Parashat Acharei Mot

Acharei 5768/2008

We might imagine that it would be more appropriate to read the parsha ‘Acharei Mot’ on the eve of Yom Kippur than on the day before Pesach.

The first part of the parsha deals with the ministering of the Kohen Gadol (high priest) on the holiest day of the year and it is tinged with sadness, knowing that these regulations were issued immediately after two of the sons of Aharon were killed while they were being inducted into their holy role as Kohanim. The parsha then continues with the forbidden sexual relations for which the penalty is ‘karet’ , literally ‘cutting off’ and sometimes understood as requiring a Divinely imposed death sentence. This section is read in Orthodox synagogues on Yom Kippur.

What message can we take from the parsha that is relevant to us as we embark on the Festival of Freedom? Perhaps we need to have a heightened awareness that all privileges come with responsibilities. The kohanim were privileged to have a unique role in Jewish life – but the responsibilities to do the job properly were immense. We were privileged to be freed by Divine intervention from slavery. Our freedom brings with it responsibility.

We are told at Mt Sinai that we are to be a ‘kingdom of priests’. In a way, we are all kohanim. Just as Yom Kippur is the day on which the kohanim had to demonstrate their commitment to the special role they had, to be agents for the entire Jewish nation, Pesach is a time for us to demonstrate that we appreciate our freedom and will use it make the world a better place for all humankind.