3,970. Beginning Hilchos Bias HaMikdash

Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 10:13

When Tanach mentions kohanim wearing linen ephods (I Samuel 22:18), that is not meant to suggest that they had the status of Kohein Gadol; after all, the Kohein Gadol’s ephod was not simply of linen. Leviim also wore such a garment, as we see from the prophet Shmuel, who was a Levi and, according to I Samuel 2:18, he was “a youth, wearing a linen ephod.” Rather, this kind of ephod was worn by those training for prophecy and those who were fit to have the God’s spirit rest upon them. It was a sign that such a person had achieved a level comparable to that of the Kohein Gadol, who would confer with God’s spirit through the ephod and the breastplate.

Hilchos Bias HaMikdash 1:1

If a kohein who is fit to serve in the Temple service drinks wine, he may not enter the area from the altar and inward. If he goes there and serves, the service is invalid and he is subject to a Divine death penalty, as per Leviticus 10:9: “(Do not drink wine or intoxicants...) so that you won’t die.” The applies to one who drinks a reviis of undiluted wine (about 3.3 ounces) at once, so long as the wine has been aged at least 40 days. However, if one drank less than a reviis, or if he drank it discontinuously, or if he mixed it with water, or even if one drank more than a reviis but he did so from the wine vat within forty days of pressing, he is exempt and the service he performed has not been disgraced. If he drank more than a reviis of wine – even if it was diluted and even if he drank it a little at a time – he is subject to a Divine death penalty and the service he performed is disqualified.