Parshat Acharei – May 4, 2024 / 26 Nissan, 5784

I would like to share with you tonight the words of Elana Kaminka, an Israeli woman who lost her son on October 7th, just weeks before what would have been his 21st Birthday:

“I lost my firstborn son. When something like that happens, you realize nothing else is important.
My son’s name was Yannai Kaminka. Yannai grew up in a home where he would come downstairs and find Palestinian friends sitting on the couch. When he was doing his civilian national service, he brought one of my Palestinian friends to speak to the group because he knew that everyone there was going to the army soon and it was so important for him that they also understand other perspectives. Our ethos, which was definitely Yannai’s ethos as well, was to see the humanity and the person sitting in front of you and to take the time to get to know them as a person and to understand their pain.
Elana goes on to explain how her son was an officer serving on a military base during that fateful October morning. It was Sukkot, so many trainees and their families were at the base for the Holiday. Once Hamas terrorists had breached the walls of the base, Yannai and other officers and Sergeants made a decision that would cost him his life. They decided to send the trainees into the bomb shelters…They were too green. They did not have enough experience to have a fair chance against the well-armed and trained Hamas terrorists. Also, there was a kibbutz right behind the base, which would have spelled disaster had the compound been overtaken. Yannai died a hero…but also…through his mother’s eyes…Yannai died.

This week’s Torah portion is entitled “Acharei Mot,” or “After the Death.” It picks up right after the mysterious death of two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, both of whom were struck down after offering “eish zara,” or “strange fire,” upon the altar. Acharei Mot–after the death. How does one continue after such a devastating loss? The Torah quickly moves on to a Yom Kippur ritual wherein two goats are brought to the high priest, and by way of a lottery, one goat is designated ‘To the Lord,” and the other “To Azazel.” The former was sacrificed immediately, while the other was sent out into the wilderness, into the desert, with a seemingly dire fate, but an uncertain one nonetheless. I could not help but read this week’s parsha, and be struck by what happened Acharei Mot, after the death, and how Torah and Today are twins. One was lost immediately, while the other faced a more uncertain fate in the desert. I think of October 7th. Beautiful souls seemingly lost in a moment, and others taken, if not sent, into “Azazel,–a steep, hard, or rocky place–” at least emotionally and spiritually, if not geographically.
We have so many still mourning after their losses, and also those who wonder in cold-sweated anxiety and paralyzing fear regarding what has become of their loved ones who were so brazenly stolen away. The goat sent to “Azazel” was said to carry the burden of the people of Israel’s sins…to carry those sins away from the camp. Those 240 hostages taken on October 7th 2023 carried something much different. They carried, and still carry, the sins of those who took them, who violently snatched them from their lives. We are currently unsure how many are still alive.

I think of Aaron’s silence after his sons passed. Again, I wonder, How does one continue after such a devastating loss. I make no attempt to answer this question. I do look to what Aaron did. I also look to the words of Elena Kaminka. Aaron continued his work as the Kohen Gadol, the high priest. He led the rituals. The Torah continues, perhaps as Aaron weeps in the white spaces between the black fire of the words. Aaron continues, and ensures in his way that we will have a future as a people. Elena Kaminka says that she still has compassion. She has not lost her sense of humanity, even for an easy enemy. Why? She says, “It’s for my children. I want them to grow up in a better place and I believe that’s the only way to make that happen.” She talks of breaking cycles and seeing an improved world. Our Torah talks of creating a world worth inhabiting…a world with a balance of judgment and compassion, of din and rachamim.
It is no secret that we live in a different world than we did on October 6th, 2023. We live in a world “After.” Perhaps what we do “Acharei Mot,” after the death, will inform how we will move forward l’chaim, to life.

May we all be blessed to continue striving onward as Aaron and Elena, even if we sometimes feel as if we are simply going through the motions. Your pain, your fear, your grief is to be honored and respected. As we move forward “after the death,” we do not forget what we lost. We use the fire of those gone before us to give hope to those still out there in the dark, and to light the rocky path that winds its way toward a future of collective humanity, love, and safety. We, like our avot v’imahot, our forebears, are still authoring the story. Let us all keep the quill steady in our hands, even as the world around us shakes.
I must also add with all that is going on, misguided encampments of hatred and ignorance will arise along our rocky path, and vile
rhetoric will spill out as it has. We stay steady. Our Mishkan, our tent, unlike those staked in hatred, stands the test of time. Ultimately, we become blessed, even in the face of curses. It is in our Torah: Mah Tovu Ohalecha Yaakov, Mishkanotecha Yisrael- How lovely are your tents Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel.

Shabbat Shalom

– Rabbi Josh Gray