Kedushah is a Jewish prayer recited responsively during the repetition of the Amidah, as part of its third blessing. It is one of the most sacred sections of the prayer service and is classified as a davar shebikdushah (“a sacred entity”), which may be recited only in the presence of a minyan.

In Kedushah, we declare G‑d as holy, using the angels’ praise as our template. According to the Zohar,1 this fulfills the Torah commandment, “And I shall be sanctified among the children of Israel.”2 Although most authorities maintain that the obligation is rabbinic and that the verse serves only as an allusion, Kedushah is nevertheless considered very important and holy—greater even than an “ordinary” mitzvah—since it sanctifies G‑d in public.3

For this reason, we must maintain absolute concentration and focus while saying it, which invites G‑d’s presence to hover above us.4

The words of Kedushah are based on verses from the Merkavah (Divine Chariot) visions of the prophets Isaiah5 and Ezekiel,6 which describe the angels praising G‑d using the very phrases we say during the service.

While we are mirroring the angels, they are reflecting us as well. In fact, the Talmud teaches that the angels do not proclaim “Holy, holy, holy” above until the Jewish people say it below.7

Angelic Posture

Regarding angels, it is written, “Their legs were a straight leg,”8 which the sages explain to mean that angels appear as though they have only one foot. To resemble the angels during the Amidah, we therefore stand with our feet together, making them appear as a single leg. For this reason, when reciting Kedushah, where we sanctify G‑d using the very words spoken by the angels, we keep our feet together.9

In addition, it is customary to rise up on one’s toes three times while saying, “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh,” “Holy, holy, holy.”

This practice is rooted in one of the earliest mystical works, Sefer Heichalot, which describes how G‑d takes special delight at that moment, when the Jewish people lift their eyes heavenward while proclaiming His holiness:

Blessed are you to G‑d, O heavens and those who descend from the celestial chariot — if you tell and relate to My children what I do when they recite Kedushah and say Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh … Teach them that their eyes should be raised heavenward, to their place of prayer, and that they should raise themselves upward. For no satisfaction of Mine in the world can match the moment at which their eyes are raised toward My eyes and My eyes [are focused] on theirs. At that time, I take hold of the image of Yaakov in My throne of glory, and embrace it and kiss it. I recall their exile and hasten their redemption.10

Additionally, the Midrash11 further derives this custom from the verses describing the angels reciting the Kedushah:

Seraphim stood above for Him, six wings, six wings to each one; with two he would cover his face, and with two he would cover his feet, and with two he would fly. And one would call to the other, “Holy, holy, holy! G‑d of Hosts—Whose presence fills all the earth!”

The Midrash asks, “Do angels really need or use wings to fly? Rather, this teaches us that a person should ‘fly’ by raising themselves on their toes at the moment when the prayer leader says, ‘Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh, Hashem of Hosts.’”

Commentaries12 explain that the angels are described as “running and returning,” like flashes of lightning. This teaches that they rise upward toward G‑d, seeking to grasp Him, but immediately draw back, realizing that He truly cannot be comprehended.

So too, when we say “Kadosh, kadosh, kadosh,” we rise upward on our toes as if reaching toward G‑d, and then settle back down, acknowledging the limits of human understanding.

This motion reflects both our desire to draw close to Him and our recognition that He remains beyond our grasp.13

We repeat this movement three times, corresponding to the three declarations of holiness. For the same reason, some have the custom to rise on their toes when saying the subsequent verses of “Baruch” and “Yimloch,” just as they do for “Kadosh.”14

(It should be noted that the general custom is to “raise” oneself, but not “leap” or “jump.”15)