| 1. And he brought me back by way of the Outer Sanctuary Gate that faces eastward, and it was closed. |
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א. |
| 2. And the Lord said to me; This gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened, and no man shall come through it, for the Lord God of Israel comes through it, and it shall be closed. |
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ב. |
| shall be closed: Our Rabbis interpreted this verse as referring to the southern wicket, for the gate of the Heichal had a wicket, a small entrance. So we learned in Tractate Middoth (4:2): The Great Gate had two wickets, one in the south and one in the north. No one ever entered the one in the south, of which Ezekiel says, “This gate shall be closed.” |
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| comes through it: in the future. |
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| 3. The prince [I permit]-he is a prince; he shall sit therein to eat bread before the Lord; by the way of the hall of the gate he shall come, and by the same way he shall leave. |
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ג. |
| The prince [I permit]; he is a prince, etc.: The prince I give permission. He is a prince, and is esteemed, and it is not fitting for him to sit and eat with the rest of the priests in the chambers. |
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| he shall sit therein: in its space. |
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| by way of the hall of the gate he shall come: When he enters the Inner Court in order to enter this small gate to eat therein, he shall enter by way of the hall of the Court’s eastern gate and leave the same way. Now since it states below (46:9), concerning: “But when the people of the land come before the Lord on the Festivals, he who enters by way of, etc.” Scripture commanded making the Court a shortcut since that entry was [made] for the sake of appearing [before God]. He must therefore be well seen [i.e., throughout the entire Court]. It was necessary to specify here concerning visits during the rest of the year that he should not make it a shortcut because this visit is not for the sake of appearing, as is that of the Pilgrimage Festivals. This matter is corroborated many more times in this account. |
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| The prince: The High Priest is a prince, and because of his importance he will be permitted to eat the meat and bread of hallowed status in that gate, which is opened for him at the time of his eating. |
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| by way of the hall of the gate he shall come: By way of the hall of the Eastern Gate he shall enter the Court and come up to that wicket to eat his bread therein. |
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| and by the same way he shall leave: For this is not fit for a shortcut, as are the rest of the gates. Throughout the day, when not during the time of the prince’s eating, it shall be closed. |
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| 4. And he brought me by way of the Northern Gate before the House, and I saw that behold the glory of the Lord filled the House of the Lord, and I fell upon face. |
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ד. |
| 5. And the Lord said to me; Son of man, mark well, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I am speaking with you, regarding all the statutes of the House of the Lord and regarding all its instructions, and you shall mark well the entrance of the House with all the exits of the Sanctuary. |
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ה. |
| 6. And you shall say to the rebellious [people], to the House of Israel; So said the Lord God: You have done enough of all your abominations, O House of Israel. |
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ו. |
| 7. By bringing aliens of uncircumcised heart and of uncircumcised flesh to be in My Sanctuary to profane My House, by offering up My food, fat and blood, and they broke My covenant in addition to all your abominations. |
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ז. |
| aliens: [lit. sons of an alien.] [Sons of] one whose deeds have become alienated from his Father in Heaven; this is an apostate who worships idols. They are the ones “of uncircumcised heart.” |
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| and of uncircumcised flesh: [a] priest whose brothers died because of circumcision. |
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| 8. You did not keep the watch of My holy things, and you appointed keepers of My watch in My Sanctuary. |
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ח. |
| And you appointed keepers of My watch in My Sanctuary: You knowingly appointed in My Sanctuary, people who are not fit to be keepers of My watch. |
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| 9. So said the Lord God: No alien of uncircumcised heart or of uncircumcised flesh may enter My Sanctuary, of any alien who is in the midst of the Children of Israel. |
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ט. |
| 10. Only the Levites who distanced themselves from Me when Israel strayed from Me after their idols, and they shall bear their iniquity. |
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י. |
| Only the Levites who distanced themselves: Only thus shall you do to the Levites who distanced [themselves] from Me and became idolatrous priests and have now repented… |
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| and they shall bear their iniquity: from ever approaching My altar again, but they may be appointed to the gates of the House (comandises in Old French, orders). They shall be watchmen and gatekeepers. |
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| 11. And they shall be ministers in My Sanctuary, appointed over the gates of the House; they shall slaughter the burnt offering and the sacrifices for the people, and they shall stand before them to serve them. |
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יא. |
| they shall slaughter the burnt offering: a service that is valid [if performed] by non priests, slaves, or women. |
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| 12. Because they served them before their idols and were for the House of Israel as a stumbling block of iniquity; therefore, I lifted My Hand upon them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity. |
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יב. |
| as a stumbling block of iniquity: priests of idolatry, attracting them to it. |
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| 13. And they shall not approach Me to serve Me, or to approach all My hallowed things in addition to the most holy things, and they shall bear their disgrace and their abominations, which they committed. |
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יג. |
| 14. And I will make them keepers of the watch of the House for all its service and for all that is performed in it. |
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יד. |
| 15. But the priests, the Levites, the sons of Zadok, who kept the charge of My sanctuary when the Children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me, and they shall stand before Me to offer Me fat and blood, says the Lord God. |
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טו. |
| But the priests, the Levites: [i.e., the priests, who are] of the tribe of Levi. |
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| the sons of Zadok: Since he was the High Priest who served as the first one in the Sanctuary of Solomon’s days, they are called by his name. |
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| when… went astray: [Heb. בִּתְעוֹת,] quand ils erraient, in Fr., when they strayed. |
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| 16. They shall enter My Sanctuary, and they shall approach My Table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. |
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טז. |
| 17. And it shall be, when they enter the gates of the Inner Court, they shall be clothed with linen garments and no wool shall be upon them when they minister the gates of the Inner Court and within. |
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יז. |
| when they enter the gates of the Inner Court: the Inner Sanctum on the Day of Atonement. |
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| and no wool shall be upon them: They shall not wear the blue wool that was in the robe and girdle on the Day of Atonement during the service in the Inner Court. |
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| 18. Linen hats shall be upon their heads, and linen breaches shall be upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves in a place that sweats. |
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יח. |
| they shall not gird themselves in a place that sweats: We learned in a baraitha (Zeb. 18b, 19a): They do not gird themselves in a place where they sweat, neither above their elbows nor below their loins, which is a place of sweat, en la suor in O.F., on (whatever causes) sweat. Another explanation: The Torah prohibited the priests from wearing woolen raiment because wool causes the body to sweat (not found in some editions). |
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| hats: [Heb. פַאֲרֵי.] c(h)apelas in O.F., hats, head dress. |
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| 19. But when they go out into the Outer Court, into the Outer Court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they minister and place them in chambers belonging to the Sanctuary and clothe themselves with other garments, and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments. |
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יט. |
| into the Outer Court, into the Outer Court: Since he was speaking of the Heichal and the Inner Sanctum, and he called them the “Inner Court,” and in relation to them, he should call the Israelites’ Court an “Outer Court,” he therefore had to double it twice to say that he is speaking of the Men’s Court, the area that all Israel enter. |
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| and place them in chambers belonging to the Sanctuary: as stated by our master Moses, may he rest in peace (Lev. 16:23): “after that, he shall take off the linen garments which he had put on, etc., and he shall leave them there.” |
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| and they shall not sanctify the people: [Heb. וְלֹא יְקַדְשׁוּ אֶתהָעָם, lit. they shall not sanctify the people.] Jonathan renders: and they shall not mingle with the people in their garments, [i.e.,] they shall not touch the people with their holy garments, for ordinary garments are not ritually clean as regards [contaminating] holy garments. |
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| 20. And [the hair of] their heads they are not to shave but also not to let it grow wild; they must be careful to trim the hair of their heads. |
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כ. |
| And [the hair of] their heads they are not to shave: to remove all the hair. |
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| but also not to let it grow wild: They may not let their hair grow very long. |
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| they must be careful to trim: [Heb. כָּסוּם יִכְסְמוּ, (to cut the hair so that it appears)] like spelt (כֻּסֶמֶת) , which is arranged on the ear [with] the end of one beside the root of another. So I heard in the name of Rabbi Menahem of blessed memory. It is possible to explain it as an expression for a measure of a medium thing, neither shearing [all the hair of] the head nor letting the hair grow long, but a medium amount, amo(d)ler in O.F., to cut to medium length. |
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| 21. And wine may no priest drink when they come into the Inner Court. |
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כא. |
| when they come into the Inner Court: to the Heichal. |
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| 22. And neither a widow nor a divorced woman may they take for wives, but they shall take virgins from the descendants of the House of Israel; also the widow who is only a widow, some of the priests may marry. |
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כב. |
| but… virgins: may the High Priests take. But there are some priests who may take a widow, namely, the ordinary ones, and this is the meaning of “some of the priests may marry” ; there are some priests who are permitted to marry a widow. |
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| who is only a widow: A real [widow], excluding a divorcee and a woman upon whom the rite of chalitzah was performed; although she is unmarried, she is forbidden even for an ordinary [priest]. |
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| 23. And My people shall they teach the difference between holy and profane, and cause them to discern between the impure and the pure. |
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כג. |
| 24. And in dispute they shall stand in judgment, according to My ordinances shall they decide it; and My teachings and My statutes shall they keep in all My appointed times, and My Sabbaths they shall sanctify. |
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כד. |
| 25. To no human corpse shall they come to defile themselves, except to father and to mother and to son and to daughter, to brother and to a sister who has had no husband, shall they defile themselves. |
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כה. |
| 26. And after his purification they shall count seven days for him. |
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כו. |
| And after his purification: and after he has separated from the corpse. So was it taught in Moed Katan (15b). |
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| 27. And on the day that he enters the Sanctuary, into the Inner Court, to minister in the Sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord God. |
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כז. |
| And on the day that he enters: into the Sanctuary for the first time to initiate himself into the service, he shall offer up his sin-offering; this is his one tenth of an ephah [of flour]. In Moed Katan (16a) the following is taught: the regular priest requires one tenth of an ephah on the day of his initiation, as it is stated (Lev. 6:13): “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons, etc.” and as is explained in Tractate Menachoth (51b). |
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| 28. It shall be to them for an inheritance, I am their inheritance; You shall give them no possession in Israel, I am their possession. |
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כח. |
| It shall be to them: the priesthood, for an inheritance. |
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| 29. The meal-offering and the sin-offering and the guilt- offering are they to eat, and everything that is vowed to be banned in Israel shall belong to them. |
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כט. |
| and everything that is holy [Heb.: חֶרֶם,] an expression of sanctity, and so is every expression of חֶרֶם [when used] in the context of hallowed things. |
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| 30. And the first of all the first-fruits, and every heave-offering; everything from every sort of your heave- offerings shall belong to the priests; also the first out of your kneading-troughs shall you give to the priest, to bring enduring blessing into your home. |
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ל. |
| to bring enduring blessings into your home: [Heb. לְהָנִיחַ,] aposer on O.F., (to cause) to rest, settle, as in (Exod. 10:14): “and it rested (וֳיָנָח) throughout all the borders of Egypt.” |
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| 31. Anything that has died of itself or is fatally wounded, whether it be bird or beast, the priests may not eat. |
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לא. |
| Anything that has died of itself or is fatally wounded, etc.: Since nipping the neck of the bird sin-offering was permitted, which is [tantamount to] an animal that died of itself or was fatally wounded [since it is not the normal method of slaughter], he had to warn them concerning [eating] other creatures that died of themselves or were fatally wounded. So our Sages explain. |
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