Let's Talk About Holiness

In this week's Torah Portion, VaYiGash וַיִּגַּשׁ (And He Drew Near), based on Genesis 44:18-47:27, I can address something that has been in my heart for quite some time: Holiness. We see in this portion the narrative where Joseph's family reunites and is brought into Egypt for provision during a time of worldwide famine. The message is subtle, but it is certainly there. Joseph's family is different. They are set apart, and even though they are brought into Egypt, a very pagan nation, they are kept safe and apart by doing something the Egyptians despised. When speaking with the Pharaoh about his family, Joseph says the following:

"Joseph said to his brothers and to his father's household, 'I will go up and tell Pharaoh and will say to him, ‘My brothers and my father's household, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me. And the men are shepherds, for they have been keepers of livestock, and they have brought their flocks and their herds and all that they have.’'" Genesis 46:31-32

Instructed by the LORD and his father, Israel, Joseph had a plan in mind. The narrative continues:

"'When Pharaoh calls you and says, ‘What is your occupation?’ you shall say, ‘Your servants have been keepers of livestock from our youth even until now, both we and our fathers,’ in order that you may dwell in the land of Goshen, for every shepherd is an abomination to the Egyptians.'" Genesis 46:33-34

You see? The plan was set from the beginning. God, Israel, and Joseph knew that the Egyptians were idolaters, and they chose, willingly, to do something that would be despised amongst the nation so that they could be set apart. That is what it normally takes to be holy. Like most words today, the word holy has lost its meaning. For the past 6 years and through the Hebrew language, I have dedicated myself to the art and study of etymology. Etymology is the scientific study of the origins of words and the true way to redeem a word's original meaning and intent. Words, from the beginning of language, have been created to represent physical things. The Hebrew language is very concrete. It always represents things in the physical reality, though it can at times also represent ideas. Most modern languages are abstract. Having many and many words represent ideas that can shift based on opinion. Holy is one of these words. If you ask 100 people what the meaning of the word holy is, most will give you varying definitions. Or a definition that is vague and ambiguous, like, "it means to be set apart."

To avoid that pitfall in today's study, and seeing the example given in this narrative, let's take a moment to do that with the words holy and holiness, shall we? In Biblical Hebrew, the word for Holy is Kadosh קָדוֹשׁ. To do that, we usually go to the first time that word is used in the book of Bereshit בְּרֵאשִׁית (Genesis, also known as "the book of beginnings"). Jewish scholars consider Genesis to be a "dictionary" of Jewish words. The first time they are used also defined based on the context. For holy, the verse is:

"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." Genesis 2:1-3

With this narrative, we can begin to identify what is holy and why the seventh day is given such a title. The answer is nothing. The seventh day, on its own, has no special attributes that make it holy. So the first definition of holy and by connection, holiness, is that only God can define or make something holy. To continue to understand the meaning of holy, we need to also understand the rest of the sentence in the Hebrew language. The verse states that, "he rested on the seventh day from all his work," and we immediately think with our modern English brains that God must have been tired. The work of creation must have been very difficult, if it even tired out the omnipotent Adonai. That is another misconception of translations. The word used here in Hebrew is Shabat שָׁבַת (Ceased or rested), and it means to cease work. End or stop the work you were performing. So holy is connected to ending or stopping mundane activities. In this example, Adonai ceased His work of creation. He modelled for us what is common, mundane, or unholy in order to make the seventh day holy. So the next definition of the word holy is unique or different. The seventh day has become different from the other days because He ceased the work of creation. For six days He worked. Did the same thing over and over again, but the seventh was made different by God because he ceased working. I hope it is making sense to you. With that, this narrative gives us one more clue of what holy means. But the narrative continues only in Exodus 20, when God invites us to participate in this holiness:

"Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy." Exodus 20:8-11

Learn what is holy and how to participate in holiness through Christ's sacrifice and example.

God now invites us to participate with Him in what holiness means. In this part of that same narrative, we get the final ingredient of what holy means. Notice that it isn't anything abstract. God gives us concrete examples of how to identify something holy and what to do in physical reality. Before we fully define this word, let's extract the final piece of this delightful puzzle. Holiness requires dedication. God doesn't tell us to make the Sabbath holy, but He tells us to "keep" it holy. If we observe His command and obey, we make the seventh day holy by doing the same thing God did as an example. We can become active participants by also ceasing our mundane daily activities. When we do this, we are actively saying to Him and the world that He is our LORD. He is our God. It is a sign between His creation that we belong to Him:

"Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live. Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the Lord made them holy." Ezekiel 20:10-12

This blog wasn't even intended to speak about Sabbath keeping. I intended to define the word holy so we can see how Joseph intentionally made his family holy while living in Egypt. But the word holy is intrinsically tied to the Shabbat by Adonai's choice. He chose to use the word for the first time, directly connected to the seventh day. It is something that cannot be escaped by those who read and understand scriptures. Shabbat is important to God. It isn't part of the law or given only to Israel. It was decreed at creation before Israel, the man or Israel, the nation existed. It was given to mankind before it was given to Moses. Let's get back on track now. What is the undeniable original definition of holy?

1) Only God can declare something holy, for He is holy

2) Holy means something is unique, different from the common, mundane, or unholy

3) We participate in holiness through recognizing what God has declared holy and by behaving the same way as God did towards that object, person, or occasion

Lifted directly from Google's definition: In ancient Hebrew, Kadosh (קדוש) means "holy," but its core meaning is "set apart," "separated," or "distinct," signifying something unique, sacred, or dedicated for a special divine purpose, rather than just morally pure. It denotes separation from the common or profane, making something singular, elevated, or consecrated, like God (the ultimate Kadosh), the Sabbath, holy vessels, or a holy nation.

It isn't abstract, but definite. God made the seventh day holy. God ceased working. God commanded us to do the same. We can now return to the present lesson. Knowing what holy means, what can we learn from Joseph's family example today? How were they guarding themselves from becoming contaminated by the nation of Egypt? A nation known for its idolatry and paganism? They did it by staying true to their nature even though they knew the Egyptians would despise them. They were shepherds by trade and knew that to stay pure and Kadosh, they would need to stay away from the practices of the Egyptians. As followers of Christ, we are faced daily with opportunities to gain the world's favor and to benefit from doing what everyone else does. It may be the way you present yourself as women are encouraged and incentivized to dress provocatively and in vulgar ways. It may be in the language you use, as becoming part of the "crowd" may mean telling dirty jokes or using acceptable foul language. It may be partaking in drinks or even drugs that can give you an image of being "cool" and accepted by the peer pressure around you. All these things are easier to give in to than standing firm on the grounds set for you by Adonai. However, I encourage you to do the same thing Joseph and his family chose, and stay true and faithful to your roots and the God who delivered you. People are observing, and they do notice. Please, indulge me with a few more minutes of this important message and lesson today. Something that happened to me last week or so at work:

I was participating in a meeting about a particularly difficult account. The lead PM for this customer is a challenging person, to be polite. It is a project that has caused several employees to quit or get fired over the past few years. This meeting was, as usual, tense because we were getting very close to the delivery due date of the project, but the client's goal continued to shift, endangering yet again our ability to finish on time and on budget. Because of this and many other factors, I was particularly angry that day. In the heat of the moment, I let a curse word slip. It wasn't even that bad a word, but it was a word I avoided because I want to live my life with integrity. I don't want to be a "Christian" just by title, but be recognized by the people around me as a true follower of Christ. The Project Manager of our team let out a chuckle, as she stated, "oh wow! Van cursed." "Over the past two years, I have never heard him curse." She added in between giggles. I immediately repented before the LORD in my heart and didn't continue to curse, but resumed my usual behavior. What is the point of that story? For one, it illustrates what I just declared in the previous paragraph. That is that "people are listening and paying attention." To be honest, I was more shocked at her response than I was at my failure. I am human after all, and being holy doesn't mean being perfect. If I were perfect, I wouldn't need a Savior. To be holy means to cease doing what everyone else is doing and think is acceptable, to do something less popular and way more challenging to obey Jesus based on what He said and did. Even if no one else notices it. Even if you have an audience of One (God Himself). However, that moment I was reminded, to both my embarrassment and my delight, that people are really paying attention. You better believe that people are paying attention to your actions as well. Are your actions honoring your declaration that you are a follower of Christ? If it isn't, there is ample time to change (Teshuvah תשובה - turn around towards His path).

Like Joseph and his family, I challenge you today to think about ways you have adopted Egypt's ways (the world's ways) and how you can return to what God calls holy. It may be inconvenient. The world may despise you for it. I still say it is worth it. The Creator of all things, including you and everything you value, is worthy of receiving such devotion. I always say that there is no other God like Him. A God who humbles Himself, leaves His throne, leaves His glory, enters His creation to fulfill His promises and rescue you and I. Halleluah forever and ever:

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Philippians 2:5-11

For that I say and proclaim what the angels already continuously proclaim: "Holy, holy, holy is He, our God"... "worthy of our worship and devotion." Who not only is Holy, but invites us to mimic Him and to become part of His eternal kingdom:

"Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'" 1 Peter 1:13-16

I love you all. Shalom Ve'Shavuah Tov. Also, may 2026 be a year filled with victory for you and your loved ones as well.