Parshat Acharei Mot: Tears of the Sages - Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

the master work of the Rambam Maimonides is the Mishnah torah it details every aspect of Jewish life with tremendous precision as a work of halakhah of law however the story would seem to be out of place in the section that deals with Yom Kippur Yom Kippur service in the base of Mick - the temple however the romm mom seems to depart from the precision of her locker to tell a story before the cohen haggard all the high priest commenced the on Kippur service the elders of the Sanhedrin would make him swear to do the service exactly as instructed specifically they'd make him swear but he burned the incense only inside the Holy of Holies which is way the oral torah mandates it to be you see in Talmudic times there was a group called the Sadducees and they denied the authority of the Oral Torah they claimed that the incense should first be placed on a burning fire pan outside the Holy of Holies and only then should the cohen got all carried inside so the elders made the Kohen Gadol swear not to perform the service in the manner of the Sadducees and then but the Kohen Gadol and the elders would turn aside from each other and weep the Kohen Gadol would weep because they suspected him of being assad you see the elders would leave because there was reason to suspect it why did the Rambam choose to enshrine this tragically touching moment in a practical manual of halakhah of law let's understand how this story started one year the Sadducees proposed a compromise they suggested that for the sake of peace and unity the Kohen Gadol should light the incense both outside and inside the holy of holies what could be better everyone will be happy the elders were in a no-win situation to accept this offer would be to add a mitzvah to the Torah which is expressly forbidden the refuse would make them seem callous indifferent to Jewish unity in the event the rabbi's had no option but to say no but at what great cost and with what heavy hearts for they knew that they would seem inflexible and uncaring there are times when those who guard the Torah must make decisions that are a PR man's nightmare but the guardians of the Torah have no choice they are protecting a priceless treasure with what the heavy hearts and at what cost how these decisions made the rambam included the story of the Cohen had a goal and Elvis weeping as a challah ha along for all time in every generation the Jewish people will have their Sadducees but in every generation the defenders of the Torah was to weep having the same now [Music] you [Applause]