Entering Holy of Holies

There is a dispute among the Sages regarding the permission granted to Aharon to enter the Holy of Holies. Some say that he was unlike any other Kohein Hagadol, and he was allowed to enter any time he wanted.

The other opinion suggests that Aharon was only allowed to enter on Yom Kippur, just like every future High Priest. The reason for this latter opinion is taken directly from the text of the Torah. It says that Aharon should not enter at any time to this holy place. He must only enter when accompanied by the offering of a bull on Yom Kippur. The question bothering the Rabbis was whether “Aharon” was a general term synonymous with Kohein Hagadol, or it actually meant Aharon.

In any case, we see how the Torah transitioned from the death of Nadav and Avihu, to a discussion of some of the laws of Yom Kippur service.

We learn from this discussion that even though Hashem’s Presence is everywhere, He has chosen a place from where the Divine Presence emanates.

He chose Eretz Yisrael as the holiest land in the world. He chose Jerusalem as its holiest city, and he chose the Beit Hamikdash as the holiest location for this emanation.

It is the responsibility of every Jew to work on his own personal spiritual elevation. There must be a recognition that a person is more likely to succeed in this mission, if he places himself in the best spiritual environment. Eretz Yisrael has the benefit of its positioning where one is surrounded by its holiness.

Isn’t it interesting that the new U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, repeatedly speaks of his first visit to Israel at age seventeen in such glowing terms. He sensed that there was something special about this land. He has been back over one hundred times to Israel. We need to open our hearts and gravitate towards Kedusha. A good place to start, is to come to Israel and absorb its holiness.