Hi,
Hope you’re having a great day.
… Last Shabbat Jews all over the world read the Torah portion Kedoshim.
The Torah tells us that we need to be holy. To live spiritual lives.
It’s not surprising.
After all, what’s a Bible without talking about holiness?
What religion doesn’t talk about spirituality?
But what is surprising?
What the Torah considers a holy life.
The portion starts by telling Moshe…
“Gather all the Jews together. And tell them to be holy.”
It’s making a point.
Who’s supposed to be holy? Just a ‘select few’?
No. Every single one of us!
And there’s another point.
When we talk about being holy?
There’s a great way to do it.
A monastery!
It’s pretty easy to be spiritual there!
Or you can go to the top of a mountain and meditate all day.
The Torah doesn’t consider that holiness. It considers it something else.
A cop out!
Because in Judaism spirituality isn’t about withdrawing from the world.
It’s about interacting with other people but living an elevated life.
About joining with other people to help make this a better world.
And it’s about how we deal with other people.
Some of the examples of holiness in this Torah portion?
Not speaking lashon harah, gossip.
Because being holy isn’t just about connecting to G-d.
It’s about seeing G-d in every human being.
About giving them respect and dignity. And not focusing on other people’s shortcomings.
Another example of holiness?
A farmer leaving the corner of his field for the poor.
Because you can’t connect to G-d if you don’t take care of His children!
… I visited a holy place recently.
No. I wasn’t in Israel. I didn’t go to the Western Wall.
And it wasn’t even a synagogue.
It was at the JCC in Northbrook!
I hope this rings a bell. That it reminds you of the e mail flyer you just got.
I was at the KJ Café.
It’s something very unique. And very holy!
KJ Café is staffed by young Jewish adults with special needs.
And it helps give them dignity and respect.
And I want to personally invite you to be part of it.
Please join me at the CTN Lunch, Learn & Mitzvah!
The food will be provided by KJ Café, and lunch will be followed by one of my favorite workshops, ‘Living Life to its Fullest’: Judaim’s powerful tools for getting greater pleasure and meaning out of life. (Click HERE for complete details and to register.)
I really hope you will join me for a great lunch, great learning and a great mitzvah!
All the best,
Rabbi Moshe Katz
Director
ChicagoTorah Network
2832W. Touhy Avenue
Chicago,IL60645
P 773. 761. 0400 ext. 201
F 773. 761. 9262