“Kedoshim tihyu”—you shall be holy. This line in Parashat Kedoshim feels both simple and impossibly expansive. We think of holiness as something elevated, distant, reserved for rare moments, but Kedoshim teaches that holiness is obtainable. Holiness is not reserved for the utmost sacred and distant—it is something we can all obtain through practice— it’s something we do, woven into the fabric of everyday life.

At KI, we have the opportunity to “become holy” in the most grounded and beautiful ways—every day within community. Holiness looks like preparing food with care whether in your own kitchen or as part of HaMotzi through nourishment. We can show up for others, offering time, teaching, and presence at Klein Life, where connection itself becomes sacred work. It grows in the soil when we tend our Mitzvah Garden together. It is present in The Kitchen when we cook for and with others through programs like prepping oneg, Cook for a Friend, Cooking for a Cause with AADD/JCHAI—where community, skill, and belonging are nurtured side by side. It stands at the door on a Friday night, greeting each person who enters with the warmth of Shabbat.

And then, Kedoshim gives us a reminder that feels almost like a gift: holiness is not only what we give—it is also what we receive. Shabbat itself makes us holy. In a world that constantly asks us to do more, give more, be more, Shabbat invites us to be. To rest. To breathe. To return to ourselves and to one another. It is not separate from holiness; Shabbat is the source that renews it.

May this Shabbat open your heart to holiness as both acts of love and a gift to yourself. May KI be your community to experience “Kedoshim tihyu.”

Shabbat Shalom,