Parshas Emor
“Each man from the descendants of Aharon… he may not eat from the holy food until he has become pure!” (Vayikra 22:4)
It is a negative commandment that an impure priest may not eat Terumah, as it says “Each man from the descendants of Aharon if he is a leper… he may not eat from the holy food until he has become pure!”.
Amongst the roots of this commandment are that it is important to magnify all hokly things and make them precious in the eyes of every man.
Amongst the laws of this commandment are that an impure priest who eats Terumah receives death in the hands of heaven, and also receives lashes. If, however, he ate impure Terumah, even though he has transgressed a negative commandment, he does not receive lashes, as it is not called holy.
This commandment applies to priests, both male and female, in Eretz Yisrael when it was settled, as it is only at that time that there is a biblical obligation to separate Terumah. Nowadays, there is a rabbinical prohibition to eat the fruit of Eretz Yisrael.
