Using Recycled Sins to Cleanse the Sanctuary - Torah portion Aḥarei Mot-Kedoshim
This week's Torah portion begins with a description of the Yom Ha-Kipurim service (Lev 16). The goal of this service is two-fold: To cleanse the people of sin. To cleanse the Sanctuary of impurity. What I would like to suggest is that one of the fixtures of the service, the ḥ atat offering, accomplishes both of the above goals simultaneously, by transforming sin into the very cleansing agent used to remove the Sanctuary's impurity. The meaning of Kapara / Kipur To begin with, what do we mean by "cleansing"? The Hebrew word in question is kapara , as in " kipur ," the definition for which ranges from "atonement" and "expiation," to "wiping" and "purgation" (see J. Milgrom, Anchor Leviticus Vol I, pp. 1079-84), to "ransom" (as in the phrase " kofer nafsho ," Ex 30:12). In post-biblical use, " kofer " also connotes the denial of religious tenets. I prefer the approach of the...