More on Bi'ah Reikanit ("Empty Entering") Last week I noted the surprising opinion that the area above Kodesh HaKodashim, and not the Kodesh HaKodashim itself, was considered the most sacred place in the entire Beit HaMikdash and the explanation of the Tif'eret Yisrael based on Pesachim 86a. "Even though there were two curtains separating the area above the Heichal and the area above the Kodesh Hakodashim, they made these markings (in the floor to separate these areas, Midot 4:5) because of the extreme holiness of the area above the Kodesh HaKodashim, the holiness of which exceeded Kodesh Hakodashim itself. After all, the area above Kodesh HaKodashim was entered once in seven years (while the Kodesh HaKodashim was entered every year) (TY 47). Is it possible that the sanctity of a place only depends on people rarely entering it? Can one really compare Kodesh HaKodashim, that inner sanctum where the Kohein Gadol entered one day a year to beseech and hopefully obtain atonement for K'lal Yisrael, to a room where maintenance men passed through - more occasionally to be sure - so they could be lowered down and examine the walls of Kodesh Hakodashim for cracks? I found no cogent answer. Basing himself on the Sifra (Acharei 1:5,6), Rambam rules, "All Kohanim were admonished not to enter the Kodesh or Kodesh Ha-Kodashim except at the time of Avoda as it is said. '(Speak to Aaron your brother), that he should not come at all times to the Kodesh (or) within the curtain (…so that he should not die…) Kodesh- this is the Kodesh HaKodashim; within the curtain - this is a warning (for Kohanim not to go anywhere) in the Mikdash (unnecessarily i.e. not during the time of Avoda, Bi'ah Reikanit)" (Hil. Bi'at HaMikdash 2:2). The Kesef Mishneh, classic commentator on the Rambam, summarizes the Sifra. "Even though only Aaron is the direct subject of the Divine command, the Sages derived from the (seemingly redundant word "brother" in the quoted pasuk) that the warning was addressed to all Kohanim. In the Pesikta (the name of several Midrashic works) they quoted the pasuk, 'And Avram heard that his "brother" (Lot) was taken captive (B'reishit 14:14).Lot was Avram's nephew not his brother." The Sages derived from this that other relatives can also be called "brothers" and that the admonition to Aaron was also addressed to his sons i.e. the ordinary Kohanim. Rambam in his Sefer HaMitzvot (Lo Ta'aseh 68), again basing himself on the Sifra, adds, "'…he should not come at all times', this refers to Yom Kippur; 'to the Kodesh', this expands the prohibition of (unnecessarily entering Kodesh HaKodashim and the rest of the Mikdash) to include all the other days of the year…" Similarly if a Kohein entered the Mikdash with the intention of performing an invalid Avoda, he was guilty of Bi'ahReikanit. Because of the Sadducee predilections of many High Priests in late Bayit Sheini times and their penchant for changing the form of the Avoda and thus invalidating it, the Sages found it necessary to sternly admonish the serving Kohein Gadol before Yom Kippur. The Mishna reads, "The elders of the Court delivered him (the Kohein Gadol) to the elders of the priesthood …They adjured him …and said to him, 'My lord Kohein Gadol, we are the delegates of the Court, and you are our delegate and the delegate of the Court. We adjure you by Him who made His name dwell in this house that you change naught of what we said (i.e. what we have taught you) to do… (Yoma 1:5). After all, during the Avoda of Yom Kippur when the Kohein Gadol entered the Heichal and Kodesh Ha- Kodashim alone and unobserved, no one could really be sure what he did there. A Kohein Gadol who entered Kodesh Hakodashim and willfully changed the form of the Avoda was guilty of Bi'ah Reikanitas well as other serious transgressions and was deserving of death at the hand of Heaven. And, in fact, the Gemara relates the instructive fate of such a rebellious Kohein Gadol. "Our rabbis taught: 'There was a Sadducee Kohein Gadol (who ignoring the admonition of the Sages) arranged the Ketoret (incense) so it smoked outside (the curtains) and then brought it inside Kodesh HaKodashim (as per the ruling of the Sadducees). When he finished, he was exceedingly glad. …He said, 'All my life I was aggrieved because of the Biblical verse 'For in a cloud shall I appear on the ark cover.' I used to say, 'When will I have the opportunity to fulfill it? Now that I have such an opportunity, should I not fulfill it?' It was said that after a few days, he died and he was thrown on the dung heap…" (Yoma 19b). If a Kohein entered the Bayit and slaughtered sacrificial animals - even though the Shechita is perfectly valid - he is guilty of Bi'ah Reikanit because while Shechita of Kodashim requires 'special intent', it is only a "quasi-Avoda". A non-Kohein can also slaughter Kodashim. But, interestingly enough, if a Kohein ate the meat of a Chatat (sin offering) in the Heichal and even in the Kodesh HaKodashim, he might not be guilty of Bi'ah Reikanit because his eating the meat is an Avoda and is essential for the atonement process." 'And they (Kohanim) shall eat those things wherewith atonement was made (Shemot 29:33). This teaches that Kohanim eat (of the meat) and the Ba'alim - the penitent sinners - obtain atonement (Pesachim 59b). There were also specific prohibitions directed to Kohanim who were Ba'alei Moom (physically invalidated to serve), were drunk, had unkempt hair, or torn vestments from entering the Bayit (Sefer Hamitzvot, prohibitions 69, 73, 163,164.). Obviously non-Kohanim were also subject to the prohibition of Bi'ah Reikanit. Strangely enough how one entered the Mikdash also determined whether one was guilty of Bi'ah Reikanit. The Gemara says. "...a ritually impure person who entered the Heichal (strictly forbidden by Torah law) through the roof is exempt (from punishment), as it is said. 'And to the Sanctuary, she shall not come… (Vayikra12:4, the reference is to a parturient who was banned from entering Mikdash grounds 40 days after giving birth to a male child, 80 days for a female.) The Torah forbade only the normal way of entering" (Shevu'ot 17b). And so Rambam rules, but then he continues, "…nevertheless even though the impure man (who entered by the roof) is exempt from Kareit (premature death by the hand of Heaven), he is subject to the penalty of Makot Mardut (Hil. Bi'at HaMikdash 3:19). (i.e. lashes administrated by Beit Din at their discretion for willful disobedience and should not be confused with Malkot administered by the Courts to those violating Biblicallaw. A Mishna illustrates the difference. "R. Yehuda says, 'If she does not incur the 40 Stripes - Malkot - she must nevertheless suffer Makot Mardut for her disobedience" (Nazir 4:3). Fulfilling their role of "making a fence around the Torah", the Sages ordained Makot Mardut to "discourage creative miscreants" who might want to somehow "legally" sneak into the Mikdash, either "by way of the roof", or in some other convoluted way, and thereby evade a richly deserved punishment. <to be continued> Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrims Prospective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service [The
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