Rabbi's Message - April 21, 2026: Acharei-Mot Kedoshim - The Grand Code-Switch
Shalom,
The grand code-switch arrives this evening. It is the moment in the Jewish calendar, the days of modern holidays, that we code-switch from the mourning and introspection of Yom HaZikaron to the celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut. Zikaron - Memory, Israel’s Memorial Day, is today, Tuesday, and as the sun sets this evening, we instantly switch to celebrate Atzmaut - Independence. What if our mourning has not spent enough time in our hearts, in our souls, and we are just not ready to celebrate? What if we’re not in a “place” to engage our young people, our children, in the conversations of Zikaron, especially in recent years, and yearn to jump to the jubilance of Atzmaut? Can this struggle be Kodesh (often translated as holy) too?
These are questions without answers. They are real and present, and they are prescient as they indicate a sense of being unsettled as we yearn to look ahead. It just feels uncomfortable right now. From 1951 to 1963 Israel’s government, Knesset, set these modern holy days with much debate and intention. When we overlay the larger Jewish calendar, we notice that the Torah readings that almost always coincide are Acharei-Mot and Kedoshim, this year it is a double portion when they are together for this week and this coming Shabbat. (Click here for a summary of these Torah readings>>>.)
Acharei-Mot, after the death, refers to the death of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, while Kedoshim brings us into the holiness code, a road map for living lives of kodesh. One common thread I have heard from various voices over the years about the connection between Torah and these modern holidays teaches, “...these parallel the transition from the mourning of Yom HaZikaron to the holiness of Kedoshim and the joy and celebration of Yom Ha’Atzmaut.” It holds an expectation of a code-switch, from mourning to celebration, from loss to growth, perhaps.
This forty-eight hour roller coaster demands a lot of us intellectually, emotionally, spiritually, and more. Embracing this asks us to simultaneously hold both, yet to separate them too. Over recent weeks, I have been pressed by an important question about striving to understand Kodesh, often translated as holy. Yet, it seems this translation is a big interpretation, and maybe even a narrowing of its meaning. Kodesh, is broader than just an identification of things that are set apart, separate, and distinct, although that is one part of its meaning. One understanding that is currently resonating strongly teaches, “Kodesh is an intense consciousness of life.” It is a raw awareness that we are living, that our world is living, that we are part of that. This view helps us recognize that this switch from memory and mourning to determination and celebration is holding all of life, an intense consciousness of living.
However we’re holding these modern holidays, whatever ways we choose to note and honor them, may we ensure we are intensely conscious of the gift of life and may that inspire us towards choices, behaviors, and commitments that honor this gift.
May the Memories of those who died in defense of the Modern State of Israel and as victims of Terror forever be a blessing on this Yom HaZikaron and always. May we discover ways to honor and celebrate our determination as a people as we code-switch into Atzmaut this evening.
L’shalom - Towards Peace & Wholeness,
Rabbi Evon
