Mishnayos Megillah Perek 4 Mishnah 7
Change text layout:
מגילה פרק ד׳ משנה ז׳
A priest who has blemishes on his hands may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction. Because of his blemish, people will look at his hands, and it is prohibited to look at the hands of the priests during the Priestly Benediction. Rabbi Yehuda says: Even one whose hands were colored with satis, a blue dye, may not lift his hands to recite the Priestly Benediction because the congregation will look at him.
כֹּהֵן שֶׁיֵּשׁ בְּיָדָיו מוּמִין, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר, אַף מִי שֶׁהָיוּ יָדָיו צְבוּעוֹת אִסְטִיס וּפוּאָה, לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת כַּפָּיו, מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָעָם מִסְתַּכְּלִין בּוֹ:
Bartenura
כהן שיש בידו מומין. וכן בפניו או ברגליו:
לא ישא את כפיו. שאין הכהנים רשאין לעלות בסנדליהן לדוכן, ואם יש מומין ברגליו יסתכלו בו ומתוך כך יבואו להסתכל בידיו, והמסתכל בכהנים כשנושאים כפיהן עיניו כהות, [חגיגה ט״ז ע״א]. לפי שהשכינה שורה בין ידיהם:
אסטס. צבעו דומה לתכלת:
פואה. שרשים אדומים שצובעים בהם אדום. ומסיק בגמרא שאם היה דש בעירו, כלומר רגיל עמהם וכולם יודעים במומין שיש בו או בצבע שבידיו או שרוב אנשי העיר מלאכתן בכך מותר, דשוב אין מסתכלים בו:
כהן שיש בידיו מומין – and similarly on his face or his feet
לא ישא כפיו – since the Kohanim are not entitled to go up in their sandals to the Dukhan (priest’s stage from which they pronounce the Priestly Blessing). And if he has blemishes on his feet, people will look at him and through this they will come to look at his hands, and one who looks at the Kohanim when they raise their hands to recite the Priestly Blessing, their eyes will become dim, because the Divine Presence rests between their hands.
אסטיס – its color is similar to Tekhelet/azure.
פואה – red roots that we paint red and we reach a definitive conclusion in the Gemara that if he would thresh in his city, that is, he was regularly with them and everyone knows of the blemishes that he has on him , or the color that is on his hands, or that the work of most of the people of the city is in that, it is permitted, for furthermore, they don’t look at him.