Komentarz do Wyjścia 28:43

והיו על אהרן AND THEY SHALL BE UPON AARON — “they” means all these garments (not only the breeches which are the last-mentioned garments); upon Aaron shall be those which are proper to him,

והיו על אהרן ועל בניו..... ולא ישאו עון ומתו, “they shall be on Aaron and his sons…..so that they shall not bear a sin and die.” According to Rashi this verse is the source of the law that a priest who performs his duties in the Sanctuary without all the appropriate garments is guilty of the death penalty at the hands of heaven. This law applies equally to the High Priest and to the ordinary priest. Nachmanides (on 28,35) queries Rashi’s comment by writing that if this were indeed so, the Torah should have written this verse much earlier immediately after all the priestly garments have been listed. Why would such a statement be made when only three of the eight garments have been listed as yet? Furthermore, our verse continues: ובצאתו ולא ימות, “when he leaves the Sanctuary he will not die,” something that has no longer anything to do with any shortcoming in the procedure of doing the sacrificial service, and still the Torah mentions the word “death. He concludes therefore that the death penalty applies only to priests not wearing trousers when performing their service in the Temple. This raises the question whence does the Talmud derive the death penalty for priests who perform their service while not wearing their other special garments? (compare Zevachim 18) The Talmud derives it from a different verse. What is clear from the discussion in the Talmud there is that there is no difference which of the priestly garments the priest omitted to wear when it comes to his being guilty of death. The death penalty mentioned in connection with the robe, מעיל, referred only to the ornamental pendants at the lower rim of that robe, the bells and the pomegranates. The reason that the Torah repeated mention of the death penalty in that instance is that seeing that these ornamental pendants did not serve any visible purpose, one might consider them as not essential if unaware that the failure to append them put the life of the High Priest at risk. Moreover, seeing that ordinary Royalty are not known to wear garments with these kinds of ornaments, one might not comprehend how these ornaments symbolized the כבוד ותפארת, the glory and splendour which are the purported effect these garments have on the people seeing the wearer dressed in them. The pealing of the bells at the rim of the robe announce that the High Priest is approaching the Sanctuary. It is as if to announce that he has been granted an audience with the Shechinah, similar to the commoner who is granted an audience by a king of flesh and blood, who would not dare to enter the King’s chambers without first being announced. Were he to do so, he too would put his life at risk, as he would be perceived by the king’s guards as planning to assassinate their ruler or otherwise harm him or insult him. In the Talmud Yerushalmi, the sages see an allusion in the line (Leviticus 16,17) וכל אדם לא יהיה באהל מועד, “no other human being is to be in the Sanctuary when the High Priest enters there in order to obtain atonement, etc.,” as including the angels. This is why the approach of the High Priest must be audible. [I assume that the Yerushalmi that author has in mind is in Yuma 5,2 where it is recounted that for the 40 years that the High Priest Shimon Hatzadik officiated on the Day of Atonement, he would see an angel with a face like a human being accompanying him to the Holy of Holies, except for the last time when he entered there. He told his friends that he would die during that year, something he gathered from the fact that on that occasion this angel did not materialize. Ed.] Joseph ordered that every person other than his brothers be removed from his chambers before he revealed himself to them. Similarly, during intimate audiences granted by kings, only the immediately concerned party is permitted to be closeted with the King. [Incidentally, this enabled the judge Ehud to kill King Eglon of Moav. Ed. (compare Genesis 45,2, and Judges 3,20)

והיו על אהרן ועל בניו, “and they shall be (worn) by Aaron and his sons, etc.” The meaning of the verse is that Aaron should wear the eight priestly garments mentioned since the beginning of our portion. They are: the breastplate and ephod, the robe, the chequered tunic, the turban, and the belt, the head-plate and the linen trousers. His sons are to wear four priestly garments when performing their part of the service. This is the meaning of the words: “so that they shall not bear guilt and die.” A High Priest performing the service with fewer than eight priestly garments, or an ordinary priest performing the service with fewer than four priestly garments commits a capital sin. He is called in Talmudic parlance מחוסר בגדים, “devoid of clothing,” his service is null and void, and he is guilty of death at the hands of heaven just as a non-priest who undertook to perform service in the Temple/Tabernacle (compare Sanhedrin 83). This is based on 29,9: “You shall girdle them with a sash,- Aaron and his sons- and you shall wrap the headdresses on them. The priesthood shall be an eternal duty for them.” At the time when they wear the garments the priesthood is part of them. At times when they do not wear these garments their priesthood is not part of them, and they are no better than non-priests. Of non-priests performing service in the Temple the Torah has written והזר הקרב יומת, “and the non-priest who approaches (to do service) shall be killed” (Numbers 18,7).