📘 Rashi Q&A
📘 Rashi Q&A — Vayikra 21:1–15
21:1 — “Say to the Priests”
Q1. Why does Scripture use the double expression “אֱמֹר… וְאָמַרְתָּ”?
A: To obligate adult priests to ensure that minors do not become ritually defiled.
Q2. What is learned from the phrase “הַכֹּהֲנִים”?
A: It excludes priests demoted from the priesthood.
Q3. What is included by “בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן”?
A:
- Even priests with a physical defect are included.
- Sons, but not daughters, of Aaron.
Q4. What corpse is excluded by “בְּעַמָּיו”?
A: A מֵת מִצְוָה (an unattended corpse), for which the priest must defile himself.
21:2 — Close Relatives
Q5. What does “לִשְׁאֵרוֹ” refer to?
A: His wife.
21:3 — His Virgin Sister
Q6. What does “הַקְּרֹבָה” include?
A: Even a sister betrothed but not yet married.
Q7. What does “לָהּ יִטַּמָּא” teach?
A: Defiling himself for her is a positive commandment.
21:4 — A Forbidden Wife
Q8. For which wife may a priest not defile himself?
A: For a wife forbidden to him, who causes him to be temporarily demoted from priestly service.
Q9. How is “לְהֵחַלּוֹ” understood?
A: A woman who causes him to be demoted from his sanctity as a priest.
21:5 — Mourning Practices
Q10. Why does Scripture prohibit priests from making bald spots?
A: To teach, by comparison with lay Israelites, that the prohibition applies to the entire head, and only in mourning for the dead.
Q11. With what instrument is shaving the beard prohibited?
A: Only with a razor, which destroys the hair at the root.
Q12. Why does Scripture say “שָׂרָטֶת”?
A: To teach that one is liable for each cut individually.
21:6 — Holiness of the Priests
Q13. What does “קְדשִׁים יִהְיוּ” mean here?
A: Even against their will, the court must enforce their priestly sanctity.
21:7 — Forbidden Marriages
Q14. Who is a “זֹנָה”?
A: A woman who had relations with a man forbidden to her under penalty of excision, or with a natin or someone born of a forbidden union.
Q15. Who is a “חֲלָלָה”?
A:
- One born from a union forbidden to priests, or
- One demoted by forbidden relations with a priest.
21:8 — Sanctifying the Priest
Q16. What does “וְקִדַּשְׁתּוֹ” require?
A: The court must compel him, even with lashes, to divorce a forbidden wife.
Q17. How is a priest to be treated as “holy for you”?
A: He receives priority: first to speak, first to bless, first to be called.
21:9 — A Priest’s Daughter
Q18. To whom does “כִּי תֵחֵל לִזְנוֹת” apply?
A: A priest’s daughter who commits adultery while legally attached to a husband.
Q19. How does she desecrate her father?
A: By bringing public disgrace upon him.
21:10 — The High Priest
Q20. What does “לֹא יִפְרָע” mean?
A: He may not let his hair grow more than thirty days in mourning.
21:11 — Defilement of the High Priest
Q21. What does “נַפְשֹׁת מֵת” include?
A: Even a quarter‑log of blood from a corpse that defiles under a roof.
Q22. Why does Scripture restate “לְאָבִיו וּלְאִמּוֹ”?
A: To permit defilement for a מֵת מִצְוָה only.
21:12 — Service While Mourning
Q23. What does “וּמִן־הַמִּקְדָּשׁ לֹא יֵצֵא” teach?
A: A High Priest continues the service even while an onen.
Q24. What is inferred about a regular priest?
A: A regular priest disqualifies the service if he officiates as an onen.
21:13–14 — Marriage of the High Priest
Q25. Whom must the High Priest marry?
A: A virgin only.
Q26. What does “חֲלָלָה” mean here?
A: A woman born from a priestly forbidden union.
21:15 — Demoting Offspring
Q27. What does “לֹא יְחַלֵּל זַרְעוֹ” teach?
A: Offspring born from such a forbidden marriage become demoted from priestly sanctity.