Empowered by the People
A lesson from the Tiferes Shlomo Parshas Emor
ומאת עדת בנ"י יקח כו
And from the congregation of Bnei Yisrael he shall take two goats
And from the congregation of Bnei Yisrael he shall take two goats
From this verse we learn that the 2 he-goats used by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, must be taken from (i.e. owned by) the community.
All of the Korbanos offered by the Kohen Gadol throughout the year had to be bought from communal funds. So why does the Torah stress this by the Avodah of Yom Kippur?
In describing the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol, the Mishna refers toוהעם העומדים בעזרה “ the people who were standing in the courtyard. The word עזרה (courtyard) can also be read as Ezra, meaning assistance.
Even though the Kohen Gadol was the most spiritually elevated individual, he needed the prayers of the Jewish people to give him the strength to be able to approach Hashem.
This is alluded to in the description of the Kohen Gadol as “The Kohen who is greater than his brothers”. Our sages interpret this to mean that his greatness comes from his brothers.
Acharei Mos begins with a reference to the passing of Nadav and Avihu, “when they drew close to Hashem and they died”. Literally בקרבתם means “their drawing close”. The deficiency in their service that resulted in their deaths, was that they attempted to come before Hashem relying on their own strength, without the assistance of Klal Yisrael.
This is the lesson hidden within our verse. The Kohen Gadol would take the blood of one of these goats to sprinkle in the Kodesh Hakodoshim when he entered to atone for the Jewish people. The Posuk teaches that “from the congregation Bnei Yisrael he would take” the strength to be successful in his service.
All of the Korbanos offered by the Kohen Gadol throughout the year had to be bought from communal funds. So why does the Torah stress this by the Avodah of Yom Kippur?
In describing the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol, the Mishna refers toוהעם העומדים בעזרה “ the people who were standing in the courtyard. The word עזרה (courtyard) can also be read as Ezra, meaning assistance.
Even though the Kohen Gadol was the most spiritually elevated individual, he needed the prayers of the Jewish people to give him the strength to be able to approach Hashem.
This is alluded to in the description of the Kohen Gadol as “The Kohen who is greater than his brothers”. Our sages interpret this to mean that his greatness comes from his brothers.
Acharei Mos begins with a reference to the passing of Nadav and Avihu, “when they drew close to Hashem and they died”. Literally בקרבתם means “their drawing close”. The deficiency in their service that resulted in their deaths, was that they attempted to come before Hashem relying on their own strength, without the assistance of Klal Yisrael.
This is the lesson hidden within our verse. The Kohen Gadol would take the blood of one of these goats to sprinkle in the Kodesh Hakodoshim when he entered to atone for the Jewish people. The Posuk teaches that “from the congregation Bnei Yisrael he would take” the strength to be successful in his service.