“The Kohen shall … separate the ash of what the fire consumed of the burnt-offering on the Altar, and place it next to the Altar.” (Vayikra 6:3)
This verse deals with the very important avodah of cleaning the ashes from the Altar, a mitzvah that was performed every day. The Kohen who was privileged to do this work would ascend the mizbei’ach carrying a silver shovel, and he would collect the ashes. Then he would descend and put the ashes on the ground next to the mizbei’ach. On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was the one who did this, along with the rest of the service of that day.
The commentaries ask why it was specifically the Kohen Gadol who had to do the work of terumas hadeshen (the daily removal of ashes from the mizbei’ach) on Yom Kippur. He had many other duties as part of the avodah of the day; why couldn’t any other Kohen do this?
The Doresh Tzion explains that at the time of the Temple’s existence, masses of Jews would gather in the azarah (main courtyard) as the Kohen Gadol performed the service of the day. They would wait for the moment when they could say in unison “Baruch Shem kvod malchuso l’olam va’ed – Blessed is the Name of His glorious kingdom for all eternity.” The sound of the combined voices of all the people was so loud that the birds fell off the trees from the noise. The Zohar adds that the angels also joined in with their voices.
The Talmud also tells us (Menachos 109b) that Shimon HaTzaddik related that for the 40 years he served as Kohen Gadol, he would be met by an elderly man dressed entirely in white who entered the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur with him and left with him. The last year of his life, he was met by an old man dressed in black who entered the Holy of Holies with him but did not leave with him. Tosfos asks, how could it be that he was accompanied by someone into the Holy of Holies? After all, the pasuk tells us (Vayikra 16:17), “No person shall be in the Tent of Meeting when he [the Kohen Gadol] comes to provide atonement in the Sanctuary until his departure …” Among the many answers given to this question is that the Kohen Gadol was accompanied by the Divine Presence.
Our Sages explain that the ashes allude to the eyes. Since on Yom Kippur the Kohen Gadol reached such an elevated spiritual level when he entered the Holy of Holies, his thoughts were far removed from the realities of the physical world. The intent of the commandment to clean the ashes was to bring his thoughts down to the people on earth, for him to “see” the hard-working people who were involved in everyday life and had the mundane needs of those who live in this world – livelihood, good health, children, and the like.
The Chozeh of Lublin comments on the words (Vayikra 21:10), “The Kohen who is exalted above his brethren …” saying that the Kohen Gadol has to be like a brother to the members of Klal Yisrael and empathize with them. He has to join their simchas and share their pain, pray for his brethren, and especially on Yom Kippur participate in achieving their atonement from Hashem.
R’ Yehoshua Leib Diskind, the Maharil, was preoccupied with Torah and the service of Hashem all his life, without distraction. He was completely removed from the mundane pleasures of life and eschewed physical comforts. His home was always open, though, to anyone in need, and many sat at his table and enjoyed his hospitality.
Once, an elderly individual joined the guests of the Maharil at the table, but the man was not able to partake of the bread because he did not have teeth. When the Maharil saw this he arose from his place at the table and seated himself next to the man. He took off the crust for the elderly person and put the bread on a plate for him so that he could eat. The elderly man’s face lit up, delighted that his hunger was sated. The Maharil remained sitting next to the man throughout the meal. When the man finished eating, the Maharil returned to his studies.
Observing this, Rav Dov Grossberg, who was present at the time, could not contain his curiosity. He asked the Maharil, “Please explain to me how you knew, while you were deeply engrossed in your Torah studies, that the elderly man was struggling with his bread.”
The Maharil answered “It’s a very good question. But this question is even stronger in Parshas Vayeira. Hashem came to visit Avraham Avinu after his bris milah. While in the company of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), Avraham was highly elevated in the spiritual world. How could Avraham see the three men approaching? And he even asked Hashem to wait until he took care of his guests. Why don’t you ask your question there?
“There is one answer,” continued the Maharil. “If one is empathetic and wants to do chesed, he will sense the other person’s distress and privation even when he himself is in the presence of the Shechinah or in the midst of receiving a prophecy.”
