How Holy Are Your Relationships?

      If you were to sum up what the book of Leviticus is all about, you would probably say—the Tabernacle, sacrifices, laws of purity, Kosher laws, etc. That would actually be missing the point of the book. Yes, Leviticus devotes a great deal of attention to ritual matters and to the Tabernacle, yet the BIG MESSAGE is "Be holy, because I am holy," (19:2). In other words, since G‑d is morally pure and hates sin, people who are in relationship with Him have to live a holy life. The L‑rd expected holiness to extend to every area of our life. It is relatively easy to pursue the L‑rd's instructions regarding ritual ("religious/spiritual") matters—to read our Bibles and to pray, or in their case, to bring sacrifices to the Tabernacle. It is incredibly tougher to extend this holiness into our daily life—especially our relationships with other people.

      We are just like Israel in that we tend to focus on what's easier. They devoted too much attention to the ritual aspects of holiness and not enough to the practical—relating to other people. Throughout the prophets, we see that the L‑rd severely rebuked Israel for that tendency. Tucked away in these chapters on sacrifices and ritual purity etc. (chapters 1-17, 21-25) we find this gem dealing with the nitty gritty of human relationships (chapters 18-20). As we read and study these chapters, we may wonder why the BIG MESSAGE of Leviticus is "hidden" in the many instructions here. The L‑rd has a good reason—He wants us to understand that our sanctification (holiness) is most strongly expressed through our relationships to other people. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work godliness into our character, the way people will know that we are really holy is in the way we relate to others! That is not our usual definition of holiness, yet it is the L‑rd's. Why do the laws of holiness come immediately after the regulations for sacrifices?

      In today's Torah portion we find the connection between living holy lives and offering sacrifices: "For the life of a creature is in the blood and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life," (17:11). If the people of Israel were morally pure (holy), all they would need were the right regulations for holy living and they would proceed to do them; the problem was that the people of Israel, like all of us, broke G‑d's laws regularly. The flip side of the coin is that without atonement (cleansing from sins) it is not possible to live a holy life. Atonement for the people of Israel was a regular part of life. 

            For most of us, atonement gets very little airtime after we become believers. Perhaps one reason why holy living is an endangered species among believers today is because we have minimized the need for atonement in our daily lives. This Torah portion challenges us to make atonement a high priority in our lives—as we are serious about forgiveness and cleansing from sin, we will draw into a more intimate, loving relationship with the L‑rd.