Portion 29 of 54 · Leviticus
אַחֲרֵי מוֹת
Acharei Mot
The Day of Atonement is set out: one day, one man, two goats, and a nation's wrongs sent away.
Start by reading it
Leviticus 16:1–18:30
3 chapters. About 12 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: Ezekiel 22:1–19
What happens
- 01
After the deaths of Aaron's sons, God tells Moses how the high priest may enter the holy place — and when.
- 02
The high priest strips off his gold and wears plain linen.
- 03
Two goats: one offered, one sent into the wilderness carrying the people's sins.
- 04
Then laws about blood, and about family and sexual boundaries.
The thing most people walk past
He goes in dressed as nobody
On the one day he enters the holiest place, the high priest takes off every ornament and wears simple white linen — the clothing of an ordinary man. Rank is left at the curtain.
One verse to carry
For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD.
The verse behind Yom Kippur, the most attended day in the Jewish year. A fixed date in the calendar for starting again.
A question to sit with
One goat is offered and one is sent away alive. Why might a people need both a sacrifice and a departure?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.