אחרי מות, “after the death;” Rashi queries why this verse was written, as we do not hear what G-d said to Moses, and verse 2 immediately begins with G-d speaking to Moses again and telling him to tell Aaron that entrance to the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle is not permitted at any time he so chooses. What was missing in Rashi’s commentary is the parable by Rabbi Elazar ben Aroch, who said that when a physician visits a sick person he tells him not to eat certain foods, not to lie down in wet areas, etc; subsequently someone else comes into the room of the patient and tells him the same thing, but he Acharey Mot adds that if the patient does not heed this warning he is liable to die. The effect of the second person’s warning is far greater than the effect of the physician’s instructions. Rashi saw in the second verse in our portion a comparison to the second person in Rabbi Elazar ben Aroch’s parable. The Torah realised that in order to impress Aaron sufficiently with the prohibition to enter the Holy of Holies at will, he had to be warned of the consequences if he disregarded the warning. (Torat kohanim) The version there is as follows: in the second verse Moses is asked to remind Aaron that his two sons had died, because they had ignored the warning not to enter the Holy of Holies unless invited to do so.

ויאמר ה' אל משה דבר אל אהרן אחיך ואל יבא בכל עת אל . the Lord said to Moses: “tell your brother Aaron not to enter the Holy of Holies at any time of your choosing, etc;”This paragraph, even though it deals with the laws of the Day of Atonement, was told to Moses on the day the Tabernacle had been erected , because on that very day the two sons of Aaron had died already because they had entered the Holy of Holies unnecessarily, and unbidden. As a result, the Torah warned Aaron, and of course everyone else. You might well ask why this paragraph had not been appended to the paragraph in Parshat Sh’mini, where we have been told what happened to these two sons of Aaron and what they had done? (Leviticus 10,11) The reason may be that even after learning about all the laws of impurity that disqualify a person in many instances from remaining within the camp of the Israelites, much less that of the priests and the Temple, we had not yet heard if these sons of Aaron had sinned deliberately or had committed merely an error, albeit with the best of intentions. Nor had we been told what manner of atonement would be appropriate for people who commit such a sin inadvertently. This is why the Torah continues here in verse 16: וכפר על הקודש, “he shall make atonement (the High Priest) for the holy place.”'בקרבתם לפני ה, “when they had approached the face of the Lord and died as a result.” (verse 1) They had deposited their incense on the golden altar inside the Sanctuary, illegally.

אל פני הכפורת אשר על הארון, “before the cover of the Holy Ark;” why did the Torah have to write that the lid was on the Holy Ark, when we have all been familiar with this? The reason is that we read in connection with the curtain dividing the Sanctuary from the Holy of holies [in which the Holy Ark and this cover stood, Ed.] וסכות על הארון, “you shall screen the Ark with the veil.” (Exodus 40,3) This could have confused us into thinking that the dividing curtain was considered as a cover for the Holy Ark [seeing it screened it from all human eyes except once a year on the Day of Atonement. Ed.] We have therefore been taught that it was not the function of the dividing curtain to serve as a cover for the Holy Ark. ולא ימות, “so that he will not die as a result.” Now that we have heard the penalty for this sin, where do we find the warning not to commit this sin? It is part of the words: כי בענן אראה על הכפורת, “for I am capable of being seen above the lid.” [And we know that G-d had told Moses that no human being while connected to its body is granted the privilege to have a visual image of G-d’s essence. (Exodus 33,20) Ed.] כי בענן אראה על הכפורת, “for I will only appear screened by a cloud above the lid.” We have another verse explaining the same in Kings I 8,12: ה' אמר לשכון בערפל, “the Lord has said (of Himself) that He resides within a thick cloud.”

בפר בן בקר, “by means of a bull, one year old;” the Torah does not mean that the bull itself is to enter the sanctuary, only its blood [i.e. its essence, Ed.] will be sprinkled within the Sanctuary.

כתנת בד קדש וגו “a holy linen tunic, etc.” why did the Torah have to repeat the word “בד” four times in this verse? It was to exclude the breastplate, ephod, the robe, and the headband, which did not contain any linen. The reason is that the priest is not to appear in the Sanctuary wearing those garments, although in connection with them the Torah had also used the expression: 'לפני ה, in the presence of the Lord. (Compare Exodus 28,29, 28,35,28,37.)

על בשרו, “on his flesh,” covering his private parts, as in זב מבשרו in Leviticus 15,2. What is the meaning of the words: ילבש, יחגור, יצנוף? [if these garments could not be worn inside the Sanctuary? Ed.] Seeing that before nightfall the priest would still don those garments, it had to be mentioned that he would wear them, even if not during the morning and afternoon while Temple service was carried out.

ובמצנפת בד יצנוף, “and he shall be attired with a linen mitre.” From the fact that the breastplate and the ephod are not mentioned here we learn that during the entire 400 plus years that the second Temple stood these latter garments were not available. There was no point in wearing them if the means of communication with G-d through the urim vetumim did not exist during that period. (Ibn Ezra)

בגדי קדש הם, “they are holy garments;” this expression here teaches that that term applies to all the priestly garments.

ורחץ במים את בשרו, “and he is to wash his flesh with water;“ Rashi comments on this line that on that day the High Priest is to immerse himself each time he changed his garments. It is no more than basic courtesy that someone who is a personal attendant of a king purifies himself before he commences a new task each time; this is in addition to the fact that his hands had become sullied each time he handled certain objects or materials. This is why the Torah requires the High Priest in addition to wash his hands and feet each time also. All this has been spelled out in the Talmud tractate Yuma, folio 32. Seeing that our verse inserted the words: ורחץ את בשרו במים, between the words: ופשט, “he is to disrobe,” and the words: ולבש, “and he is to get dressed,” it is clear that what is required is that prior to each changing of the garments he must immerse himself in a ritual bath. Seeing that those words were not necessary in order to teach us that he must immerse himself, they had to be applied to separate washing of hands and feet. As far as Rashi writing that he must sanctify hands and feet from the כיור, the special basin for this positioned near the entrance to the Tabernacle, it is clear that the water in that basin must be used for this purpose, the Mishnah in Yuma folio 43, concludes that there was a special golden ladle available on that day, not just the copper faucets used normally.

וכפר בעדו, “he will perform atonement for his personal sins;” he will recite a confession by mouth. If you were to assume that the Torah here refers to an atonement by means of the blood of a sacrifice, our sages understood, after looking at verse 10 where we read the words: לכפר עליו in connection with the scapegoat, where it is clear that a confession by mouth is described, that the same expression being used here is meant to draw a parallel, i.e. that he is to recite a verbal confession. In verse 21 the words: והתודה עליו “he will make a verbal confession,” are spelled out clearly. This confession was in addition to the blood of the animal being sacrificed. If you were to ask why the High Priest did not also recite a confession over the male goat whose blood was sprinkled inside the Sanctuary, the reason was that it was destined for G-d, and it would be unseemly to make use of it for the needs of creatures here on earth. The Torah had especially written that this animal had been chosen by lot to be G-d’s. (verse 9) (Sifra). [According to Malbim, the unnecessary word עלה in this verse may be the reason for the Sifra’s comment.]

וגורל אחד לעזאזל, “and one lot for Azazel.” This word is an alternate word for Samael, which means “Satan.” According to Rabbi Eliezer in Pirkey de Rabbi Eliezer chapter 46, we are commanded to assuage the feelings of Satan on that day so that he will not attempt to interfere with the effectiveness of our repentance. When the Jewish people can enlist even Satan’s silence at the throne of G-d, there is no greater bribery than this. We are bidden to enlist this so that our sacrifices are not going to be in vain due to his citing our shortcomings.

ועשהו חטאת, “and it will be made into a sin offering.” This was determined by lot. The High Priest had no hand in which of the two animals wound up as the sin offering.

יעמד חי לפני ה, “shall be standing alive before the Lord;” initially it will remain standing alive before the Lord, whereas its death will be caused by the rock from which it will be thrown. How long will it have to remain standing alive? According to Rabbi Yehudah, until the High Priest has completed all the procedures resulting in the atonement for the Jewish people, something hinted at in verse 20. (Sifra)

ושחט את פר החטאת, “he will slaughter the bull as a sin offering;” and take a full shovel. He shall then take some of the bull's blood and sprinkle it. It is necessary for him to give the bull's blood to another priest (Talmud Yoma 43) to stir it so that it does not congeal after the slaughter while he is bringing the incense into the innermost sanctum before the sprinkling.

מעל המזבח מלפני ה, “off the altar before the Lord;” which is the altar that is described here as being “before the Lord?” According to the prefix letter מ in front of the word מעל, this is the copper altar in front of the Temple, only part of which is directly in front of the entrance of the Temple/Tabernacle.

ונתן את הקטורת, “he will place the incense, etc.” this incense has been mentioned in verse 2 where G-d explained that he will be making an appearance above the lid of the Holy Ark, beyond the dividing curtain. At that point, Aaron, and of course, anyone of lower rank, is not to go there on pain of death unless commanded to do so by G-d. G-d had made clear that no human being while inside a body can ever have a visual image of His essence. In order to make this point quite clear the Torah writes that the cloud of the smoke from the incense will fill that area so that nothing can be seen.

ולקח מדם הפר, “he will take some of the blood from the bull;” he takes it from the priest who had kept stirring it.

על פני הכפורת קדמה, “onto the top of the lid, eastward;” on the side of the ark facing east.

על, according to our sages the word על means “upwards.” as in the reciting of the counting by the High Priest, recited in our liturgy on the Day of Atonement.

שבע פעמים, “seven times.” This number is reminiscent of the Torah in Leviticus 26,24 speaking of G-d punishing us sevenfold for our sins.

אשר לעם, “intended for atonement of the people,” and not for other ordinary priests, not of the High Priest’s family. The question then arises by what means did those priests receive their atonement? Answer: by the bull that brought atonement of Aaron’s sins.

.וכל אדם, “not any human being, as non-priests never allowed into those precincts, but this is a warning to other priests not to be in these holy precincts during the period that the High Priest performs these functions.

לא יהיה באהל מועד, “he must not be within the precincts of the Tent of meeting;” the reason why they were forbidden to be there was so that they would not become suddenly ritually impure, as the priest officiating would not be able to atone on their behalf on the same day.

והקריב את השעיר החי, “then he will present the live goat;” that goat had required to remain alive until this point. The first time (in our verse) the Torah had written about this goat, the vowel under the letter ה had been a segol, whereas subsequently (verse 21) it is a patach.

את שתי ידיו, “both of his hands;” once the word שתי has been used here with the word for hands being in the plural, this is to teach us that whenever the word appears in the plural mode both hands are meant, without the word שתי needing to be written.

והתודה עליו, “and he will confess over him;” how precisely does he word his confession? He recites the following words: אנא השם חטאו ועוו ופשעו בני ישראל, “the Children of Israel committed inadvertent sins, deliberate sins as well as sins reflecting their obstinacy against the Lord;” the people in turn will respond by saying that this was all true, and that they now blessed the glory of the Lord G-d. Thus far they had only confessed sins that they knew they had been guilty of. How do we know that their confession included sinful acts committed against their will through circumstances beyond their control, as well as possible sins that they had not even been aware of? This is covered by the word: כל עונות, “ail manner of sins.”The scapegoat that is thrown off the rock on the Day of Atonement results in atonement for sins committed by trespassing on holy grounds and abusing for personal use holy objects or foods reserved for consumption by the priests, etc.. It covers all manner of sins committed regardless of how severe the penalty for these sins if not repented. (Sifra)

ביד איש עתי, “by the hand of a man especially (temporarily) appointed for this task.”According to a Midras (which I have not found) the word: עתי could be translated as: “whose time had come,” that is someone who was destined to die before this year is out. This would account for the fact that it was noticed that the man who had been entrusted with this task never lived out that year. [A well known commentator, author of K’lee Yakar, written several hundred years after that of our author, by the name of Shlomoh Efrayin ben Aharon, quotes this commentary, but attributes it to our author. Ed.] We must assume that in those days people used astrology to determine who was not destined to live out the year.

אל ארץ גזרה, “into the wilderness.” Basically, the meaning of the word גזרה, is “radically different from other lands.” We encounter it in this sense in Isaiah 53,8: כי נגזר מארץ החיים, “for he was cut off from the land of the living.” The reason for the choice of such earth to throw the scapegoat into was that if it had been thrown into productive soil it would have made that soil unproductive

ושלח את השעיר במדבר, “and he shall dispatch the goat into the desert.” We find a similar construction in Leviticus 14,7 where our author commented on the meaning of the word.ושלח

ובא אהרן אל אהל מועד, “and Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting;” Rashi, in his commentary on the tractate Yuma folio 32, comments on these words by asking why, after having completed the service of the day in the Sanctuary the High Priest has to come to the Sanctuary once more, especially when the Torah does not even spell out what he is to do there. He answers that Aaron had to bring out the spoon and the censer that he had used during the performance of his duties there. These had been used for the sprinkling of the blood and the depositing of the incense. If you were to ask why did he have to make a return trip to the Holy of Holies for no real purpose, seeing he could have left these tools for the Day of the Atonement of the following year when the ashes in the censer would have cooled off in the meantime?Actually, this was not an unnecessary return, as it would have been discourteous in the extreme to leave behind items that had become useless and probably offensive looking and smelling in G-d’s palace. Rashi adds further that this was not the place where we would have expected the Torah to refer to this, seeing that up until now the Torah had described the entire service in the Tabernacle on that day in the order in which it had taken place. [I am summarizing now. Ed.] If we follow what took place in the Tabernacle, there would have been no need for the High Priest to immerse himself five times and wash his hands and feet ten times as the Talmud had explained, i.e. once for the daily morning sacrifice, followed by the special service required on that day, and again before the offering of the daily evening service. The extra trip into the Sanctuary for retrieving the spoon and the censer necessitated the need for additional immersions in the ritual bath. This is the reason why Rashi pointed out that here was not really the proper place to mention this, had it not been for the need to explain why five such immersions were indeed necessary. The removal of these items took place after the offering of Aaron’s burnt offering, a ram, and that of the ram offered on behalf of the people (verse 24). Offering a sacrifice at each service, i.e. the morning service, the Mussaph service, the evening service, and, on that day the sin offering on behalf of Aaron and his family and again on behalf of the people, according to the Talmud there, required an immersion in a ritual bath, etc.

ורחץ את בשרו במים , “he shall wash his flesh with water. Here the Torah does not speak of an immersion in a ritual bath but of washing hands and feet as we have mentioned earlier on verse 4.

ואת חלב החטאת, “and the fat of the sinoffering;” Onkelos translates this verse in the plural mode, i.e. וית תרבי דחטווא, seeing that the Torah speaks of both the fat parts of bull and the male goat offered inside the Sanctuary on the Day of Atonement.

ורחץ את בשרו במים, “and he shall wash his flesh in water.” This was sufficient as his state of ritual defilement does not last longer than until the evening. (Ibn Ezra)

ושרפו באש, “and there they shall burn it with fire;” the priests will burn their hides and their flesh and their excrement. Just as the hide, flesh and excrement mentioned in Leviticus 4,12 had been cut up before being burned, so here too they had to be cut up.

תענו את נפשותיכם, “you are to subject your bodies to discomfort;” according to Sifra on this verse he understands the word נפשותיכם as “the house of your soul,” i.e. your body. One subjects one’s body to discomfort by denying it food and drink.

כי ביום הזה יכפר עליכם, “for on this day he will atone for you, et.;” a reference to the rituals performed by the High Priest. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah interprets the words: מכל חטאותיכם לפני ה' לפני ה' תטהרו, as meaning that G-d will forgive sins committed directly against Him, but not including sins committed against our fellow human beings unless we had obtained those people’s forgiveness first. (Compare Leviticus 23,28).

שבת שבתון היא, “it is a Sabbath of solemn rest;” the word היא, here is spelled with the letter י, not as frequently elsewhere with the letter ו. On the other hand, the same word in the same context in Parshat Emor, (Leviticus 23,32) is spelled with that letter ו. Both words are read in accordance with the way they are spelled. If we want to remember this easily we can try and remember Kings I 17,15: ותאכל הוא והיא, “he and she ate;”

לכם, “for you (pl. masc.)” this is a reference to the day of Atonement, which has been sanctified for your sakes. On the other hand, the Sabbath of creation is known simply as שבת לה', “a Sabbath to be devoted to heavenly concerns.”