Achrei
Mot
Lev. 16:1 -18:30
Précis:
Achrei Mot begins with Adonai speaking to Moses after the death (achrei mot)
of Aaron’s sons. It describes the rituals for Yom Kippur, including the
prescribed sacrifices. There are specific details about the purification of the
Sanctuary, vessels, and the priests. Following this description, rules for the
slaughter of meat (including the prohibition against eating blood) are
reiterated, as are a plethora of other rules. The parasha concludes with a listing of prohibited marriages.
Lev.
17:15 - Every person who eats an animal that died naturally (nevelah) or was
torn apart by beasts (terefah) should wash his clothes, bathe in water, and
remain ritually impure until evening, whereupon he becomes ritually pure. This
applies both to citizens and to strangers living within your community.
Benjamin D. Sommer, writing in JTS
Parasha Commentary (5/5/16), notes that this parasha offers the offender the
ability to be restored to ritual purity, even though this seems to be in
contradiction to a more definitive prohibitions found in Exodus 22:30 which reads, “You shall be my holy people: you may not eat meat torn by beasts in
the field; you should throw it to dogs” and a similar prohibition in Deut. 14:21 (“You
may not eat an animal that died a natural death; give it to the stranger living
in your community so he can eat it, or sell it to a foreigner. For you are
Hashem your God’s holy nation”).
The
verse in this week’s reading implies that it is acceptable for an Israelite to eat
nevelah or terefah, since there is a simple way of being restored
to ritual purity. Note well that the Torah has no prohibition against becoming
ritually impure. In fact, it was
relatively common for Israelites to become “impure” through contact with the
dead, giving birth, or emissions of various sorts. Sommer suggests that this
presents a contradiction to the absolute prohibitions in Exodus and Deuteronomy.
We often acknowledge that there are
differences of opinion regarding Jewish law. For example, some Jews must wait six hours after
eating meat before eating dairy (especially among those from Eastern Europe). Others
wait three hours (e.g., German Jews). Similarly, laws regarding what is
appropriate on Passover differ between those who follow Ashkenazi traditions
and those who follow Sephardic practice. As we see here, the Torah itself contradicts
itself at times (a source of immense amounts of rabbinic commentary).
But
rabbinical authorities over 25 centuries have determined that Jews may not eat
from an animal which has died, or flesh torn from a living animal, regardless of the verse in Leviticus above. Even though rejected by the Sages, the verse from this week’s reading is still chanted, although it has been abandoned. We still chant it
because it is part of our heritage.
This
provides a basis for an analysis of another verse in this week’s reading: “You
may not lie with a male as with a woman; doing so is an abomination” (Lev.
18:22). The more progressive movements in the Jewish world have come to recognize
that there is much to be praised in committed relationships between two men or between
two women, and have begun a process to make such relationships acceptable to
all. I, for one, encourage this movement, but recognize that it remains anathema
to many of my fellow Jews.
For
those who are discomforted by our continued reading of Lev. 18:22, I suggest
that just as the laws regarding eating of animals in this parasha have been superseded,
the prohibition in 18:22 may also be superseded. While I believe that the verse is no longer
binding, we still chant it because it is part of our heritage. As such, it reminds us that change is possible and at times desirable.
