Congregation Beth Mordecai

An inclusive congregation affiliated with the Conservative Movement.
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Parashat Aharei Mot (אחרי מות): There Is No Earlier and There Is No Later in Torah

April 11, 2014
By bethmordecai
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Parashat Aharei Mot (אחרי מות): There Is No Earlier and There Is No Later in Torah

Triennial I (2014/5774): There Is No Earlier and There Is No Later in Torah

The first words of our Torah portion begin with the words “aharei mot sh’nei b’nei aharon — after the deaths of Aaron’s sons.” Yet the demise of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, happened three Torah portions earlier in Parashat Sh’mini, so why does the Torah have to teach us that our Torah portion occurs after their death! One explanation is that this proves that there is no earlier (past) or later (present) when it comes to the chronology of events as it is written in the Torah. During today’s class we will explore this explanation to try to understand it’s implications for the meaning of Torah — should Torah be seen as a historical document? is the Torah still “true” if its events did not occur in chronological order? Join us for this fascinating exploration into understanding the deeper meaning of Torah, or watch it at your convenience on YouTube!