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Dominican University of California

Commanded to Holiness: Reflections on Leviticus 19:1-2 and Contemporary Judaism

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

<p>This thesis reflects upon the overarching ramifications for both ancient Jewry and contemporary Judaism of the single Torah commandment found in Leviticus 19.1-2. “You shall be holy, for I the Lord. Your God am holy.” Based on teachings culled from the Torah Talmud. Kabbalah, and the sages of Jewish tradition and scholarship, the study forwards the philosophical stance that the holiness commanded of the ancient nation of Israel in Biblical times is as vital, applicable, and achievable in contemporary . Judaism as it was then. Examining the Judaic precept of <em>kadosh</em>, holy separation from the profane, the work takes a philosophical approach to the startling, but foundational, Jewis teaching from Leviticus 19: 1-2, that a human being is commanded to be as My as God. The <em>nefesh</em> (human being), comprised not just of body, but of <em>neshama</em> (soul), and the Biblical expectations for both the body and the soul regarding the commandment holy, are explored.</p>

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Arts
Level thesis:degree_level
Master's Thesis
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Humanities
Year
2005

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Kanat, Jolie
Contributors dc:contributor
  • Lawrence Kushner
  • Scott Sinclair, PhD

Subjects

dc:subject × 2

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:scholar.dominican.edu:humanities-print-theses-1247

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Dominican University of California
Base URL
scholar.dominican.edu/do/oai/
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Kanat, Jolie. Commanded to Holiness: Reflections on Leviticus 19:1-2 and Contemporary Judaism. Master's Thesis thesis, 2005. https://scholar.dominican.edu/humanities-print-theses/248