By the Light and Strength of Faith We Walk: Acharei Mot/Kedoshim.25

By the Light and Strength of Faith We Walk

D’var Torah for Acharei Mot/Kedoshim

By Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman

May 8, 2025

Seven times in a 19-year cycle, in order to accommodate a lunar-solar calendar system, a full month is added to the Jewish year. The Torah takes account of this (along with some other factors, such as special holiday readings) by dividing its five books into 54 weekly portions, which means that on the non-leap years, several portions are paired for study and reading at services. 

This week we have one of these pairings: Acharei Mot and Kedoshim (Lev. 16:1—20:27). These two portions are found literally and symbolically at the heart of the Torah, and one can therefore presume that they contain some of the most important—holiest, if you will—mitzvot. The first part of Acharei Mot thus concerns itself with the holiest day of the Jewish year, Yom Kippur, and the sacrifices that were offered at the Temple on this day. The second part, however, focuses not on the larger theme of our relationship with God, but rather on the most personal and intimate behavior between any two people. Or, as Rabbi Shmuley Boteach's international best seller terms it, "kosher sex." While today not all of us agree with all of these laws (e.g. male-male relations), the overall idea of these mitzvot is that there are proper (and therefore improper) ways of being sexually intimate. 

Kedoshim, the second of this week's paired portions, expands further on the theme of holiness. This portion, too, is composed of two seemingly unrelated subjects: The first part sets laws that teach a moral and ethical way of everyday behavior, while the second contains a list of foods considered kosher (proper) for eating--and those that are not. At the heart of Kedoshim is the section known as The Holiness Code, which is summed up by the famous mitzvah "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Lev. 19:18). While most of these commandments govern interpersonal relationships, they also reflect the sacred bond between God and humanity: "You shall be holy, for I, Adonai your God am holy" (Lev. 19:2).  

This set of doubled portions focuses on that which the Torah terms kadosh—sacred—but with a twist: It isn't only God who is holy; it's we, the people, as well. Holiness isn't found only in the way we pray or offer sacrifice; it's also in the way we interact with each another and with the world around us. Through the choices we make we can rise from an ordinary and mundane way of living to a higher state that we call holiness. 

But the pairing of these portions reveals yet another thought. Many commentators have written about the combined titles of the portions, Acharei Mot—Kedoshim, ("After the death/holiness"), which recall an ancient idiom: De mortuis nil nisi bonum dicendum est, “Of the dead nothing but good is to be said.” Speaking kindly of a deceased person, no harsh words, no criticism, nothing that might reflect badly on the individual when they were alive, was always seen as common courtesy. But an additional and even higher meaning emerges through Jewish eyes. Kedoshim literally means "those who are holy." Following the death of Aaron's two sons Nadav and Avihu, Moses comforts Aaron by implying that the two may have been overzealous, but that their overall intention was good: they wanted to be holy. Over the centuries the term kedoshim has evolved and now is used to describe martyrs, those who die in sanctifying God's holiness. Thus the paired titles carry the connotation of "after the death of martyrs." 

This expression has special meaning for the Jewish People, for whom martyrdom has been an inescapable part of history. Coming on the heels of Yom Ha-Shoah and Yom Hi-Zikaron, it's hard not to think of this meaning and how we, the survivors, somehow find ourselves able to rise from the ashes. The two portions Acharei Mot/Kedoshim strengthen us both through their combined titles and their content, infusing our lives with meaning and purpose. They enable us to see ourselves not as disconnected individuals whose lives are inconsequential, meaningless or random, but rather as components in a larger picture where God and humanity complete each other.

The important and far-reaching lesson of these portions is that faith is a source of great strength. By its special light, faith gives life and even death special meaning. The purpose of mitzvot—the sacred Commandments, acts of charity, loving kindness and justice—is not only to make the world better, but also to enable us to move forward despite the heavy burden of sorrow that may be contained within our hearts. It is so that we rise from the ashes and begin again.

© 2025 by Boaz D. Heilman