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דם יחשב לאיש ההוא דם שפך ונכרת האיש ההוא מקרב עמו

It shall be considered as bloodshed for that man, he has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. (17:4)

After Noach saved the animals during the Flood, Hashem permitted man to partake of animals for food. If a man slaughters a consecrated animal outside of the Bais Hamikdash, the process is referred to as shchutei chutz, slaughtering “outside”. This act of slaughtering reverts to pre-Noach days and is deemed tantamount to committing bloodshed. There is no death penalty, because the individual did not take a human life; on a cosmic level, however, he did spill blood – which is an offense punishable by Heaven. Horav Ezra Barzal, zl, quotes Rashi who compares this spilling of blood to human killing….

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וסמך אהרן את שתי ידו על ראש השעיר החי והתודה עליו... ושלח ביד איש עתי המדברה

Aharon shall lean his two hands upon the head of the living he-goat, and confess upon it… and send it with a designated man to the desert. (16:21)

The ish iti, designated man, who accompanied the seh l’azazel, he-goat, to the desert did not go alone. In fact, Chazal teach (Yoma 66b) Mi’yakirei Yerushalayim hayu melavin oso ad succah ha’rishonah, “Some of the eminent men of Yerushalayim would accompany him to the first booth”. There were altogether ten booths from Yerushalayim to the cliff where the seh l’azazel met its death. The first booth was two thousand amos, cubits, from the city, which is the techum Shabbos, the distance one may walk on Shabbos beyond the city limits. Horav Mordechai Leib Saks, zl, makes a noteworthy observation. Let…

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כי בענן אראה על הכפרת

For in a Cloud I will appear upon the Ark-cover. (16:2)

The Aron HaKodesh was situated within the confines of the Kodesh HaKodoshim, Holy of Holies, a place where only the Kohen Gadol could enter on the holiest day of the year, Yom Kippur. Otherwise, it was off limits, even to the Kohen Gadol. Ki be’anan eiraeh, “For in a cloud will I appear”: Simply, this means that no one may enter the inner sanctuary because Hashem’s Glory is manifested in the Cloud of Glory that hovers over the Ark. Entering such a place should inspire one with extraordinary fear and awe, for he stands in the Presence of the Divine….

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ואל יבא בכל עת אל הקדש

He shall not enter at all times into the sanctuary. (16:2)

The only time that the Kohen Gadol was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies was on Yom Kippur – the holiest day of the year – the day set aside for spiritual atonement. Our parsha begins with the mention of the deaths of the two righteous sons of Aharon HaKohen and follows with the laws concerning the Yom Kippur service in the Temple. Chazal derive from this juxtaposition that the deaths of the righteous have an atoning effect similar to that of Yom Kippur. Likewise, we find a similar statement made by Chazal, noting that the mention of the…

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ואל יבא בכל עת אל הקדש

He shall not come at all times into the sanctuary. (16:2)

The parsha begins by reiterating the tragic deaths of Aharon HaKohen’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu; then it continues with its explanation of the Yom Kippur service. Yom Kippur was the only day of the year that the Kohen Gadol was permitted to enter the Kodesh HaKodoshim, Holy of Holies. Chazal point out that two instances of misas tzaddikim, deaths of the righteous, are juxtaposed on issues that deal with kapparah, atonement: Parah Adumah and Yom Kippur. The death of Miriam HaNeviyah is juxtaposed upon the laws of Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer; and the laws of Yom Kippur are…

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