Acharei
Encyclopedia
Acharei, Achrei Mos, Aharei Mot, or Ahare Moth (אַחֲרֵי or אַחֲרֵי מוֹת — Hebrew
for “after” or “after the death,” the fifth word or fifth and sixth words, and the first distinctive word or words, in the parshah) is the 29th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
cycle of Torah reading
and the sixth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
generally read it in April or early May.
The lunisolar
Hebrew calendar
contains up to 55 week
s, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2011, 2014, and 2016), parshah Acharei is read separately on the 29th Sabbath
after Simchat Torah
. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Acharei is combined with the next parshah, Kedoshim, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
Traditional Jews also read parts of the parshah as Torah readings for Yom Kippur
. which addresses the Yom Kippur ritual, is the traditional Torah reading for the Yom Kippur morning (Shacharit
) service, and is the traditional Torah reading for the Yom Kippur afternoon (Minchah
) service. Some Conservative
congregations substitute readings from for the traditional in the Yom Kippur afternoon Minchah service. (See Mahzor Lev Shalem for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Senior editor Edward Feld, 365–66. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2010. ISBN 978-0-916219-46-8. Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Edited by Jules Harlow
, 628–31. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 1972. ISBN 0-87441-148-3.) And in the standard Reform
High Holidays prayerbook (machzor
), Deuteronomy and are the Torah readings for the morning Yom Kippur service, in lieu of the traditional . (Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe. Edited by Chaim Stern, 342–45. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, Revised ed. 1996. ISBN 0-88123-069-3.)
The parshah sets forth the law of the Yom Kippur ritual, centralized offerings, blood, and sexual practices.
. After the death of Aaron
’s sons, God
told Moses
to tell Aaron not to come at will into the Most Holy Place (the Kodesh Hakodashim), lest he die, for God appeared in the cloud
there. Aaron was to enter only after bathing in water
, dressing in his sacral linen
tunic, breeches, sash, and turban
, and bringing a bull
for a sin offering
, two rams for burnt offerings, and two he-goat
s for sin offerings. Aaron was to take the two goats to the entrance of the Tabernacle
and place lots upon them, one marked for the Lord and the other for Azazel
. Aaron was to offer the goat designated for the Lord as a sin offering, and to send off to the wilderness
the goat designated for Azazel. Aaron was then to offer the bull of sin offering. Aaron was then to take a pan of glowing coal
s from the altar
and two handfuls of incense
and put the incense on the fire before the Most Holy Place, so that the cloud from the incense would screen the Ark of the Covenant
. He was to sprinkle some of the bull’s blood and then some of the goat’s blood over and in front of the Ark, to purge the Shrine of the uncleanness and transgression of the Israelite
s. He was then to apply some of the bull’s blood and goat’s blood to the altar, to cleanse and consecrate it.
Aaron was then to lay his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it the Israelites’ sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and then through a designated man send it off to the wilderness to carry their sins to an inaccessible region. Then Aaron was to go into the Tabernacle, take off his linen vestments, bathe in water, put on his vestments, and then offer the burnt offerings. The one who set the Azazel-goat free was to wash his clothes and bathe in water. The bull and goat of sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned, and he who burned them was to wash his clothes and bathe in water.
The text then commands this law for all time: On the tenth day of the seventh month, Jews and aliens who reside with them were to practice self-denial and do no work. On that day, the High Priest
was to put on the linen vestments, purge the Tabernacle, and make atonement for the Israelites once a year.
. God prohibited Israelites from slaughtering oxen, sheep, or goats meant for sacrifice without bringing them to the Tabernacle as an offering, on pain of exile. God prohibited consuming blood. One who hunted an animal for food was to pour out its blood and cover it with earth. Anyone who ate what had died or had been torn by beasts was to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening.
, mother
, father’s wife
, sister
, grandchild, half-sister, aunt, daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law. A man could not marry a woman and her daughter, a woman and her granddaughter, or a woman and her sister during the other’s lifetime. A man could not cohabit with a woman during her period or with his neighbor’s wife. Israelites were not to allow their children to be offered up to Molech
. A man could not lie with a man as with a woman. God prohibited bestiality. God explained that the Canaanites defiled themselves by adopting these practices, and any who did any of these things would be cut off from their people.
, Yom Kippur is called:
Much as Yom Kippur, on the 10th of the month of Tishrei
, precedes the Festival of Sukkot, on the 15th of the month of Tishrei, Exodus speaks of a period starting on the 10th of the month of Nisan
preparatory to the Festival of Passover, on the 15th of the month of Nisan.
and and present similar injunctions to observe Yom Kippur. and and set the Holy Day on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei). and and instruct that “you shall afflict your souls.” makes clear that a full day is intended: “you shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening.” And threatens that whoever “shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.” and and command that you “shall do no manner of work.” Similarly, and call it a “Sabbath of solemn rest.” And in God threatens that whoever “does any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people.” and and describe the purpose of the day to make atonement for the people. Similarly, speaks of the purpose “to cleanse you from all your sins,” and speaks of making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, the altar; and the priests. instructs that the commandment applies both to “the home-born” and to “the stranger who sojourns among you.” and and command offerings to God. And and institute the observance as “a statute forever.”
sets out detailed procedures for the priest’s atonement ritual during the time of the Temple
.
instructs that after seven Sabbatical years, on the Jubilee year
, on the day of atonement, the Israelites were to proclaim liberty throughout the land with the blast of the horn and return every man to his possession and to his family.
In the Haftarah
for Yom Kippur morning, God describes “the fast that I have chosen [on] the day for a man to afflict his soul.” make clear that “to afflict the soul” was understood as fasting. But goes on to impress that “to afflict the soul,” God also seeks acts of social justice: “to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke,” “to let the oppressed go free,” “to give your bread to the hungry, and . . . bring the poor that are cast out to your house,” and “when you see the naked, that you cover him.”
which says, “And they buried the bones of Saul
and Jonathan his son,” and then says, “After that God was entreated for the land.” (Leviticus Rabbah
20:12.)
Reading the words of “the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord, and died,” Rabbi Jose
deduced that Aaron’s sons died because they drew near to enter the Holy of Holies. (Numbers Rabbah
2:23.) (For other reasons for their death, see Leviticus Rabbah 20:8 (for offering a sacrifice that they had not been commanded to offer, for the strange fire that they brought, or for not having taken counsel from each other); Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 63a; Sifra
Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:6 (because they gave a legal decision in the presence of their Master Moses); Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:4 (because they had remarked to each other how Moses and Aaron would die and they would head the congregation).)
The Rabbis told in a Baraita
an account in relation to Once a Sadducee
High Priest arranged the incense outside and then brought it inside the Holy of Holies. As he left the Holy, he was very glad. His father met him and told him that although they were Sadducees, they were afraid of the Pharisees
. He replied that all his life he was aggrieved because of the words of “For I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.” (The Sadducees interpreted as if it said: “Let him not come into the holy place except with the cloud of incense, for only thus, with the cloud, am I to be seen on the ark-cover.”) The Sadducee wondered when the opportunity would come for him to fulfill the verse. He asked how, when such an opportunity came to his hand, he could not have fulfilled it. The Baraita reported that only a few days later he died and was thrown on the dung heap and worms came forth from his nose. Some say he was smitten as he came out of the Holy of Holies. For Rabbi Hiyya taught that a noise was heard in the Temple Court, for an angel struck him down on his face. The priests found a mark like a calf's hoof on his shoulder, evincing, as Ezekiel
reports of angels, “And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot.” (Babylonian Talmud
Yoma 19b.)
Tractate Yoma
in the Mishnah
, Tosefta
, Jerusalem Talmud
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Yom Kippur in and and (Mishnah Yoma 1:1–8:9; Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 1:1–4:17; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1a–57a; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2a–88a.)
Tractate Beitzah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws common to all of the Festivals
in 43–49; and (Mishnah Beitzah 1:1–5:7; Tosefta Yom Tov (Beitzah) 1:1–4:11; Jerusalem Talmud Beitzah 1a–49b; Babylonian Talmud Beitzah 2a–40b.)
The Mishnah taught that during the days of the Temple, seven days before Yom Kippur, they would move the High Priest from his house to the cell of the counselors and prepare another priest to take his place in case anything impure happened to him to make him unfit to perform the service. Rabbi Judah said that they prepared another wife for him, in case his wife should die, as says that “he shall make atonement for himself and for his house” and “his house” means “his wife.” But they told Rabbi Judah that if they would do so, then there would be no end to the matter, as they would have to prepare a third wife in case the second died, and so on. (Mishnah Yoma 1:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2a.) The rest of the year, the High Priest would offer sacrifices only if he wanted to, but during the seven days before Yom Kippur, he would sprinkle the blood of the sacrifices, burn the incense, trim the lamps, and offer the head and the hind leg of the sacrifices. (Mishnah Yoma 1:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 14a.) They brought sages from the court to the High Priest, and throughout the seven days they read to him about the order of the service. They asked the High Priest to read it aloud, in case he had forgotten or never learned. (Mishnah Yoma 1:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18a.)
On the morning of the day before Yom Kippur, they placed the High Priest at the Eastern Gate and brought before him oxen, rams, and sheep, so that he could become familiar with the service. (Mishnah Yoma 1:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18a.) The rest of the seven days, they did not withhold food or drink from him, but near nightfall on the eve of Yom Kippur, they would not let him eat much, as food might make him sleep. (Mishnah Yoma 1:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18a.) The sages of the court took him up to the house of Avtinas and handed him over to the elders of the priesthood. As the sages of the court took their leave, they cautioned him that he was the messenger of the court, and adjured him in God’s Name that he not change anything in the service from what they had told him. He and they turned aside and wept that they should have to suspect him of doing so. (Mishnah Yoma 1:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18b.)
On the night before Yom Kippur, if the High Priest was a sage, he would expound the relevant Scriptures, and if he was not a sage, the disciples of the sages would expound before him. If he was used to reading the Scriptures, he would read, and if he was not, they would read before him. They would read from Job
, Ezra
, and Chronicles
, and Zechariah ben Kubetal said from Daniel
. (Mishnah Yoma 1:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18b.) If he tried to sleep, young priests would snap their middle finger before him and say, “Mr. High Priest, arise and drive the sleep away!” They would keep him busy until near the time for the morning offering. (Mishnah Yoma 1:7; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 19b.)
On any other day, a priest would remove the ashes from the altar at about the time of the cock’s crow (in accordance with ). But for Yom Kippur, the ashes were removed beginning at midnight of the night before. Before the cock’s crow approached, Israelites filled the Temple Court. (Mishnah Yoma 1:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 20a.) The officer told the priests to see whether the time for the morning sacrifice had arrived. If it had, then the priest who saw it would call out, “It’s daylight!” (Mishnah Yoma 3:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28a.)
They led the High Priest down to the place of immersion (the mikvah
). (Mishnah Yoma 3:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28a.) During the day of Yom Kippur, the High Priest would immerse himself five times and wash his hands and feet ten times. Except for this first immersion, he would do each on holy ground in the Parwah cell. (Mishnah Yoma 3:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 30a.) They spread a linen sheet between him and the people. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 30a.) If the High Priest was either old or delicate, they warmed the water for him. (Mishnah Yoma 3:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.) He undressed, immersed himself, came up, and dried off. They brought him the golden garments; he put them on and washed his hands and feet. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.)
They brought him the continual offering; he cut its throat, and another priest finished slaughtering it. The High Priest received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. He entered the Sanctuary, burned the morning incense, and trimmed the lamps. Then he offered up the head, limbs, cakes, and wine-offering. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.)
They brought him to the Parwah cell, spread a sheet of linen between him and the people, he washed his hands and feet, and undressed. (Rabbi Meir
said that he undressed first and then washed his hands and feet.) Then he went down and immersed himself for the second time, came up and dried himself. They brought him white garments (as required by ). He put them on and washed his hands and feet. (Mishnah Yoma 3:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.) Rabbi Meir taught that in the morning, he wore Pelusium
linen worth 12 minas
, and in the afternoon he wore India
n linen worth 800 zuz
. But the sages said that in the morning, he wore garments worth 18 minas, and in the afternoon he wore garments worth 12 minas. The community paid for these sums, and the High Priest could spend more from his own funds if he wanted to. (Mishnah Yoma 3:7; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.)
Rav Hisda
asked why instructed the High Priest to enter the inner precincts (the Kodesh Hakodashim) to perform the Yom Kippur service in linen vestments instead of gold. Rav Hisda taught that it was because the accuser may not act as defender. Gold played the accuser because it was used in the Golden Calf
, and thus gold was inappropriate for the High Priest when he sought atonement and thus played the defender. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 26a.)
A midrash
taught that everything God created in heaven has a replica on earth. (And thus, since all that is above is also below, God dwells on earth just as God dwells in heaven.) Referring to a heavenly man, says, “And, behold, the man clothed in linen.” And of the High Priest on earth, says, “He shall put on the holy linen tunic.” And the midrash taught that God holds the things below dearer than those above, for God left the things in heaven to descend to dwell among those below, as reports, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus Rabbah
33:4)
The Mishnah taught that the High Priest came to his bull (as required in and 6), which was standing between the hall and the altar with its head to the south and its face to the west. The High Priest stood on the east with his face to the west. And he pressed both his hands on the bull and made confession, saying: “O Lord! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house. O Lord! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, and the sins that I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house, as it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant (in ): “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.” And the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 35b.)
Rabbi Isaac contrasted the red cow
in and the bull that the High Priest brought for himself on Yom Kippur in Rabbi Isaac taught that a lay Israelite could slaughter one of the two, but not the other, but Rabbi Isaac did not know which was which. The Gemara
reported that Rav
and Samuel
disagreed about the answer. Rav held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull, while Samuel held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow. The Gemara reported that Rav Zeira
(or some say Rav Zeira in the name of Rav) said that the slaughtering of the red cow by a lay Israelite was invalid, and Rav deduced from this statement the importance that specifies “Eleazar” and specifies that the law of the red cow is a “statute” (and thus required precise execution). But the Gemara challenged Rav’s conclusion that the use of the terms “Eleazar” and “statute” in in connection with the red cow decided the matter, for in connection with the High Priest’s bull, specifies “Aaron,” and calls the law of a “statute,” as well. The Gemara supposed that the characterization of of the law as a “statute” might apply to only the Temple services described in and the slaughtering of the High Preist’s bull might be regarded as not a Temple service. But the Gemara asked whether the same logic might apply to the red cow, as well, as it was not a Temple service, either. The Gemara posited that one might consider the red cow to have been in the nature of an offering for Temple upkeep. Rav Shisha son of Rav Idi taught that the red cow was like the inspection of skin diseases in which was not a Temple service, yet required a priest's participation. The Gemara then turned to Samuel’s position, that a lay Israelite could kill the red cow. Samuel interpreted the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to mean that a lay Israelite could slaughter the cow as Eleazar watched. The Gemara taught that Rav, on the other hand, explained the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to enjoin Eleazar not to divert his attention from the slaughter of the red cow. The Gemara reasoned that Samuel deduced that Eleazer must not divert his attention from the words “and the heifer shall be burnt in his sight” in (which one could similarly read to imply an injunction for Eleazar to pay close attention). And Rav explained the words “in his sight” in one place to refer to the slaughtering, and in the other to the burning, and the law enjoined his attention to both. In contrast, the Gemara posited that Eleazar might not have needed to pay close attention to the casting in of cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet, because they were not part of the red cow itself. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42a–b.)
The Mishah taught that High Priest then went back to the east of the Temple Court, north of the altar. The two goats required by were there, as was an urn containing two lots. The urn was originally made of boxwood
, but Ben Gamala
remade them in gold, earning him praise. (Mishnah Yoma 3:9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 37a.) Rabbi Judah explained that mentioned the two goats equally because they should be alike in color, height, and value. (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 13b.) The Mishnah taught that the High Priest shook the urn and brought up the two lots. On one lot was inscribed “for the Lord,” and on the other “for Azazel.” The Deputy High Priest stood at the High Priest’s right hand and the head of the ministering family at his left. If the lot inscribed “for the Lord” came up in his right hand, the Deputy High Priest would say “Mr. High Priest, raise your right hand!” And if the lot inscribed “for the Lord” came up in his left hand, the head of the family would say “Mr. High Priest, raise your left hand!” Then he placed them on the goats and said: “A sin-offering ‘to the Lord!’” (Rabbi Ishmael taught that he did not need to say “a sin-offering” but just “to the Lord.”) And then the people answered “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 4:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 39a.)
Then the High Priest bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the Azazel goat, and placed it at the gate from which it was to be sent away. And he placed the goat that was to be slaughtered at the slaughtering place. He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands on it and made confession, saying: “O Lord, I have dealt wrongfully, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house, and the children of Aaron, Your holy people, o Lord, pray forgive the wrongdoings, the transgression, and the sins that I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house, and the children of Aaron, Your holy people. As it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant (in ): ‘For on this day atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all the sins shall you be clean before the Lord.’” And then the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 4:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.) Then he killed the bull. (Mishnah Yoma 4:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 43b.)
Rabbi Isaac noted two red threads, one in connection with the red cow in and the other in connection with the scapegoat in the Yom Kippur service of (which Mishnah Yoma 4:2 indicates was marked with a red thread). Rabbi Isaac had heard that one required a definite size, while the other did not, but he did not know which was which. Rav Joseph reasoned that because (as Mishnah Yoma 6:6 explains) the red thread of the scapegoat was divided, that thread required a definite size, whereas that of the red cow, which did not need to be divided, did not require a definite size. Rami bar Hama
objected that the thread of the red cow required a certain weight (to be cast into the flames, as described in ). Raba
said that the matter of this weight is disputed by Tannaim
. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.)
When Rav Dimi came from the Land of Israel
, he said in the name of Rabbi Johanan
that there were three red threads: one in connection with the red cow, the second in connection with the scapegoat, and the third in connection with the person with skin disease (the m’tzora
) in Rav Dimi reported that one weighed ten zuz
, another weighed two selas, and the third weighed a shekel
, but he could not say which was which. When Rabin came, he said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that the thread in connection with the red cow weighed ten zuz, that of the scapegoat weighed two selas, and that of the person with skin disease weighed a shekel. Rabbi Johanan said that Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta and the Sages disagreed about the thread of the red cow, one saying that it weighed ten shekels, the other that it weighed one shekel. Rabbi Jeremiah of Difti said to Rabina
that they disagreed not about the thread of the red cow, but about that of the scapegoat. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b–42a.)
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression “statute” (chuk) in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother’s wife
(in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the scapegoat (in ), and (4) the red cow (in ). (Numbers Rabbah 19:5.)
One would bring the High Priest the goat to be slaughtered, he would kill it, receive its blood in a basin, enter again the Sanctuary, and would sprinkle once upwards and seven times downwards. He would count: “one,” “one and one,” “one and two,” and so on. Then he would go out and place the vessel on the second golden stand in the sanctuary. (Mishnah Yoma 5:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 53b.)
Then the High Priest came to the scapegoat and laid his two hands on it, and he made confession, saying: “I beseech You, o Lord, Your people the house of Israel have failed, committed iniquity and transgressed before you. I beseech you, o Lord, atone the failures, the iniquities and the transgressions that Your people, the house of Israel, have failed, committed, and transgressed before you, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant (in ): ‘For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.’” And when the Priests and the people standing in the Temple Court heard the fully pronounced Name of God come from the mouth of the High Priest, they bent their knees, bowed down, fell on their faces, and called out: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 6:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 66a.)
They handed the scapegoat over to him who was to lead it away. All were permitted to lead it away, but the Priests made it a rule not to permit an ordinary Israelite to lead it away. Rabbi Jose said that Arsela of Sepphoris once led it away, although he was not a priest. (Mishnah Yoma 6:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 66a.) The people went with him from booth to booth, except the last one. The escorts would not go with him up to the precipice, but watched from a distance. (Mishnah Yoma 6:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67a.) The one leading the scapegoat divided the thread of crimson wool, and tied one half to the rock, the other half between the scapegoat horns, and pushed the scapegoat from behind. And it went rolling down and before it had reached half its way down the hill, it was dashed to pieces. He came back and sat down under the last booth until it grew dark. His garments unclean become unclean from the moment that he has gone outside the wall of Jerusalem, although Rabbi Simeon taught that they became unclean from the moment that he pushed it over the precipice. (Mishnah Yoma 6:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67a.)
The Sages taught that if one pushed the goat down the precipice and it did not die, then one had to go down after the goat and kill it. (Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 3:14.)
The Mishnah interpreted to teach that the goat sent to Azazel could atone for all sins, even sins punishable by death. (Mishnah Shevuot 1:6; Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 2b.)
They would set up guards at stations, and from these would waive towels to signal that the goat had reached the wilderness. When the signal was relayed to Jerusalem, they told the High Priest: “The goat has reached the wilderness.” Rabbi Ishmael taught that they had another sign too: They tied a thread of crimson to the door of the Temple, and when the goat reached the wilderness, the thread would turn white, as it is written in Isaiah
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Mishnah Yoma 6:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68b.)
The Mishnah compared the person who burned the red cow in the person who burned the bulls burned pursuant to or and the person who led away the scapegoat pursuant to and 26. These persons rendered unclean the clothes worn while doing these acts. But the red cow, the bull, and the scapegoat did not themselves render unclean clothes with which they came in contact. The Mishnah imagined the clothing saying to the person: “Those that render you unclean do not render me unclean, but you render me unclean.” (Mishnah Parah 8:3.)
Rabbi Eliezer noted that both (with regard to burning the Yom Kippur sin offerings) and (with regard to slaughtering the red cow) say “outside the camp.” Rabbi Eliezer concluded that both actions had to be conducted outside the three camps of the Israelites, and in the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, both actions had to be conducted to the east of Jerusalem. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68a.)
Chapter 8 of tractate Yoma in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of self-denial in (Mishnah Yoma 8:1–9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b–88a.) The Mishnah taught that on Yom Kippur, one must not eat, drink, wash, anoint oneself, put on sandals, or have sexual intercourse. Rabbi Eliezer (whom the halachah
follows) taught that a king or bride may wash the face, and a woman after childbirth may put on sandals. But the sages forbad doing so. (Mishnah Yoma 8:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b.) The Mishnah held a person culpable to punishment for eating an amount of food equal to a large date
(with its pit included), or for drinking a mouthful of liquid. For the purpose of calculating the amount consumed, one combines all amounts of food together, and all amounts liquids together, but not amounts of foods together with amounts of liquids. (Mishnah Yoma 8:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b.) The Mishnah obliged one who unknowingly or forgetfully ate and drank to bring only one sin-offering. But one who unknowingly or forgetfully ate and performed labor had to bring two sin-offerings. The Mishnah did not hold one culpable who ate foods unfit to eat, or drank liquids unfit to drink (like fish-brine). (Mishnah Yoma 8:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 81a.) The Mishnah taught that one should not afflict children at all on Yom Kippur. In the two years before they become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, one should train children to become used to religious observances (for example by fasting for several hours). (Mishnah Yoma 8:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 82a.) The Mishnah taught that one should give food to a pregnant woman who smelled food and requested it. One should feed to a sick person at the direction of experts, and if no experts are present, one feeds a sick person who requests food. (Mishnah Yoma 8:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 82a.) The Mishnah taught that one may even give unclean food to one seized by a ravenous hunger, until the person’s eyes are opened. Rabbi Matthia ben Heresh said that one who has a sore throat may drink medicine even on the Sabbath, because it presented the possibility of danger to human life, and every danger to human life suspends the laws of the Sabbath. (Mishnah Yoma 8:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 83a.)
The Mishnah taught that death and observance of Yom Kippur with penitence atone for sin. Penitence atones for lighter sins, while for severer sins, penitence suspends God’s punishment, until Yom Kippur comes to atone. (Mishnah Yoma 8:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 85b.) The Mishnah taught that no opportunity for penance will be given to one who says: “I shall sin and repent, sin and repent.” And Yom Kippur does not atone for one who says: “I shall sin and Yom Kippur will atone for me.” Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah
derived from the words “From all your sins before the Lord shall you be clean” in that Yom Kippur atones for sins against God, but Yom Kippur does not atone for transgressions between one person and another, until the one person has pacified the other. Rabbi Akiba said that Israel is fortunate, for just as waters cleanse the unclean, so does God cleanse Israel. (Mishnah Yoma 8:9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 85b.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words of “from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord,” to teach that the Day of Atonement expiates sins that are known only to God. (Babylonian Talmud Keritot 25b.)
Mar Zutra
taught that the merit of a fast day lies in the charity dispensed. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 6b.)
The Gemara told that a poor man lived in Mar Ukba’s
neighborhood to whom he regularly sent 400 zuz on the eve of every Yom Kippur. Once Mar Ukba sent his son to deliver the 400 zuz. His son came back and reported that the poor man did not need Mar Ukba’s help. When Mar Ukba asked his son what he had seen, his son replied that they were sprinkling aged wine before the poor man to improve the aroma in the room. Mar Ukba said that if the poor man was that delicate, then Mar Ukba would double the amount of his gift and send it back to the poor man. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 67b.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that when the Temple stood, a person used to bring a shekel and so make atonement. Now that the Temple no longer stands, if people give for charity, all will be well, and if they do not, heathens will come and take from them forcibly (what they should have given away). And even so, God will reckon to them as if they had given charity, as says, “I will make your exactors righteousness [צְדָקָה, tzedakah].” (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 9a.)
Rav Bibi bar Abaye taught that on the eve of the Day of Atonement, a person should confess saying: "I confess all the evil I have done before You; I stood in the way of evil; and as for all the evil I have done, I shall no more do the like; may it be Your will, O Lord my God, that You should pardon me for all my iniquities, and forgive me for all my transgressions, and grant me atonement for all my sins." This is indicated by which says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts." Rabbi Isaac compared it to a person fitting together two boards, joining them one to another. And Rabbi Jose ben Hanina
compared it to a person fitting together two bed-legs, joining them one to another. (This harmoniously does a person become joined to God when the person genuinely repents.) (Leviticus Rabbah 3:3.)
Our Rabbis taught that the obligation to confess sins comes on the eve of the Day of Atonement, as it grows dark. But the Sages said that one should confess before one has eaten and drunk, lest one become inebriated in the course of the meal. And even if one has confessed before eating and drinking, one should confess again after having eaten and drunk, because perhaps some wrong happened during the meal. And even if one has confessed during the evening prayer, one should confess again during the morning prayer. And even if one has confessed during the morning prayer, one should do so again during the Musaf additional prayer. And even if one has confessed during the Musaf, one should do so again during the afternoon prayer. And even if one has done so in the afternoon prayer, one should confess again in the Ne'ilah concluding prayer. The Gemara taught that the individual should say the confession after the (silent recitation of the) Amidah
prayer, and the public reader says it in the middle of the Amidah. Rav taught that the confession begins: “You know the secrets of eternity . . . .” Samuel, however, taught that the confession begins: “From the depths of the heart . . . .” Levi
said: “And in Your Torah it is said, [‘For on this day He shall make atonement for you.’]” Rabbi Johanan taught that the confession begins: “Lord of the Universe, . . . .” Rav Judah
said: “Our iniquities are too many to count, and our sins too numerous to be counted.” Rav Hamnuna
said: “My God, before I was formed, I was of no worth, and now that I have been formed, it is as if I had not been formed. I am dust in my life, how much more in my death. Behold, I am before You like a vessel full of shame and reproach. May it be Your will that I sin no more, and what I have sinned wipe away in Your mercy, but not through suffering.” That was the confession of sins used by Rav all the year round, and by Rav Hamnuna the younger, on the Day of Atonement. Mar Zutra taught that one should say such prayers only if one has not already said, “Truly, we have sinned,” but if one has said, “Truly, we have sinned,” no more is necessary. For Bar Hamdudi taught that once he stood before Samuel, who was sitting, and when the public reader said, “Truly, we have sinned,” Samuel rose, and so Bar Hamdudi inferred that this was the main confession. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87b.)
Rav Kruspedai said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that on Rosh Hashanah, three books are opened in heaven — one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for those in between. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life. The thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death. And the fate of those in between is suspended from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. If they deserve well, then they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, then they are inscribed in the book of death. Rabbi Abin said that Psalm
tells us this when it says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” “Let them be blotted out from the book” refers to the book of the wicked. “Of the living” refers to the book of the righteous. “And not be written with the righteous” refers to the book of those in between. Rav Nahman bar Isaac
derived this from where Moses told God, “if not, blot me, I pray, out of Your book that You have written.” “Blot me, I pray” refers to the book of the wicked. “Out of Your book” refers to the book of the righteous. “That you have written” refers to the book of those in between. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)
Rav Mana of Sha'ab (in Galilee) and Rav Joshua of Siknin in the name of Rav Levi compared repentance at the High Holidays to the case of a province that owed arrears on its taxes to the king, and the king came to collect the debt. When the king was within ten miles, the nobility of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of a third of its debt. When he was within five miles, the middle-class people of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of another third of its debt. When he entered the province, all the people of the province — men, women, and children — came out and praised him, so he freed them of all of their debt. The king told them to let bygones be bygones; from then on they would start a new account. In a similar manner, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the leaders of the generation fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, private individuals fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. On Yom Kippur, everyone fasts — men, women and children — and God tells Israel to let bygones be bygones; from then onwards we begin a new account. From Yom Kippur to Sukkot, all Israel are busy with the performance of religious duties. One is busy with a sukkah, one with a lulav. On the first day of Sukkot, all Israel stand in the presence of God with their palm-branches and etrogs in honor of God's name, and God tells them to let bygones be bygones; from now we begin a new account. Thus in Moses exhorts Israel: "You shall take on the first day [of Sukkot] the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." Rabbi Aha
explained that the words, "For with You there is forgiveness," in signify that forgiveness waits with God from Rosh Hashanah onward. And forgiveness waits that long so (in the words of ) "that You may be feared" and God may impose God's awe upon God’s creatures (through the suspense and uncertainty). (Leviticus Rabbah 30:7.)
Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel
said that there never were greater days of joy in Israel than the 15th of Av
and Yom Kippur. On those days, the daughters of Jerusalem would come out in borrowed white garments, dance in the vineyards, and exclaim to the young men to lift up their eyes and choose for themselves. (Mishnah Taanit 4:8; Babylonian Talmud Taanit 26b.)
taught that the prohibition of the high place
s stated in took place on the first of Nisan. The Tanna taught that the first of Nisan took ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as reported in ), (2) the first day of the princes’ offerings (as reported in ), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make the sacrificial offerings (as reported in ), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5) the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in ), (6) the first for the priests’ eating of sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah in Israel (as implied by ), (8) the first for the Priestly Blessing
of Israel (as reported in employing the blessing prescribed by ), (9) the first for the prohibition of the high places (as stated in ), and (10) the first of the months of the year (as instructed in ). Rav Assi of Hozna'ah deduced from the words, “And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month,” in that the Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nisan. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 87b.)
The Gemara interpreted the prohibition on consuming blood in to apply to the blood of any type of animal or fowl, but not to the blood of eggs, grasshoppers, and fish. (Babylonian Talmud Keritot 20b–21a.)
and Rava
agreed, excepting from the prohibition of any practice of evident therapeutic value. (Mishnah Shabbat 6:10; Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 67a.)
calls on the Israelites to obey God’s “statutes” (chukim) and “ordinances” (mishpatim). The Rabbis in a Baraita taught that the “ordinances” (mishpatim) were commandments that logic would have dictated that we follow even had Scripture not commanded them, like the laws concerning idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and blasphemy. And “statutes” (chukim) were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to shaatnez (in and ), halizah
(in ), purification of the person with tzaraat
(in ), and the scapegoat (in ). So that people do not think these “ordinances” (mishpatim) to be empty acts, in God says, “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)
Rabbi Ishmael
interpreted the words “he shall live by them” in to teach that a person should live by the laws, not die by them, and thus one could transgress a commandment to avoid death. And Rabbi Johanan
reported in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Jehozadak that a majority in the house of Nithza in Lod
voted that a person could transgress any laws to avoid death, except idolatry, incest, or murder. But Rav Dimi taught that one could sin to avoid death only in times when there was no oppressive royal decree against observing the Torah, but in times of such a decree, one needed to suffer martyrdom rather than transgress even a minor precept. And Rabin said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that even absent such a royal decree, sinning to save one’s life was permitted only in private; whereas in public, one needed to suffer martyrdom rather than violate even a minor precept. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 74a.)
The Gemara interpreted to prohibit a man from lying with his father's wife, whether or not she was his mother, and whether or not the father was still alive. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 54a.)
Rav Awira taught (sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi
, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi
) that the words “And the child grew, and was weaned (va-yigamal, וַיִּגָּמַל), and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” in Genesis teach that God will make a great feast for the righteous on the day that God manifests (yigmol) God’s love to Isaac’s descendants. After they have eaten and drunk, they will ask Abraham to recite the Grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon
), but Abraham will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Ishmael. Then they will ask Isaac to say Grace, but Isaac will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Esau
. Then they will ask Jacob
, but Jacob will answer that he cannot, because he married two sisters during both their lifetimes, which was destined to forbid. Then they will ask Moses, but Moses will answer that he cannot, because God did not allow him to enter the Land of Israel either in life or in death. Then they will ask Joshua
, but Joshua will answer that he cannot, because he was not privileged to have a son, for reports, “Nun
was his son, Joshua was his son,” without listing further descendants. Then they will ask David
, and he will say Grace, and find it fitting for him to do so, because records David saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119b.)
A Baraita was taught in the Academy of Eliyahu: A certain scholar diligently studied Bible and Mishnah, and greatly served scholars, but nonetheless died young. His wife carried his tefillin
to the synagogue
s and schoolhouses and asked if says, “for that is your life, and the length of your days,” why her husband nonetheless died young. No one could answer her. On one occasion, Eliyahu asked her how he was to her during her days of white garments — the seven days after her menstrual period — and she reported that they ate, drank, and slept together without clothing. Eliyahu explained that God must have slain him because he did not sufficiently respect the separation that requires. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 13a–b.)
Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:7 and Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 64a–b interpreted the laws prohibiting passing one’s child through the fire to Molech in and and
Rabbi Judah ben Pazzi deduced from the juxtaposition of the sexual prohibitions of and the exhortation to holiness in that those who fence themselves against sexual immorality are called holy, and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
taught that wherever one finds a fence against sexual immorality, one will also find sanctity. (Leviticus Rabbah 24:6.)
, there are 2 positive and 26 negative commandments
in the parshah:
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 2:275–377. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-296-5.)
for the parshah is:
immediately before Passover
— as it does in 2011 and 2014), the haftarah is Malachi
, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Acharei, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hijaz, the maqam that expresses mourning and sadness. This maqam is appropriate for this parshah because the parshah alludes to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, the first two sons of Aaron.
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
for “after” or “after the death,” the fifth word or fifth and sixth words, and the first distinctive word or words, in the parshah) is the 29th weekly Torah portion (parshah) in the annual Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading
Torah reading is a Jewish religious ritual that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the Torah scroll from the ark, chanting the appropriate excerpt with special cantillation, and returning the scroll to...
and the sixth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Jews in the Diaspora
Jewish diaspora
The Jewish diaspora is the English term used to describe the Galut גלות , or 'exile', of the Jews from the region of the Kingdom of Judah and Roman Iudaea and later emigration from wider Eretz Israel....
generally read it in April or early May.
The lunisolar
Lunisolar calendar
A lunisolar calendar is a calendar in many cultures whose date indicates both the moon phase and the time of the solar year. If the solar year is defined as a tropical year then a lunisolar calendar will give an indication of the season; if it is taken as a sidereal year then the calendar will...
Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
contains up to 55 week
Week
A week is a time unit equal to seven days.The English word week continues an Old English wice, ultimately from a Common Germanic , from a root "turn, move, change"...
s, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years (for example, 2011, 2014, and 2016), parshah Acharei is read separately on the 29th Sabbath
Shabbat
Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...
after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle...
. In common years (for example, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), parshah Acharei is combined with the next parshah, Kedoshim, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
Traditional Jews also read parts of the parshah as Torah readings for Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
. which addresses the Yom Kippur ritual, is the traditional Torah reading for the Yom Kippur morning (Shacharit
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
) service, and is the traditional Torah reading for the Yom Kippur afternoon (Minchah
Jewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
) service. Some Conservative
Conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...
congregations substitute readings from for the traditional in the Yom Kippur afternoon Minchah service. (See Mahzor Lev Shalem for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Senior editor Edward Feld, 365–66. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 2010. ISBN 978-0-916219-46-8. Mahzor for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Edited by Jules Harlow
Jules Harlow
Jules Harlow is a rabbi and liturgist; son of Henry and Lena Lipman Harlow. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa.In 1952 at Morningside College in Sioux City he earned a B.A., and from there went to New York City to study in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America; here he became ordained as a rabbi...
, 628–31. New York: The Rabbinical Assembly, 1972. ISBN 0-87441-148-3.) And in the standard Reform
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism refers to various beliefs, practices and organizations associated with the Reform Jewish movement in North America, the United Kingdom and elsewhere. In general, it maintains that Judaism and Jewish traditions should be modernized and should be compatible with participation in the...
High Holidays prayerbook (machzor
Mahzor
The mahzor is the prayer book used by Jews on the High Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized mahzorim on the three "pilgrimage festivals" of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot...
), Deuteronomy and are the Torah readings for the morning Yom Kippur service, in lieu of the traditional . (Gates of Repentance: The New Union Prayerbook for the Days of Awe. Edited by Chaim Stern, 342–45. New York: Central Conference of American Rabbis, Revised ed. 1996. ISBN 0-88123-069-3.)
The parshah sets forth the law of the Yom Kippur ritual, centralized offerings, blood, and sexual practices.
Yom Kippur
The text tells the ritual of Yom KippurYom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
. After the death of Aaron
Aaron
In the Hebrew Bible and the Qur'an, Aaron : Ααρών ), who is often called "'Aaron the Priest"' and once Aaron the Levite , was the older brother of Moses, and a prophet of God. He represented the priestly functions of his tribe, becoming the first High Priest of the Israelites...
’s sons, God
Names of God in Judaism
In Judaism, the name of God is more than a distinguishing title; it represents the Jewish conception of the divine nature, and of the relationship of God to the Jewish people and to the world. To demonstrate the sacredness of the names of God, and as a means of showing respect and reverence for...
told Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
to tell Aaron not to come at will into the Most Holy Place (the Kodesh Hakodashim), lest he die, for God appeared in the cloud
Cloud
A cloud is a visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals made of water and/or various chemicals suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body. They are also known as aerosols. Clouds in Earth's atmosphere are studied in the cloud physics branch of meteorology...
there. Aaron was to enter only after bathing in water
Water
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, dressing in his sacral linen
Linen
Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....
tunic, breeches, sash, and turban
Turban
In English, Turban refers to several types of headwear popularly worn in the Middle East, North Africa, Punjab, Jamaica and Southwest Asia. A commonly used synonym is Pagri, the Indian word for turban.-Styles:...
, and bringing a bull
Bull
Bull usually refers to an uncastrated adult male bovine.Bull may also refer to:-Entertainment:* Bull , an original show on the TNT Network* "Bull" , an episode of television series CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
for a sin offering
Korban
The term offering as found in the Hebrew Bible in relation to the worship of Ancient Israel is mainly represented by the Hebrew noun korban whether for an animal or other offering...
, two rams for burnt offerings, and two he-goat
Goat
The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...
s for sin offerings. Aaron was to take the two goats to the entrance of the Tabernacle
Tabernacle
The Tabernacle , according to the Hebrew Torah/Old Testament, was the portable dwelling place for the divine presence from the time of the Exodus from Egypt through the conquering of the land of Canaan. Built to specifications revealed by God to Moses at Mount Sinai, it accompanied the Israelites...
and place lots upon them, one marked for the Lord and the other for Azazel
Azazel
Azazel or Azazael or Azâzêl is a term used three times in the Hebrew scriptures, and later in Hebrew mythology as the enigmatic name of a character....
. Aaron was to offer the goat designated for the Lord as a sin offering, and to send off to the wilderness
Wilderness
Wilderness or wildland is a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. It may also be defined as: "The most intact, undisturbed wild natural areas left on our planet—those last truly wild places that humans do not control and have not developed with...
the goat designated for Azazel. Aaron was then to offer the bull of sin offering. Aaron was then to take a pan of glowing coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
s from the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
and two handfuls of incense
Incense
Incense is composed of aromatic biotic materials, which release fragrant smoke when burned. The term "incense" refers to the substance itself, rather than to the odor that it produces. It is used in religious ceremonies, ritual purification, aromatherapy, meditation, for creating a mood, and for...
and put the incense on the fire before the Most Holy Place, so that the cloud from the incense would screen the Ark of the Covenant
Ark of the Covenant
The Ark of the Covenant , also known as the Ark of the Testimony, is a chest described in Book of Exodus as solely containing the Tablets of Stone on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed...
. He was to sprinkle some of the bull’s blood and then some of the goat’s blood over and in front of the Ark, to purge the Shrine of the uncleanness and transgression of the Israelite
Israelite
According to the Bible the Israelites were a Hebrew-speaking people of the Ancient Near East who inhabited the Land of Canaan during the monarchic period .The word "Israelite" derives from the Biblical Hebrew ישראל...
s. He was then to apply some of the bull’s blood and goat’s blood to the altar, to cleanse and consecrate it.
The text then commands this law for all time: On the tenth day of the seventh month, Jews and aliens who reside with them were to practice self-denial and do no work. On that day, the High Priest
Kohen
A Kohen is the Hebrew word for priest. Jewish Kohens are traditionally believed and halachically required to be of direct patrilineal descent from the Biblical Aaron....
was to put on the linen vestments, purge the Tabernacle, and make atonement for the Israelites once a year.
Centralized offerings and blood
The text next begins what scholars call the Holiness CodeHoliness code
The Holiness Code is a term used in biblical criticism to refer to Leviticus 17-26, and is so called due to its highly repeated use of the word Holy. It has no special traditional religious significance and traditional Jews and Christians do not regard it as having any distinction from any other...
. God prohibited Israelites from slaughtering oxen, sheep, or goats meant for sacrifice without bringing them to the Tabernacle as an offering, on pain of exile. God prohibited consuming blood. One who hunted an animal for food was to pour out its blood and cover it with earth. Anyone who ate what had died or had been torn by beasts was to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening.
Sexual practices
God prohibited any Israelite from uncovering the nakedness of his fatherFather
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
, mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
, father’s wife
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
, sister
Sibling
Siblings are people who share at least one parent. A male sibling is called a brother; and a female sibling is called a sister. In most societies throughout the world, siblings usually grow up together and spend a good deal of their childhood socializing with one another...
, grandchild, half-sister, aunt, daughter-in-law, or sister-in-law. A man could not marry a woman and her daughter, a woman and her granddaughter, or a woman and her sister during the other’s lifetime. A man could not cohabit with a woman during her period or with his neighbor’s wife. Israelites were not to allow their children to be offered up to Molech
Moloch
Moloch — also rendered as Molech, Molekh, Molok, Molek, Molock, or Moloc — is the name of an ancient Semitic god...
. A man could not lie with a man as with a woman. God prohibited bestiality. God explained that the Canaanites defiled themselves by adopting these practices, and any who did any of these things would be cut off from their people.
Yom Kippur
refers to the Festival of Yom Kippur. In the Hebrew BibleTanakh
The Tanakh is a name used in Judaism for the canon of the Hebrew Bible. The Tanakh is also known as the Masoretic Text or the Miqra. The name is an acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah , Nevi'im and Ketuvim —hence...
, Yom Kippur is called:
- the Day of Atonement (יוֹם הַכִּפֻּרִים, Yom HaKippurim) ( and ) or a Day of Atonement (יוֹם כִּפֻּרִים, Yom Kippurim) ;
- a Sabbath of solemn rest (שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן, Shabbat Shabbaton) ( and ); and
- a holy convocation (מִקְרָא-קֹדֶשׁ, mikrah kodesh) ( and NumbersBook of NumbersThe Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah/Pentateuch....
).
Much as Yom Kippur, on the 10th of the month of Tishrei
Tishrei
Tishrei or Tishri , Tiberian: ; from Akkadian "Beginning", from "To begin") is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is an autumn month of 30 days...
, precedes the Festival of Sukkot, on the 15th of the month of Tishrei, Exodus speaks of a period starting on the 10th of the month of Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
preparatory to the Festival of Passover, on the 15th of the month of Nisan.
and and present similar injunctions to observe Yom Kippur. and and set the Holy Day on the tenth day of the seventh month (Tishrei). and and instruct that “you shall afflict your souls.” makes clear that a full day is intended: “you shall afflict your souls; in the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening.” And threatens that whoever “shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from his people.” and and command that you “shall do no manner of work.” Similarly, and call it a “Sabbath of solemn rest.” And in God threatens that whoever “does any manner of work in that same day, that soul will I destroy from among his people.” and and describe the purpose of the day to make atonement for the people. Similarly, speaks of the purpose “to cleanse you from all your sins,” and speaks of making atonement for the most holy place, the tent of meeting, the altar; and the priests. instructs that the commandment applies both to “the home-born” and to “the stranger who sojourns among you.” and and command offerings to God. And and institute the observance as “a statute forever.”
sets out detailed procedures for the priest’s atonement ritual during the time of the Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
.
instructs that after seven Sabbatical years, on the Jubilee year
Jubilee (Biblical)
The Jubilee year is the year at the end of seven cycles of Sabbatical years , and according to Biblical regulations had a special impact on the ownership and management of land in the territory of the kingdoms of Israel and of Judah; there is some debate whether it was the 49th year The Jubilee...
, on the day of atonement, the Israelites were to proclaim liberty throughout the land with the blast of the horn and return every man to his possession and to his family.
In the Haftarah
Haftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for Yom Kippur morning, God describes “the fast that I have chosen [on] the day for a man to afflict his soul.” make clear that “to afflict the soul” was understood as fasting. But goes on to impress that “to afflict the soul,” God also seeks acts of social justice: “to loose the fetters of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke,” “to let the oppressed go free,” “to give your bread to the hungry, and . . . bring the poor that are cast out to your house,” and “when you see the naked, that you cover him.”
Leviticus chapter 17
like addresses the centralization of sacrifices and the permissibility of eating meat. While prohibited killing an ox, lamb, or goat (each a sacrificial animal) without bringing it to the door of the Tabernacle as an offering to God, allows killing and eating meat in any place.Leviticus chapter 16
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that Aaron’s sons died on the first of Nisan, but mentions their death in connection with the Day of Atonement. Rabbi Hiyya explained that this teaches that as the Day of Atonement effects atonement, so the death of the righteous effects atonement. We know that the Day of Atonement effects atonement from which says, “For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you.” And we learn that the death of the righteous effects atonement from 2 SamuelBooks of Samuel
The Books of Samuel in the Jewish bible are part of the Former Prophets, , a theological history of the Israelites affirming and explaining the Torah under the guidance of the prophets.Samuel begins by telling how the prophet Samuel is chosen by...
which says, “And they buried the bones of Saul
Saul
-People:Saul is a given/first name in English, the Anglicized form of the Hebrew name Shaul from the Hebrew Bible:* Saul , including people with this given namein the Bible:* Saul , a king of Edom...
and Jonathan his son,” and then says, “After that God was entreated for the land.” (Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah
Leviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
20:12.)
Reading the words of “the death of the two sons of Aaron, when they drew near before the Lord, and died,” Rabbi Jose
Jose ben Halafta
Rabbi Jose ben Halafta or Yose ben Halafta was a Tanna of the fourth generation . Jose was a student of Rabbi Akiba and was regarded as one of the foremost scholars of halakha and aggadah of his day...
deduced that Aaron’s sons died because they drew near to enter the Holy of Holies. (Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah
Numbers Rabbah is a religious text holy to classical Judaism. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletic interpretations of the book of Numbers ....
2:23.) (For other reasons for their death, see Leviticus Rabbah 20:8 (for offering a sacrifice that they had not been commanded to offer, for the strange fire that they brought, or for not having taken counsel from each other); Babylonian Talmud Eruvin 63a; Sifra
Sifra
Sifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:5:6 (because they gave a legal decision in the presence of their Master Moses); Sifra Shemini Mekhilta deMiluim 99:3:4 (because they had remarked to each other how Moses and Aaron would die and they would head the congregation).)
The Rabbis told in a Baraita
Baraita
Baraita designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. "Baraita" thus refers to teachings "outside" of the six orders of the Mishnah...
an account in relation to Once a Sadducee
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
High Priest arranged the incense outside and then brought it inside the Holy of Holies. As he left the Holy, he was very glad. His father met him and told him that although they were Sadducees, they were afraid of the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
. He replied that all his life he was aggrieved because of the words of “For I appear in the cloud upon the ark-cover.” (The Sadducees interpreted as if it said: “Let him not come into the holy place except with the cloud of incense, for only thus, with the cloud, am I to be seen on the ark-cover.”) The Sadducee wondered when the opportunity would come for him to fulfill the verse. He asked how, when such an opportunity came to his hand, he could not have fulfilled it. The Baraita reported that only a few days later he died and was thrown on the dung heap and worms came forth from his nose. Some say he was smitten as he came out of the Holy of Holies. For Rabbi Hiyya taught that a noise was heard in the Temple Court, for an angel struck him down on his face. The priests found a mark like a calf's hoof on his shoulder, evincing, as Ezekiel
Book of Ezekiel
The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the books of Isaiah and Jeremiah and preceding the Book of the Twelve....
reports of angels, “And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf's foot.” (Babylonian Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Yoma 19b.)
Tractate Yoma
Yoma
Yoma is the fifth tractate of Seder Moed of the Mishnah and of the Talmud. It is concerned mainly with the laws of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur, on which Jews atone for their sins from the previous year...
in the Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
, Tosefta
Tosefta
The Tosefta is a compilation of the Jewish oral law from the period of the Mishnah.-Overview:...
, Jerusalem Talmud
Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of Yom Kippur in and and (Mishnah Yoma 1:1–8:9; Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 1:1–4:17; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1a–57a; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2a–88a.)
Tractate Beitzah in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws common to all of the Festivals
Jewish holiday
Jewish holidays are days observed by Jews as holy or secular commemorations of important events in Jewish history. In Hebrew, Jewish holidays and festivals, depending on their nature, may be called yom tov or chag or ta'anit...
in 43–49; and (Mishnah Beitzah 1:1–5:7; Tosefta Yom Tov (Beitzah) 1:1–4:11; Jerusalem Talmud Beitzah 1a–49b; Babylonian Talmud Beitzah 2a–40b.)
On the morning of the day before Yom Kippur, they placed the High Priest at the Eastern Gate and brought before him oxen, rams, and sheep, so that he could become familiar with the service. (Mishnah Yoma 1:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18a.) The rest of the seven days, they did not withhold food or drink from him, but near nightfall on the eve of Yom Kippur, they would not let him eat much, as food might make him sleep. (Mishnah Yoma 1:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18a.) The sages of the court took him up to the house of Avtinas and handed him over to the elders of the priesthood. As the sages of the court took their leave, they cautioned him that he was the messenger of the court, and adjured him in God’s Name that he not change anything in the service from what they had told him. He and they turned aside and wept that they should have to suspect him of doing so. (Mishnah Yoma 1:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18b.)
Book of Job
The Book of Job , commonly referred to simply as Job, is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. It relates the story of Job, his trials at the hands of Satan, his discussions with friends on the origins and nature of his suffering, his challenge to God, and finally a response from God. The book is a...
, Ezra
Book of Ezra
The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a single book of Ezra-Nehemiah, the two became separated in the early centuries of the Christian era...
, and Chronicles
Books of Chronicles
The Books of Chronicles are part of the Hebrew Bible. In the Masoretic Text, it appears as the first or last book of the Ketuvim . Chronicles largely parallels the Davidic narratives in the Books of Samuel and the Books of Kings...
, and Zechariah ben Kubetal said from Daniel
Book of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a book in the Hebrew Bible. The book tells of how Daniel, and his Judean companions, were inducted into Babylon during Jewish exile, and how their positions elevated in the court of Nebuchadnezzar. The court tales span events that occur during the reigns of Nebuchadnezzar,...
. (Mishnah Yoma 1:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 18b.) If he tried to sleep, young priests would snap their middle finger before him and say, “Mr. High Priest, arise and drive the sleep away!” They would keep him busy until near the time for the morning offering. (Mishnah Yoma 1:7; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 19b.)
On any other day, a priest would remove the ashes from the altar at about the time of the cock’s crow (in accordance with ). But for Yom Kippur, the ashes were removed beginning at midnight of the night before. Before the cock’s crow approached, Israelites filled the Temple Court. (Mishnah Yoma 1:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 20a.) The officer told the priests to see whether the time for the morning sacrifice had arrived. If it had, then the priest who saw it would call out, “It’s daylight!” (Mishnah Yoma 3:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28a.)
They led the High Priest down to the place of immersion (the mikvah
Mikvah
Mikveh is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism...
). (Mishnah Yoma 3:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 28a.) During the day of Yom Kippur, the High Priest would immerse himself five times and wash his hands and feet ten times. Except for this first immersion, he would do each on holy ground in the Parwah cell. (Mishnah Yoma 3:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 30a.) They spread a linen sheet between him and the people. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 30a.) If the High Priest was either old or delicate, they warmed the water for him. (Mishnah Yoma 3:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.) He undressed, immersed himself, came up, and dried off. They brought him the golden garments; he put them on and washed his hands and feet. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.)
They brought him the continual offering; he cut its throat, and another priest finished slaughtering it. The High Priest received the blood and sprinkled it on the altar. He entered the Sanctuary, burned the morning incense, and trimmed the lamps. Then he offered up the head, limbs, cakes, and wine-offering. (Mishnah Yoma 3:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 31b.)
They brought him to the Parwah cell, spread a sheet of linen between him and the people, he washed his hands and feet, and undressed. (Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir
Rabbi Meir or Rabbi Meir Baal Hanes was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishna. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation . According to legend , his father was a descendant of the Roman Emperor Nero who had converted to Judaism. His wife Bruriah is...
said that he undressed first and then washed his hands and feet.) Then he went down and immersed himself for the second time, came up and dried himself. They brought him white garments (as required by ). He put them on and washed his hands and feet. (Mishnah Yoma 3:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.) Rabbi Meir taught that in the morning, he wore Pelusium
Pelusium
Pelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per-Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Seyân , and Tell el-Farama...
linen worth 12 minas
Mina (unit)
The mina is an ancient Near Eastern unit of weight equivalent to 60 shekels. The mina, like the shekel, was also a unit of currency; in ancient Greece it was equal to 100 drachmae. In the first century AD, it amounted to about a fourth of the wages earned annually by an agricultural worker...
, and in the afternoon he wore India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n linen worth 800 zuz
Zuz (coin)
A Zuz was an ancient Hebrew silver coin struck during the Bar Kochba revolt. They were overstruck on Roman Imperial denarii or Roman provincial drachmas of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan and Hadrian...
. But the sages said that in the morning, he wore garments worth 18 minas, and in the afternoon he wore garments worth 12 minas. The community paid for these sums, and the High Priest could spend more from his own funds if he wanted to. (Mishnah Yoma 3:7; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.)
Rav Hisda
Rav Chisda
Rav Chisda was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the third generation , mentioned frequently in the Talmud.-Youth:...
asked why instructed the High Priest to enter the inner precincts (the Kodesh Hakodashim) to perform the Yom Kippur service in linen vestments instead of gold. Rav Hisda taught that it was because the accuser may not act as defender. Gold played the accuser because it was used in the Golden Calf
Golden calf
According to the Hebrew Bible, the golden calf was an idol made by Aaron to satisfy the Israelites during Moses' absence, when he went up to Mount Sinai...
, and thus gold was inappropriate for the High Priest when he sought atonement and thus played the defender. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 26a.)
A midrash
Midrash
The Hebrew term Midrash is a homiletic method of biblical exegesis. The term also refers to the whole compilation of homiletic teachings on the Bible....
taught that everything God created in heaven has a replica on earth. (And thus, since all that is above is also below, God dwells on earth just as God dwells in heaven.) Referring to a heavenly man, says, “And, behold, the man clothed in linen.” And of the High Priest on earth, says, “He shall put on the holy linen tunic.” And the midrash taught that God holds the things below dearer than those above, for God left the things in heaven to descend to dwell among those below, as reports, “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.” (Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah is the midrash to Exodus, containing in the printed editions 52 parashiyyot. It is not uniform in its composition.- Structure :In parashiyyot i.-xiv...
33:4)
The Mishnah taught that the High Priest came to his bull (as required in and 6), which was standing between the hall and the altar with its head to the south and its face to the west. The High Priest stood on the east with his face to the west. And he pressed both his hands on the bull and made confession, saying: “O Lord! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house. O Lord! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, and the sins that I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house, as it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant (in ): “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.” And the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 35b.)
Rabbi Isaac contrasted the red cow
Red heifer
The red heifer or red cow was a sacrifice in the Hebrew Bible the ashes of which are used for the ritual purification of an ancient Israelite who had come into contact with a corpse.- Hebrew Bible :...
in and the bull that the High Priest brought for himself on Yom Kippur in Rabbi Isaac taught that a lay Israelite could slaughter one of the two, but not the other, but Rabbi Isaac did not know which was which. The Gemara
Gemara
The Gemara is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah. After the Mishnah was published by Rabbi Judah the Prince The Gemara (also transliterated Gemora or, less commonly, Gemorra; from Aramaic גמרא gamar; literally, "[to] study" or "learning by...
reported that Rav
Abba Arika
Abba Arika was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora of the 3rd century who established at Sura the systematic study of the rabbinic traditions, which, using the Mishnah as text, led to the compilation of the Talmud...
and Samuel
Samuel of Nehardea
Samuel of Nehardea or Samuel bar Abba was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an Amora of the first generation; son of Abba bar Abba and head of the Yeshiva at Nehardea. He was a teacher of halakha, judge, physician, and astronomer. He was born about 165 at Nehardea, in Babylonia...
disagreed about the answer. Rav held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull, while Samuel held it invalid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the High Priest’s bull and valid for a lay Israelite to slaughter the red cow. The Gemara reported that Rav Zeira
Rav Zeira
Ze'era or Zeira was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the 3rd generation. He was born in Babylonia, where he spent his early youth. He was a pupil of Ḥisda , of Huna , and of Judah b. Ezekiel in Pumbedita.He associated also with other prominent teachers of...
(or some say Rav Zeira in the name of Rav) said that the slaughtering of the red cow by a lay Israelite was invalid, and Rav deduced from this statement the importance that specifies “Eleazar” and specifies that the law of the red cow is a “statute” (and thus required precise execution). But the Gemara challenged Rav’s conclusion that the use of the terms “Eleazar” and “statute” in in connection with the red cow decided the matter, for in connection with the High Priest’s bull, specifies “Aaron,” and calls the law of a “statute,” as well. The Gemara supposed that the characterization of of the law as a “statute” might apply to only the Temple services described in and the slaughtering of the High Preist’s bull might be regarded as not a Temple service. But the Gemara asked whether the same logic might apply to the red cow, as well, as it was not a Temple service, either. The Gemara posited that one might consider the red cow to have been in the nature of an offering for Temple upkeep. Rav Shisha son of Rav Idi taught that the red cow was like the inspection of skin diseases in which was not a Temple service, yet required a priest's participation. The Gemara then turned to Samuel’s position, that a lay Israelite could kill the red cow. Samuel interpreted the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to mean that a lay Israelite could slaughter the cow as Eleazar watched. The Gemara taught that Rav, on the other hand, explained the words “and he shall slay it before him” in to enjoin Eleazar not to divert his attention from the slaughter of the red cow. The Gemara reasoned that Samuel deduced that Eleazer must not divert his attention from the words “and the heifer shall be burnt in his sight” in (which one could similarly read to imply an injunction for Eleazar to pay close attention). And Rav explained the words “in his sight” in one place to refer to the slaughtering, and in the other to the burning, and the law enjoined his attention to both. In contrast, the Gemara posited that Eleazar might not have needed to pay close attention to the casting in of cedarwood, hyssop, and scarlet, because they were not part of the red cow itself. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 42a–b.)
The Mishah taught that High Priest then went back to the east of the Temple Court, north of the altar. The two goats required by were there, as was an urn containing two lots. The urn was originally made of boxwood
Buxus
Buxus is a genus of about 70 species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood ....
, but Ben Gamala
Yehoshua ben Gamla
Yehoshua ben Gamla was a Jewish high priest who officiated in about 64 C.E. He married the rich widow Martha of the high-priestly family Boethos , and she by bribing Jannai secured for him the office of high priest...
remade them in gold, earning him praise. (Mishnah Yoma 3:9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 37a.) Rabbi Judah explained that mentioned the two goats equally because they should be alike in color, height, and value. (Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 13b.) The Mishnah taught that the High Priest shook the urn and brought up the two lots. On one lot was inscribed “for the Lord,” and on the other “for Azazel.” The Deputy High Priest stood at the High Priest’s right hand and the head of the ministering family at his left. If the lot inscribed “for the Lord” came up in his right hand, the Deputy High Priest would say “Mr. High Priest, raise your right hand!” And if the lot inscribed “for the Lord” came up in his left hand, the head of the family would say “Mr. High Priest, raise your left hand!” Then he placed them on the goats and said: “A sin-offering ‘to the Lord!’” (Rabbi Ishmael taught that he did not need to say “a sin-offering” but just “to the Lord.”) And then the people answered “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 4:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 39a.)
Then the High Priest bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the Azazel goat, and placed it at the gate from which it was to be sent away. And he placed the goat that was to be slaughtered at the slaughtering place. He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands on it and made confession, saying: “O Lord, I have dealt wrongfully, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house, and the children of Aaron, Your holy people, o Lord, pray forgive the wrongdoings, the transgression, and the sins that I have committed, transgressed, and sinned before You, I and my house, and the children of Aaron, Your holy people. As it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant (in ): ‘For on this day atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all the sins shall you be clean before the Lord.’” And then the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 4:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.) Then he killed the bull. (Mishnah Yoma 4:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 43b.)
Rabbi Isaac noted two red threads, one in connection with the red cow in and the other in connection with the scapegoat in the Yom Kippur service of (which Mishnah Yoma 4:2 indicates was marked with a red thread). Rabbi Isaac had heard that one required a definite size, while the other did not, but he did not know which was which. Rav Joseph reasoned that because (as Mishnah Yoma 6:6 explains) the red thread of the scapegoat was divided, that thread required a definite size, whereas that of the red cow, which did not need to be divided, did not require a definite size. Rami bar Hama
Rami bar Hama
Rami bar Hama was a Babylonian amora of the third generation, a pupil of R. Ḥisda, and a fellow student of Raba, who was somewhat his junior ....
objected that the thread of the red cow required a certain weight (to be cast into the flames, as described in ). Raba
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
said that the matter of this weight is disputed by Tannaim
Tannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.)
Land of Israel
The Land of Israel is the Biblical name for the territory roughly corresponding to the area encompassed by the Southern Levant, also known as Canaan and Palestine, Promised Land and Holy Land. The belief that the area is a God-given homeland of the Jewish people is based on the narrative of the...
, he said in the name of Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
that there were three red threads: one in connection with the red cow, the second in connection with the scapegoat, and the third in connection with the person with skin disease (the m’tzora
Tzaraath
The Hebrew noun tzaraath describes a disfigurative condition mainly referred to in chapters 13-14 of Leviticus, as well as conditions equivalent to be "mildew" on clothes and houses.Tzaraath affects both animate...
) in Rav Dimi reported that one weighed ten zuz
Zuz (coin)
A Zuz was an ancient Hebrew silver coin struck during the Bar Kochba revolt. They were overstruck on Roman Imperial denarii or Roman provincial drachmas of Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, Trajan and Hadrian...
, another weighed two selas, and the third weighed a shekel
Shekel
Shekel , is any of several ancient units of weight or of currency. The first usage is from Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. Initially, it may have referred to a weight of barley...
, but he could not say which was which. When Rabin came, he said in the name of Rabbi Jonathan that the thread in connection with the red cow weighed ten zuz, that of the scapegoat weighed two selas, and that of the person with skin disease weighed a shekel. Rabbi Johanan said that Rabbi Simeon ben Halafta and the Sages disagreed about the thread of the red cow, one saying that it weighed ten shekels, the other that it weighed one shekel. Rabbi Jeremiah of Difti said to Rabina
Ravina I
Ravina I was a Jewish Talmudist, and rabbi, accounted as an Amora sage of the 5th and 6th generation of the Amora era. He began the process of compiling the Talmud with Rav Ashi. He died in 421. The Talmud was ultimately completed by his nephew Ravina II....
that they disagreed not about the thread of the red cow, but about that of the scapegoat. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b–42a.)
Rabbi Joshua of Siknin taught in the name of Rabbi Levi that the Evil Inclination criticizes four laws as without logical basis, and Scripture uses the expression “statute” (chuk) in connection with each: the laws of (1) a brother’s wife
Levirate marriage
Levirate marriage is a type of marriage in which the brother of a deceased man is obligated to marry his brother's widow, and the widow is obligated to marry her deceased husband's brother....
(in ), (2) mingled kinds (in and ), (3) the scapegoat (in ), and (4) the red cow (in ). (Numbers Rabbah 19:5.)
Then the High Priest came to the scapegoat and laid his two hands on it, and he made confession, saying: “I beseech You, o Lord, Your people the house of Israel have failed, committed iniquity and transgressed before you. I beseech you, o Lord, atone the failures, the iniquities and the transgressions that Your people, the house of Israel, have failed, committed, and transgressed before you, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant (in ): ‘For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.’” And when the Priests and the people standing in the Temple Court heard the fully pronounced Name of God come from the mouth of the High Priest, they bent their knees, bowed down, fell on their faces, and called out: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 6:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 66a.)
They handed the scapegoat over to him who was to lead it away. All were permitted to lead it away, but the Priests made it a rule not to permit an ordinary Israelite to lead it away. Rabbi Jose said that Arsela of Sepphoris once led it away, although he was not a priest. (Mishnah Yoma 6:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 66a.) The people went with him from booth to booth, except the last one. The escorts would not go with him up to the precipice, but watched from a distance. (Mishnah Yoma 6:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67a.) The one leading the scapegoat divided the thread of crimson wool, and tied one half to the rock, the other half between the scapegoat horns, and pushed the scapegoat from behind. And it went rolling down and before it had reached half its way down the hill, it was dashed to pieces. He came back and sat down under the last booth until it grew dark. His garments unclean become unclean from the moment that he has gone outside the wall of Jerusalem, although Rabbi Simeon taught that they became unclean from the moment that he pushed it over the precipice. (Mishnah Yoma 6:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67a.)
The Sages taught that if one pushed the goat down the precipice and it did not die, then one had to go down after the goat and kill it. (Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 3:14.)
The Mishnah interpreted to teach that the goat sent to Azazel could atone for all sins, even sins punishable by death. (Mishnah Shevuot 1:6; Babylonian Talmud Shevuot 2b.)
They would set up guards at stations, and from these would waive towels to signal that the goat had reached the wilderness. When the signal was relayed to Jerusalem, they told the High Priest: “The goat has reached the wilderness.” Rabbi Ishmael taught that they had another sign too: They tied a thread of crimson to the door of the Temple, and when the goat reached the wilderness, the thread would turn white, as it is written in Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
“Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Mishnah Yoma 6:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68b.)
The Mishnah compared the person who burned the red cow in the person who burned the bulls burned pursuant to or and the person who led away the scapegoat pursuant to and 26. These persons rendered unclean the clothes worn while doing these acts. But the red cow, the bull, and the scapegoat did not themselves render unclean clothes with which they came in contact. The Mishnah imagined the clothing saying to the person: “Those that render you unclean do not render me unclean, but you render me unclean.” (Mishnah Parah 8:3.)
Rabbi Eliezer noted that both (with regard to burning the Yom Kippur sin offerings) and (with regard to slaughtering the red cow) say “outside the camp.” Rabbi Eliezer concluded that both actions had to be conducted outside the three camps of the Israelites, and in the time of the Temple in Jerusalem, both actions had to be conducted to the east of Jerusalem. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68a.)
Chapter 8 of tractate Yoma in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of self-denial in (Mishnah Yoma 8:1–9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b–88a.) The Mishnah taught that on Yom Kippur, one must not eat, drink, wash, anoint oneself, put on sandals, or have sexual intercourse. Rabbi Eliezer (whom the halachah
Halakha
Halakha — also transliterated Halocho , or Halacha — is the collective body of Jewish law, including biblical law and later talmudic and rabbinic law, as well as customs and traditions.Judaism classically draws no distinction in its laws between religious and ostensibly non-religious life; Jewish...
follows) taught that a king or bride may wash the face, and a woman after childbirth may put on sandals. But the sages forbad doing so. (Mishnah Yoma 8:1; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b.) The Mishnah held a person culpable to punishment for eating an amount of food equal to a large date
Date Palm
The date palm is a palm in the genus Phoenix, cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Although its place of origin is unknown because of long cultivation, it probably originated from lands around the Persian Gulf. It is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with...
(with its pit included), or for drinking a mouthful of liquid. For the purpose of calculating the amount consumed, one combines all amounts of food together, and all amounts liquids together, but not amounts of foods together with amounts of liquids. (Mishnah Yoma 8:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 73b.) The Mishnah obliged one who unknowingly or forgetfully ate and drank to bring only one sin-offering. But one who unknowingly or forgetfully ate and performed labor had to bring two sin-offerings. The Mishnah did not hold one culpable who ate foods unfit to eat, or drank liquids unfit to drink (like fish-brine). (Mishnah Yoma 8:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 81a.) The Mishnah taught that one should not afflict children at all on Yom Kippur. In the two years before they become Bar or Bat Mitzvah, one should train children to become used to religious observances (for example by fasting for several hours). (Mishnah Yoma 8:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 82a.) The Mishnah taught that one should give food to a pregnant woman who smelled food and requested it. One should feed to a sick person at the direction of experts, and if no experts are present, one feeds a sick person who requests food. (Mishnah Yoma 8:5; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 82a.) The Mishnah taught that one may even give unclean food to one seized by a ravenous hunger, until the person’s eyes are opened. Rabbi Matthia ben Heresh said that one who has a sore throat may drink medicine even on the Sabbath, because it presented the possibility of danger to human life, and every danger to human life suspends the laws of the Sabbath. (Mishnah Yoma 8:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 83a.)
Eleazar ben Azariah
Eleazar ben Azariah , was a 1st-century CE Palestinian tanna . He was of the second generation and a junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, and Joshua b. Hananiah, and senior of Akiba...
derived from the words “From all your sins before the Lord shall you be clean” in that Yom Kippur atones for sins against God, but Yom Kippur does not atone for transgressions between one person and another, until the one person has pacified the other. Rabbi Akiba said that Israel is fortunate, for just as waters cleanse the unclean, so does God cleanse Israel. (Mishnah Yoma 8:9; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 85b.)
Rabbi Eleazar interpreted the words of “from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord,” to teach that the Day of Atonement expiates sins that are known only to God. (Babylonian Talmud Keritot 25b.)
Mar Zutra
Mar Zutra
Mar Zutra was a Jewish Amora sage of Babylon, of the sixth generation of the Amora era. He was a colleague of Amemar and Rav Ashi. He headed the Yeshiva of Pumbedita, and according to the book "Seder Tannaim ve-Amoraim", previous to Rav Aha b. Rava...
taught that the merit of a fast day lies in the charity dispensed. (Babylonian Talmud Berakhot 6b.)
The Gemara told that a poor man lived in Mar Ukba’s
Mar Ukva
Mar Ukva was a Jewish Amora sage of Babylon, of the first generation of the Amora era. He served as an Exilarch during the days of Samuel of Nehardea, who was also his Rabbi, but at the same time, Samuel was subordinated to Mar Ukva in Ukva's capacity as "Av Beit Din" - Chief of the rabbinical...
neighborhood to whom he regularly sent 400 zuz on the eve of every Yom Kippur. Once Mar Ukba sent his son to deliver the 400 zuz. His son came back and reported that the poor man did not need Mar Ukba’s help. When Mar Ukba asked his son what he had seen, his son replied that they were sprinkling aged wine before the poor man to improve the aroma in the room. Mar Ukba said that if the poor man was that delicate, then Mar Ukba would double the amount of his gift and send it back to the poor man. (Babylonian Talmud Ketubot 67b.)
Rabbi Eleazar taught that when the Temple stood, a person used to bring a shekel and so make atonement. Now that the Temple no longer stands, if people give for charity, all will be well, and if they do not, heathens will come and take from them forcibly (what they should have given away). And even so, God will reckon to them as if they had given charity, as says, “I will make your exactors righteousness [צְדָקָה, tzedakah].” (Babylonian Talmud Bava Batra 9a.)
Rav Bibi bar Abaye taught that on the eve of the Day of Atonement, a person should confess saying: "I confess all the evil I have done before You; I stood in the way of evil; and as for all the evil I have done, I shall no more do the like; may it be Your will, O Lord my God, that You should pardon me for all my iniquities, and forgive me for all my transgressions, and grant me atonement for all my sins." This is indicated by which says, "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the man of iniquity his thoughts." Rabbi Isaac compared it to a person fitting together two boards, joining them one to another. And Rabbi Jose ben Hanina
Jose b. Hanina
Jose b. Hanina was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, from the second generation of the Amoraim. He was a discipline of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and served as a 'Dayan' religious Judge.-Biography:...
compared it to a person fitting together two bed-legs, joining them one to another. (This harmoniously does a person become joined to God when the person genuinely repents.) (Leviticus Rabbah 3:3.)
Our Rabbis taught that the obligation to confess sins comes on the eve of the Day of Atonement, as it grows dark. But the Sages said that one should confess before one has eaten and drunk, lest one become inebriated in the course of the meal. And even if one has confessed before eating and drinking, one should confess again after having eaten and drunk, because perhaps some wrong happened during the meal. And even if one has confessed during the evening prayer, one should confess again during the morning prayer. And even if one has confessed during the morning prayer, one should do so again during the Musaf additional prayer. And even if one has confessed during the Musaf, one should do so again during the afternoon prayer. And even if one has done so in the afternoon prayer, one should confess again in the Ne'ilah concluding prayer. The Gemara taught that the individual should say the confession after the (silent recitation of the) Amidah
Amidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
prayer, and the public reader says it in the middle of the Amidah. Rav taught that the confession begins: “You know the secrets of eternity . . . .” Samuel, however, taught that the confession begins: “From the depths of the heart . . . .” Levi
Levi ben Sisi
Levi ben Sisi or Levi bar Sisi was a Jewish scholar, disciple of the patriarch Judah I, and school associate of his son Simeon Levi ben Sisi or Levi bar Sisi (Sisyi, Susyi, Hebrew: לוי בר סיסי) was a Jewish scholar, disciple of the patriarch Judah I, and school associate of his son Simeon Levi ben...
said: “And in Your Torah it is said, [‘For on this day He shall make atonement for you.’]” Rabbi Johanan taught that the confession begins: “Lord of the Universe, . . . .” Rav Judah
Judah ben Ezekiel
Judah ben Ezekiel , was a Babylonian amora of the 2nd generation. He was the most prominent disciple of Rav , in whose house he often stayed, and whose son Hiyya was his pupil...
said: “Our iniquities are too many to count, and our sins too numerous to be counted.” Rav Hamnuna
Hamnuna
Hamnuna is the name of several rabbis in the Talmud.* Hamnuna Sabba . Mid third century of the common era. A pupil of Rav . After Rav, he became the head of the rabbinical academy at Sura. The Talmud contains many halakhic rulings, aggadot and prayers from him...
said: “My God, before I was formed, I was of no worth, and now that I have been formed, it is as if I had not been formed. I am dust in my life, how much more in my death. Behold, I am before You like a vessel full of shame and reproach. May it be Your will that I sin no more, and what I have sinned wipe away in Your mercy, but not through suffering.” That was the confession of sins used by Rav all the year round, and by Rav Hamnuna the younger, on the Day of Atonement. Mar Zutra taught that one should say such prayers only if one has not already said, “Truly, we have sinned,” but if one has said, “Truly, we have sinned,” no more is necessary. For Bar Hamdudi taught that once he stood before Samuel, who was sitting, and when the public reader said, “Truly, we have sinned,” Samuel rose, and so Bar Hamdudi inferred that this was the main confession. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 87b.)
Rav Kruspedai said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that on Rosh Hashanah, three books are opened in heaven — one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and one for those in between. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of life. The thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book of death. And the fate of those in between is suspended from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. If they deserve well, then they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not deserve well, then they are inscribed in the book of death. Rabbi Abin said that Psalm
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
tells us this when it says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.” “Let them be blotted out from the book” refers to the book of the wicked. “Of the living” refers to the book of the righteous. “And not be written with the righteous” refers to the book of those in between. Rav Nahman bar Isaac
Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak
Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak or Rabh Naħman bar Yişħaq in actual Talmudic and Classical Hebrew was an amora who lived in Babylonia. He was a disciple of Abaye and Rava and the dean of the yeshiva at Pumbedita....
derived this from where Moses told God, “if not, blot me, I pray, out of Your book that You have written.” “Blot me, I pray” refers to the book of the wicked. “Out of Your book” refers to the book of the righteous. “That you have written” refers to the book of those in between. (Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 16b.)
Rav Mana of Sha'ab (in Galilee) and Rav Joshua of Siknin in the name of Rav Levi compared repentance at the High Holidays to the case of a province that owed arrears on its taxes to the king, and the king came to collect the debt. When the king was within ten miles, the nobility of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of a third of its debt. When he was within five miles, the middle-class people of the province came out and praised him, so he freed the province of another third of its debt. When he entered the province, all the people of the province — men, women, and children — came out and praised him, so he freed them of all of their debt. The king told them to let bygones be bygones; from then on they would start a new account. In a similar manner, on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the leaders of the generation fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. From Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, private individuals fast, and God absolves them of a third of their iniquities. On Yom Kippur, everyone fasts — men, women and children — and God tells Israel to let bygones be bygones; from then onwards we begin a new account. From Yom Kippur to Sukkot, all Israel are busy with the performance of religious duties. One is busy with a sukkah, one with a lulav. On the first day of Sukkot, all Israel stand in the presence of God with their palm-branches and etrogs in honor of God's name, and God tells them to let bygones be bygones; from now we begin a new account. Thus in Moses exhorts Israel: "You shall take on the first day [of Sukkot] the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and the boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God." Rabbi Aha
Rabbi Aha
Rabbi Aha was a Jewish Amora sage of the Land of Israel, of the fourth generation of the Amora era. He resided at Lod, and was a colleague of R. Yehudah b. Pazi. Most of his work on the Halakha and Aggadah is cited in the Jerusalem Talmud and the Midrash, and very few is cited in the Babylon...
explained that the words, "For with You there is forgiveness," in signify that forgiveness waits with God from Rosh Hashanah onward. And forgiveness waits that long so (in the words of ) "that You may be feared" and God may impose God's awe upon God’s creatures (through the suspense and uncertainty). (Leviticus Rabbah 30:7.)
Rabban Simeon ben Gamaliel
Shimon ben Gamliel
Simeon ben Gamliel was a Tanna sage and leader of the Jewish people. He succeeded his father Gamliel I as the nasi of the Sanhedrin after his father's death in 50 CE and just before the destruction of the Second Temple...
said that there never were greater days of joy in Israel than the 15th of Av
Tu B'Av
Tu B'Av is a minor Jewish holiday. In modern-day Israel, it is celebrated as a holiday of love , similar to Valentine's Day...
and Yom Kippur. On those days, the daughters of Jerusalem would come out in borrowed white garments, dance in the vineyards, and exclaim to the young men to lift up their eyes and choose for themselves. (Mishnah Taanit 4:8; Babylonian Talmud Taanit 26b.)
Leviticus chapter 17
A TannaTannaim
The Tannaim were the Rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 70-200 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also referred to as the Mishnaic period, lasted about 130 years...
taught that the prohibition of the high place
High place
High Place, in the English version of the Old Testament, the literal translation of the Hebrew במה .This rendering is etymologically correct, as appears from the poetical use of the plural in such expressions as to ride, or stalk, or stand on the high places of the earth, the sea, the clouds, and...
s stated in took place on the first of Nisan. The Tanna taught that the first of Nisan took ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as reported in ), (2) the first day of the princes’ offerings (as reported in ), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make the sacrificial offerings (as reported in ), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5) the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in ), (6) the first for the priests’ eating of sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah in Israel (as implied by ), (8) the first for the Priestly Blessing
Priestly Blessing
The Priestly Blessing, , also known in Hebrew as Nesiat Kapayim, , or Dukhanen , is a Jewish prayer recited by Kohanim during certain Jewish services...
of Israel (as reported in employing the blessing prescribed by ), (9) the first for the prohibition of the high places (as stated in ), and (10) the first of the months of the year (as instructed in ). Rav Assi of Hozna'ah deduced from the words, “And it came to pass in the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month,” in that the Tabernacle was erected on the first of Nisan. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 87b.)
The Gemara interpreted the prohibition on consuming blood in to apply to the blood of any type of animal or fowl, but not to the blood of eggs, grasshoppers, and fish. (Babylonian Talmud Keritot 20b–21a.)
Leviticus chapter 18
Applying the prohibition against following the ways of the Canaanites in , the Sages of the Mishnah prohibited going out with talismans like a locust's egg, a fox's tooth, or a nail from a gallows, but Rabbi Meir allowed it, and the Gemara reported that AbayeAbaye
Abaye was a rabbi of the Jewish Talmud who lived in Babylonia [בבל], known as an amora [אמורא] born about the close of the third century; died 339 . His father, Kaylil, was the brother of Rabbah bar Nachmani, a teacher at the Academy of Pumbedita. Abaye's real name was Nachmani, after his...
and Rava
Rava (amora)
For the third generation Amora sage of Babylon, with a similar name, see: Joseph b. Hama .Abba ben Joseph bar Ḥama, who is exclusively referred to in the Talmud by the name Rava , was a Jewish Talmudist who lived in Babylonia, known as an amora, born in 270. He is one of the most often-cited Rabbis...
agreed, excepting from the prohibition of any practice of evident therapeutic value. (Mishnah Shabbat 6:10; Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 67a.)
calls on the Israelites to obey God’s “statutes” (chukim) and “ordinances” (mishpatim). The Rabbis in a Baraita taught that the “ordinances” (mishpatim) were commandments that logic would have dictated that we follow even had Scripture not commanded them, like the laws concerning idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and blasphemy. And “statutes” (chukim) were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to shaatnez (in and ), halizah
Halizah
Under the Biblical system of levirate marriage known as Yibbum, Halizah is the ceremony by which a widow and her husband's brother could avoid the duty to marry after the husband's death....
(in ), purification of the person with tzaraat
Tzaraath
The Hebrew noun tzaraath describes a disfigurative condition mainly referred to in chapters 13-14 of Leviticus, as well as conditions equivalent to be "mildew" on clothes and houses.Tzaraath affects both animate...
(in ), and the scapegoat (in ). So that people do not think these “ordinances” (mishpatim) to be empty acts, in God says, “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)
Rabbi Ishmael
Ishmael ben Elisha
Rabbi Ishmael or Ishmael ben Elisha was a Tanna of the 1st and 2nd centuries . A Tanna is a rabbinic sage whose views are recorded in the Mishnah.-Disposition:...
interpreted the words “he shall live by them” in to teach that a person should live by the laws, not die by them, and thus one could transgress a commandment to avoid death. And Rabbi Johanan
Yochanan bar Nafcha
Rabbi Yochanan ;...
reported in the name of Rabbi Simeon ben Jehozadak that a majority in the house of Nithza in Lod
Lod
Lod is a city located on the Sharon Plain southeast of Tel Aviv in the Center District of Israel. At the end of 2010, it had a population of 70,000, roughly 75 percent Jewish and 25 percent Arab.The name is derived from the Biblical city of Lod...
voted that a person could transgress any laws to avoid death, except idolatry, incest, or murder. But Rav Dimi taught that one could sin to avoid death only in times when there was no oppressive royal decree against observing the Torah, but in times of such a decree, one needed to suffer martyrdom rather than transgress even a minor precept. And Rabin said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that even absent such a royal decree, sinning to save one’s life was permitted only in private; whereas in public, one needed to suffer martyrdom rather than violate even a minor precept. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 74a.)
The Gemara interpreted to prohibit a man from lying with his father's wife, whether or not she was his mother, and whether or not the father was still alive. (Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 54a.)
Rav Awira taught (sometimes in the name of Rabbi Ammi
Rabbi Ammi
Ammi, Aimi, Immi is the name of several Jewish Talmudists, known as amoraim, who lived in the Land of Israel and Babylonia. In the Babylonian Talmud the first form only is used; in the Jerusalem Talmud all three forms appear, Immi predominating, and sometimes R. Ammi is contracted into "Rabmi" or...
, sometimes in the name of Rabbi Assi
Rabbi Assi
Assi II was a Jewish Talmudist, known as an amora, who lived in the Land of Israel, of the third generation, 3rd and 4th centuries, one of the two Palestinian scholars known among their contemporary Jewish Talmudical scholars of Babylonian as "the judges of the Land of Israel" and as "the...
) that the words “And the child grew, and was weaned (va-yigamal, וַיִּגָּמַל), and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned” in Genesis teach that God will make a great feast for the righteous on the day that God manifests (yigmol) God’s love to Isaac’s descendants. After they have eaten and drunk, they will ask Abraham to recite the Grace after meals (Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon
Birkat Hamazon or Birkath Hammazon, , known in English as the Grace After Meals, , is a set of Hebrew blessings that Jewish Law prescribes following a meal that includes bread or matzoh made from one or all of wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt...
), but Abraham will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Ishmael. Then they will ask Isaac to say Grace, but Isaac will answer that he cannot say Grace, because he fathered Esau
Esau
Esau , in the Hebrew Bible, is the oldest son of Isaac. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis, and by the minor prophets, Obadiah and Malachi. The New Testament later references him in the Book of Romans and the Book of Hebrews....
. Then they will ask Jacob
Jacob
Jacob "heel" or "leg-puller"), also later known as Israel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, the Talmud, the New Testament and the Qur'an was the third patriarch of the Hebrew people with whom God made a covenant, and ancestor of the tribes of Israel, which were named after his descendants.In the...
, but Jacob will answer that he cannot, because he married two sisters during both their lifetimes, which was destined to forbid. Then they will ask Moses, but Moses will answer that he cannot, because God did not allow him to enter the Land of Israel either in life or in death. Then they will ask Joshua
Joshua
Joshua , is a minor figure in the Torah, being one of the spies for Israel and in few passages as Moses's assistant. He turns to be the central character in the Hebrew Bible's Book of Joshua...
, but Joshua will answer that he cannot, because he was not privileged to have a son, for reports, “Nun
Nun (Bible)
Nun , in the Hebrew Bible, was a man from the Tribe of Ephraim, grandson of Ammihud, son of Elishama, and father of Joshua. He grew up in and may have lived his entire life in the Israelites' Egyptian captivity, where the Egyptians "made life bitter for them with harsh labor at mortar and bricks...
was his son, Joshua was his son,” without listing further descendants. Then they will ask David
David
David was the second king of the united Kingdom of Israel according to the Hebrew Bible and, according to the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, an ancestor of Jesus Christ through both Saint Joseph and Mary...
, and he will say Grace, and find it fitting for him to do so, because records David saying, “I will lift up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.” (Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 119b.)
A Baraita was taught in the Academy of Eliyahu: A certain scholar diligently studied Bible and Mishnah, and greatly served scholars, but nonetheless died young. His wife carried his tefillin
Tefillin
Tefillin also called phylacteries are a set of small black leather boxes containing scrolls of parchment inscribed with verses from the Torah, which are worn by observant Jews during weekday morning prayers. Although "tefillin" is technically the plural form , it is loosely used as a singular as...
to the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
s and schoolhouses and asked if says, “for that is your life, and the length of your days,” why her husband nonetheless died young. No one could answer her. On one occasion, Eliyahu asked her how he was to her during her days of white garments — the seven days after her menstrual period — and she reported that they ate, drank, and slept together without clothing. Eliyahu explained that God must have slain him because he did not sufficiently respect the separation that requires. (Babylonian Talmud Shabbat 13a–b.)
Mishnah Sanhedrin 7:7 and Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 64a–b interpreted the laws prohibiting passing one’s child through the fire to Molech in and and
Rabbi Judah ben Pazzi deduced from the juxtaposition of the sexual prohibitions of and the exhortation to holiness in that those who fence themselves against sexual immorality are called holy, and Rabbi Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi
Joshua ben Levi or Yehoshua ben Levi was an amora who lived in the land of Israel of the first half of the third century. He headed the school of Lydda in the southern Land of Israel. He was an elder contemporary of Johanan bar Nappaha and Resh Lakish, who presided over the school in Tiberias...
taught that wherever one finds a fence against sexual immorality, one will also find sanctity. (Leviticus Rabbah 24:6.)
Commandments
According to Sefer ha-ChinuchSefer ha-Chinuch
The Sefer ha-Chinuch , often simply "the Chinuch" is a work which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th century Spain...
, there are 2 positive and 26 negative commandments
Mitzvah
The primary meaning of the Hebrew word refers to precepts and commandments as commanded by God...
in the parshah:
- A Kohen must not enter the Temple in JerusalemTemple in JerusalemThe Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
indiscriminately. - To follow the procedure of Yom Kippur
- Not to slaughter sacrifices outside the courtyard
- To cover the blood of a slaughtered beast or fowl with earth
- Not to make pleasurable sexual contact with any forbidden woman
- Not to have homosexual sexual relations with one’s father
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s mother
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s father's wife
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s sister
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s son's daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s daughter's daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s father's wife's daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s father's sister
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s mother's sister
- Not to have homosexual sexual relations with one’s father's brother
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s father's brother's wife
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s son's wife
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s brother's wife
- Not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with a woman and her son's daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with a woman and her daughter's daughter
- Not to have sexual relations with one’s wife's sister while both are alive
- Not to have sexual relations with a menstrually impure womanNiddahNiddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
- Not to pass one’s children through the fire to Molech
- Not to have male homosexual sexual relationsHomosexuality and JudaismThe subject of homosexuality in Judaism dates back to the Torah, in the books of Bereshit and Vayiqra. Bereshit treats the destruction of the cities of Sedom and Amorrah by God...
- A man must not have sexual relations with a beast.
- A woman must not have sexual relations with a beast.
(Sefer HaHinnuch: The Book of [Mitzvah] Education. Translated by Charles Wengrov, 2:275–377. Jerusalem: Feldheim Pub., 1984. ISBN 0-87306-296-5.)
Haftarah
The haftarahHaftarah
The haftarah or haftoroh is a series of selections from the books of Nevi'im of the Hebrew Bible that is publicly read in synagogue as part of Jewish religious practice...
for the parshah is:
- for Ashkenazi JewsAshkenazi JewsAshkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...
: - for Sephardi JewsSephardi JewsSephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...
:
Connection to the parshah
Both the parshah (in ) and the haftarah (in ) address prohibited sexual practices.On Shabbat HaGadol
When the parshah coincides with Shabbat HaGadol (the special SabbathSpecial Sabbaths
Special Shabbatot are fixed Jewish Shabbat days, which precede or coincide with certain Jewish holidays during the year. Each one has a special name.-Shabbat Shuvah:...
immediately before Passover
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
— as it does in 2011 and 2014), the haftarah is Malachi
Book of Malachi
Malachi is a book of the Hebrew Bible, the last of the twelve minor prophets and the final book of the Neviim...
Connection to the special Sabbath
Shabbat HaGadol means “the Great Sabbath,” and the haftarah for the special Sabbath refers to a great day that God is preparing.Parshah Acharei-Kedoshim
When parshah Acharei is combined with parshah Kedoshim (as it is in 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2018), the haftarah is the haftarah for parshah Kedoshim:- for Ashkenazi Jews: AmosBook of AmosThe Book of Amos is a prophetic book of the Hebrew Bible, one of the Twelve Minor Prophets. Amos, an older contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c. 750 BCE during the reign of Jeroboam II, making the Book of Amos the first biblical prophetic book written. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah...
- for Sephardi Jews:
The Weekly Maqam
In the Weekly MaqamThe Weekly Maqam
In Mizrahi and Sephardic Middle Eastern Jewish prayer services, each Shabbat the congregation conducts services using a different maqam. A maqam , which in Arabic literally means 'place', is a standard melody type and set of related tunes. The melodies used in a given maqam aims effectively to...
, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Acharei, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hijaz, the maqam that expresses mourning and sadness. This maqam is appropriate for this parshah because the parshah alludes to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, the first two sons of Aaron.
Ancient
- “Temple Program for the New Year’s Festival at Babylon.” Babylonia. Reprinted in Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament. Edited by James B. PritchardJames B. PritchardJames Bennett Pritchard was an American archeologist whose work explicated the interrelationships of the religions of ancient Israel, Canaan, Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon...
. 331–34. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0-691-03503-2.
Biblical
49–53 (riddance ritual); (Molech); (Yom Kippur). (passing children through the fire).- 1 KingsBooks of KingsThe Book of Kings presents a narrative history of ancient Israel and Judah from the death of David to the release of his successor Jehoiachin from imprisonment in Babylon, a period of some 400 years...
33 (Molech). (son pass through fire); (children pass through fire); (son pass through fire); (Molech). (Molech or king). - JeremiahBook of JeremiahThe Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, following the book of Isaiah and preceding Ezekiel and the Book of the Twelve....
(child sacrifice); (Molech); (Molech or Malcam). (sacrificing children); (the just man avoids contact with the menstruating woman); (sacrifice of sons). (Molech or king). - ZephaniahBook of ZephaniahThe superscription of the Book of Zephaniah attributes its authorship to “Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah” . All that is known of Zephaniah comes from the text. The superscription of the book is lengthier than...
(Molech). (God’s imputing iniquity to a person); (cleansing from sin); (holiness in God’s house); (God’s forgiveness); (sacrifice to demons). (children pass through fire).
Early nonrabbinic
- PhiloPhiloPhilo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....
. Allegorical Interpretation 2:14:52, 15:56; That the Worse Is Wont To Attack the Better 22:80; On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile 20:70; On the Giants 8:32; Who Is the Heir of Divine Things? 16:84; On Mating with the Preliminary Studies 16:85–87; On Flight and Finding 28:159; 34:193; On Dreams, That They Are God-Sent 2:28:189, 34:231; The Special Laws 4:23:122. AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Egypt, early 1st Century CE. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by Charles Duke YongeCharles Duke YongeCharles Duke Yonge was an English historian, classicist, and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works.-Life:...
, 43, 121, 138, 154, 283, 311, 335, 338, 401, 404, 628. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1. - JosephusJosephusTitus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
, Antiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the JewsAntiquities of the Jews is a twenty volume historiographical work composed by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus in the thirteenth year of the reign of Roman emperor Flavius Domitian which was around 93 or 94 AD. Antiquities of the Jews contains an account of history of the Jewish people,...
3:10:3, 11:2, 12:1. Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition. Translated by William WhistonWilliam WhistonWilliam Whiston was an English theologian, historian, and mathematician. He is probably best known for his translation of the Antiquities of the Jews and other works by Josephus, his A New Theory of the Earth, and his Arianism...
, 95. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8. - ActsActs of the ApostlesThe Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
(Molech).
Classical rabbinic
- MishnahMishnahThe Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
: Bikkurim 2:9; Shabbat 6:10; Shekalim 4:2; Yoma 1:1–8:9; Megillah 3:5; 4:9; Chagigah 2:1; Yevamot 2:3; Sotah 7:7; Sanhedrin 7:4; 9:1; Makkot 3:15; Shevuot 1:4–7; Zevachim 12:5; 14:1–2, 9; Menachot 9:7; Keritot 1:1; 2:4; 5:1; Parah 1:4; 8:3. Land of Israel, circa 200 CE Reprinted in, e.g., The Mishnah: A New Translation. Translated by Jacob NeusnerJacob NeusnerJacob Neusner is an American academic scholar of Judaism who lives in Rhinebeck, New York.-Biography:Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Neusner was educated at Harvard University, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America , the University of Oxford, and Columbia University.Neusner is often celebrated...
, 171, 256, 265–79, 321, 323, 330, 339, 459, 597, 602, 619, 621–22, 726, 729, 731, 752, 836, 839, 845–46, 1014, 1025. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4. - SifraSifraSifra is the Halakic midrash to Leviticus. It is frequently quoted in the Talmud, and the study of it followed that of the Mishnah, as appears from Tanḥuma, quoted in Or Zarua, i. 7b. Like Leviticus itself, the midrash is occasionally called "Torat Kohanim" , and in two passages also "Sifra debe...
174:1–194:3. Land of Israel, 4th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Sifra: An Analytical Translation. Translated by Jacob Neusner, 3:1–84. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-207-0. - Jerusalem TalmudJerusalem TalmudThe Jerusalem Talmud, talmud meaning "instruction", "learning", , is a collection of Rabbinic notes on the 2nd-century Mishnah which was compiled in the Land of Israel during the 4th-5th century. The voluminous text is also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud de-Eretz Yisrael...
: Kilayim 76a; Maaser Sheni 12a; Pesachim 32a; Yoma 1a–57a; Sukkah 3b, 27a; Beitzah 1a–49b. Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Yerushalmi. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, vols. 5, 10, 18, 21–23. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2008–2011. - Mekhilta of Rabbi SimeonMekhilta de-Rabbi ShimonThe Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon is a Halakic midrash on Exodus from the school of R. Akiba, the "Rabbi Shimon" in question being Shimon bar Yochai. No midrash of this name is mentioned in Talmudic literature, but medieval authors refer to one which they call either "Mekilta de-R. Simeon b. Yoḥai," or...
9:5; 37:2; 47:1; 48:2; 54:1; 60:4; 69:3; 74:5. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai. Translated by W. David Nelson, 29, 163, 205, 215, 243, 275, 317, 348. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0799-7. - Leviticus RabbahLeviticus RabbahLeviticus Rabbah, Vayikrah Rabbah, or Wayiqra Rabbah is a homiletic midrash to the Biblical book of Leviticus . It is referred to by Nathan ben Jehiel in his Aruk as well as by Rashi in his commentaries on , and elsewhere. According to Leopold Zunz, Hai Gaon and Nissim knew and made use of it...
5:6; 17:3; 20:1–23:13; 27:9. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus. Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 4:71, 216, 250–303, 354. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
- Babylonian TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
: Shabbat 13a–b, 22a, 67a, 86a; Pesachim 22a, 26a, 47b, 65a, 75b, 77a, 79a, 85b; Yoma 2a–88a; Sukkah 5a, 24a, 28a, 33a; Beitzah 2a, 7a–8a; Rosh Hashanah 26a; Megillah 7b, 20b, 24a, 25a, 30b–31a; Moed Katan 9a, 15b, 28a; Chagigah 9a, 10a, 11b, 16a, 23b; Yevamot 2a, 3a–b, 5b–8b, 11a, 13a, 17b, 19a, 21a–23a, 28b, 33b, 49a, 50a, 54b–55b, 56b, 83b, 97a, 102b, 114a; Ketubot 29a, 30a, 32b–33a, 36a, 47b, 56a, 72a, 82b; Nedarim 51a, 78a; Sotah 4b, 16a, 17a, 26b, 40b–41a; Gittin 54b, 60a; Kiddushin 13b–14a, 22b, 43a, 44b, 50b–51a, 57b, 67b–68a; Bava Kamma 32a, 38a, 40b–41a, 76a, 91b, 96b; Bava Batra 25a, 88b, 109b, 120a–21a; Sanhedrin 12b, 18a, 19b, 28b, 33b, 34b, 42b, 43b, 49b, 51a, 52b, 53b–55a, 57b, 58b–59a, 60b–61a, 74a, 75b–76a, 81a, 82a; Makkot 5b, 13a–14b, 18a, 23a–24a; Shevuot 2a–b, 7b–8b, 12a–14a, 17b–18b; Avodah Zarah 3a, 11a, 17a–b, 27b, 47a, 51a–b, 54a, 74a; Horayot 6a, 8b, 13a; Zevachim 6a, 19b, 26a–b, 35a, 40a, 46a, 52a, 57a, 69a–70a, 78a, 81a, 83a, 84b, 98a, 104a, 105a–09b, 112a–b, 113b, 116b, 118a, 119b; Menachot 8b, 12b, 16a, 22a, 26a, 27a–b, 83a, 91b–92a, 93b; Chullin 10b–11a, 16b–17a, 20b, 22a, 24a, 27b, 29b, 31a, 41b, 72a, 78a, 79b, 83b–84a, 85a, 86b–87a, 88a, 98b, 117a, 120a, 131b, 138a–39a; Bekhorot 39b, 56b; Temurah 2b, 5b, 6b, 12a, 13a, 14a, 29b; Keritot 2a–3b, 4b, 5a, 6a–b, 9a, 10b, 14a–15a, 20b–21a, 22a, 25b, 28a; Meilah 11a–b, 13b; Niddah 35a, 55a–b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Talmud Bavli. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
- RashiRashiShlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
. Commentary. Leviticus 16–18. TroyesTroyesTroyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 3:191–223. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-028-5.
- Judah HaleviYehuda HaleviJudah Halevi was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, either in Toledo or Tudela, in 1075 or 1086, and died shortly after arriving in Palestine in 1141...
. KuzariKuzariThe Kitab al Khazari, commonly called the Kuzari, is one of most famous works of the medieval Spanish Jewish philosopher and poet Rabbi Yehuda Halevi, completed around 1140. Its title is an Arabic phrase meaning Book of the Khazars...
. 3:53. ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel. Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 181. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4. - MaimonidesMaimonidesMoses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
. Mishneh TorahMishneh TorahThe Mishneh Torah subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka is a code of Jewish religious law authored by Maimonides , one of history's foremost rabbis...
, Intro.:25; Structure. CairoCairoCairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Egypt, 1170–1180. - Maimonides. The Guide for the PerplexedGuide for the PerplexedThe Guide for the Perplexed is one of the major works of Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides or "the Rambam"...
, 3:37, 41, 46, 47, 48, 49. Cairo, Egypt, 1190. Reprinted in, e.g., Moses Maimonides. The Guide for the Perplexed. Translated by Michael FriedländerMichael FriedländerMichael Friedländer was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' Guide to the Perplexed, which was the most popular such translation until the more recent work of Shlomo Pines, and still remains in print.Friedländer was...
, 334, 346, 362–64, 366, 369, 371, 376–77. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. ISBN 0-486-20351-4. - ZoharZoharThe Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
3:56a–80a. Spain, late 13th Century.
Modern
- Thomas HobbesThomas HobbesThomas Hobbes of Malmesbury , in some older texts Thomas Hobbs of Malmsbury, was an English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy...
. LeviathanLeviathan (book)Leviathan or The Matter, Forme and Power of a Common Wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civil — commonly called simply Leviathan — is a book written by Thomas Hobbes and published in 1651. Its name derives from the biblical Leviathan...
, 3:40, 41. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. MacphersonC. B. MacphersonCrawford Brough Macpherson O.C. M.Sc. D. Sc. was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.-Life:...
, 503–04, 513–14. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0-14-043195-0. - Thomas MannThomas MannThomas Mann was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and 1929 Nobel Prize laureate, known for his series of highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novellas, noted for their insight into the psychology of the artist and the intellectual...
. Joseph and His BrothersJoseph and His BrothersJoseph and His Brothers is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph , setting it in the historical context of the Amarna Period...
. Translated by John E. WoodsJohn E. WoodsJohn E. Woods is a translator who specializes in translating German literature, since about 1978. His work includes much of the fictional prose of Arno Schmidt and the works of contemporary authors such as Ingo Schulze and Christoph Ransmayr...
, 79, 82–83, 147–48, 152–53, 189, 201–02, 226–27, 336, 351, 384–86, 927. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as Joseph und seine Brüder. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. - James A. MichenerJames A. MichenerJames Albert Michener was an American author of more than 40 titles, the majority of which were sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and incorporating historical facts into the stories...
. The SourceThe Source (novel)The Source is a historical novel by James A. Michener, first published in 1965. It is a survey of the history of the Jewish people and the land of Israel from pre-monotheistic days to the birth of the modern State of Israel...
, 106–20. New York: Random House, 1965. - David P. Wright. The Disposal of Impurity, 15–74. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1987. ISBN 1-55540-057-4.
- “Consensus Statement on Homosexuality.” New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1992. EH 24.1992a. Reprinted in Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, 612. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. ISBN 0-916219-19-4.
- Joel RothJoel RothJoel Roth is a prominent American rabbi in the Rabbinical Assembly, which is the rabbinical body of Conservative Judaism. He is a former member and chair of the assembly's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards which deals with questions of Jewish law and tradition, and serves as the Louis...
. “Homosexuality.” New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1992. EH 24.1992b. Reprinted in Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, 613–75. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. ISBN 0-916219-19-4. - Howard Handler. “In the Image of God: A Dissent in Favor of the Full Equality of Gay and Lesbian Jews into the Community of Conservative Judaism.” New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 1992. EH 24.1992h. Reprinted in Responsa: 1991–2000: The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Conservative Movement. Edited by Kassel Abelson and David J. Fine, 718–21. New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2002. ISBN 0-916219-19-4.
- Aaron WildavskyAaron WildavskyAaron Wildavsky was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management....
. Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel, 3–4. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. ISBN 1-56000-081-3. - Jacob MilgromJacob MilgromJacob Milgrom was a prominent American Jewish Bible scholar and Conservative rabbi, best known for his comprehensive Torah commentaries and work on the Dead Sea Scrolls.-Biography:...
. “Does the Bible Prohibit Homosexuality? The biblical prohibition is addressed only to Israel. It is incorrect to apply it on a universal scale.” Bible ReviewBible ReviewBible Review was a publication that sought to connect the academic study of the Bible to a broad general audience. Covering both the Old and New Testaments, Bible Review presented critical and historical interpretations of biblical texts, and “reader-friendly Biblical scholarship” from 1985 to...
. 9 (6) (Dec. 1993). - Jacob Milgrom. “How Not to Read the Bible: I am not for homosexuality, but I am for homosexuals. When the Bible is distorted to make God their enemy I must speak out to set the record straight.” Bible Review. 10 (2) (Apr. 1994).
- Calum M. Carmichael. Law, Legend, and Incest in the Bible: Leviticus 18–20, at 1–61, 189–98. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press, 1997. ISBN 0-8014-3388-6.
- Jacob Milgrom. “The Blood Taboo: Blood should not be ingested because it contains life. Whoever does so is guilty of murder.” Bible Review. 13 (4) (Aug. 1997).
- Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus 1–16, 3:1009–84. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998. ISBN 0-385-11434-6.
- Mary DouglasMary DouglasDame Mary Douglas, DBE, FBA was a British anthropologist, known for her writings on human culture and symbolism....
. Leviticus as Literature, 10, 33, 37, 62, 72, 76, 79, 90–92, 123, 131, 137, 140, 151, 187, 191–94, 225–26, 228, 231–40, 247–51. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-19-924419-7. - Jacob Milgrom. Leviticus 17–22, 3A:1447–593. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41255-X.
- Susan Ackerman. “When the Bible Enters the Fray: As Vermont legalizes civil unions for same-sex couples, both sides of the debate turn to the Bible for support. They might do better to turn to Bible scholars, too.” Bible Review. 16 (5) (Oct. 2000): 6, 50.
- Joel Roth. "Homosexuality Revisited." EH 24.2006a New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006.
- Elliot N. DorffElliot N. DorffElliot N. Dorff is a Conservative rabbi. He is a professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University in California , author and a bio-ethicist....
, Daniel S. Nevins, and Avram I. Reisner. "Homosexuality, Human Dignity and Halakhah." EH 24.2006b New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006. - Leonard Levy. "Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah." EH 24.2006c New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006.
- Baruch Frydman-Kohl. "You Have Wrestled with God and Human and Prevailed: Homosexuality and Halakhah." EH 24.2006d New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006.
- Loel M. Weiss. "Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah: A Concurring Opinion." EH 24.2006e New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006.
- Myron Geller, Robert Fine and David Fine. "A New Context: The Halakhah of Same-Sex Relations." EH 24.2006f New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006.
- Gordon TuckerGordon TuckerGordon Tucker is a prominent rabbi, with a reputation as both a political and a theological liberal in Conservative Judaism. He currently has a position as senior rabbi of Temple Israel Center in White Plains, New York.-Education and career:...
. "Halakhic and Metahalakhic Arguments Concerning Judaism and Homosexuality." EH 24.2006g New York: Rabbinical Assembly, 2006. - Jennifer K. Berenson MacLean. “Barabbas, the Scapegoat Ritual, and the Development of the Passion Narrative.” Harvard Theological ReviewHarvard Theological ReviewHarvard Theological Review is a journal of theology, published by Harvard Divinity School. It was founded in 1908.-External links:* * * * at the Internet Archive...
100 (3) (July 2007): 309–34. - Suzanne A. Brody. “Blood Is Life.” In Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems, 90. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007. ISBN 1-60047-112-9.
- “Reporters' Roundtable: Sex and Sexuality Edition.” The ForwardThe ForwardThe Forward , commonly known as The Jewish Daily Forward, is a Jewish-American newspaper published in New York City. The publication began in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily issued by dissidents from the Socialist Labor Party of Daniel DeLeon...
. (July 31, 2010). (podcast on Orthodox Judaism’s attempts to address homosexuality). - Gal Beckerman. “Debate Over Homosexuality Now Roiling Orthodox Jews: Some Rabbis Reach Out to Gays, While Others Attempt a ‘Cure.’” The Forward. (Aug. 6, 2010).
- Lawrence Rifkin. “The Times They Are A-Changin’: Jewish Religious Attitudes Toward Homosexuality Are Slowly Shifting.” The Jerusalem ReportThe Jerusalem ReportThe Jerusalem Report is a biweekly print and online newsmagazine that covers political and social issues in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world...
. 21 (11) (Sept. 13, 2010): 10–13.
See also
- Azazel in rabbinic literature
- Homosexuality and Conservative JudaismHomosexuality and Conservative JudaismHomosexuality has been a pivotal issue for Conservative Judaism since the 1980s. A major Jewish denomination in the U.S., Conservative Judaism has wrestled with homosexuality as a matter of Jewish law and institutional policy...
- Leviticus 18Leviticus 18Leviticus 18 is a chapter of the Biblical book of Leviticus. It narrates part of the instructions given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai. The chapter deals with a number of sexual activities considered 'unclean' or 'abominable'...
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