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4 โ[1] ืื ืืืื ืืขื ืืขืืื ืืืืื, the reason why a priest is not to defile himself through contact with the dead except those of his next of kin, is that also the priest is indeed a ืืขื ืืขืืื, a distinguished, highly placed member of his people, it is his task to understand and teach these laws as we know from Maleachi 2,7 โfor the lips of the priest are meant to guard knowledge, and Torah and the people will enquire concerning these from his mouth.โ This makes him a person to be treated in the manner one treats a politically highly placed person, a king. Seeing he is supposed to be ever ready to serve the King of Kings, in His Temple, it is not appropriate for such a person to desecrate his status even temporarily in order to participate in the burial rites of ordinary people. According to our sages in Sanhedrin 47 the prime purpose of burying and eulogising the dead is to render honour to them. This conflicts with the honour the priests have to accord to Gโd on an ongoing basis. However, the Torah exempts the priests from this restriction for burial and eulogising of near relatives from this rule. [some of the last line is my own wording, though it corresponds to the thoughts expressed by the author. Ed.]
Version: Eliyahu Munk, HaChut Hameshulash
License: CC-BY