Embodying Holiness

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Rabbi Noah Diamondstein

Dear friends,

Our double portion this Shabbat contains the “Holiness Code,” a small treatise of Jewish ethics embedded at the very heart of the Torah–Leviticus 19, the middle chapter of the middle book. In this most important of ethical texts in Jewish tradition, which begins with the injunction “Kedoshim tih’yu ki kadosh Ani Adonai Eloheichem,” “You shall be holy, for I, Adonai your God, am holy,” we hear some of the most basic ethical principles by which the Jewish People is meant to live:

• You shall each revere your mother and your father, and keep My sabbaths… (19:3)
• You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger… (19:10)
• You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block before the blind… (19:14)
• You shall not render an unfair decision: do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich; judge your kindred fairly… (19:15)
• The strangers who reside with you shall be to you as your citizens; you shall love each one as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt… (19:34)

These are but five representative examples, among still many more in the Code, of the high ethical standard to which our Torah holds us. We are all meant to live up to such standards, and most of us do most of the time! This Shabbat in particular, though, I am overjoyed to celebrate a certain group from amidst our TBE community who truly live this standard out loud in their Jewish lives.

Tonight, we honor our high school seniors as they lead us from the bimah at their Confirmation. Getting to know them over this year, and watching the ways they have been inclusive, kind, loyal, giving, and proud of their People and its values has made me proud more times than I can remember. They truly embody Torah holiness. I count myself lucky to have played my small part in their Jewish upbringing, and know with perfect confidence that they will represent the TBE community and the Jewish People more broadly with grace and goodness as they move forward to the next stage of their lives. I hope you will join our Director of Congregational Learning Lisa Friedman, Cantor Wallach, our teachers, our Confirmation families, and me in celebrating them tonight as they reach this milestone.

Mazal tov to our 5786 Confirmands and their families, and Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Noah Diamondstein