Torah · Weekly Parasha VideoParashat Acharei MotRabbi Uri Nahum · June 19, 2017 · Acharei Mot · אחרי מות · 15 Min Parasha RoundupSave⌄ShareParasha class with Rabbi Uri Nahum, from BSD Productions’ 15 Min Parasha Roundup.Transcript0:06Parashat Acharei Mot. This week's parasha has 80 pesukim.0:09This reading should be familiar since we will probably hear it0:12and have heard it on Yom Kippur.0:15The first part is read in the morning,0:17and the second part is usually read in the afternoon.0:20Usually this parasha is part of a double parasha,0:22read together with the following parasha, Parashat Kedoshim,0:26unless it's a leap year where they're read separately.0:27And when they're read separately, sometimes they'll fall out0:30during the week of Shabbat0:34HaGadol. Three parts to this week's parasha. We divided parashat into three parts.0:37The first part speaks about the services of Yom Kippur,0:40avodat Yom Kippur.0:42The second part of the parasha, Torah mentions a few sins0:44which are punishable by0:47karet, just like one who doesn't fast on Yom Kippur,0:50as we see that's connection.0:52And finally, the Torah gives the warnings of arayot,0:54where the Torah also concludes about the punishment of0:58karet for those who do not follow the laws of arayot.1:04There are 28 mitzvot in this week's parasha,1:07two mitzvot aseh and 261:10mitzvot lo ta'aseh. In Sefer HaChinuch, they're numbered from number 184 to 211.1:14Let's get to the parasha.1:16The first part of the parasha talks about avodat Yom Kippur,1:20and in this section we divide it into three subcategories.1:23The first category are the requirements for the day of Yom Kippur.1:27The second is the order of the avodah of Yom Kippur,1:31and finally the Torah talks about commandments1:35that are specific to the day of Yom Kippur.1:39First, we begin when Hashem warns Moshe,1:43or tells Moshe to warn Aharon1:45that he cannot enter any time he wants into the Beit HaMikdash.1:49And He warns him right after the death of Nadav1:52and Avihu. Chazal tell us this is the reason why Nadav and Avihu died,1:55the children of Aharon,1:56because they walked in whenever they wanted.1:58That's not so.1:59Special requirements are needed2:01when Aharon wants to walk in.2:03First of all, he needs special garments,2:05and those are the garments that Aharon wears on Yom Kippur.2:08They are the four white garments,2:10which are the ketonet, which is the robe,2:13the michnasayim, which are the shorts,2:15the avnet, which is the belt,2:17and the mitznefet, which is the hat.2:18All of these are white linen garments2:22which the Kohen would wear during the services of Yom Kippur.2:26Also, Aharon on Yom Kippur must bring special korbanot.2:30Two come from Aharon's personal pocket,2:34which means it has to be from his own funds,2:37and two come from the fund of the Jewish people.2:39The two animals that come from Aharon's money2:42are par ben chatat, par chatat ben bakar,2:47which is a bull for the sake of korban2:50chatat, and an ayil, a ram, for the sake of korban2:52olah. From the Jewish people, he has to take also a ram for2:56olah, and also he has to take two identical3:03se'irim, he-goats, which we'll talk about why he needs to take these two.3:06Now we move on to the second part over here3:08in the first part of the3:10parashah, the order of the avodah of Yom Kippur.3:14Chazal tell us in the Mishnah Masechet3:15Yoma that really the preparations for this day of the services of Yom Kippur3:20really began seven days before Yom Kippur, on Gimel3:24Tishrei. And although the Torah speaks about the service of Yom Kippur,3:27there was actually a total of fifteen animals that were offered that day,3:32plus another animal that was sent out,3:33so a total of sixteen animals that we worked with.3:36Even though the Torah doesn't mention all of them in this week's3:38parashah, but being that the services of Yom Kippur included the daily services,3:43as well as the Musaf, which is the korban Musaf that was done on every single holiday,3:49as well as Rosh Chodesh and Shabbat,3:51and therefore we will focus on only over here what the Torah speaks about,3:56which are the services that are unique to Yom Kippur.3:59As a general rule, we have to know4:01that when the Kohen Gadol would work on Yom Kippur,4:05he would wear his normal clothing, which is the eight garments,4:08whenever he's doing the regular services,4:10which were not unique to Yom Kippur.4:12However, any services that are unique to Yom Kippur,4:14which are mentioned in this week's4:16parashah, the Kohen would wear the four white garments that we mentioned in the beginning.4:19And we're only going to focus about this part,4:21and here we go. We have eleven steps,4:23and we'll try to say them as quickly as we can.4:26The first part of the service that's unique to Yom Kippur,4:29the Kohen Gadol does vidui,4:31which is confession on the bull that he brought from his own fund,4:35like we mentioned in the beginning.4:36And the confession is done for his sake and his family,4:40and that's the first vidui that he does on that cow.4:43Afterwards, he does a lottery on the two goats,4:46which is the two identical he-goats that he took from the funds of the Jewish people.4:50They would place in a bucket two pieces of wood,4:56and it would have on it, one would say Azazel, one would say4:57Hashem, and the Kohen Gadol would stick his hands inside,5:01take out with each hand one piece of wood,5:04and place them, one on his right, one on his left.5:07And then we open up his hands5:09and we would see which animal of the two he-goats became to Hashem,5:15which will be slaughtered, as we'll talk about,5:16and which one became to Azazel, which will be thrown off the mountain.5:19After the lottery, the Kohen Gadol would do confession.5:24The third step now, he would do a second confession,5:26a second vidui on the bull.5:28This time, the vidui was for himself, his family,5:31as well as the other Kohanim.5:35And then the fourth step, he would slaughter the bull.5:38The fifth step is that he would offer the5:41ketoret, he would bring the ketoret all the way inside in the Kodesh5:44Kodashim. The sixth step, he would take from the blood of the bull that he slaughtered for5:50the chatat, and then he would walk all the way inside again in the Kodesh5:53Kodashim, and he would sprinkle over there.5:55And then afterwards, he would slaughter one of the he-goats that we saw beforehand6:00that we designated6:02laHashem, the one that was designated6:03laHashem. He would take it and slaughter it,6:05and take its blood and sprinkle it in the same place in Kodesh6:10Kodashim where he sprinkled the bull.6:12The eighth step, the Kohen now takes the blood of the bull6:17and he would sprinkle it on the parochet,6:18which was the divider between Kodesh Kodashim and the Kodesh,6:21and then he would do the same thing also with the se'ir's bull as well.6:26He would sprinkle it on the parochet.6:28And then afterwards, he would mix the two bloods of the bull and the se'ir together,6:32the goat together,6:33and when they're mixed together,6:35he would apply it to the mizbeach zahav, the golden altar,6:38which was in the Kodesh.6:39The tenth step. The Kohen would do a confession,6:43a vidui, on the second se'ir, on the second goat,6:47where he would confess on behalf of the Jewish people,6:52and then he would send it out.6:53And finally, the bull and the se'ir that were slaughtered in the6:58Beit HaMikdash would be chopped up7:00and sent out to be burnt outside of the city of Yerushalayim at the time,7:04or in the times in the desert,7:06outside of the Jewish camp.7:07And that's the services of Yom Kippur that are mentioned in this week's7:12parashah. There are other things, obviously,7:13but you'll have to look in Masechet Yoma in the Mishnayot,7:16and of course we do this every single Yom Kippur7:19by Musaf, where we read Seder7:22Avodah, and over there it talks about all the services in detail.7:24Finally, in this section,7:26the Torah commands special mitzvot for Yom Kippur.7:29First of all, Hashem says that all the services that are mentioned here in7:33Parashat Acharei Mot must be done every single year as long as we have a7:37Beit HaMikdash, and this day has been designated as a day where Hashem is going to atone for our sins,7:42and therefore everybody must fast.7:43And those who do not fast are hayav karet.7:48Fasting on Yom Kippur is very, very severe and very important,7:51as we all take it that way.7:53And then finally, the Torah commands that Yom Kippur should be like Shabbat,7:58which means no melachah done.8:00Not we're forbidden to do any melacha. Not like the holidays where we're permitted to cook and to light fire for the sake of eating on Yom Kippur,8:06although it's a holiday, it must be treated like Shabbat, that we cannot do any8:10melacha. Now we move on to the second part of the8:13parashah. The second part of the parashah are sins which are also punishable by the punishment of karet.8:19The first one the Torah mentions is8:23shechitat chutz. What is8:24shechitat chutz? The halacha says that any time a person wants to offer a korban, it has to be done in the Mishkan or in the Beit8:32HaMikdash. Any time a person offers an animal outside the Mikdash, which means he sprinkles the blood outside of the Beit8:39HaMikdash, the area that Hashem has designated to rest His presence over there,8:42then that is considered shechitat chutz, he slaughtered outside, and the punishment is karet.8:48The other thing the Torah mentions, now we're talking about slaughtering, is blood.8:51There is an issur, it is forbidden from the Torah for us to eat blood.8:57Any person who has a kezayit of blood is chayav karet.9:01This is the reason why Jewish people salt their meat in order to extract all the blood from the meat,9:06because it's forbidden, as we see in this week's parashah, to eat blood.9:09As we're talking about blood, the Torah mentions another mitzvah that has to do with blood, which is called kisui hadam.9:15Whenever we slaughter birds or animals known as chayot, which are usually non-domestic animals,9:23the Torah says that we must cover the blood with dirt,9:26or it could be dirt, or it could be sand.9:27There's all these halachot that are found in9:30Yoreh De'ah, I believe9:34siman chav-vav. Then the Torah talks about another issur which could potentially be also punishable by karet.9:40What is that?9:41The Torah says if a person eats a kosher-type bird which was not slaughtered properly,9:46it's called nevelat ha'of, then the person becomes9:50tamei. Now as a person has this tumah, if he would eat anything that's kodesh9:54or enter the Beit HaMikdash, then he would be chayav karet.9:57So the Torah mentions this issur of eating together in the category of things which are Also, chayav karet.10:05And now we finally move on to the last part of this week's parasha.10:08This part is read during Yom Kippur10:13Mincha, and that is the warning of arayot.10:16The first section of it, the Torah begins with the introduction,10:19and Torah says that Hashem commands us not to imitate the ways of the goyim,10:25not to imitate the ways of the Egyptians where we left the land, or the10:30Kenaanim where we're going to Eretz Yisrael. All the non-Jews that used to live in Eretz Yisrael,10:34not to imitate their ways.10:35We cannot do what they do.10:36And therefore, Torah says over there,10:40you must keep my chukot, as the Or HaChaim explains,10:43that even if we don't understand the reasons why Hashem commanded certain people to be forbidden,10:50relations are forbidden, still we must keep it.10:54Why? says the Torah,10:55because10:56vechai bahem. All these mitzvot are the key to our spiritual life.11:01This is our lifeline.11:02By keeping away from the arayot, this is what gives us11:06chayut. But not only this,11:07Chazal tell us that vechai bahem is going on all the mitzvot in the Torah.11:10When one keeps the commandments of the Torah,11:12that's what gives a person real life, the life of11:17ruchaniyut. And then the Torah lists for us all the forbidden arayot,11:21which are the forbidden relations.11:23You'll find that there are 24 lavim, 24 issurim mentioned over here.11:2923 of them are people or relations that are forbidden.11:33We will go through them right now,11:35but right before we get through the list of the 23 arayot11:40mideOraita, you have to know that the Torah forbids these relations.11:44Some of them will sound disgusting,11:47and some of them may not sound disgusting,11:49but they were always disgusting.11:50Just maybe we got used to it because society has changed tremendously,11:54as we'll see from the list.11:55You should know, though, that anything that's asur over here11:59is not only asur as a12:03long-time relationship; it's also asur even as a temporary relationship,12:07even a one-night stand.12:08All these things are forbidden relations even one time.12:12And what are they?12:13Let's begin.12:14The first thing is the Torah has a general issur according to the Sefer12:18HaChinuch, which is not to take any physical pleasure from any of the forbidden relations,12:24forbidden women over here that are going to be listed.12:27And who are they?12:28First, the Torah says the father.12:31A person's12:32mother, a person's stepmother,12:35a person's sister,12:37a person's granddaughter,12:39which is the daughter of his son.12:41Another type of granddaughter Torah forbids is his daughter's daughter.12:48The next one is, the Torah forbids also a person's daughter,12:53also a half a sister,12:55which means she only shares with one parent.12:58Also, Torah forbids two types of13:00aunts, which are a father's sister and his mother's sister.13:04Also, it's forbidden to be with a person's uncle,13:07his father's brother.13:09Also, the wife of his father's brother,13:13which today we call an aunt, also is forbidden.13:16Next, the Torah forbids also a person's13:19daughter-in-law, which is his son's wife.13:20Also, a person's sister-in-law, his brother's wife.13:23Also, the Torah forbids a person to be with any woman and her daughter,13:28which is over here to talk about actually13:31married. And it's also forbidden for a person to be with a woman and her granddaughter,13:35whether she's a granddaughter because of her son's daughter13:39or because of that woman's daughter's daughter.13:41It's also forbidden.13:43Also, it's forbidden for a person to marry two sisters in their lifetime,13:48which means one can marry one sister,13:50and when she passes away, he can marry the other sister.13:52But if he divorces one,13:54he cannot marry the other one as long as the first one was still alive.13:58Also, Torah forbids a person's own wife,14:01and with that also any other woman who is14:05nidah. Also, in this week's parashah, the Torah forbids homosexuality,14:09which is any relations between two men.14:12Also, bestiality, which is any relations with animals.14:15And then finally, Torah, the last issur is14:17that what we call in English also homosexuality,14:20but in this case any relations between two women as well.14:24And then finally, the Torah concludes with a final warning.14:27And what is that?14:28The Torah again warns and commands not to imitate the ways of the14:33non-Jews, because Eretz Yisrael is a holy land14:35and it cannot tolerate these14:38abominations. This is the reason why the non-Jews who used to live in14:40Eretz Yisrael were thrown out by Hashem, because it was a holy land.14:43It cannot tolerate these things.14:44And this is what Hashem says:14:46If you want to stay in Eretz Yisrael,14:49you, the Jewish people, want to stay here,14:50you must make sure to keep— all these laws,14:54because otherwise, Eretz Yisrael, with its kedusha,14:57cannot handle all the baalei nations,15:00the person who does all these issurim over here.15:03And finally, we come to the lesson of this week's15:07parasha. What are we to learn from this week's15:10parasha? It's interesting that when you read Parashat Acharei Mot,15:15right before the hot season comes,15:19right now after15:21Pesach, when you notice always the weather gets better.15:23And then we read it again,15:25majority of it, that is, on Yom Kippur,15:26which is really right when the summer is over,15:29right after the hot season finishes.15:31And in the Torah we talk about what?15:33We talk about arayot.15:35Torah is teaching us and warning us to stay away,15:38as it says in this week's15:40parasha, V'chai bahem. You'll live through these15:41mitzvot by staying away from these things.15:42When a person is involved in15:45aveirah, it's very difficult to talk to him.15:46When a person is involved in something,15:48very difficult to convince him otherwise.15:50So therefore, right before we enter the season,15:53quote unquote, of arayot,15:56the season of the summer15:57where the yetzer hara begins to test a person.16:00With all the forbidden relations and everything that's included with it,16:04we read, and we are warned to stay away.16:07If we want to have spiritual life,16:10v'chai bahem, you have to make sure to stay away from these16:12mitzvot and keep to the fences that the Chachamim tell us.16:15And after we finish the summer, a person might have slipped and fallen,16:19we read it again on the holiest day of the year, on Yom Kippur,16:23to strengthen ourselves again in this area.16:25Why? Because the Torah promises us,16:28Keep my chukot, keep my laws, especially these that you don't understand,16:31where the yetzer hara bothers you tremendously for it,16:34and you'll see v'chai bahem, you'll have the spiritual life that I promised you.17:04Shabbat shalom.