לרפואת נעמי בת טובה
ור' יוסף זאב בן שפרינצא
When priests wear their priestly garments when they are not performing service even though they are in the Temple they are liable for lashes because the sash [אבנט] contains kilayim [Sha'atnz] and license to wear it was granted only while performing service for that is a positive commandment like tzitzit. [Kilayim 10/32]
According to the Rambam a kohen may only wear kilayim בשעת עבודה - while doing the service. Roared the Shaagas Aryeh [29]: Why is the Kohen Gadol allowed to do any avoda in the Beis Hamikdash?? Since his אבנט is made from kilayim while according to some opinions a Kohen Hedyot's אבנט contains no kilayim, only the latter should be doing the avoda. The reason is that we only say עשה דוחה לא תעשה and the avoda with bigdei kehuna is דוחה the issur of כלאים if there is no other recourse. However, in our case the Kohen Hedyot may perform the avoda without כלאים at all. If so - אפשר לקיים שניהם - we can have the avoda without having to be דוחה the איסור of כלאים.
The problem is that the gemara says that the Kohen Gadol has the option of doing the avoda whenever he wishes.
Ahhhhhhh!
Rav Amiel [Darkei Kinyanim page 152] answers that the question of the Shaagas Aryeh is predicated upon the assumption that performing the avoda is a general mitzva for all of the kohanim equally. If so, let a Kohen Hedyot perform the avoda without כלאים!
But we can learn differently and say that the mitzva of performing the avoda is a mitzva on EVERY KOHEN INDIVIDUALLY, just like tefillin and tzitzis. If that is true then it is not a mitzva about which we can say אפשר לקיים שניהם - we can accomplish the mitzva without being דוחה the לאו.
NO! Some other Kohen performing the avoda will mean that the Kohen Gadol lost out. Hence, he is allowed to perform the avoda with כלאים while being דוחה the לא תעשה.
Stay tuned for more בעז"ה!
