Eruvin 105A

אמר רבי יוחנן, ושניהם מקרא אחד דרשו: ״ויבאו הכהנים לפנימה בית ה׳ לטהר ויוציאו את כל הטומאה אשר מצאו בהיכל ה׳ לחצר בית ה׳ ויקבלו הלוים להוציא לנחל קדרון חוצה״.

R' Yoḥanan said: Both of them, R' Shimon ben Nannas and R' Akiva, derived their opinions from the same verse: “And the priests went into the inner part of the House of God, to cleanse it, and they brought out all the impurity that they found in the Temple of God into the courtyard of the House of God. And the Levites took it, to carry it out to the brook of Kidron” (II Chronicles 29:16).

מר סבר: מדאשתני בעזרה בלוים, טומאה בעזרה ליכא.

One Sage, R' Shimon Ben Nannas, maintains: As there was a change from the priests who removed the ritual impurity from the inner part of the Temple to the Levites, who took over in the courtyard, this indicates that there is no obligation to remove impurity in the courtyard, and consequently the priests are not required to do so.

ומר סבר: עד היכא דלא אפשר בלוים, מפקי כהנים. השתא דאפשר בלוים, תו לא מטמאי כהנים.

And one Sage, R' Akiva, maintains: Up to where it is impossible for the task to be performed by the Levites, as it is prohibited for Levites to enter the Sanctuary, the priests took it out. However, now in the courtyard, where it is possible for the ritual impurity to be removed by the Levites, the priests no longer render themselves ritually impure, as they are prohibited from maintaining contact with ritual impurity for any longer than necessary. That is to say, the Levites removed it from any place where they were permitted to enter.

תנו רבנן: הכל נכנסין בהיכל לבנות לתקן ולהוציא את הטומאה, ומצוה בכהנים. אם אין שם כהנים ⁠— נכנסין לוים, אין שם לוים ⁠— נכנסין ישראלים. ואידי ואידי, טהורין ⁠— אין, טמאין ⁠— לא.

A baraita states: It is permitted for everyone to enter the Sanctuary to build, to repair, or to remove impurity from inside. However, wherever possible, the mitzva is for these tasks to be performed by priests. If no priests are available, Levites enter; if no Levites are available, Israelites enter. In both cases, if they are ritually pure, yes, they may enter, but if they are impure, no, they may not enter the holy place.