Rabbi Howard Morrison

I am always struck by the titles of these two consecutive Torah portions which are read as one in most years. They are called Acharei Mot (After the death) and Kedoshim Tih'yu (You shall be holy). "After the deaths of Aaron's two sons, Nadav and Avihu," is followed by a holiness code containing rules of proper conduct, observance, and behavior. In Judaism, martyrs are called "Kedoshim," holy ones. On the back of monuments for those who died in the Shoah or other horrors, we read the words, "Al KIDDUSH Hashem - They died as martyrs, in that they sanctified God's name in their deaths.

It is striking to read these two Parsha titles in the same season as Yom Ha'Shoah, Yom Ha'Zikaron, and Yom Ha'Atzmaut. We recall the deaths of six million; seven days later, we recall the deaths of Israelis who died serving the country or who died as victims of terror. They are all called Kedoshim, holy ones. Then, we celebrate Yom Ha'Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day, having reclaimed Kedushat Ha'Aretz, the holiness of the land.

A year ago today, over 20 of us from Beth Emeth were nearing the completion of a nine-day solidarity mission in Israel. We witnessed "Acharei Mot - after the deaths." We stood at the Nova Festival site. We saw piles of burned-out cars. We heard from Rachel Goldberg-Polin and others who have now lost loved ones. But we also marveled at the Kedusha, the holiness and sanctity of a land and a people filled with hope and resilience. It is hard to believe that a year later, 59 brothers and sisters still languish in the hell of Gaza. Our tradition calls on us to continue being hopeful and resilient.

It is noteworthy what we read near the end of Parshat Kedoshim:

"You shall possess their land, for I (God) will give it to you to possess, a land flowing with milk and honey."

What is more striking is the following. Parshat Kedoshim is the exact midpoint of the entire Torah. The Sages say that the majority of the fundamental principles of the Torah are found in Kedoshim. The golden rule of Judaism, "Love thy fellow as thyself," is found in Kedoshim. The Ten Commandments are restated in Kedoshim. Yet the conclusion of the Haftarah for Ashkenazim, taken from the Prophet Amos, seems to connect not to all the above but to the centrality of the land of Israel:

"I (God) will restore My people. They shall rebuild cities and inhabit them; They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine; They shall till gardens and eat their fruits. And I will plant them upon their soil, nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them, said the Lord your God."

While the Jewish people were uprooted from their land more than once from the time of the Prophet Amos, we now have the sacred opportunity to eternally fulfill the words of today's Haftarah. In a season of remembering the Shoah, of remembering victims of terror in Israel and around the world from as recent as the 1930's to this very day - Acharei Mot, "after the death," is followed by Parshat Kedoshim, a digest of Jewish values at their finest and with Israel at the center of our people's existence.

May we continue to remember, but may we continue to celebrate and to do what is necessary to ensure the trust of Judaism and our homeland which have been bequeathed to us.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison