CHOCHMAS NASHIM: ACHAREI MOT:
EXTREME DEDICATION
Suri Stern
This is a very interesting Torah portion, and name of Torah portion. The parshah has two topics, discussion of the work of the high priest on Yom Kippur and forbidden sexual relations which are abhorrent to G-d, for which G-d threatens to drive the Jews from their land. And on top of this juxtaposition, the opening words of the parshah for which the parshah is named, which appears to date the timing of the giving of these laws, but seem superfluous.
Perhaps the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, or certainly, one of the most holy days of the Jewish calendar is Yom Kippur, the day that Jews are forgiven their sins for the year. It is the only day of the year that anyone is permitted in the holy of holies in the Jerusalem temple. This parshah coincides with the learning of those who study Daf Yomi, in that we are learning Masechet/Book of Yoma, which is dedicated to the law of the high priest in the Temple on Yom Kippur. It happens to be one of my most favorite Books of Talmud, in that it is fascinating learning about the Temple service in detail.
I submit that the reason Yom Kippur is important is because it changes G-d’s original plan when He created the world, and the Torah tells us that G-d’s creation of the world was to be with the hand of judgment, a person who sins will be punished including death. Yom Kippur is when G-d, in His infinite mercy, breaks with the rule to permit us to atone for our sins in hopes of avoiding or reducing punishment.
Why is this holy of holy scripture then juxtaposed with the laws of forbidden relations, which is defilement and impurity and abomination to G-d? I believe we can answer this question by looking at Chapter 3 of Ethics of Our Fathers, which as a whole, discusses balancing our physical/material bodies with our holy souls, e.g., “If there is no flour, there is no torah, and if there is no torah, there is no flour,” meaning we need balance in our lives. If we don’t toil for our food to sustain our bodies, then we will be too weak to learn Torah and perform the commandments, on the other hand, if we only work in the material world outside of the rules of Torah, our sustenance will dry up as a punishment for not learning Torah and abiding by a Torah way of life.
So the parshah discusses two extremes, the high priest on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, and those who act in an abominable way, the extremes of life, forcing us to acknowledge their existence in the world and challenging us to reconcile them and find the shveil hazahav/the golden path which navigates the extremes to find a balance in our lives.
We now understand why the parshah starts off with After the death of the holy sons of Aaron, who were priests and sons of the high priest. Their intention, in their own physical mind, was to sanctify G-d’s name, but they did not follow the Torah laws, they acted on their own initiative, violating the Torah laws and for their sin in bringing an unauthorized sacrifice they were punished by death. This then, is an example where there were physical acts outside the parameters of Torah law which is a warning to us in Ethics of Our Fathers and in the juxtaposition of the Holy of Holies with acts which are abominable to G-d.
Ethics of Our Father 3:11: “…anyone whose wisdom takes priority over his fear of sin, his wisdom will not endure.”
Often balancing the physical with the spiritual is not easy, but it should be a primary aspiration.
Shabbat shalom.
-Suri