Vayikra 21:21

21 No ish that hath a mum of the zera Aharon HaKohen shall come near to offer the offerings of Hashem made by eish; he hath a mum; he shall not come near to offer the lechem Elohav.

Vayikra 21:21 Meaning and Commentary

Leviticus 21:21

No man that hath a blemish, of the seed of Aaron the priest,
&c.] Whether an high priest or a common priest that lies on him anyone of the above blemishes; and which the Jewish writers F6 make to amount to the number of one hundred and forty, and which they reckon, so many in one part of the booty and so many in another, till they make up the said number; and whoever had any might not

come nigh to offer up the sacrifices of the Lord made by fire;
the burnt offerings on the altar, to which he might not approach, and the meat offerings, and the fat, and the incense:

he hath a blemish;
in one part of him or another; and though but one,

he shall not come nigh to offer the bread of his God:
this is repeated for the confirmation of it, and to show how determined the Lord was in this matter; and how much he should resent it in any that should be found guilty of the breach of those rules, and so it is designed to deter from attempting: it.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 Maimon. Biath Hamikdash, c. 8. sect. 17.

Vayikra 21:21 In-Context

19 Or an ish that has a crippled regel or a crippled yad,
20 Or hunchback, or a dwarf, or that hath a defect in his eye, or festering, or running sores, or damaged of testicle;
21 No ish that hath a mum of the zera Aharon HaKohen shall come near to offer the offerings of Hashem made by eish; he hath a mum; he shall not come near to offer the lechem Elohav.
22 He shall eat the lechem Elohav, both of the kodshei hakodashim, and of hakodashim.
23 Only he shall not go near unto the Parochet (curtain), nor come near unto the Mizbeā€™ach, because he hath a mum on him; that he profane not My Mikdash; for I Hashem do set them apart as kodesh.
The Orthodox Jewish Bible fourth edition, OJB. Copyright 2002,2003,2008,2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International. All rights reserved.