17 When the entire community sins, the holiness of the Tabernacle departs, so to speak: This loss of holiness is manifest specifically with regard to the Curtain, rather than any other component of the Tabernacle, because the Curtain divides the main Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies, figuratively speaking, is the “abode” of God’s presence on earth, being the locale where the Divine Presence is manifest openly and communicates with humanity. In this context, the Curtain is the door to the private chamber of the Divine Presence, so to speak, the interface between this world and the Divine dimension, and therefore it is aptly the first place where any departure of holiness would be manifest.
17 and, standing inside the Sanctuary and facing the Curtain that divides the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies, the high priest must dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle it seven times before God, toward the part of the dividing Curtain directly in front of the Ark, this being the two-and-a-half-cubit space between the slight protrusions in the Curtain caused by the Ark’s two poles. The blood does not have to reach the Curtain, but if some of it does, it does not thereby invalidate the procedure. (Here, this part of the Curtain is not termed “holy,” as it was in the description of the procedure for the high priest’s sin-offering, since when only the high priest sins, the holiness of the Tabernacle remains intact, whereas when the entire community sins, the holiness of the Tabernacle departs, so to speak.)
18 He must then place some of the blood on the four protrusions of the incense Altar, which is located in the Tent of Meeting directly in front of the place where God’s presence is revealed, i.e., directly in front of the Ark. He must then exit the Tent of Meeting and pour all the rest of the blood onto the base of the Altar used for ascent-offerings, i.e., the Outer Altar—specifically, onto the side of the base that faces the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, i.e., the west side.
19 He must separate all its fat from it—i.e., the same fat that is removed from other offerings, as has been described—and burn it up on the Outer Altar.
20 As to the non-fat portions of the animal that are also removed from other offerings—i.e., the kidneys and the diaphragm—he must do to the bull under discussion here just as he would do to the sin-offering bull of the high priest, i.e., he must remove these parts, too. (God does not wish to detail all the procedures of this sin-offering explicitly so as not to dwell on the wrongdoings of His people; He therefore refers to some of the procedures indirectly.) Regarding the application of the blood to the four protrusions of the Inner Altar, he must do this to it in order for the priest to make atonement for the community so that they may be forgiven; if he omits one of the blood-applications, intentionally or inadvertently, the rite is invalidated.
21 He must then take the rest of the bull outside the camp, i.e., to the ash depository, and burn it, just as he would burn the remainder of the first bull just described—the sin-offering of the high priest—for this is a sin-offering like that one, but for the entire community. No part of this sin-offering may be eaten, either.
Chasidic Insights
20 So as not to dwell on the wrongdoings of His people: How can it be that even after the majority of the Jewish people have sinned, God’s love for them remains so strong that He avoids discussing their shortcomings? The Torah just noted that such widespread sin causes God’s “holiness to depart” from the Tabernacle! The answer is that God considers the Jewish people not only His chosen people, but, as He Himself states: “Israel is My firstborn”; “Israel is a child, and I love him.” The love that a parent has for his children is unconditional, for the child is a part of the parent’s essence, regardless of his behavior. Similarly, God’s love for the Jewish people is so intense that He does not differentiate between Himself and them. Regardless of how low the Jewish people may sink or what sins they may commit, God’s essential connection with them remains unsullied and it pains Him even to discuss their shame.
God expects us to learn from His example. Our love for our fellow Jew should permeate us so thoroughly that when we do him a favor, we feel that we are doing it for ourselves rather than for someone else. Similarly, anything that happens to another Jew, good or bad, should affect us personally. And of course, we should recoil at the very prospect of saying something depreciative about another Jew. Inasmuch as unjustified hatred brought about our present exile, such “unjustified,” unconditional love between us will, by nullifying the cause of the exile, nullify the effect, and usher in the final Redemption.
