Below is a collection of Parashat Kedoshim resources created by The Lookstein Center staff or contributed to the site by Jewish educators.

This is a growing collection. Check back soon or write to us at content@lookstein.org if you didn’t find what you’re looking for. 

Return to Sefer Vayikra Resources
Parasha Points
  • A major focus of the mitzvot is for us to lead sanctified lives.
  • The punishment for incest is the death penalty.
  • God abhors people who worship magic or try to influence the world through the use of magic, spells, incantations, or anything like that.
  • Acting “like God” requires fulfillment both of interpersonal mitzvot and mitzvot whose focus is our relationship with God.
Major Mitzvot
  • Demonstrate reverence for parents.
  • Observe Shabbat.
  • Leave part of the harvest for the poor.
  • Do not tell falsehoods.
  • Do not take advantage of blind, deaf, or other disadvantaged people. 
  • Do not spread rumors.
  • Justice needs to be equal for everyone. 
  • You may not stand by idly while a fellow is in danger.
  • Mixing of species is prohibited.
  • Tattoos are prohibited, as is shaving with a razor.
  • Treat the convert with kindness and justice.
  • Do not cheat in business.
Educational Themes

Holiness requires going beyond the letter of the law, using the spirit of the law to define what is right and wrong, not just what is permitted or forbidden.

Notable Quotes
  • A major focus of the mitzvot is to lead sanctified lives –
     קדושים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה’ אלקיכם
  • Do not lay a trap for a blind person –
    לפני עור לא תתן מכשול
  • Show reverence for the elderly –
     מפני שיבה תקום והדרת פני זקן

DISCUSSION AND REFLECTION QUESTIONS

Question #1: Parashat Kedoshim is filled with many mitzvot bein adam l’chaveiro (between man and his fellow), among them, we read:

ואהבת לרעיך כמוך – You should love your fellow man as you love yourself  (Vayikra 19:18).

Can you really love another person as much as you love yourself? In the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva writes this is a fundamental principle of Judaism. Hillel explained, ”Don’t do something which is hateful to you to another person.” Nachmonides explains that it’s impossible to love another person as oneself, but the intention is to be happy for another person’s success and wish them all the good things you would want. What do you think this means? How can you fulfill this mitzvah?

Question #2: Has it ever happened to you that you asked for some advice or help and you were given the wrong advice just “as a joke”? Did it ever happen that someone was new at your school (or maybe it happened to you) and they were taken advantage of because they were not familiar with the rules? Why would that happen? Unfortunately, it’s easy to take advantage of someone else’s lack of knowledge or weakness. Therefore, in this week’s parasha, we learn the important mitzvah to never take advantage of another person

Look inside the text (Vayikra 19:14),

לֹא־תְקַלֵּל חֵרֵשׁ וְלִפְנֵי עִוֵּר לֹא תִתֵּן מִכְשֹׁל וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ אֲנִי ה’׃ – You should not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind. You should fear your God, I am God.

Question #3: The Torah often emphasizes that we need to be nice to the stranger because we were strangers in Egypt. If we recall correctly, our experience in Egypt was not exactly one of great hospitality and warm feelings. Are we supposed to turn a blind eye to the bad in order to find some redeeming quality in everything? What are the downsides of turning a blind eye to the evil that others do? What kind of people do we become if we remember only the bad in others? What do we become if we remember only the good in others?