לזכר נשמות לאה שושנה בת אהרן ריעדער מורינו ר׳ צבי הערש בן ר׳ ניסן חיים מורינו ר׳ ישעי בן ר׳ משה ר׳ יעקב בן ר׳ שמואל יוסף מ׳ חוה רבקה בת ר׳ שמעון ריעדער

Based on Nefesh Shimshon by Rav Shimshon Pincus, zt”l

“And the stranger who draws close…”

The one other place in the Torah where the slightest deviation from halachah invokes the death penalty is the Beis Hamikdash.

Say a Jew who is not a Kohein enters the Mikdash and offers a korban. He requires the death penalty, as it is written, “the stranger who draws close shall die.”

Yet “all he did” was offer a korban to Hashem with the best intentions. He didn’t kill anyone or commit a terrible act.

But he deviated from halachah in the Mikdash.

If a kohein enters the Beis Hamikdash without washing his hands or feet, he also incurs the death penalty. If he is not wearing the required bigdei kehunah or his garment is too long or short, he receives Misah b'Yidei Shamayim as well. Even if his garment is stained…

All this pertains to avodah performed in the Kodesh, in the Azarah.

But for one entering the Kodesh Kedoshim, even an improper thought invalidates the avodah.

If the Kohein Gadol’s thoughts weren’t pure when he went into the Kodesh Kedshim, he paid with his life. This is why a rope was tied around his waist, in case he would have to be pulled out…

Why such severe conditions?

Vital Organs

We can explain with this mashal:

A man has a small growth on his leg. The doctor determines it should be surgically removed. A good surgeon is required, of course, but even if the surgeon’s hand would slip, and cause damage during surgery, it wouldn’t be a matter of life and death.

If the surgeon is operating on the brain or heart, however, he must be precise. There is no room for error.

The brain is a person’s “Kodesh Kedoshim,” the source of his vitality and soul.

This explains the stringencies of Shabbos and the Beis Hamikdash. They are our life source, the sources of our souls, our brains and hearts.

Chazal tell us Shlomo Hamelech planted every kind of fruit tree in Yerushalayim, even ones that require a different climate, like Africa or India. How did all those trees bear fruit in Yerushalayim?

The Midrash answers: Shlomo, in his great wisdom, understood that invisible lines extend out from Yerushalayim, the heart of the earth, to every place on earth.

So he planted the exotic trees on the lines leading to their host climate country, and they bore fruit right away.

The whole world depends on its heart. Underground arteries reach from Yerushalayim to Africa, India, and every country on earth.

Yerushalayim, and especially the makom hamikdash and the Beis Hamikdash, is the very heart of the world.

Therefore even the slightest aveirah carried out during the avodah of the Beis Hamikdash is punishable by death. If something is wrong with the heart, it affects everything.

The same goes for Shabbos.

Shabbos is the spiritual heart that contains all the spirituality of the world.

It pumps life into the world just as the heart pumps life-giving blood into the body.

The six days of the week derive all of their life from Shabbos.

That’s why Shabbos, just like the avodah in the Beis Hamikdash, is so stringent.

Desecrating Shabbos mars the very essence, the very life, of a Jew.

A Jew who publicly desecrates Shabbos is considered a Non-Jew.

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Let’s Reflect:

How can we show that we understand the significance, and therefore the stringency, of keeping Shabbos? How can we elevate our Shabbosim so that they are truly akin to the Beis Hamikdash?

Perhaps if our clothing reflect the bigdei kehunah and our conversations reflect the pure thoughts required while entering the Mikdash, then we will truly begin to understand the special day.

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