Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are the collection of cameras, radar sensors, ultrasonic sensors, lidar in some models, and onboard software that help a vehicle observe its surroundings and support the driver. These systems power features such as automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assistance, blind spot monitoring, parking assistance, traffic sign recognition, and driver attention alerts. In many modern vehicles, ADAS serves as an extra layer of awareness that can reduce collisions, lessen driver fatigue, and improve overall road safety, while still requiring an attentive human driver.

Because ADAS depends on sensors interpreting the road environment in real time, calibration must be exceptionally precise. A camera aimed only slightly too high, too low, or off-center can misread lane markings, distances, or nearby vehicles. A radar sensor that is out of specification may respond late or inaccurately to hazards. Even minor issues caused by windshield replacement, suspension work, collision repair, wheel alignment changes, or bumper removal can affect sensor positioning. Proper calibration restores the system to manufacturer standards so safety features operate as intended, helping ensure that warnings, braking support, and steering assistance occur at the right moment and in the correct way.

The need for exact ADAS calibration echoes the Torah’s insistence on honest and accurate measures. In this week’s double Torah readings titled Acharei Mot and Kedoshim in the Book of Leviticus, the command is given to keep proper weights and measures, recognizing that even small inaccuracies can lead to unfair outcomes and harm. A scale that is only slightly false may appear harmless, yet over time it distorts every transaction. In much the same way, a sensor that is only marginally misaligned can undermine a safety system designed to protect lives. Both principles reflect the same enduring truth: tools that guide important decisions, whether in commerce or on the road, must be kept precise, trustworthy, and regularly set right.

The Torah reading starts after the death of Aaron’s two sons, where Aaron is warned not to enter the Holy of Holies whenever he wishes, but only at the appointed time and with the proper service (namely only on Yom Kippur). The Torah then goes on to describe how he does so in great detail. He bathes, dresses in linen garments, and brings offerings for himself and for the people.

Two goats are taken for the people. Lots are cast to determine the fate of the goats, one is brought as a conventional sacrifice for God and one is taken and killed in Azazel (the wilderness). A bull is offered for Aaron and his household. Incense is brought behind the curtain, filling the inner chamber with cloud. Blood from the bull and from the goat is sprinkled in the sanctuary to cleanse it from the impurities of the people.

Aaron places his hands on the live goat, confesses over it the sins of Israel, and it is sent into the wilderness by an appointed man. The one who leads it away washes before returning.

This day becomes a lasting statute, observed in the seventh month on the tenth day (the biblical date of Yom Kippur). The people afflict themselves (they fast), refrain from work, and atonement is made for the sanctuary, the Kohens, and the nation.

Instructions follow that sacrificial animals are to be brought to the Tent of Meeting rather than slaughtered elsewhere. Blood is not to be eaten, for the life is in the blood, and it is given upon the altar for atonement. Animals found dead or torn require washing and impurity until evening.

The people are warned not to imitate the practices of Egypt or Canaan, but to live by the laws set before them.

A long section of forbidden relationships follows. Sexual unions with close relatives are prohibited, including parent, sibling, grandchild, aunt, daughter in law, brother’s wife, and others. Relations during menstruation are forbidden. Adultery is forbidden. Children are not to be given to Molech. Relations between men are forbidden. Bestiality is forbidden. The land is described as having become defiled by such acts, and as expelling those who practiced them.

The people are then called to holiness. They are told to revere parents, keep the Sabbath, reject idols, and bring offerings properly. When harvesting fields and vineyards, corners and gleanings are to be left for the poor and the stranger.

Stealing, lying, false oaths, fraud, and withholding wages are forbidden. The deaf are not to be cursed, nor stumbling blocks placed before the blind. Judges are to act fairly, neither favoring rich nor poor. Gossip and standing idly by another’s blood are forbidden. Hatred is not to be kept in the heart. Rebuke is to be given honestly. Vengeance and grudges are forbidden. The people are told to love their neighbor as themselves.

Mixtures of species, seeds, and fabrics are restricted. Rules are given concerning relations with a slave woman promised to another. Fruit from newly planted trees remains forbidden for three years, dedicated in the fourth, and permitted in the fifth.

Blood divination, sorcery, cutting the flesh for the dead, and tattoo marks are forbidden. Children are not to be profaned through prostitution. Sabbaths and the sanctuary are to be revered. Mediums and spiritists are forbidden.

The elderly are to be honored. The stranger living among the people is to be treated with love, remembering the experience of Egypt. Honest weights, measures, and scales are required.

Punishments are then listed for severe offenses. Giving children to Molech brings death. Turning to mediums brings punishment. Cursing parents is a capital crime. Adultery and certain forbidden unions carry severe penalties. Bestiality and incestuous relations are condemned. The people are warned again not to follow the practices of the nations they are displacing.

The section closes with a call to distinguish between clean and unclean, holy and ordinary. Israel is to be separate, because God has set them apart from the nations.

Next week, among other topics, we will discuss what disqualifies a Kohen from service.