The incense service performed on Yom Kippur was unique in that it could only be performed by the Kohen Gadol, who performed this service only once a year in the Kodesh HaKodoshim, Holy of Holies. The Kohen Gadol would scoop a shovelful of burning coals from the outer Altar, then fill his hands with the incense, which he then placed into a ladle. With the shovel in his right hand and the ladle in his left hand, the Kohen Gadol would proceed into the Holy of Holies where he would pour the incense onto the fire, after which the smoke would ascend and cover the Aron HaKodesh.
Clearly, this service is shrouded in deep esoteric mystery, and, as such, the Kohen Gadol must execute it precisely, to the letter of the law as stated in the Torah. The Kohen Gadol views himself as a servant of Hashem, who performs the will of his Master because it is the ratzon Hashem, will of Hashem. I write this as a preface towards understanding the root of the dispute between Chazal and the Tzedukim, who did everything in their power to undermine the authority of Chazal, and, by extension, Hashem. [They, of course, felt that they were acting appropriately. This is not uncommon among those who deny the Divine Authorship of the Torah. The Tzedukim purported to support the Written Law, but disputed the Oral Law. They seemed to have “forgotten” that both were given at Har Sinai.] The Tzedukim ruled that the Kohen Gadol should first pour the hot coals/fire over the incense and then enter the Holy of Holies. This is in direct opposition to that which is written in the Torah. Not only were they disputing Chazal, they were also acting against what is clearly written in the Torah. [Perhaps, if Chazal act in agreement with the Torah, the Tzedukim discard that part of the Torah.]
Chazal (Toras Kohanim commentary to 16:12) explain why the Tzedukim defied the Torah. They claimed that proper etiquette is to bring the food to the table in its completed, ready-to-eat condition. One does not bring out raw meat and cook it at the table. If one does not do so for a human, he surely should not do so for Hashem. Thus, the incense should be prepared prior to entering the Holy of Holies. The early Tzedukim prostrated themselves before the idol of social etiquette – rather than adhere to Hashem’s command. Indeed, to this very day, the modern-day successors to the Tzedukim have no problem breaching every sacred prohibition if it does not coincide with the progressive social mores of the society which they embrace.
Rav Hirsch posits that the Tzedukim’s ruling of tikkun ba’chutz v’hachnasah bifnim was to prepare the incense outside and then bring the finished product into the Holy of Holies to be the symbol of the Tzedukim’s dissent from Rabbinic authority and interpretation of the Torah. The Kohen Gadol may be the spiritual leader of the people, but, at the end of the day, he is nothing more than a servant bending his subjective thoughts to coincide with those of his Master. The Kohen listens to Hashem. To him, the fire on the Mizbayach, Altar, is the flame of Torah, and only that which is pleasing to Hashem is pleasing to the Kohen Gadol. The fire on the Mizbayach is based upon the Torah, and the Torah alone guides any activity vis-à-vis the fire.
The Tzedukim manipulated the fire on the Mizbayach into their personal fire. It belongs to them – so they say. As a result of their original breach of skepticism toward the oral traditions, they indirectly played a role in shaping the development of liberal and secular Judaism or anti-Torah perspectives. Their rejection of rabbinic interpretation of the law, which in and of itself is part of the Torah, created a vacuum for the scourge of alternative practice and belief. The rejection of complete adherence to the interpretations the sages of the Mishnah and Talmud rendered laid the
