TORAH SPARKS ניצוצו תורה
פרשת אחרי מות – שבת הגדול
PARASHAT AHAREY MOT SHABBAT HAGADOL
April 16, 2011 – 12 Nisan 5771 – י"ב ניסן תשע"א
Annual: Leviticus 16:1 – 18:30 (Etz Hayim, p. 679; Hertz p. 480)
Triennial: Leviticus 16:1 – 17:7 (Etz Hayim, p. 679; Hertz p. 480)
Haftarah: Malakhi 3:4 – 24:3:23 (Etz Hayim, p. 1296; Hertz p. 1005)
Prepared by Rabbi Joseph Prouser
Baldwin, New York
Parashat Acharei Mot is familiar to synagogue-goers because it is the Torah reading for Yom Kippur, at both morning and Minchah services. The parashah begins, aptly, with a detailed description of the Yom Kippur ritual conducted by the high priest. The sanctuary is purified, and the priest, in his elaborate vestments, atones for himself, his household, and the community of Israel by means of expiatory sacrifices.
The central ritual of the day involves the random designation of two he-goats. One – “for the Lord” – is sacrificed as a sin offering. The sins of the Israelites are transferred symbolically to the second goat – “for Azazel,” popularly known as the scapegoat.” That second goat is sent off into the wilderness, where it is set free, carrying away the transgressions of the people Israel. Contrary to the popular misconception, the scapegoat is not killed in the biblical ritual.
The meaning of Azazel is somewhat elusive. It is used in contemporary Hebrew as the equivalent of Hell. Its biblical usage may be the name of the desolate area to which the goat was dispatched. Rabbinic interpretations vary: Azazel is said to describe the harshness of the desert, or to refer to the goat itself. Az-azel (or “ez azal”) approximates the Aramaic phrase “the goat that goes away.” Azazel also may derive from a mythic wilderness demon. The term scapegoat is medieval, dating only to the sixteenth century.
The annual observance of Yom Kippur as a day for atonement and self-denial is prescribed as a permanent, sacred rite.
Chapter 17 deals with the prohibition against the consumption of blood and carrion and the centralization of the sacrificial cult, and lists the dire sanctions for violation
of these norms.
Acharei Mot concludes with Leviticus 18, traditionally read during Yom Kippur
Minchah services. The chapter consists of a detailed list of forbidden sexual practices, detailing among them the various degrees of incestuous relationships and other illicit unions. This code of sexual mores distinguishes Israel from the
paradigmatically degenerate nations of Egypt and Canaan, and its neglect is deemed grounds for expulsion from the Promised Land.
Theme #1: “Height of Holiness, Pinnacle of Piety”
“For on this day atonement shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins;
you shall be clean before the Lord. It shall be a Sabbath of complete rest (shabbat shabbaton) for you, and you shall practice self-denial; it is a law for all time.”
Leviticus 16:30-31
Derash: Study
“A Sabbath of complete rest (shabbat shabbaton) – Some say that this phrase
means, a Sabbath for the spirit and a Sabbath for the body. Others interpret it in the sense of ‘the Sabbath of Sabbaths’ – that is, the loftiest of all Sabbaths.” Ibn Ezra
“A kind of Super-Sabbath, a total cessation of the everyday for the sake of concentrating on atonement.” Everett Fox
“Our sages asked why Yom Kippur is called ‘a Sabbath of Sabbaths.’ Indeed, they pointed out that the Bible declares that the regularly celebrated Sabbath is called ‘a
Sabbath of Sabbaths unto the Lord’ (Exodus 35:2). Yet the pious Rabbi Zevi ha- Kohen replied: ‘Indeed, of the Sabbath it is written, ‘a Sabbath of Sabbaths unto the
Lord,’ but of Yom Kippur it is written, ‘a Sabbath of Sabbaths unto you.’ On Yom
Kippur we draw the sanctity of the superior realm down nearer to us. This Sabbath of Sabbaths, called by the Greeks ‘a seven of sevens,’ ‘a holier than the holy,’
carries its exalted title with reason and dignity.” Unattributed; quoted in Rabbi Dov
Peretz Elkins, Yom Kippur Readings
“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh it is Shabbat Shabbaton (a Sabbath of complete rest [Leviticus 23:3])’…The six days on which certain ‘work may be
done’ in fact refers here not to the six days of the week but to the six Scriptural days of Yom Tov: Rosh HaShanah (one day), the first day of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret,
the first and seventh days of Pesach, and Shavuot (one day) – for on these six days certain kinds of work (e.g, cooking) may in fact be done. The seventh day, by
contrast – Shabbat Shabbaton – refers to Yom Kippur, on which no manner of work may be done. Thus the passage as a whole speaks solely of the festivals.” Maharsha
“Described by the Torah as Shabbat Shabbaton (the Sabbath of Sabbaths), Yom
Kippur is anything but restful; rather, just as it is the holiness of Shabbat that sets it apart, it is the holiness of Yom Kippur that elevates it beyond other days.” Rabbi
Cheryl Peretz
Questions for Discussion
Is “Sabbath of complete rest” a reasonable translation of Shabbat Shabbaton
— that is, a reasonable designation for Yom Kippur? Rabbi Peretz reminds us that Yom Kippur is not exactly restful! Is Fox’s term – “Super-Sabbath”
— a more useful or appealing turn of phrase?
The redoubled form of “Shabbat Shabbaton” suggests a superlative; of what ideas or values is Yom Kippur the ultimate expression?
Why does Yom Kippur, a day when we are commanded to “afflict” ourselves, seem to retain the interest and commitment even of Jews on the periphery of religious life to a greater extent than the weekly Sabbath (on
which we are commanded to “delight”)? How do we explain this disparity?
What other religious observances and perhaps holy days suffer from inexplicable or irrational neglect? What can Jewish communities and congregations do about that?
What is the functional difference between a Sabbath of Sabbaths “for you” and “for the Lord”? Is it surprising that these terms refer to Yom Kippur and Shabbat, respectively, and not the other way around? How is our Sabbath delight for the Lord? How is our affliction and self-denial for us? What are the limitations of the Maharsha’s clever interpretation of Shabbat Shabbaton: that Yom Kippur is to the other holy days as Shabbat is to ordinary weekdays?
Theme #2: “Depth of Depravity, Abyss of Obliquity”
“You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do
as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices.” Leviticus 18:3 –New International Version Translation
Derash: Study
“’Like the deed of the land of Egypt’ – that is, the deed that you – Israel – did in
Egypt… You sought to dwell there permanently, because you desired their abominable idols… Do not do this again. Do not attempt to dwell permanently amongst a rebellious nation, whose ways are no good, lest you learn from their ways, as happened in Egypt. ‘And like the deed of the land of Canaan’ – The Torah here accuses Israel of despising the Holy Land, which the patriarchs loved.” Kli Yakar
“Woe to those who say of Berlin, it is Jerusalem!” Rabbi Meir Simchah Ha-Kohen of Dvinsk, the Or Same’ach, 1905
“That is to say, the behavior of the Egyptians and the Canaanites were the most corrupt of any nation.” Rashi
“Lead us not into imitation.” (Prayer of the East Asian Youth Consultation Council
“By emphasizing the two worst nations, the Torah implies that sin is a gradual process. The first error sets in motion a course of sinful behavior which can
ultimately lead to a complete spiritual and moral degeneration, as was manifest in
Egyptian and Canaanite culture. The Jew must always be on guard, for today’s error can develop into tomorrow’s sin.” Rabbi A. L. Scheinbaum
“The laws in the two framing chapters 18 and 20 focus on idolatry and sexual offences … keeping all chapter 19’s laws about righteous dealings in the middle,
conspicuously in the place of honour. Leviticus’ scheme very deliberately puts the laws of righteous and honest dealings at the centre and the sexual sins at the
periphery. Less a pedimental composition, these two chapters are more like two massively carved pillars on either side of a shrine, or like a proscenium arch.” Mary
Douglas, Leviticus as Literature
Questions for Discussion
Egypt and Canaan here serve as the paradigm of sin and moral turpitude.
Kli Yakar – Rabbi Efrayim Shlomo of Luntschitz (1550-1619) – relates our verse to the actions of Jews who are comfortable in diaspora communities, view their host countries as permanent homes, and relate to the Land of Israel with apathy or disdain. How do his comments, echoed by the tragically prescient comment of the Or Same’ach, relate to the contemporary Jewish experience? Even if it is a fair critique of some Jews’ view of Zionism and politics, is it reasonable to attach such an interpretation to this particular verse and its implicit moral indictment?
How does Mary Douglas’ understanding of our verse as an introduction primarily to Leviticus 19 change our reading of this parashah? How does it reframe the reading of Leviticus 18 on Yom Kippur afternoon, and, therefore, Yom Kippur itself?
How might we incorporate the view of Egypt as emblematic of moral debasement into our understanding of the exodus and our celebration of the Pesach seder?
If Egypt and Canaan represent profoundly degenerate cultures, isn’t a commandment to avoid their examples, setting the bar of moral achievement abysmally low for Israel? Is Rabbi Scheinbaum’s explanation that the Torah here is warning against a slippery slope convincing? Or are Egypt and Canaan simply examples of the Jewish people’s historic host nations, and our verse a generic warning against assimilation?
Is it possible to distinguish between productive and desirable participation in the broader societies in which we live, and destructive assimilation of corrupt, foreign moral systems that must be rejected?
Historic Note
Parashat Acharei Mot, read on April 16, 2011, includes the dire prohibition
“Do not allow any of your offspring to be offered up to Molech.” (Molech was a Canaanite deity.) Jeremiah 32:35 seems to say that such human sacrifices involved fire offerings. On April 16, 1947, the SS Grandcamp
exploded in the port of Texas City, Texas, detonating 2300 tons of
ammonium nitrate and destroying two airplanes flying over the harbor. A 3- day-long chain reaction of fires killed at least 581 people (but possibly hundreds more undocumented seamen and unregistered immigrants), injured 3500, and destroyed 1500 homes.
Halachah L’Maaseh
The obligation to fast on Yom Kippur begins upon attaining the age of majority. Beginning at age 9, children should be introduced to the practice
of fasting, perhaps increasing the duration of the fast in yearly increments, so they will be prepared to fast when they come of age. Younger children
should not fast, even if they want to. Shulchan Aruch Orach Chayim 616:2