Kedoshim: On Women, Patriarchy, and Respect.

The Torah portion for today’s blog is Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1-20:27), which was read by Jewish communities yesterday, May 10, 2025.  Among scholars, it is part of what is often referred to as the Holiness Code, Leviticus 17-26 (Note 1).  Kedoshim covers all manner of topics: from what fabric to wear to how to treat one’s neighbor and from keeping Shabbat to when one can eat the fruit of newly planted trees.  These, what I will call prescriptions, all fall under the general reasoning that one does these things so that one can be holy like the deity is holy.  In a way, the Holiness Code then is an apt name for this section.  But, what can we take from this parshah from a (eco)feminist point of view?  To answer this question, I will be using the methodology I have laid out in a previous blog and ask three questions.

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