Acharei

Acharei, Achrei Mos, Aharei Mot, or Ahare Moth (אחרי or אחרי מות — Hebrew for “after” or “after the death,” the fifth word or fifth and sixth words, and the first distinctive word or words, in the parshah) is the 29th weekly Torah portion ("parshah") in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the sixth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes is the Torah reading for the Yom Kippur "Minchah" service.

Summary

Yom Kippur

The text tells the ritual of Yom Kippur. After the death of Aaron’s sons, God told Moses to tell Aaron not to come at will into the Most Holy Place (the "Kodesh Hakodashim"), lest he die, for God appeared in the Aaron was then to lay his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it the Israelites’ sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and then through a designated man send it off to the wilderness to carry their sins to an inaccessible region. () The bull and goat of sin offering were to be taken outside the camp and burned, and he who burned them was to wash his clothes and bathe in water. ()

Centralized offerings and blood

The text next begins what scholars call the Holiness Code. God prohibited Israelites from slaughtering oxen, sheep, or goats without bringing them to the Tabernacle as an offering, on pain of exile. () Anyone who ate what had died or had been torn by beasts was to wash his clothes, bathe in water, and remain unclean until evening. () A man could not cohabit with a woman during her period or with his neighbor’s wife. () God prohibited bestiality. ( (Mishnah –8:9; Tosefta Kippurim (Yoma) 1:1–4:17; Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 2a–88a.)

The Mishnah taught that during the days of the Temple, seven days before Yom Kippur, they would move the High Priest from his house to the cell of the counselors and prepare another priest to take his place in case anything impure happened to him to make him unfit to perform the service. Rabbi Judah said that they prepared another wife for him, in case his wife should die, as ). He put them on and washed his hands and feet. (Mishnah Yoma 3:6; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.) Rabbi Meir taught that in the morning, he wore Pelusium linen worth 12 minas, and in the afternoon he wore Indian linen worth 800 zuz. But the sages said that in the morning, he wore garments worth 18 minas, and in the afternoon he wore garments worth 12 minas. The community paid for these sums, and the High Priest could spend more from his own funds if he wanted to. (Mishnah Yoma 3:7; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 34b.)

Rav Hisda asked why ): “For on this day shall atonement be made for you to cleanse you; from all your sins shall you be clean before the Lord.” And the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 3:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 35b.)

The High Priest then went back to the east of the Temple Court, north of the altar. The two goats required by ): ‘For on this day atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all the sins shall you be clean before the Lord.’” And then the people answered: “Blessed is the Name of God’s glorious Kingdom, forever and ever!” (Mishnah Yoma 4:2; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 41b.) Then he killed the bull. (Mishnah Yoma 4:3; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 43b.)

One would bring him the goat to be slaughtered, he would kill it, receive its blood in a basin, enter again the Sanctuary, and would sprinkle once upwards and seven times downwards. He would count: “one,” “one and one,” “one and two,” and so on. Then he would go out and place the vessel on the second golden stand in the sanctuary. (Mishnah Yoma 5:4; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 53b.)

Then the High Priest came to the scapegoat and laid his two hands on it, and he made confession, saying: “I beseech You, o Lord, Your people the house of Israel have failed, committed iniquity and transgressed before you. I beseech you, o Lord, atone the failures, the iniquities and the transgressions that Your people, the house of Israel, have failed, committed, and transgressed before you, as it is written in the Torah of Moses, Your servant (in “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Mishnah Yoma 6:8; Babylonian Talmud Yoma 68b.) Chapter 8 of tractate Yoma in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of self-denial in to apply to the blood of any type of animal or fowl, but not to the blood of eggs, grasshoppers, and fish. (Babylonian Talmud Keritot 20b–21a.)

Leviticus chapter 18

Applying the prohibition against following the ways of the Canaanites in calls on the Israelites to obey God’s “statutes” ("hukim") and “ordinances” ("mishpatim"). The Rabbis in a Baraita taught that the “ordinances” ("mishpatim") were commandments that logic would have dictated that we follow even had Scripture not commanded them, like the laws concerning idolatry, adultery, bloodshed, robbery, and blasphemy. And “statutes” ("hukim") were commandments that the Adversary challenges us to violate as beyond reason, like those relating to "shaatnez" (in ), purification of the person with "tzaraat" (in God says, “I am the Lord,” indicating that the Lord made these statutes, and we have no right to question them. (Babylonian Talmud Yoma 67b.)

Rabbi Ishmael interpreted the words “he shall live by them” in [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0320.htm 20:1–5,] and )
*Not to slaughter sacrifices outside the courtyard ()
*Not to have homosexual sexual relations with one’s father ()
*Not to have sexual relations with one’s sister ()
*Not to have sexual relations with one’s daughter ()
*Not to have sexual relations with one’s mother's sister ()
*Not to have sexual relations with one’s son's wife ()
*Not to have sexual relations with a woman and her son's daughter ()
*Not to have sexual relations with a menstrually impure woman ()
*A man must not have sexual relations with a beast. (Both the parshah (in )

Parshah Acharei-Kedoshim

When parshah Acharei is combined with parshah Kedoshim (as it is in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015), the haftarah is the haftarah for parshah Kedoshim:
*for Ashkenazi Jews: Amos [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1509.htm#7 9:7–15]
*for Sephardi Jews:

The Weekly Maqam

In the Weekly Maqam, Sephardi Jews each week base the songs of the services on the content of that week's parshah. For parshah Acharei, Sephardi Jews apply Maqam Hijaz, the maqam that expresses mourning and sadness. This maqam is appropriate for this parshah because the parshah alludes to the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, the first two sons of Aaron.

Further reading

The parshah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:

Ancient

*“Temple Program for the New Year’s Festival at Babylon.” Babylonia. Reprinted in "Ancient Near Eastern Texts Relating to the Old Testament". Edited by James B. Pritchard. 331–34. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1969. ISBN 0691035032.

Biblical

* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0314.htm#49 49–53] (riddance ritual); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0320.htm#2 20:2] (Molech); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0323.htm#26 23:26–32] (Yom Kippur).
*Deuteronomy [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0518.htm#10 18:10] (passing children through the fire).
*1 Kings [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09a11.htm#4 11:4–8,] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09a11.htm#33 33] (Molech).
*2 Kings [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b16.htm#3 16:3] (son pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b17.htm#17 17:17] (children pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b21.htm#6 21:6] (son pass through fire); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt09b23.htm#10 23:10–14] (Molech).
*Isaiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1057.htm#9 57:9] (Molech or king).
*Jeremiah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1107.htm#31 7:31] (child sacrifice); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1132.htm#35 32:35] (Molech); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1149.htm 49:1–3] (Molech or Malcam).
*Ezekiel [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1216.htm#20 16:20–21] (sacrificing children); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1218.htm#5 18:5–6] (the just man avoids contact with the menstruating woman); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1223.htm#37 23:37] (sacrifice of sons).
*Amos [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1505.htm#25 5:25–27] (Molech or king).
*Zephaniah [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2101.htm#4 1:4–6] (Molech).
*Psalms [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2632.htm#2 32:2] (God’s imputing iniquity to a person); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2651.htm#3 51:3–4] (cleansing from sin); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt2693.htm#5 93:5] (holiness in God’s house); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26a3.htm 103:1–18] (God’s forgiveness); [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt26a6.htm#37 106:37] (sacrifice to demons).
*2 Chronicles [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt25b33.htm#6 33:6] (children pass through fire).

Early nonrabbinic

*Philo. [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book3.html "Allegorical Interpretation"] 2:14:52, 15:56; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book7.html "That the Worse Is Wont To Attack the Better"] 22:80; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book8.html "On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile"] 20:70; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book9.html "On the Giants"] 8:32; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book17.html "Who Is the Heir of Divine Things?"] 16:84; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book18.html "On Mating with the Preliminary Studies"] 16:85–87; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book19.html "On Flight and Finding"] 28:159; 34:193; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book21.html "On Dreams, That They Are God-Sent"] 2:28:189, 34:231; [http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/text/philo/book30.html "The Special Laws"] 4:23:122. Alexandria, Egypt, early 1st Century C.E.. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition". Translated by Charles Duke Yonge, 43, 121, 138, 154, 283, 311, 335, 338, 401, 404, 628. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1993. ISBN 0-943575-93-1.
*Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews" [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b3c10.html 3:10:3,] [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b3c11.html 11:2,] [http://www.interhack.net/projects/library/antiquities-jews/b3c12.html 12:1.] Circa 93–94. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition". Translated by William Whiston, 95. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Pub., 1987. ISBN 0-913573-86-8.
*Acts of the Apostles [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%207:42-43;&version=31; 7:42–43] (Molech).

Classical rabbinic

*Mishnah: Bikkurim 2:9; Shabbat 6:10; Shekalim 4:2; –8:9; Megillah 3:5; 4:9; Chagigah 2:1; Yevamot 2:3; Sotah 7:7; Sanhedrin 7:4; 9:1; Makkot 3:15; Shevuot 1:4–7; Zevachim 12:5; 14:1–2, 9; Menachot 9:7; Keritot 1:1; 2:4; 5:1; Parah 1:4. Land of Israel, circa 200 C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "The Mishnah: A New Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 171, 256, 265–79, 321, 323, 330, 339, 459, 597, 602, 619, 621–22, 726, 729, 731, 752, 836, 839, 845–46, 1014. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. ISBN 0-300-05022-4.
*Sifra 174:1–194:3. Land of Israel, 4th Century C.E. Reprinted in, e.g., "Sifra: An Analytical Translation". Translated by Jacob Neusner, 3:1–84. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1988. ISBN 1-55540-207-0.
*Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 9:5; 37:2; 47:1; 48:2; 54:1; 60:4; 69:3; 74:5. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai". Translated by W. David Nelson, 29, 163, 205, 215, 243, 275, 317, 348. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006. ISBN 0-8276-0799-7.
*Leviticus Rabbah 5:6; 17:3; 20:1–23:13; 27:9. Land of Israel, 5th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Midrash Rabbah: Leviticus". Translated by H. Freedman and Maurice Simon, 4:71, 216, 250–303, 354. London: Soncino Press, 1939. ISBN 0-900689-38-2.
*Babylonian Talmud: Shabbat 13a–b, 22a, 67a, 86a; Pesachim 22a, 26a, 47b, 65a, 75b, 77a, 79a, 85b; Yoma 2a–88a; Sukkah 5a, 24a, 28a, 33a; Beitzah 2a, 7a–8a; Rosh Hashanah 26a; Megillah 7b, 20b, 24a, 25a, 30b–31a; Moed Katan 9a, 15b, 28a; Chagigah 9a, 10a, 11b, 16a, 23b; Yevamot 2a, 3a–b, 5b–8b, 11a, 13a, 17b, 19a, 21a–23a, 28b, 33b, 49a, 50a, 54b–55b, 56b, 83b, 97a, 102b, 114a; Ketubot 29a, 30a, 32b–33a, 36a, 47b, 56a, 72a, 82b; Nedarim 51a, 78a; Sotah 4b, 16a, 17a, 26b, 40b–41a; Gittin 54b, 60a; Kiddushin 13b–14a, 22b, 43a, 44b, 50b–51a, 57b, 67b–68a; Bava Kamma 32a, 38a, 40b, 41a, 76a, 91b, 96b; Bava Batra 25a, 88b, 109b, 120a–21a; Sanhedrin 12b, 18a, 19b, 28b, 33b, 34b, 42b, 43b, 49b, 51a, 52b, 53b–55a, 57b, 58b–59a, 60b–61a, 74a, 75b–76a, 81a, 82a; Makkot 5b, 13a–14b, 18a, 23a–24a; Shevuot 2a–b, 7b–8b, 12a–14a, 17b–18b; Avodah Zarah 3a, 11a, 17a–b, 27b, 47a, 51a–b, 54a, 74a; Horayot 6a, 8b, 13a; Zevachim 6a, 19b, 26a–b, 35a, 40a, 46a, 52a, 57a, 69a–70a, 78a, 81a, 83a, 84b, 98a, 104a, 105a–09b, 112a–b, 113b, 116b, 118a, 119b; Menachot 8b, 12b, 16a, 22a, 26a, 27a–b, 83a, 91b–92a, 93b; Chullin 10b–11a, 16b–17a, 20b, 22a, 24a, 27b, 29b, 31a, 41b, 72a, 78a, 79b, 83b–84a, 85a, 86b–87a, 88a, 98b, 117a, 120a, 131b, 138a–39a; Bekhorot 39b, 56b; Temurah 2b, 5b, 6b, 12a, 13a, 14a, 29b; Keritot 2a–3b, 4b, 5a, 6a–b, 9a, 10b, 14a–15a, 20b–21a, 22a, 25b, 28a; Meilah 11a–b, 13b; Niddah 35a, 55a–b. Babylonia, 6th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., "Talmud Bavli". Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 vols. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.

Medieval

*Rashi. "Commentary". [http://www.chabad.org/library/article.asp?AID=9917&showrashi=true Leviticus 16–18.] Troyes, France, late 11th Century. Reprinted in, e.g., Rashi. "The Torah: With Rashi’s Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated". Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, 3:191–223. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994. ISBN 0-89906-028-5.
*Judah Halevi. "Kuzari". [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/khz/khz03.htm 3:53.] Toledo, Spain, 1130–1140. Reprinted in, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. "Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel." Intro. by Henry Slonimsky, 181. New York: Schocken, 1964. ISBN 0-8052-0075-4.
*Maimonides. "Mishneh Torah", [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/p0000.htm#25 Intro.:25;] [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/p0003.htm#8 Structure.] Cairo, Egypt, 1170–1180.
*Maimonides. "The Guide for the Perplexed", [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp173.htm 3:37,] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp177.htm 41,] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp182.htm 46,] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp183.htm 47,] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp184.htm 48,] [http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/gfp/gfp185.htm 49.] Cairo, Egypt, 1190. Reprinted in, e.g., Moses Maimonides. "The Guide for the Perplexed". Translated by Michael Friedländer, 334, 346, 362–64, 366, 369, 371, 376–77. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. ISBN 0-486-20351-4.
*Zohar [http://www.kabbalah.com/k/index.php/p=zohar/zohar&vol=32 3:56a–80a.] Spain, late 13th Century.

Modern

*Thomas Hobbes. "Leviathan", England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, 503–04, 513–14. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. ISBN 0140431950.
*Thomas Mann. "Joseph and His Brothers". Translated by John E. Woods, 79, 82–83, 147–48, 152–53, 189, 201–02, 226–27, 336, 351, 384–86, 927. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-4001-9. Originally published as "Joseph und seine Brüder". Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*James A. Michener. "The Source", 106–20. New York: Random House, 1965.
*Jacob Milgrom. "Leviticus 1–16", 3:1009–84. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998. ISBN 0-385-11434-6.
*Jacob Milgrom. "Leviticus 17–22", 3A:1447–593. New York: Anchor Bible, 2000. ISBN 0-385-41255-X.
*Jennifer K. Berenson MacLean. “Barabbas, the Scapegoat Ritual, and the Development of the Passion Narrative.” "Harvard Theological Review" 100 (3) (July 2007):309–34.

ee also

*Azazel in rabbinic literature
*Leviticus 18

External links

* [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt0316.htm Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation]
* [http://Bible.ort.org/books/torahd5.asp?action=displaypage&book=3&chapter=16&verse=1&portion=29 Hear the parshah chanted]