Literatura do Segundo Templo sobre Levítico 9:14

[141] For in the case of Moses he uses this language: “And he washed with water the belly and the feet of the whole burnt-offering” (Lev. 9:14). It is excellently said; for the wise man consecrates his whole soul as being worthy to be offered to God, owing to its freedom from voluntary or involuntary blemish; and, being in this condition, he washes out and bathes away and scours off the whole belly and the pleasures that it and the parts adjoining it yield, not so dealing with some part of it, but filled with such contempt for the whole, that he rejects even necessary food and drink, being fed by the contemplation of things divine.

[144] He lays further stress upon the mere moderating of passion in the man of gradual advance, by representing the wise man as declining without any bidding all the pleasures of the belly, while the man of gradual advance acts under orders; for in the wise man’s case what is said is “he washed with water the belly and the feet” (Lev. 9:14), spontaneously and unbidden, but in the case of the priests it is on this wise: “the inwards and the feet,” not “they washed” but “they shall wash” (Lev. 1:9). This shows great exactness. For it must needs be that while the perfect man moves of himself towards virtuous actions, the man who is practising should do so with the aid of reason which gives him guidance what he should do, obedience to whose directions is a noble thing.

[147] Do not let any subtle point escape your notice, for you will not find a single pointless expression. Moses removes the breast; the belly he does not remove, but washes (Lev. 8:29, 9:14). Why is this? Because the perfect wise man can, by wholly renouncing anger, utterly avert and drive off the uprising of the spirited element in him, but to exscind the belly he is powerless. Even the man of fewest needs who scorns the very necessaries of life and trains himself in abstinence from them, is forced by nature to take necessary food and drink. Let him therefore wash the belly and cleanse it from superfluous and unclean provisions; for this too is a sufficiently great gift from God to the lover of virtue.