Rabbi David N. Goodman
Parshat Aharei Mot
I hope you had a happy and fulfilling Passover. Those preparing their homes for Pesach know there is cleaning and there is cleaning.
On an ordinary day, we wash dishes, sponge off surfaces, maybe sweep up. But the approach of Passover has many people down on hands and knees, scrubbing floors, scouring shelves and counters, searching for any trace of unleavened food.
What’s all this got to do with this week’s Torah portion? Quite a bit, actually. Aharei Mot (“After the Death” of Aaron’s two sons in a sacrificial accident) presents the sacrificial rites for Yom Kippur. The Day of Atonement, in this account, is a time for intense, collective moral housecleaning.
Aaron, the chief priest, first sacrifices a bull to atone for his own and his family’s sins. “He shall then slaughter the goat that is the people’s sin offering … and so he cleanses the holy place (Tabernacle) from the impurities and misdeeds of the Israelites” (Leviticus 16:15-16).
The Israelites themselves are to practice self-denial that day.
This aims to cleanse the accumulated “moral pollution” of the past year. The Torah asserts the need for periodic personal and communal reflection, repentance and renewal.
Today, bulls and goats have nothing to fear on Yom Kippur. But fasting, sexual abstinence and long hours of gathering in holy places remain part of contemporary Jewish religious life. As when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, today Yom Kippur offers a path back to a better life to Jews who sincerely repent.
But wait. Or rather, why wait? With Yom Kippur five months away, why not avail ourselves of opportunities to do a “light cleaning” on a regular basis? Why not find tools to do a moral check-in, to make amends and to get back on track?
The message from the Torah and tradition is simple: Don’t wait. In Leviticus 5:5, we read that as soon as a person realizes they have sinned — whether against God or a fellow human being — they “shall confess the way that they have sinned” and make amends through the appropriate sacrifice. For an act that caused a loss to another person, the guilty party shall fully compensate the victim, plus a 20% penalty.
In other words, in the biblical world, there was no reason to wait for Yom Kippur.
Today, our daily prayer books also urge us to act now, not later. The fifth and sixth blessings of the weekday Amidah — recited three times daily — ask God to help us return to the right path, and to forgive our wrongdoing. Twice daily, the Tahanun prompts us to seek forgiveness and mercy. God, it says, please “don’t recall our past sins.” Instead, please “forgive our sins for your name’s sake.”
So, if you spoke harshly to someone in a moment of anger, if you failed to repay a loan or return a borrowed item, if you took a loved one for granted, don’t wait. Make it right, right now. And seek help from a higher power to do better in the future.
Now the flip side of making amends is receiving them. Just as we fail to acknowledge our mistakes, those who harm us don’t always rush to say, “I’m sorry.” That’s where our prayer book offers this guidance: Let it go.
“Look, I forgive anyone who has angered me, annoyed me or sinned against me.” This statement precedes the bedside recitation of the Shema. And while not making everything right, saying these words can help ease some of the hurt that inevitably comes from living in a human community.
Rabbi David N. Goodman is the rabbi at Nafshenu, a Reconstructionist community in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He travels next month to the Holy Land to take part in a delegation engaging in Jewish-Palestinian reconciliation work. The Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia is proud to provide diverse perspectives on Torah commentary for the Jewish Exponent. The opinions expressed in this column are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the view of the Board of Rabbis.
