BS”D
Achrei Mos – Kedoshim
Delivered
by Dr Mori Bank
Ketores
The Yom Kippur incense service was absolutely unique. It
could only be brought by the Kohen Gadol, once a year, in the Holy of Holies,
the most sacred area of the
The Two
Goats
The two he goats, which Aharon took also represent these two
opposite motivations for sin. One would become a national hatas offering (sin
offering) to H’, brought in the Kodesh Kodoshim, the closest place on earth to
H’, kaveyachol. The other was sent out into the desert to Azazel, to carry the
people’s sins.
The two goats were identical. They looked the same and they
were from the same heard, the same age, and went through the same things. They
ate the same food, lived in the same place. What decided between them? Lots; a
lotto. The Or HaCHaim Hakadosh notes that in perek 16 verse 10 and 21, before
the confession, the goat for Azazel is referred to alive. After Aaron says the
confession it is not referred to as alive, even though it was some time before
it would be sent out to its death. He explains that the confession had the
effect of transferring the people’s sins on the goat, which would carry them
off to Azazel. The contamination rendered it spiritually “dead”. The commandment to send a scapegoat is
described as a Hok. It is beyond human intelligence. Rav Hirsch says that
identical goats are used to demonstrate that every person must choose between
good and evil. Those who do not choose to move towards holiness are inevitably
pushing themselves toward a wasteland of spiritual destruction. According to
the Zohar, The scapegoat is a reminder that H’ wants us to recognise and repel
the hostile forces that surround us and threaten us, just as Jacob, despite his
complete trust in H’, sent lavish tributes to Esav. If somebody speeds in their
car on Shabbos, at
One Goat
The Lehman Haggadah, written in the mid nineteenth century
describes how Chad Gad Yah refers to exile and redemption in Jewish History,
and the protection of H’ throughout. (Pp 350-356 edn Honigson 1969) “Israel
stands powerless and weak in the midst of an alien world that is intent upon
its destruction and would long since have destroyed it, had the faithful Shepherd
not spread His protecting hand over His flock, had the Father who brought the
lamb not preserved it so that by its very powerlessness it might bear witness
to His strength and through its helplessness draw attention to Him who protects
it… There came the shunra, the cat with its cunning and treachery and added to
our sufferings. We can here think of the haba nithakma of the Egyptians, who
attempted to attack us with guile, and of the avodas perech of the Egyptians
which, according to our sages, means peh rach, sweet and flattering modes of
address. At the beginning sweet, at the end bitter…. Alas how often have we
allowed ourselves to be misguided by this feline friendliness…Nothing has been
more dangerous for us than friendliness, for there is scarcely a more trusting
people than we Jews. And how dearly have we had to pay at all times for this
trusting nature!... The truth is beginning to dawn on our ranks. Many no longer
trust the friendliness and false affability of our enemies; the habit of creeping
and crawling, flattery and delusion seems to be declining… Truly Gadol haroeh,
great is the Shepherd who guides the lamb miraculously so that it does not
entirely lose its way of life, so that even if it strays from the way, it will
still find its way back…. The cat was always followed by the dog, whose
vocation and destiny it was to send back the straying flock to the Shepherd.
For G-d does not abandon any part of His inheritance that He has acquired. The
sad part is that we have had to suffer this experience far too often. … Each
page of our history shows us that there is only one way of assuring our
existence, namely faithful adherence to the precious possessions that our G-d
gave us to take on our way for our protection and safety, when we began our wanderings
as a people…. In the history of the Jewish people, so rich in sorrowful
occurrences, appears the rod…Scarcely have we begun to profit from an enterprise
that we have undertaken, when greed and envy are awakened in those who hate us,
and we are denied the fruits of our industry, so that we may recognise that we
are weak and powerless if we attempt to engage in the stern fight for existence
on our own. If we ignore this awareness of our impotence and dare to rely on
our own strength and power to fight for bread Haery Hamekalel Lilkos, then the
merciless road appears, to remove us from the fighting ranks and makes us
incapable of battle…. The rod is followed by fire, veasa nura. Who has not
heard and read with horror and fear of the unparalleled tortures which our
fathers were subjected in the dark centuries of the Middle Ages? This darkness
of the Middle Ages was lit up only by the leaping flames of the pyres on which
the faithful sons of their G-d chose to seal their faith with their lives.
…Innumerable heroes ascended to the pyre solely to avoid the danger of the
[baptism] water. These were the heroes, whose memory will live on when the
cursed names of the torturers and murderers have long since passed to eternal
oblivion. These were the heroes whose example continues to fortify and
encourage us…. With impatience and blind rage of a bull they fell upon us and
particularly upon those who were not strong enough to withstand the ordeal by
fire and sought their salvation in the water. Let us remember the unfortunate
Morranos in
But impatience spurs one on to appropriate activity. Veasa
malach hamaves veshachas hashochet. Our enemies are not usually satisfied with
theoretical impatience. They turn it into deeds, deeds that must evoke the
disgust and indignation of all rightminded people, if there are still any such
when Jews are to be the victims. If only those of other faiths were once faced
with the roll of the murdered and the beaten who fell victims to their
intolerance, they would sink into the ground in shame, and curse the memory of
those who tuned the world into a great cemetery. The weapons of human
slaughterers are obviously not always the same. In civilized circles today, it
would no longer be suggested that Jews be simply murdered, but no one is
concerned, even today, about blocking their means to sustenance. Laws were not
invented without purpose; they are on occasion quite a good substitute for the
slaughterer’s knife.
And despite this enmity, despite all this suffering, we
still exist, so that we may realise that we are entirely dependent upon the
protection of our Shepherd, who will one day come Veasa HaKadoh Boruch Hu, and
put a stop to the murders that His gadya can live in peace amongst mankind.
Vegar ze’ev im keves. The lamb will live amicably with the wolves, for the
Father who redeems us and frees our souls from dark nightmares, will also
redeem the rest of mankind, and will give them also a share in Pedus nefesh.
Full-voiced and powerful will the new song resound, a song today is only a
shira, a weak-sounding song of rejoicing by the few. The shira will be turned
into a shir, in which all mankind will join, al geulaseinu ve’al pdus
nafsheinu, for our redemption and the freeing of our souls. Tam venishlam
shvach leKel Bore Olam.
The
Customs of the Nations
Perek 17 posuk 3 tells us “Do not follow in their
traditions”. It uses the word חקתיהם, which means their decrees. חקתיהם also means laws of the Torah which defy human logic. People
assume nation’s cultures are predicated on rational norms which any civilized
person must accept. The truth is that different societies have very different
cultures and they consider each other’s practices to be comical, primitive and
sometimes barbaric. The reason that our decrees and those of the nations are so
different is because ours are from G-d, whilst theirs are devised by man and
accumulated over time through habits which are often illogical.
Love
Your Neighbour
We are famously told in Perek 19, posuk 18 “You shall love
you neighbour as yourself”. The Ramban explains that it is impossible for all
but the greatest tzadikim to feel literally the same love for others as they
feel for themselves. The Torah does not demand that. Rather, H’ demands that we
should want the same degree of success and prosperity for others that we want
for ourselves and that we treat others with respect and consideration. A Jew
should want others to have the fullest degree of success that he has himself.
This was the problem with Rabbi Akiva’s students. We need to realise that we
are like one body. If one hand injures the other by accident it would be
foolish for the hand to hit the other in retaliation. He would be hurting
himself. Similarly, if we don’t respect one another, we are injuring ourselves.
If you move the comma, you can read, Veahavta lerecha … kamocha ani H’ – as you
love each other, H says, so I will love you, in the same way that you loved
each other.
A Land
Flowing with Milk and Honey
In Perek 20, posuk 24 H’ prmises “You shall inherit the land
and I shall give it to you to inherit, a land flowing with milk and honey-I am
H you G-d who has separated you from the peoples”. The Chumash is telling us
that Eretz Yisroel is unique in Torah and Mitzvos. Many mitzvos can only be
done in Eretz Yisroel. The Torah is compared to milk and honey. The verse
“honey and milk shall be under your tongue" (Song of Songs 4:11) implies
that the words of the Torah shall be as dulcet to your heart and as milk and
honey are sweet to your tongue. David, King of Israel, declares "G-d's
precepts Lord are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb" (Psalms 19.9-11).
Baal Shem Tov
Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov once instructed
several of his disciples to embark on a journey. The Chassidic leader did not
tell them where to go, nor did they ask; they allowed Divine Providence to
direct their wagon where it may, confident that the destination and purpose of
their trip would be revealed in due time. After traveling for several hours,
they stopped at a wayside inn to eat and rest. Now the Baal Shem Tov's
disciples were pious Jews who insisted on the highest standards of kashrus;
when they learned that their host planned to serve them meat in their meal,
they asked to see the shochet (ritual slaughterer) of the house,
interrogated him as to his knowledge and piety and examined his knife for any
possible blemishes. Their discussion of the kashrus standard of the food
continued throughout the meal, as they inquired after the source of every
ingredient in each dish set before them. As they spoke and ate, a voice emerged
from behind the oven, where an old beggar was resting amidst his bundles.
"Dear Jews," it called out, "are you as careful with what comes
out of your mouth as you are with what enters into it?" The party of
Chassidim concluded their meal in silence, climbed onto their wagon and turned
it back toward Mezhibuzh. They now understood the purpose for which their Rebbe
had dispatched them on their journey that morning.