As Reform Jews, we find ourselves (with Jews in Israel) approaching a week of “out-of-sync-ness” with the calendar. We do not observe the 8th day of Pesach, and so our portion does not reflect the last day of observance shared by the rest of the Diaspora Jewish world. Instead, our movement adjusts by reading Parashat Acharei Mot twice—at its best not the most accessible of portions.
Much of the portion details what is characteristic of the Book of Leviticus: a meticulous description-qua-instruction manual for the Kohanim of the Temple sacrificial rite. However, a description of the Yom Kippur ritual, and particularly the enigmatic process of preparing a “goat for Azazel”—or scapegoat–has transcended its esoteric context to become a broader concept—one that has, with painful irony, most tragically impacted the very people from whom the custom arises. For a fuller explanation of my take on this, please see: https://templedehirschsinai.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/YK-Morn-Democracy-Apply-Liberally.pdf
Suffice it to say that a practice that, in its time, was intended to more viscerally and concretely alleviate a community’s sense of guilt and shame, has grown into a testament to human evil and the powerful pull of the human psyche’s need to escape accountability through shifting blame.
Rabbi Daniel Weiner