The portion of Acharei Mot picks up following the deaths of Aaron’s older sons, Nadab and Abihu. It contains the instructions for the Yom Kippur — or Day of Atonement — service in the Tabernacle, and forbids slaughtering animal offerings outside the Tabernacle and the consumption of blood. It lists a series of forbidden relationships and other abominations condemned by God, and emphasizes the holiness of the Land of Israel.
I often find myself walking around my house, turning off lights in empty rooms. Why waste electricity if there is no one there to benefit from it? Interestingly, a similar question arose thousands of years ago, in the Temple itself! In...
People are more polarized today than ever before with politics dividing families and shattering communities. The Bible established a system of leadership through service that may be the key to healing our broken polarized politics. Rabbi...
By the time we read the Torah portion of Emor (Leviticus 21-24), the Tabernacle has been built along with all of its necessary utensils. The Kohanim (priests) stand at the ready in the Biblically mandated clothes. But some necessary...
The Torah describes the death of Nadab and Abihu, the two eldest of Aaron’s four sons, as a punishment for bringing “alien fire, which He had not enjoined upon them” (Leviticus 10:1). The tragedy took place on the eighth day of the...
The altar in the Tabernacle was, of course, for burning the sacrifices, but the Torah commanded that the fire be kept burning constantly, night and day, regardless of whether or not there was a sacrifice to burn. The Jerusalem Talmud...
The Hebrew names of the books of the Torah are named for the first word that appears in each book. The Hebrew name of the the book of Leviticus, therefore, is Vayikra (וַיִּקְרָא), which means “And he called.” This calling refers to God...
The Tabernacle and all its components required large amounts of costly materials so, after its construction, Moses gave an accounting of materials that had been used (Exodus 38:21). This required that in addition to being a prophet,...
After describing the instructions for the construction of the Tabernacle in great detail, the Torah then repeats these details, describing the same elements after the Tabernacle has been erected. Of course, the Tabernacle is the place for...
After the Tabernacle is fully assembled, God descends upon it in a cloud of glory: The cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the Presence of Hashem filled the Mishkan. Exodus 40:34 The Hebrew word for ‘glory,’ kavod (כָּבוֹד), is perhaps...
