Halfway Though the Year (Acharei Mos-Kedoshim)

 The beginning portion of the double Parsha Acharei Mos-Kedoshim presents the details of the Yom Kippur service. This discussion of Yom Kippur has only a scant mention of fasting (“afflicting oneself”) and refraining from work, but rather provides a detailed account of the actions required by the Kohein Gadol. For those not immediately familiar, this was the service most relate to for having two goats. One goat would be chosen by lot to be “for Hashem,” and the other would be cast off a mountain into the wilderness of Azazel. But the service itself was far more intricate. There were personal and communal sacrifices. The Kohein Gadol would enter the Holy of Holies, the only time of the year he could do so. He would bring burning incense into the covering of the Aron Kodesh. He would sprinkle the blood of different offerings onto the cover of the Aharon Kodesh, the Tent of meeting, and the altar. Clearly, there are many, many details – 27 verses of precise instructions.

The reading of Parshas Acharei Mos might actually have significant timing. In connection with the timeline of the Torah, these instructions are clearly listed as “And Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of two sons of Aharon, who brought an {unauthorized} offering before Hashem and they died." Rashi makes it clear that the instructions that follow are so precise and detailed here because of the death of Aharon’s two sons. This is the when and the how one can come close to the Kedosh Kedoshim.

There is, however, something else to note about the timing. While of course we do not expect the Torah readings to align with the calendar, sometimes the way things “fall out” appear to be more than just coincidence. This parsha is read when we have months to go until the Yomim Noraim, but we are months past it as well.

Yom Kippur is a day of tremendous awe. Even still, after 2,000 years of exile, it is a day that makes a powerful impact on us. But human nature tends to let events, even those of great significance, fade from our memory. Many of us have faced small life-threatening incidents, like a car accident or even a terrifying tumble down the stairs. For the rest of the day we review the situation in our heads, catch our breath, and thank God that nothing really happened. The next day perhaps we drive a little more cautiously or look at the stairs a little more carefully. A week later, however, we are back to our old selves with only a fleeting thought to the powerful emotions that had enveloped us the week before.

We all try to keep the sense of kedusha and teshuva of Yom Kippur with us as we move through the year, and Hashem gave us the beautiful holiday of Sukkot to help as wrap those feeling in joy and simcha. But we are human, after all, and we move forward. On Pesach we are not focused on Teshuva, but rather on the magnificence of being Am Yisrael, and all that that means. Now, however, in the lengthy days of Iyar, halfway back to Tishrei, we come to parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim and a heady reminder of the importance of Teshuva and the significance of details in being holy. The parsha is a spiritual booster shot for the rest of the year.