Yom Kippur: History in Our Making

(6) The LORD passed before him and (Gd) proclaimed: “The LORD! the LORD! a God compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in kindness and faithfulness, (7) extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He does not remit all punishment, but visits the iniquity of parents upon children and children’s children, upon the third and fourth generations.” (8) Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage (and he supplicated Gd to exercise His quality of mercy over Israel) (9) and said, “If I have gained Your favor, O Lord, pray, let the Lord go in our midst, even though this is a stiffnecked people. Pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for Your own!”

(1) The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they drew too close to the presence of the LORD. (2) The LORD said to Moses: Tell your brother Aaron that he is not to come at will into the Shrine behind the curtain, in front of the cover that is upon the ark, lest he die; for I appear in the cloud over the cover. (3) Thus only shall Aaron enter the Shrine: with a bull of the herd for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering.— (4) He shall be dressed in a sacral linen tunic, with linen breeches next to his flesh, and be girt with a linen sash, and he shall wear a linen turban. They are sacral vestments; he shall bathe his body in water and then put them on.— (5) And from the Israelite community he shall take two he-goats for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering......

(190) His ox stood⁸⁷Mishnah Yoma 3:8. The High Priest would sacrifice two oxen on Yom Kippur. One he brought for himself, from his own funds, and one for the Jewish people, from public funds.

(191) between the antechamber

(192) and the outer Altar;⁸⁸The ox stood in the northern sector of the area between the outer Altar and the Sanctuary. It was positioned there in order to minimize the distance the High Priest would have to walk in carrying its blood to the outer Altar.

(193) its face to the West,

(194) its head to the South.⁸⁹The head of the ox faced south and its body to the north. The reason it was not placed from east to west was in order that it should not emit waste in the direction of the Altar (Yoma 35b, 36a).

(195) He leaned his hands upon its head,

(196) and confessed his sins,

(197) not hiding even one.

(198) And this was his confession:

(199) I beg of You Hashem;⁹⁰Mishnah 3:8.There is a dispute among commentaries whether the explicit Name was uttered at this point or not.

(200) I have sinned, acted wickedly

(201) and rebelled against You,⁹¹Our Sages distinguish three forms of sin: a. חֵטְא unintentional sin b. עָווֹן intentional sin, [iniquity] that is to say, a sin committed intentionally but material motiovated. c. פֶּשַׁע—a rebellion, that is to say, an intentionally committed sin without material motive, thus with the sole purpose of defying Hashem (Rashi, Yoma 36b).

(202) I and my household.

(203) I beg of You, with Your Name, atone

(204) the sins, iniquities, and rebellions

(205) that I have sinned, acted wickedly,

(206) and rebelled against You,

(207) I and my household;

(208) as is written in the Torah of Moshe,

(209) Your servant,

(210) from the mouth of Your glory:

(211) “For on this day

(212) He will make atonement for you,

(213) to cleanse you

(214) from all your sins, before Adonoy.”

(215) And the priests and the people

(216) who were standing in the Temple Courtyard

(217) when they heard

(218) the glorious and awesome Name [of God]

(219) explicitly pronounced

(220) from the mouth of the High Priest⁹²The Talmud says that the explicit Name of Hashem was uttered by the High Priest ten times on the Day of Atonement, and each time the people fell to the floor and pronounced “Blessed [is His] Name” etc.

(221) with holiness and with purity,

(222) they bowed, prostrated themselves,

(223) offered thanks,

(224) and fell upon their faces

(225) and said,

(226) “Blessed [is His] Name, His glorious Kingdom

(227) is forever and ever.”

(228) And he prolonged

(229) the intoning of the Name⁹³This refers to the Name of Hashem uttered in the pervious verse, ’‘before Adonoy.”

(230) until the worshippers completed [the response].

(231) And, [completing the verse,] said to them:

(232) “You will be cleansed.”

(233) And [now] with your great goodness

(234) arouse Your mercy,

(235) and pardon Your faithful servant.

(590) How truly glorious

(591) was the High Priest

(592) as he left the Holy of Holies,

(593) peacefully, unharmed.

(594) As the canopy of the heavens

(595) stretched out on high,

(596) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(597) As the glitter of light

(598) emanating from the brilliance of the Chayos,

(599) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(600) As the beautiful [blue] thread in the fringes

(601) of the four corners of a garment,¹⁵⁷This refers to the color of תְּכֵלֶת which is to be part of the צִיצִית fringes, worn at each corner of a four-cornered garment. According to the Talmud, Menachos 43b, the color of techailes resembles the color of the sea, which in turn resembles the color of the sky, which in turn resembles the color of Hashem’s heavenly throne.

(602) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(603) As the rainbow in the clouds,

(604) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(605) As the garment of majestic splendor

(606) with which the Creator attired His creatures,¹⁵⁸This refers to the כָּתְנוֹת עוֹר, the garment of skin, with which Hashem clothed Adam and Chavoh, after they sinned and realized their nakedness. See Bereishis 3:21.

(607) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(608) As a rose planted in a beautiful garden,

(609) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(610) As a crown set upon a king's forehead,

(611) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(612) As the grace reflected in the face of a groom,

(613) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(614) As the purity of the pure mitre,¹⁵⁹The mitre was one of the priestly garments.

(615) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(616) As he [Moshe] who was concealed,¹⁶⁰When the Jews sinned with the golden-calf, Moshe was on the mountain, concealed by Hashem’s Divine Presence, and from there he pleaded to Hashem to forgive them.

(617) pleading before God,

(618) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(619) As the bright star shining in the east,¹⁶¹This might refer to the morning star.

(620) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(621) As one enwrapped

(622) in a cloak

(623) and breastplate of righteousness,¹⁶²See Yeshaya 61:10.

(624) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(625) As the angel

(626) that stood at the head of the path,¹⁶³This refers to the angel which appeared to Bilaam. (See Bamidbar 22:22.)

(627) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(628) As the candle that shines in the windows,¹⁶⁴See Shir Hashirim 2:8

(629) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(630) As the officers

(631) as the head of the [army of] holy people,¹⁶⁵See Devorim 20:9

(632) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(633) As the [garments of spiritual] might¹⁶⁶This refers to the priestly garments with which Moshe dressed Aharon. (See Vayikra 9:6.)

(634) with which the pure one [Moshe]

(635) dressed him, [Aharon] who purified others,

(636) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(637) As the [brilliance of the] golden bells

(638) along the bottom of the [priestly] cloak,

(639) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(640) As the beautifully decorated Temple,

(641) and the colorful curtain,¹⁶⁷This was the curtain in front of the Holy of Holies.

(642) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(643) As a chamber hung with tapestries

(644) of blue and purple,

(645) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(646) As the sight of the rising sun

(647) on the earth,

(648) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(649) As a rose garden between the thorns,

(650) was the appearance of the High Priest.

(651) As the likeness of Arcturus,

(652) Orion and Pleiades,¹⁶⁸These are names of heavenly constellations. (See Job 9:9.)

(653) from the [heavenly chambers] of the south,

(654) was the appearance of the High Priest.