Yechezkel 44 | The Sons of Tzadok

Yechezkel redefines the internal hierarchy of the priestly tribe. Just as in the days of Moshe, when Aharon and his descendants were chosen as priests while the rest became gatekeepers and singers as simple Levites, now once again, a single family is chosen — the sons of Tzadok. Having remained faithful to God during a time when all the other priests sinned, they alone will serve as priests, while the rest will be relegated to the status of simple Levites.

Within this chapter, two sins are mentioned that can be identified as the primary transgressions of the other priests, thereby highlighting the unique faithfulness of the sons of Tzadok. Harav Medan understands the accusation "with your bringing of strangers, uncircumcised of heart and uncircumcised of flesh, into My Sanctuary to desecrate My house" (44:7) not as a charge against the people of Israel for allowing Gentiles to enter the Temple, but rather as a condemnation of the priests themselves, who had intermarried with foreign women, bore children who were not Jewish, and then allowed them to enter the Temple as priests. Only the sons of Tzadok preserved their lineage and thus merited an eternal priesthood. Rav Yoel Bin-Nun interprets the accusation as referring to the priests' involvement in idolatry. During the reigns of Menashe and Amon, the Temple became a center of idol worship, and it is likely that most of the priests collaborated with the ruling authorities. The sons of Tzadok, however, remained steadfast in their loyalty to God, and for this, they were granted the priesthood.

Along with their selection for the priesthood, the sons of Tzadok are given additional commandments, some of which were among the discrepancies that troubled Chazal when comparing Yechezkel to the Torah. Many of these additional commandments share a common characteristic — they resemble the laws of the High Priest. In Parashat Emor (which our prophecy serves as the Haftara for), the High Priest is prohibited from letting his hair grow unkempt and from marrying a widow. In the Torah, these prohibitions do not apply to regular priests, but in Yechezkel they do: "They shall not shave their heads nor grow their hair long in disarray… And they shall not take as a wife a widow or a divorcee woman." (44:20-22). Likewise, the linen garments that Yechezkel commands the priests to wear resemble the white linen garment of the High Priest on Yom Kippur, and the special requirement for priests to remove these garments and change into others before leaving to the people parallels the commandment for the High Priest to remove his white garments and put on the sacred vestments before resuming other Temple duties.

I will suggest two possible explanations for the elevation of the priests' status:

The Abolition of the High Priesthood: In Yechezkel’s Temple, no High Priest is mentioned. Perhaps the reason for this parallels the transformation seen in the role of the king. The king, referred to here as prince (=Nasi), undergoes a “re-education process” meant to clarify his proper place within the Temple. He is not its master, but rather a guest. Only God enters through the main gate of the Temple, which must therefore remain closed; the prince must enter through a side entrance: "The Lord said to me: This gate will stay shut; it shall not be opened, and no man may enter through it; because the Lord, God of Israel, entered through it, it shall remain closed. Regarding the prince: as prince, he will sit within it to eat bread before the Lord, arriving by way of the entrance hall of that gate and leave the same way." (44:2-3). As we saw yesterday, this was one of the central issues in the First Temple era — the king did not understand his proper place, became arrogant, and entangled politics with the Temple. The same problem could have arisen with the High Priest, and thus, abolishing the position and distributing its authority among all priests would prevent any single individual from becoming overly prideful.

In reality, the Second Temple did have a High Priest, and for much of its history, the office succumbed to arrogance and corruption.

An Increase in Holiness: In Yechezkel’s Temple, the entire inner courtyard attains the status of holiness. This is why priests are prohibited from drinking wine anywhere within the inner courtyard. It is why their entrance into the inner courtyard is described as "to minister in the Sanctuary." (44:27). It is also why they are commanded to wear special garments designated for the inner courtyard. In a similar manner, it is possible that the levels of holiness have been elevated — so much so that even an ordinary priest must now be considered akin to a High Priest.