This week's Torah portion is Acharei Mot. The parshah puts much focus on Aaron, the brother of Moses and the first Kohen Gadol, or High Priest. We begin with G-d explaining to Aaron, through Moses, why two of his sons died for transgressing in their service as priests in the Tabernacle. This part of the Torah has always bothered me. Here were two servants of G-d who were killed for a transgression with no warning or second chance. Their father is even told not to mourn them. But because of the manner in which they died, some commentators describe their death as being by “divine kiss,” causing them to die painlessly and be whisked to heaven. The Torah describes that "they drew near before the LORD, and died."
This interpretation supports our belief that G-d loves us all, even the we are all imperfect. It makes sense, then, that the parshah then speaks at great length about atonement. The parshah continues by instructing Aaron, and the kohanim who would follow him, in the performance of the Yom Kippur atonement service. It is understood that even the most holy among us, even the high priest, is not without sin. For this reason, the Kohen Gadol must make atonement several times during the course of the service. In the days of the Temple, as instructed by the Torah, these atone-ments were made by sacrifices. The first sacrifice was made by the Kohen Gadol to atone on behalf of himself and his household. The second sacrifice was on behalf of all Kohanim, the entire house of Aaron. Finally, only when he and the rest of the priesthood was cleansed and had fully atoned, could the Kohen Gadol actually offer a sacrifice and attain atonement for Klal Yisrael-- all the children of Israel.
This makes sense to me. None of us are perfect. As a Kohen, I am personally intrigued by the sacrifices. This is how my ancestors served and worshipped G-d, and I must admit that it seems kind of cool to have been entrusted with this task. However, we no longer sacrifice. We now worship with prayer
nd reflection.
Shabbat is a good time for reflection. During our day of rest, we can take stock of the past week and our lives as a whole. Where have we transgressed? What can we do better? It is too often that we look externally and blame others for our problems. But like the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, we must first look to ourselves. Whether we are atoning for a past misdeed or trying to make a better future, we must first look to ourselves and our families and take responsibility for our own lives. We certainly must do this before we think about criticizing others. In this way we can all be better humans and better Jews, and make the world a better place."
Shabbat shalom,
Brad Levien
Affiliated with United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism