabbath (19:29-30); ghosts and spirits (19:31), the
punishment of a person who turns to ghosts, and a warning about sanctifying oneself (20:17); the laws concerning illicit sexual relations,10 the punishment for such acts and their
reasons (20:10-23).
6
For an extensive list of things that appear in tens, see Avoth de-Rabbi Nathan, Version A,
chapters 31-35.
7
Aviyah ha-Cohen sought to argue that the commandments in this week's reading that are
thus concluded deal with fundamentals of the faith and societal matters, and those lacking
them do not belong to these categories. See "Midreshei Aseret ha-Dibrot," Mishlav 36 (2001),
pp. 77-111 (specifically, p. 90). We wish to point out that his claim does not explain the
principle around which the commandments appearing in this week's reading are organized.
8
Seven appearances actually is not incidental in this case. See M. D. Cassuto, Me-Adam ad
Noah, Jerusalem 1959, pp. 5-6.
9
This prohibition concerns a transgression between a man and G-d, as it attested by its
requiring a guilt offering as expiation.
10
We view the prohibition of certain sexual relationships as part of the system of
commandments governing relations between a person and G-d for the following reasons:
firstly, many of the relationships that are forbidden are not aimed actually for the person's
betterment but have more the aspect of a king's decree, in contrast to the other
commandments governing relations between one person and another which are designed to
protect the weak and create a just and fair society. Secondly, the reason that is given in the
passage forbidding certain relationships is to separate us from the gentiles and their practices;
thus we see that the foundation for these prohibitions is religious and not social (cf. Lev. 18:30,
20:23). Nevertheless, it is important to note that according to this interpretive approach we
also find ourselves pushed to an extreme as was Hoffman, whose approach Nehama Leibowitz
rejected.
3
The passages thus concluded that deal with relations between one person and another
include the following: prohibition of theft and swearing falsely11 (19:11-12), defrauding,
withholding wages, and putting a stumbling block before the blind (19:13-14); judging fairly,
tale-bearing, profiting by the blood of one's fellow (19:15-16), hating one's kinsfolk,
reproving others, taking vengeance, bearing a grudge and loving one's fellow (19:17-18),
showing deference to the elderly (19:32); not wronging the stranger but loving him as
yourself (19:33-34); having just weights and measures (19:35-36).
In addition, there are some passages that combine commandments from both categories
and include the ending:
Lev. 19:3: "You shall each revere his mother and his father, and keep My Sabbaths: I the
Lord am your G-d."
Lev. 5-10: "When you sacrifice an offering of well-being to the Lord, sacrifice it so that it
may be accepted on your behalf. It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the day
following; but what is left by the third day must be consumed in fire. If it should be eaten on
the third day, it is an offensive thing, it will not be acceptable. And he who eats of it shall
bear his guilt, for he has profaned what is sacred to the Lord; that person shall be cut off
from his kin. When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the
edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not pick your vineyard
bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the
stranger: I the Lord am your G-d."
Another four passages serve as transitional text. One is at the beginning of parashat
Kedoshim,12 one at the end of chapter 19,13 one in the middle of chapter 20, between the
material dealing with Molech and the material on illicit sexual relations,14 and one at the end
of this week's reading.15
Thus far we have seen marked numerical symmetry between the two categories and,
significantly, the number seven, so dominant in Scripture, forms this symmetry. If we
distinguish between the appearances of I am the Lord and I the Lord am your G-d, we note
something interesting:
In the passages dealing with commandments between a person and G-d, five conclude with I
the Lord am your G-d and two with I am the Lord, but in the passages dealing with relations
11
Even though the basic prohibition against swearing falsely is part of the system of
prohibitions pertaining to relations with G-d, here it is associated with perversion of social
justice.
12
"You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your G-d, am holy" (19:2).
13
"You shall faithfully observe all My laws and all My rules: I am the Lord" (19:37).
14
"You shall faithfully observe My laws: I the Lord make you holy" (20:8).
15
"You shall be holy to Me, for I the Lord am holy" (20:26).
4
between one person and another, the situation is reversed (two of the former and five of
the latter).
Thus we see amazing symmetry in many parameters of this week's reading:
1. Ten concluding phrases of I am the Lord, and ten of I the Lord am your G-d.
2. Seven passages of commandments dealing with relations between man and G-d,
and seven with relations between one person and another, all concluding with one
of these formulations.
3. Reverse symmetry in the subcategories of those passages ending with I the Lord am
your G-d as opposed to I am the Lord (five as opposed to two, and the reverse).
Still we have not solved the question of the relationship between one subject and another,
nor why commandments dealing with such diverse subjects are intermingled. The symmetry
which we observed seems to be saying that worship of the Lord must include in equal
measure both that which appears to belong solely to the realm of worshipping the Lord and
that which appears to belong solely to the realm of maintaining a proper society; this is
attested to by all the symmetries which we noted. The symmetries belie the fact that there
is an apparent lack of order. The apparent lack of order is the secret of this week's reading,
as noted by Nehama Leibowitz. On the outwardly visible level there appears to be no order;
on the inner hidden level we are told more: there is order – that of the correlation between
the two realms of worshipping the Lord. We must strive to arrive at a symmetric approach
to both, for only in the perfect intermingling of commandments between Man and G-d and
those between Man and his fellow man can one arrive at what this week's reading calls for
in its opening and concluding words: "You shall be holy."
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