Halakhah к Келим 1:10

That He prohibited any impure person from entering the camp of the Levites - and that which is similar to it for [all] the generations: The Temple Mount, as they explained at the beginning of Tractate Kelim (Kelim 1:8). And the prohibition of impure people entering the Temple Mount is explained there. And the verse that comes about this is His saying, "A man that has been rendered unclean by a nocturnal emission [...] shall not enter within the camp" (Deuteronomy 23:11). And in the Gemara, Pesachim (Pesachim 68a): "'And he must leave the camp' - this is the camp of the Divine Presence," as we explained in Commandment 31 of the Positive Commandments. "'And he shall not enter the camp' - that is the Levite camp. Ravina strongly objects, 'Say that both this and that are the camp of the Divine Presence, to transgress with it, a positive commandment and a negative commandment!' If so, let the verse write, '[And he must leave the camp,] and he shall not enter within'" - meaning, that it would want to say, "And he shall not enter within it." "Why do I need [the repetition of the word,] 'the camp?' To give him a different camp" - and that is the camp of the Levites - that he may also not enter into it. And the language of the Sifrei (Sifrei Devarim 255:5) is, "'He shall not enter within the camp - that is a negative commandment." And the regulations of this commandment have already been explained in the third [chapter] of Middot. (See Ki Tetzei; Mishneh Torah, Admission into the Sanctuary 3.)

From the laws of the commandment is that which they said in a bereita in Keritot 6a that the composition of the incense was eleven spices, four of which are explicit in the Torah and seven of which are a tradition. And that which they said (Yoma 26a; Mishnah Tamid 7:3) that the incense is made either by the high priest or by a regular priest. And [that] which they said (Menachot 49a) that if he did not burn it in the morning, he burns the whole amount of the day - which is the weight of a hundred dinar - in the afternoon. And the weight of a dinar is well known. And [that] every day he would burn half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening, after the afternoon sacrifice before the arrangement of all of the lights, after the [lighting] of five of their wicks - as they were not lit consecutively (Yoma 14b). And [that] they would do this matter [as follows], the priest that merited to burn the incense takes a vessel - the name of which is a teni - heaped full of incense (Mishnah Tamid 6:3), and all of the people leave from between the sanctuary and between the chamber and the altar, as it states (Leviticus 16:17), "And no man will be in the tent of meeting, etc." And he [then] burns [it] in the way that is explained there in the Gemara (Mishnah Tamid 6:3) - that he gently throws the incense upon the coals in the gold pan, and he bows down and exits. And the rest of its details, how it is done, and that which they said during the grinding of the spices, "Crush well, well" - because our Rabbis, may their memory be blessed, said (Keritot 6a) that the voice is good for spices while they grind them - is all in Keritot and in Tamid (see Mishneh Torah, Laws of Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 3).

The laws of the commandment: For example, that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishnah Kelim 1:1) that eight swarming creatures are called a primary source (av) of impurity, meaning to say that they render a man and vessels impure by touch; and if the vessels are of clay, they render them impure once they enter its space (hollow). And this is the distinction that there is in the matter between that which is called a primary source and that which is called a derivative (velad) - as that which is called a primary source renders a man and vessels impure, but that which is called a derivative does not render a man and vessels impure. And the swarming creatures only render impure after they die, as it is stated (Leviticus 11:31), "in their being dead, he shall become impure." And it is specifically these swarming creatures that render impure, but all other swarming creatures - the snake, the scorpion and all that are similar to them - do not render impure at all. And the law of the swarming creatures is that they do not render impure by carrying without touching [directly]; and that one that touches them does not render his clothes impure when they are upon him at the time that he touches them. And the measure of the impurity of the swarming creature is like [the size of] a lentil. As behold, we found that the Torah renders them pure undifferentiatedly, and there are some of these swarming creatures that are only like a lentil. And all of the swarming creatures combine to [the measure of] like a lentil - meaning to say, even a little of this one and a little of that one combine to [form the size of] a lentil, to render impure; such that you not say that the liability is only like a lentil from one [creature] by itself (Meilah 15b).

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishnah Kelim 1:2) that a carcass is a primary source (av) from the primary sources of impurity; and that a kazayit of its flesh makes a man and vessels impure by touching, and a clay pot from its hollow; and makes a man impure from carrying to make [his] clothes impure. And it is one whether it is a permitted beast or animal or a forbidden one that died - the flesh of all of them transfer impurity with a kazayit. And the slaughter of a pure beast or animal purifies them and they do not transfer impurity afterwards. And even the slaughter of non-sacred [animals] in the courtyard or consecrated ones outside purifies them from being a carcass. And anything that dies on its own or a disqualification occurred in its slaughter, behold it is a carcass - and like they, may their memory be blessed, said in Chullin 32a, "This is the general principle: All that became disqualified in its slaughter is a carcass; and all that something else caused it to become disqualified, is 'torn' (tereifah)." But slaughter does not purify an impure beast or animal from being a carcass. And hence they are carcasses in any way that they die. And nonetheless, they do not transfer impurity - not them and not the pure ones - until they die completely, and not while they are still twitching. And the rest of its many details are elucidated scattered in the Order of Tahorot, but mostly in Tractate Kelim and Tractate Tahorot (see Mishneh Torah, Laws of Defilement of Foods 1)

And afterwards, the priest shaves the metsora. And how does he shave him? He passes the razor over his visible flesh - and even [on] the underarm and the pubic area and all the rest of the body - until he becomes [smooth] like a gourd, as it is stated (Leviticus 14:9), "all of his hair." If so, why does it state, "his head, his beard, and his eyebrows?" To include everything that is like them and to exclude hair that is in the nose, since it is not seen. And afterwards he washes his clothes and immerses, and is purified with this from passing on impurity from his resting and sitting [upon something]; and he can come inside the [city] wall. And he counts seven days; and during those seven days, he is prohibited in sexual relations, as it is stated, "outside of his tent" - teaching he is forbidden in sexual relations. But a metsora'at is permitted in sexual relations. All of these seven days, he is still a source of impurity and renders a person and vessels impure with touch, but he does render impure with carrying - as behold it states (Leviticus 14:9), "And it shall be on the seventh day, etc. and he shall wash his clothes" - teaching that he was rendering clothes impure. And [just] like he was rendering clothes impure, so [too] was he rendering a man impure with touch - since all that renders a person impure, renders clothes impure; and all that does not render a person impure, does not render clothes impure (Mishnah Kelim 1:1). And on the seventh day, the priest shaves him a second [time] like the first shaving. And [the metsora] washes his clothes and immerses and is purified from rendering others impure. And behold he is like all who have immersed during the day, and can eat from the tithe; when his sun sets, he can eat from the priestly tithe; [and] when he brings his atonement, he can eat from consecrated foods. The slaughter of the bird, the shaving and the sprinkling are during the day, but all the other procedures are whether during the day or during the night. These [three things] are with men, but all the rest are even with women. These are with priests, but all the rest are even through an Israelite. And it is a commandment for the same priest who rendered him impure [to render him pure, as it is stated (Leviticus 13:59)], "to render him pure or to render him impure." And the rest of its details are in Tractate Negaim.

From the laws of the commandment is that which they, may their memory be blessed, said (Mishnah Kelim 1:9) that the high priest only enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, when he enters four times and not more. As if he enters a fifth, he is liable for death by the hands of the Heavens. And a common priest may enter the chamber for the service every day. But anyone who enters the chamber not for the sake of the service - whether a high priest or a common priest, such as one who enters even to bow down - is lashed, but he is not liable for death. As it is stated 'Before the ark cover [...], that he not die' - for the Holy of Holies, he is liable for death; for the other parts of the sanctuary, (he is only in transgression of) a negative commandment. This is the opinion of Rambam, may his memory be blessed, about this negative commandment (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Admission into the Sanctuary 2:4). And I have already written the opinion of Ramban, may his memory be blessed, above (Sefer HaChinukh 149, 150), who said that entrance to the sanctuary, not for service, with wild [hair] and torn clothes is a rabbinic embellishment. And if so, according to his opinion, it is possible that anyone who entered to bow down is not [punished] with lashes at all; and this prohibition of "he shall not come" would only be in a completely empty coming - as such would be a disparagement to the honor of the [Temple], to enter into it for nothing. And the rest of its details are elucidated in Menachot and Sifra (see Mishneh Torah, Admission into the Sanctuary 2).