Parshas Acharei Mos-Kedoshim 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- Apr 24
- 2 min read
כתנת בד קדש ילבש ומכנסי בד יהיו על בשרו ובאבנט בד יחגר ... בגדי קדש הם (טז-ד)
Rashi explains that on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol does not wear his usual eight bigdei zahav, due to the principle of "אין קטיגור נעשה סניגור" - “an accuser cannot become a defender,” as the gold in those garments will evoke the memory of the sin of the Golden Calf at a time when the Kohen Gadol seeks Hashem’s favor. The Gemara (Rosh Hashanah 26a) distinguishes in this regard between the service performed inside the Kodesh HaKodashim and the service performed outside, where the bigdei zahav may be worn. This distinction is difficult to understand. What difference does it make where the service is performed?
The Lutzker Rav, R’ Zalman Sorotzkin zt”l (Oznayim LaTorah), gives the following approach, deriving a powerful lesson from this distinction. Many people shy away from giving or hearing reproof, claiming that one must judge another favorably and focus on his positive qualities rather than rebuke him for his sins. However, says the Lutzker Rav, such an outlook is incorrect. Certainly, when standing before Hashem in prayer, one must not speak negatively about his fellow Jew, but advocate for him so that he might find favor in Hashem’s eyes. But as it applies to the sinner himself, one is just as certainly obligated to rebuke the sinner for his misdeeds, according to the laws and guidelines of the mitzvah of tochachah. This is the difference between the avodah done inside the Kodesh HaKodashim and the avodah done outside it. When standing in the Kodesh HaKodashim before Hashem, the Kohen Gadol may not evoke the memory of the sins of the Jewish people before Him, but must rather advocate for them and seek to cast them in a favorable light. But when serving outside the Kodesh HaKodashim, when he is no longer before Hashem, as it were, but among the people themselves - then, on the contrary, the Kohen Gadol purposely dons golden clothes to remind them of their sin so that they should repent from their ways.
As with chessed, tochachah starts at home, with an honest reckoning of where we stand vis-à-vis our avodas Hashem. Let us utilize sefiras haomer as a time of growth and introspection, so that we can truly make ourselves ready for Matan Torah!