Misva #184: The Prohibition Against Unnecessarily Entering the Bet Ha’mikdash

The Torah commands in Parashat Ahareh-Mot (Vayikra 16:2) that the Kohen Gadol is forbidden from entering the Kodesh Ha’kodashim (inner sanctum of the Bet Ha’mikdash) except when this is required as part of the Yom Kippur service. This verse introduces a prohibition forbidding entering the Bet Ha’mikdash when not performing the Aboda (service). The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that this command was issued to ensure that we maintain proper respect and reverence for the sacred domain of the Bet Ha’mikdash. If it would be permissible to enter the Bet Ha’mikdash whenever one wished, for whatever reason, then we would not regard the site with the esteem and awe that it deserves. The Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh Ha’kodashim four times over the course of the special Yom Kippur service. If he enters that area even once unnecessarily, he has violated this command and is liable to capital punishment. The Rambam maintains that a Kohen is liable to capital punishment only if he enters the Kodesh Ha’kodashim; if a Kohen enters the Hechal – the other section of the interior of the Bet Ha’mikdash – unnecessarily, then he is liable to Malkut, not capital punishment. Furthermore, the Rambam maintains that this prohibition forbids entering the Bet Ha’mikdash for any purpose other than performing the Aboda. Even if a Kohen enters the Bet Ha’mikdash to bow, he is, according to the Rambam, liable to Malkut, even though he came in for a constructive purpose. Since the Kohen did not enter the Bet Ha’mikdash to perform the Aboda, he has violated this prohibition. The Ramban disagrees, maintaining that this prohibition forbids only entering the Bet Ha’mikdash for no reason at all. According to the Ramban, if a Kohen enters the Bet Ha’mikdash to bow, then he is not in violation of this command. The Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this prohibition applies even nowadays, when there is no Bet Ha’mikdash, forbidding us from treading on the site where the Bet Ha’mikdash stood. The Torah warns in Parashat Behukotai (Vayikra 26:31), “Va’hashimoti Et Mikdeshechem” – “I shall lay your Temples desolate,” implying that the area is still considered “Mikdeshechem” – a sacred site – after its destruction. Therefore, even nowadays, the site is sacred, and it is thus forbidden to enter the area, since we obviously are not offering sacrifices. Even if we could divest ourselves of our status of Tum’a (impurity), it would still be forbidden to enter the site of the Bet Ha’mikdash due to the prohibition against entering the site unnecessarily.