Priests are warned not to approach holy things while ritually unclean, on pain of being cut off. Proximity to holiness doesn't override the actual state a person is in.
Legal & Ethicalוינזרו THAT THEY KEEP AWAY [FROM THE HOLY THINGS etc.] — The term נזר always denotes “keeping aloof". Similarly it is said (Ezekiel 14:7) "and he separates himself (וינזר) from following Me”; (Isaiah 1:4) "They are gone away (נזורו) backward”. The me...
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