Impurity of Priests

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יהוה said to Moses: Speak to the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say to them: None shall defile himself for any [dead] person among his kin,

Leviticus 21:1

May a Cohen defile himself in honor of the public? It is stated: When there are two acceptable roads, one long and pure, the other one short and impure: If the public was walking on the long one, he goes on the long one; otherwise, he goes on the short one in honor of the public. That refers to impurity by their words; also for impurity that is from the words of the Torah? From what Rebbi Zeïra said, so great is the honor of the public that it temporarily pushes aside a prohibition, that means even impurity that is from the words of the Torah.

Jerusalem Talmud Berakhot 3:1:24

Say to them: Throughout the ages, if any man among your offspring, while in a state of impurity, partakes of any sacred donation that the Israelite people may consecrate to יהוה, that person shall be cut off from before Me: I am יהוה. No man of Aaron’s offspring who has an eruption or a discharge shall eat of the sacred donations until he is pure. If one touches anything made impure by a corpse, or if a man has an emission of semen, or if a man touches any swarming thing by which he is made impure or any human being by whom he is made impure—whatever his impurity—…

Leviticus 22:3-6

The Gemara discusses the second dispute between Rabbi Yishmael and Rabbi Akiva. The baraita teaches: “And for his sister a virgin, that is near to him, that has had no husband, for her may he become impure” (Leviticus 21:3), i.e., for a priest to participate in the burial of his sister despite the fact that he will contract ritual impurity is optional; this is the statement of Rabbi Yishmael. A priest is not obligated to participate, but he may do so. Rabbi Akiva says: It is mandatory for him to do so…

Sotah 3a:21-24

אמר אל הכהנים SAY UNTO THE PRIESTS [… AND THOU SHALT SAY UNTO THEM] — “Say" and again “thou shalt say unto them" — this repetition is intended to admonish the adults about their children also — that they should teach them to avoid defilement (Yevamot 114a). בני אהרן THE SONS OF AARON — One might think that חללים (priests who have lost their priestly status for reasons connected with their birth or marriage) also may not defile themselves by the dead, Scripture therefore states, "Say unto the priests", — thus only those sons of Aaron are included who have not lost their priestly character…

Rashi on Leviticus 21:1:1-5

(Lev. 21:1:) “Speak unto the priests.” This text is related (to Ps. 12:7), “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings….” Everything [against] which the Holy One, blessed be He, warned Israel is for the sake of their holiness and their purity. Hence, “The sayings of the Lord are pure sayings.” Another interpretation (of Lev. 21:1), “Speak (literally, say) unto the priests, the sons of Aaron, and say unto them”: Note that "say" [occurs] two times. To what is the matter comparable? To a cook who would go in and out before the king…

Midrash Tanchuma, Emor 1:1

Similarly, a priest does not become impure for any of those individuals for whom we do not mourn as stated above: e.g., those executed by the court, those who deviate from the ways of the community, stillborn infants, and those who commit suicide.
Until when does the mitzvah to become impure apply? Until the grave is covered. Once the grave is covered, however, the graves of one's close relatives are like those of any other corpse. If a priest becomes impure for their sake, he should be punished by lashes…

Mishneh Torah, Mourning 2:8-15

1) (Vayikra 21:1) ("And the L–rd said to Moses, saying: Speak to the Cohanim, the sons of Aaron, and you shall say to them: For a dead body he shall not become tamei among his people." The sons of Aaron may not become tamei for a dead body; the daughters of Aaron may become tamei for a dead body. "the sons of Aaron": I might think that challalim (those of imperfect priestly status, are also included in the interdict); it is, therefore, written "Cohanim" — to exclude challalim. And whence is it derived that those with blemishes are included? From "the sons of Aaron…

Sifra, Emor, Section 1 1-16

ויאמר ה' אל משה אמור אל הכהנים, what has been written earlier so that they will understand and instruct each other in the various categories of ritual impurities and contaminations, including the difference between ritually pure domestic beasts and birds, for these are the aspects of foremost concern to the priests on a regular basis as we read in 10,10-11 ולהבדיל בין הקדש ובין החול, ובין הטמא ובין הטהור ולהורות, “and to separate the sacred from the profane, and the ritually impure, and between the ritually contaminated, and to teach these values.” …

Sforno on Leviticus 21:1:1-3

The sons of Aharon. Don’t we already know that the kohanim are the sons of Aharon? The answer is that Aharon was holy to Hashem; he was the source of the holiness of kehunah. Holiness was drawn from him to his sons as well. However, they were not like him in every way, because they were removed from the source. Therefore, Aharon, the source of holiness, was not permitted to become impure for any relative, even for his father or mother. Each Kohen Godol from his descendants resembles him in every way, because he receives the influence of holiness in essence from Hashem…

Kli Yakar on Leviticus 21:1:1

For all [the nearest of kin] for whom a kohen defiles himself as commanded in the Torah [a mourner must observe mourning], viz. for his father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister and wife. R. ‘Aḳiba said: For relatives in the second degree he observes the periods of mourning and grieves, [but should he be a kohen] he does not defile himself. R. Simeon b. Eleazar said: He mourns for his father’s father and son’s son. But the Sages said: For whomsoever he mourns he should mourn with, and for whomsoever he does not mourn, he does not mourn with…

Tractate Semachot 4:1-30

SAY [UNTO THE PRIESTS] … AND THOU SHALT SAY UNTO THEM. “[The repetition of the verb say … and thou shalt say is] to warn the adults about the children” [that they observe this law]. This is Rashi’s language on the basis of the words of our Rabbis. Now the meaning of this “warning” is to state that we are not to assist with our hands in the defilement of children [but it does not intend to warn us that we are obliged to prevent them from becoming defiled]. There are many admonitions in the Torah of this nature according to the interpretation of our Rabbis…

Ramban on Leviticus 21:1:1

(Lev. 21:1:) “Then the Lord said unto Moses, ‘Say unto the priests […], and say unto them.” R. Johanan said, “Wherever it says, ‘say […,]’ and ‘say,’ it must be interpreted.” (Esth. 7:5:) “Then said King Ahasuerus, and he said to Queen Esther.” Why “said […]” and “he said?” He said to her, “If this (Haman) is the man, well and good; but if not, say that he is [regardless].” Another interpretation: Before [the king] came to know about her being Jewish, he talked with her through an interpreter; when he came to know about her, he began to talk with her [by himself]…

Midrash Tanchuma, Emor 3:1

The four cubits circumscribed around a corpse are deemed impure. Any priest that enters into these four cubits is given stripes for rebellious conduct.
Similarly, if priests enter a beit hapras, go to the diaspora, become impure through contact with a mixture of blood, a gravestone, or the stones which support the gravestone, and the like, they are given stripes for rebellious conduct, because these entities are sources for ritual impurity by Rabbinic decree, as we explained in Hilchot Tumat Meit…

Mishneh Torah, Mourning 3:13-14

That an impure priest not eat priestly tithe: That an impure priest not eat priestly tithe, as it is stated (Leviticus 22:4), “Every man from the seed of Aharon, etc. from the holy things he shall not eat, until he becomes pure.” And we say in Tractate Makkot 14b, “From where [do I know about] a warning for priestly tithe” — meaning to say, that he not eat it [while he is] impure? “As it is stated, ‘Every man, etc.’; what is the thing that is equal to the seed of Aharon” — meaning to say, that all of the seed eat it, males and females? “I would say, ‘that is the priestly tithe…

Sefer HaChinukh 279:1

5) "every man who will draw near, of all your seed, to the holy things that the children of Israel make holy to the L–rd, and his uncleanliness be upon him, then that soul will be cut off from before Me": What is the intent of this? Because it is written (Bamidbar 7:20) "And the soul that eats flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which is the L–rd's, and his uncleanliness is upon him, that soul shall be cut off," I might think that there is kareth liability for tumah only for peace-offerings…

Sifra, Emor, Section 4 5-8

ואמרת אלהם לנפש לא יטמא בעמיו, "and say to them not to defile himself for the dead amongst his people." Why is the word ואמרת i.e. אמור ואמרת repeated? Our sages in Yevamot 114 as well as in Torat Kohanim offer a variety of commentaries on this. I believe that there is room for still other approaches not yet explored by our classical commentaries. We may do well to refer to what Maimonides wrote in chapter 3 of his treatise on the rules to be observed by mourners…

Or HaChaim on Leviticus 21:1:2-6

AND the Lord spake to Mosheh, saying: Speak unto the priests, the men of the children of Aharon, that they keep themselves apart from defilement and thus shalt thou say to them: For a man who is dead, (the priest) shall not defile himself among his people; but for a woman who is of kin to his flesh, for his daughter, and for his father, and for his son, and for his daughter, and for his brother, and for his sister, a virgin who is nigh to him, and who hath neither been betrothed, nor married to a husband, for her he may defile himself. …

Targum Jonathan on Leviticus 21:1-4

What is the meaning when the verse states: “Or for his sister”? If a nazirite went to slaughter his Paschal offering or to circumcise his son, and he heard that a relative of his died, one might have thought that he should become impure. You rather say that he may not become impure. One might have thought that just as he may not become impure to bury his sister, so too he may not become impure to bury a met mitzva…

Zevachim 100a:12

MISHNA: A High Priest and a nazirite may not become ritually impure even to bury their deceased relatives. However, they become impure to bury a corpse with no one to bury it [met mitzva]. If one of them comes across the corpse of a Jew, and there is nobody else available to bury it, he must bury the body. If a High Priest and a nazirite were walking along the way and they found a met mitzva, and one of them can tend to the burial by himself, Rabbi Eliezer says: Let the High Priest become impure…

Nazir 47a:6

Relatedראו גם

Eating a Sacrifice

Sacrificial Rite

Laws of Mourning

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