Entering the Holy of Holies

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The Torah says (Leviticus 16:3) "with this Aaron shall enter the Holies". What is "this"? Rabbi Moshe Heinemann explains that in the prayer Unesanah Tokef recited in Yom Kippur and Rosh HaShannah, one says that "repentence, prayer, and charity remove the unfavorable decree." Above each of these three elements, the standard liturgical prayer book has the words "fast, voice, and money." The numerical value of each of these words equals 136 and the total is 410, which is the numerical vlaue of the word "this". When the Kohen Gadol enters the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, it is with fasting for repetence, voice for prayer, and money for charity. It is in the merit fo these three actions for which one can be saved from an unfavorable verdict for the year in the Heavenly court.

Rabbi Heinemann relates a story which occured in Baltimore. A Jewish business owner once has a gentile worker who was a loyal worker and was his empolyee for many years. One day, this worker (henceforth known as Esav), asked the Jewish man if he could be advanced his paycheck for one week. The Jew, realizing that his Friday, at the end of the week, Esav receicved his payment for that week's work and for the next week's work. On monday morning, Esav did not show up, so the Jew cancelled the check, realizing that he had been tricked.

Rabbi Heinemann then receives a phone call from a cash advance service. The properiter of this cash advance service has been given a check by Esav from the Jew and gave Esav the cash. When the cash advance service went to cash the check, they were told that the Jew cancelled the check. Realizing the fairness of the Jewish court system, they asked Rabbi Heinemann to convene a Rabbinical court to see if the Jew owes them money for cancelling Esav's check.