Rashi on TanakhLeviticus 16

And Adonoy spoke to Moshe after the death of two sons of Aharon, etc. What does the verse say? Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah made a parable: [This may be compared] to a sick patient whom a physician visited. He said to him: “Do not eat cold food and do not lie in a damp place.” A second [physician] came and said to him: “Do not eat cold food and do not lie in a damp place, [in order] that you not die in the [same] way so-and-so died. This [second one clearly] urged him on more than the first one. Therefore it is said, “after the death of two sons of Aharon.”

Adonoy spoke to Moshe: Speak to your brother Aharon that he not come, that he not die in the [same] way his sons died.

That he not die. For if he enters [without the proper ritual], he dies.

For in a cloud I shall appear on the Ark-cover. For I constantly appear there with My pillar of cloud; and because the revelation of My Shechinah is there, he should be careful not to accustom himself to enter — this is [the verse’s] plain meaning. And its midrashic meaning: He should not come except with the cloud of incense on Yom Kippur.

With this. Its gematria is 410, a hint of the [time of standing] of the First Temple.

With this shall Aharon come, etc. And this too not at every time, but [only] on Yom Kippur, as explained at the end of the section, “during the seventh month, on the tenth of the month.”

Linen tunic, etc. [This] tell us that he does not perform the Service within with the eight garments with which he performs the Service without, for, they have gold in them, for, a prosecuting attorney does not become a defense attorney, but with four [garments] like an ordinary kohein — and all of these were of linen.

He shall don a sanctified — that it should come from the Temple treasury.

Place [on his head], as its Targum, “he shall lower on his head,” he shall place on his head, as [in the verse] “she placed his garment” — “and she placed.”

He shall bathe . . . in water. [The Service of] that day requires an immersion with his every change of clothing. He would change his clothing five times [during the course of the day], from the Service within [the Holy of Holies] to the Service without [the Holy of Holies], and from [Service] without to within, and he would change from “golden garments” to “white garments,” and from white garments to golden garments. Each change required an immersion and two sanctifications of the hands and feet from the laver.

The sin-offering bullock which is his. That is what is mentioned above, and [this] teaches you here that it comes [= is purchased] from his [property], and not from public [funds].

And atone on his own behalf and on behalf of his household. He confesses over it, his sins, and the sins of his household.

Aharon shall put lots on the two he-goats. He places one [goat] to his right and one to his left, and places his two hands into the urn [which holds the lots], and takes a lot in the right and its companion in the left; and he places these upon them — [the one] on which is written “to God” is for the Name [= God (la-Shem)], and [the one] on which is written “to Azazel” is sent to Azazel.

Azazel is a mountain, strong and hard, a high cliff, as it is said “a land cut off,” cut off.

And do (offer) it as a sin-offering. When he places the lot on it, he calls it a name, saying “for Adonoy a sin-offering.”

Shall be placed alive, [The form yo’omad, “it shall be placed”] is like [the form] yu’amad — by others, and its Targum is, “it shall be made to stand when [it is still] alive.” Why does the verse say this? Because it is said, “to send it to Azazel,” and I do not know whether its sending is to [its] death or for life, therefore it is said, “it shall be placed alive” — it stands alive, until it is sent away; from there [I learn] that it is sent for death.

To achieve atonement with it, that he shall confess over it, etc. as it is written, “and he shall confess over it.”

And atone on his behalf, etc. A second confession for himself and his brother kohanim, for all of them are called “his household,” as it is said, “House of Aharon, bless Adonoy, etc. From here [we learn] the kohanim are atoned for by it, and all their atonement [affects only the sin of causing] impurity to the Temple and its holy things, as it is said, “and he will atone for [causing impurity to] the Sanctuary from the impurities [of Bnei Yisroel],” etc.

From atop the altar — the outer [one].

Before Adonoy. From the side before the entrance [to the Sanctuary], and that is the western side.

Finely-ground. Why does the verse say “finely-ground”? [After all,] is not all the incense finely-ground, as it is said: “pulverize some of it finely-ground”? Rather, it must be the finest of the fine, for on the eve of Yom Kippur he would return it to the mortar.

On the fire which is within the incense-pan.

That he not die, therefore, if he did not do it properly, he is liable to death.

He shall sprinkle with his finger, one sprinkling is implied.

And before the Ark-cover he shall sprinkle seven. Thus once above and seven below.

That belongs to the people. That for which the bullock atones on behalf of the kohanim, the goat atones on behalf of Israel, that is, the goat upon which the lot “for God” fell.

Just as he did with the bullock’s blood, one above and seven below.

From the impurities of Bnei Yisroel, for entering the Sanctuary in [a state of] impurity, [which] was not know to them afterwards, as it is said: for all their transgressions, and a transgression is unintentional.

and from their rebellious sins, even intentionally entering in [a state of] impurity.

He shall do likewise for the Tent of Meeting. Just as he sprinkled [the blood] of the two of them within, once above and seven [times] below, so he sprinkles upon the Holy Curtain without from the [blood of the] two of them, once above and seven [times] below.

That dwells with them in the midst of their impurity. Even though they are [ritually] impure, the Shechinah is with them.

To the altar that is before Adonoy. This is the golden altar, which is before Adonoy in the Sanctuary [proper]. And why does scripture state: “and he shall go out?” Since he sprinkled the sprinklings on the Holy Curtain, standing inward from the altar [while] sprinkling, and during the placings [of blood] onto the altar he had to exit from the altar [area] outward, and begin with the northeast corner.

And atone on it. What is its atonement? He shall take some of the bullock’s blood and some of the he-goat’s blood, mixed together, one within the other.

He shall sprinkle on it from the blood. After he places the sprinklings [of blood] with his finger on its horns, he sprinkles seven sprinklings on its top.

And purify it, from what has passed.

And sanctify it, for the future.

Man [so] designated. Who is prepared for this from the day before.

Aharon will come into the Tent of Meeting. Our Rabbis said this is not the [proper] place of this verse, and gave a reason for their words, in Maseches Yomo. They said: This entire section is written in order, except for this entrance, which is after the offering of his burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people, the burning of the entrails of the bullock and he-goat, which were done in [the Kohein Godol’s] golden garments, [after which] he immerses and sanctifies, takes them off and puts on [his] white garments. Aharon will [then] come into the Tent of Meeting — in order to take out the spoon and incense-pan with which he had offered incense within the Holy of Holies.

And remove the linen garments. After taking them out, he dons golden garments for [offering] the perpetual [burnt-offering] of the afternoon. And this is the order of the [Temple] Services: The morning perpetual offering in golden garments; the Service of the bullock and he-goat within, and the incense of the fire-pan in white garments; his ram and the people’s ram and part of the additional sacrifices in golden garments; the taking out of the spoon and fire-pan in white garments, and the rest of the additional sacrifices, the perpetual [burnt-]offering of the afternoon, and the incense offered in the Sanctuary proper upon the inner altar in golden garments. The order of the verses according to the Services is as such: “[The man] shall send the goat into the desert,” “he shall wash his body in water,” etc., “and go out and do his burnt-offering,” etc. “the fat of the sin-offering,” etc. and [then] the whole section until “and afterwards he shall come into the encampment,” and after that: “Aharon will [then] come.”

And place them there. [This] teaches that they require being hidden away; he will not use those four [linen] garments for another Yom Kippur.

He shall wash his flesh, etc. Above we learned from “and he shall wash his body and don them,” that when he changes from golden garments to white garments he is required to immerse, (for in that immersion he had taken off the golden garments with which he had performed the Service of the daily morning [burnt-offering], and put on white garments for the Service of the Day) and here we have learned that when he changes from white garments to golden garments he is required to immerse.

In a sacred place, sanctified with the sanctity of the [Outer] Court, and it was in the roof of the Parva House, and so [too] the four immersions which are obligatory for the Day, but the first [immersion] was in common [space].

And don his garments, eight garments in which he performs the Service all the [other] days of the year.

He shall go out of the Sanctuary [proper] to the Court in which the Burnt-Offering Altar was located.

And do (offer) his burnt-offering, the ram for the burnt-offering mentioned above.

And the people’s burnt-offering, and one ram for the burnt-offering mentioned above, “and from the congregation of Bnei Yisroel,” etc.

The fat of the sin-offering, the entrails of the bullock and goat.

He shall burn on the altar, on the outer altar, for if the inner [were intended, is it not] written: “Do not bring upon it strange incense; neither burnt-offerings nor meal-offerings.”

Whose blood was brought to the Sanctuary and within [= to the Holy of Holies].

The kohein will atone — he who himself will be anointed, etc. This atonement of Yom Kippur is not valid except [when carried out] by a Kohein Godol. Because the whole section was said of Aharon, it was necessary to state that a Kohein Godol who comes after him shall be like him [in this respect].

And who will be initiated. I [know this] only of [a Kohein Godol] who was anointed with the anointing oil, one distinguished only by the greater number of garments from where [do I know that he is also eligible]? The verse says: “and who will be initiated, etc.” And these are all of the kohanim gedolim who arose after Yoshiyohu onward, for in his days the flask of anointing oil was hidden.

To serve in his father’s stead. This teaches us that if his son is capable of fulfilling his father’s place, he has precedence over everyone else.

He did as [Adonoy] commanded [Moshe] Etc. When Yom Kippur arrived, he performed [Service] according to this order — to recount Aharon’s praise, that he did not wear [these garments] for his own greatness, [but] rather to fulfill the Royal decree.