Show Notes
In this week's parsha, Acharei Mot, we learn about boundaries and limits. For example:
The Yom Kippur avodah was extremely elaborate, and the highlight of the Kohen Gadol's year. But even the Kohen Gadol had to be careful about when he was allowed to enter the Kodesh Kedashim, Holy of Holies, and how he went about performing the service.
When we have a central place of worship, such as a Mishkan or Beit Hamikdash, we are forbidden to create our own personal altars and offer our own personal korbanot.
Not only are we not allowed to eat an animal's blood, but we are also not allowed to eat a neveilah or a terefah, kosher animals that died on their own or had defects that would have meant it would have died within a year's time.
There are many forbidden relationships. Even though we saw them modeled in Egypt and Canaan, we must be careful not to emulate them ourselves.
More from Parsha for Kids
In the last parsha of the Torah, V'Zot HaBracha, Moshe dies. But what matters is not that he died- rather, the way he died. Moshe approached God alone. There were no adoring crowds. No family surrounding him. It was just the man and his Maker. And this is something that will happen to us all. We will all, ultimately, approach God. The question to be answered is simply this: have we lived a life that we are proud to show to God?
This week's parsha, Haazinu, is actually a song! Moshe wanted to make sure that the core ideas of Judaism would be accessible to everyone, whether or not they were able to read. In this song, we focus on some important ideas. These include: