Summary of the Parasha

Acharei Mot (“After the death”) first recalls the death of Aaron’s two eldest sons, Nadav and Avihu. God then prescribes to Aaron, through Moses, the Yom Kippur service: the special offerings, the entry into the Holy of Holies where the Shechinah dwells, and the designation of two goats. One is offered in the sanctuary, the other, the scapegoat, is sent to Azazel, the desert cliff from which it was thrown.

The Torah forbids bringing offerings outside the sanctuary and repeats the prohibition of consuming blood. Finally, the parasha lists the forbidden relationships (incest, adultery and others) as well as the worship of Molech, in which children were passed through fire.

Summary of the Haftara

“Halo Kivnei Chushiyim” (“Are you not like the children of Cush to Me?”)
Text in Amos 9:7–15 for Ashkenazim, Ezekiel 22:1–16 for Sephardim

In the Ashkenazi reading, the prophet Amos announces the exile of the sinful kingdom, but promises that the house of Jacob will not be utterly destroyed. “On that day I will raise up the fallen Sukkah of David”. Israel will return to its land, rebuild its cities, plant vineyards, and never again be uprooted from its soil.

In the Sephardi reading, Ezekiel draws up the indictment of Jerusalem, “the city of blood”: violence, idolatry, contempt for parents, oppression of the stranger, the widow and the orphan, desecration of Shabbat, and the forbidden relationships described in the parasha. He announces dispersion among the nations.

Parasha-Haftara Connection

The parasha gives the laws of holiness that allow Israel to remain on its land; both haftarot show what happens when they are abandoned: exile. But the reading from Amos reminds us that exile is not the end: Israel remains holy, and God will bring it back to its land, forever.