Some years ago I was visited by the then American ambassador to the Court of St James, Philip Lader. He told me of a fascinating project he and his wife had initiated in 1981. They had come to realise that many of their contemporaries would find themselves in positions of influence and power in the not-too-distant future. He thought it…
The strangest and most dramatic element of the service on Yom Kippur, set out in Acharei Mot (Lev. 16:7-22), was the ritual of the two goats, one offered as a sacrifice, the other sent away into the desert “to Azazel.” They were to all intents and purposes indistinguishable from one another: they were chosen to be as similar as possible…
…land because they are a nation charged with bringing the Divine Presence down to earth in the shared spaces of our collective life, not least – as the last chapter of Acharei Mot makes clear – by the way we conduct our most intimate relationships, a society in which marriage is sacrosanct and sexual fidelity the norm. This message, that…
The opening chapter of Kedoshim contains two of the most powerful of all commands: to love your neighbour and to love the stranger. “Love your neighbour as yourself: I am the Lord” goes the first. “When a stranger comes to live in your land, do not mistreat him,” goes the second, and continues, “Treat the stranger the way you treat…
…deaths of Nadav and Avihu, God warns against unauthorised entry into the Holy of Holies. Only the Kohen Gadol may enter once a year, on Yom Kippur, to bring ketoret before Hashem. Another Yom Kippur ritual involves two se’irim (goats): one offered to God and one sent to carry away the sins of Bnai Yisrael in the desert. Acharei-Mot also…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Acharei Mot describes the service of the High Priest on Yom Kippur. It was a dramatic and powerful ceremony during which he cast lots on two identical goats, one of which was offered as a sacrifice and the other was sent into the wilderness. This is where the idea of a “scapegoat” comes from. Then…
…inspiring to witness, and it continues to inspire me today. Torah Trivia Question: A child says to the teacher: “I studied Acharei Mot – Kedoshim and learned two laws. First, the law that one must glorify the beard on their face, and second, that we may not cut in line in front of an elderly person. The teacher responds: “Go…
…referenced in the Torah? Parsha in Passing Acharei Mot describes the service of the Kohen Gadol (the High Priest) on Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement. Back when we had a Bet HaMikdash, or a Mishkan, the entry of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies marked the spiritual highpoint of the Jewish year. In a dramatic and…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Parshat Acharei Mot describes the service of the High Priest on the Day of Atonement. It was a dramatic and highly charged ritual during which he cast lots on two identical goats, one of which was offered as a sacrifice while the other was sent into the wilderness to die, the so-called “scapegoat.” The entry…
…past Covenant & Conversation essays on Acharei Mot, we have looked at the scapegoat as it figures in Jewish tradition and, in a very different way, in other cultures. But there are other dimensions of the rite that cry out for explanation. We argued that there were two goats because Yom Kippur represents a dual process of kappara, atonement, and…