Commentary for Zevachim 36:20

מאי (יחזקאל מד, יח) לא יחגרו ביזע אמר אביי לא יחגרו במקום שמזיעין כדתניא כשהם חוגרין אין חוגרין לא למטה ממתניהן ולא למעלה מאציליהן אלא

And the other? -He does not interpret 'wherewith' [as having a separate significance]. Our Rabbis taught: [And the priest shall put on his garment of] bad:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' E.V. 'linen. Lev. VI,3 et passim.');">¹⁶</span> this teaches that they [his garments] must be of linen; 'bad' implies that they must be new; 'bad' implies that they must be of twisted thread; 'bad' implies that the thread must be sixfold; 'bad' implies that secular garments must not be worn with them. Abaye said to R'Joseph: As for saying.' "bad" implies that they must be of linen,' it is well, for he informs us this: only of linen, but not of anything else. But when he says, "bad" implies that they must be new,' [does it mean] only new but not threadbare? Surely it was taught : Threadbare [garments] are fit! - Said he to him: And according to your reasoning, [when he says] "bad" implies that the thread must be sixfold,' [yet surely] 'bad' implies each [thread] separately?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Bad is derived from badad, to be alone, separate.');">¹⁷</span> Rather, this is what he means: the garments which it is stated are to be 'bad', must be of linen, new, of twisted thread, and of six-fold thread: Some of these [provisions] are recommendations [only], while others are indispensable. How do you know that 'bad' means flax [linen]? - Said R'Joseph son of R'Hanina: [It connotes] that which comes up from the ground in separate stalks.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Where two stalks do not come out of one root.');">¹⁸</span> Say that it means wool?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' For each thread grows separately on the sheep's back.');">¹⁹</span> - Wool splits.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' On the animal the threads split up.');">²⁰</span> But flax too splits?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Before it is woven into linen.');">²¹</span> - It splits through beating.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' But not naturally of its own accord.');">²²</span> Rabina said, [It is deduced] from the following: They shall have linen tires upon their heads, and shall have linen breeches upon their loins; they shall not gird themselves with [anything that causes] sweat [bayaza'].<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ezek. XLIV. 18.');">²³</span> Said R'Ashi to Rabina: Then how did we know this before Ezekiel came? - Then according to your reasoning, when R'Hisda said: We did not learn this<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' That an uncircumcised priest disqualifies the service, infra 22b.');">²⁴</span> from the Torah of Moses our Teacher, but we learnt it from Ezekiel the son of Buzi: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh [shall enter into My sanctuary]:<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Ibid.9');">²⁵</span> whence did we know it until Ezekiel came? But indeed it was a tradition, and Ezekiel came and gave it a support in Scripture; so this too was a tradition etc. What does 'they shall not gird themselves with [anything that causes] sweat' mean?<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' The Heb. bayaza is connected with ze'ah, (sweat) , but its exact meaning in this verse is not clear.');">²⁶</span> - Said Abaye: They shall not gird themselves in the place where they sweat.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Where flesh folds over flesh and causes perspiration.');">²⁷</span> As it was taught: When they gird themselves, they must do so neither below their loins nor above their elbows,<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' As these hung naturally down.');">²⁸</span> but

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