In the opening verses from Parashat Kedoshim we read the following, Vayikra / Leviticus 19:1-2, א וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: ב דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: 19:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 19:2 ‘Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. (NASB) Here the Lord God speaks to Moshe about all of the sons of Israel being holy, and the reason given is כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי “for I am holy.” The Way this is written, Moshe wrote this line in the Torah to explain the reason why God commands us to strive for holiness in our lives, because God Himself is holy. The Lord God Almighty wants us to be as much like Him as possible. Why do you think the Lord God thought it so incumbent to state a reason why He wishes us to behave in a certain manner? It is because He is dwelling in our midst, in our hearts. We read previously the Lord saying the following in Parashat Shemini from Vayikra / Leviticus 11:44, מד כִּי אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי וְלֹא תְטַמְּאוּ אֶת-נַפְשֹׁתֵיכֶם בְּכָל-הַשֶּׁרֶץ הָרֹמֵשֹ עַל-הָאָרֶץ: [מפטיר] מה כִּי | אֲנִי יְהֹוָה הַמַּעֲלֶה אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לִהְיֹת לָכֶם לֵאלֹהִים וִהְיִיתֶם קְדֹשִׁים כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אָנִי: 11:44 ‘For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy. And you shall not make yourselves unclean with any of the swarming things that swarm on the earth. 11:45 ‘For I am the Lord who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’‘ (NASB) It is important to understand why the Lord chose insects (swarming things) as a reference point for being holy before God. Scientific research has determined that insects surpass human beings on this planet by both mass and number. Because of this, insects are representative of the world. In addition to this, in the Ancient Egyptian religion, the dung beetle known as the Scarab (Scarabaeus sacer) was revered as sacred. To the Egyptian, the insect was a symbol of Khepri, the early morning manifestation of the sun god Ra, from an analogy between the beetle’s behavior of rolling a ball of dung across the ground and Khepri’s task of rolling the sun across the sky. They accordingly held the species to be sacred. The holiness of which the Lord God of Israel is speaking of here is of being “set apart” from the world both physically and spiritually. In the Tanach, holiness was connected to God’s perfection. In the Apostolic Writings, we are set apart when we believe in Yeshua the Messiah as the Messiah who laid his life down on our behalf and raised from the grave three days later. (John 3:16, Romans 10:9, Ephesians 2:8-9). We are told believing in Yeshua, the Lord God our Father in heaven cleanses us from sin and makes us holy (1 John 1:7). This is a similar picture we receive from the Torah on the deliverance of Israel from Egypt, the land of bondage and sin, and the Lord stating that He has sanctified them by bringing them out. The Apostle Peter states in 1 Peter 2:9 saying “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” Note how he writes this verse, he is drawing upon a Mishnaic way of speaking about the power of God during Passover (see Mishnah Pesachim 10:5, משנה פסחים י׳:ה׳). In this act of God by His power we are “made” holy, we are then called to live holy lives. The Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:15 “As he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” Peter is taking a Torah centric approach as we read here in Parashat Kedoshim. This is consistent with the previous verse which states, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance.” (1 Peter 1:14) What both the Torah and the Apostles are saying is we are commanded to avoid the ways we lived prior to entering into the family of God through faith. Now that we have been called into the family of God and having asked the Lord God of Israel to enter into our lives through faith in His Messiah Yeshua, we are to live according to God’s ways.
The Talmud describes these things as connected to touching the dead and eating the peace offerings
Talmud Bavli Bava Metzia 32a:15
The Gemara infers: The reason that a priest must not obey his father’s command to become impure is because the Merciful One writes: “You shall observe My Shabbatot; I am the Lord”; but if it were not so, I would say that the child must obey him. The Gemara asks: But why? This obligation to obey a parent is a positive mitzva, as it is written: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12), and that obligation of a priest to refrain from becoming impure is both a prohibition: “To the dead among his people he shall not defile himself” (Leviticus 21:1), and a positive mitzva: “You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2); and the principle is that a positive mitzva does not come and override a prohibition and a positive mitzva.
Talmud Bavli Zevachim 28a:19
Rather, Abaye said: When Rav Yitzḥak bar Avdimi came, he said that Rav says: Shmuel was actually referring to two separate verses. And he relied on that which the tanna taught: The verse is seemingly redundant when it states: “And if it be eaten at all on the third day, it is piggul; it shall not be accepted” (Leviticus 19:7), in the Torah portion that begins: “You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2), as there is no need for the verse to state this, since it is already stated: “And if any of the flesh of his peace offerings be at all eaten on the third day…it shall be piggul” (Leviticus 7:18).
The Talmud describes the command of holiness as being connected to honoring mother and father, the priest touching the dead, and eating the peace offerings and not eating on the third day. Note how touching the dead was not a sin, however, for the anointed priest who goes before God in the Tabernacle, it was a command that no matter what the circumstance he was not to touch the dead, and so touching the dead with a reference to the priesthood was a sin. Also, eating the peace offering on the third day was also a violation of the command of God and a sin. The Talmud describes how a positive command overrides a negative command, and the reference to Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 on “you shall be holy” overrides or speaks to the greater nature of this command as opposed to the others. The reason why this command of holiness is so important is because of what is contained in Parashat Achari Mot and Kedoshim, these laws are related to people in their daily lives. Moshe writes all of these laws contained in the 37 verses of this chapter showing how even the Ten Commandments were repeated here.
In Vayikra / Leviticus 18 we read a string of negative commands and so the precise reason why the Lord had Moshe write about being Holy here in chapter 19 may be related to the Lord wanting to give us a positive command, to be holy. (Or HaChaim on Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 Part 4) Rashi states that most of the fundamental teachings of the Torah are dependent upon the command to be holy. (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 1 1, Vayikra Rabbah 24:5). Rashi continues in his commentary saying the following:
Rashi on Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 Part 2
קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ YE SHALL BE HOLY — This means, keep aloof from the forbidden sexual relations just mentioned and from sinful thoughts. [It is evident that this is the meaning of קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ because] wherever you find in the Torah a command to fence yourself in against such relations you also find mention of “holiness”. Examples are: (Leviticus 21:7) “[They shall not take] a wife that is a harlot, or a profane etc.”, and in the next verse “for I, the Lord, who sanctifieth you, [am holy]”; (Leviticus 21:15) “Neither shall he profane his seed (by the forbidden unions mentioned in the preceding verses) for I the Lord do sanctify him”; (Leviticus 21:6) “They shall be holy… followed by (v. 7) “[they shall not take] a wife that is a harlot or a profane” (cf. Vayikra Rabbah 24:4-6).
Rashi speaks of the command to be holy as being connected to the forbidden sexual relations and sinful thoughts, and to the other examples when the words “for I am holy” follows as the justification for a command. The example he provides is of taking a prostitute for a wife. To live a holy and sanctified life, these concepts are very helpful in our daily walk with God. When we are delivered from bondage by faith in Yeshua the Messiah, we are made holy. It is the Lord God who sanctifies us. Following this event, we are called to obey God’s Word and grow in holy living each day. Though we are never perfect in this life, the Lord God is living in us by the power of His Spirit to work in our lives, to help us, and to empower us to live for Him. After this life, we can anticipate a perfect, eternal existence with God in which we no longer sin and are made perfectly holy, living in the presence of God forever. Note that this is something the rabbis also believe in and are looking forward to, spending time with God in the Olam Haba (the World to come).
The Scriptures we are looking at this week are from Vayikra / Leviticus 19:1-22:
Vayikra / Leviticus 19:1-22
19:1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 19:2 ‘Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 19:3 ‘Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. 19:4 ‘Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God. 19:5 ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 19:6 ‘It shall be eaten the same day you offer it, and the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. 19:7 ‘So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is an offense; it will not be accepted. 19:8 ‘Everyone who eats it will bear his iniquity, for he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people. 19:9 ‘Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 19:10 ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God. 19:11 ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. 19:12 ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the Lord. 19:13 ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. 19:14 ‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord. 19:15 ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 19:16 ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the Lord. 19:17 ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. 19:18 ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord. 19:19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together. 19:20 ‘Now if a man lies carnally with a woman who is a slave acquired for another man, but who has in no way been redeemed nor given her freedom, there shall be punishment; they shall not, however, be put to death, because she was not free. 19:21 ‘He shall bring his guilt offering to the Lord to the doorway of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt offering. 19:22 ‘The priest shall also make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering before the Lord for his sin which he has committed, and the sin which he has committed will be forgiven him. (NASB)
א וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָֹה אֶל-מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: ב דַּבֵּר אֶל-כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְֹרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: ג אִישׁ אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו תִּירָאוּ וְאֶת-שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: ד אַל-תִּפְנוּ אֶל-הָאֱלִילִם וֵאלֹהֵי מַסֵּכָה לֹא תַעֲשֹוּ לָכֶם אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: ה וְכִי תִזְבְּחוּ זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים לַיהוָֹה לִרְצֹנְכֶם תִּזְבָּחֻהוּ: ו בְּיוֹם זִבְחֲכֶם יֵאָכֵל וּמִמָּחֳרָת וְהַנּוֹתָר עַד-יוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי בָּאֵשׁ יִשָּׂרֵף: ז וְאִם הֵאָכֹל יֵאָכֵל בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁי פִּגּוּל הוּא לֹא יֵרָצֶה: ח וְאֹכְלָיו עֲוֹנוֹ יִשָּׂא כִּי-אֶת-קֹדֶשׁ יְהוָֹה חִלֵּל וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִוא מֵעַמֶּיהָ: ט וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת-קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָֹדְךָ לִקְצֹר וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט: י וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם אֲנִי יְהוָֹה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם: יא לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ וְלֹא-תְכַחֲשׁוּ וְלֹא-תְשַׁקְּרוּ אִישׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ: יב וְלֹא-תִשָּׁבְעוּ בִשְׁמִי לַשָּׁקֶר וְחִלַּלְתָּ אֶת-שֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: יג לֹא-תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת-רֵעֲךָ וְלֹא תִגְזֹל לֹא-תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָֹכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד-בֹּקֶר: יד לֹא-תְקַלֵּל חֵרֵשׁ וְלִפְנֵי עִוֵּר לֹא תִתֵּן מִכְשֹׁל וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: [שני] [חמישי כשהן מחוברין] טו לֹא-תַעֲשֹוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט לֹא-תִשָּׂא פְנֵי-דָל וְלֹא תֶהְדַּר פְּנֵי גָדוֹל בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ: טז לֹא-תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל-דַּם רֵעֶךָ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: יז לֹא-תִשְֹנָא אֶת-אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת-עֲמִיתֶךָ וְלֹא-תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא: יח לֹא-תִקֹּם וְלֹא-תִטֹּר אֶת-בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ אֲנִי יְהוָֹה: יט אֶת-חֻקֹּתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ בְּהֶמְתְּךָ לֹא-תַרְבִּיעַ כִּלְאַיִם שָֹדְךָ לֹא-תִזְרַע כִּלְאָיִם וּבֶגֶד כִּלְאַיִם שַׁעַטְנֵז לֹא יַעֲלֶה עָלֶיךָ: כ וְאִישׁ כִּי-יִשְׁכַּב אֶת-אִשָּׁה שִׁכְבַת-זֶרַע וְהִוא שִׁפְחָה נֶחֱרֶפֶת לְאִישׁ וְהָפְדֵּה לֹא נִפְדָּתָה אוֹ חֻפְשָׁה לֹא נִתַּן-לָהּ בִּקֹּרֶת תִּהְיֶה לֹא יוּמְתוּ כִּי-לֹא חֻפָּשָׁה: כא וְהֵבִיא אֶת-אֲשָׁמוֹ לַיהֹוָה אֶל-פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד אֵיל אָשָׁם: כב וְכִפֶּר עָלָיו הַכֹּהֵן בְּאֵיל הָאָשָׁם לִפְנֵי יְהֹוָה עַל-חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא וְנִסְלַח לוֹ מֵחַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא: פ
The concepts that are being drawn out in this Torah here are related to the Lord God giving us commands that pertain to daily life. Daat Zkenim speaks about striving to attain holiness. At many times I have talked to Christians who are very confused on this issue of holiness. Whether holiness is an act of God or an act of the child of God. I believe making us holy is something the Lord does by drawing us near to Him, to have faith, and to have a desire to know Him. We are then given the desire to live holy lives through faithfulness to God’s Word. There is a push-pull relationship here in regards to what the Lord God Almighty is looking for in our lives. This is related to the Scripture that speaks of God making us holy, as opposed to our duty to live holy lives. The Lord God sanctifies us in Yeshua the Messiah, we are also to sanctify ourselves through holy living because God has put into our hearts the desire to do so by His Spirit! Daat Zkenim speaks of this in the following way:
Daat Zkenim on Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 Part 1
קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ, “you shall strive to attain holiness.” The meaning of this verse is made clear in verse four where the Torah adds that “you must not turn to idols, etc;” even if the purpose of your preoccupation with idols is to understand why they are completely useless, so that you think that what you do is לשם שמים, “for the sake of heaven,” do not do so! Seeing that only the Lord is holy, there would be no point in studying other nations’ ideologies.
Daat Zkenim is connecting this call to holiness to avodah zara (idol worship), and on many levels, this may be a reference to both the idolatry of the nations and to those things that one may set up in one’s heart (see Ezekiel 14). This command being adjacent to the commands on sexual sin causes us to raise the subject of procreation to a spiritual experience, not just to the fullfilment of a biological urge. What we are being taught here is how there are many things in our lives that are spiritual and have spiritual consequences if what is being done is in violation to the command of God. We read something very interesting in the Talmud Bavli Nedarim 20 about a husband and wife having marital relations to not merely be a means to gratify the flesh. The Talmud states that the act of sexual relations is to be performed as a מצוה, much like putting on טלית ותפלין (tallit and tefillin). The Talmud describes the act of sexual relations as being a righteous act. The Talmud states, “the wife described the reason why they were blessed with exceedingly handsome looking children as being due to her husband’s rigorous self-control even during the act of procreation. She said that her husband acted as if the very act itself were forced upon him by a demon. Such a person can truly be described as holy, and it is this the Torah wishes us to strive for and emulate.” What we read here describes a situation where a man considered the spiritual nature of having sex with his wife. In this case, he considered the possibility of demonic influences to his lustful desires towards his wife. This is an important point in light of prostitution, pornography, or any other sort of perversion of sexual relations (i.e. Homosexuality). There is a strong supernatural aspect to these things as they are connected to sexual behavior. If one is watching these things on television or the internet, the demonic influence through these devices is a strong possibility that lead to feeling the flesh as opposed to feeding the Spirit. What these things are discussing is how sex is spiritual, and the dangers of being led astray or influenced through demonic forces is a present day reality (this is very real). If we study the fertility religions, sexual relations was a big part of the occult worship. The Hebrew Bible uses two different words for prostitute, zonah (זונה) and kedeshah (קדשה) taken from the root word קדוש to be holy. The word zonah simply meant an ordinary prostitute. On the other hand, male prostitutes were called kadesh (literally: a male who is set apart. We also find this as a reference to women as well “kadeshah.”). The Hebrew word kelev (dog) may also signify a male dancer or prostitute. A couple examples from the Torah are, “None of the daughters of Israel shall be a kedeshah, nor shall any of the sons of Israel be a kadesh.” (Devarim / Deuteronomy 23:17) “You shall not bring the hire of a prostitute (zonah) or the wages of a dog (kelev) into the house of the Lord your God to pay a vow, for both of these are an abomination to the Lord your God.” (Devarim / Deuteronomy 23:18) The obvious point is one does not pay dogs for work, in fact, one cannot really put a dog to work and so kelev here is translated as a prostititue. What is interesting about these scriptures verses are related to the Torah portion Kedoshim on the command of holiness being adjacent to the commands on sexual purity and immorality. The point of these things are to teach us that the act of having sex is not just physical, it is also spiritual. (Remember also in last week’s commentary we talked about even the act of sitting and watching television is a spiritual act.) The commentary Or HaChaim on Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 Part 8 states, “when the Torah referred to practices rampant both in Egypt and in the land of Canaan. We explained in that context that it is impossible to resist the lure of one’s biological urge unless one not only avoids visual exposure but also makes a conscious effort not to allow one’s imagination to dwell on the subject. Seeing that G’d did command us to procreate and thereby to insure the continuity of the human species, one cannot totally dissociate oneself from the subject of sex and all that this entails. Not only that, there are times when the very preoccupation with that subject becomes a positive commandment, how else is one to engage in one’s marital duty at the right time and place? Is this not what Solomon (Proverbs 30,19) had in mind when he spoke of דרך גבר בעלמה, “the way of a man with a maiden?” He referred to the duty to procreate, something which cannot be done by total denial of any thoughts involving one’s sexuality.” The idea here is the nations had a preoccupation with sex that was a part of their religion (i.e. Egypt and Canaan). These things teach us that there is a spiritual aspect to sexual relations and the dangers of drawing the heart and the soul into sin through the desires of the body for sexual pleasure. The commentary Or HaChaim continues describing what being holy means saying the following:
Or HaChaim on Vayikra / Leviticus 19:2 Part 17
Yet another meaning of the words קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ views this call as an invitation to become like the angels who are called קדושים. We know this from Daniel 8,13 where Daniel reports overhearing a קדוש speak, etc. We must understand this as similar to Psalms 82,6 in which the Psalmist Assaph describes the human species as אלוהים, divine beings prior to Adam’s sin. Seeing that G’d used to reside in the heavens, the domain of the angels, it is no more than reasonable to describe the Israelites as angels once they qualified to provide G’d’s new home on earth. You may be interested to read about the reaction of the angels in the celestial regions when they found out that G’d took up residence amongst the humans on earth. (compare Zohar volume 2 page 140). In view of the agitation amongst the angels in the celestial regions who heard that G’d intended to move His residence to earth, He decided to command the Israelites to be holy like angels in order that the angels should cease complaining. This lends additional meaning to the words “I am the Lord your G’d.” Thus far the Zohar on the subject.
Or HaChaim states this phrase קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ is an invitation to become like the angles who are called “holy.” The rabbis connect this to the Psalms describing man as אלוהים (elohim) prior to Adam’s sin. The idea is the presence of God dwelling in the midst of His people, they were described as “angels” and this was because God had commanded His people to be holy as we find here in our verse from Vayikra / Leviticus 19:1-2. The words קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ emphasize the future tense, i.e. תהיו, “you shall become holy.” The implication is that this is a commandment which is an ongoing process. This is the commandment to “be holy” on an individual and a community basis. This commandment applies day in and day out throughout our lifetime. There is to be no exceptions. The imperative to strive for sanctity is one that we cannot take a vacation from. The Torah writes תִּהְיוּ in order to remind us that the ultimate realization of the ideal of holiness will forever remain “in the future.” This is the nature of the World to Come (Olam Haba) and man dwelling with God forever. This is also the picture we receive in the resurrection of the Messiah, he is forever holy, righteous, and true. His body was transformed, from corruptible to incorruptible. Paul wrote that this corruptible body must and needs to put on the cloths of incorruptibility (see 1 Corinthians 15:53). There is an absolute necessity for God’s people to cloth themselves with holiness. This is why the book of Revelation speaks as it does of the people clothing themselves with righteous deeds. (see Revelation 19:8) Holiness is both an act of God and an act of Man because we have been given a calling as God’s People to “be holy.” This is the Torah centric perspective! This is the NT perspective because both Yeshua and his disciples had a Torah centric perspective! This is how the Torah and the Gospel Message go hand in hand! (Note, we hardly touched any of the Scriptures in the NT regarding holiness.)
