레위기 21:6의 주석

קדשים יהיו THEY SHALL BE HOLY — even against their will — the court shall force them to remain holy in respect to this (Sifra, Emor, Chapter 1 6).

THEY SHALL BE HOLY UNTO THEIR G-D. Holiness signifies separateness, as I have explained in the section above.²⁴In the beginning of Seder Kedoshim. Scripture is thus stating that even in those things which are permissible to Israelites, the priests should exercise self-control, avoiding the impurity of the dead, and marrying of women who are unfit for them in purity and cleanliness.

ולא יחללו שם אלוקיהם, even though all of the aforementioned were expressions of grief over the loss of relatives, the priest is not permitted to disregard the dignity which his status as priest imposes upon him. Even though the priests, no doubt, mean to honour G’d in what they are doing, when they disregard the restrictions their status imposes upon them, they indirectly desecrate the name of the Lord.

קדושים יהיו, “They shall be holy, etc.” Nachmanides writes that קדושה is a term describing a certain type of abstinence, as he had explained on previous of occasions. In the case of the priests, the Torah re-emphasises this to teach that even though the Torah had already made holiness a state every Israelite is to strive for, the priests must abstain even from things that are perfectly permissible for the ordinary Israelite. The most prominent example of these is the mitzvah to busy oneself with the burial of the dead. Another, well known example, is the restriction the Torah imposes on the priests in the type of woman that is eligible to become the wife of a priest.

קדושים יהיו לאלוהיהם, “they are to remain holy to their G’d.” This apparently superfluous comment means that the priests should practice a degree of abstinence, caution of coming close to temptation, over and above what is required of ordinary Israelites. Matters which are permitted to ordinary Israelites, and which therefore are not displeasing in the eyes of the Lord per se, are nevertheless out of bounds for the priests. These include marrying divorcees, women who had been unchaste at one time or another, etc. It is not appropriate for people who derive their food from G’d’s Altar to associate with the categories of people listed in an intimate relationship The word זונה in our verse includes a woman who had sexual relations with someone forbidden to her as a marriage partner. The word חללה refers to someone born of one of the five categories of marriages forbidden to be entered into by priests. On the other hand, priests (other than the High priest) are permitted to marry widows. This is the meaning of the verse in Ezekiel 44,22 והאלמנה אשר תהיה אלמנה מכהן יקחו, “but some priests may marry a widow;” (i.e. a priest who is not High Priest).

The court shall sanctify them against their will. [Re’m explains]: Because it is not written “They (are) holy” (קדושים הם), but rather, “They shall be holy” (קדושים יהיו), which indicates [even] against their will. The explanation of his explanation is: יהיו is in the third person, speaking of the kohanim to the beis din. Even though the verse could not say “you shall be” (תהיו) in the second person because the whole subject is said in the third person, “They shall not make baldness,” “They shall not shave,” etc., nevertheless, it could have said “They (are) holy” (קדושים הם). This is easy to understand (R. Yaakov Taryosh) Even though above (Vayikra 19:2) it says [regarding the Bnei Yisroel], “You shall be holy” (קדושים תהיו), and there it is not mentioned that this is against their will? The answer seems to be: Above, it first said “You shall be holy” and afterwards explained how they should be holy, by restricting themselves from wives who are forbidden to them. Here, however, it first commanded the kohanim about what is forbidden, such as defilement of the dead; if so, what is it adding when it says “They shall be holy,” since “They shall be holy” cannot be an explanation of what came before it [as it adds nothing]. Therefore, Rashi answers that it is an additional command to the beis din, in addition to commanding [the kohanim] themselves regarding this. (Divrei Dovid)

והיו קודש, “therefore they shall be holy.” This “holiness” also includes priests suffering a physical handicap which disqualifies them from performing service in the Temple.” (Sifra)

כי אני ה' מקדשכם, ”seeing that it is I, Hashem, Who sanctifies you.” The switch to direct speech (you) again, signals a continuation of the opening line in the chapter that had been addressed exclusively to the priests. Alternately, G’d does indeed refer to both the priests and the people as a whole, but seeing that the priests represents the entire nation being the one who presents G’d’s “food” on the altar, He addresses them in the first instance. The people’s state of holiness necessitates that the priests represent them in the manner prescribed.