A Theology of Holiness: Historical, Exegetical, and Philosophical Perspectives (Kodesh Press,
2018), by Rabbi Alec Goldstein
Reviewed by Rabbi Reuven Chaim
Klein
In this wonderful masterpiece,
Rabbi Alec Goldstein considers the meaning of a term ubiquitous to the Bible,
but not readily understood: kedushah. While we tend to translate kedushah
as “holy” or “sacred,” that hallowed concept is not truly explained by
those hollow words. Rabbi Goldstein—the proprietor of the aptly-titled Kodesh
Press—attempts to give meaning to this concept and clarify what is exactly meant
by the word kedushah.
The first third of Rabbi
Goldstein’s book considers the meaning of kedushah in linguistic terms,
and begins by seeking out the etymology of the Hebrew root KUF-DALET-SHIN and
its Semitic cognates. Some argue that kedushah is derived from the verbs
“to separate” or “to cut”, while others connect kodesh with hadash
(“new”). A third view considers the core meaning of kedushah to be
“conflagration”. Finally, Rabbi Goldstein cites authorities who maintain that kedushah
itself is not derived from any other root, but is an original three-letter
root on its own.
Rabbi Goldstein’s linguistic
analysis continues by searching for the meaning of kedushah via
contrasting it with its antonyms in the Bible—namely, hillel
(“defile”) and tamei (“impure”). By clarifying the concepts antithetical
to kedushah, one can reach a better appreciation of what exactly kedushah
itself entails. The final chapter devoted to the linguistic aspect of kedushah
highlights the words commonly found in the Bible in tandem with kedushah
and its cognates. This chapter uses those counterpart concepts found alongside kedushah
to hone in on the exact meaning of kedushah.
The next bulk of Rabbi
Goldstein’s gem mines through the Bible and provides a thematic survey of the
different contexts in which the concept of kedushah is invoked. These
include places, times, and items which are said to be imbued with kedushah—and,
of course, God and the Jewish People who are said to be kadosh. The
Bible clearly associates kedushah with the abstinence from inappropriate
sex, food, and idolatry, and Rabbi Goldstein explores the common denominator
between those three elements.
Rabbi Goldstein then contemplates
the implications of kedushah from a philosophical perspective. Besides
drawing from the timeless wisdom of the Talmud, Rabbi Goldstein reflects upon
several approaches proffered by such medieval authorities as Rashi, Maimonides,
Nahmanides, Gersonides, and R. Yehudah ha-Levi, as well as more recent
Jewish thinkers such as R. Samson Raphael Hirsch, R. J.B. Soloveitchik, and
Eliezer Berkovits. He also considers the concept of kedushah from the
perspectives of German philosophers Immanuel Kant and Rudolf Otto.
What emerges from those
viewpoints is that some understood kedushah to be commensurate with
following specific precepts of the Torah, or even the Torah as a whole, while
Nahmanides clearly understood that kedushah refers to extra-legal
asceticism which requires abstaining from that which is permitted by the letter
of the law. Others define kedushah as referring to objective morality or
ethics, while a slightly more esoteric definition of kedushah refers to imitatio
Dei—the imitation of God.
Throughout his scholarly
dissertation, Rabbi Goldstein strives to remain loyal to the text of the Bible,
as well as to Jewish tradition. Nonetheless, this textual positivism does not
bar him from looking beyond the Bible and classical Jewish works. In fact,
Rabbi Goldstein’s work demonstrates that its author’s mastery is not limited to
Jewish Rabbinic sources, but also includes Jewish Hellenistic sources and works
of Greek Philosophy. Rabbi Goldstein is also clearly familiar with epigraphical
texts found by archeologists, and uses them to buttress his arguments when
appropriate.
Despite the book’s title, A
Theology of Holiness does not offer one specific theological presentation
of the concept of kedushah. Rather, it provides the reader with a
kaleidoscope of views on the matter, giving much fodder for further discussion
and consideration. In the end, the exact definition of kedushah eludes
us, but with this book in hand, we are much more knowledgeable about the matter.
