Rabbi Daniel Siegel – Head of Jewish Life

Devar Torah

Am Kadosh

The opening words of this week’s parashah, kedoshim tihiyu remind us that Judaism is a way of life that seeks to transform and experience all human action as an encounter with the divine.

Kedushah – holiness – our Rabbis contend, is achieved in relationship with our fellow human beings with whom we share the image of God. Our Jewish identity is in being an Am Kadosh, a Holy People.

Like the Identitarian movement gaining ascendancy in Europe, we believe in “building up a self-confident relationship to one’s own ethno-cultural identity”. We maintain, however, as expressed by the open and progressive nature of our School, that this can only be achieved by building community that is inclusive and understanding of others.

Central to the call to build a Kehillah Kedoshah, a holy community, Kedoshim commands us:  

When a stranger resides with you in your land, you shall not wrong him.

The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as one of your citizens;

you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt (Mitsrayim):  

I am the Lord your God.

We experience and realise the divine, our identity as Am Kadosh/A Holy People, when we expand our sensibilities beyond the narrow perceptions of Mitsrayim and recognise our common humanity with all peoples.

Prior to Pesach, several of our students visited the Villawood Detention Centre. In the spirit of Pesach, we believe the liberation of one lies in the liberation of all. We hope you will read, in this week’s Ma Nishma, the reflections of our students on their experiences in meeting refugees who cling to the hope of becoming citizens of Australia.