Acharei–K’doshim
Even though by the time you are reading these words, the celebration of the establishment of the State of Israel will be over, I would like to begin this week’s column with a few words about Yom HaAtzma’ut.
The State was declared on the 5th of Iyar 5708, May 14, 1948, at four p.m. This was eight hours before the end of the British Mandate. The normal situation would have been to declare the State at midnight. The reason for doing so eight hours early was to avoid chillul Shabbat. The first words heard right after David Ben-Gurion’s declaration were “Baruch Ata…Shehecheyanu v’kiy’manu v’higi’anu lazman hazeh.”
There is so much more I’d like to say, but I chose these two tidbits to react to those who refuse to honor the Medina on the basis that many of the founders of the State were not religious and that some were even anti-religious. G-d never said that great moments of Jewish redemption would only be brought about by tzaddikim. The State of Israel is not the realization of The Dream. But it is a major step towards the Complete Redemption.
One more point, and this one is numbers-oriented. Yom HaAtzma’ut is on Hei (5) Iyar in only 28.47% of years. This year, when the 5th fell on Wednesday, was one of those years. But when the 5th is Friday or Shabbat, Yom HaAtzma’ut is preponed (yes, it is a real word) to Thursday. When the 5th falls on a Monday, Yom HaAtzma’ut is postponed to Tuesday. These shifts were made to avoid chillul Shabbat that might result from ceremonies and celebrations as well as the preparations for them and the cleanup afterward. Very nice, but what about festive davening, Hallel, and so on – why did the religious observance of Yom HaAtzma’ut remain consistently on the 5th of Iyar? Because the Rabbanut (Israel’s Chief Rabbinate) at the time chose not to separate the national celebration from the religious celebration. It was a decision with the goal of maintaining the unity of the Jewish People.
* * * * *
Last week, there was a mistake in the riddle. Here is the corrected version (the riddle can be asked anytime, so I am repeating it here, correctly):
There’s an old riddle, used by teachers to challenge their students and to see which of them can think out of the box:
Rosh Chodesh is always on the first of a month and on the thirtieth (when there is one). But when is Rosh Chodesh on the fifteenth?
The answer is the 30th day of Nissan, the first day of Rosh Chodesh Iyar, which falls on the fifteenth of the Omer.
If you think the riddle was misleading, go back and read it carefully. When is Rosh Chodesh on the fifteenth? It did not say “of the month.” Try this one out with your children, grandchildren, or your Shabbat guests.
* * * * *
Parshat Acharei Mot is often called just Acharei, to leave out the word that means death. Acharei and K’doshim (AK) are one of the seven pairs of sedras that are sometimes read separately and sometimes combined. The rule for AK is simple: In a shana p’shuta (12-month, one-Adar year), the sedras are combined. In a shana m’uberet (13-month, two-Adar year), they are read separately. Last week’s Tazri’a and M’tzora (TM) have the same rule. No exceptions. Vayakhel and P’kudei (VP) follow that rule as well, except for one specific type of shana p’shuta when they are read separately. B’har and B’chukotai (BB) also follow that rule, but in Israel, when Pesach is Shabbat-to-Friday (and in Chutz LaAretz, Shabbat-to-Shabbat) in a shana p’shuta, BB are combined out of Israel but are separated here to allow Parshat HaShavua to get back into sync. (On the day after the seven days of Pesach in Israel, we read Parshat HaShavua. Outside of Israel, that Shabbat is the 8th day of Pesach with a special Torah reading, hence the communities there falling behind on Parshat HaShavua. We split BB in those years to allow Chutz LaAretz to catch up.)
* * * * *
Acharei and K’doshim are smallish sedras – Acharei with 80 p’sukim ranks 45th of 54 sedras, and K’doshim’s 64 p’sukim earn it 49th place (only five sedras have fewer p’sukim).
Similar rankings obtain for other categories of sedra-length – lines in a Torah, words, and letters.
When it comes to mitzvot, we find very different statistics. Parshat Acharei has 28 mitzvot of the Torah’s 613, only two of which are mitzvot aseit (positive commands); the other 26 are prohibitions (lo taasei). It ranks 7th for most mitzvot in a sedra.
K’doshim has 51 mitzvot – 13 positive and 38 prohibitions. It ranks 5th. So many more than Acharei, yet only two steps higher in the ranking.
Mitzvot are not evenly distributed in the Torah. Not at all. Seventeen sedras have no mitzvot – that’s almost one third of the Torah’s sedras. At the top end of the list, we find Ki Teitzei (74), Emor (63), R’ei (55), Mishpatim (53), K’doshim (51), Sho–f’tim (41), Acharei (28), B’har (24), and Bo (20). That’s nine sedras (one sixth of the Torah’s 54) with 409 mitzvot – a smidgen over two-thirds of the 613.
But let’s create a new Torah stat in honor of K’doshim. Its 51 mitzvot-count is impressive, but if you notice how small Parshat K’doshim is, its mitzvah content is even more impressive. Our new stat is MD, mitzvah density, which is calculated as the number of mitzvot per 1,000 p’sukim.
The whole Torah has 613 mitzvot and 5,846 p’sukim – an MD of almost 105.
Now let’s look at MD by Books of the Torah: B’reishit – 2; Sh’mot – 92; Vayikra – 287.5; Bamidbar – 40.4; D’varim – 209.
Compare the MD of this week’s duo – Acharei 350 vs. K’doshim – 797, the most mitzvah-dense sedra in the Torah.
And that isn’t even K’doshim’s full mitzvah-picture. There are over a dozen more mitzvot in the sedra which are counted elsewhere. Not that K’doshim needs to add to its totals – it is already the number-one mitzvah sedra. (No offense to Ki Teitzei with an MD of 673, establishing it in the Avis/K2/Buzz Aldrin position of second place.)
What is really significant about K’doshim being so mitzvah-dense is the name of the sedra. G-d commands the People of Israel to “Be Holy” (“K’doshim tihyu”). How? ask the commentaries. The answer is… mitzvot! Quantitatively and, more importantly, qualitatively. Faithful observance of the mitzvot – with enthusiasm and joy, as well as attention to the details of halacha, is the way to be holy.
* * * * *
Back to Acharei. Its 80 p’sukim divide into three p’rakim (chapters). The first one, Vayikra 16, which deals mostly with the service in the Beit HaMikdash of Yom Kippur and our observance of that holy day, is, appropriately, the Torah reading for Yom Kippur morning. The third chapter, Vayikra 18, which deals mostly with the prohibitions of sexual immorality, is the Torah reading at Mincha of Yom Kippur. Vayikra 17, meanwhile, is only read when the parsha of the week is Acharei.
A flippant train of thought: Perek 17 is sort of like N’mu’el, brother of – and less famous than – Datan and Aviram. I wonder is he was the middle brother of the three (even though he is mentioned first).
* * * * *
We have an interesting haftara situation with AK. The regular haftara of Acharei is from the book of Yechezkeil. Let’s call it “Hatishpot.” The regular haftara of K’doshim is from Amos – “Halo chiVnei Chushiyim”; let’s call it “Halo.” In all one-Adar years, Acharei and K’doshim are combined and Halo is the haftara – as it is this year. In two-Adar years, the sedras are read separately, but…
Sometimes, K’doshim falls on Rosh Chodesh. In that case, K’doshim gets the Shabbat–Rosh Chodesh haftara and Acharei gets Halso.
Sometimes, Acharei is Shabbat HaGadol and gets the special haftara for HaGadol, and K’doshim gets Halo.
Sometimes, in Israel, K’doshim is Machar Chodesh and gets a special haftara. For Acharei, in those years, the haftara is Halo. In those same years, in Chutz LaAretz, Acharei is Machar Chodesh and thus K’doshim gets Halo. Got the picture so far? Combined, the haftara is Halo. Separated and one of them or the other is a special, the other’s haftara is Halo.
And finally, there is one year-type when Acharei and K’doshim are read separately and neither is a special Shabbat. In such a case, Acharei finally gets its haftara, Hatishpot, and K’doshim gets its Halo – except, that is, in Yerushalayim, where there is a minhag to read Halo for Acharei and K’doshim, resulting in Hatishpot of Acharei never being read. The reason given for this Jerusalem custom is that the haftara of Acharei is very negative towards Yerushalayim and so it was decided to skip it, in favor of Halo, reading it two weeks in a row. All over the world and in most of Israel, Hatishpot is the rarest of all haftarot. In Jerusalem, it is even rarer, if you can say that – never being read at all.
* * * * *
Focusing on two mitzvah points that I’ve probably written about in past columns, I’d like to present examples from AK.
The first is the “two sides of the same coin” mitzvot. Examples abound in many places in the Torah, but let’s use Yom Kippur (counted from Parshat Emor but also presented here in Parshat Acharei) to illustrate.
There is a positive command in the Torah to fast on Yom Kippur. There is a prohibition against eating and drinking on Yom Kippur. Both the mitzvah to fast and the prohibition against eating are counted among Taryag. Two sides of the same mitzvah coin. But think about it: If we are commanded to fast, then we will not eat or drink. If we will not eat or drink on Yom Kippur, then we will be fasting. Why are both counted as mitzvot and why do we need (or have) both?
So too, the mitzvah to abstain from melacha on Yom Kippur and the prohibition against doing melacha on Yom Kippur. Two sides of the same mitzvah. Why both? And there are many examples of this type of thing throughout the list of the 613 mitzvot.
I like to explain the concept as follows, with the warning that the answer is more complex than I will describe. With that said, I think it is a valid and important point.
The main motivation for not violating a prohibition is yir’a, fear and reverence of G-d. Yir’at Shamayim, yir’at cheit (fear of sin), fear of punishment.
The additional and main motivation for fulfilling a positive commandment is ahava, love. Ahavat Hashem, Ahavat Torah, Ahavat mitzvot. This is a positive reason for enthusiastically observing Torah and mitzvot.
We need both yir’a and ahava in our Torah observance; one enhances the other.
In K’doshim, we find another example of the two sides of the same coin, but expanded upon to a new level. One may not cut all the produce from one’s field. One must leave the corner of the field (pei’a) uncut. A prohibition and a positive command that essentially say the same thing, each counted among the 613 mitzvot of the Torah. This is followed by the prohibition of harvesting all the grapes in one’s vineyard and the mitzvah to leave part of the vineyard unharvested. Field? Vineyard? Why count the mitzvot applicable to them separately? And, in that same portion of K’doshim, we find other mitzvot concerning the gleanings of a field and a vineyard.
In addition to the yir’a–ahava concept as mentioned already, there is another principle at work. The last Mishna in Masechet Makot, a Mishna that concludes the learning of each perek in Pirkei Avot, traditionally read, learned, and reviewed on the Shabbatot from after Pesach until Rosh Hashanah, is attributed to Rabbi Chananya ben Akashya, who said: “G-d wanted to merit the People of Israel, therefore He heaped upon us [not just ‘gave us’] Torah and Mitzvot.”
You are a farmer with a wheat field? Don’t cut the whole field – mitzvah. Leave a corner uncut – mitzvah. Don’t go over your field a second time after reaping – mitzvah. Leave the gleanings for the poor – mitzvah. Don’t go back and take the wheat that was left behind after harvest – mitzvah. Leave the forgotten sheaves for the poor – mitzvah.
Of course, the number of sins and violations for a farmer who does not do as the Torah commands add up accordingly.
We are not all farmers, so let me put this into a Shabbat context. There are 39 categories of forbidden melachot on Shabbat, and countless derivative acts that violate Torah laws of Shabbat. Not to mention (except that I am mentioning them) a myriad of Rabbinic prohibitions on Shabbat. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. But that’s not the total picture of Shabbat. Every potential violation of Shabbat is also a mitzvah to avoid. When the Torah commands resting on the Seventh day, it is not referring to a nice Shabbat nap. (That we learn from the navi Yishayahu who declares Shabbat as a day of oneg (enjoyment) to be honored and sanctified.) Rest in the Torah’s context means abstaining from melacha, which should be observed not only because Shabbat violation carries very serious punishments, but because of our gratitude for and love of Hashem for His creation of the world, for His giving us life, for His giving us the beautiful Torah and mitzvot.
On that note, Shabbat Shalom.