Double parshas often teach us double lessons, and Parshat Achrei Mot-Kedoshim is not an exception.
Achrei Mot opens with the death of Aaron’s children, Nadav and Avihu. According to the Torah, their death was inflicted by drawing “too close to the presence of Hashem (Leviticus, 16:2).” Then, we are introduced to the sacred, ritualistic atonement process, involving two identical goats–one for God and one as the scapegoat. The parsha continues with more rules and prohibitions like improper sacrifices, strict rituals for the Mishkan, sexual morality and laws of blood.
The overall idea is clear: holiness starts with boundaries. Nadav and Avihu’s death is an undeniable portrayal of this. They died from intense spiritual passion without proper spiritual grounding. While their gift to God was well-intended in theory, it was unauthorized. The levels of holiness were unfathomable during the times of the Mishkan (holy altar), but it is a warning that ego, gift giving for the sake of gift giving, without humility and alignment, proper structure and rules, can be spiritually harmful. Yearning is therefore contingent on being boundaries.
The procedure of the scapegoat is, however, unusual. Aaron is asked to take two identical goats and designate their fates: one is sacrificed for God, one is thrown off a cliff.
If this approach is not cryptic enough, the commentary is even stranger.
The Biblical commentator, Ibn Ezra, famously said, “If you are able to understand the secret of the word Azazel, you will know its secret and that of its name.” The Rambam, another Biblical commentator, then quotes the Ibn Ezra and directly responds, “I will reveal to you part of the secret he hinted at.”
So what’s the secret of the scapegoat?
According to Rabbi Yaakov Wolbe, the Rambam draws on the meaning of the word se’ir, goat, and its relation to the word sair, hairy. This word connects to the story of Yaakov and Esav. Just as there are two identical goats, there were two identical brothers— Yaakov and Esav. Esav was called a, a hairy man, during his birth. In Jewish mysticism, Esav is often regarded as symbolism for the untamed, chaotic forces of the world. He spends time in the wilderness, just like the goat sent away, and is often associated with spiritual impurity and judgment. When Aaron sent a goat to Azazel, he symbolically sent all the sin and impurity into Esav’s dwelling. Therefore, the function of a scapegoat is not to ignore evil, but to acknowledge it and then disregard it.
Parsha Kidushim is also about drawing close to holiness, but in a different way. The parsha begins with “You shall be holy, for I, your God Hashem, am holy (Leviticus 19:2).” God is directly asking us to mirror Godly Divinity and then gives instructions on how to. He tells us not to bear vengeance, take revenge, gossip, deceive, hold grudges and many other practices to refrain from in order to maintain justice and holiness. According to the Zohar, Kedoshim is so powerful that it must be read in front of the entire community because it contains the essence of Torah. It is in Kedoshim that we learn holiness is not just about what we do, but what we refrain from as well.
Achrei Mot and Kedoshim teach us that the root of spiritual redemption and holiness is found in the process of division. Aaron separated the goat and Hashem separated us with laws to do and refrain from. The key to a conscious life is not just having spiritual drive, like Nadav and Avihu, but discipline and restraint as well.
