Part III. Alone With Him
Alone With Your Friend
But now we’re going to talk about an even higher level of hisbodedus, the most important reason that Avraham and all of the great ones made sure, as much as possible, to live separate from the crowds. The best result of solitude, the greatest benefit, is not that you’ll be alone by yourself, with your thoughts, but that you get to be alone with Hakadosh Baruch Hu.
Ooh ah! That's already an entirely different subject! Not only that your mind is available to think thoughts about Him but that you actually feel like you’re alone with Him. There's nothing in life as great as this kind of solitude, the noble career of being alone with your Best Friend.
You know, the Chofetz Chaim’s son, when he writes about his father he notes an interesting point. He says that his father didn’t have yedidim. He didn’t chaver with anybody.
Now that’s a queer thing to hear because we know that the Chofetz Chaim was a friend of everybody. He traveled around, doing mitzvos, helping people everywhere. All kinds of gemilas chassodim he was busy with. He traveled to help Jewish soldiers, establishing kosher kitchens for them. And he was very kindhearted too; he was sweet and friendly and he always took in guests. But still, he never associated with people. He didn’t have cronies with whom he spent time together.
The Recluse Kohen Gadol
You know why the Chofetz Chaim didn’t long to be in the company of anybody? Because he loved the company of only One Friend. לַ‡ָיךƒבָ‡ ַﬠ≈ר¿וָךֲﬠ≈רבֹזֲﬠַּ ̇ – Don’t forsake your Friend and the Friend of your father (Mishlei 27:10).
ינו≈ ֹ̇בוֲ‡ י≈ ֹ̃ל‡≈וּינו≈ ֹ̃ל¡‡, that’s the One Friend that you have. And it’s only when you’re alone, that’s when you realize it most clearly.
The mishnah (Yuma 1:1) tells us that יםƒמָי ַ̇ﬠ≈ב¿ׂ ̆לֹו„ָּ‚ ן≈הֹּכ יןƒׁ ̆יƒר¿פַמ יםƒרּוּפƒּכַה םֹיו י≈נ¿פƒל – seven days before Yom Kippur we separate the kohen gadol from his family and from everybody else and we put him in Lishkas Palhedrin. There was a special chamber on the Har Habayis and there the kohen gadol remained in seclusion for seven days. Certain times he was visited by the Chachamim of the Beis Din shel Kohanim who taught him and gave him instruction in the avodah of Yom Hakippurim but otherwise he was alone most of the time.
So the question is posed, why is it necessary before Yom Kippur to have solitude for the kohen gadol? And Rashi explains (Yuma 4b s.v. liayeim alav) that the purpose was to make him aware of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. Because he is going now, on Yom Kippur, into the Mikdash to do the avodah and it's necessary for him to acquire Awareness of Hashem before that.
