Sunday Sermonette: The GOAT

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is the most important event in the Jewish liturgical calendar. It is established in today ' s reading, Leviticus 16, but the contemporary observance has no relationship whatever to the ritual described here. It is more than fair to say, in fact, that the Jewish religion is somehow descended from the religion of Leviticus, but it is not the same religion at all. The modern observance of Yom Kippur developed after the destruction of the Temple. It includes, oddly, recitation the night before of a prayer in Aramaic renouncing all vows. Of course Jews do not really renounce their vows - if they owe money or have a contract they still honor it the next year. But I digress.The elaborate ritual described here is essentially arbitrary, so I won ' t have much to say about the specifics. It doesn ' t much matter. But I do have some general observations. This seems to have been transposed. It should follow immediately after the death of Aaron ' s sons, for whatever unspecified error they made in a priestly ritual. Indeed, although ultimately the rites elaborated here are said to atone for all the sins of the Israelites, the proximate cause for this is that violation of ritual. The first part of Leviticus focuses on ceremonies and ritual purity, and grounds piety and obedience to Yahweh in these largely arbitrary practices. As we will see the later chapters, which are generally more relatable for us today, focuse on conduct in the mundane realm. (By the ...
Source: Stayin' Alive - Category: American Health Source Type: blogs