And Aaron shall then go into the Tabernacle of Meeting (Lev. 16:23)
“To remove the incense-bowl and the spoon,” comments Rashi.
Once, in the Russian town of Lubavitch, a young man noticed the great Rabbi Hillel of Poritch making his way home from the synagogue after the morning prayers. Reb Hillel had sunk up to his ankles in mud, and was holding the bag containing his tallit and tefilin aloft as he slogged through the swampy muck. The young man offered to help him by carrying the precious bag, but Reb Hillel refused.
“The High Priest had to immerse himself in a mikva just to enter the Holy of Holies, to retrieve the utensils which had been used for the incense. This in itself was considered part of the Priest’s service. From this we learn that carrying the tallit and tefilin home from the synagogue after prayers is also part of the service, and I want to perform this myself!” he explained.
For on that day shall [the High Priest] make an atonement for you (Lev. 16:30)
The Jewish people are likened to a walnut. A walnut is edible even if it falls into dirt and filth. All one must do before eating it is wash it off, for the inside meat remains unsoiled. The same may be said of the Jewish people. No matter how sullied they become by their misdeeds a whole year, Yom Kippur comes and “washes” them off. A sin affects only the external part of the Jewish soul; the inner essence is always untouched and pristine. (Midrash Rabba)
Blood shall it be considered to that man; blood has he shed (Lev. 17:4)
The purpose of the animal offerings was to accustom the individual to self-sacrifice. However, the Torah tells us, if the sacrifice was offered in the wrong place, “blood shall it be considered to that man.” Sacrificing oneself on foreign altars, for the sake of foreign ideologies and ideals, is not only a waste of time, but a grievous sin. (Eglai Tal)
