Shabbat Parashat Acharei-Mot - 5782

Shabbat Parashat Acharei-Mot - 5782

Rabbi Hal Miller

Aharon shall bring near his own sin offering bull and atone for himself and for

his household. [Vayikra 16:6]

Our parsha spends much time discussing the Kohen Gadol and his duties on

Yom Kippur. That name means, obviously, day of atonement. Numerous verses

tell that Aharon shall "make atonement" but they do not give a clear picture as

to what that means. What does he do to "atone"? What effects atonement?

Aharon is directed regarding what animals to bring, what each stands for, and

how to bring them. In some cases, the Torah adds a phrase such as "to atone

upon it" or "to provide atonement", and in other cases it does not. Interspersed

are instructions about non-animal offerings, such as incense, so atoning does

not appear to be tied exclusively to animal offerings.

Verse 16:3 directs Aharon to come to the Sanctuary with his bull and ram. It is

followed in 16:7 with Aharon bringing one of the goats which it says he is to "make

it as a sin offering", which indicates slaughtering and bringing the blood,

presumably while the other goat, and the original bull and ram are standing there.

In verse 10, the second goat is "stood alive before God to atone upon it, to send it

to Azazel". Here we see 'atone' without slaughter or blood, as the goat is then going

to be walked on its own legs out to the cliff. Then in verse 11, "Aharon shall bring

near his own sin offering bull and he shall atone for himself and for his household,

then he shall slaughter his own sin offering bull." Clearly, the act of atonement here

does not involve slaughtering and blood, as it precedes those actions. But at least

we now know about the bull.

After a break to work with incense, in 14 Aharon performs the blood service for that

bull. Then in 16, "Thus shall he bring atonement upon the Sanctuary", followed by

18, "He shall go out to the mizbeach that is before God and make atonement upon

it, he shall take from the blood" which seems to imply that the blood service makes

the atonement for that outer altar and the Sanctuary in general.

One might then think that slaughter and blood service are required to bring

atonement for inanimate objects, and not required for animate objects, including

people. One might also think that the incense is a requirement for those inanimate

objects but not for people.

Rashi writes based on Rambam, "He confesses over it his sins and the sins of his

household" for our verse, and in 10 regarding the goat for the people, "To atone

upon it. That he should confess over it."

Torat Kohanim and the Gemora (Yoma 36b) point out that the atonements done

precede the slaughtering and blood. They explain that atonement is a confession

of the lips, meaning Aharon says something out loud, the vidui. Rav Joseph

Soloveitchik notes on verse 16:21 that the third confession of the Kohen Gadol

"does not include remorse or resolve not to sin again, both of which are necessary

for individual confession." Presumably this means that the one in our verse does

require these factors, thus these three confessions are not the same.

Rav Hirsch brings that there are multiple definitions of the word kapparah, atonement.

In its normal use, we know it as referring to achieving the forgiveness of God for sins

through the slaughtering and blood process. But, here we see that it can also refer

to other phases of the process. The confession of the lips is related to Aharon atoning

for himself first, as he would not be able to complete atonement for others if he had

not first "cleared" himself.

In these days when we do not have the Temple, presumably we cannot atone for

inanimate objects, nor for the entire assembly of Israel. But we do have the ability,

and requirement, to do as Aharon did, confession for an individual through speaking

out loud (very quietly) the vidui text as given to us in our prayer books by Sifrei. This

is not tied only to Yom Kippur, but should be performed on a regular basis. The power

of the spoken word, for good or for ill, is frightening.