And
that is the meaning of that which is written: “Slay utterly old and young, both
maid, and little children, and women; but come not near any man upon whom is
the mark; and begin at My Sanctuary” (Ezekiel 9:6). And it is written in that
same verse: “Then they began with the elderly men who were before the house.”
Rav Yosef taught: Read not: My Sanctuary [mikdashi], rather: Those sanctified
to Me [mekudashai]. These are people who observed the whole Torah in its
entirety from alef through tav. And immediately: “And, behold, six men
came from the way of the higher gate, which lies toward the north, and every
man with his weapon of destruction in his hand; and one man among them was clothed
in linen, with a writer’s inkwell by his side; and they went in and stood
beside the bronze altar” (Ezekiel 9:2).
The
Gemara raises a difficulty: But is it true that one who is completely righteous
cannot be destroyed along with the wicked? But isn’t it written in a prophecy
about the destruction of the Temple that God says to the destroyers: “And begin
at My Sanctuary [mimmikdashi]” (Ezekiel 9:6); and Rav Yosef teaches: Do not
read the word as “mimmikdashi,” but rather read it as mimmekudashai, those
sanctified to Me. He explains: These are people who observed the Torah in its
entirety, from the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet alef through
its final letter tav. These people observed every mitzva in the Torah, and
yet they were destroyed along with the wicked. The Gemara answers the
difficulty: There too, since they had the power to protest against the wicked
and prevent them from sinning and they did not protest, they are considered as
righteous people who are not completely righteous.