1) BELOVED ARE THE JEWISH PEOPLE FOR THEY NEED NO "SHALI'ACH"
OPINIONS: Rebbi Yosi maintains that the Kohen Gadol walked along the northern wall of the Heichal in order to enter the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. The Gemara points out that the entrance to the Kodesh ha'Kodashim was on the northern side of the Heichal, directly in front of the Kohen Gadol as he walked towards it. Although gazing into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim while walking towards it would normally not be respectful, the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur was permitted to walk towards the opening. It was not considered disrespectful because the Kohen Gadol acted in the capacity as the representative of the Jewish people who are beloved to Hash-m, as is evidenced by the fact that "they need no Shali'ach."
In what way do the Jewish people need no Shali'ach?
(a) RASHI writes that Shlomo ha'Melech -- in the Tefilah he composed when he dedicated the Beis ha'Mikdash -- mentioned that every Jew is able to pray for himself in the Beis ha'Mikdash and be worthy of Hash-m's kindness. A Jew does not need an agent, a Shali'ach, to pray on his behalf. Therefore, the Shali'ach who represents the Jewish people on Yom Kippur is most distinguished and may walk directly into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim.
(b) The TOSFOS YESHANIM and RITVA question Rashi's explanation. First, in his Tefilah, Shlomo ha'Melech prayed that Hash-m should answer the prayer of every non-Jew who calls out to Him, just as he answers the prayer of every Jew (Melachim I 8:43). Rashi there explains that he prayed that a non-Jew should be answered even more readily than a Jew is answered; even if the non-Jew himself is unworthy, Hash-m should answer his prayers. Accordingly, the fact that a Jew needs no Shali'ach to pray on his behalf is not unique to the Jew, for a non-Jew also needs no Shali'ach.
Second, the Gemara searches for grounds to permit the Kohen Gadol to walk directly towards the opening of the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. Why does the Gemara emphasize the greatness of the Jewish people and not that of the Kohen Gadol? The greatness of the Jewish people is not directly relevant to the greatness of the Kohen Gadol.
Due to these questions, the Tosfos Yeshanim and Ritva prefer the explanation of RABEINU CHANANEL: The "Shali'ach" to which the Gemara refers are the golden bells on the hem of the Me'il of the Kohen Gadol. The sound of the bells herald the entrance of the Kohen Gadol into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim, as the verse says, "Its sound shall be heard (v'Nishma Kolo) when he comes into the sanctuary before Hash-m and when he leaves, so that he not die" (Shemos 28:35). Like a Shali'ach who announces the arrival of a distinguished person, the bells announce the arrival of the Kohen Gadol into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. When the Gemara says that the Jews do not need a Shali'ach, it means that on Yom Kippur the Torah does not require the bells to be worn when the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. He must wear only the four Bigdei Lavan which do not include the bells of the Me'il. Since he is permitted to enter on Yom Kippur without the bells heralding his entrance, he is also permitted to walk directly towards the opening of the Kodesh ha'Kodashim.
The Acharonim point out that Rashi, who rejects this explanation, follows the opinion he expresses earlier (44b). The Gemara earlier states that the Kaf with which the Kohen Gadol carried the Ketores into the Kodesh ha'Kodashim had a "Ni'ashtok" on it, which Rashi explains was a metal ring which clanged against the Kaf as a substitute for the sound of the bells of the Me'il which normally rang when the Kohen Gadol wore the Bigdei Zahav. Accordingly, the Kohen Gadol was required to make his presence known as he approached the Kodesh ha'Kodashim on Yom Kippur. (Although nothing heralded the Kohen Gadol's entry when he returned to the Kodesh ha'Kodashim to remove the Kaf and Machtah, apparently no such announcement was necessary since his entry was not to perform an Avodah but simply to remove the Kaf and Machtah.) Rabeinu Chananel there, in contrast, explains that a "Ni'ashtok" is a leather casing with which the Kohen Gadol grasped the Kaf so that it would not burn his hand.
(Apparently Rashi understands that "v'Nishma Kolo" is a separate requirement and is not related to the laws of the Me'il, and thus there is no reason to assume that this requirement does not apply even on Yom Kippur. Rabeinu Chananel, however, maintains that the requirement to have bells is part of the laws of the Me'il, and therefore when the Torah says that the Me'il is not worn on Yom Kippur, it means that there is also no requirement to wear bells. It is interesting to note that the RAMBAM, who explains "Ni'ashtok" as Rabeinu Chananel does, does not count "v'Nishma Kolo" as a separate Mitzvah.)
With regard to the question from the Tefilah of Shlomo ha'Melech, Rashi in Melachim explains that the reason why Shlomo ha'Melech prayed that a non-Jew's prayer should be answered was so that there should be no Chilul Hash-m. If the non-Jew's prayer would not be answered, he might say that Hash-m has no power. Accordingly, it is not his own merit that causes the non-Jew's prayer to be answered. In contrast, the prayer of the Jew is answered in his own merit.
52b----------------------------------------52b
2) WAITING UNTIL THE KODESH HA'KODASHIM FILLS WITH SMOKE
QUESTION: The Mishnah states that when the Kohen Gadol would pile the Ketores on top of the coals inside the Kodesh ha'Kodashim, the smoke would rise and fill the entire Kodesh ha'Kodashim, at which point the Kohen Gadol would leave. The Mishnah implies that the Kohen Gadol is required to wait there until the Kodesh ha'Kodashim becomes filled with smoke. The RAMBAM (Hilchos Avodas Yom ha'Kipurim 4:1) writes explicitly that the Kohen Gadol must wait until the Kodesh ha'Kodashim is filled with smoke. (The RAMBAN (Vayikra 16:23) apparently disagrees and does not require the Kohen Gadol to wait in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim until the smoke of the Ketores has risen.)
Why is the Kohen Gadol required to wait until the Kodesh ha'Kodashim becomes filled with smoke?
ANSWER: The KIRYAS SEFER (Hilchos Yom ha'Kipurim 4:1) writes that this requirement is derived from the order of the verses that describe the Kohen Gadol's Avodah on Yom Kippur. The verse that describes the smoke of the Ketores as it spreads in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim (Vayikra 16:13) is followed by the verse that commands the Kohen Gadol to take the blood of the Par and sprinkle it towards the Kapores (16:14). The order of the verses implies that the Kohen Gadol must wait for the smoke to spread before he continues with the next Avodah.
Some Acharonim write that the Torah's requirement that the Kohen Gadol wait is not a unique part of the Avodah of Yom Kippur. Rather, it is a general rule that applies to all of the Avodos in the Beis ha'Mikdash.
(a) The BRISKER RAV (in a letter to his nephew, Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, printed in the end of Chidushei ha'Griz) writes that the Kohen Gadol's task in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim was not merely to burn the Ketores there, but to fill the Kodesh ha'Kodashim with the smoke of the Ketores. The Torah commands him to ensure that the "cloud of smoke of the Ketores shall cover the Kapores." Consequently, the Kohen Gadol is required to stay there and wait until his Avodah is completed, until the Kodesh ha'Kodashim fills with smoke. This is because of a general rule that when one performs an Avodah, he must wait in his place until the Avodah is completed.
This rule is reflected in the Mishnah later (68b) which says that when the Kohen Gadol sent the Sa'ir ha'Mishtale'ach to the mountainside, he was not permitted to begin the next Avodah (to go to the Ezras Nashim and read the Torah to the people) until he was informed that the Sa'ir had reached the wilderness (Rashi to 68b, DH Amru Lo and DH Na'asis). Since the Kohen Gadol's Avodah at that moment was to send the Sa'ir to the wilderness, his Avodah was not completed until the Sa'ir actually reached the wilderness. Therefore, he was required to wait in his place until he heard that the Sa'ir reached the wilderness, and only then was he permitted to continue with the next part of the Avodah.
(b) RAV YOSEF DOV SOLOVEITCHIK (in the above-mentioned letter, and in his Kuntrus Avodas Yom ha'Kipurim) suggests another reason for why the Kohen Gadol must wait until the Kodesh ha'Kodashim fills with smoke. He writes that when the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh ha'Kodashim, his entry is not merely a means to perform the Avodah inside. Rather, the act of entering and the act of exiting themselves are forms of Avodah. Similarly, when the Torah teaches that the Kohen Gadol must wait there, it means that his act of waiting is part of the Avodah. His act of waiting is an independent act, and it is not merely an auxiliary part of the burning of the Ketores. Nevertheless, the time span which he must wait is determined by the time it takes for the Kodesh ha'Kodashim to fill with smoke.
This approach answers another question. The Mishnah (Tamid 6:3) teaches that during the rest of the year, when the Kohen offers the Ketores in the Heichal he bows down before he leaves. On Yom Kippur, however, the Kohen Gadol does not bow down after he offers the Ketores in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim. Why does he not bow down on Yom Kippur? The reason why he does not bow down is because a position of prostration is not a standing position. A Kohen must stand while he performs an Avodah. Accordingly, the Kohen Gadol may not bow in the Kodesh ha'Kodashim after he offers the Ketores, because the requirement to wait until the room fills with smoke is considered an Avodah.
This approach also explains the Gemara in Chulin (10b) which proves that walking backwards is considered a valid act of "Yetzi'ah" (exiting from a place in a normal manner) from the fact that the Kohen Gadol walked backwards out of the Kodesh ha'Kodashim in deference to the Shechinah. Why is the Kohen Gadol's manner of exiting the Kodesh ha'Kodashim proof that walking backwards is considered a proper "Yetzi'ah"? Perhaps the Kohen Gadol merely needs to leave the Kodesh ha'Kodashim in any way he can, and he does not have to go out with a formal act of "Yetzi'ah." It must be that he is required to enter and exit in a normal manner, because his entry to and exit from the Kodesh ha'Kodashim is considered an Avodah. If walking backwards would not be considered a proper "Yetzi'ah," the Kohen Gadol would not be permitted to exit in that manner.