Parashat Acharei Mot 5782

by Rabbi Margie Cella

After the death of his two sons, Aaron is warned that he may go into the holy of holies only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, when he is to wash and don his priestly garments, then offer a bull to atone for himself and his family. Two goats are to be brought; one is to be sacrificed as atonement for the people. Aaron is commanded to enter the tent alone and sprinkle blood from the sacrifice on the altar; he is to lay his hands the head of the live goat, confessing the people’s sins, and send it out into the wilderness. God commands that this is to take place on the tenth day of the seventh month, when we are to afflict our souls and do no work.

Moses instructs that all sacrifices are to be brought to the Tent of Meeting to be offered by the priests. Eating blood, as well as animals that die on their own, is prohibited.

The parashah concludes with a list of forbidden sexual unions.

The haftarah was written sometime before 586 BCE. Ezekiel warns the nation that it will be punished and sent into exile for the many sins that have been committed by the people and their leaders; twenty-four sins are listed, including bringing improper sacrifices; mistreatment of the most vulnerable members of society; mistreatment of parents; profaning Shabbat; charging excessive interest; committing fraudulent behavior; engaging in the forbidden sexual relations delineated in the parashah. Moses warned us not to consume blood; Ezekiel condemns us for shedding it.

Moses warned that if the nation was sinful, the land would spit them out for defiling it; in Ezekiel’s time, that is precisely what happened. In exile, they will be refined like dross that is turned into silver before being restored to the land.

Ezekiel makes us accountable: failure to observe the covenant with God has consequences.

We, too, must allow God to refine our souls, not just on Yom Kippur, but every day of the year.