SHEYIBANEH BEIT HAMIKDASH...
A series of articles on Beit HaMikdash-related topics by Catriel Sugarman 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.

Miracles in the Mikdash - "Food for Thought"
I have a question to ask you on Mishna 5:7 in Pirkei Avot - the 10 miracles that happened in the Beit HaMikdash. My problem is that when one takes a closer look at many of the so-called "Nisim" they do not appear (at least to me) as miraculous as they do at first glance. For example, the fact that no Keri befell the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur - when one views the enormous precautions described in Masechet Yoma to keep him awake at night precisely to ensure that he wouldn't become a Ba'al Keri (a man who had an 'unclean accident' and therefore disqualified from serving in the Mikdash), there doesn't appear to be anything tremendously miraculous about this. Or, that no P'sul (disqualification) was found in the Omer, Sh'tei Lechem (the two loaves of wheat offered on Shavu'ot) or the Lechem HaPanim - again, in view of the great lengths that were taken to search out the finest grain etc. - was this really such a great feat? And even the fact that there was always enough room to bow down in the BHM"K or that no one ever said that there is not enough room to sleep over in Jerusalem - may not have been so miraculous.

In light of the verb "said" - i.e. no one ever gave vent to their true feelings, this implies that they really they were extremely pushed for space.

They may never have expressed these feelings, but the problems of space were very real in the BHM"K. I'm not sure I can rationalize all of the "Nisim", but I would be interested to hear any thoughts you have on this intriguing subject. --Shimon

How miraculous the "ten miracles wrought for our forefathers in the Beit Hamikdash" actually were is a very intriguing subject. The late lamented R. Irving Bunim, Darshan, author, and Orthodox activist, wrote, "Many of the extraordinary phenomena that the Mishna lists were helpful in the Sanctuary's ritual procedures, to let them go on without difficulties or interferences… Yet we read explicitly, 'Ten miracles were wrought for our forefathers' - they were for the benefit of the people of Israel. We can assume that each miracle was meant to impart some teaching to our forefathers. And if the Mishna recorded them for all future generations, they must have significance for us too" (Ethics from Sinai III pg. 61).

The Mishna graphically describes the "enormous precautions" designed to prevent the Kohein Gadol from becoming a Ba'al Keri on the eve of Yom Kippur. "If he was a sage, he used to expound [the Scriptures] and if not, the disciples of the Sages used to expound before him... If he sought to slumber, young members of the priesthood would snap their middle finger before him and say to him, 'My lord High Priest, get up and drive away [sleep] this once by [walking barefoot] on the [cold stone floor]. And they used to divert him until the time of slaughtering drew near" (Yoma 1:6,7). Tosafot Yom Tov, in his commentary on the Mishna, addresses this very subject. "There are those who have difficulties [with this Mishna]. Why should the Sages be apprehensive of the possibility that the Kohein Gadol could become a Ba'al Keri? After all, they take strict precautions to prevent this during the entire seven days that he is sequestered in the Mikdash before Yom Kippur (note Yoma 1:1). As a result, he certainly would be in a state of ritual purity and [especially] that night - the eve of Yom Kippur - the elders of the people did not cease 'hastening' him to prevent it. The answer to this question is that the good inclination and the evil inclination [within a person] struggle with each other like enemies. When one of them is almost defeated, it makes every effort to strengthen itself [to defeat the other]… Many people at the point of death will suddenly rally, strengthen themselves, and speak 'rationally' as if they were healthy. [Therefore despite the precautions taken by the Sages, on Erev Yom Kippur,] the Kohein Gadol is really very close to being a Ba'al Keri!" If a Kohein Gadol was ritually defiled and therefore unable to perform the Avoda, it was no great tragedy; an "understudy" could serve in his stead and the performed Avoda would be perfectly valid. "It was told of R. Yishma'el ben Kimchit (the Kohein Gadol) that he went out [of the Mikdash between two Avodot on Yom Kippur] and spoke with a certain lord and a drop of saliva sprayed from the [lord's] mouth onto the garments [of R, Yishma'el and thereby rendering him ritually impure] (Yoma 47a)." (The saliva of a Zav is an Av Hatum'a - a primary source of impurity. By rabbinic decree, all idolaters have the status of Zavim - Nida 34a) In this case, the Segan, the 'understudy", simply stepped in and continued the Avoda. However, as the Bartenura notes, since "the Keri comes forth from his (the Kohein Gadol's) body, it is the most shameful and repulsive (Meguneh u'Mecho'ar) of all impurities."

R. Bunim derives an important Musar Haskeil from this Mishna that we can appreciate in the light of the Bartenura's comment. "There was purpose, then, behind the 'miracle' that our Mishna records. If this particular cause of defilement never happened, Providence evidently wished to spare the feelings of the Kohein Gadol;such an occurrence would have brought him shame and loss of esteem, and doubly so as a mark that perhaps Heaven held him in disfavor. Hence, this was recorded not as an interesting, curious oddment, but for its moral for all generations long after the Sanctuary remained only a hallowed memory in our annals. Providence would not let a man suffer public shame." Bunim concludes, "Let us be as sensitive to the feelings of our fellow-man, in everything we do."

The Mishna reads, "Nothing was ever found in the Omer, the Two Loaves, or the Show bread to ritually defile them [and disqualify them from being offered in the Mikdash]. With reference to the Omer, the Torah says, "When you come into the land …and reap its harvest, then shall you bring an Omer of the first of your harvest (i.e. barley, Menachot 84b) to the Kohein; and he shall wave the Omer before the Lord… on the day after the Sabbath (in this context, Sabbath refers to the first day of Pesach… And you shall eat neither bread nor parched or fresh grain, until this very day, until you have brought the offering of your G-d" (Vayikra 23:10-11,14). Despite precautions, the Omer could still become ritually impure, e.g. it could be inadvertently exposed to a dead Sheretz etc. Should the cut barley, which had to be harvested at a specific time (Menachot 10:3), become ritually contaminated between the time of gathering until it reached the Kohein in the Azara, it could not be replaced.

R. Bunim notes, "Scripture is clear: no bread or grain from the year's harvest might be eaten unless and until the Omer was brought. Should this sacred measure of barley have ever become ritually impure, it would have meant hardship for the people of Israel... Expecting the Omer to be offered the second day of Pesach, many everywhere would begin at once to eat bread (i.e. baked goods prepared) from the new crop and violate the Torah's law in all innocence… Where the people could not ensure their own safety against transgression, Heaven took a hand. The Omer never became Pasul." <to be continued>

Catriel's book in progress: The Temple of Jerusalem, A Pilgrim’s Perspective; A Guided Tour through the Temple and the Divine Service