Dalet (ד), Kuf (ק), and Shin
(ש) are three letters of
the alef-bet that pronounced individually have no symbolic meaning (although as
we know, the letter Shin represents G-d’s name through its use on religious
items such as Mezuzot and Tefillin).
Join them
together and they form one of the most important shorashim/roots in the Hebrew
language. A word, that is so integral to
our faith that without it, the religion that we practice would be completely unrecognisable.
That root
is the word קָדַשׁ (Kodash).
One of
the names we call Gd is Hakadosh
Baruch-Hu, the Holy One, Blessed be He.
We have
just celebrated the festival of Pesach and the Seder begins with Kadesh. Imagine observing
Shabbat without making Kiddush or enjoying a Kiddush after shul? How would a
mourner be able to honour their departed relative without reciting Kaddish (and we know how upset we feel when we are unable to form a
minyan)? Our Torah Scrolls are stored in
the Aron Kodesh.
That minyan enables us to recite the Kedusha prayer in the repetition of the
Amidot that are recited throughout the entire week at Shacharit, Mincha and
when applicable, Musaph.
Our
Temple was known as the Beit Hamikdash and the Kodesh Hakodashim or Holy of Holies was
where the Ark of the Covenant was stored (in the First Temple). It was accessed by the Kohen Gadol/High
Priest on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur.
Anything
that was consecrated for use in the Temple such as animals for offerings of monetary
donations towards the treasury to pay for the building’s upkeep were considered
to be Hekdesh.
Since Talmudic Times, we have continued this concept to cover mitzvot
such as giving Tzedaka, in terms of not misusing funds that were consecrated
towards providing monetary relief to the poor members of our communities.
You may
have seen the acronym קק (or KK) as part of the name of a
Synagogue. This stands for Kahal Kodesh which
means a ‘Holy Community’.
These are
a few examples of how the shoresh of the word ‘k-d-sh ק־ד־שׁ’ is embedded within the DNA of Judaism.
But what
does the word ‘kodesh’ mean and what does it represent?
On a
simple/peshat level, Kodesh means holy or sacred.
I found a
lovely definition of the word on https://www.balashon.com/2022/04/kodesh-and-kadosh.html
The
author writes…
…that the root קדש has two
primary connotations.
1) ‘to be holy’, in the sense of ‘lofty, exalted’, even ‘perfect’, and
perhaps closer to divine. This is
captured well by the English word ‘holy’ (and the related ‘hallow’) which derives from
an earlier root meaning ‘whole, uninjured’ (and is ultimately cognate with ‘whole’ as well.)
2) ‘to set apart, separate.’ Perhaps this meaning could better be expressed
with the adjective ‘sacred,’ and the verb ‘sanctify’, both of which
derive from roots indicating separation or consecration.
When we
sanctify something, we give it a separate Halachic status. On Shabbat, we do this by blessing the day
when make the bracha of ‘mekadesh HaShabbat – He who sanctifies the
Sabbath’ through
the blessing over the wine or grape juice.
Kedushah or holiness is therefore a state
which separates a person or item from other people or objects. You may be surprised to hear that one of the
Biblical words to describe a harlot is Kedesha (see
Bereishit 38:21, with regard to Judah’s description of his unrecognizable
daughter-in-law, Tamar). This is because
she is woman who separates herself from the rest of a moral driven society.
Our
national connection with this idea of Kedusha (as representing separation and
holiness) finds its origins in Gd’s instruction to our ancestors at the foot of
Mount Sinai.
As we
were about to receive the Torah, He told us (Shemot 19) that if we faithfully heeded
His voice and kept His covenant, we would be His treasure among all the
peoples…Mamlechet Cohanim – a kingdom of priests and Goy Kadosh – a holy nation.
At Sinai,
holiness, sacredness and therefore separation were branded into our national consciousness. To be Gd’s nation, to represent His presence
on earth, to teach His Torah - which He gave to us – to the rest of the world,
meant having to be different from others.
Not better but different.
This
week’s Parasha begins with G-d’s instruction to Moshe:
“Speak to all the community of Israel. Say…Kedoshim Tihiyu, ki kadosh Ani Hashem
Elokeichem – Be holy, for I am holy, I The Lord your Gd.”
Parashat Kedoshim provides detailed instructions on what holiness entails. How, we as a nation must prioritise a
different set of laws and moral standards that were vastly dissimilar to those
kept and practiced by the other nations who surrounded us, both near and far. If we followed Gd’s commands, we would reap
the rewards of His beneficence.
On the
flip side, we discovered that we also suffered as a result of the inevitable
hate directed at us from those who saw us as different. Those who did not respect or value the
tight-knitted and caring societies that we established. Those who resented the righteousness we
espoused and the strong moral compass that underpinned the way we behaved.
Throughout
the centuries that followed, we paid the price for being Kedoshim – holy, and the term itself came to represent those of our nation
who were killed ‘al Kiddush Hashem’ – sanctifying Gd’s name.
Last Monday,
we remembered the six million Kedoshim -
the holy martyrs of the Shoah. Tomorrow
night, we will mark the commencement of Yom Hazikaron which recalls many other Kedoshim. The holy souls who have been
killed protecting and living in Medinat Yisrael including those who were
martyred on 7th October and ever since.
Being
separate may encourage us to live by a different set of moral rules. It also requires us to pay a bloody price in
terms of the suffering we have been subjected to and continue to endure from
those whose despise us – precisely because we are Kadosh.
In just
over two weeks, I will be completing the eleven months of reciting Kaddish in memory of my father. For
those of us who have gone through the mourning process, we know how lonely it
feels to sometimes find yourself being the only one to recite the prayer.
Many
people don’t like to draw attention to themselves in shul. They are happy to sit at the back and blend
in with others. They come to shul, talk
a little, pray, speak to their friends, enjoy the kiddush and return home. Reciting Kaddish removes
their anonymity and instantly, every ear in the building is focused on listening
to them.
Stephnie
and I recently spent Pesach at the new BNJC hub in Hove. As you may be aware, it is also the new home
of the Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation (BHHC). Throughout the Chag, I was one of two or
three people saying Kaddish.
Despite my having recited this prayer probably close to two thousand
times over the last ten months, I felt very conscious whenever it was time to recite
this (despite knowing how important it is in helping my dear father’s soul
reach its heavenly destination).
On the
last day of Yom Tov, something extraordinary took place. At the end of Yizkor, every single person in
the room recited Kaddish alongside me. For the first time, we were united in this incredible,
holy prayer. It was the very epitome of
what it meant to be part of Goy Kadosh – a holy, sacred nation. I was so moved that it almost took my breath
away.
Three
letters that may seem to be insignificant, underpin who we are. Irrespective of how connected or disconnected
some of our brethren may be, I would wager that it is a minority of Jews who
don’t know what a Kiddush is. It is a handful who wouldn’t appreciate or be
moved by hearing someone recite Kaddish and
it is even fewer who wouldn’t know what we place inside an Aron Kodesh (even if they don’t know its Hebrew name).
Each of
us has a Kedushah gene
in our Jewish DNA regardless of whether we can understand or explain why we are
different and what makes us so. That it
takes antisemitism to wake this up in some is desperately sad but at the same
time, it reminds us of who we are and where we originate.
Kaf,
Dalet and Shin form the single word which defines us, for we are Gd’s Holy
nation.
Along
with the Angels, we praise Gd as being Kadosh,
Kadosh, Kadosh - Holy, Holy, Holy.
May He
sanctify us and bring us to the eternal redemption with the coming of Moshiach.
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