Parasha: Achrei Mot-Kedoshim

Achrei Mot-Kedoshim
Leviticus 16:1–20:27

“You shall keep My laws and My rules, by the pursuit of which human beings shall live: I am יהוה.”

— Leviticus 18:5

In this week’s double-parsha, we read about the rituals of Yom Kippur, additional rules about sacrifice, and many laws the Israelites must follow. This verse from Parshat Kedoshim is cited by the Rabbis multiple times in the Talmud, with the explanation that it teaches us that one should live by God’s mitzvot and not die by them. The Rabbis use this reading to offer the verse as a prooftext that not only should one take care not to put oneself in mortal danger in the pursuit of doing a mitzvah, but that one may (or even must!) in fact violate a mitzvah in order to save a life.

— Rachel Petroff Kessler