Комментарий к Шмот 19:22

וגם הכהנים AND THE PRIESTS ALSO — the first born sons also, through whom the sacrificial service was carried out (Zevachim 115b),

AND THE PRIESTS ALSO, THAT COME NEAR TO THE ETERNAL. I.e., who offer the sacrifices to the Glorious Name²⁵⁹Deuteronomy 28:58. and who come near to Him with them. [They also must sanctify themselves and not go outside of their designated place.]

וגם הכהנים הנגשים אל ה׳ יתקדשו, "And also the priests who approach G'd have to sanctify themselves, etc." Although the priests (the firstborn in the main) are closer to G'd than the people at large, being allowed to perform sacrificial service in sacred locations, they too have to undergo a special sanctification process prior to the revelation. The fact that they normally adhered to strict standards of purity was not enough in this instance. They had to consider themselves as no better than the people at large. The meaning of the word יתקדשו is similar to the meaning of the word ודשנו in Numbers 4,13 where the priests are described as removing the ashes from the altar. The priests too had to remove themselves from the Mountain.

הכהנים, the firstborns of each tribe.

וגם הכהנים הנגשים אל ה’, “and also the priests who approach G’d.” The “priests” mentioned here are either the firstborn who would perform the priestly functions in those days, i.e. offer the sacrifices, or it may refer to the sons of Aaron who would be consecrated as priests some time later. This is not so strange as in Genesis 2,14 we read about a river flowing from Gan Eden in the direction of Ashur, a city that would not exist until some 1700 years later.

(Exodus 19:22) "And also the Cohanim, who draw near to the L rd": We are hereby apprised that the Cohanim are not included in "the people" (above, 21). And thus is it written (Leviticus 16:33) "for the Cohanim and for all the people of the congregation shall he make atonement" — the Cohanim are not included in "the people." And who are "the Cohanim"? R. Yehoshua b. Karcha says: Nadav and Avihu, (i.e., even the most prominent of them.) (For) it is not written (merely) "the Cohanim," but "the Cohanim who draw near to the L rd." "And also": to include the elders with them.

וגם הכהנים וגו׳, “and also the priests, etc.” who were these “priests?” They were the seventy elders who are all firstborns at the same time. (compare Mechilta on בחדש הזה Exodus chapter 12). [Seeing that at this time the tribe of Levi had not yet been chosen to replace the functions of the firstborns. Ed.]

‘הנגשים אל ה WHO MAY DRAW NIGH UNTO THE LORD to offer sacrifices — let them also not rely upon their rank and ascend the mountain, but

יתקדשו, by occupying their proper positions.

יתקדשו, “they will be sanctified.” This verse helps us understand Leviticus 10,3 where the two sons of Aaron who died performing a priestly function are described by Moses as בקרובי אקדש, G’d saying: “I will be sanctified by those who are near to Me.” The word קרובי matches נגשים, and the word אקדש corresponds to יתקדשו in our verses here.

יתקדשו, “shall become sanctified;” they shall be warned to be prepared for this, and shall not say: “seeing that we are already appointed to perform the priestly functions, we do not need to undergo an additional process of sanctification.” They shall not presume on their familiarity with Hashem.

יתקדשו LET THEM BE PREPARED to remain at their post,

פן יפרוץ בהם ה’, “lest the Lord make a breach amongst them.” This was an allusion to their death, for G’d פרץ בהם, “killed them.” G’d did not want to punish them now at the time when the Torah was being given so as not to disturb the communal joy. He waited until the eighth day of the consecration rites to carry out the decree against them (Tanchuma Acharei Mot 6). The word וגם is a reference to the seventy elders.

הנגשים אל ה׳, the Torah underlines that precisely the people appointed as priests need to be the first to sanctify themselves instead of presuming on their superiority. An alternate explanation of this verse: Who is meant by the word: הנהנים, the people’s elite, the nobility, and the judges. Based on the verse in Deuteronomy 1,17, ני המשפט לאלוקים הוא, “that ultimately true justice is reserved for G-d,” i.e. that if the judges err, justice will still be done, these judges are not ever to lose sight of this by acting superior. In this instance, they might have argued that they are busy studying the halachot Moses had taught them in order to carry out the judicial duties, i.e. being busy with one commandment frees you from the need to perform another commandment at that time; [that argument is true only when due to time limitations on the performance of both commandment they conflict with one another. Ed.] It is impossible to accept the word: כהנים in the accepted meaning as there were not yet any kohanim at that time.

פן יפרץ LEST [THE LORD] BURST FORTH — The word פרץ is of the same root and meaning as פרצה “a breach”; the sense is: He may slay some of them and thus cause a breach in their ranks.