[Avodah] Fables and Lies -- The poem Ayleh Ezke'rah

[Kohn, Shalom]

Various commentators addressed the anachronisms in he poem Ayleh Ezke'raha and whether poetic license impacts on "truth."

The more serious problem in the poem is that it portrays the kohain gadol as lifting the severed head of the nasi and bemoaning his fate.  This is a very dramatic scene.  But --- since a skull causes tuma'at meit, how could the kohain gadol lift the severed head of the nasi?  

There are three possible answers, with only the third (a chiddush) potentially satisfactory:

1.  The event occurred in a tent, so the kohain gadol was tamei anyway.  However, there is no heter for the increase in tumah from ohel to magah, at least according to most views.  

2.  It was a case of meit mitzah.  But the essence of that exception is that a kohain can define himself for a meit mitzvah to bury him.  Clearly, no burying was occurring.

3.  The chiddush -- the reason for meit mitzvah is kavod ha-meit, and in the context, lifting the head was for that purpose and therefore would so qualify, even though no burial is then possible.  I don't have a source for this chiddush, but it is at least an argument.

The more troubling possibility is that the paytan's literary skills exceeded his halachic awareness.  It is also surprising how few people seem to have noticed this problem (as indeed, I had not for several decades!).

SLK

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