Holiness in Judaism, often referred to by the Hebrew word for holiness, kedushah (Hebrew: קְדֻשָּׁה), is a central concept in Jewish thought, representing the idea of separation, elevation, and dedication to God. In Jewish tradition, holiness is a property of God, the Jewish people, specific places, times, actions, and items.^[1]

The Hebrew word קֹדֶשׁ, transliterated as qodesh, is used in the Torah to mean "set-apartness" and "separateness," as well as "holiness" and "sacredness."^[2] The Torah describes the Aaronite priests and the Levites as being selected by God to perform the Temple services; they, as well, are called "holy."

In Priestly literature, holiness is understood as a dynamic and potent manifestation of the Divine Presence that radiates outward, infusing persons, objects, places, and times with sacred power and transforming them into what belongs uniquely to God.^[3] Jewish philosophy professor Alan Mittleman describes it as energetic, even dangerous—an active force that can be absorbed and transmitted, rather than a purely abstract or moral quality. At the same time, holiness also functions normatively, exerting a claim on human behavior and shaping ethical and ritual life as an ideal toward which individuals and communities aspire.^[4]

In the Hebrew Bible, holiness is first introduced in relation to God, who is described as holy and completely distinct from the physical world. Early biblical traditions present holiness as potent and potentially destructive, requiring careful regulation, a theme vividly illustrated in narratives like the revelation at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19).^[4] In these texts, holiness is not primarily ethical, but spatial and ritual, concentrated in sacred places, objects, and persons. This conception aligns with broader ancient worldviews.

Biblical narratives present holiness as arising through cooperation between God and human agents. Encounters with the divine presence, such as those experienced by Moses at the burning bush or Isaiah in his temple vision, are depicted as transformative and morally demanding. These encounters provoke fear and humility, as the individuals recognize that contact with holiness requires a reorientation of life toward higher ethical and spiritual standards. Holiness, once encountered, imposes obligations rather than conferring mere privilege.^[4]

Later biblical developments, especially the Holiness Code, represent a significant refinement of this earlier Priestly framework by explicitly linking holiness to ethical conduct. These texts expand holiness beyond ritual precision to include interpersonal obligations, teaching that moral behavior toward others is itself a form of service to God.^[5] Many scholars see this trajectory as central to the Torah’s contribution to religious thought: holiness increasingly becomes a way of life, grounded in conscious obedience and ethical responsibility.

The holiness of time is also a biblical concept, most notably in relation to Shabbat, which is described as a day of holiness set apart from the rest of the week. Sacred places, such as the Mishkan (Tabernacle) and later the Beit HaMikdash (Temple), are described as imbued with the Divine Presence.^[6]

Holiness in Judaism is widely understood as a status acquired through relationship rather than an intrinsic quality: persons, times, and objects do not begin as holy but become so through designation, consecration, or use. Holiness at its core represents the idea of separation—being set apart from what is ordinary or profane. However, it also signifies elevation, as something is made holy when it is dedicated to a higher purpose. This is evident in the sanctification of objects used for mitzvot (commandments), such as tefillin or a Torah scroll, which become holy by virtue of their use in divine service.^[7] At the same time, biblical and rabbinic sources show that the root k-d-sh can also denote being set apart for a special purpose without explicit divine ownership, as in Jeremiah 22:7, or in rabbinic Hebrew where mikadesh describes marriage, by which a woman is designated as exclusively set aside for her husband.

Contemporary Jewish philosopher Samuel Lebens understands holiness as an attitude of awe that arises from perceiving the world as saturated with divine presence, an orientation that also supports moral responsibility. Drawing on Rashi and Midrashic traditions, Lebens argues that holiness depends less on ascetic restraint than on resisting the objectification of others. Moral goodness is a necessary condition of holiness, even though moral goodness alone does not suffice to make a person holy.^[8]

In personal life, this concept manifests through ethical and ritual observance. For example, Jewish law requires individuals to sanctify themselves in what is permissible, meaning that even ordinary activities like eating or engaging in business should be infused with a sense of purpose and alignment with God's will.^[9]

Holiness can be attributed to God, divine attributes such as God's name or spirit, sacred places, objects consecrated for ritual use, priests, the people of Israel, the covenant, and sanctified times such as Shabbat. Mittleman describes a graded vocabulary of holiness, ranging from kodesh kodashim (most holy) and kodesh to states of ritual purity (tahor) and impurity (tame).^[4]

Any personal possession may be dedicated to the Temple of God, after which its misappropriation is considered among the gravest of sins. The various sacrifices are holy. Those that may be eaten have very specific rules concerning who may eat which of their parts, and time limits on when the consumption must be completed. Most sacrifices contain a part to be consumed by the priests – a portion of the holy to be consumed by God's holy devotees.

According to Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel:

"When history began, there was only one holiness the world, holiness in time. When at Sinai the word of God was about to be heard, a call for holiness in man was proclaimed .... It was only after the people had succumbed to the temptation of worshipping a thing ... that the erection of a Tabernacle, of holiness in space, was commanded. The sanctity of time came first, the sanctity of man came second, and the sanctity of space last. Time was hallowed by God; space ... was consecrated by Moses ...."^[10]

In the Hebrew Bible, the holiness of the People of Israel is grounded in covenant rather than inherent status, most explicitly expressed in Exodus 19:6, which describes Israel as “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (am kadosh). Classical Jewish interpretation understands this holiness as arising from Israel’s relationship with God and the obligations that flow from it, particularly the observance of commandments (mitzvot) that regulate ritual practice, ethical conduct, and communal life. Scholars note that this conception of holiness entails forms of separation and discipline—imitation of divine attributes, ritual purity (tahara), and moral responsibility—rather than unrestricted participation in surrounding cultures. In this framework, holiness functions as a vocation requiring continual maintenance rather than a fixed attribute. Some later mystical and theological traditions advanced more essentialist or biological claims about Jewish holiness, but these views are contested within Jewish thought and are generally distinguished from covenantal and ethical interpretations emphasized in biblical and rabbinic sources.^[4]

Certain places are considered holier than others. The land of Israel is often referred to as the Holy Land, and within it, Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are considered the holiest locations. The Mishkan (Tabernacle) and later the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) were physical spaces designated for divine service, and the holiness of these places was so profound that access was restricted to certain times and individuals, such as the Kohanim (priests) and the Kohen Gadol (High Priest).^{[citation needed]} God commands Moses at the burning bush to remove his sandals because the ground itself was holy (Exodus 3:5). Classical interpretations understand this command as reflecting the idea that holiness can adhere to physical space and objects in contact with it, such that ordinary items—like footwear—would become unsuitable for mundane use once exposed to sacred ground. This conception of spatial holiness is also reflected in ancient Temple practice, where priests are described as performing their sacrificial service barefoot, particularly during the First Temple period, underscoring the heightened sanctity of the Temple precincts.^[4]

Some biblical and rabbinic models of holiness portray holiness as spatially graded and quasi-contagious, emanating from a central sacred locus and diminishing with distance, as though it were a transferable property that can adhere to places and objects through proximity or contact.^[4] The Mishnah lists concentric circles of holiness surrounding the Temple in Jerusalem: Holy of Holies, Temple Sanctuary, Temple Vestibule, Court of Priests, Court of Israelites, Court of Women, Temple Mount, the walled city of Jerusalem, all the walled cities of Israel, and the borders of the Land of Israel.^[11] Distinctions are made as to who and what are permitted in each area.

Holiness is also ascribed to time in Jewish thought, with Shabbat regarded as its most enduring and accessible expression. The biblical command to “remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8) establishes holiness not only in places or persons but in recurring sacred time, a theme later emphasized by thinkers such as Abraham Joshua Heschel, who argued that the holiness of Shabbat precedes that of Israel and remains intact even when it is not observed. Rabbinic tradition stresses that entering the sanctity of Shabbat requires deliberate preparation, both practical and psychological, involving a transition away from the routines of labor and commerce. Classical sources describe preparing food, clothing, and one’s mindset as integral to honoring the day, with even wealthy individuals expected to participate personally in preparations. Shabbat is further distinguished from the rest of the week through changes in dress, speech, movement, and communal enjoyment, including festive meals and wine, all of which serve to mark sacred time as qualitatively different from ordinary time and to cultivate an awareness of its holiness.^[12][13]

Similarly, the Jewish holidays (moedim) are considered holy times, each imbued with its own particular form of sanctity. These sacred times are opportunities for individuals and the community to connect more deeply with God and reflect on the spiritual dimensions of life.^[14]

Different Jewish thinkers have approached the concept of holiness in various ways. For some, holiness is primarily about creating boundaries that separate the sacred from the profane. For others, it is more about a continuous process of spiritual growth, where one elevates oneself and the world through good deeds and mitzvot.

Rabbinic Judaism emphasizes that holiness need not be sought through withdrawal from ordinary life or through rare ecstatic experiences. Instead, the commandments and rhythms of Torah study provide structured means for cultivating holiness amid daily responsibilities. Practices that mark distinctions—such as sanctifying specific times, relationships, or actions—prevent holiness from becoming diluted through overextension, reflecting the idea that meaning depends on differentiation. Later mystical traditions, such as those associated with the Baal Shem Tov, further stress intentionality and focused consciousness, teaching that directing one’s thoughts and actions toward God can elevate both spiritual and physical existence within the ongoing flow of everyday life.^[15]

Among medieval Jewish thinkers, Maimonides offered a highly intellectualized account of holiness, identifying holiness with correct knowledge of God rather than with any intrinsic quality of objects, peoples, or places. Holiness for Maimonides consists in attaining sound metaphysical understanding, a capacity in principle open to all humans. In the Guide for the Perplexed, he presents Abraham as the paradigmatic figure who recognized that celestial bodies are not divine but part of the created order, thereby affirming God’s absolute transcendence (Guide III:29). Maimonides further argues that ritual institutions such as sacrifice and the Temple were historically necessary stages in Israel’s religious development, functioning as transitional practices suited to the spiritual capacities of their time rather than as permanent expressions of ideal worship (Guide III:32). From this perspective, holiness is constituted by the law (halakha), which marks a community as distinct through historically contingent norms and practices, not by any essential or metaphysical sanctity inherent in Israel, the Land of Israel, or Jewish ethnicity itself.^[4]

Similarly, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch argued that holiness is not inherent in objects or people but is achieved through the performance of mitzvot. He taught that holiness is a potential that must be actualized through actions.^[16]

Mittleman describe holiness as a kind of “social fact”: it depends on human consciousness and communal recognition, yet it is objective and causally effective within a society.^[4] Just as money is more than paper because of the roles and meanings assigned to it, holiness is real because of the normative structures—rituals, laws, and practices—that sustain it. Its reality is therefore empirical and communal, even though it is not reducible to material substance. From this perspective, holy places, times, persons, and objects are distinguished not by their intrinsic composition but by how they are treated under the Torah. Holiness is thus relational and functional: things become holy when they are incorporated into patterns of action that orient human life toward God. This makes holiness historically contingent and socially embedded, while remaining normatively binding within the religious system.

Contemporary Jewish thought continues to grapple with the meaning and application of holiness. Some modern thinkers emphasize the need for a return to the sacred, arguing that in an increasingly secular world, the concept of holiness remains a vital spiritual goal. Others focus on the ethical dimensions of holiness, particularly in areas like social justice and environmental stewardship, where the sanctity of life and creation is emphasized.^[6]

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