Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
In This Week’s Parashah: מָה בַּפָּרָשָׁה
Full Parashah Reading: Vayikra 16:1-18:30
- Aharon, the כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל (kohen gadol, high priest), learns the steps for the Yom Kippur service.
- In the mishkan (and, later in history, in the Beit Ha-Mikdash), the Yom Kippur ritual involved two goats.
- One goat would become a קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת (korban hattat, sin offering). The kohen gadol would sprinkle its blood in a few places, including inside the holiest part of the mishkan, where the אָרוֹן (aron, ark) was. He could enter this space only on this one day of the year.
- Aharon would confess the sins of his family, of the kohanim, and of Benei Yisrael.
- The second goat would be sent away to the wilderness.
- Through these rituals, Benei Yisrael would gain כַּפָּרָה (kapparah, atonement), which means being completely forgiven.
- Benei Yisrael learn rules about where and how to slaughter animals. An animal's blood can never be eaten and must be covered with dirt.
- The Torah lists certain people you can’t marry, like your brother or sister.
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