The bells which were attached to the bottom hem of the Kohen Gadol’s robe obviously created a noise when he walked. This noise was by design, in order to signal his entry and departure from the Sanctuary. Menachem Tzion renders this pasuk homiletically. All too often, when a congregation /community or school chooses a rabbi / leader, we hear praises about him. His merits are publicly lauded to impress people and, in many cases, to justify his selection. A few years later, when for various reasons he no longer satisfies the whims of the powers that be, rather than suffer destructive humiliation, he just leaves quietly, happy to escape with his sanity. The sound of a spiritual leader should be so appealing that it also follows him when he leaves. “His sound shall be heard when he enters the Sanctuary,” when he assumes his position of leadership, “and when he leaves“, on his own volition to more fertile pastures.
In an alternative exposition, Horav Aharon Zakai, Shlita, applies this pasuk to the observant individual whose devotion in the synagogue is exemplary. The sounds that emanate from him as he prays with fervor and devotion can hardly go unnoticed. It is when he leaves the spiritual atmosphere of the shul; when he is out in the marketplace earning a living; when he is out there dealing with others that his behavior leaves something to be desired. He is enjoined that if he desires to attain a level of dveikus b’Hashem, attachment to the Almighty, the “sounds” that he makes when he enters the Sancturary to pray and study should accompany him as he leaves to involve himself in his mundane activities. The religious fervor that he exhibits in shul must set the standard for him all day wherever he goes. This interpretation addresses all of us.
