By Marco Del Monte
The parashah describes the ritual of Yom Kippurim, the purification of the High Priest (Cohen Gadol), and the sacrifices intended to ask Hashem for the forgiveness of the people.
There is a recurring theme in Judaism that is closely linked precisely to the Day of Atonement and the choice of the sacrifice to be dedicated to Hashem: the theme of casting lots.
The name Yom Kippurim itself can be read as Yom Ke-Purim, meaning the day like Purim. The term itself translates as "lots", stemming precisely from the fact that, at the time of Mordechai and Esther, the day to destroy the people of Israel was chosen through the drawing of lots. In the ritual of Kippur, two twin goats were taken, and it was decided by lot which of the two was destined for Hashem and which for Azazel (that is, for destruction). Even in the division of the Land of Israel, we witness the drawing of lots regarding the assignment of territories to the various tribes. Why, therefore, make use of such a singular tool? Could one not perhaps have asked Hashem or the leader of the generation how to divide the land or which goat to sacrifice? The term "chance, randomness" in Hebrew is described by the word "Mikrè". But the Chachamim also teach us "Ein Mikrè baTorah", meaning there is no randomness in the Torah. "Not by chance" does the word Mikrè have the numerical value of 345, which is the same as the word "Hashem", and not only that, but by anagramming the term Mikrè we could read it as "Rak Me'H", meaning only from Hashem, or rather, everything comes from Hashem.
The meaning is probably that every event that happens has a purpose, due to an incredible multiplicity of factors, each one well calculated by Hashem. The great Architect of the Universe has a very precise plan, and every form of randomness has a well-defined form of Divine Design.
We may believe in a series of coincidences, in an alignment of fortuitous events in strange forms, but behind all this, there is always the will of Kadosh Baruch Hu, and as Rabbi Nachman says in Likutey Moharan: one only needs to open one's eyes and see what is hidden behind every event!
Shabbat Shalom Umevorach
Translated from the Italian with Google Gemini. The Italian text is the original.