It's time for another double parsha!
Synopsis: Parshat Acharei Mot
After the death of Nadab and Abihu, God tells Moses to instruct Aaron not to come freely into the Holy of Holies. Only once a year, on the tenth day of the seventh month, is the High Pries to enter the shrine behind teh curtain. This is the day on which atonement is to be made for all the sins of the Israelites. No work is to be done on this day, and on it the Israelites are to practice self-denial.
On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest enters the Holy of Holies, he is to wear plain linen robes and he is to make expiation for himself and for his household and then for all of the Israelites.
Then the High Priest is to take two male goats and, by lot, mark one for GOd and one for Azazel. He is to slaughter the goat marked for God as a sin offering and use its blood to cleanse the Tent of Meeting, the altar, and the Holy of Holies of the sins of the people. Then Aaron is to confess all the sins of the Israelites over the goat for Azazel, and the goat is to be sent off into the wilderness.
In this portion, Moses is told further to instruct the Israelites that all meat is to be slaughtered in a ritual way before the Tent of Meeting. The people are reminded not to consume blood, for blood represents life itself, and not to eat of an animal that has died or been torn by wild beasts.
Finally, Moses details for the Israelites forbidden sexual relationships. Relationships between blood relations are considered incestuous. The Israelites are told not to copy the practices of the Egyptians or the Canaanites; rather, they are to live by God's laws and rules.
Synopsis: Parshat Kedoshim
In this portion, God tells Moses to instruct the entire Israelite community in the laws of holiness. The Israelites are to be holy because God is holy. Therefore, they are to observe the commandments and the laws of the sacrifices. They are to provide for the poor and the stranger, leaving the edges of the fields unharvested and the fallen fruits of their vineyards ungleaned, so that the needy can come and gather food.
The Israelites are told not to insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind and to show respect for the elderly. They are to be fair in judgment and in commerce and they are not to bear a grudge. Moses tells them further to love their neighbors as themselves and to love the strangers in their midst, for the Israelites were strangers themselves in the land of Egypt.
The Israelites are not to mix different species of cattle or seed and tehy are not to wear clothes made from a mixture of two kinds of material.
Moses also reviews the prohibited sexual relations and the punishments for these.
All these laws the Israelites are to observe so that they may be holy to God, Who has set them apart from other peoples, freed them from slavery in Egypt, and chosen them as God's people.
Synopses courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden
For your Shabbat table:
- God told the Israelites that they would be holy. What do you think it means to be holy? How are you holy?
- How can you act in a holy way?
- What are some holy things that your family can do together that you could not do by yourself? How can doing these things together bring you closer to God?
- In Parshat Kedoshim, we are told to respect the elderly. What does it mean to respect someone? How is it different from "honor"? Why do you think the Torah uses both these words? What word would you use to describe the ideal relationship between a child and a parent? Why do you think the Torah does not use the word "love"?
And now.. both parshas in cartoon form - courtesy of g-dcast.com:
Acharei Mot:
Kedoshim:
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