The Educator's Place

And God said to Moses: speak to Aaron your brother that he not come at all times into the Sanctuary, within the curtain, before the cover of the ark, that he die not, for I appear in the cloud upon the ark – cover.                      Leviticus 16:2

My father suggested that the words intended for Aaron: “that he not come at all times into the Sanctuary” convey a powerful lesson about the Torah’s approach.

The kohanim were the educators of Israel, those whose responsibility it was to teach the nation Torah and to lead the people in the path of sanctity.

The verse’s choice of words teaches us the Torah’s approach: the religious leaders must not “come at all times into the Sanctuary”, they may not isolate themselves within the holy confines, rather, they must maintain contact with those whom they are charged to teach. Further, in order to truly achieve sanctity, as the Torah defines the term, there must be contact with the mundane aspects of life. One who isolates himself within the holy precinct cannot sanctify life, which is the Torah’s ideal.