Spontaneous Demonstration? - Acharei Mos 5771

The Mishna in Yoma says and we say in the Machzor that part of the job of preparing the Kohen Gadol for the Avoda is that they made him swear that he wouldn’t do things differently than required. This is because the Tzedukim attempted to do things differently. They had different Shittas about how the Ketores was to be offered. Therefore the Kohen Gadol was made to swear that he wouldn’t do anything different. After that Shevua the Kohen Gadol would step away and weep because they had accused him of being a Tzeduki and the Sanhedrin that made him swear would weep because there is a terrible punishment for one who is Choshed Bich’shairim.  

A difficulty with this is if it had been a spontaneous action when the people were Choshed him then it makes sense that he was weeping and they were weeping. However, it is not so because it is setup in the Mishna that one is required to make the Kohen Gadol swear. Once someone is required to do it, it is just part of the Seder Hadevorim and they are not being Choshed Bich’shairim. They were just doing what the Mishna says that they are obligated to do when they prepared the Kohen Gadol. The fact that the Sanhedrin & the Kohen Gadol turned aside to weep is something that is Tzorech Iyun Gadol.  

Tzibur - Acharei Mos 5771

In the Avoda of Yom Kippur there is a word that is striking. It is striking because it does not belong. During the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur we say Sas V’ira Dam Haparah L’toch Hamizrak Shebo Dam Hasair. We say and different versions of the Avoda have it phrased one way or the other, however, essentially we say the Kohen Gadol poured the Dam of the Par into the blood of the Sa’ir so that the Kohen Gadol can mix it well. This was part of the Avodah. The blood was mixed in order to be sprayed on the Mizbaiach, Bain Habadim, Paroches, and the Mizbach Hazav. This is found in Rashi to the Posuk in 16:18 (וְלָקַח מִדַּם הַפָּר, וּמִדַּם הַשָּׂעִיר, וְנָתַן עַל-קַרְנוֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, סָבִיב) that (וכפר עליו: ומה היא כפרתו, ולקח מדם הפר ומדם השעיר, מעורבין זה לתוך זה)

What does it mean Sas that he rejoiced, was there a special joy in mixing the blood?

The (previous) Belzer Rebbe says that the Par is the Korban that the Kohen Gadol brings and says Viduy for himself or the second Par that is for his family. The Sa’ir on the other hand is Mechapeir for all of Klal Yisrael. When it comes to Yom Kippurim we are afraid to be judged alone, we want to be judged with the Klal of Klal Yisrael. B’soch Ami Anochi Yosheves. So the Kohen Gadol when he only has the Dam Hapar, it is only Mechapeir for him and his family and there is a Pachad. However, Sas V’ira Dam Haparah L’toch Hamizrak Shebo Dam Hasair, the Kohen Gadol rejoices when he mixed the Dam of the Par with the Sa’ir of Klal Yisrael so that when the Dam is sprayed as a Kaparah for Klal Yisrael that he is not judged by himself and he is part of the Kaparah with Klal Yisrael.

This is the message here. The Maharal regarding the Seder Shel Pesach mentions a similar idea. Many of the Halachos specifically regarding the Korban Pesach are meant to give a Chizuk to the concept of the idea of a Tzibbur of Klal Yisrael. The Korban Pesach was eaten in a Chaburah (a group of people). That was done so that they should not be individuals but that they should be together as a group. As a group they had to be B’yachad as one. They had to be previously designated to be part of that group. That Achdus of Klal Yisrael was symbolized in the roasting of the Korban Pesach. When you roast meat it comes together as opposed to cooking when it falls apart. It symbolizes the prohibition of not breaking the bones. Everything had to stay as one rather than being taken apart. It was symbolized by the fact that the whole Chabura had to sit together for the entire Seder. You couldn’t hop around from one Seder to another Seder or from one Rebbe to the next for a Tisch. You had to sit together. This is the idea that he says regarding the concept or the idea of the Seder Shel Pesach.

Yom Kippur Wedding - Acharei Mos 5771

The entire first section of the Parsha is about the Avodas Yom Hakippurim that was done in preparation of Yom Kippur. As you have heard on Monday and Thursday, the Kohen Gadol is told 16:6 (וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ, וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ). The Kohen Gadol has to bring a Kapparah for himself and for his family.

The Gemara in the beginning of Maseches Yoma Darshuns from here that the Kohen Gadol must be married, he must have a family for which to ask forgiveness. (ר' יהודה אומר אף אשה אחרת מתקינין לו שמא תמות אשתו שנאמר (ויקרא טז) וכפר בעדו ובעד ביתו ביתו זו אשתו). He is only allowed to have one wife because (ביתו זו אשתו) is in the singular. The Gemara therefore explains what would be done if the Kohen Gadol’s wife were to die on Yom HaKippurim. The Mishna explains that they would prepare for him another wife in case his original wife would pass away on Yom Kippur because if she would die, then he would be ineligible to do the Avoda on Yom Kippur and a Kohen Hedyot would not be allowed to do the Avoda either.

So how does it work that they prepare for him another wife? It is a Machlokes in the Gemara. If one looks in the Rambam, he says that they would prepare for him a woman who would be willing to marry him and he would be willing to marry her. If his wife were to die on Yom Kippur then the Kohen Gadol would marry her on Yom Kippur. They would need Kiddushin and Nisuin because she has to be fully married to him. Therefore the Rambam says that he would do that on Yom Hakippurim.

Many of you will remember from when we learned Maseches Kesuvos and Maseches Kiddushin that we discussed the different Shittas of what Chuppah is. Kiddushin, the Mishnah says in Kiddushin the first Mishnah (האשה נקנית בשלש דרכים וקונה את עצמה בשתי דרכים נקנית בכסף בשטר ובביאה). Chuppah however, is not something that is explained in the Mishnah. So there are different Rishonim who have different opinions of what constitutes a Chuppah. Some of them are: 1) the canopy that we use for the Chuppah, 2) the veil that the Kallah wears, Or the Rambam’s Shitta 3) that it has to be a private room that there is possible to have intimacy there in order for the Nisuin to be Chal. In other words, the Yichud room.

The Ran asks a Kasha on the Rambam. The Rambam says that the Kohen Gadol will get married on Yom Kippur. How can that be? Yom Kippur is a day on which there is an Issur of Tashmish Hamitah and the Rambam’s Shitta is that the Kohen Gadol would get married on Yom Kippur. The Rambam’s Shitta is also that there has to be a Yichud Haraui L’biya and how can this be if Tashmish Hamitah is Assur on Yom Kippur?

I want to remind you briefly of the Shitta of Rav Naftali Trop (1871–September 24, 1928) in his Chiddushei Ha Granat that there are 2 levels of Yichud, one that is a Yichud Haraui L’biya (that is a complete Nisuin) and one that is not a Yichud Haraui L’biya (which is a Nisuin for certain things). It answers numerous problems of the Rambam. We discussed it in Shiur in Maseches Kesuvos on 2a on the bottom, so pull out your notes and review them and I hope you will have a Geshmak from it. This is one aspect of the Avoda of Yom Hakippurim.