Answers to this Week’s Riddles

Answers to this Week’s Riddles

1. The Emek Yehoshua (siman 2) answers: When it comes to the mitzvah of tzitzis there is no permissible way to attach new strings on Shabbos, consequently, one is onus and he may wear the four cornered garment on Shabbos. By kisuy hadam, however, there is a way to ensure one has earth, i.e. by preparing beforehand. Since there is a way to do it beforehand, we don’t apply any special allowance for a case of oinus, as it’s not really an oinus (see Shu”t Har Tzvi, Orach Chaim 15).
   
   R’ Yerucham Fishel Perla (Aseh 7) and the Shu”t Maharshag (Yoreh Deah 31) answer that kisuy hadam is part of the mitzvah of shechitah (see Maharatz Chiyas, Beitzah 7a who proves this from Rashi), and if one doesn’t do it, it’s like the animal hasn’t been shechted. Therefore, even if the reason one doesn’t have earth is because of oinus, it won’t help, as in the end of the day it’s as if the animal wasn’t shechted properly. By tzitziz there is no such chiddush, therefore, in a case of oinus one is exempt and can wear the four cornered garment without tzitzis.
2. Although a living animal is tahor [ritually pure], the Torah decrees that the man who transports the goat to Azazel on Yom Kippur becomes tomei as soon as he exits the walls of Yerusholayim. After completing his mission, the Torah requires him to immerse both his clothing and his body in a mikvah, at which point he may reenter the Jewish camp. The Ibn Ezra comments that the immersion alone renders him tahor, and he is not required to wait until sundown. Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman notes that this is quite unusual, as it is the only case of a person who Is tomei, yet able to become tahor even before sunset.
3. What we must answer is, that although it was pushed off the mountain, it needed extra help from the wind to ensure that when getting pushed off the mountain it broke up into lots of limbs. However, why was a push not enough? It must be that the goat was very heavy, therefore, it needed the extra help of the wind. However, this leads to another question: Why was the goat so heavy?
   
   The Shach (HaRav Mordechai HaKohen) writes: “All the kitrugim [accusations] which come out from aveiros, the Kohen Gadol would gather together and place on the goat’s head (כופת ונותן אל ראש השעיר המשתלח). These kitrugim were very heavy, as a result the goat was very heavy, to the extent it couldn’t walk by itself and the ish iti [chosen person] needed to carry the goat on his shoulders. Because of this, they would prepare for him huts with food and drink, and constantly offer him to eat and drink, in order that he would have the strength to carry the goat, being that it was so heavy.”
   
   I also saw that the pirush Yanchenu on the Targum Yonasan writes, that this strong wind comes to hint to Klal Yisroel, that there is always siyata dishmaya [heavenly help] when it comes to doing teshuvah. And even if one is very stubborn, if he does teshuvah - a strong wind from in front of Hashem will come and help remove the sins of a person. (Pikudecha Dorashti)
4. The Seforno says: “They were used to serve Hashem and became imbued with such holiness, that it wasn’t even fitting for a Kohen Gadol to wear them, once he had left such a holy place.”
   
   The Medrash Talpiyos in the name of his Rebbi (ois 2, Anaf Bigdei Kehunah) writes, that when the Kohen Gadol left the Kodesh HaKodoshim, he had to re-immerse in the mikveh. Why after leaving such a holy place does one need to re-immerse in a mikveh? The reason is, because when leaving the Kodesh HaKodoshim Samo’el (the Soton) grabbed onto the clothes of the Kohen Gadol and because of his jealously he tried to tear them. For this reason, the meil [special cloak of the Kohen Gadol] had a special rim around it (מעשה אורג כפי תחרא יהיה לו לא יקרע) to ensure that Samoel wouldn’t be able to tear it.
   
   Being that Samo’el the ko’ach hatumah [power of impurity] touched the special clothes of the Kohen Gadol, the Kohen Gadol needed to re-immerse himself in a mikveh. According to this, we can understand why the special clothes of the Kohen Gadol needed to be buried. Once Samo’el had touched them – they were no longer fitting to be used to serve in the Beis HaMikdosh, therefore, they needed to be buried and could never be used again.
   
   The Medrash Talpiyos offers a second reason. “New things bring simcha [happiness] to a person, therefore, every year the Kohen Gadol would wear new clothes, to bring simcha to his heart. The Shechinah doesn’t rest amongst sadness, it only rests among joy as Chazal teach us (therefore, it was important for the Kohen Gadol to be happy).
   
   A third reason the Medrash Talpiyos brings, is: There was a special reward given to those who made the bigdei kehunah. Consequently, to ensure that more people got rewarded, Hashem required that new clothes be made every year”.
   
   R’ Moshe Sternbuch in Chochmas V’Da’as, offers an additional reason for why the clothes of the Kohen Gadol had to be buried on motzei Yom Kippur. He explains: The idea behind the Kohen Gadol wearing white clothes, and doing the avodah with them was to bring atonement to Klal Yisroel. When the Kohen Gadol left the Kodesh HaKodoshim he felt a special divine light and felt that Klal Yisroel had been forgiven.והיתה אוירה של טהרה והזדככות עוטפת את כלל ישראל ולא האמין ליבם שיחטאו שוב ויצטרכו לבגדי לבן לכפר עליהם - “There was a spirit of purity and cleanliness which surrounded Klal Yisroel, and they were on a level where they believed they would never sin again, and they would no longer need the special white clothes to atone for their inequities”. Consequently, they buried the bigdei kehunah, to show that they would no longer need atonement, and from now on the Kohen Gadol put on new clothes and rejoiced in front of the Master of all. (Pikudecha Dorashti)