The universal message of the Day of Atonement

According to the Talmudic sages, Chapter 19 of the biblical book of Leviticus is one in which most of the core teachings of the Torah are found. Verse 2 emphasizes that the concepts expressed in this chapter were explained by Moses in the presence of the entire congregation of Israel, as when the Ten Commandments were delivered, which, according to Rabbi Levi (Vayikra Rabba, Kedoshim 24:5), are present in this chapter. The famous precept “you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” considered by Hillel (b. Shabbat 31a), Rabbi Akiva (Sifra Kedoshim, 2:4), and by Jesus (Matthew 22:36-40), as a synthesis of all the teachings of the Torah, is found in verse 18. This is the chapter where the expression “I am the Lord” is repeated the most times (16) in the entire Bible. It is as if the “I” of God can only be projected on earth through human ...