Parashat Acharei Mot (Leviticus 16-18)
Leviticus 16
16:29 And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
Comment: “afflict your souls”: This includes fasting, see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yom_Kippur
When people fast, they become thirsty and hungry, and they become humbled and they realize how their living is not taken for granted. This makes them easier to repent and to receive Gd’s forgiveness.
16:30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
Comment: The English word “atonement” = “at-one-ment” or reconciliation, see https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/why-does-atonement-disappear-in-the-new-testament
The Hebrew root of atonement is כפר, which may be related to wiping away sin or removing anger. I learned this rom Rashi’s comment on Genesis 32:21, see https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Genesis.32.21.1?lang=bi
(Pentateuch with Rashi’s commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934)
16:34 And this shall be an everlasting statute unto you, to make an atonement for the children of Israel for all their sins once a year. And he did as the LORD commanded Moses.
Comment: There is a positive feature of atonement once a year and making corrections regularly. If one repented only once at the end of his life, he could have made too much damage and misused his whole life on earth.
Leviticus 17
17:11 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.
Comment: “it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul”:
This suggests that the most essential part of an animal sacrifice for atonement is the blood, symbolizing life for life.
17:12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.
Comment: “No soul of you shall eat blood”: Then why did Jesus invite people to “drink his blood” (John 6:53-56, 1st Corinthians 11:25) ? The answer seems to be straightforward: Blood symbolizes life. Jesus’s life is the eternal life of God’s son. By drinking it, we accept His life to become our own, and receive the new and eternal lives as Gd’s children. As John 6:53-56 recorded:
“Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.”
Leviticus 18
18:5 Ye shall therefore keep my statutes, and my judgments: which if a man do, he shall live in them: I am the LORD.
Comment: “he shall live in them”: Therefore, Jews generally allow violation of commandments for saving a life, e.g., to deliver a baby on Sabbath. However, there are some exceptions. Sometimes, a Jew should choose to die instead of violating a commandment (such as a prohibition against idolatry, murder, or adultery). See, e.g., https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-sacrifice_in_Jewish_law