QUESTION: In the Torah's description of the Avodos which the Kohen Gadol must perform on Yom Kippur, one of the Avodos seems to be out of sequence. The Torah (Vayikra 16:23) states that Aharon (the Kohen Gadol) is to return to the Kodesh ha'Kodashim to remove the incense shovel (Kaf u'Machtah), and only afterwards does the Torah describe the sacrifices that Aharon is to offer on Yom Kippur.

The Gemara points out that while all of the other verses that describe the Avodah of Yom Kippur are in the correct order, this verse is not. According to the correct order of the Avodah, Aharon is to bring the Musaf offering and the afternoon Tamid first, and only afterwards is he to don the linen garments again and return to the Kodesh ha'Kodashim to remove the Kaf u'Machtah. This order of events is based on a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai which says that five Tevilos and ten Kidushin must be done by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur. Only if the Avodah of this verse (the removal of the Kaf u'Machtah) is placed after the offering of the Korbanos will there be five Tevilos and ten Kidushin.

If the correct order of the Avodah requires that the Korbanos be offered before the removal of the Kaf u'Machtah, then why does the Torah itself place the verse out of the proper sequence?

ANSWER: The VILNA GA'ON explains as follows. The Midrash (Vayikra Rabah 21:6) relates that Hash-m told Moshe that Aharon shall not be prohibited from entering the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. Rather, he may enter whenever he wants. However, when he does enter he must perform the Avodos just as they are performed on Yom Kippur. Although no other Kohen Gadol is permitted to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim at any time other than Yom Kippur, Aharon was permitted to enter on any day of the year, provided that he perform the Avodah as it is done on Yom Kippur. (This is in contrast to the words of Rashi to Vayikra 16:3 and 32.)

The Vilna Ga'on explains that if Aharon chose to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim on any other day of the year, he was required to remove the incense shovel from the Kodesh ha'Kodashim immediately before he performed the Avodah of the afternoon Tamid. The words of the Torah here do not describe the Avodah specific to Yom Kippur, but rather it describes the Avodah that is performed on any day that Aharon chose to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. "This is how Aharon shall enter the Sanctuary" (Vayikra 16:3) -- any day of the year.

(This also may explain why the Torah makes no mention of the Musaf offerings of Yom Kippur in this Parshah. Those offerings were brought only on Yom Kippur and not on any day that Aharon chose to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim.)

Therefore, the Torah lists the removal of the Kaf u'Machtah immediately after the Avodah of the Ketores and the sprinklings of Dam in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim and Heichal. The verse is out of sequence only insofar as the services of Yom Kippur are concerned; on that day, the Kohen Gadol must remove the Kaf u'Machtah at a later time in the day, after he brings the offerings. (KOL ELIYAHU #83. A similar idea is proposed by the NETZIV in HA'AMEK DAVAR to Vayikra 16:2, 23, and 34.)

The logic for this sequence is clear. The Gemara teaches that there is a specific reason for why the Divine will on Yom Kippur requires that the Kaf u'Machtah remain in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim until later: the Kohen Gadol must perform five Tevilos on Yom Kippur, each accompanied by a change of clothing. If the Kohen Gadol must remove the Kaf u'Machtah from the Kodesh ha'Kodashim (which he does while he wears the linen garments) immediately after he performs the Avodah of the Ketores and the sprinklings of Dam in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim and Heichal (which he also does while he wears the linen garments), then he misses one opportunity to change from the linen garments into the gold garments. He changes clothing only three times (gold-linen-gold) and misses two Tevilos.

In order to perform an additional two changes of clothing, he is commanded to don the gold garments after he performs the Avodah of the Ketores and the sprinklings of the Dam, offer the Korbanos in those garments, and then don the linen garments again later and perform the Avodah of the removal of the Kaf u'Machtah. He then changes back to the gold garments, so that he has a total of five changes of clothing (and five Tevilos).

This requirement, however, is unique to Yom Kippur. The reason for why five Tevilos and ten Kidushin are required on Yom Kippur is not because of the Kohen Gadol's entry into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. Rather, they are performed in order to arouse Hash-m's mercy to forgive the Jewish people on the Day of Atonement ("Mikveh Yisrael Hash-m, Mah Mikvah Metaher..."; Yoma 85b). Accordingly, when Aharon chose to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim on any other day of the year, when five Tevilos and ten Kidushin are not necessary, there was no need for him to change clothing five times. Therefore, the Torah commands him to remove the Kaf u'Machtah from the Kodesh ha'Kodashim immediately after he offers the Ketores and sprinkles the Dam.

Why was Aharon, and no other Kohen Gadol, given the special privilege of entering the Kodesh ha'Kodashim whenever he wanted? The MESHECH CHOCHMAH (Vayikra 16:3) offers an insight based on the words of the SEFORNO. The Seforno (Vayikra 24:3) explains that while the Jewish people were in the Midbar, only the Kohen Gadol was allowed to perform the Avodos of lighting the Menorah and offering the incense. The reason for this was because the holiness that the Jewish people experienced in the years of wandering through the desert was comparable to the holiness of Yom Kippur. The holiness of Yom Kippur comes from the unique occurrence on that day, when Hash-m "appears in a cloud upon the Kapores" (the cover of the Aron ha'Kodesh). During the Jewish people's sojourn in the desert, "Hash-m's Presence rested upon the Mishkan by day, and there was fire therein by night" (Shemos 40:38). Just as all parts of the Avodah of Yom Kippur must be done by the Kohen Gadol (Yoma 32b), so, too, the lighting of the Menorah and the incense offering performed in the Mishkan in the desert had to be performed by the Kohen Gadol, Aharon ha'Kohen.

(Even during that period, Aharon's sons were allowed to participate in Avodos that were performed in the courtyard of the Mishkan, such as the offering of private sacrifices, because those Korbanos were not part of the obligations of the Mishkan but were done for the benefit of those who offered them. Avodos that were not integral to the Mishkan did not require a Kohen Gadol even on Yom Kippur. See Insights to Yoma 22:1.)

This explains why Aharon was permitted to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim on any day of the year. Every day in the Midbar during which the Divine Presence rested on the Mishkan was as holy as Yom Kippur. Consequently, on every day of the year Aharon experienced the same sanctity that any other Kohen Gadol experienced only on Yom Kippur itself.

QUESTION: In the Beraisa, Rebbi derives from the words, "u'Pashat... v'Rachatz," "v'Rachatz... v'Lavash" (Vayikra 16:23-24), that before and after each change of clothing the Kohen Gadol must perform Kidush Yadayim v'Raglayim. Even though the word "v'Rachatz" normally refers to Tevilah and not to Kidush Yadayim v'Raglayim, here it refers to Kidush Yadayim v'Raglayim, and it teaches that just as Kidush must be done in a sanctified area ("b'Makom Kadosh"), so, too, the Kohen Gadol's Tevilah must be done in a sanctified area.

RASHI (DH Mah Kidush) asks that the first of the five Tevilos of the Kohen Gadol is performed in a non-sanctified area. According to Rebbi's understanding of the verse, the first Tevilah should also be performed in a sanctified area.

Rashi answers that the first Tevilah is not mid'Oraisa, since it is not done between changes of clothing of Bigdei Kodesh, but only after the Kohen Gadol changes from non-sanctified garments to sanctified garments.

Rashi implies that the Gemara here follows the opinion of Rebbi Yehudah (30a), who maintains that the obligation of Tevilah before entry into the Azarah is only mid'Rabanan (because of "Serach Tevilah"; see also Rashi to 32a, DH Mah Makom).

Rashi's words are difficult to understand. The Gemara earlier (32a) says that the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai teaches that there must be five Tevilos on Yom Kippur (and, consequently, the removal of the Kaf u'Machtah must be done in an order different from the order mentioned in the Torah; see previous Insight). Even if the obligation of Tevilah before entry into the Azarah is mid'Rabanan, on Yom Kippur it certainly is mid'Oraisa. Why does Rashi say that the first Tevilah on Yom Kippur is not mid'Oraisa? (TOSFOS REBBI AKIVA EIGER on the Mishnayos)

(a) REBBI AKIVA EIGER suggests an answer based on his understanding of the TOSFOS YESHANIM (32a, DH Gemiri). He explains that the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai does not mention the number of Tevilos. It says only that the Kaf u'Machtah must be removed from the Kodesh ha'Kodashim after the ram offerings are brought. The number of Tevilos (the four that are mid'Oraisa) is derived as a consequence of that order of the Avodah. Since the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai does not explicitly address how many Tevilos are to be done, it is possible that only four Tevilos are mid'Oraisa.

This answer is difficult to understand, because the Gemara's wording clearly implies that the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai teaches the number of Tevilos, and that number is five.

(b) Perhaps Rashi does not mean that the first of the five Tevilos of Yom Kippur is mid'Rabanan. He certainly agrees that it is mid'Oraisa as the Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai teaches. When Rashi says that the first Tevilah is not mid'Oraisa, he means that it is not derived from the verse ("u'Pashat... v'Rachatz...") like the other four Tevilos, for the verse discusses only the Tevilos performed between changes of clothing of Bigdei Kodesh. It is, however, a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai.

When the verse teaches that the Tevilos are like Kidush and must be done in a sanctified area, it refers only to the Tevilos mentioned in the verse. The first Tevilah, even though it is mid'Oraisa, does not need to be done in a sanctified area because it is not included in the verse. (The comparison that the verse makes between Tevilah and Kidush does not apply to a Tevilah derived from a Halachah l'Moshe mi'Sinai.)

(c) TOSFOS (30a, DH u'Mah) argues with Rashi and says that even the first Tevilah (when the Kohen Gadol changes from Bigdei Chol to Bigdei Kodesh) is required mid'Oraisa. The reason why that Tevilah may be done in a non-sanctified area is because it is logical that before the Kohen becomes "Niskadesh" (sanctified) by wearing the Bigdei Kodesh, there is no need for him to immerse in a sanctified area. The verse that requires Tevilah in a sanctified area does not refer to that type of Tevilah. The verse refers only to the Tevilos which the Kohen Gadol performs after he has already donned the Bigdei Kodesh.