[Ezekiel, 44:15–31]
“The levitical priests descended from Zadok, who maintained the service in My sanctuary” [44:15]. The Holy One said: the priests, descendants of Zadok, who was the first priest in the days of Solomon. Therefore, all the priests who acted properly and guarded My Temple were named after him.1Rashi, Ezekiel, 44:15. When Israel went astray from Me, these children of Zadok brought Israel back to Me, to My service.
“They alone may enter My sanctuary and they alone may approach My table to serve Me” [44:16]. These children of Zadok should bring the showbread to My table, to serve Me.
“When they enter the gates of the inner court” [44:17]. When the priests will do the service on Yom Kippur in the inner sanctum, they should not wear garments of wool from sheep, but they should make garments out of linen to perform the service within.
“Linen turbans” [44:18]. The hats on their heads should be out of linen and also pants on their loins out of linen.
“When they go out” [44:19]. When the priests will go out from the service, they should not undress inside, but they should go outside into the outer courtyard and take off their garments outside. They should put the garments in a chamber in the Temple, so that should their garments not touch the clothes of Israelites that are not holy.
“They shall not shave their heads” [44:20]. The hair of their head should not grow very long and they should not cut off their hair completely. However, they should cut their hair once a month and the haircut should be handsome. The Talmud says in [tractate Sanhedrin] chapter 10. A king cuts his hair every day, the high priest cuts his hair every Friday, and an ordinary priest cuts his hair once a month.2B. Sanhedrin, 22b; Yalkut Shimoni, Ezekiel, Remez, 383.
“They should not drink wine” [44:21]. The priests should not drink any wine when they are serving in the Temple.
“They should not marry a widow or a divorced woman” [44:22]. No priest should marry a widow. That is to say, the high priest should not marry her, but an ordinary priest is allowed to marry a widow. However, the ordinary priest also may not marry a divorced woman. The reason that the high priest should not marry a widow is that she may have previously had bad experiences. It is possible that the widow previously had a bad husband, an Israelite who slept with her all the time. Now, she will want to win the high priest in the same way. The high priest must be warned that he should not sleep with her because of his service in the Temple. However, a widow who was previously married to a priest, the high priest is allowed to marry her because she was previously married to a priest and is used to the rules about sex. Concerning this the verse says, “the widow who is the widow of a priest he may marry” [44:22]. That is to say, the high priest may marry the widow of a priest. Radak writes that an ordinary priest may marry a widow, but not the high priest. About this, it says, “of a priest, they should take” [44:22]. That is to say, some priests may marry a widow, meaning ordinary priests.3Radak, Ezekiel, 44:22.
“They shall teach My people” [44:23]. The priests should teach Torah to Israel.
“In lawsuits, they shall act as judges” [44:24]. The priests should give judgments in disputes between Israelites.
“They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person” [44:25]. The priest should not defile himself with a dead person, except for his father and mother, to a son or daughter, to a brother and an unmarried sister. The priests should count seven days and after another seven days he will be ritually pure.
“On the day that he reenters the sanctuary” [44:27]. The first time the priest will bring sacrifices in the Temple, he should bring a sin offering.
“This shall be their portion” [44:28]. The priesthood should be a guarantor and an inheritance for them. They should take no fields and cities, like the rest of Israel. I, God, am their inheritance and guarantor for them. They will have sacrifices to eat, meal offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings. Everything that is sanctified as holy will be theirs. The first fruits, the terumah, and the hallah offering should be given to the priest to eat. The Holy One will give the Israelite a blessing in his house because of this merit.
“Priests should not eat anything, whether bird or animal, that has died or was torn by beasts” [44:31]. The priest should not eat an animal that died or was killed by beasts. Even an ordinary Jew who is not a priest should not eat an animal that died or was killed by beasts. The priest must separate himself from all impurity, in the expectation that he will enter the Sanctuary in purity.