In Judaism, Holiness Is as Holiness Does: The fire at the core of Leviticus — Students may find interesting Rabbi David Wolpe’s observations about Leviticus and Lutheran theologian Rudolph Otto on the numinous and the human condition. Leviticus would seem to lend itself to Otto’s approach. Not a rational or utilitarian pursuit, sacrifice required acknowledgment of the numinous, the mysterium tremendum. But does this actually capture the Jewish idea of holiness as it presents itself to us in Leviticus, let alone in later usage?
