Parashat Hashavua: Acharei Mot-Kedoshim
How can we best sanctify God’s name? This week’s double parsha of Acharei Mot – Kedoshim opens by referring back to Aharon’s sons Nadav and Avihu dying as they brought “a strange fire / אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה” before God. (Lev. 10:1-2) At the time, Moshe conveyed the chilling explanation from God that, “through those near to Me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be honored / בִּקְרֹבַ֣י אֶקָּדֵ֔שׁ וְעַל־פְּנֵ֥י כׇל־הָעָ֖ם אֶכָּבֵ֑ד.” (Lev. 10:3) One can imagine that when “Aharon was silent / וַיִּדֹּ֖ם אַהֲרֹֽן,” he might have been overwhelmed by multiple thoughts and emotions, such as: the loss of his children, above all; the harshness of divine punishment; and Moshe’s lack of empathic words, at least as far as the Torah tells us. It might have also dawned on him at that moment: he needed to watch his own step too.
Unfortunately, he was not wrong to worry. Later in life, he and his brother Moshe do not precisely follow God’s instructions for providing water to Bnei Yisrael, and they are punished with exclusion from the land. God’s explanation echoes Moshe’s earlier language: “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the eyes of Bnei Yisrael, therefore you shall not lead this congregation to the land I have given them / יַ֚עַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם בִּ֔י לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָכֵ֗ן לֹ֤א תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ אֶת־הַקָּהָ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לָהֶֽם׃.” (Nu. 20:12)
In this week’s parsha, one finds the intense demands of kedushah (sanctity) emphasized in another way, when it repeats how Aharon would bring offerings for God’s forgiveness. Twice we are told that “Aharon will offer his own bull of sin offering, to atone for himself and for his household / וְהִקְרִ֧יב אַהֲרֹ֛ן אֶת־פַּ֥ר הַחַטָּ֖את אֲשֶׁר־ל֑וֹ וְכִפֶּ֥ר בַּעֲד֖וֹ וּבְעַ֥ד בֵּיתֽוֹ. (Lev. 16:6, 11) Various interpretations of this repetition suggest that the two times refer to atonement for different people, whether within the family or outside of it. To my mind, this repetition teaches that where the highest levels of kedushah are involved – particularly for those serving in leadership positions – atonement is not more readily available, but rather requires extra attention and effort.
Kedushah was very much on my mind on Yom HaZikaron, as we honored the memories of Israeli soldiers and citizens who have fallen in conflicts and attacks. On the one hand, the stories of Nadav, Avihu, Aharon and Moshe are about missed opportunities to sanctify God’s name. At the same time, it is also possible to understand the stories as teaching that God’s name was sanctified through their deaths. As we sometimes say, one can die “al kiddush Hashem / in sanctification of God’s name / על קידוש ה׳.” This notion is deeply meaningful and especially resonant at times of loss, offering comfort and inspiration as we mourn. Even so, I am troubled by the possible implication that tragic loss of life can be understood as achieving kedushah as though such kedushah is not achievable otherwise. Holy and alive is so much better.
The pairing of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim this year helped quiet my unease. “You shall be holy / קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ,” (Lev. 19:2) implores us to strive for kedushah each and every day of our lives in multiple ways. This represents our greatest opportunity as well as our greatest responsibility in life. Kedushah is not, in other words, something to be achieved only when, or because, we pass away.
At a deeper level, the message I learn from the pairing of these parshiyot is that after death, and especially after the deaths of those we care deeply for, it is up to us to reflect upon and consider what can be learned from the people who are physically no longer with us. Acharei Mot, after their deaths, we must remember what their kedushah was and what can be ours, and in the process honor them by clarifying and living up to our own highest standards and values.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head (Ivrit/Limudei Kodesh/Tefillah)
