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What are we Really Celebrating Today?

A speech on Acharei Mos and Kedoshim by Bradley Roberts & R. Finkelstein in honor of Bradley's Bar Mitzvah

How was the boy's speech?
O.K.

How was the food?
O.K.

How were the accommodations?
Fine.

So why aren't you more excited about it?
It was O.K. It's just that there was no- (pause)- atmosphere.

Sometimes in all the confusion about a Bar Mitzvah celebration, we lose the atmosphere, we forget what it is all about. Perhaps if we delve a bit into the parasha and its meaning, we can try to understand what this Bar Mitzvah is all about. Hopefully, this will add to the atmosphere.

My Parasha today is a double portion, Acharei Mot and  Kedoshim. It speaks about the way in which the Cohen Gadol, the High Priest, was able to get really close to G-d, once a year, on Yom Kippur. Then and only then, he entered the Holy of Holies, the Kodesh Kodashim.

My second portion deals with laws relating to holiness, Kedusha. It is through these laws that a person can be holy. If we could try to understand what it meant to get close to G-d and what it means to be holy, we could understand this portion, and maybe understand a little more about Judaism itself.

Let's start with the second portion first. It speaks about holiness. What is holiness? If we look at our portion today, it begins by saying that we should be holy. That sounds very vague and difficult. But then it talks about simple things, honoring our parents, giving part of our fields to the poor,  not stealing, lo tignovu, not lying, ve-lo ti-shak-ru, and not cheating, Apparently, says the Ibn Ezra, if we want to be holy, we just have to be decent human beings.

But our portion also lists some other qualifications for being holy, which go beyond just being nice. It tells us to keep Shabbat, not to worship idols, and to leave our fruit trees alone for a few years in order to recognize that the trees belong to G-d . Being holy is about being good and kind and being holy is about being obedient and thankful to G-d.

Now back to my first portion. It talks about getting close to G-d. The Cohen Gadol, the High Priest had a once a year chance to go to the holiest place in the world, the Holy of Holies in Jerusalem.  What does it mean to get close to G-d? Well, again, that is a tough question but if we look at the portion it seems to say that we have to do a whole lot of things in order to get close. The High Priest  had to bring many different sacrifices, and perform many rituals. Maybe in order to get close to G-d we have to follow G-d's commandments.

Sometimes people wonder, how can they possibly get close to G-d? How can they be holy? Some people sit around and meditate all day. Some jump up and down a lot. Some sing songs. However, our second portion today, Kedoshim, tells us how to get close to G-d. If we are moral human beings and follow G-d's laws, and give respect not only to our parents but to G-d Himself, then we will be as close to G-d as can be, as holy as can be. The reason these two portions are attached is that both portions tell us how we can get close to G-d. We can get close to G-d with prayer and sacrifice. We can also do so by simply being good, and holy.

What does it mean to be holy? Judging from this parsha of Kedoshim which attempts to outline ways of being holy, it means being good in all realms of life, whether in the Holy Temple or in the field, whether with parents or with G-d, the poor or the blind, the stranger or your neighbor.

That's what holiness is, but what does it mean to get close to G-d?  If you think about it, it is really impossible to be close with G-d. The Torah describes G-d as a fiery and awesome G-d. How can one get close to someone so awesome? The Rabbis in the Talmud in So-tah have a solution. They say, of course you can't actually get close to the infinite G-d, but what we can do is to cling not  to G-d but to his ways. If G-d is compassionate, we should be compassionate. If G-d is kind, we should be kind. This is how we get close to G-d.

Being Jewish is about being holy in all aspects of our lives, as the portion of Kedoshim mentions.  Judaism is about getting close to G-d through holiness which is what the portion of Acharei Mot is all about. Being Jewish is about bringing G-d into our family life, our spiritual life, our business life, all aspects of our lives, and in this way becoming more like G-d, closer to the Divine Being.

What then is a Bar Mitzvah? My  Bar Mitzvah is my opportunity to bring Judaism and G-d into every aspect of my life and in that way, become close to G-d. I pray that G-d give me the strength to fulfill this mission.