The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.
The beginning of Parshas Acharei Mos contains the Kriyah for Yom Kippur. At the end of the Kriyah (Vayikra 16:34) the Torah states וְהָֽיְתָה־זֹּ֨את לָכֶ֜ם לְחֻקַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֗ם לְכַפֵּ֞ר עַל־בְּנֵ֤י יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ מִכָּל־חַטֹּאתָ֔ם אַחַ֖ת בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה. Rabbi Frand quoted the Chasam Sofer who asks - why does the Torah need to state that Yom Kippur comes once a year? Rosh Hashana also comes once a year, as does Pesach and Sukkos!
The Chasam Sofer answers that it is not talking about Yom Kippur per se, it is discussing the death of a tzaddik. In the same way that Yom Kippur is Mechaper for the Jewish people, so is the death of a tzaddik. Thus the pasuk is a prayer that we will only need one Yom Kippur to be Mechaper for us each year.
R' Frand then quoted R' Elya Lopian who had said this vort on Yom Kippur in the 1950s. At the time, the Brisker Rav was very ill and in fact he passed away on Yom Kippur that year. R' Frand theorized that R' Elya knew that the Brisker Rav was sick but was unaware that he had already passed. Perhaps R' Elya had said this vort as a prayer that the Brisker Rav would recuperate.
R' Frand a second vort related to the Avodah on Yom Kippur. We see from the pesukim that first the Kohain Gadol would slaughter the bull which was to be offered, but after catching the blood in a Kli Shares he did not throw the blood immediately on the Mizbeyach and would instead give it to another Kohain to stir the blood so that it would not congeal.
What did the Kohain Gadol do in the interim? He would go into the Kodesh HaKodashim to offer the Ketores.
But why was the Avodah split up? Wouldn't it be more logical to complete the process with the bull before bringing the Ketores?
R' Frand answered by quoting the Chofetz Chaim who noted that the Ketores was Mechaper for the sin of Lashon Hara. And as long as the Jews had not received atonement for that sin, the bull would not be able to achieve Kaparah for them. Therefore the Kohain Gadol had to bring the Ketores first and only afterwards complete the process with the bull.
R' Frand said a final vort related to the sin of consuming blood. The Torah states in Vayikra 17:10 וְאִ֨ישׁ אִ֜ישׁ מִבֵּ֣ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וּמִן־הַגֵּר֙ הַגָּ֣ר בְּתוֹכָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר יֹאכַ֖ל כָּל־דָּ֑ם וְנָֽתַתִּ֣י פָנַ֗י בַּנֶּ֨פֶשׁ֙ הָֽאֹכֶ֣לֶת אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם וְהִכְרַתִּ֥י אֹתָ֖הּ מִקֶּ֥רֶב עַמָּֽהּ. Rashi comments that in making this pronouncement, Hashem said that if someone eats blood, He will turn away from His other pursuits and focus solely on the person who consumed the blood.
R' Frand found this term curious, given that Hashem is not mortal and does not need to focus entirely on any one topic or person. R' Frand addressed this point by quoting R' Elya Meir Bloch who equates this to a war. When a country goes to war it is generally known why the war took place. By example, Russia went to war against Ukraine because Russia wants to conquer the land. However the impact of the war can be felt in many other places. (R' Frand quipped that one man's hurricane is another man's treasure). This impact can be for positive or negative (like today's fuel prices). We don't know what Hashem's plan was and what the main purpose of allowing the war to take place. But Hashem has His plan in this regard and His focus is direct.
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