Acharei Mōth: the hidden

דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־אַהֲרֹ֣ן אָחִ֒יךָ֒ וְאַל־יָבֹ֤א בְכׇל־עֵת֙ אֶל־הַקֹּ֔דֶשׁ מִבֵּ֖ית לַפָּרֹ֑כֶת אֶל־פְּנֵ֨י הַכַּפֹּ֜רֶת אֲשֶׁ֤ר עַל־הָאָרֹן֙ וְלֹ֣א יָמ֔וּת כִּ֚י בֶּֽעָנָ֔ן אֵרָאֶ֖ה עַל־הַכַּפֹּֽרֶת׃

Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will^*at will Lit. “at any time.” into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover.

The chapter is introduced

  וַיְדַבֵּ֤ר יְ  אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה אַחֲרֵ֣י מ֔וֹת שְׁנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י אַהֲרֹ֑ן בְּקׇרְבָתָ֥ם לִפְנֵי־יְ 

 Gd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of Gd. 

There is mortal danger  in the approach.  Aaron's sons, the last people who looked behind the curtain, died for the peek.

The parsha goes on to describe the scheduled, annual rendezvous, a kind of tryst. The High priest would dress for the occasion, bringing gifts and incense (perfume?) for the date. The sins of the year were confessed and, in the afterglow of burning flesh and coals, the love was re-established. 

The text then commands that the blood of the feral beasts should always be covered, never left exposed.  The powerful, flowing life force must be protected from the voyeur.  

The parsha ends with the incest taboos.  They are all expressed as acts of exposure: 

אִ֥ישׁ אִישׁ֙ אֶל־כׇּל־שְׁאֵ֣ר בְּשָׂר֔וֹ לֹ֥א תִקְרְב֖וּ לְגַלּ֣וֹת עֶרְוָ֑ה אֲנִ֖י יְ

None of you shall come near anyone of his own flesh to uncover nakedness: I am Gd

The parsha invites an examination of the hidden. What is behind the theater curtain? How are  our  beliefs being manipulated? What pleasures and treasures are concealed from view? What crimes are cloaked? 

Lawrence Kushner was interviewed by Krista Tippet  on her podcast in 2014. He related that he had led a tour of preschoolers  through a synagogue.  When they came to the ark -the closet, covered by a curtain, that contains the mantled, parchment  Torah scrolls - they ran out of time. The children speculated about what this most hidden cabinet contained. Four opinions were recorded. The wise child proposed Jewish holy objects. The nihilist child thought that there was nothing there - empty. The foolish child, exposed to the televised "Let's make a Deal" blurted " A New Car!" The fourth child said: a giant mirror. 

The curtain is always a giant mirror. It's opaqueness allows only the penetration of imagination. It generates the mystery - and thus the mystic ( and the scientist?).  

With the enlightenment  that devolved from ingesting the fruit of knowledge, the first thing Adam and Eve  do is hide from each other by making clothing and then hide from Gd to avoid admitting their guilt ( too soon),  The last act of the Torah is the concealment of Moses' grave. 

All is hidden in plain view.