Yom Kippur: Flying Amongst Angels

holidays video Jul 05, 2023
 

 

Yom Kippur: Flying Amongst Angels

(An excerpt from my sefer, “The Journey to Your Ultimate Self”)

 

A speaker once started his seminar by holding up a $100 bill. “Who would like this $100 bill?” he asked.

Every hand in the room went up.

The speaker looked around, and then crumpled the bill in his hand.

“Who wants it now?” he asked.

Every hand in the room remained in the air.

“Well,” he replied, “What about now?” He dropped the bill on the ground and stomped on it with his shoe.

He picked up the now crumpled and dirty bill and showed it to the crowd.

“Who still wants it?”

Every hand was still up in the air. 

“My friends, you have just experienced a very powerful lesson. No matter what I do to this money, no matter how crumpled or muddy it gets, it does not decrease in value. Many times in our lives, life has a way of crumpling us up and grinding us in the dirt. We make bad decisions or deal with poor circumstances, and we begin to feel worthless. We feel that Hashem has abandoned us; that He no longer values us. But no matter what has happened, and no matter what will happen, you will never lose your value. You were created b’tzelem Elokim, and nothing can change that.”

 

Yom Kippur: A Mysterious Day

 

Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is unquestionably one of the most important days of the year. And yet, in many ways, it is a mystery. While one might assumedly categorize it as a day of suffering and sadness, Chazal refer to Yom Kippur as a spiritually uplifting day of atonement and rebirth. [1] The day is even associated with the happiness of Purim (Yom K’Purim, a day like Purim).[2] At the same time, though, it is a fast day. We normally characterize fast days as times of mourning and sadness, such as Shivah Asar B’Tamuz and Tishah B’Av. How is Yom Kippur different, and what is the nature of this day?

 

Many of the customs of Yom Kippur seem to have a sad quality to them. We do not eat or drink, engage in marital relations, wash ourselves, or apply any ointments or perfumes. These types of restrictions are generally associated with sad days, as is the fifth prohibition of the day: not wearing shoes.

 

Interestingly, there is another instance of removing shoes, one completely unrelated to fasting. In Parashas Vayelech, Moshe Rabbeinu prepares to hand over the mantle of leadership to Yehoshua. A fascinating parallel between these two great leaders is that both of them were instructed, at different points, to remove their shoes. When Moshe first spoke to Hashem, he was instructed to remove both his shoes from his feet.[3] Yehoshua, on the other hand, was told by a malach to remove one shoe.[4] Aside from the curious difference between Moshe and Yehoshua, the command to remove their shoes in general begs the question: What is the meaning behind “removing one’s shoes,” and what is the connection between these incidents and removing our shoes on Yom Kippur?

 

Soul Questions: What Are We?

 

Arguably, the most important concept in life is the nature of the soul. Most people believe that they “have” a soul, some spiritual essence they possess within themselves. However, the deeper Jewish sources reveal a profound spiritual secret: You don’t have a soul, you are a soul. In other words, the soul is not an aspect of your self, or some spiritual component of your being; it is your very self. You are a soul, a consciousness, a spiritual being. When you say “I,” you are referring to your soul, your inner sense of self. You have a body, emotions, and an intellect — all different aspects and expressions of your soul. But you are a soul, a neshamah, an infinitely expansive consciousness.

 

The Birth of Finitude

 

A soul is angelic, perfect, pure, and transcendent. Before entering this world, we exist as this perfect, pure being.[5] However, the moment we enter the physical world, the infinite expansiveness of our soul is confined within our physical body. The body is the container of the soul, but it is also the soul’s vehicle and tool, allowing the soul to manifest its will in this world. This is our mission in life. We enter this world with an undeveloped vehicle — our limited body. The soul, our existential self, is already perfect, but we don’t yet have access to the fullness of our true self. As we journey through life, we tap into greater and greater aspects of our soul and, our self, and we must then manifest them into the world through our physical bodies. In doing so, we uplift our physical vessels, enabling them to tap into greater and greater aspects of our true self. This is the beautiful cycle of life, the endless expansion and expression of self into the physical world.

 

Our Inner Struggle

 

While this perspective is both powerful and fundamental, its implementation is elusive.[6] Many people believe that they are a body — a physical, finite being. Having forgotten our true selves, we are born with the illusory belief that we are only that which we can see. When we look in the mirror, we see only flesh and bone, and we believe that this is all that we are.

 

However, this is merely our starting point. The turning point in life is the moment we realize that we are angelic souls in a physical casing. We are not physical beings attempting to have a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings trying to uplift our physical experience. This is the central theme of Yom Kippur.

 

Yom Kippur: Flying with Angels

 

Yom Kippur is the one day of the year when we completely free ourselves of our physical limitations, fully embracing our angelic self. This day embodies true teshuvah, when we return to our ultimate root, to our spiritual, perfect self. Chazal characterize Yom Kippur as the one time of the year when we have the ability to become a malach. On this day, our lower self and physical urges are powerless; they cannot bring us down. They formulate this idea through the following gematria: “HaSatan,” the evil inclination, has a numerical value of 364. There are 365 days in the year,[7] but the Satan only has power on 364 of those days. Yom Kippur is the one day where the Satan, the yetzer hara, has no power over you. On this day, you can completely transcend and experience angelic perfection.[8]

 

Minhagim of Yom Kippur

 

This is why there is a custom to wear white on Yom Kippur, and why married men wear a kittel. A neshamah is a pure, radiant light, and on Yom Kippur we reflect our purity. We set our focus solely on the spiritual root, transcending the opaque, physical world. This is also the reason behind the custom to immerse in the mikvah on Erev Yom Kippur. The mikvah is an experience of rebirth — of returning to our angelic root, to our fetal perfection — where we learned kol haTorah kulah in the amniotic waters of our mother’s womb.[9]

  

This idea also explains an unusual feature of the Yom Kippur tefillah. On all other days of the year, we whisper, “Baruch shem kevod malchuso l’olam va’ed” to ourselves. However, on Yom Kippur, we all proclaim this phrase aloud. Chazal explain that the reason we usually whisper this phrase is because it is a phrase that the malachim recite.[10] As limited human beings, we may not have the ability to properly express its meaning, so we whisper it instead. On Yom Kippur, however, we are malachim! As such, we no longer have any doubt, and we proclaim this phrase aloud.

 

Why Do We Fast?

 

Fasting is a central component of Yom Kippur. We must therefore ask: What is the deeper meaning behind fasting, and why is it so integral to Yom Kippur? To explain this, we must first understand the unique connection between the body and the soul.

 

There is a paradoxical relationship between the body and the soul:

  • Your soul, which is your “self,” is transcendent, infinite, and purely spiritual. You cannot see, smell, or touch the consciousness, the mind. You will never see someone else’s inner world.
  • The body, however, is finite, limited, and physical. Your soul will never die, but your body will eventually age and wither.

 

If the soul and body are diametrically opposed, how do they manage to coexist? One would expect them to repel each other like two opposite sides of a magnet.

 

This is the powerful purpose of food.[11] There needs to be something to keep your soul attached to your body, some kind of “glue.” Eating food generates the energy that keeps your neshamah connected to your body. This is why the lack of eating has the opposite effect. What happens when you don’t eat? You become faint. What happens if you continue to fast? You will pass out. And if you still don’t eat, your soul will leave your body, and you will die. Eating maintains the connection between your soul and your body; it is what keeps you alive.

 

This is the depth behind the phrase: “U’mafli la’asos — Who performs wonders,” that we recite in Asher Yatzar (the blessing we recite after using the bathroom). What “wonder” are we referring to? Many commentators suggest that it is the wondrous paradox that our soul, infinitely transcendent, remains connected to our bodies, a physical, finite vessel.[12] We mention this specifically after using the bathroom because we have just filtered out the unneeded parts of what we ate or drank, the very means of forging the connection between body and soul.

 

We can now understand the power of fasting, especially on the day of Yom Kippur. On Yom Kippur, we attempt to live as malachim, completely transcending the physical world. We therefore fast, allowing our soul to slightly disconnect from — and transcend — our body, enabling us to experience one day of living in an angelic state.

 

This principle sheds light on all the issurim of Yom Kippur. We don’t engage in the physical world because Yom Kippur is a day of transcending the physical aspects of human experience.[13] There is, however, one halachah that still requires elucidation: Why do we remove our shoes on Yom Kippur?

 

The Spiritual Concept of Shoes

 

The Nefesh Hachaim explains the profound spiritual concept of shoes. The body uses the shoe as its means of traveling through the world. The lowest part of your body rests in your shoes, allowing you to walk.[14] This relationship — between the body and shoe — is the same relationship between the soul and the body. You are an angelic soul, a neshamah, but the lowest part of your angelic self resides within your physical body, serving as your container, your “shoe,” and this is what allows you to “walk” through the world, to interact with the physical, to actualize your potential.[15] Naal, the Hebrew word for shoe, also means to “lock,” because shoes lock your feet in and allow you to walk around. So too, your body locks your angelic self in, allowing you to use your body to navigate this physical world.

 

The Nefesh Hachaim explains that the spiritual concept of removing our shoes represents the act of transcending our physical bodies. Taking your “foot” out of your “shoe” represents removing your angelic soul from your body. On Yom Kippur, we aim to transcend our physical bodies and embrace our angelic selves. We therefore remove our shoes, our “physical vessels.”

 

Moshe vs. Yehoshua

 

As we previously mentioned, both Moshe and Yehoshua were commanded to remove their shoes. Moshe was instructed to remove both shoes, whereas Yehoshua was commanded to remove only one. Based on the previous discussion, let us now try to understand this mysterious command.

 

Prophecy was an other-worldly experience. Hashem expanded the Navi’s consciousness, enabling him to connect to a higher dimension of existence — one that lies far beyond the limitations of time and space, far beyond the capacity of the normal human mind. In doing so, the Navi became capable of experiencing lofty ideas and intellectual truths that he would otherwise not have access to.[16] These ideas and truths would then filter down through the Navi’s intellect and get translated by his imaginative faculties, resulting in his unique experience of those objective truths. Nevuah was an other-worldly and angelic experience of the spiritual world that a Navi experienced while still in this world.[17]

 

This is why Moshe was commanded to remove both of his shoes before receiving nevuah at the burning bush. Before transcending into the spiritual, angelic realm, Moshe had to remove his shoes to loosen the connection between his soul and his body.

 

The Malbim explains the difference between Moshe and Yehoshua:

  • Moshe was on a much higher level of nevuah, and as such, completely transcended his body. This was expressed by removing both of his shoes, reflecting total transcendence. The same is true when Kohanim duchen: When they are performing the avodah, they transcend their bodies and connect to a higher consciousness. This is because their job is to connect the finite to the infinite and to connect Klal Yisrael to Hashem.[18]

 

  • Yehoshua, however, was not on the same level as Moshe, and his nevuah was therefore on a lower level as well.[19] Consequently, he only removed one shoe, representing his partial transcendence during his prophetic experience. He was halfway between the infinite and finite, bridging the gap between the two. The transition to Yehoshua’s leadership represents the transition from Moshe’s transcendent leadership to Yehoshua’s more immanent and this-worldly leadership. This is the transition from the midbar — the stage of constant miracles, to Eretz Yisrael — the stage of hishtadlus (effort), of finding the miraculous within the natural.[20]

 

The Mystery of Chalitzah

 

With this deep understanding of shoes, we can understand chalitzah, a mysterious and often misunderstood halachah. If a woman is childless and her husband dies, the husband’s brother[21] has the opportunity to perform the mitzvah of yibum, where he marries his brother’s widow. If, however, he refuses to perform yibum, he must perform chalitzah instead. In this peculiar process, the woman removes his shoe and spits on the ground in front of him, freeing the brother of his responsibility to marry her. What is the meaning of this unusual halachah?

 

As the Ramban explains, children are the continuation and expression of their parents. Just as branches on a tree stem from a single seed, children are the branches that grow out of their parents.[22] This is also why the Gemara refers to children as the “feet” of their father (b’ra kar’a d’avuha); just like feet carry you through this world, children carry on their parents’ spiritual essence and legacy, even once they have left this world.

 

When a man dies without any children, there is no one to carry on his soul through this world. His existence in this world has ceased. As such, there is a mitzvah for his brother to marry his wife and bring down an aspect of his deceased brother’s neshamah to give him a child to continue his journey in this world.[23] This is the greatest gift that both the deceased man’s wife and brother can give him.

 

The first historical expression of this halachah stems from Yehudah, who married Tamar once both of his sons died childless.[24] In this case, Yehudah lost not only one son, but two. When Yehudah married Tamar, for which son did he fulfill yibum? The answer is beautiful: He fulfilled yibum for both, which is why they had twins![25]

 

If, however, the brother refuses to perform yibum, he is essentially refusing to give his brother any expression in this world.  For this reason, the widow takes off his shoe and spits on the floor in front of him. The brother refused to provide her husband with a body (shoe) for his neshamah, a second chance for him to be expressed in this world, so she takes off his shoe and spits at it in disgust.[26]

                                                                                                                   

Chanoch: Man of Shoes

 

Chanoch is another fascinating example of this principle. Chazal inform us that Chanoch made shoes.[27] Why is it necessary to share this seemingly trivial fact?

 

Generally, death occurs when a human being’s angelic soul — the conscious self — leaves their physical body behind and ascends to Shamayim, the spiritual realm. Chanoch, however, did not follow this pattern. Rashi quotes the Midrash stating that Chanoch was the most spiritual person in his generation — so spiritual that he was able to uplift his physical body (his shoe) to the extent that he ascended straight to Shamayim without having to die and leave his physical body behind.[28] Chanoch devoted his life toward uplifting “shoes,” toward uplifting his physical body to fully reflect the spiritual greatness of his soul.

 

The Ramchal explains that Eliyahu HaNavi and Moshe Rabbeinu also attained this lofty, transcendent spiritual level.[29] The spiritual mechanics of this are quite profound. The Ramchal elsewhere explains that prior to Adam’s sin, humans were on a more transcendent level, and animals were on the level of humans nowadays.[30] Adam’s original physical “body” was on the level of our current spiritual level of self, and his spiritual level of self was on a tremendously more elevated level than ours. In other words, his body was itself a spiritual entity that contained a much higher form of neshamah. The proof for this is as follows: Adam’s physical body resided in Gan Eden.[31] After we die, our neshamos ascend to Gan Eden until techiyas ha’meisim (the resurrection of the dead). It is therefore clear that our souls are on the same level as Adam’s original body.

 

It is also interesting to note that the Gemara states that the angel Sandal-phon bridges the gap between the spiritual and physical worlds.[32] It should be no surprise that the angel responsible for connecting the spiritual to the physical has the word “shoe” in his name (sandal). A name represents essence,[33] and this angel’s name reflects his mission in life — to connect the spiritual to the physical vessel, the concept of shoes.

 

Kohen Gadol: A Man like No Other

 

There is one final aspect of Yom Kippur that ties together everything we have developed: the unique nature of the Kohen Gadol’s avodah on Yom Kippur. There are two particular elements of this avodah (Divine service) that require explanation. First, the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh Hakodashim on Yom Kippur and performs the avodah of the Ketores (incense). This is problematic because no man is allowed to enter the Kodesh Hakodashim, a place that Chazal describe as being beyond space and time.[34] Second, the Kohen Gadol proclaims the Shem Ha’meforash, the uniquely holy name of Hashem, a name that no man is ever allowed to say. How, then, can the Kohen Gadol express this name on Yom Kippur?

 

The answer is as follows. During the year, no human being is allowed to enter the Kodesh Hakodashim — not because it is forbidden but rather because it is impossible. The Kodesh Hakodashim is completely transcendent, beyond space and time.[35] The same is true for the Shem Ha’meforash. It is a transcendent name, beyond time and space, impossible to utter in the physical world. Speech is always the limited expression of abstract and spiritual concepts,[36] and the limited tool of speech cannot convey the full essence, truth, and meaning of the Shem Ha’meforash. Therefore, human beings are not able to enter the Kodesh Hakodashim or utter this special name.

 

On Yom Kippur, however, we transcend our limited status as normal human beings and embrace our transcendent and angelic selves. As such, we no longer possess these limitations. On this special day, the Kohen Gadol represents the angelic status of Klal Yisrael as he enters the Kodesh Hakodashim and verbalizes the Shem Ha’meforash on our behalf.[37]

 

The Opportunity of Yom Kippur

 

This is the unique opportunity that Yom Kippur presents: to transcend and to experience the infinite. Unlike other fast days, it is not a day of suffering and mourning, but one of spiritual transcendence. As the saying goes: On Tishah B’Av, who can eat; on Yom Kippur, who needs to?” This is why the Rambam states that on Yom Kippur we “rest” from eating.[38] This is not a day of prohibition and suffering; it is one of completely embracing the spiritual, tapping into our absolute root, our truest sense of self.

 

Preparation for the Year to Come

 

The transcendent experience of Yom Kippur lays the foundation for the rest of the year. While the physical can be destructive if misused, the ideal is not to completely transcend the physical but rather to use the physical to reflect something higher. Our goal as humans is not to escape the physical, but to use it as a means of connecting to the transcendent.

 

This is the meaning behind the process we undertake throughout the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe). We first experience Elul, then Rosh Hashanah, and then Yom Kippur, a developmental process of elevating ourselves higher and higher above the physical world and deeper and deeper into the spiritual world. Only once we establish this transcendent root can we then re-immerse ourselves into the physical world but this time on an entirely new level. Sukkos, which immediately follows Yom Kippur, embodies this lesson in embracing the physical. Our root must be transcendent, grounded firmly in the spiritual, and then atop that foundation we can descend into the physical and use it in a transcendent way.

 

The Secret of Ne’ilah

 

This profound explanation of Yom Kippur provides an incredibly transformative understanding of Ne’ilah, the final prayer on Yom Kippur. As we reach the crescendo of this transcendent day, we recite the Ne’ilah prayer with elation and trepidation, recognizing that the opportunity of Yom Kippur is quickly slipping away. Ne’ilah is often loosely translated as the “locking of the gates of heaven,” as we passionately daven for Hashem to accept our tefillos before the gates of mercy close, and our fate for the coming year is sealed.[39]

 

However, there is an equally powerful theme present in Ne’ilah. After all, if Yom Kippur is the day of transcendence and Sukkos is the chag of spiritual immanence, where is the transition between these two themes? The answer should now be clear: Ne’ilah.

 

While naal means “lock,” it also means “shoe.” Ne’ilah is not only the locking of our gemar din (final judgment); it is also when we lock ourselves back into the physical world. We reinsert our feet into our shoes, recommitting to our mission of connecting the physical and spiritual. Ne’ilah is not only the apex of our spiritual, transcendent Yom Kippur experience; it is also the transition back into the physical world, into a state of re-engaging and uplifting our physical existence.

 

In coming back down into our physical bodies, we must also lock ourselves into the state of inspiration and higher spiritual consciousness that we experienced on Yom Kippur, ensuring that we reenter the physical world with clarity and purpose. May we be inspired to fully experience our angelic selves this Yom Kippur, and then infuse the totality of our spiritual acquisition into our physical life, elevating our actions and intentions as we move this physical world toward its ultimate spiritual root.

 

Summary

 

  • You don’t havea soul; you are a soul. The soul is not an aspect of your self, or some spiritual component of your being; it is your very self. You are a soul, a consciousness, a spiritual being.

 

  • The moment a person enters this physical world, the infinite expansiveness of the soul is confined within the physical body. The body is the container of the soul, but it is also the soul’s tool and vehicle, allowing the soul to manifest its will in this world.

 

  • Yom Kippur is the one day of the year when we transcend our physical limitations and embrace our angelic self. The minhagim and prohibitions of Yom Kippur reflect this theme.

 

  • Fasting on Yom Kippur
    1. Eating food generates the energy that keeps your neshamah connected to your body.
    2. We therefore fast on Yom Kippur, allowing our soul to slightly disconnect from and transcend our body, experiencing one day of living in an angelic state.

 

  • Shoes
    1. [sblst]Just as the lowest part of your body rests in your shoes, allowing you to walk, the lowest part of your angelic self resides in your body, allowing you to “walk” through the world.
    2. On Yom Kippur, we transcend our physical bodies and embrace our angelic selves. We therefore remove our shoes, our “physical vessels,” reflecting this deeper theme.

 

  • Avodah in the Beis Hamikdash
    1. Both entering the Kodesh Hakodashim and uttering the Shem Ha’meforash are impossible, as they both require a completely transcendent state of existence.
    2. On Yom Kippur, however, these limitations no longer apply, as we transcend our limited status as normal human beings and embrace our angelic selves.

  

Discussion Questions

 

  1. Despite having a desire to tap into the powerful themes of Yom Kippur, many find it hard to experience the angelic and transcendent state of awareness that Yom Kippur is supposed to bring. Instead, they lose concentration, focusing more on their hunger and weakness than on their tefillah or the themes of the day.
    1. Why do you think this is, and what advice would you offer to combat this?

 

Action Points

 

  • Begin every day by contemplating the following concept:
    1. The soul is not an aspect of your self or some spiritual component of your being; it is your very self.
      • You area soul, a consciousness, a spiritual being.
      • You are a spiritual being in a physical world, with the goal of uplifting your physical experience.

 

  • This Yom Kippur, try to tap into a truly angelic experience.
    1. Use the restrictions of Yom Kippur to build the most transcendent and other-worldly connection with Hashem that you possibly can.

 

 

 

 

[1] Taanis 4:8.

[2] Tikkunei Zohar 20–21.

[3] Shemos 3:5.

[4] Yehoshua 5:15.

[5] Even when we are the womb, we are in a near perfect, pure state of being — what Chazal refer to as our “fetal self” (see Niddah 30b). For more on the concept of the “fetal self,” see chapter on Parashas Bereishis, “Your Creation Story.”

[6] It is perhaps humanity’s most central struggle.

[7] And in the lunar year, there are 355, plus the ten of the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah.

[8] Yoma 20a.

[9] For a full explanation of mikvah, see chapter on Parashas Noach, “Mikvah: Personal Re-Creation.”

[10] This phrase refers to Hashem’s clear expression in the physical world — how the oneness of Hashem is fully expressed within the twoness of the physical world.

[11] For more on this, see chapter on Parashas Tzav, “Eating: Connecting Body and Soul.”

[12] Such as the Beis Yosef.

[13] Physical relations, eating, washing the body, and wearing perfume all require one to engage in the physical.

[14] Nefesh Hachaim 1:5, note 6; see also Ruach Chaim, Avos 1:1.

[15] Chazal discuss the five levels of every soul. The lowest part of the soul, the nefesh, is the part that completely resides within the body, just as the foot, the lowest part of the body, resides within the shoe.

[16] The prophetic experience is beyond space and time. This explains how a Navi can become aware of future events that have not yet occurred. Within this transcendent realm of experience, time itself breaks down. Past, present, and future melt into one continuum. This raises the conflict between free will and foreknowledge, a question that is beyond the scope of this chapter.

[17] For more on the topic of nevuah, see chapter on Parashas Behaalosecha.

[18] For more on the unique role of the Kohen (and Kohen Gadol), see chapter on Parashas Emor. See also chapter on Parashas Pinchas, “The Role of a Kohen.”

[19] For more on the unique relationship and comparison between Moshe and Yehoshua, see chapter on Parashas V’zos Haberachah, “The Transition of Moshe’s Death.”

[20] See Netziv, Haamek Davar 20:8; see also Ruach Chaim, Avos ad loc.

[21] If he has one.

[22] Av (father) also means root, while toldos (children) also means branches.

[23] In essence, this is a form of gilgul.

[24] See Bereishis, chap. 38.

[25] Bereishis 38:27. The Ramban explains that before Matan Torah, even a father was able to perform yibum for his son. This is fitting, as their spiritual bond (and spiritual DNA) is even closer than that of brothers.

[26] The mouth represents the organ of connection. Saliva, and the mouth, are used for eating, creating the connection between body and soul. Since the brother refused to create the connection between her late husband’s soul and a body, she uses the mechanism of connection, her saliva/mouth, to express her disgust at his failure to reconnect body and soul.

Practically, yibum is no longer performed (as we are no longer on the level where it can properly be done), and chalitzah is therefore performed in its stead.

 

[27] See Midrash on Bereishis 5:22.

[28] Ramchal, Daas Tevunos 70.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Ibid. 126. This is why the nachash (snake) sounds so “human”; it is because the animals were on the level of current human beings. Adam, however, was on a much higher level.

[31] Bereishis 2:15.

[32] Chagigah 13b.

[33] The Hebrew word for name (shem) shares the same root as the word for soul (neshamah), because a person’s name reflects their very essence.

[34] Megillah 10b; Yoma 21a.

[35] See chapter on Parashas Eikev, “Concentric Layers of Time and Space.”

[36] For more on the limitations of words, see chapter on Parashas Tzav, “Speaking: Action of Connection.” See also chapter on Parashas Behaalosecha, “Moshe’s Speech Impediment.”

[37] For more on the unique nature of the Kodesh Hakodashim, see chapter on Parashas Eikev, “Concentric Layers of Time and Space.”

[38] Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Shevisas He’Asor 1:4.

[39] See Talmud Yerushalmi, Berachos 31a; Yoma 87b.

 

 

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