Apr 23, 2026
Parshat Acharei Mot - Kedoshim 5786
In this week’s Torah portions, Acharei Mot and Kedoshim, the Ma’or VaShemesh reads the two parshiot as two stages in a single process in avodat Hashem. “Acharei Mot,” after the death of Nadav and Avihu, at the very center of the inauguration of the Mishkan, a moment that could have unraveled everything. One might expect that access to the Kodesh HaKodashim would now be restricted or closed.
Instead, the Torah teaches something more precise. Aharon is uniquely able to enter, even at any time, but only through the exact סדר (seder), with preparation and intention. Entry is not removed, but it is no longer casual. After rupture, access is not taken away, but it becomes defined. It demands structure and precision, and that shift is not only about the process, but about the person who can be entrusted with it.
And it is specifically Aharon, not Moshe, who stands at the center of this avodah. Moshe represents a level of clarity and perfection that stands apart. Aharon, by contrast, is the one who lives within the complexity of the people and is able to draw them close, to reconnect them. There are forms of perfection that elevate, and there are forms of imperfection that connect, and sometimes it is the ability to connect that allows something deeper to emerge.
The Ma’or VaShemesh develops this further: the one who is engaged in his own avodah, who is doing teshuvah, does not remain alone in that process. His teshuvah awakens others, his work lifts those connected to him. The capacity to elevate others emerges precisely from being within the process, not outside of it.
From there, the Torah turns to “Kedoshim Tihiyu,” you shall be holy. Here too, one might assume that kedushah comes through פרישות (perishut), through separation and even isolation. And indeed, there is a place for distance from what is harmful. But that is not where the Ma’or VaShemesh locates kedushah. “דבר אל כל עדת בני ישראל” (daber el kol adat Bnei Yisrael), the command is given בהקהל (behakhel), to the entire community together. True kedushah is not achieved in isolation, but through דבקות (devekut) with others who are engaged in avodat Hashem, through תפילה בציבור (tefillah be-tzibbur), through shared עבודה (avodah).
There are things a person can protect through separation, but kedushah is only achieved through connection. Taken together, the two parshiot describe a clear process. After rupture, avodah becomes more precise, more structured, but it is not meant to lead to withdrawal. It is meant to lead back into connection, into the collective work of those seeking Hashem.
And within that, the deeper insight: a person’s avodah is never only personal. The one who does teshuvah honestly, who works through his own complexity, becomes, almost without intending it, a source of elevation for others. We are shaped by what we go through, and we elevate others by how we go through it.
Shabbat Shalom.
Use this source sheet for Acharei Mot and this source sheet for Kedoshim, complete with footnoted sources and a concise, footnoted bio of R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein (Ma’or Va-Shemesh) to enjoy this teaching at your own pace, perfect for self-learners. Prepared by Rabbi Shalom (Saul) Orbach The Ma’or Va-Shemesh is a classic Hasidic commentary on the weekly portions and festivals by R. Kalonymus Kalman Epstein of Kraków (1751-1823). A foremost later disciple, and for years the Shamash, of R. Elimelech of Lizhensk, he emerged after his rebbe’s passing as a leading figure in the fourth generation of Chassidut and of Polish Hasidism. His Torah blends close reading of the Psukim with mystical depth, emphasizing Dvekut, heartfelt prayer, joy, and sanctifying the everyday, with a hallmark leadership ethic: the tzaddik sweetens judgment into mercy and draws people close.
