This week we have another double Torah portion. Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. The first means after the death. The second means holy ones.
There is an old joke that my Dad zl used to say.
Acharei Mot-Kedoshim.
Which means that human nature has a tendency to whitewash the mistakes of someone who has passed on.
So after the death-Kedoshim, they are only remembered as holy ones.
Ok. Not his best.
This week I had an experience which completely changed my understanding of the phrase that has been created by the juxtaposition of two names of Torah portions.
Acharei Mot speaks about working through atonement specifically via Yom Kippur and its particular service. Yom Kippur is a time when we face the mistakes we have made and strive to atone. The soul is pure but a human being errs. How do use these missteps to help us grow and be more connected.
That is the essence of holiness. Taking the steps to be connected to the Divine. Within each of us resides a spark of Gdliness. Our job in this world is to fan that spark and to become more Gdly.
How does one accomplish such a feat?
The Torah portion of Kedoshim gives us 51 commandments to help us become holy.
The Torah portion of Kedoshim is 64 verses and it packs a powerful punch as it is loaded with these 51 commandments which direct us how to become moral and ethical people.
In a word - Gdly.
Topics covered in this pursuit of Gdliness include not perverting justice, not gossiping, employment of accurate weights and measures -being honest in business, rising before the elderly, love your neighbor as yourself, and do not hate and do not take revenge
Holiness is bred by having upright standards between people.
“Holiness wanders throughout our life, touching on the myriad pursuits of our day to day existence”. Rabbi R. Tradburks.
It is an uplifting thought. We can turn our daily actions into holy pursuits and that fans the sparks of Gdliness.
This is a lovely and inspirational aspiration. The Torah knows we can step up and gives us directions on how to access our intrinsic holiness.
It’s accessible to us all.

And then, sometimes, one is given a glimpse of something so holy, the real personification of living these precepts, and its quite earth shatteringly stunning.
And it holds us all to a higher standard.
I had the privilege to hear David Lubin speak about his daughter Rose HYD who was killed in the line of duty defending her people in Jerusalem.
David shared that the day Rose died she was on duty with another officer who briefly walked away from his post. During those critical moments Rose was stabbed by a 16 year old terrorist. She would die from her wounds.
Rose’s parents never met that other officer.
On another trip to Israel after this horrific incident, David landed and went first to visit Rose’s grave. Then he proceeded to the Shuk with his family to purchase food for Shabbat. Inexplicably he decided to buy some baklava, a Mediterranean dessert, and he found a stall selling the treat. David was wearing a cap that is the headgear of Magav, the border patrol police of which Rose was a member. The man selling the food asked David if he was in Magav. David replied that his daughter had been and he showed Rose’s picture to the young man.
The response was immediate.
The young man started crying.
Heaving sobs wracked his body and the man was practically unable to stand.
He told David.
It was me.
I was there that day.
They both cried.
They hugged each other.
They both understood each others fathomless emotions and embraced nonetheless.
David told me that he wanted to find his family to show them to this man so the guy could see “they were ok, they weren’t broken”. But when David brought his wife and son over to the booth, do not reveal the identity of the man to his wife at that moment “because he didn’t want to embarrass the man”.
Do you see all the Torah precepts coming to life here??
It’s really lovely when we are taught “do not hate” “do not take revenge” “do not gossip” but in this circumstance wouldn’t we seek a dispensation?
After all…
This is what holiness looks like in real time.
And that’s what brought David to the final point he shared.
Apparently Rose had a very complete life. She lived with such a level of integrity that there were no broken relationships in her life. She was complete in her connections with her family, friends, colleagues and superiors.
There was just one broken piece that needed to be resolved.
The last jagged relationship left was between herself and the guy that was derelict in his duty.
That was something that Rose herself could not resolve.
On that day David was able to repair that one, last, broken piece for Rose.
There is no coincidence in the combination of Achrei Mot -Kedoshim.
It can even be used as the grist for a lame joke.
But it is also very serious.
I think I will always see these two names as a clarion call to greatness.
The question posed is the following- what happens after a death?
A person can experience a catastrophic loss in any aspect of life, a death, a near death experience or something that feels akin to death, some loss of epic proportions.
These events are beyond our control.
All that we can control is our reaction.
Do we use that catastrophic event as an excuse to lose ourselves and our Gdly spark?
Or even after an event so challenging do we reach deep inside and respond with holiness?
Apparently it is possible to do.
The Torah teaches us how.
And David Lubin teaches by example.
Shabbat Shalom and so much love!