Comentario sobre Levítico 10:6

ראשיכם] אל תפרעו] means, let not your hair grow long (cf. Numbers 6:5) (Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 2 40). From this (from the fact that Scripture forbade these particular mourners to let their hair grow long) it follows that an אבל (one mourning the death of a near relative) is forbidden to cut his hair. Moses's words therefore signified: Ordinarily an אבל may not cut his hair but ye, disturb ye not the joy of the Omnipresent God by displaying signs of mourning (Moed Katan 14b).

LET NOT THE HAIR OF YOUR HEADS GO LOOSE. “[This means]: do not grow your hair long. From this [the fact that Scripture forbade these particular mourners to let their hair grow long], we learn that a mourner is forbidden to cut his hair. [Moses thus said to them: Normally a mourner may not cut his hair], but you must not disturb the joy of G-d. THAT YE DIE NOT. But if you do this you shall die.” Thus far the language of Rashi.
Now that which Rashi says, “From this we learn that a mourner is forbidden to cut his hair,” is merely a Scriptural support for a Rabbinic enactment.⁸⁰See in Exodus, Seder Yithro, p. 314, Note 449. Moreover, according to this explanation one cannot then interpret: “But if you do this [i.e., you let your hair grow long] you shall die.” Rather⁸¹Ramban’s point is thus: Instead of Rashi’s interpretation — “That ye die not. But if you [the sons of Aaron] do this [i.e., let your hair grow long] you shall die” — the real explanation is as follows: “That ye die not. You need not fear death for not letting your hair grow long,” as other mourners would be so punishable if they would not let their hair grow. it was optional in the case of Aaron’s sons, Scripture stating: “You are not obliged to let your hair grow long and rend your garments, as are other mourners; that ye die not, meaning that you will not be liable to death if you do so [i.e., neither let your hair grow nor rend your garments], but other mourners are liable [to death] if they fail to observe it.” Thus also have the Rabbis said in the Gemara of Mashkin:⁸²This tractate of the Talmud is now called Moed Katan. The text referred to is found there, 24 a. ‘Mashkin’ is the name of the first chapter of the tractate. On the term Gemara see in Exodus, Seder Bo, p. 132, Note 204. “A mourner who did not let his hair grow long, and did not rent his garments, is liable [to punishment of death], as it is said, Let not the hair of your heads go loose, neither rend your clothes, that ye die not; but other mourners who do not let their hair grow long, or rend their garments, are liable [to that punishment].” But this text is similar to other Rabbinic laws for which the Talmud merely found a Scriptural support, for letting one’s hair grow long and rending one’s garments when in mourning are only matters of Rabbinic ordinance. Or perhaps the mourning of the first day [after the death and burial] is a law given to Moses at Sinai, being derived from that of aninuth [the state of mourning before the burial of a relative] according to the opinion of the Gaonim.⁸³See in Exodus, Seder Ki Thisa, p. 521, Note 74.
But the real meaning of the verse is an admonition to Aaron’s sons, and listen to the meaning thereof. Our Rabbis have already said⁸⁴Moed Katan 14 b. that a High Priest may bring an offering whilst he is still an onen⁸⁵An onen by law of the Torah is a mourner on the day of death of his relative whether before or after burial on that day. [On the night following he is an onen by law of the Rabbis. If burial has not taken place on the day of death he continues to be an onen by law of the Rabbis. When burial finally takes place he is an onen by law of the Rabbis even after burial, but at night he is no longer considered an onen at all.] An onen is to be distinguished from an avel who is a mourner for a period of seven or thirty days. The laws of mourning as affecting the Divine Service in the Tabernacle and its holy offerings relate to the priest when he is an onen. but may not eat it. If any of his next of kin⁸⁶These are: mother, father, son, daughter, brother and sister by the same father. The Sages added: husband, wife, brother and sister by the same mother (Mishneh Torah, Shoftim, Hilchoth Avel 2:1). die, he is not allowed to let his hair grow or rend his garments or defile himself for them, as it is said, he shall not let the hair of his head go loose, nor rend his clothes; neither shall he enter [a tent containing] a dead body.⁸⁷Further, 21:10-11. Now since he is permitted to bring offerings whilst he is an onen,⁸⁵An onen by law of the Torah is a mourner on the day of death of his relative whether before or after burial on that day. [On the night following he is an onen by law of the Rabbis. If burial has not taken place on the day of death he continues to be an onen by law of the Rabbis. When burial finally takes place he is an onen by law of the Rabbis even after burial, but at night he is no longer considered an onen at all.] An onen is to be distinguished from an avel who is a mourner for a period of seven or thirty days. The laws of mourning as affecting the Divine Service in the Tabernacle and its holy offerings relate to the priest when he is an onen. Scripture therefore said about him, Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary, nor profane the Sanctuary of his G-d.⁸⁸Ibid., Verse 12. This means that He warned him against going out of the Sanctuary and leaving the Service, for this would be a profanation of G-d’s Name. Now this warning against leaving the Sanctuary at the time of the Service applies to all priests, except that in the case of the High Priest He taught that he may bring offerings whilst he is still an onen⁸⁵An onen by law of the Torah is a mourner on the day of death of his relative whether before or after burial on that day. [On the night following he is an onen by law of the Rabbis. If burial has not taken place on the day of death he continues to be an onen by law of the Rabbis. When burial finally takes place he is an onen by law of the Rabbis even after burial, but at night he is no longer considered an onen at all.] An onen is to be distinguished from an avel who is a mourner for a period of seven or thirty days. The laws of mourning as affecting the Divine Service in the Tabernacle and its holy offerings relate to the priest when he is an onen. [whereas an ordinary priest must interrupt his Service and another one completes it, and he is not permitted to leave the Sanctuary until it is completed]. Accordingly, if the High Priest [on becoming apprised of the death of a near relative], leaves the Service and goes out of the Sanctuary whilst he is an onen, he is liable [to punishment] just like any [ordinary] priest who leaves the Service and goes as he pleases.
Now Moses warned Aaron here that he should not let his hair grow long, nor rend his garments, for this [negative] commandment applies to him [as High Priest] for all times. But his sons who were ordinary priests, were not permitted to bring offerings on that day since they were onenim [mourners whose dead are still unburied], and an onen who officiates profanes the Service. They were in fact obliged to defile themselves for their brothers, and similarly they were either permitted or obliged⁸⁹“Permitted,” if the text quoted above from “the Gemara of Mashkin” (see Note 82) is merely a Scriptural support for a Rabbinic ordinance, as Ramban has it; “obliged,” if the final decision of the law is in accordance with the opinion of the Gaonim (mentioned above), that the mourning of the first day [after death and burial] is a law declared to Moses on Sinai. to let their hair grow and to rend their garments. Yet Moses warned them against doing all this as a special decision [“in order not to disturb the joy of G-d” on that occasion, as mentioned above by Rashi]. Therefore Moses charged Mishael and Elzaphan that they should defile themselves for the dead, and not the priests. He further commanded [the priests] not to let their hair grow, nor to rend their garments, just like their father, [who as High Priest was not permitted to do so], and not to cry at all. This is the meaning of the verse, but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Eternal hath kindled,⁹⁰Verse 6. but not you. All this was in order not to disturb G-d’s joy [by their displaying signs of mourning]. He treated this strictly by making them liable to death [by the hand of Heaven] if they would disturb the joyous occasion in any way.
It is possible that Moses was commanded about this from the mouth of the Almighty, even though it is not expressly written, or that he derived it from that which he was commanded [to relay to Aaron and his sons for the seven days of consecration], and ye shall keep the charge of the Eternal, that ye die not,⁹¹Above, 8:35. [from which Moses learned] that the charge of the Eternal includes also the eighth day. Now it was revealed to and known by the Creator of the world that the sons of Aaron were destined to be onenim, and yet He commanded that they should not leave the Sanctuary; thus [we see that here exceptionally] they were not to defile themselves for the dead or to mourn at all.
Now the sons of Aaron, the priests that were anointed,⁹²Numbers 3:3. even though they were ordinary priests, yet [G-d] made the law applicable to them during the days of the consecration to be like the law of the priest anointed for war in future generations,⁹³Horayoth 12 b. since he [too] must not let his hair grow long or rend his garments or defile himself for deceased relatives, just like the High Priest, but he may not perform the rites of offerings whilst he is an onen [although the High Priest may do so]. Thus Aaron’s sons, too, did not perform the rites of the offerings on that day, as the Rabbis interpreted:⁹⁴Zebachim 101 a. “And Aaron spoke unto Moses: Behold, this day have they offered their sin-offering.⁹⁵Further, Verse 19. Did they [i.e., my sons] then bring the offering — they who are ordinary priests? It was I [Aaron] that offered — I who am the High Priest [who may offer even when being an onen].” Now during this entire incident nothing [which was to be done during] the consecration was abolished, since the offerings had already been brought, and at night they all ate of the hallowed food which they were to eat. It is possible that this law applied to Elazar and Ithamar [Aaron’s remaining sons] all their lives, namely, that their laws be like those of the priest anointed for war [as mentioned above], because they had been anointed with the oil of anointment, this being the sense of the expression, [And ye shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting …] for the anointing oil of the Eternal is upon you.⁹⁶Verse 7.
I have already mentioned⁹⁷At the end of Seder Tzav, Verse 35. the Beraitha of the Torath Kohanim⁹⁸Torath Kohanim, Shemini Milu’im 42. which states: “And ye shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting.⁹⁶Verse 7. I might think that [on becoming apprised of the death of a near relative, an ordinary priest may not leave the Sanctuary] whether he is ministering or not; Scripture therefore says, Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary, nor profane.⁹⁹Further, 21:12. When is he not permitted to go out, so that [only by his staying there] he does not profane it? I must say that this applies only when he is ministering. Lest ye die⁹⁶Verse 7. — from the negative you infer the positive [that if they do go out in the middle of their ministering, they are liable to death by the hand of Heaven]. For the anointing oil of the Eternal is upon you.⁹⁶Verse 7. Why is this said? I might think that this tells me only that Aaron and his sons, who were anointed with the oil of anointment, are liable to death if they leave the Sanctuary whilst they are ministering. How do I know that [the prohibition applies also to] all priests at all times? Scripture therefore says, for the anointing oil of the Eternal is upon you.”¹⁰⁰See Ramban above, 8:35, at end of verse, for explanation of this final interpretation. Similarly have I also seen in the Tosephta¹⁰¹“Supplement.” After the Mishnah was completed by Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, a contemporary of his, Rabbi Chiya, compiled a collection of Tannaitic statements and traditions closely allied in form to the Mishnah. The Tosephta follows the order of the tractates of the Mishnah. of Tractate Sanhedrin: “The Sages said to Rabbi Yehudah: The verse Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary⁹⁹Further, 21:12. only applies at the time of ministration.”
Now according to this interpretation, the warning and punishment [under consideration] applied to [both] Aaron and his sons, so that if they went out from the door of the Tent of Meeting⁹⁶Verse 7. at the time of performing the Service, they would be liable [to death by the hand of Heaven]. But since it was Aaron who brought the offerings on that day, therefore [Moses] warned him [especially] that he should not leave the Service and go out. His sons, however, were onenim⁸⁵An onen by law of the Torah is a mourner on the day of death of his relative whether before or after burial on that day. [On the night following he is an onen by law of the Rabbis. If burial has not taken place on the day of death he continues to be an onen by law of the Rabbis. When burial finally takes place he is an onen by law of the Rabbis even after burial, but at night he is no longer considered an onen at all.] An onen is to be distinguished from an avel who is a mourner for a period of seven or thirty days. The laws of mourning as affecting the Divine Service in the Tabernacle and its holy offerings relate to the priest when he is an onen. on that day and did not perform the Service. If so, [the question appears]: how were they included in this warning [not to leave the Service and go out of the Sanctuary, when they were in fact doing no Service to begin with]? Perhaps we may say that Moses said to all of them, and ye shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting at the time of the Service, lest ye die,⁹⁶Verse 7. and they knew that Aaron [as High Priest] could perform the rites of offering [although] an onen,⁸⁵An onen by law of the Torah is a mourner on the day of death of his relative whether before or after burial on that day. [On the night following he is an onen by law of the Rabbis. If burial has not taken place on the day of death he continues to be an onen by law of the Rabbis. When burial finally takes place he is an onen by law of the Rabbis even after burial, but at night he is no longer considered an onen at all.] An onen is to be distinguished from an avel who is a mourner for a period of seven or thirty days. The laws of mourning as affecting the Divine Service in the Tabernacle and its holy offerings relate to the priest when he is an onen. and therefore he is included in the prohibition at once, but his sons are included in the prohibition and punishment whenever they would be fit for the Service from that day onwards. It is for this reason that He said here in an unqualified manner, and ye shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting,⁹⁶Verse 7. and did not explain until when this [prohibition] applied, whether until the evening or the next day, since His intent was that they should not leave the Service, and this was to be a commandment applying to all generations.
It is possible that the command to the sons of Aaron was a special decision, that they should not go out from there on that day¹⁰²Having explained above that the admonition applied to Aaron’s sons not on that eighth day, but its effect began from the following day onwards, when they would be permitted to minister in the Sanctuary, Ramban now writes that it was possibly a special decision that even on that eighth day they should not leave the Sanctuary, just like their father, who, as High Priest, was permitted to bring offerings as an onen and was therefore prohibited from leaving the Sanctuary. This was to serve as a mark of honor and indication of the joyousness of the occasion. [specifically], just as their father [could not leave], this being in honor of the joyous occasion [i.e., the culmination of the erection of the Tabernacle and inauguration of the priests], but ordinary priests throughout the generations are warned against leaving their Service on the basis of the verse which states, Neither shall he go out of the Sanctuary, nor profane,⁹⁹Further, 21:12. which means that any priest who goes out of the Sanctuary and leaves his Service profanes it thereby. Thus the verse here [And ye shall not go out from the door of the Tent of Meeting, lest ye die, for the anointing oil of the Eternal is upon you],⁹⁶Verse 7. is only necessary to derive the punishment, that whoever leaves the Service and goes out is subject to death [by the hand of Heaven], for it says, for the anointing oil of the Eternal is upon you, and that anointment is upon them for all generations, as it says, and their anointing oil shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood.¹⁰³Exodus 40:15. So also the Rabbis taught in the Beraitha of Torath Kohanim:¹⁰⁴Torath Kohanim, Shemini Milu’im 28. “From here the Rabbis have derived the principle that no mark of mourning whatever is shown for those executed by the court.¹⁰⁵“The analogy is not complete. For those executed by the court no one mourns, neither close relatives nor anyone else. Here only the close relatives were forbidden to mourn, while for others it was expressly commanded, let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Eternal hath kindled” (Verse 6) (Rabad, in his commentary on Torath Kohanim). Perhaps you will say, ‘We [the brothers] will go to our homes and mourn, grieve and cry [over the death of Nadab and Abihu], behold G-d has already commanded us not to go out of the Sanctuary.’” From this text it would appear that it was a special decision to the effect that those who died through the Heavenly Court, should be treated like those executed by a [human] court for transgressions, in which case the rule is that [the relatives of the executed] come and greet the judges and the witnesses.¹⁰⁶Sanhedrin 46 a. “As if to say, ‘We have nothing against you in our hearts, for you have judged the judgment of truth’” (ibid.). Here too, they were to remain standing before G-d in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.¹⁰⁷Song of Songs 3:11. “In the day of his espousals — this is the day of Sinai [i.e., the Giving of the Torah]. And in the day of the gladness of his heart — this is the day [of the setting up] of the Tent of Meeting.”¹⁰⁸There are various versions to this interpretation. The final Mishnah in Tractate Taanith has it: “In the day of his espousals — this is the Giving of the Torah. And in the day of the gladness of his heart — this is the building of the Sanctuary” [in Jerusalem].

ראשיכם אל תפרעו, even though these dead belonged to the category of near relatives for whom even priests observe mourning rites, in this instance the law was applied in its entire severity seeing that these priests had been anointed with the holy oil of anointing. The Torah had spelled this out, writing כי שמם משחת ה' עליכם, “for you (pl) have been anointed with G’d’s holy oil.” (verse 7).

ראשיכם אל תפרעו; "do not let the hair of your head grow wild." The Torah warns that if the people at large were to do the same as the priests, i.e. trim their hair while in mourning for a close relative, G'd would become angry. There are differences in the manner ordinary Israelites mourn their dead and in the manner in which priests charged with serving the Lord do this. Whereas the priests are not allowed to let their hair grow wild, they are obligated to rend their garments when hearing of the death of a close relative. Perhaps, in this instance, the rules applied were those we apply when the president of the Supreme Court dies; at such a time all of Israel are commanded to rend their garments as a sign of mourning (Moed Katan 22). In view of the opinion that Nadav and Avihu were of greater stature than even Moses and Aaron, it was certainly appropriate for the whole nation to mourn their deaths.

'ראשיכם אל תפרעו וגו, this is what Moses said to Eleazar and Ittamar, the surviving brothers of Nadav and Avihu. He told them that although they were priests and as such they were normally required to bare their heads in mourning and to rend their garments when in mourning for near relatives, on this day they had to observe the rites applicable to the High Priest for future generations, as they too had been anointed with the holy anointing oil, and the Torah gave this anointment as the reason why the High Priest could not observe rites of mourning. [remember that in the future ordinary priests would not be anointed but they acquired their status as priest through heredity from their respective fathers. Ed.]

ועל כל העדה יקצוף, “and He would display His anger against the entire community.” This was because the priests acted as delegates of the community, and when such delegates do not discharge their duties properly the anger against them is also transferred at least partially against the ones who delegated them. Some commentators understand the reference to the “entire community,” as a reference to the offerings that were brought on behalf of the whole community. The Torah would be saying that “if you the priests make any changes from the directives you have received and you eat from these sacrifices this will provoke the Lord’s anger. The sacrifices will prove unwelcome in the eyes of Hashem, and you as the originators of these offerings will be suffering the consequences.”

ועל כל העדה יקצוף, “and He will be angry at the entire community.” It is not reasonable to understand these words to mean that G’d will punish the entire Jewish people for a sin committed by the Priests or an individual Priest. G’d does not punish one nation for the sins of another, and the Priests are considered as a separate nation in this respect. Even if the Israelites were to do the very thing that the Priests are forbidden to do, i.e. leave their heads unshorn or their clothing rent, this would not be accounted a sin for them at all as the whole legislation applies only to the Priests.
However, G’d’s anger and wrath would apply to the Israelites if, when they are commanded to observe mourning and to weep for the death of the sons of Aaron, they fail to do so. (Compare Rabbeinu Saadyah Gaon). The word יקצוף does not mean “He will be angry,” but “there will be קצף,” i.e. there will be a manifestation of that anger. We find a similar construction in Samuel II 2,32: ויאור להם בחברון, “day broke upon them in Chevron” (after marching all night). The word ויאור in that verse does not mean “He made it light for them.” We find that “the Children of Israel mourned the death of Aaron for thirty days, the entire nation,” (Numbers 20,29). When Moses died (Deut. 34,8) we also find that “the Children of Israel mourned for him for thirty days in the wilderness of Moav.” Here too, mourning for the deaths of Nadav and Avihu was mandatory and this directive is couched in the words “and your brethren the entire House of Israel shall bewail the conflagration.” We know from Exodus 24,1 that Nadav and Avihu were members of the elite of the people, unsurpassed by any of the elders except Moses and Aaron. This is why G’d mentioned them by name before the elders -who obviously were senior to them in age- before mentioning the elders (without naming the latter). In fact, the mourning rites for these two sons of Aaron exceeded the mourning for Aaron and Moses as Moses himself had described them as their brethren (Rabbeinu Saadyah gaon). [Moses and Aaron were mourned as leaders, not as close family members such as brothers. Ed.].

Do not let [your hair] grow. Meaning: the hair of his head. I.e., someone whose hair grows long, the hairs become divided one from the other and become disheveled (פרע). [You might ask:] Rashi explains later in Parshas Sotah (Bamidbar 5:18): “And [the kohein shall] expose (ופרע) the [hair on the] head of the woman” — “He unravels the braids of her hair...” and yet here he explains that פרע means growing [the hair long]! The answer is: The unraveling of her hair braids is the ‘growth’ of her hair in terms of appearance, because until now it was braided and it seemed she had no hair, but with the unraveling of her hair it seems as if her hair grew.

ועל כל העדה יקצוף, “so that He will not become angry at the whole congregation;” the Lord will be angry if you display rites of mourning, as it would then appear as if your offerings which you had presented to the Lord had not been received by Him with goodwill. In the event that you would respond that if we did not mourn our brothers, the impression would be created that they had forfeited their status of being priests by what they had done, seeing that no one had mourned them, Moses commanded all the ordinary Israelites to weep and mourn for the two sons of Aaron who had been burned to death by G–d.

Your brothers, the entire House of Yisroel shall weep. This weeping was during the time of the funeral and burial, and there was nothing exceptional about this weeping, for even women will weep for the loss of one of the great ones of Yisroel. The expression ‘shall weep,’ however, still needs to be understood. How is it possible to command them to weep? Weeping depends solely on one’s emotional state. It seems, therefore, that Moshe is telling them how to weep. Since the verse says, “יבכו את השרפה” [weep over the conflagration] and not “על השרפה” it means to say with the conflagration. This teaches that someone who was in pain and needed to pray and cry out to Hashem for some other matter, he should weep at the time the lofty departed one was in front of him, because that is an auspicious time to uplift his cry and plea, due to the honor he accomplishes in this way for the departed one.

ראשיכם אל תפרעו, “let not the hair of your head grow loose;” seeing that your are ‘valets’ of the Lord, it is not seemly that you should display your mourning in that way and that you weep; your brothers, however may observe normal rites of mourning.

ולא תמתו LEST YE DIE — Consequently if ye do this ye shall die (Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 2 41).

כל בית ישראל יבכו, for two outstanding righteous people had been removed from them. They would therefore not be denied the eulogies due to the deceased (Sanhedrin 46)

ואחיכם כל בית ישראל, “and your brethren the entire house of Israel, will weep.” This verse teaches that the death of a Torah scholar is to be treated by the entire people as if they had been bereaved of a relative.

From here [we learn] that a mourner. Re’m writes: In Moed Katan (14b) Rashi explains that the fact the verse needs to permit the sons of Aharon implies that others are prohibited [to take a haircut], because Rashi holds the view that the verse, “Do not let [your hair] grow long” comes to permit Aharon’s sons [to take a haircut], and for that reason they inferred: This implies that every other mourner is prohibited. For if the verse comes to caution them — that they are not permitted to let their hair grow long, how could they infer from here that others are prohibited to take a haircut and are obligated to let their hair grow? In truth, the only inference that could be made is since Aharon’s sons are prohibited from letting their hair grow, this implies that other mourners are permitted to let their hair grow. However, this poses a difficulty: If the verse comes to permit Aharon’s sons [to take a haircut], but they are not obligated to let their hair grow, why does Scripture write, “So that you will not die” afterwards? This implies that if they let their hair grow they will die, as Rashi himself explains: Therefore, if you do so, you will die. If so, Rashi’s words seem to be contradictory. This matter needs analysis. See there where Re’m dwells at length on this matter. Perhaps [we can say:] Rashi sensed this difficulty and therefore explained in his commentary on Chumash: “From here [we learn] that a mourner is forbidden [to take] a haircut...”

ואחיכם כל בית ישראל יבכו, "and your brethren the whole house of Israel will weep, etc." This is a מצוה, a desirable act; failure to do so will not arouse G'd's anger. The Torah is particular to write אשר שרף השם. This may best be understood in accordance with a statement in Shabbat 105 that anyone who weeps and mourns another person' death has his own sins forgiven and will not have cause to weep [for a tragedy in his immediate family. Ed.]. This thought is alluded to in the words אשר שרף, "He had burned." If the Israelites were to weep for the death of Nadav and Avihu now, there would be no future burning to be wept for. The words ולא תמותו ועל כל העדה יקצוף "so that you will not die and G'd will be angry at the whole congregation" mean, that when the righteous die G'd's anger is unleashed against the whole of Israel. The reason is that the righteous by their very existence had kept G'd's anger against Israel in check while they were alive. The death of priests is especially apt to result in G'd's anger becoming manifest as it was the task of the priest to assuage G'd's anger by means of the Temple service he performed while alive.

ובגדיכם לא תפרומו, “and do not rend your garments;” even though you are not priests, but on this occasion you are similar to a High Priest in this respect. Concerning the High Priest the Torah had written in Leviticus 21,10: את ראשו לא יפרע ובגדיו לא יפרום, “he must not let his hair grow loose on his head, he must not rend his garments (in mourning).” We know from Leviticus 13,45, that someone whom the priest has confirmed as having been stricken with the dread skin disease tzoraat, must rend his clothes and let his hair grow loose (as an external sign that he is suffering from this disease.)

ואחיכם כי בית ישראל BUT (LET] YOUR BRETHREN, THE WHOLE OF ISRAEL [WEEP] — From this it follows that for the miseries of the learned the duty devolves upon everyone (the entire community) to mourn (cf. Moed Katan 28b.)

Therefore, if... Re’m explains: Rashi explains this here, although it is obvious you can infer the positive statement from the negative statement, and so we infer throughout the entire Torah. [Here, however, it is] to teach that the verse’s intention is the affirmative statement that is inferred from it, and not the prohibition itself. This is because even in the rest of the optional matters that do not have the death penalty it is applicable to say with regard to them that if he will not do them he will not die. In this way we can explain “and you will not die” of (v. 9), “[do not drink] wine or any other intoxicant.” Rashi relies on his explanation here and does not explain similarly over there. It is from the superfluous phrases “you shall not die” that Rashi derives this, [because it did not need to be said] since Aharon’s sons were permitted to take a haircut, perforce they will not die. It seems that Rashi infers that this verse implies that other mourners are forbidden [to cut their hair], for if everyone else was permitted, and the verse only comes to caution that Aharon’s sons should not let their hair grow, if so, it would be difficult: Why does the verse need to caution them, since everyone else is permitted, why would you think that they would let their hair grow? Why should they be stringent and disturb the Omnipresent’s celebration? Furthermore: Why does it need to say, “and you will not die” — “therefore, if you do so, you will die”? Why do I need so much — a warning after a warning? It is understandable if all other mourners are prohibited [to cut their hair], for this reason we need a warning after a warning, so that you will not say that although Aharon’s sons were permitted to cut their hair, nevertheless, they could be stringent with themselves and go beyond the letter of the law since other mourners are prohibited [from taking a haircut]. For this reason Scripture needs to caution them, and write, “and you will not die” — “therefore, if you do so, you will die.” With this it seems to me that all Re’m’s difficulties are resolved.

ועל כל העדה יקצוף, “and He will display His anger at the whole community if you observe mourning.” Thiscommandment was applicable only on that day when these pallbearers removed the bodies of Nadav and Avihu from the sacred precincts where they had been struck down by heavenly fire. We find a similar construction in Psalms 9,19: “the hope of the humble beggars will not always be disappointed.”An alternate commentary: “if you were to observe mourning now, G-d will demonstrate His anger by not accepting the sacrifices you offer Him this day.”

Must [be mourned] by all. I.e., everyone is obligated to mourn if a Torah scholar is in pain, as the example here, in which Aharon was in pain. We should not say, however, perhaps this implies that if a Torah scholar died he must be mourned by all, as it is written: “And the entire House of Israel shall weep...” For if so, Scripture should have written, “and their brothers,” i.e., the brothers of the dead ones, which refer to all of Israel, “shall weep over the conflagration.” However, since it is written: “And your brothers,” it implies the brothers of Aharon, Elozor, and Isomor — the ones to whom Moshe was speaking.