intended to increase the knowledge, interest, and anticipation of the reader, thereby hastening the realization of our hopes and prayers for the rebuilding of Jerusalem and the Beit HaMikdash.

Yom Kippur in the Mikdash
The night of Yom Kippur is almost synonymous in our minds with the marvelously plaintive melody of Kol Nedrei. The identity of the author of this celebrated prayer and the date of its composition is uncertain, but it cannot have been composed much earlier than the Geonic period i.e. the early Middle Ages. There was no equivalent in the Mikdash of Kol Nedrei or of the magnificent Piyutim (liturgical hymns) we say on Leil Yom Kippur. On the eve of Yom Kippur, the Bayit was closed, the Levitical choir silent and the great gilded doors of the Azara shut. The Beit HaMikdash, a glowing gold and white panopticon under the silver rays of the moon, was empty except for Kohanim standing guard and Leviyim on their nightly rounds. But high above the Sha'ar HaMayim in the southern wall of the Azara, in the illuminated studio-workshop of the master spice-apothecaries of Beit Avtinas, the Kohein Gadol was receiving his last instructions as to how to correctly perform the Yom Kippur Avoda. For reasons of ritual purity, it was also essential that the Kohein Gadol remain awake the whole night. "If he - the Kohein Gadol - was a scholar, he used to expound (that part of the Torah which explains the Yom Kippur Avoda, Vayikra 16, Acharei Mot); if not, the disciples of the Sages used to expound before him. If he was versed in reading, he read, and if not, they read before him. And from what did they read before him? Out of Iyov (Job), Ezra and Devrei HaYamim (Chronicles). Zecharia ben Kavutal says, 'Many times I read before him out of Daniel.' If he sought to slumber, young Kohanim would snap their middle finger before him and say to him, 'My lord Kohein Gadol, get up and drive away (sleep) this once by walking (barefoot) on the (cold) floor. And they kept him occupied until the time for slaughtering (the morning Tamid offering) drew near." (Yoma 1:6,7)

The Halacha required the Kohein Gadol personally to perform all the Avodot in the Mikdash on Yom Kippur, both the ordinary daily Avodot, such as offering the Tamidin (daily sacrifices) and trimming the Menora, as well as the Avodot particular to holy days such as offering the Musafin (additional sacrifices). Similarly, the special Avodot unique to Yom Kippur, such as sprinkling the Ketoret onto the burning coals of the Machta (fire-pan) in Kodesh HaKodashim, were valid only if performed by him. When the Kohein Gadol performed the daily Avodot or those common to all the Holy Days, he wore his eight special well-known vestments which were called Bigdei Zahav, the "golden garments".

These Avodot are called Avodot Chutz, "outer" acts of Divine Service. The Avodot particular to Yom Kippur which are specified in Acharei Mot are called Avodot Pnim, "inner" acts of Divine Service, and for those Avodot, the Kohein Gadol wore four special white linen garments called Bigdei Lavan. The Avodot Pnim included the Avodot centered around the confessions of sin and sacrifice of the bullock of the Kohein Gadol, casting lots over the two identical he-goats to determine which goat was for "Hashem" and which was for "Azazel", bringing the Ketoret into Kodesh HaKodashim and later removing the Machta with the cooling embers from there. The Avodot Pnim also included all the Avodot centered on the goat designated for "Hashem", confessing the sins of K'lal Yisrael over the goat destined for Azazel and sending it forth into the wilderness. He also wore Bigdei Lavan when he ascended a wooden platform in the Ezrat Nashim and read before the people Parshat Acharei Mot and other appropriate Yom Kippur-related Pesukim from the Torah. However, strictly speaking this Keriyat HaTorah was not an Avoda. "R. Hisda said, 'why does not the Kohein Gadol enter the inner sanctum - Kodesh HaKodashim - in Bigdei Zahav to perform the Avoda there? Because the accuser may not act as the defender.' (Rosh HaShana 26a)" Gold is too reminiscent of the sin of the golden calf, the primeval sin of Israel. White is the color of purity and holiness and even the angels in Heaven wear linen. (Yechezkel 9:2)

At dawn, "when the whole east was alight until Hevron", the Kohein Gadol immersed in the Mikva above Sha'ar HaMayim that was adjacent to the Beit Avtinas workshop. The Sages had ordained that before going into the Azara, anyone, even if he were in a state of ritual purity, had to immerse in a Mikva beforehand. For this reason the Kohein Gadol could not use the Mikva in the Azara for the first of five immersions he would do that day. If he was "aged or infirm", the waters of the Mikva were pre-heated. Then "they brought him the Bigdei Zahav and he put them on and sanctified (washed) his hands and feet." He then began the regular daily Avoda by slaughtering the morning Tamid. Since all the Avodot on Yom Kippur were valid only if done by him, he had to do the Shechita, Kabalat HaDam (collecting the blood from the neck of the slaughtered animal in a Mizrak, a Mikdash bowl), convey the blood to the Mizbei'ach in the Mizrak, and the Zerika (tossing the blood against the northeast and southwest corners of the Mizbei'ach) himself.

Therefore in contradistinction to standard procedure, when slaughtering a sacrificial animal, "he made the incision - thus cutting the windpipe and gullet, enough to be Kasher - and another Kohein taking the knife - completed the slaughtering on his behalf and he - the Kohein Gadol - received the blood and tossed it (Yoma 3:4)." The utilization of a second Kohein to complete the Shechita enabled the Kohein Gadol to have his hands free to catch the blood in the Mizrak, an act which was considered an Avoda in its own right. He then carried the full Mizrak to the Mizbei'ach and dashed the blood against the corners. R. Ya'akov Emden, the Ya'abez, postulates that, at this point, the Kohein Gadol joined the other Kohanim in Lishkat HaGazit, the Chamber of Hewn Stone, to recite the Shema, the Aseret Hadebrot, and various other Tefilot. The Mishna continues, "He went inside (the Bayit) to burn the morning daily Ketoret (not the special Yom Kippur Ketoret) and to tend the Menora and then he went to offer the head and the limbs (of the Tamid on the Mizbei'ach which other Kohanim had already flayed and dismembered), Chavitin (daily offering of griddle-cakes brought by the Kohein Gadol), wine libation" (together with a measure of fine flour mixed with olive oil) and cast them into the fire on the Mizbei'ach.

The Tamid was an Olah and therefore was completely burnt. The wine libation was accompanied by the Leviyim's singing Shir Shel Yom. Then the Kohein Gadol sacrificed the special Musafin of Yom Kippur, a bullock, a ram, and seven lambs, all Olot. As the wine libation that accompanied the Musafin was being poured, the Levitical Choir sang Borchi Nafshi (Tehilim 104). This completed the first part of the day's Avoda. He then sanctified his hands and feet (2nd washing), removed the Bigdei Zahav and immersed in the Mikva in the Azara (2nd Tevila). "They brought him the Bigdei Lavan; he put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet" (3rd washing). Dressed in white, the Kohein Gadol began the special Yom Kippur Avoda, the first of the series of Avodot Pnim. <to be continued>

Catriel Sugarman (acatriel@netvision.net.il, 02-652-7531) gives illustrated lectures on the Beit Hamikdash and related topics. Catriel is in the process of writing a book: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrim's Perspective: A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service.

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