Halakhah su Levitico 10:78

And it is necessary that you know that human eating is nothing but an illusion, that it is not a true thing or a real activity, that it is something deceptive, something that keeps changing as it goes through the internal organs in a sequence of causes and effects. But ideas refined through wisdom, and by the attachment of one’s thought to the light of the intellect to the Upper Wisdom is itself “real and lasting eating,” as in the way that our Sages of blessed memory interpreted the verse: “‘And they envisioned God, and they ate and drank.’¹²Ex 24:11. R. Yohanan says, ‘real eating,’ [akhilah vada’it], as it is said, ‘In the light of the face of the King – life!’¹³Prov.16:15. And it is necessary for you to think hard about this verse, why it was necessary to say, ‘they envisioned,’ and why wasn’t it written as it was just before, ‘they saw?¹⁴Ex. 24:10. But rather because it specified ‘they saw’ so you would not understand [what happened next] as actual seeing with the sense of your eye, it follows that it was necessary to say ‘they envisioned’ immediately afterward to teach you that this wasn’t this prior kind of ‘seeing’ [re’iyah], but rather seeing by means of prophecy, and that is why it said, ‘And they envisioned [va-yehezu] God, and they ate and drank,’ from the term for prophetic “vision” [mahzeh]. And the explanation of the Scripture ‘And they envisioned God, and they ate and drank,’ is that the leaders merited to see with the prophecy of ‘a glass that does not reflect,’ without a barrier, while the rest of Israel had a barrier, and Moses really “saw” directly.¹⁵That is, the leaders’ prophetic vision was better than the Israelites’, but not as direct as Moses.’ “And they ate and drank,” that is to say that their eating and drinking by this vision was indeed “real eating.” And it is also possible to interpret “And they ate and drank” as that they saw by prophecy the very attribute from which they “ate and drank,” that is, from the very same attribute from which the manna came to them, which is the principle behind all their material support, about which matter it is written, “She rises while it is still night,”¹⁶Prov. 31:15. and it is written “Here I am causing it to rain down.”¹⁷Ex 16:4. And you already knew that this was material support that occurred at night, for this is to what ‘She rises while is still night’ is referring. And thus the manna used to come down during the third watch of the night, when the Israelites were sleeping in their beds in the desert. And on the next day they would get up early in the morning and find their sustenance ready for them. This is the meaning of what is written: “So they gathered it every morning.”¹⁸Ex 16:21. And thus you will find in First Temple that the rains used to fall on Wednesday and Shabbat nights, and on the next day they would get up early in the morning to do their work, without wasting any time. And so you also find with King Hezekiah, who said, “Master of the World, I myself don’t have the power in me to pursue enemies, or to sing a victory song, but I sleep on my bed, and you do it.” And the Holy One Blessed be He replied to him, “You sleep in your bed while I do it,” as it is said, “That night, an angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp.”¹⁹2 Kings 19:35. This story about Hezekiah is a midrash from Lam. R. 30. It was about him (or this) David spoke when he said, “In vain do you rise up early and stay up late…He provides as much for His loved ones while they sleep.”²⁰Ps 127:2. The meaning of the Scripture is that what the other peoples achieve through hard work, by getting up early and staying up late to eat the bread for which they toil,²¹An allusion to Ps 127:2. R. Bahya hints here that food “served” to Israelites without any toil, that is, good things God prepares for them while they are asleep, is angelic food. As R. Bahya put in his preface, “Our food is not their food. Their [the angelic beings’] food is conceived in their mind, when they see the face of their Maker. Our food is meager bread, water, and tears, gotten by hard work and toil.” It is like the food Adam ate before the Fall.God provides to His loved ones while they sleep! This is the thing the Holy One provides to the one He loves, at the hour when he’s asleep, with no need to bother about it at all. And from now on any reference to “they ate and drank” means nothing other than a reference to “real eating,” or to eating the manna that was the offspring of the Upper Light – which is “real eating.”

Therefore the reverent person ought to have his intention connected to the higher things, and have his eating be to sustain his body alone and not to be drawn to physical pleasures, for being drawn to physical pleasures is the cause for the loss of both body and soul, and the cause for forgetting the point, for out of eating and drinking he will become full of himself [lit., lift up his heart] and stumble into great pitfalls and sins, and do things which should not be done. See how Joseph’s brothers sold him only in the middle of eating and drinking, as it is said, “They sat down to a meal, and looking up…”²²Gen 37:28. While eating the brothers looked up and saw the Ishmaelites to who they sold Joseph. R. Bahya expands upon this more fully in his commentary to the Torah on this verse. And for this reason the Torah said not to eat on Yom Kippur, which is the day of judgment for criminal cases involving people, because one’s eating might cause his soul to sin. And they even said in civil cases dealing with monetary compensation: “akhal ve-shatah al yorah” – “Don’t instruct right after eating and drinking!”²³A rhyming proverb in the Hebrew. Yorah, which means to instruct or teach, is the same verb used in the Biblical passage from Lev. 10:11 that R. Bahya cites. It is from the same Hebrew root as the word Torah. R. Bahya subtly makes another point here besides the obvious one that people are inclined to make bad judgments right after they’ve eaten and drunk. Namely, with this wordplay and the analogy to the Biblical priests, he’s reiterating his general contention that engaging in torah is a sacramental priest-likeactivity, even when done by non-priests – i.e., rabbinical torah scholars, or even ordinary Jews fasting on Yom Kippur. Why is this so? From what is written, “Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons,”²⁴Lev 10:9, addressed to Aaron and his sons, that is, the priests. and connected to it, “to instruct [le-horot] the Israelites.”²⁵Ibid., 10:11. When they were commanded to instruct [le-horot], they were warned to avoid wine, because wine confuses the mind, and it does not distinguish between the holy and the profane, which is why it is written “to distinguish.”²⁶Ibid., 10:10. All this is proof that eating and drinking causes human beings to move themselves away off the track of Torah and worship, and to cast aside all the statutes of Ha-Shem, may He be Blessed. All this is caused when one has eaten and is satisfied, and therefore the Torah commanded, “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless” (Deut 8:10). That is to say, after you will have eaten and have been satisfied, and you are close to throwing off the yoke of the commandments, “You shall bless YHWH your God” at the very moment you need to bless Him, so that you will take upon yourself the yoke of His rule and bless His name. And this in my opinion is the meaning of the Scripture, “In all your ways, know Him;”²⁷Prov 3:6. it means even at the time of eating when you are close to forgetting Him and to severing your reason from your mind, at that very moment, “know Him” and cleave to Him. And if you do this, “He will straighten your paths,”²⁸Prov 3:6. He will straighten your ways on the paths of life, namely, the soul’s successful attainment of the world to come. If so, then a person ought to eat only for the sustenance of his body alone, and it is forbidden for him to pursue any sort of pleasure unless it is to make his body healthy and make the eyes of his intellect clear-sighted. In order for his body to be healthy and strong, he should pursue what pleases [his intellect] and his Creator, for his organs are combined and possess the capacity exactly in the measure that enables him to bear the yoke of the Torah and its commandments, which is the point of the verse written about the tribe of Issachar, “he bent his shoulder to bear the burden” (Gen 49:15), which is the same language used to refer to the giving of the Torah, “He [God] bent the sky and came down” (2 Sam 22:10). And anyone whose intention is this, is an angel of the Lord of Hosts, but whoever does not direct their intention to this end, is “likened to the beasts that perish.” (Ps 49:13,21). “You can see for yourself”²⁹1 Sam 24:12: Re-eh gam re-eh – “you can see for yourself” (JSB). Joseph the righteous, who was noted for his quality of reverence [yir’ah], from what is written, “I am a God-fearing man”³⁰Gen 42:18. and “Am I a substitute for God?”³¹Ibid. 50:19. hinted at this point when he said, “take something for the hunger of your houses and be off.”³²Ibid. 42:33. He comes to instruct and to teach people to know that they should only eat to break their hunger, not to fill their belly and be drawn by the taste, which is base and to be scorned, because that is a disgrace to us, utter waste, and a thing which has no point to it. And do not say that this because it was a time of famine, because when Joseph was “a prince and commander of peoples,”³³Is 55:4.and the treasuries of the king were under his control, he had the power to supply bread and food to his father and brothers, as in the other the years of plenty. However, instead he made it known to us that this is the way of Torah and fear of Ha-Shem (may He be blessed!), that a person should only eat, satisfy himself, and fill his belly to satisfy his soul.

Therefore the reverent person ought to have his intention connected to the higher things, and have his eating be to sustain his body alone and not to be drawn to physical pleasures, for being drawn to physical pleasures is the cause for the loss of both body and soul, and the cause for forgetting the point, for out of eating and drinking he will become full of himself [lit., lift up his heart] and stumble into great pitfalls and sins, and do things which should not be done. See how Joseph’s brothers sold him only in the middle of eating and drinking, as it is said, “They sat down to a meal, and looking up…”²²Gen 37:28. While eating the brothers looked up and saw the Ishmaelites to who they sold Joseph. R. Bahya expands upon this more fully in his commentary to the Torah on this verse. And for this reason the Torah said not to eat on Yom Kippur, which is the day of judgment for criminal cases involving people, because one’s eating might cause his soul to sin. And they even said in civil cases dealing with monetary compensation: “akhal ve-shatah al yorah” – “Don’t instruct right after eating and drinking!”²³A rhyming proverb in the Hebrew. Yorah, which means to instruct or teach, is the same verb used in the Biblical passage from Lev. 10:11 that R. Bahya cites. It is from the same Hebrew root as the word Torah. R. Bahya subtly makes another point here besides the obvious one that people are inclined to make bad judgments right after they’ve eaten and drunk. Namely, with this wordplay and the analogy to the Biblical priests, he’s reiterating his general contention that engaging in torah is a sacramental priest-likeactivity, even when done by non-priests – i.e., rabbinical torah scholars, or even ordinary Jews fasting on Yom Kippur. Why is this so? From what is written, “Drink no wine or other intoxicant, you or your sons,”²⁴Lev 10:9, addressed to Aaron and his sons, that is, the priests. and connected to it, “to instruct [le-horot] the Israelites.”²⁵Ibid., 10:11. When they were commanded to instruct [le-horot], they were warned to avoid wine, because wine confuses the mind, and it does not distinguish between the holy and the profane, which is why it is written “to distinguish.”²⁶Ibid., 10:10. All this is proof that eating and drinking causes human beings to move themselves away off the track of Torah and worship, and to cast aside all the statutes of Ha-Shem, may He be Blessed. All this is caused when one has eaten and is satisfied, and therefore the Torah commanded, “And you shall eat and be satisfied, and you shall bless” (Deut 8:10). That is to say, after you will have eaten and have been satisfied, and you are close to throwing off the yoke of the commandments, “You shall bless YHWH your God” at the very moment you need to bless Him, so that you will take upon yourself the yoke of His rule and bless His name. And this in my opinion is the meaning of the Scripture, “In all your ways, know Him;”²⁷Prov 3:6. it means even at the time of eating when you are close to forgetting Him and to severing your reason from your mind, at that very moment, “know Him” and cleave to Him. And if you do this, “He will straighten your paths,”²⁸Prov 3:6. He will straighten your ways on the paths of life, namely, the soul’s successful attainment of the world to come. If so, then a person ought to eat only for the sustenance of his body alone, and it is forbidden for him to pursue any sort of pleasure unless it is to make his body healthy and make the eyes of his intellect clear-sighted. In order for his body to be healthy and strong, he should pursue what pleases [his intellect] and his Creator, for his organs are combined and possess the capacity exactly in the measure that enables him to bear the yoke of the Torah and its commandments, which is the point of the verse written about the tribe of Issachar, “he bent his shoulder to bear the burden” (Gen 49:15), which is the same language used to refer to the giving of the Torah, “He [God] bent the sky and came down” (2 Sam 22:10). And anyone whose intention is this, is an angel of the Lord of Hosts, but whoever does not direct their intention to this end, is “likened to the beasts that perish.” (Ps 49:13,21). “You can see for yourself”²⁹1 Sam 24:12: Re-eh gam re-eh – “you can see for yourself” (JSB). Joseph the righteous, who was noted for his quality of reverence [yir’ah], from what is written, “I am a God-fearing man”³⁰Gen 42:18. and “Am I a substitute for God?”³¹Ibid. 50:19. hinted at this point when he said, “take something for the hunger of your houses and be off.”³²Ibid. 42:33. He comes to instruct and to teach people to know that they should only eat to break their hunger, not to fill their belly and be drawn by the taste, which is base and to be scorned, because that is a disgrace to us, utter waste, and a thing which has no point to it. And do not say that this because it was a time of famine, because when Joseph was “a prince and commander of peoples,”³³Is 55:4.and the treasuries of the king were under his control, he had the power to supply bread and food to his father and brothers, as in the other the years of plenty. However, instead he made it known to us that this is the way of Torah and fear of Ha-Shem (may He be blessed!), that a person should only eat, satisfy himself, and fill his belly to satisfy his soul.

One must be clearheaded when she prays. Unlike many idol worshipers, who perform their rituals using drugs and alcohol to attain a state of ecstasy, our petitions to God are achieved through seriousness and deep thought. That is why the Torah commands the kohanim not to enter the Temple and perform the Divine service while inebriated (Vayikra 10:8-11). The Sages derive from this that one who is drunk or tipsy may not pray.

The presence of snapir ve-kaskeset, usually translated as "fins and scales," is the distinguishing criterion which serves to identify those species of fish which are permitted as kosher. The term "scales," however, is an inexact translation of the biblical term kaskeset which occurs in Leviticus 11:9. There exist a variety of anatomical structures known as "scales" which do not satisfy the halakhic definition of kaskeset. As evidenced by the terminology employed by the Gemara, Avodah Zarah 39a, and by Targum Onkelos, Leviticus 11:9, the term kaskeset denotes only scales which can be "peeled" or removed without injury to the underlying skin.¹See also Ramban, Commentary on the Bible, Leviticus 10:10; Tiferet Yisra’el, Ḥullin 3:96; and R. Menachem Mendel Schneerson, Teshuvot Ẓemaḥ Ẓedek, Yoreh De‘ah, no. 61. Cf., Teshuvot Noda bi-Yehudah, Mahadura Tinyana, Yoreh De‘ah, nos. 28-30, and Teshuvot Ketav Sofer, Yoreh De‘ah, no. 45. In terms of biological classification, both ctenoid scales and cosmoid scales possess this characteristic. Scales of other types, are, in fact, projections or tubercles of the skin itself rather than a separate covering. Since scales of non-kosher species are integral to the skin itself, removal of such scales causes damage to the skin. Such damage can be observed visually at the time of removal. Thus, whether or not the scales of a particular species meet the criteria of kaskeset may be established at the time of their removal. Removal of the scales without damage to the skin establishes that the scales removed constitute a separate covering, or kaskeset, and not merely projections of the skin itself.²See Dr. Israel Meir Levinger, Mazon Kasher min ha-Ḥai, 2nd edition (Jerusalem, 5740), pp. 92 ff.

Nevertheless, this conclusion, as well as that of Rabbi Landau, appears to be incorrect. In the above-cited ruling of Rambam, Hilkhot Ma'akhalot Assurot 3:8, regarding an unhatched embryo endowed with wings, Rambam rules that the unhatched embryo of a forbidden bird possessing wings is a sherez ha-of, i.e., a swarming bird-creature. That prohibition attaches to the unhatched creature despite the fact that its wings were never used and it never engaged in flight.⁸²Rabbi Friedman does take note of Rambam’s ruling and somewhat implausibly distinguishes the two cases: In the case of the unhatched bird, the embryo, if left undisturbed, will hatch and actually fly; the Anisakis however, is destined to be ingested by a larger fish and will never actually “creep” in water. It might be countered that, despite the grammatical identity of the two phrases, the phrase "mi-kol sherez hamayim"(Leviticus 11:10) translates literally as "of all that swarms in water" while kol sherez ha-of (Leviticus 10:20) should be translated as "all of the swarming birds," i.e., creatures having capacity for flight but not necessarily creatures that have flown. More likely, in both the case of a sherez ha-of and in the case of a sherez ha-mayim, it is the "to'ar" (to use the terminology of the Brisker Rav), i.e., the appearance or physical characteristics of the creature that are determinative rather than the actual performance of the activity common to such creatures. Hence, any organism having the appearance of a creature that "swarms in water" would be prohibited even if that creature has not actually swarmed in water.

That He prohibited us from entering the Temple or giving instruction about one of the laws of the Torah while we are drunk. And that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "Do not drink wine or strong drink, etc." (Leviticus 10:9). And adjacent to it (Leviticus 10:11) is, "And that you may teach the Children of Israel, etc." And the language of the Talmud (Nazir 38a) is, "One who drank a quarter measure, he should not instruct." And there is variation in the punishment for [transgressing] this negative commandment: As it is not [permitted for one] to enter between the hall and the altar and into all of the sanctuary. But if one transgressed and entered, [he is liable for lashes. However if he served while drunk,] he is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens. And if he drank from the other intoxicating drinks besides wine, and served, he is only liable for lashes and not for death. And anyone who gives instruction while drunk transgresses a negative commandment - whether he is a priest or an Israelite, whether he is drunk from wine or from other drinks. And the language of the Sifra (Sifra, Shemini, Section 1:2) is, "'Do not drink wine' - I only [know about] wine. From where [do we know about] other intoxicating drinks? [Hence] we learn to say, 'or strong drink.' If so, why does it state, 'Do not drink wine?' For wine, [the punishment is] with death; for other beverages, with lashes." And there, it is said, "From where [do we know] that he is only liable [if he is drunk] at the time of the service? [Hence] we learn to say, 'you or your sons, when you enter the Tent of Meeting, that you may not die.'" And there, they [also] said, "Perhaps Israelites would be liable for death for instruction (when drunk). [Hence] we learn to say, 'you or your sons [...] that you may not die' - but Israelites are not with death." And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in the second [chapter] of Zevachim. (See Parashat Shemini; Mishneh Torah, Admission into the Sanctuary.)

That is that He commanded the priests to eat the meat of consecrated animals - meaning the sin-offering and the guilt-offering, which are the most consecrated of the consecrated (kodshei kedoshim). And that is His saying, "And they shall eat those with which they atoned" (Exodus 29:33). And the language of the [Sifra] (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 2:4) is, "From where [do we know] that the eating of offerings is atonement? [Hence] we learn to say, 'and it, has He given to you to forgive the sin of the congregation' (Leviticus 10:17). How is this? Priests eat and the owners are atoned for." And from the stipulations of this commandment - and that is the eating that is the commandment - is, however, that it be for the day and the night, until midnight. And afterwards, the eating of that sin-offering or guilt-offering is forbidden. Indeed, the commandment of eating is for a limited time. And women are not obligated in it, since women do not eat the most consecrated of the consecrated, about which the verse appears. However the other consecrated foods, meaning the less consecrated of the consecrated (kodshim kalim), are eaten for two days and a night - except for the thanksgiving-offering and the ram of the nazarite, which are for one day and the night until midnight, even though they are of the less consecrated of the consecrated. And women also eat from the less consecrated of the consecrated. And its eating is also an extension of the commandment; likewise is the eating of the priestly tithe an extension of the commandment. However the eating of the less consecrated of the consecrated and of priestly tithes is not like the eating of the meat of the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. For the atonement of the penitent is completed with the eating of this meat from the sin-offering and the guilt-offering, as we explained; and the language of the command is about their eating, which is not the case with the less consecrated of the consecrated and priestly tithes. And therefore it is [only] an extension of the commandment; but one who eats them does a commandment. And the language of the Sifrei (Sifrei Bamidbar 116:2) is "'I give you your priesthood as a service of gift' (Numbers 18:7) - to make the eating of consecrated items in the [outer] limits like the Temple service in the Temple: Just like for the service of the Temple, he washes his hands and then eats; so too does he wash his hands and then eat the consecrated items [outside the Temple]. And the laws of this commandment have already been explained in Zevachim. (See Parashat Tetzaveh; Mishneh Torah, Sacrificial Procedure 10.)

That the priests not enter the Temple with grown hair: That the priests not enter the Temple with grown hair, like mourners do - meaning to say that they not grow their hair long, as it is stated (Leviticus 10:6), "you shall not let your head be wild." And the Targum (Aramaic translation of Onkelos) said, "Do not increase locks." And Yechezkel the prophet elucidated and said (Ezekiel 44:20), "and they shall not send forth locks." And so too with the metsora (Leviticus 13:45), "and his head shall be wild" - and they said in Sifra [that it means], "He grows locks."

And the prevention was already repeated with the high priest, and it stated (Leviticus 10:6), "and he shall not let his head be wild." However it is repeated in order that we not think that that which is stated to Elazar and Itamar, "you shall not let your head be wild," would only be from the angle of the dead alone; and that when they do this not from the angle of mourning, it would be permissible. Therefore, it is elucidated with the high priest that it is because of the service, that God, may He be blessed, commanded them to cut their hair (see Sefer HaMitzvot LaRambam, Mitzvot Lo Taase 163).

And [it] is practiced at the time of the [Temple] by the males of the priesthood. And one who transgresses it and enters the Temple with wild [hair] - meaning after he grows his hair for thirty days - and serves there is liable for death by the hand of the Heavens; as it is stated, (Leviticus 10:6), "you shall not let your head be wild [...] and you shall not die." And the words of the Torah are [in short] - meaning to say, behold if they let their heads be wild, they will die. Nonetheless their service is not disqualified. And one who entered there but did not serve, is with a warning - meaning to say, he violated a negative commandment and is lashed. But he is only in [the category of] the death penalty if he served - since so did the explanation come. And Ramban, may his memory be blessed, wrote (in Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzvot Lo Taase 163) that one with wild [hair] not enter the Temple is an embellishment from [the Rabbis] and is not from Torah writ; and his proofs are in his book. And he said that the verse is only coming to forbid drawing close for service, and it is included in the negative commandment of one with a blemish who served. And he wrote further that even the Sages only forbade the place that is called, "between the chamber and the altar"; but they did not forbid in front of the altar itself - which is thirty-two ells, as we learned (Mishnah Middot 3:1, 6), "The altar was thirty-two ells [...]; between the chamber and the altar was twenty-two."

That the priests not enter the Temple with torn clothes: That the priests not enter the Temple with torn clothes, as it is stated (Leviticus 10:6), "and you shall not rend your clothes" - the understanding is, do not tear your clothes. And the prevention is repeated with the high priest, as it is stated about him (Leviticus 21:10), "and he shall not rend his clothes." And repeating the prevention about it is because of the addition of a thing with him: That he is not permitted to tear for a dead when he dies - and even not during the time of the service. And they said in Sifra, Emor, Section 2:3, "'And he shall not let his hair be wild and he shall not rend his clothes' - for his dead, as [other] people do for their dead. Behold, how is it? The high-priest rends from the bottom (of his garment), and common [priests], from the top."

That He prohibited us from eating second tithe when grieving - even in Jerusalem - until it has been redeemed. And that is His saying, "I did not eat of it when grieving" (Deuteronomy 26:14). And the language of the Mishnah in Bikkurim (Bikkurim 2:2) is, "That the [second] tithe and firstfruits require being brought to [the appointed] place; they require confession; and they are forbidden to one grieving." And likewise anyone grieving is forbidden with regards to all consecrated foods due to this verse, as well as due to it being written in the Torah, "and such things have befallen me" (Leviticus 10:19). And the regulations of this commandment - meaning to say, grieving - have already been explained in the eighth [chapter] of Pesachim and the second [chapter] of Zevachim. And one who eats second tithe or tithes while grieving is lashed. (See Parashat Ki Tavo; Mishneh Torah, Second Tithes and Fourth Year's Fruit 3.)

That the priests not go out from the Temple at the time of the service: That the priests not go out from the Temple at the time of the service, as it stated (Leviticus 10:7), "And from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting you shall not go out, lest you die." And this prevention was repeated likewise with the high priest, and it stated (Leviticus 21:12), "And from the sanctuary he shall not go out." And the language of Sifra, Shemini, Mechilta d'Miluim 42-43 is "'And from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting' - it could be [that they shall not go out] at the time of the service and [also] not at the time of the service. [Hence] we learn to say, 'And from the sanctuary he shall not go out and he will not profane' - [...] it would be said, when he is officiating. [...] 'For the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you' - I only have Aharon and his sons who were anointed with the oil of anointment, if they went out while serving, they would be liable for death; from where [do I know] for all of the priests of the generations? As it is stated, 'for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you.'"

To not enter the Temple intoxicated, and likewise to not give a ruling intoxicated: To not enter the Temple intoxicated, and likewise to not give a ruling - meaning to say to judge something of the laws of the Torah - while a man is still drunk, as it is stated (Leviticus 10:9), "Wine and strong drink you shall not drink, etc. in your coming to the Tent of Meeting." And the language of the Talmud (Eruvin 64a) is "If he drank a reviit, he may not give a ruling." And the language of Sifra, Shmini, Section 1:2 is "'Wine [...] you shall not drink' - I only have wine. From where [do I know] all the other intoxicants? [Hence] we learn to say, 'strong drink.' If so, why is it stated, 'wine?' For wine, [one is liable] for death. For all other intoxicants, [one is liable] for a negative commandment." And there it is stated, "From where [do I know] that he is only liable at the time of the service? [Hence] we learn to say, 'you and your sons, and you shall not die' - you and your sons are with death, but Israelites are not liable for death for giving a ruling."

And just like it is forbidden for a priest to come to the Temple on account of drunkenness, so is it forbidden for any man - whether priest or Israelite - to give a ruling when he is drunk. Even if he drunk the honey of dates or milk and his mind is mixed up, he should not issue a ruling; as in the section of "Wine and strong drink you shall not drink," it is stated (Leviticus 10:11), "And to instruct the Children of Israel." But if he gave a ruling about a thing that is explicit in the Torah to the point that the Sadducees (conceded) [know] it, it is permitted - for example, if he gave a ruling that a sherets (certain swarming animals) is impure or that blood is forbidden, or similar to them. And it is permitted for a drunk to read the Torah, and even laws and homilies (midrash) - and that is when he does not give a ruling. And if he was a sage that regularly gave rulings, he should not teach - as his teaching is [legal] instruction. If he drank only enough for a reviit and there was the smallest amount of water in it or he slept a little or he walked [the distance] of a mil, the wine has already passed and he is permitted to serve. But if he drink more than a reviit - even if it is mixed - if he a slept a little or walked on the way, it adds to his drunkenness. Rather he should wait according to his drunkenness until there is nothing at all left from his drunkenness. The [priests] of the shift were permitted to drink wine during the nights, but not during the days, of their week (Taanit 15b) - and even the other clans of the shift whose service was not on that day, lest the service be heavy for the clan of that day and they require other men from their shift to help them. But the men of the shift from that day are forbidden to drink both night and day, lest he drink at night and get up early for his service while his wine has still not gone away from upon him.

To not do an act of yidaaoni: To not do an act of yidaaoni, as it is stated (Leviticus 19:31), "Do not turn to the ovs and to the yidaaonis." And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, explained (Sefer Ha Mitzvot, Mitzvot Lo Taaseh 9) and this is his language: "That the matter is that he takes a bone of a bird the name of which is yidoaa, places it into his mouth, burns types of incense to it, makes incantations and performs actions, until he is connected with the matter of the disease of epilepsy - like the disease that is called sovat - and speaks out predictions. And so did they, may their memory be blessed, say (Sanhedrin 65a), 'Yidaaoni [is that] he places a well-known bone into his mouth and it speaks on its own.' And do not think that this is a general negative commandment, as it already separated them: When it mentioned the punishment, it stated, 'ov or a yidaaoni' and made one liable for stoning and excision for each of the two of them, when volitional. And that is its stating (Leviticus 10:1), 'And a man or a woman that has an ov or a yidaaoni with them shall surely be killed, etc.' And the language of Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 9:1 [is] 'Since it states, "And a man or a woman, etc." We have heard the punishment; from where [do I know] the warning? [Hence] we learn to say, "Do not turn to the ovs and to the yidaaonis."'" Its neighbor, ov (Sefer HaChinukh 255), will speak about all of the content of yidaaoni. And there in Sanhedrin [in] the sixth chapter are its laws also elucidated.

The commandment of the matter of the impurity of the priests for their relatives, and included in it is that each one in Israel should mourn for their six relatives [the identify of which is] well-known: That the priests should become impure for the dead bodies (the relatives) that are mentioned in the Torah, as it is stated (Leviticus 21:3), "for her, he shall become impure." And this is a positive commandment, as so did the explanation come. And so is it explained in Sifra, Emor, Section 1:12, "'For her, he shall become impure' - is a commandment. If he does not want to become impure, we make him impure by force." And were it not that we received this explanation from our Sages, I would have reasoned to say that it be optional - if he wants, he becomes impure; if he does not want, he does not become impure - since Scripture prevented him from becoming impure for the rest of his relatives. And I would have said that regarding these mentioned in the section of the Torah, they were permitted to become impure if they wanted. Hence the explanation about it came to us - that it is not optional, but rather a commandment. And the Sages, may their memory be blessed, mentioned a story that Yosef the priest came when his wife died on the eve of Pesach and he did not want to become impure, and the Sages pushed him and made him impure by force. And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote (Sefer HaMitzvot LaRambam, Mitzvot Ase 37), "And this itself is the commandment of mourning - meaning to say that each person in Israel is obligated to mourn for his relatives, meaning the six relatives mentioned in Scripture." And the verse that the Rabbi brought [as a source] (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Mourning 1:1) for the commandment of mourning is that which is stated by Aharon, "if I had eaten the sin-offering today, would it have been good in the eyes of the Lord?" (Leviticus 10:19). And he said, "And for the strengthening of this commandment did they elucidate about the priest that he is warned about impurity, that he should become impure regardless like other Israelites, in order that the laws of mourning not become weakened. And it was already elucidated that mourning of the first day is by Torah writ - and that is the day of death and burial. And they said in the elucidation in Moed Katan 14b [that] it is not practiced on the holiday - the positive commandment of the many comes and pushes off the positive commandment of the individual. And behold, it is elucidated [from this] that the obligation of mourning is from Torah writ and that it is a positive commandment - but only on the first day. And the remaining six [days] are rabbinic. And even a priest observes mourning on the first day, as he becomes impure for his relatives. And understand this." To here [are his words].

To not eat the second tithe in bereavement: To not eat the second tithe in bereavement. And I have written the content of the second tithe in the Order of Reeh Anochi (Sefer HaChinukh 473). And the content of bereavement from Torah writ is that one who has one of his relatives die on him is obligated to mourn for them - that day that [the relative] dies and he buries him, he is called a bereaved (onen). And they, may their memory be blessed, said explicitly that only the day of death and burial is the main bereavement from Torah writ. And [that is] specifically the day, but not the night, as it is stated (Leviticus 10:19), "And I ate the sin-offering of the day" - and they, may their memory be blessed, expounded (Zevachim 100b), "'The day' is forbidden, but it is permitted at night." And about this is it stated (Deuteronomy 26:14), "I have not eaten from it in bereavement" - meaning to say that if he ate from it in bereavement, he would have transgressed. And it is not only second tithes that it is forbidden to eat in bereavement, but rather one who eats any consecrated foods in bereavement is lashed for them (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Second Tithes and Fourth Year's Fruit 3:7).