Rabbi to explore holiness as closeness to God

God tells us to strive for holiness, and Rabbi Dan Ornstein of Congregation Ohav Shalom in Albany wants to put that goal within reach during a Nov. 16 talk at Abba House of Prayer in Albany.

The Evangelist caught up with Rabbi Ornstein last week as he was preparing to celebrate the Sabbath, a time the Jewish people set aside to focus on a more intense dialogue with God than is possible during the bustle of the week. He observed that this focus can start one on a path to holiness.

Q: Do people tend to believe that only God is holy -- that human beings can't be?

Rabbi Ornstein: I can only give the Jewish position. God is inherently holy; we have the potential for achieving holiness, [which is] being in a unique relationship with God through the things we do. The world is holy by virtue of it being the place of God's presence, [but] we have to behave in a holy way.

Q: What does the term 'holiness' mean to you?

Rabbi Ornstein: Holiness, for the people of Israel, means having a covenant relationship with God. On an individual level, it means taking every aspect of our lives and raising them up to a higher level of consciousness: how we behave ethically, how we behave ritually, how we see God's presence in the way we live. The Sabbath [means] we're making time holy; [noted writer] Abraham Heschel called it an 'island in time.' We enter into a place of dialogue with God.

Q: Part of the title of your talk is 'reclaiming our birthright.' Is holiness our birthright?

Rabbi Ornstein: It is the birthright of the Jewish people, and, by extension, Christians as well. What overlaps is a fundamental sense that you have to behave in a holy way -- and holiness is not 'holier than thou.'

Q: How can people work toward holiness?

Rabbi Ornstein: Step back and look at how you're living -- everything: how you eat, drink, relate to your partner, speak [i.e., don't gossip]. You can live a life of holiness. Decide you're going to develop a deeper consciousness, looking at God in the things you do. Live a life that's more spiritually deep, more morally deep.

Q: What will you cover in your talk?

Rabbi Ornstein: I'm going to look at a couple of classical Jewish sources [on the subject of holiness]. I can only provide the Jewish perspective; I need participants to provide me with other perspectives, so we can have that dialogue. [The book of] Leviticus says, 'Be holy, because I, God, am holy.' You can't be God, but you can strive to imitate God.

Q: What does it mean to you to give this talk?

Rabbi Ornstein: Holiness is such an important part of the religious vocabulary of Jews, and probably Christians as well -- looking for guidance and groundedness in this bizarre world. It's important we understand those concepts. Our secular society is a rich place for people to live and get along and engage in a dialogue of diversity, but you pay a price for living in that open democracy [of things becoming secularized]. If you want to live [holiness], talk it. To me, this is a matter of spiritual and moral survival.

(Rabbi Ornstein's talk, "Reclaiming Our Birthright: God's Invitation to Holiness" will be given Nov. 16, 7 p.m., at Abba House of Prayer in Albany. Suggested donation, $10. Call 438-8320 for reservations.)

(11/4/04)