Комментарий к Шмот 28:35

ולא ימות THAT HE DIE NOT — From what is included in this negative statement you may infer the positive: if he has these garments on him he will not incur death; consequently if he enters the Sanctuary lacking one of these garments he incurs death at the hands of God (cf. Sanhedrin 83).

THAT HE DIE NOT. “From this negative statement you infer the positive: if these garments are upon him, he will not incur death, but if he enters [the Sanctuary] lacking one of these garments he is liable to death [by the hand of Heaven].” This is Rashi’s language. But it does not appear to me to be correct, for if so He should have written this verse after having mentioned all eight garments [of the High Priest], and why did He mention it after three garments — the breastplate, the ephod, and the robe — before mentioning the frontplate, the upper garment, the mitre, the belt and the breeches! Furthermore, [the verse reads here,] and when he cometh out [of the Sanctuary], that he die not. But the act of going out [from the Sanctuary] is no function for which he should incur death if lacking the [proper number of] garments!
Similarly Rashi commented on the verse: “And they shall be upon Aaron and upon his sons¹²⁰Verse 43. — they means all these garments; upon Aaron and upon his sons, those which are proper to him, and those specified for them. [That they bear not iniquity,] and die¹²⁰Verse 43. — thus you learn that he who ministers [the Divine Service] lacking any of these garments incurs death [by the hand of Heaven].” And so indeed it appears from the simple meaning of Scripture. But according to the conclusion reached on these subjects in the discussions in the Gemara,¹²¹For meaning of the term Gemara see in Seder Bo, Note 204. The particular texts here referred to are mentioned further on. it would appear that this does not conform to the opinion of our Rabbis, for to them this commandment applies to all alike, to Aaron and his sons, but it refers only to the breeches, and the punishment [of death by the hand of Heaven for lacking them] likewise applies [only] to them [i.e. the breeches]. For He had commanded that they be made, [as it is said,] And thou shalt make them linen breeches,¹²²Verse 42. and then He commanded concerning their being worn [by the priests, saying,] And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons.¹²⁰Verse 43. As to the rest of the garments, He had already given the command above concerning the making of them and wearing them, [as it is said,] And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and upon his sons with him.¹²³Verse 41. If so, this command [And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons]¹²⁰Verse 43. refers wholly to the breeches, and the punishment likewise refers [only] to them.
We learn this from what the Rabbis have said in Tractates Sanhedrin¹²⁴Sanhedrin 83b. and The Slaughtering of Sacrifices:¹²⁵Zebachim 17b. “Whence do we know that a priest who ministered [the Divine Service] lacking the [proper number of] garments is liable to death [by the hand of Heaven]? Said Rabbi Abohu in the name of Rabbi Yochanan, and they arrived in the chain of tradition up to ‘in the name of Rabbi Eleazar the son of Rabbi Shimon:' And thou shalt gird them with belts, Aaron and his sons, and bind head-tires on them; and they shall have the priesthood by a perpetual statute,¹²⁶Further, 29:9. the interpretation of which is: ‘So long as they wear their [appointed] garments, they are invested with their priesthood; when they do not wear their garments, they are not invested with their priesthood, and they become laymen, and it has been said that a layman who ministers [in the Sanctuary] incurs the penalty of death [by the hand of Heaven].” Now if this verse [that they bear not iniquity, and die]¹²⁰Verse 43. were held by the Rabbis to apply to all the garments [of the priests], as the Rabbi [Rashi] said, they could have found in it an expressly stated punishment for one who ministers lacking all the garments, [and why did they need to base it upon an inference from another verse]! Rather, this verse refers only to the breeches, and the other verse to the rest of the garments, where the breeches are not mentioned at all. Proof to what the Rabbis have said [that this verse, And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons… that they bear not iniquity, and die,¹²⁰Verse 43. refers only to the breeches], is that further on when the order of putting on the garments is mentioned,¹²⁷Ibid., Verses 5-9. the breeches are not referred to at all, for having declared here the punishment if they are lacking [when ministering in the Sanctuary], there was no more need to mention them again further on, as it is understood already that he would wear them.
And that which He said above [i.e., in Verse 35 before us], and the sound thereof shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Eternal, and when he goeth out, that he die not, is [not as Rashi has it that from here we learn that if he enters the Sanctuary lacking one of these garments he incurs death at the hand of Heaven, but is] in my opinion an explanation for the commandment of the bells [upon the robe], since there was no need to wear them, nor are they customary amongst dignitaries. Therefore He said that He commanded that they be made in order that the sound thereof be heard in the Sanctuary, that the priest enter before his Master as if with permission. For he who comes into the king’s palace suddenly, incurs the penalty of death according to the court ceremonial, just as we find in the case of Ahasuerus.¹²⁸Esther 4:11. All the king’s servants… do know, that whosoever… shall come unto the king… who is not called, there is one law for him, that he be put to death. It thus alludes to what the Rabbis have said in Yerushalmi Tractate Yoma:¹²⁹Yerushalmi Yoma I,5. — On Jerusalem Talmud see in Seder Bo, Note 204. “And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting when he goeth in to make atonement in the holy place¹³⁰Leviticus 16:17. — even those [heavenly beings] of whom it is written, As for the likeness of their faces they had the face of a man,¹³¹Ezekiel 1:10. they too are not to be then in the Tent of Meeting.” Therefore He commanded that [the ministering High Priest] make a sound be heard, as if crying out, ‘Cause everyone to go out from before me,’¹³²Genesis 45:1. so that he can come to minister before the King alone. Similarly, when going out from the Sanctuary his sound is heard in order to leave with permission, and that the matter be known so that the King’s ministers can go out before Him. In the Chapters of the Palaces¹³³Pirkei Heichaloth, 31. — This is an Agadic Midrash on “The Seven Palaces of Heaven.” See Wertheimer’s ed. of Batei Midrashoth Vol. I, p. 67. this subject is known. Thus the reason [for the bells upon the robe of the High Priest] is that he should not be encountered by the angels of G-d. He gave this warning concerning the High Priest¹³⁴Since the common priests also entered the Sanctuary in the regular daily service, the question arises why were these bells not necessary upon their garments so that their sound be heard when they come into the Sanctuary? Ramban’s answer is that this was on account of the high position of the High Priest. “For the greater the person the more are the powers of strict judgment stirred up against him” (Bi’ur Ha’lvush to Ricanti who quotes the language of Ramban). on account of his high position. This is Scripture’s intent in saying, when he goeth in unto the holy place before the Eternal, for it is the High Priest who passes¹³⁵Another reading: “ministers.” before Him so that He cause His Divine Glory to rest upon his service, for he is the messenger of the Eternal of hosts,¹³⁶Malachi 2:7. even though the common priests also enter the Sanctuary to burn the incense and to kindle [the lamps].¹³⁷Yet the High Priest is more distinguished; hence the bells were necessary upon his garments and not upon those of the common priests, as explained above (see Note 134).
Now I have seen in the Midrash Shemoth Rabbah¹³⁸Shemoth Rabbah 38:10. with reference to the stones upon the breastplate: “For what reason were the stones? It was in order that the Holy One, blessed be He, observe them in the garments of the priest when he enters on the Day of Atonement,¹³⁹When the High Priest on the Day of Atonement entered the Holy of Holies he did not wear the eight garments [amongst which was the breastplate], but instead, he wore the four linen garments [as prescribed in Leviticus 16:4]. The meaning of the Midrash must perforce be as follows: The merit of the High Priest wearing the breastplate all the year round when ministering in the Sanctuary, stood by him when he entered the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement, although at that moment he did not wear it. and He be gracious to the tribes [whose names were inscribed upon the stones in the breastplate]. Rabbi Yehoshua in the name of Rabbi Levi says: This may be compared to a king’s son, whose tutor came before the king to speak in his defense, but was afraid of those standing there lest they strike him. What did the king do? He dressed him in his purple cloak in order that they see it and be afraid of him. In the same way Aaron entered at all times¹⁴⁰Reference here is to the four times that the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies during the special service for the Day of Atonement (Peirush Maharzav on Midrash Rabbah). the Holy of Holies, and were it not for the many merits that entered with him and helped him, he could not have entered. Why? Because of the ministering angels who were there. What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He gave him a likeness of His sacred garment, as it is said, And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail.”¹⁴¹Isaiah 59:17. Thus far is the language of this Agadah. Now even though the High Priest did not enter into the innermost part of the Sanctuary [i.e., the Holy of Holies] with these garments, yet on the Day of Atonement he needed these [garments] even in the Tent of Meeting, for it is written, And there shall be no man in the Tent of Meeting.¹⁴²Leviticus 16:17. Therefore when the High Priest came into the Sanctuary during the service preceding his entrance into the Holy of Holies, he also had to wear these garments as his protection against those powers assailing him because of his high position.

ובצאתו ולא ימות. "and when he comes out, so that he will not die." It appears from this verse that if the High Priest's tunic did not have the bells that could be heard he would be guilty of the death penalty to be administered by Heaven. Were this not so and the verse had referred to the absence of the garment to which the bells were attached or to any of his special garments, the words: "so that he will not die" should have beeen written after the list of the garments was complete in verse 43. The fact that the Torah did not wait with this clause until then is to teach us that even the absence of the bells only made the High Priest liable to death at the hands of Heaven. Repetition of the threat of death in verse 43 refers to a priest who serves without one or more of the garments he is to wear at that time.

ונשמע קולו בבאו אל הקדש, the golden bells will knock against each other even though they are separated from one another by the woolen pomegranates.

Subject to the death penalty at the hands of Heaven. Rashi is telling us that the verse does not come to teach that he will not die; rather, it teaches that this negative precept bears the death penalty. [Rashi is further telling us] that “So that he will not die” applies to all the priestly garments, not just to the robe of the eiphod which preceded this warning. When Rashi says, “While lacking one of these garments,” he means any of the aforementioned garments. In Zevachim 17b, this law is derived from the verse, “And the priesthood [i.e., the garments] shall be for them an everlasting statute” (29:9), [which is interpreted to mean:] “When their garments are upon them, their priesthood is upon them. When their garments are not upon them, their priesthood is not upon them.” Thus they are subject to the death penalty, since a non-kohein who serves is subject to the death penalty (Sanhedrin 9:6). See more on this in Re”m.

V. 35. לשרת. Vergleichen wir die Stellen, in denen שרה noch außer dem von den Priestern im Heiligtum zu leistenden Amte vorkommt, so ergibt sich seine Bedeutung in Verhältnis zu dem synonymen עבד dahin: עבד heißt ganz allgemein, seine Kräfte einem andern, sei es Zweck, Sache oder Person, zu Gebote stellen und unter diesem Gebote betätigen. Es ist, wie wir erst oben zu V. 4 bemerkt, lautverwandt mit עבת: zweckvermittelndes Binden und עבט: Pfand. שרת heißt aber ganz speziell nicht sowohl dienen, als vielmehr: bedienen, die persönlichen Bedürfnisse eines andern befriedigende Leistungen verrichten. Wenn nun die Tätigkeit des כהן im Heiligtum unter den Begriff שרת gefasst wird, so wird damit die durch das מקדש zum Ausdruck kommende Gegenwart Gottes im Volke — שכינתו בתוכם — als Gottes Wunsch und Wille, zugleich aber auch als eine solche bezeichnet, die an Bedingungen geknüpft ist, deren Erfüllung eben der "Dienst" des כהן im Heiligtum zum Ausdruck bringen soll. Der Dienst des כהן wird daher wegen dieser gleichsam persönlichen Beziehung zu Gott ein "Bedienen" genannt. Er wird in der תורה nie direkt mit עבודה bezeichnet, vielmehr (Bamidbar 18, 7) zur Unterscheidung von dem Dienst der Leviten, der allerdings עבודה ist (und nur in deren persönlichen Beziehungen zu den כהנים als deren Gehilfen: שרת genannt wird), als עבודת מתנה, als "Dienst der Hingebung", d. h. als ein Dienst charakterisiert, dessen spezielle Aufgabe die Begehung derjenigen Handlungen ist, welche die "Hingebung" des Individuums und des Volkes an Gott zum Ausdruck bringen, eine Hingebung, die eben die Bundesgegenwart Gottes im Volke bedingt. עבודת מתנה ist nichts als Umschreibung des שרת und bildet daher den gesetzlichen Begriff derjenigen עבודות, hinsichtlich derer dort ausgesprochen ist: והזר הקרב יומת und der (Joma 24 a) also präzisiert wird: עבודת מתנה ולא עבודת סילוק "Dienst positiver Hingebung" (wie זריקה הקטרה וניסוך המים ויין) nicht aber "negativen Räumens" (wie תרומת הדשן). Außerdem ist noch das Merkmal bedingend, daß es zugleich עבודה תמה sei, d. h. eine einen Opferakt abschließende Handlung. — Wie hier wird auch Kap. 39, 26 der Zweck, לשרת beim מעיל besonders hervorgehoben, und dürfte dieser Begriff für das Verständnis der Gewänder nicht unerheblich sein (siehe unten).

ונשמע קולו, “its sound would be audible;” [the High Priest did not wear these garments inside the Tabernacle on the Day of Atonement. Ed.] The sound was meant to alert the people that the time for him to perform the service in the Tabernacle had arrived. According to another interpretation, the sound was necessary to warn the other priests not to enter the Holy of Holies. On the Day of Atonement there was no need for it, seeing that only the High Priest performed sacrificial service on that day.