Elul Thoughts

Different voices in the Torah show different perspectives on truth. 

For instance, one description of Yom Kippur focuses on Aaron, portraying the high priest as the one who atones for the whole nation. “Thus he shall purge [וְכִפֶּר] the Shrine of the impurities and transgressions of the Children of Israel, for all their sins” (Lev. 16:15-16). The people are absent from this ritual performed on their behalf; Aaron is their representative before the Holy One.

Later in the same chapter, the text addresses us readers directly. “And this shall be to you a law for all time: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall practice self-denial; and you shall do no manner of work” (Lev. 16:29). Here, the people are involved in their atonement, committing their bodies and souls to the process of purification.

Can a priest or a rabbi, a parent or a teacher, a judge or a jury determine whether our repentance is complete? Can I speak for you and you for me, mutually implicated as partners in the project of redemption? Our texts offer us different views.

The ambiguity of a single verse delightfully summarizes the matter: “For on this day atonement shall be made for you [יְכַפֵּר עֲלֵיכֶם] to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be pure before the Eternal” (Lev. 16:30). On our own, with one another—some years one way and some years another—may we each find our own right path to purity.