If we were able to attend the reading of the Torah in shul this coming Shabbos, we would hear both Acharei Mos and Kedoshim, as, in this non-leap year, the two parshiyos are to be read on the same Shabbos morning.
The parsha “Acharei Mos” (“After the death”) begins with the rules governing access of the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, to the Holy of Holies in the Sanctuary.
The Torah states God's instruction that Aharon is not to come "at will" into the Sanctuary "behind the curtain." (Vayikra, 16:2); he is to enter it only in observing the Yom Kippur service. Rashi explains why these regulations are preceded by the words that God spoke to Moshe "after the death of the two sons of Aharon who died after they brought a "strange fire" into the Sanctuary. It is similar to a situation when a person goes to a physician with an ailment. If the physician instructs the patient to take a certain remedy, the patient may or may not, but if the physician says, "Take this remedy or you will die like so-and-so who had the same ailment," it is much more likely that the physician’s instructions will be followed.
The Torah says that the High Priest has special garments for the observance of this ritual. In particular, he wears linen clothes rather than the usual golden priestly garments. The midrash explains that if the High Priest came with golden garments, God could say, "Just yesterday, the people made for themselves a Golden Calf and today, on Yom Kippur. they come before me with golden garments." Another Rabbi's explanation is more down-to-earth: the Torah spares the money of Israel by not requiring the expensive golden garments. Yet another rabbi suggests that golden garments would be a sign of arrogance, inappropriate for Yom Kippur.
The ceremony to be followed is familiar. The High Priest takes two goats; one goat is sacrificed and the second goat is the "sa'ir l'azazel," the goat that goes to "azazel." While the commentaries offer no precise meaning of the word "azazel," the procedure followed is that the second goat goes out carrying the sins of the Jewish people and becomes lost in the wilderness. This goat has come to be known as the "scapegoat", a word we continue to use, to refer to those who suffer blame for the sins of others. The Jewish people have a long, bitter history in confronting their becoming "scapegoats" for the ills of mankind. (The word "azazel" in popular speech has come to mean "hell:" Lech l'azazel.)
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Kedoshim provides the high point of the Torah's ethical and moral teachings: "And you shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Vayikra 19:18). Rabbi Akiva comments, "This is a basic principle in the Torah." In other words, many other ethical maxims are derived from this principle. The same idea was expressed by Hillel when a convert came to him and insisted that Hillel teach him the whole Torah "while standing on one foot." Hillel's response: "What is objectionable to yourself, do not do to your neighbor. Now go and study” -- and, he might have added, learn from this many other ethical rules.
One example of a rule derived from this principle is: The Talmud says that in imposing capital punishment, one should impose a "misa yafah," literally, a "nice death" -- that is, as far as possible, a painless death. As is well known, the Jewish High Court almost never imposed the death penalty. Another example in a completely different area: The Talmud says that a man should not marry a woman (and vice versa) until he has gotten to know her, to avoid finding objectionable qualities if he meets her for the first time after marriage.
Another related principle from this parsha: “Hochayach tochiach amisecha.” We should directly state our quarrel with a neighbor, and not harbor a continuing hatred in our hearts. Still another principle derived from Hillel’s teaching “on one foot,” and found in Kedoshim: "Rise up before the aged and show deference to older persons." (Vayikra 19:32) The Talmud explains what is meant by “an older person:” It means "one who has gained wisdom.”
Of special relevance at the present time: "Do not oppress the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." The rabbis elaborate: "A defect that you suffer, do not attribute to your neighbor."
And there are rules in the area of labor relations, for labor lawyers like myself: Do not delay until morning paying the wages of an employee if those wages were due by the prior evening. Another principle: "Do not place a stumbling block in the path of a blind person." This should be taken literally, but also interpreted broadly: Do not give bad advice to a person who is ignorant in a particular matter. But what if a person defends himself and says, "I thought the advice was appropriate." The Torah adds, "And you shall fear the Lord." You know in your heart whether you were trying to help or hurt your neighbor.
Then there is the fundamental principle translated literally as, "Do not stand on your brother's blood." Do not stand idly by, doing nothing, if your brother's blood is being shed. The rabbis offer the examples of your neighbor drowning in the river, or being mauled by a wild animal. Some of you may remember a well-publicized incident in the DC area some years ago, of someone jumping into the Potomac River to rescue a drowning person. In his commentary on the Torah, Rabbi J.B. Soloveitchik, observes, regarding this verse, that during the Holocaust years, the Jews in America transgressed this obligation and "did very little to save our afflicted brothers."
The haftorah for the two parshiyot read on this Shabbos is from the book of Amos (9:7-15). It contains one of the Tanach's most moving passages describing the "coming days." God says, "I will restore my people Israel. They shall rebuild ruined cities and inhabit them. They shall plant vineyards and drink their wine. They shall till gardens and eat their fruit. And I will plant them upon their soil, nevermore to be uprooted from the soil I have given them, sayeth the Lord."
