Abraham and the High Priest

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.