Halacha:

Yom Kippur 

Parsha:

Acharei Mot 

Description

Vayyikra 16, which is read in its entirety as the Kriat haTorah of Yom haKippurim, details the Avodah of the Kohen Gadol. At first read, it appears to be a ritual that the Kohen Gadol must perform any time that he chooses to enter the "Dvir" (Kodesh Kodoshim) - or if there is an occasional need to cleanse the Mishkan from Tum'ah. Yet, at the end of the chapter, we are told that this is an annual rite, one in which only one person performs all of the Avodah and no one else is even allowed to be inside the Mikdash while he is in the innermost sanctum. How are we to understand the sudden "imposition" of an obligation of everyone to afflict himself or herself and the nearly utter isolation of the central actor on this day? We propose a historic precedent which serves as more than background, but is essentially reenacted on an annual basis with an eye towards repairing what was broken back then.