Kommentar zu Bekhorot 7:3
הֶחָרוּם, פָּסוּל. אֵיזֶהוּ חָרוּם, הַכּוֹחֵל שְׁתֵּי עֵינָיו כְּאֶחָת. שְׁתֵּי עֵינָיו לְמַעְלָה, וּשְׁתֵּי עֵינָיו לְמַטָּה, עֵינוֹ אַחַת לְמַעְלָה, וְעֵינוֹ אַחַת לְמַטָּה, רוֹאֶה אֶת הַחֶדֶר וְאֶת הָעֲלִיָּה כְּאֶחָת, סָכֵי שֶׁמֶשׁ, זוּגְדוֹס, וְהַצִּירָן. וְשֶׁנָּשְׁרוּ רִיסֵי עֵינָיו, פָּסוּל, מִפְּנֵי מַרְאִית הָעָיִן:
Das Charum ist ungültig. Wer ist ein Charum ? Einer, der beide Augen gleichzeitig malen kann [dh seine Nasenbrücke ist eingesunken]. Wenn beide Augen höher als normal oder niedriger als normal sind oder wenn ein Auge höher als das andere ist oder wenn ein Auge nach oben schaut, während das andere nach unten schaut [beleuchtet], "sieht er den Raum und den Dachboden gleichzeitig" ] oder einer, der seine Augen in der Sonne schließt oder einer, der nicht übereinstimmende Augen hat oder dessen Augen ständig reißen. Wenn seine Wimpern herausfallen, ist er ungültig, weil es unansehnlich ist.
Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
כוחל שתי עיניו כאחת (he who paints his two eyes in one movement) – that his nose that is between his eyes is sunk and it does not protrude at all, until when he comes to remove the staff used for painting the eye, he is able to stretch the staff used for painting the eye between each eye, but the nose does not prevent it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
Introduction
Our mishnah continues to deal with defects of the eyes.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
שתי עיניו למעלה – at the height of the forehead which is not like the rest of people.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
A harum is unfit [for the priesthood]. What is a harum? One who can paint both of his eyes with one movement. A harum is one who can paint both of his eyes with one movement. This is interpreted to mean that his nose is sunken in, so that he could paint both eyes with one stroke.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
ושתי עיניו למטה – from the place where they are accustomed to be.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
If both of his eyes were above or both of his eyes were below; or if one one eye was above and the other below; The mishnah now continues to list other eye defects. If both eyes are higher or lower than normal, or if they are uneven, one eye being higher than the other, then he may not serve in the Temple.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
עינו אחת למעלה – from the customary place.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
Or one who sees the room and the ceiling in one glance; This seems to mean that he is cross-eyed, one eye looking up and one eye looking down.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
ואינו אחת למטה – from the customary place.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
Or one who covers [his eyes] from the sun; If he is extremely photo-sensitive, he can’t serve. We should note that the Temple was not shaded, so for a priest who can’t bear the sun, serving at the altar might have been unbearable.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
רואה את החדר ואת העליה כאחת – that his eyes stand in their appropriate place, but one of his eyes sees above and his other eye sees below, the room below and the attic above, and anyone who sees crooked that he is speaking with his fellow and it appears as if he is looking into the face of another person.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
A zugdos and a tziran. A zugdos is interpreted as being a person with eyes or eyebrows of different colors. A tziran is one whose eyes constantly water. All of these visual defects disqualify a priest from serving in the Temple.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
סכי שמש (squinting, cross-eyed) – that when he wants to look into the sun, he closes his eyes and closes his eyelids (see also Talmud Bekhorot 44a, where Rabbi Yose changes it to read – סני שמש/who hates the sun, blinkard).
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English Explanation of Mishnah Bekhorot
One whose eyelashes have fallen off is unfit [for the priesthood] for appearance sake. The rabbis stated that one whose eyelashes have fallen out cannot serve in the Temple, because his appearance is strange. In other words, he does not have a defect that prevents him from serving, but we don’t let him serve because of his strange appearance.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
זגדוס (unmatched; one with an unequal pair of eyes or eye-brows) – a זוג /pair is two; דוס in the Roman language is two. Meaning to say, the pair of eyes or the eyelids of the eyes which are customarily equivalent are divided into two matters. As for example, his one eye is black and the other is a kind of tekelet/blue-green. In one of his eye brows there is a lot of hair and in the other, a little. And similarly, in all of the other pairs of limbs, each pair is not similar to each other. He is called a זגדוס.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
צירן (one whose eyes discharge a briny liquid, bleary-eyed) – whose eyes flow with tears, dripping or always running (see Talmud Bekhorot 44a).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
שנשרו ריסי עיניו – that the hair fell from his eye-lashes.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Bekhorot
מפני מראית העין – but it is not a complete blemish. And these words [apply] when there remains in his eyelashes a trace of hair, but if there doesn’t remain even the slightest trace of hair, behold it is a complete blemish. And similarly, if there is a lot of hair in the eye-lid with eye-lashes it is a complete blemish. But there are three laws allotted in the blemishes of a human being. There are equivalent blemishes in man and beasts, a Kohen who transgressed and served with them is flogged and his Divine service is profaned. But the additional blemishes in a person that are not found in animals, a he is flogged but if he served, his Divine service is not profaned. But the blemishes which are on account of being repulsive to look at (i.e, appearance’s sake) if he transgressed and served [in the Temple], he is not flogged, and there is no need to state that his Divine service is profaned.
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