Q&A: Did Ezekiel Introduce a Torah-Level Prohibition?
Did Ezekiel Introduce a Torah-Level Prohibition?
Question
“But an uncircumcised priest, one who sits in mourning before burial, is under a prohibition.” From where do we know this about an uncircumcised priest? Rav Chisda said: We did not learn this matter from the Torah of Moses our teacher, until Ezekiel son of Buzi came and taught it: “No foreigner, uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh, shall enter My sanctuary” (Sanhedrin 83b–84a).
Seemingly, the Talmud states explicitly that Ezekiel introduced a prohibition. It is hard to say that this is merely an asmachta and that the source is a law given to Moses at Sinai, because the Talmud knows how to say such things more explicitly. How does this fit with Maimonides in the introduction to his commentary on the Mishnah (I assume he is relying on some rabbinic source I do not know), where he says that prophets cannot introduce commandments, but can only issue a temporary ruling?
Answer
Didn’t you see Rashi there? He writes that this is only a prohibition from the words of the prophetic tradition, and one is not flogged for violating it.
Indeed, in the Sanhedrin 22b passage we find: “Before Ezekiel came, who said it? Rather, it was learned as a tradition, and Ezekiel came and attached it to a verse.” Seemingly, this appears to be a law given to Moses at Sinai (in your words: the Talmud knows how to say such things, and indeed it does say it).
And the Kesef Mishneh noted that from here is the source for Maimonides’ statement (Entering the Sanctuary 6:8), where regarding an uncircumcised priest he wrote: “He is flogged like a non-priest who performed the service.” “Like a non-priest who performed the service” — our master wanted it to be hinted at somewhat in the Torah, and therefore wrote that he is like a non-priest. It seems he understood it to be genuinely Torah-level, and therefore did not suffice with a hint from Ezekiel, but derived an additional hint from the Torah.
And see there as well in the Mafte’ach volume.