Halakhah su Levitico 22:9

That He prohibited an impure priest from serving [in the Temple]. And that is His, may He be blessed, saying, "that they separate themselves from the holy things of the Children of Israel" (Leviticus 22:2). And in the ninth [chapter] of Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 83b), they said, "From where [do we know that] an impure priest who served is [punished] with death. As it is written, 'Speak unto Aharon and unto his sons, that they separate [... and not desecrate].'" And [that] He said in another place, "and die for it, since they desecrated it" (Leviticus 22:9). And just like that desecration is with death at the hands of the Heavens, so too is His saying, "and not desecrate My holy name" - so if he desecrated and served in impurity, he is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens. (See Parashat Emor; Mishneh Torah, Admission into the Sanctuary 4.)

That He prohibited all outsiders (non-priests) from eating priestly tithe. And that is His saying, "And no outsider shall eat of the consecrated food (kodesh)" (Leviticus 22:10). And with this, "consecrated food," He meant, the priestly tithe and the firstfruits - as they are also called, the priestly tithe, as I will explain (Sefer HaMitzvot, Negative Commandments 149). And this is what I mean whenever I say, priestly tithe. And if one eats priestly tithe volitionally, he is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens. And he is only liable for the addition of a fifth [in its repayment] when inadvertent, as it is explained in Terumah in Chapter 7 (Terumot 7:1); and in Sanhedrin (Sanhedrin 83a), among the nine that are liable for death at the hands of the Heavens - and an outsider that ate priestly tithe is one of them. And they positioned as a proof for this, "and die because of it for having profaned it" (Leviticus 22:9), and [it being written] after it, "And no outsider shall eat of [the consecrated food]." And in the second [chapter] of Bikkurim, (Bikkurim 2:1), [they] said, "For the priestly tithe and for firstfruits, one is liable for death [at the hands of the Heavens], and a fifth; and they are forbidden to outsiders." But Rav disagrees with these mishnahs, and says that an outsider who eats priestly tithe is [only] lashed. And it is well-known that Rav is [like] a Tanna, and [is therefore allowed to] disagree (Sanhedrin 83b). And we have already explained in our composition in the Commentary on the Mishnah that [regarding] any disagreement that does not involve a disagreement in practice, but just in theory alone - I will not determine the law and say, "The law is like x." Hence, I will not say, "The law is like Rav," and I will not say, "The law is like the unnamed mishnah." For he is lashed according to everyone, as we explained: For whoever is liable for death at the hands of the Heavens for one of the negative commandments is also lashed - as we explained in the introduction to this essay. And likewise, anyone who misappropriated consecrated foods volitionally is lashed, without a doubt. And that is their saying about a discerning one close [to becoming] an adult who consecrates [an item] - they said (Niddah 46b), "[If] he consecrated [an item], and others ate it: Rabbi Yochanan and Reish Lakish both say, 'We give lashes.'" (See Parashat Emor; Mishneh Torah, Heave Offerings 6.)

That He prohibited us from eating the meat of a burnt-offering. And that is His, may He be exalted, saying, "You may not eat in your cities, etc. and all your pledges that you pledge" (Deuteronomy 12:17) - as if He were saying, "You may not eat in your cities your pledges that you pledge." And the explanation (Sifrei Devarim 74:1) appeared [about it]: "'And all your vows' - that is a burnt-offering. The verse only came to teach you about one who eats a burnt-offering - whether before the sprinkling of its blood or after the sprinkling of its blood; whether inside the curtains or outside the curtains - he transgresses a negative commandment." And this negative statement is the prohibition for all who misappropriate. And one who transgresses this negative commandment - meaning that he eats from the meat of a burnt-offering; or benefits from the other consecrated foods about which one is liable for misappropriation, as explained in Meilah - is lashed if he was volitional; and brings a misappropriation-offering and repays what he benefited and adds a fifth if he was inadvertent, as we explained in (the Commentary on the Mishnah on) Tractate Meilah. [In Pesachim (Pesachim 83a),] they said, "One who volitionally misappropriates: Rabbi says, '[His punishment is] with death'; but the Sages say, 'With a prohibition.'" And they brought a proof - "and die for it" (Leviticus 22:9). ["It," and not misappropriation.] (See Parashat Re'eh; Mishneh Torah, Sacrificial Procedure 11.)

That an impure priest not serve: That a priest not serve when he is still impure, as it is stated (Leviticus 22:2), "and they shall separate from the holy things of the Children of Israel and they shall not profane My holy name." And they, may their memory be blessed, said in the ninth chapter of Sanhedrin 83b, "From where [do we know] about an impure one who served that he is [punished] with death" - meaning to say, with death by the hands of the Heavens? "As it is written, 'Speak to Aharon and to his sons, and they shall separate from the holy things of the Children of Israel and they shall not profane'"; and it is written in another place (Leviticus 22:9), "and die for it, since they profaned it."

That an impure priest not eat priestly tithe: That an impure priest not eat priestly tithe, as it is stated (Leviticus 22:4), "Every man from the seed of Aharon, etc. from the holy things he shall not eat, until he becomes pure." And we say in Tractate Makkot 14b, "From where [do I know about] a warning for priestly tithe" - meaning to say, that he not eat it [while he is] impure? "As it is stated, 'Every man, etc.'; what is the thing that is equal to the seed of Aharon" - meaning to say, that all of the seed eat it, males and females? "I would say, 'that is the priestly tithe.'" And the warning about this matter is repeated, as it is written (Leviticus 22:9), "And they shall keep My charge." And [it is] like they said in Sanhedrin 83a [in] the ninth chapter concerning those liable for death by the hands of the Heavens, that they learn [about] the one who is impure that eats priestly tithe, from "And they shall keep My charge and they shall not bear a sin for it."

And the prohibition of the eating of priestly tithes for non-priests is practiced by all of Israel, males and females, in any place that there is priestly tithe from Torah writ - that is at the time that the Land of Israel is in its settlement, for then the obligation of priestly tithe is from Torah writ, as we will write in the Order of Shoftim (Sefer HaChinukh, 507) in the commandment of separating the great priestly tithe, with God's help. And at this time, this prohibition is practiced rabbinically with the fruits of the Land of Israel, and as we will write there. One who transgressed this and ate priestly tithe and is a "foreigner," such as an Israelite - who is a foreigner - or even a priest or priestess who was profaned from [their status in the] priesthood through one of the well-known [mechanisms of] profanation that our Sages, may their memory be blessed, have instructed us, is liable for death by the hands of the Heavens , as it appears in the ninth chapter of Sanhedrin 83b, from that which is written (Leviticus 22:9), "and die for it, since they profaned it," and afterwards, "And any foreigner shall not eat the holy."

To not eat tevel: To not eat tevel - whether an Israelite or a priest - and that is a thing that tithes and priestly tithes have not been taken away from it, as it is stated (Leviticus 22:15), "And they shall not profane the consecrated things of the Children of Israel that they shall raise to the Lord." And the received (traditional) explanation comes about this (Sanhedrin 83a) that the verse is speaking about tevel. And the content of the verse is to say that they should not profane the consecrated things in their still being mixed with the non-sacred. And that is [why] the expression is [in] future tense - meaning to say that it has not yet been raised. And so [too], is it in the Gemara Sanhedrin 83a, "From where [do we know] about the one who eats tevel that he is [punishable by] death? As it is stated, 'And they shall not profane the consecrated things of the Children of Israel that they shall raise to the Lord' - the verse is speaking about those that will be raised in the future; such that we learn [a comparison of] 'profane' [and] 'profane' from priestly tithe," about which it is written (Numbers 18:32), "and the consecrated things of the Children of Israel you shall not profane and not die." And [the latter] is with the death penalty - as we wrote above (Sefer HaChinukh 280), from that which is written (Leviticus 22:9), "and die for it, since they profaned it," and adjacent to it, "And any foreigner shall not eat the holy." And they, may their memory be blessed, also said about this matter in the Gemara Makkot 16b, "Perhaps one is only liable for eating tevel from which no [gifts] were taken at all; but if the great priestly tithe was taken from [the produce], but not the tithe of the tithe, or the first tithe or the second tithe, or even if only the poor tithe [was not separated]; from where [is it derived] that there is a liability in the thing? [Hence] we learn to say, 'You may not eat in your gates' (Deuteronomy 12:17), and later it states, 'and they shall eat within your gates and be satisfied' (Deuteronomy 26:12). Just as there, it is poor tithe, here too, it is poor tithe - and the [Torah] states, 'You may not.'"