Parashat Aharei Mot

Parashat Aharei Mot gives us much to think about, to learn from, to understand and to challenge ourselves with. I’ve chosen to devote my D’var Torah to the anonymous and fascinating individual in this parashah, the ish iti – or “man of the hour” or “time-bound man”.

We first encounter the ish iti in God’s instructions to Moses regarding Aaron’s treatment of the scapegoat (Leviticus 16:21):

סָמַךְ אַהֲרֹן אֶת־שְׁתֵּי ידו [יָדָיו] עַל רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר הַחַי וְהִתְוַדָּה עָלָיו אֶת־כָּל־עֲוֺנֹת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאֶת־כָּל־פִּשְׁעֵיהֶם לְכָל־חַטֹּאתָם וְנָתַן אֹתָם עַל־רֹאשׁ הַשָּׂעִיר וְשִׁלַּח בְּיַד־אִישׁ עִתִּי הַמִּדְבָּרָה׃

“Then Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of a live goat and confess over it all the iniquities and transgressions of the Israelites, whatever their sins, putting them on the head of the goat. Then the goat shall be sent off to the wilderness by the hand of a time-bound man.”

Who is this “ish iti,” this “time-bound man” or “temporary man” and why is he chosen to escort the scapegoat into the wilderness?”

The word “iti” stems from the word “eit,” which means “time.” According to Targum Yonatan ben Uziel the appointed man was designated for this mission after Yom Kippur of the previous year. Interestingly, he had been chosen for a long time prior to his actual service.

Rashi, our 11^th century commentator, views the ish iti as a person “who has had time” to prepare for the task he is now ready to undertake – someone who has made the most of his time. In this way, Rashi reminds us that we must make the most of the time we have. Though most of us frequently lament that we don’t have enough time, the time-bound man is courageous, and bold enough to measure life through its quality rather than its quantity of the time allotted to him.

Alternatively, Rashi’s grandson, the Rashbam, views the ish iti instead as a “timely” man, someone whom the community is accustomed to sending on such a mission because he is an expert at traveling through the wilderness.

In the words of Rabbi Sarah Shulman, “by referring to him as ‘ish iti,’ the Torah is emphasizing that although he knew his life would end with his mission, he did not hesitate to perform it. He happily agreed to give up his life in order to assure that K’lal Yisrael received Divine atonement for all their sins.”

A further very interesting observation is shared by Avigayil Halpern, in her newsletter, “Approaching”, on this parashah: “Rashbam guides us to prepare and educate ourselves for the inevitable, challenging mission of accompanying our loved ones through the journey of life and death. There is something profound and comforting about the fact that even the scapegoat is escorted to a far off, otherwise inaccessible place where it is set free. The time-bound man ensures that no one should have to journey alone.”

A third French-born commentator, 13th century Hizkuni reads the time-bound man as one whose life is literally bound by time, since he knows that he is fated to die within a year. Hizkuni proceeds to invite us all to face the harsh reality of the time-bound nature of our lives, and the lives of those most precious to us.

Rabbi Shulman continues, “The time-bound person is chosen for this special task precisely because his life is short.”

How do we view our own life and our life’s work in a time-bound, finite framework? I think that these interpretations of the ish iti help us to grapple with the time-bound nature of our own lives – and to hopefully arrive at a place of committing ourselves to the principle that, again in Rabbi Shulman’s words, “time should fuel rather than fill our reality. While time may define our days and years, time need not define how we live, how we learn and grow, or how we love.”

Back to the Yom Kippur experience of the “ish iti.” This person carried a heavy burden of responsibility, and yet was physically removed from the central rites of the Temple for most of the day. Instead of the picture of a lonely, vulnerable man walking almost endlessly in the scorching desert, though, the ish iti can be a model of community and of mutual support. In other words, we can both embrace our vulnerability and find power in community.

We can feel weak and allow those around us to offer us what we need. We might walk through the wilderness alone bearing our burdens, but we can then turn around to that last booth in the desert and find that there are people there waiting for us, to sit with us. Allowing others to care for us is a central part of how we can encounter the Divine.

Leonard Grunstein, past chair of Israel Discount Bank in New York, also asks who was this ish Iti and what relationship does he have to this extraordinary ritual? I think that Grunstein’s development of the theme of justice and mercy in terms of how Gd judges us is compelling as he relates it to the character and the mind-set of the ish iti, as follows.

Undissuaded by the reality of knowing when he will die, the ish iti pursued the exhausting task of traveling for miles through the wilderness, passing through ten stations set up along the way. We learn that none of the ish iti men accepted food which was offered to sustain them – it was, after all, Yom Kippur!

The meaning of life begs to be discussed in the wake of this Yom Kippur ritual. The way that the ish iti responds to life’s challenges is quite remarkable – he does so with his spirit intact and with pure faith. He demonstrates that we are not controlled by inanimate objects or by the uncertainties of chance. We have free will and we can react with kindness – or with harshness.

In a world governed by God’s justice and mercy, we are ultimately judged by the ways we choose to live our lives. This is not about our judging anyone. As Hillel stated so well in Avot 2:4, “don’t judge a fellow person until you have reached their place”. We can, however, appreciate the good deeds they perform and especially under trying circumstances, as they inspire us to be better.

Grunstein offers a further compelling analysis of the ish iti, when he quotes the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Yoma, 66a-b, as well as, Rashi’s commentary on Leviticus 16:21 and Sifra, Aharei Mot, Section 4:8 describing how there were many volunteers for the task of escorting the goat to Azazel and, on the day prior to Yom Kippur, the person chosen was prepared in readiness for the mission.

Who better than a man without time to dramatize that there are no artificial devices like sacrificing a “scapegoat” to achieve absolution? God’s ultimate judgment is rendered based on an accounting of a person’s good and bad deeds, and is weighed by God’s mercy; not by mere chance.

It’s suggested that this Yom Kippur ritual is designed to bring this message home. The ish iti is provided with the opportunity to earn eternal life. The Talmud explains that no person dies who hasn’t sinned (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat, 55a). However, that doesn’t mean that a person can’t earn eternal life and reward in the world to come (Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Sanhedrin, 90a). Unlike most individuals, he at least knows the year in which he will pass away. The choice is his to do something extraordinary so as to earn eternal reward in one day. Is that a gift or a “booby prize”?

There are many people who face life-ending challenges every day. Some are destroyed by their circumstances, while others achieve genuine nobility. There doesn’t seem to be any particular gene that differentiates how different people respond to different types of nearly insurmountable pressures. Rather it’s a personal matter of pure will and faith. There are such heroic and incredible human beings living among us – Holocaust victims and survivors come to mind as do our brothers and sisters in Israel who put their lives on the line every day – they are all inspiring and life- affirming role models for us.

For me, the message of the ish iti is embodied in the words of Rabbi Sarah Shulman – they express my passion for the rabbinate. In her words, “this is why I became a rabbi in the first place – to walk with those in our community who might need a companion through the unforeseen valleys and hills of life’s path.”

Friends, we all have moments when we come face to face with the time-bound man in those around us and in ourselves. Rabbi Shulman said it so well, “Perhaps the time-bound man is not named because he is each one of us. Each one of us has an opportunity to choose how and with whom we will navigate our own relationship with the pressures and challenges that come with a finite time on this planet. May we each have the strength to journey with the time-bound people around us, to reflect with them, to be fully present with them, to support them, to dance with them, and even to embrace and be them”. Amen.

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Rabbi Marge Wise (AJR ’21) is also known as the Journey Rabbi. Her passion is outreach, including teaching prospective Jews by choice and accompanying them on their journey to formal conversion. She teaches in person and on Zoom. Her students reside in five continents!