With
this shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young bullock (par ben
bakar) for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering. Leviticus 16:3
“A
young bullock”: this is Abraham, as the verse [Genesis 18:7] “And Abraham ran
to the herd, and fetched a calf (ben bakar)…” Breishit Rabba
My
saintly teacher, Rabbi Mordechai Rogov, explained the connection between
Abraham and the High Priest entering the Holy of Holies as part of the service
of Yom Kippur.
Abraham’s
running to fetch a calf (according to the Midrash, three calves, to be able to
serve each of his guests tongue, a great delicacy) represents our Patriarch’s
devotion to serving his guests. Even as God visited Abraham, no doubt bringing
him to a spiritual level in which he had no concern for worldly things, Abraham
still remained concerned for his guests, so great was his love for his fellow
men.
Similarly,
our Sages taught that when the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies on Yom
Kippur, he reached the level of angels rather than that of a human being. Yet
the High Priest’s prayer included concern for the worldly needs of the nation
of Israel (as we read in the Musaf of Yom Kippur).
Thus
our Midrash teaches that it is the High Priest’s ability to remain
concerned for the welfare of every Jew, despite his personal detachment from
all mundane matters, the approach of Abraham, which allows the High Priest to
enter the Holy of Holies.