Monday, May 4, 2020

Quarantined Kohan Gadol

The Rambam Kli MIkdash (5:7) says וּבַיִת יִהְיֶה לוֹ מוּכָן בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ וְהוּא הַנִּקְרָא לִשְׁכַּת כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל. וְתִפְאַרְתּוֹ וּכְבוֹדוֹ שֶׁיִּהְיֶה יוֹשֵׁב בַּמִּקְדָּשׁ כָּל הַיּוֹם. וְלֹא יֵצֵא אֶלָּא לְבֵיתוֹ בִּלְבַד בַּלַּיְלָה אוֹ שָׁעָה אוֹ שְׁתַּיִם בַּיּוֹם. וְיִהְיֶה בֵּיתוֹ בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם וְאֵינוֹ זָז מִשָּׁם:  Why is this the תפארת of the Kohan Gadol; what is the great glory of being confined to the mikdash? 
I think the simple peshat in the תפארת is that the Kohan Gadol's life is entirely devoted to the mikdash; he was always in holy mode, no breaks.  However, Rav Shimshom Pinkus says a deeper peshat. 
At the end of Dovid's life he commands Shlomo to find a way to kill Shimi ben Garah.  So Shlomo tells him he must be confined to Yerushalayim and if he leaves he will be killed.  Eventually he leaves and is killed.  Asks Rav Chayim Shmulevetz, how was this a way for Shlomo to fulfill Dovid's command; how did he know Shimi was going to leave and why did Shimi leave if he knew that he would be killed or it?  He explains that a person can be confined to his/her place without a problem if they choose to do so.  The minute it is a command, then the person feels shackled; they feel locked up.  It is possible without any command Shimi might have never left Yerushalim, but Shlomo knew if he commands him to satay, then every second the itch in Shimi to throw off the yoke of confinement placed upon him will grow stronger.  
Why can't a person stand to be contained?  Rav Shimshon Pinkus suggests that it is built into the nature of mankind to want to be connected to the entire world.  This desire, urge and impulse stems from the first man, Adam, that stretched from one end of the world to another (Chagigah 12a.)  Even after he shrunk after the sin, the innate desire to be able to extend through the entire world is still present in mankind and if that capability is denied then a person feels a tremendous lacking and suffers. 
There are two opinions in Chagigah if Adam stretched from one end of the world to the another or from the ground to the heavens.  Says Rav Pinkus, these two opinions are reflected in a person's nature.  Man can either desire to know what's going on in the entire world or remain rooted in his place but yen to know what's going on in the heavens.  These are two different opinions in the Gemorah; the two are exclusive, either one wants to know what's going on in the entire world or  know what's transpiring above us.  That is the תפארת of the Kohn Gadol; his confinement wasn't a jail sentence, it signified that his desire wasn't to know what was going on in all the corners of the world, rather his entire focus was to stick his head in the heavens.  Concludes Rav Pinkus with words of mussar:

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