Weekly Parsha

Ari Mermelstein

In a well-known observation on the avodat yom ha-kippurim, the Vilna Gaon remarked that Aharon ha-Kohen was given the right to enter the kodesh at all times, provided he followed the protocol outlined in the beginning of parashat Aharei Mot (Aderet Eliyahu to Vayyikra 16:5). The Vilna Gaon’s comment was anticipated in Vayyikra Rabbah, which glosses the words בכל עת in 16:2 (“Tell your brother Aharon not to come just at any time [בכל עת] into the sanctuary”) with the following remark: בכל שעה שהוא רוצה ליכנס יכנס, ובלבד שיהא נכנס כסדר הזה. Aharon, then, had the perpetual option of entering the kodesh—but what would have motivated him to do so? What, in other words, is the purpose of the ritual in Vayyikra 16?

The purification rites in this perek need to be viewed in conjunction with the preceding section, which, from chapters 11–15, focused exclusively on laws of purity. The Torah concludes that section on an urgent note: “Thus you shall keep the people of Israel separate from their uncleanness (מטמאתם), so that they do not die in their uncleanness (בטמאתם) by defiling (בטמאם) my Tabernacle that is in their midst” (15:31). As noted by R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, that verse refers to all of the sources of impurity that the Torah surveyed beginning with the laws of pure and impure animals in chapter 11. The impact of impurity transcends the impure individual and leaves a stain on the Tabernacle itself. That stain poses a mortal threat to the people, who, if they do not properly separate themselves from impurity, will “die in their uncleanness” in return for contaminating the mishkan. This does not necessarily mean that the sources of impurity physically entered the confines of the Tabernacle; rather, the holiness at the center of the camp could be compromised by the presence of impurity elsewhere.

Therein lies the significance of the ritual in Vayyikra 16, which aimed to purify the mishkan and its contents: “Thus he shall make atonement for the sanctuary, because of the uncleannesses of the people of Israel (מטמאת בני ישראל), and because of their transgressions, all their sins; and so he shall do for the tent of meeting, which remains with them in the midst of their uncleannesses (טומאתם)” (16:16). Sources of impurity—including, according to this pasuk, sin—will inevitably find their way into the camp and will thereby contaminate the Tabernacle; Aharon’s ritual serves to ensure the wellbeing of the people by purifying the mishkan.