page_title: Acharei Mot
section_title: Leviticus chapter 16
hierarchical_section_title: Acharei Mot / In classical rabbinic interpretation / Leviticus chapter 16
caption_attribution_description: English: High priest offering incense on the altar, as in Leviticus 16:12; illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop, "Treasures of the Bible," published 1894
context_page_description: Acharei Mot is the 29th weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. It is the sixth weekly portion in the Book of Leviticus, containing Leviticus 16:1–18:30. It is named after the fifth and sixth Hebrew words of the parashah, its first distinctive words.
  The parashah sets forth the law of the Yom Kippur ritual, centralized offerings, blood, and sexual practices. The parashah is made up of 4,294 Hebrew letters, 1,170 Hebrew words, 80 verses, and 154 lines in a Torah Scroll.
  Jews generally read it in April or early May. The lunisolar Hebrew calendar contains up to 55 weeks, the exact number varying between 50 in common years and 54 or 55 in leap years. In leap years, parashah Acharei Mot is read separately on the 29th Sabbath after Simchat Torah. In common years, parashah Acharei Mot is combined with the next parashah, Kedoshim, to help achieve the needed number of weekly readings.
  Traditional Jews also read parts of the parashah as Torah readings for Yom Kippur.
context_section_description: Rabbi Levi taught that God gave Leviticus 16:1–34 on the day that the Israelites set up the Tabernacle. Rabbi Johanan said in the name of Rabbi Bana'ah that the Torah was transmitted in separate scrolls, as Psalm 40:8 says, "Then said I, 'Lo I am come, in the roll of the book it is written of me.'" Rabbi Simeon ben Lakish (Resh Lakish), however, said that the Torah was transmitted in its entirety, as Deuteronomy 31:26, "Take this book of the law." The Gemara reported that Rabbi Johanan interpreted Deuteronomy 31:26, "Take this book of the law," to refer to the time after the Torah had been joined together from its several parts. And the Gemara suggested that Resh Lakish interpreted Psalm 40:8, "in a roll of the book written of me," to indicate that the whole Torah is called a "roll," as Zechariah 5:2 says, "And he said to me, 'What do you see?' And I answered, 'I see a flying roll.'" Or perhaps, the Gemara suggested, it is called "roll" for the reason given by Rabbi Levi, who said that God gave eight sections of the Torah, which Moses then wrote on separate rolls, on the day on which the Tabernacle was set up. They were: the section of the priests in Leviticus 21, the section of the Levites in Numbers 8:5–26 (as the Levites were required for the service of song on that day), the section of the unclean (who would be required to keep the Passover in the second month) in Numbers 9:1–14, the section of the sending of the unclean out of the camp (which also had to take place before the Tabernacle was set up) in Numbers 5:1–4, the section of Leviticus 16:1–34 (dealing with Yom Kippur, which Leviticus 16:1 states was transmitted immediately after the death of Aaron's two sons), the section dealing with the drinking of wine by priests in Leviticus 10:8–11, the section of the lights of the menorah in Numbers 8:1–4, and the section of the red heifer in Numbers 19 (which came into force as soon as the Tabernacle was set up).
  Rabbi Yannai taught that from the very beginning of the world’s creation, God foresaw the deeds of the righteous and the wicked, and provided Yom Kippur in response.  Rabbi Yannai taught that Genesis 1:2, “And the earth was desolate,” alludes to the deeds of the wicked; Genesis 1:3, “And God said: ‘Let there be light,’” to those of the righteous; Genesis 1:4, “And God saw the light, that it was good,” to the deeds of the righteous; Genesis 1:4, “And God made a division between the light and the darkness”: between the deeds of the righteous and those of the wicked; Genesis 1:5, “And God called the light day,” alludes to the deeds of the righteous; Genesis 1:5, “And the darkness called He night,” to those of the wicked; Genesis 1:5, “and there was evening,” to the deeds of the wicked; Genesis 1:5, “and there was morning,” to those of the righteous.  And Genesis 1:5, “one day,” teaches that God gave the righteous one day — Yom Kippur.
  Similarly, Rabbi Judah bar Simon interpreted Genesis 1:5, “And God called the light day,” to symbolize Jacob/Israel; “and the darkness he called night,” to symbolize Esau; “and there was evening,” to symbolize Esau; “and there was morning,” to symbolize Jacob.  And “one day” teaches that God gave Israel one unique day over which darkness has no influence — the Day of Atonement.
  Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba taught that Aaron's sons died on the first of Nisan, but Leviticus 16:1 mentions their death in connection with the Day of Atonement. Rabbi Hiyya explained that this teaches that as the Day of Atonement effects atonement, so the death of the righteous effects atonement. We know that the Day of Atonement effects atonement from Leviticus 16:30, which says, "For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you." And we learn that the death of the righteous effects atonement from 2 Samuel 21:14, which says, "And they buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son," and then says, "After that God was entreated for the land."
  A Midrash noted that Scripture records the death of Nadab and Abihu in numerous places (Leviticus 10:2 and 16:1; Numbers 3:4 and 26:61; and 1 Chronicles 24:2). Th
caption: High Priest Offering Incense on the Altar (illustration from Henry Davenport Northrop's 1894 Treasures of the Bible)
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