Sermons and Divrei Torah
Leviticus 16 - Acharei Mot
by Gilbert Palter
(Dvar Torah - Yom Kippur 5762)
In today's parasha, Acharei Mot, God directly commands the observance
of an annual Day of Atonement. At the beginning of today's portion,
God tells Moses that Aaron, or any successor High Priest, may
not enter the Aron Hakodesh, the Holy of Holies, the inner sanctum
of the Tabernacle, any time he wants, but only as part of a very
specific ritual representing the ancient observance of Yom Kippur.
Among other things, the biblical observance of Yom Kippur involved
special linen garments for the High Priest, a bull and two identical
goats for sacrificial offerings via special sacrificial procedures,
and multiple ritual cleansing baths.
The ancient ritual first required the High Priest to sacrifice
a bull to atone for his own and his family's sins and transgressions.
Then, once cleansed and purified, the High Priest would draw lots
to determine which of two identical goats would be sacrificed
on the Altar of the Tabernacle for God, and which would remain
alive for the High Priest to: "lay both his hands upon [its head],
and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the
Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the
goat, and sending it away with a designated man into the wilderness
for Azazel." With the sacrifice of these two goats, the High Priest
atoned for all of the individual and collective sins of the Israelites.
It is important to note that the Azazel goat was not a "scapegoat"
in the modern meaning of the word: the person or object that people
blame for their misfortunes, faults or sins. The Azazel goat was
a scapegoat in the original sense of the word: a person, animal
or object to which the impurity or guilt of a community was transferred,
and then removed.
ANCIENT ROLE OF THE HIGH PRIEST
The Azazel goat was required for the early biblical observance
of Yom Kippur, because the young nation of Israel needed some
tangible evidence that their guilt and sin had been removed. Why
did they need this? Because our ancestors played only a minor
role in the original observance of the Day of Atonement.
It was the High Priest who did all the heavy lifting on Yom Kippur.
Today's portion is clear about this in verses 32 and 33: "The
priest who has been anointed and ordained to serve as priest in
place of his father shall make expiation. … He shall purge the
innermost Shrine; he shall purge the Tent of Meeting and the altar;
and he shall make expiation for the priests and for all the people
of the congregation." Our ancestors needed to see with their own
eyes the Azazel goat being led away with their sins on its head,
to know that the High Priest had properly performed his function,
and that they had been purified from their sins of the prior year
in the eyes of God.
Atonement, expiation and cleansing were originally passive acts
for our biblical ancestors; it was done for them by the High Priest.
In verse 29 of today's portion, God requires much less of our
ancestors than is required of us in our modern observance of Yom
Kippur: "And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh
month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial;
and you shall do no manner of work…. For on this day atonement
shall be made for you to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall
be clean before the Lord."
On a personal note, I can tell you that as a Kohen, I feel relieved
I don't have to bear the burden of atoning for all your sins.
I am, however, somewhat curious about how the High Priest comes
to know about everyone's sins so he can expiate them, but that's
a topic for another day.
MODERN KINGDOM OF PRIESTS
I can see many of you thinking: hmm, there are some real merits
to that ancient ritual - it sure sounds far less taxing than our
modern service, where we are all responsible for atoning not just
for our personal sins and transgressions, but also for the sins
of the community and our society as well. In fact, if you carefully
examine our modern service, and compare it to today's portion,
it is clear that today each and every one of us plays part of
the role of the High Priest in the observance of this Day of Atonement.
This modern transformation of our role represents a significant
biblical achievement. It is exactly what God hoped for when establishing
the covenant with us. As God says to our ancestors at Sinai in
Exodus 19:6 "Indeed, all the earth is Mine, but you shall be to
me a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation." Today we all play
part of the role of the High Priest: we pray today in the plural,
remembering, admitting, and atoning, not just for our own sins,
but for each other's indiscretions, and our collective iniquity.
There are many benefits to sharing this responsibility, and praying
together. For example, in the Al Chet, we pray in the plural for
God to forgive us our alphabet of sins and transgressions. It
is difficult to be honest enough with ourselves to admit the full
list of sins we committed over the prior year. And our atonement
would be incomplete if we neglected to admit the full litany of
our shortcomings, by saying to ourselves: "Nah I'm going to
skip that one. I didn't commit the sin of xenophobia this year."
The chances are we probably did. And even if we didn't, by praying
aloud, together, in the plural, we are helping each other in at
least three ways: 1) because it is easier to admit a transgression
when everyone else is doing it also; 2) because each of us is
asking God for forgiveness not just for ourselves, but for the
entire congregation; and 3) because we are each taking some responsibility
for the sins of the community.
While I will likely never experience the ancient biblical ritual
of Yom Kippur, I like our modern adaptation better. I find a certain
satisfaction and comfort in my role as a 'mini-High Priest': being
an active participant in my own atonement, personally responsible
for ensuring I admit to and repent for my own sins, as well as
contributing to the purification of others.
COMMUNITY
At the very end of the book of Exodus, right after Moses finishes
the monumental task of building the Tabernacle, in Exodus 40:35
it states: "Moses was not able to enter the Tent of Meeting because
the cloud rested on it and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle."
At the outset of the Israelite's existence as a nation in the
Book of Exodus, God does not provide room for anyone, even Moses,
to be a partner in the biblical mission.
Then, the next sentence, the very first sentence of Leviticus
states that: "… the Lord called to Moses and spoke to him out
of the Tent of Meeting." In most other places the Torah says that
God "speaks" to Moses, but in verse 1 of Leviticus it specifically
says that God "calls" to him. In Hebrew, the book of Leviticus,
from which today's portion comes, is called Vayikra, "to call,"
because God has now called to make room for Moses to join him
in the task of creating an ethical nation, that will serve as
a model for all nations to emulate. Moses is now able to enter
the Aron HaKodesh, the Holy of Holies, and work close to God.
But the invitation is originally extended solely to Moses, until
in today's parasha, room is also made for the High Priest, continuing
the trend of increasing inclusion in the working partnership with
God. And what has clearly happened over time, as evidenced by
our mini-roles as High Priest today, is that room has now been
made for all of us to play an active leadership role in that partnership,
and help in the mission of building an exemplary society.
This notion of communal involvement is fundamental to Judaism.
At Sinai, revelation was provided to all the Children of Israel
together, not just to one select individual. And while the Torah
does prescribe an ethical code guiding my interactions with you,
and a set of rituals guiding my relationship with God, its deeper
and more important message is as the instruction manual for how
to create an ethical society. In Moses' recapitulation of God's
commandments in Deut 4:6, he reminds the Israelites that God wants
us to: "Observe [God's laws and rules] faithfully, for that will
be proof of your wisdom and discernment to other peoples, who
on hearing of all these laws will say, 'Surely, that great nation
is a wise and discerning people'."
In other words, the Torah instructs us to observe God's ethical
and ritual commandments, in order to create a society that other
nations of the world will choose to emulate. The real target audience
of the Torah is nations or societies, not individuals. That point
is reflected in the fact that we Jews have always sought communal
atonement, not just individual atonement, on this Holiest of Holy
Days, from the beginning of Judaism to today.
CONCLUSION
On this Day of Atonement 5762, just as any other year, we must
admit to, apologize for, and most importantly repent and commit
to not repeating, our individual sins and transgressions. Atoning
for our own sins and transgressions is the first order of business,
just as it was for the High Priest with his sacrifice of the bull.
The escalation of terrorist violence against Israel, and the enormity
of the destruction and senseless loss of life caused by terrorists
right here in North America two short weeks ago, have highlighted
for me an important theme in today's parasha: the theme of communal
atonement and communal responsibility for building an ethical
society.
Tracking down and bringing to justice people who would commit
violent terrorist acts is absolutely necessary. They are modern
day Amalakites, who attacked the Israelites from the rear, where
the children and aged were, and whose elimination God commanded.
A very human response, particularly by anyone directly affected
by the terrorist attacks, would be to find them and kill them
using any means possible, even at the expense of other people's
lives, and of our own moral code. However, finding and dealing
with these terrorists and potential terrorists, using means that
don't temporarily suspend or permanently undermine the principals
and ethics we hold dear, is a very daunting challenge.
I have mentioned communal sin and communal ethics several times
in this D'var Torah, but never defined the terms. That omission
is deliberate: I do not want to limit or constrain what you think
it means. But the essence of what I mean by communal sin occurs
when we each individually exhibit a common behaviour, or commit
a common act, or tolerate a common situation, that could be perceived
as all of us acting in concert. Let me give you some examples:
• Our collective abuse of air, water and land represents communal
disrespect for the environment.
• As a community, we are not as tolerant, accepting, or supportive
of people with different racial, ethnic, religious, national,
and sometimes even socio-economic backgrounds as we should be.
• As a society, we are insensitive to, and often trample on, the
rights of others, and certainly don't provide enough support or
protection to less fortunate or afflicted people here in Toronto
or elsewhere around the world. As Jews, whom God brought out of
slavery in Egypt, we have a special responsibility to help the
persecuted.
In summary, there are two important lessons in today's parasha,
Acharei Mot, with special relevance this year:
• First, it is important to atone for and commit with resolve
to not repeating the sins we commit through our collective actions,
as well as our individual deeds.
• And second, we can actually become a modern Kingdom of Priests,
fulfilling the biblical prophesy, with the opportunity to play
a role in shaping a society that stands as an example for all
to copy.
Let us each bend our mind and lend our voice to figuring out how
we are going to survive in this new world, preserving our freedom,
liberty, and equality, while simultaneously enjoying peace, prosperity
and security.
May we together atone for and be forgiven our sins today, lead
the way to a better world tomorrow, and may we all be inscribed
in the Book of Life for this year. - B'Shalom.
Sermons and Divrei Torah
Additional Resources
Elul: Period of Preparation
Yamim Noraim: Days of Awe
Rosh Hashanah: Introduction
Shofar Symbolism
The Custom of Tashlich
Yom Kippur: Introduction
G'mar Chatima Tova...
