Kedusha in Our Lives Advisor Copy
Advisor Copy Before we begin, I would like to highlight a few points: 1. It is VERY IMPORTANT for you as an educator to put your effort in and prepare this session well. If you don’t prepare, it will show. Kids will be able to tell if you don’t know what you’re talking about. 2. The goal of this session is purposefully open-ended. By giving this session, we are not trying to get specific points across. The goal is to make the NCSYers think and ask questions. 3. That being said, there is a lot of material here. It’s totally ok if you don’t get through all of it. It’s possible you get caught up on a discussion of one of the sources. That’s just as good if not better than getting through all the sources. Goal: To help the NCSYers think about what kedusha is and what role it plays/can play in their lives. Content of the Session:
I. II.
Let’s get right into the session. Have an NCSYer read source 1. A. Hashem tells Moshe to tell the nation to be “Kadosh”. But what does that word actually mean? 1. People generally translate Kadosh as “Holy”. Ask the NCSYers what they think the word holy means. (Remember to always validate their answers) 2. Let’s see what the Torah’s approach is on what the word “Kadosh” means B. Move on to source 2. 1. The father of Judaism is called Avraham HaIvri. According to some, the word Ivri comes from the root of “Eiver” meaning the other side. When the world was doing one thing, Avraham was on the other side, doing something else. a) The obvious question is why would Avraham do this? We know he loved other people and was all about kindness. Why would he be on one side while everyone else is on the other b) To further the question, why is he named for this? The Jewish people become known as the Hebrews, coming from the same root of “Eiver”. (1) See what the group has to answer on these questions 2. To help us find answer, let’s look to source 3. a) There are 3 types of beings. Angels, Humans and Animals. In order to tell the difference between the 3, we can look at them on a spectrum. On one end, you have angels, which are totally spiritual beings. On the opposite end, you have animals, totally physical beings. The question is then where do humans fall on the spectrum. Humans are both physical and spiritual. Rav
III.
IV.
Schwab is telling us that we have the ability, unlike animals, to go against our instincts. b) Kadosh means being separate. Separating ourselves from the animalistic side of us. c) This is why Avraham was known as Ivri. He separated himself from his animalstic urges and elevated himself to a more spiritual lifestyle. That’s nice. But how does that apply to us? How can we become kadosh in our lives? A. I’m glad you asked! Let’s go on to source 4 1. G-d created us by combining physical and spiritual. Body and Soul. If you think about it, life in general is a progression from physical to spiritual. a) A baby born into the world is made up of body and soul. But it really doesn’t do much spiritually. Babies are pretty much physical beings. However, as they progress in development, they become more and more spiritually inclined. Also, as people grow and get older, their bodies (physical qualities) begin to fall apart, until their soul leaves their body. b) This is the mission of humans in the world, to work on elevating the physical aspects of their lives to the spiritual. B. We saw that Kedusha applies to people, but what about time? 1. Have an NCSYer read source 5. a) We see that when Hashem created the world, he sanctified the Seventh day. Known as Shabbat. Hashem separated Shabbat from the rest of the week and made it Kadosh. b) We also do this every week on Shabbat. And on other holidays throughout the year. We take a step away from the normal weekdays and focus just on Shabbat and the Holiday. C. Can Kedusha apply to a place too? 1. Take a look at source 6. a) Hashem commanded the people to build a “Mikdash” and that He would rest among us. b) The word mikdash comes from the root of Kodesh. And when we build a place for Hashem, He will rest His presence there. The gemara in Taanit talks about how places where we daven, learn Torah and even our homes are considered a “Mikdash Me’at”. When we elevate these places, they become a place of Kedusha. Recap. A. We are commanded to be Kadosh. To separate ourselves from the animalistic side of us. 1. We do this just like Avraham HaIvri. We are named for this quality. B. We are a combination of physical and spiritual and our whole lives are about taking our physicality and elevating it to the spiritual. C. We do this though sanctifying our time in general, through Shabbat and Holidays. As well as creating spaces in our lives for Hashem to rest His presence among us. D. Thank them for their participation and walk with them to lunch.
I. II.
Let’s get right into the session. Have an NCSYer read source 1. A. Hashem tells Moshe to tell the nation to be “Kadosh”. But what does that word actually mean? 1. People generally translate Kadosh as “Holy”. Ask the NCSYers what they think the word holy means. (Remember to always validate their answers) 2. Let’s see what the Torah’s approach is on what the word “Kadosh” means B. Move on to source 2. 1. The father of Judaism is called Avraham HaIvri. According to some, the word Ivri comes from the root of “Eiver” meaning the other side. When the world was doing one thing, Avraham was on the other side, doing something else. a) The obvious question is why would Avraham do this? We know he loved other people and was all about kindness. Why would he be on one side while everyone else is on the other b) To further the question, why is he named for this? The Jewish people become known as the Hebrews, coming from the same root of “Eiver”. (1) See what the group has to answer on these questions 2. To help us find answer, let’s look to source 3. a) There are 3 types of beings. Angels, Humans and Animals. In order to tell the difference between the 3, we can look at them on a spectrum. On one end, you have angels, which are totally spiritual beings. On the opposite end, you have animals, totally physical beings. The question is then where do humans fall on the spectrum. Humans are both physical and spiritual. Rav
III.
IV.
Schwab is telling us that we have the ability, unlike animals, to go against our instincts. b) Kadosh means being separate. Separating ourselves from the animalistic side of us. c) This is why Avraham was known as Ivri. He separated himself from his animalstic urges and elevated himself to a more spiritual lifestyle. That’s nice. But how does that apply to us? How can we become kadosh in our lives? A. I’m glad you asked! Let’s go on to source 4 1. G-d created us by combining physical and spiritual. Body and Soul. If you think about it, life in general is a progression from physical to spiritual. a) A baby born into the world is made up of body and soul. But it really doesn’t do much spiritually. Babies are pretty much physical beings. However, as they progress in development, they become more and more spiritually inclined. Also, as people grow and get older, their bodies (physical qualities) begin to fall apart, until their soul leaves their body. b) This is the mission of humans in the world, to work on elevating the physical aspects of their lives to the spiritual. B. We saw that Kedusha applies to people, but what about time? 1. Have an NCSYer read source 5. a) We see that when Hashem created the world, he sanctified the Seventh day. Known as Shabbat. Hashem separated Shabbat from the rest of the week and made it Kadosh. b) We also do this every week on Shabbat. And on other holidays throughout the year. We take a step away from the normal weekdays and focus just on Shabbat and the Holiday. C. Can Kedusha apply to a place too? 1. Take a look at source 6. a) Hashem commanded the people to build a “Mikdash” and that He would rest among us. b) The word mikdash comes from the root of Kodesh. And when we build a place for Hashem, He will rest His presence there. The gemara in Taanit talks about how places where we daven, learn Torah and even our homes are considered a “Mikdash Me’at”. When we elevate these places, they become a place of Kedusha. Recap. A. We are commanded to be Kadosh. To separate ourselves from the animalistic side of us. 1. We do this just like Avraham HaIvri. We are named for this quality. B. We are a combination of physical and spiritual and our whole lives are about taking our physicality and elevating it to the spiritual. C. We do this though sanctifying our time in general, through Shabbat and Holidays. As well as creating spaces in our lives for Hashem to rest His presence among us. D. Thank them for their participation and walk with them to lunch.
