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At The Seder, Ask About
Your Family's Customs

Shabbat HaGadol, Parshat Acharei Mot:
Leviticus 16:1-18:30; Malachi 3:4-24.

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his week's Torah portion,
other ancient Near Eastern societies
Acharei Mot, meaning after
did question these instructions.
the death, includes rituals
Pirkei d'Rabbi Eliezer, a 9th cen-
and laws that God shared with Moses tury work attributed to Rabbi Eliezer
after the death of Aaron's two sons
ben Hyrcanus, understands the
Nadav and Avihu. Instructions are
scapegoat to be a bribe to Azazel so
given in Leviticus 16 for
that he would not testify
properly preparing the
against the people of Israel
priests for Yom Kippur. The
at their time of judgment.
concluding two chapters
His writings also describe
begin the Holiness Code
that the scapegoat may
which contain laws the
have been used to occupy
Israelites must follow in
Azazel thus leaving him
their pursuit of holiness.
less time to encourage the
As the priestly instruc-
Israelites to sin.
tions are given, there is
Another explanation
one particularly interesting
is provided in Abraham
ritual that reminds me of a
Chill's The Mitzvot: The
story that may be familiar.
Commandments and Their
In preparation for Passover,
Rationale. Chill wrote that
a young girl was helping
Nachmanides, a 13th cen-
her mother cook the seder meal. As
tury Torah scholar, believed that God
they readied the brisket, the mother
instituted this ritual as an offering
sliced off both ends and placed it into to the angel Samael, who had been
the pan. The girl asked her mother,
given control over all the nations
"Why did you cut off both ends?"
except Israel. The scapegoat "was sent
The mother paused and then
out into the wilderness to underscore
replied, "I don't know. That's the way
the idea that it is the wastefulness
my mother made it. Let's call Savta
and destructiveness of the evil think-
and ask." The call was placed and
ing of the nations of the world that
the question asked, to which Savta
result in sin and transgression ..."
replied, "I don't know. That's the
For these two and many other
way my mother made it." Now that
scholars, there was meaning and sig-
daughter, mother and grandmother
nificance behind this ritual beyond
were all curious, a call was made to
God's commandment. And just as
ask the question of Bubbie. Bubbie's
they did for this Yom Kippur ritual,
response, "I don't know why you do
as we celebrate Shabbat this week or
it, but I did it because my pan was
sit at the seder table with family and
never big enough!"
friends next week, we, too, have the
The ritual of the scapegoat out-
opportunity to explore the rituals
lined in this week's portion, for
in our lives. Take a moment to ask a
some, is like cutting off the ends of
parent or sibling about one of your
the brisket. The ritual itself calls for
family's customs or to teach your
Aaron or later high priests to take
children and/or friends about one of
two goats to the Sanctuary altar. One
yours. I I
goat is to be sacrificed to God in
order to make expiation for Aaron,
Daniel A. Schwartz is a rabbi at Temple
his household and the Israelite com-
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield.
munity. Regarding the second goat,
all of the people's transgressions are
to be symbolically placed on it so
Conversations
that the goat carries their sins away
What is one of your family
as it is sent into the wilderness to
rituals and how did it begin?
Azazel (believed to be the demon that
encouraged people to sin).
Why it is important that we
This ritual was part of the instruc-
celebrate Yom Kippur, the Day of
tions given by God to Moses and,
Atonement, every year?
therefore, it was followed without
question. However, later rabbis and
What laws are important for
scholars who saw that many of our
creating a holy community?
commandments had connections to

