Psst. Moses..
The Almighty calls Moses over for a talk –
This is right after the death
the junior high priests, Aaron's sons,
Nadav and Avihu.
Acharei Mot – literally, 'after the death'
– is the Torah portion that deals
with the aftermath of this tragedy,
exploring ways of reacting to death.
It is generally assumed
that that the two Levites
were victims of passion –
that they got carried away
in their duties of devotion.
In response, God demands discipline.
As soon as the mourning is over,
Moses receives a detailed operations manual
for the safe maintenance of the Tabernacle –
the first Hebrew Religious Operations Center.
Acharei Mot describes this operations manual
listing the regulations
that will enable safe access to the sacred.
Nobody wants another fatal fire.
There are three sections
of the operations manual
discussed in these chapters:
Number one, meat, is all about
how, where, and when to eat it.
Number two, sex, the complete guide
to who not to have it with.
Number three, atonment, the perfect path
for cleaning up your act
after the inevitable "oops!" moments
caused by meat, sex,
and all other human desires.
While basic human desires
may not have changed much
since biblical days,
how modern individuals and societies
deal with these desires has changed
quite a bit.
Can this ancient manual
be remotely relevant to what we eat,
how we love, and if we pray today?
Probably, but only if we dig deeper.
Finding symbolic meanings and metaphors
that interpret and translate it
into modern tools for our needs.
Searching beyond the literal meaning
is one more way to make Torah matter today.
So here goes:
Section 1 : How to eat meat.
No eating of fresh blood, okay.
No eating of corpses – gross. Of course.
All slaughtering of animals
must only happen at the Tabernacle,
administered by Levites,
who then get a share of the meat.
Is this the original income tax system?
And also, the reminder to keep
the meat industry closely regulated,
supervised, and truly answering
to a higher authority is appreciated.
Next, section two.
Regulations regarding atonement.
This is the origin of Yom Kippur,
The Day of Atonement.
Then and now, this day of judgment is
a twenty-four hour marathon
including special clothing, diet,
and general reflection on what needs fixing
in our lives.
The rituals of the day, Leviticus style,
involved a lot of blood and sacrificial animals,
each representing another part of the past,
individual desires, collective crimes.
We have evolved since sacrificial days,
and very few of the Tabernacle rituals
are still conducted on Yom Kippur,
but the essence remains:
This is a day rich with rituals
that enable us to take responsibility
for our past, to reflect on our present,
and re-imagine our future,
new and improved.
This one's still a classic.
Then there’s Section Three: all about sex.
Or rather, who not to have sex with.
It is a pretty long list
that includes no-brainers like,
No sleeping with your sister
but also more challenging ones like,
No sex between men.
Hmmm.
Like Sections 1 and 2 of this manual –
Section 3 is interested in discipline and order –
setting rules and regulations
for what a life lived well should look like.
But also, just like the first two sections,
some of the rules here are not
as obvious anymore,
and could have several significantly different
modern interpretations.
Regardless of how different people
interpret this operations manual,
the bottom line here is that discipline matters.
Whether it’s is about eating meat,
fasting on Yom Kippur, or making love,
safety, intention, and careful attention to detail
can transform a simple human action
into a sacred act.
Acharei Mot is not just an ancient reaction
to a brutal death
It is, more importantly,
a timeless affirmation
of a messy, complicated, holy human life.
Producer: Sarah Lefton
Animation Director: Nick Fox-Gieg
Animation: Liesje Kraai
Editorial Director: Matthue Roth
Theme Music: Tim Cosgrove
Written and Narrated by Amichai Lau-Lavie