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חמשה חומשי תורהעם ליקוטי בבלי וירושלמי

WITH THE

teachıngs of the talmUd

פרשת אחרי-קדושיםParashas Acharei-Kedoshim

ArtScroll® Series

Rabbi Nosson Scherman / Rabbi Gedaliah Zlotowitz General Editors

Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz ז״ל, Founder

הרן .1 חרי מות שני בני א� After the death of Aharon’s — א�two sons.

� Like a Cloudיג), (פסוק מות“ י� ”ולא אומר: אליעזר בי ר� הרן. א� בני שני מות חרי א�כול יהיו שניהם אמורין קודם ה. י� ר� זה� אה“ (פסוק ב), א� ן אר� נ� עונש, ”כי בע�יהיו כול י� הרן“, בני א� שני חרי מות ”א� ר למוד לומ� הרן, ת� בני א� ת מית�אה ן אר� נ� ר ”כי בע� למוד לומ� הרן, ת� ת שני בני א� ר מית� ח� שניהם אמורים א�ה (יומא נג., ר מית� ח� ה, ועונש א� ה קודם מית� ר� זה� ד? א� א כיצ� פרת“. ה� כ� ל ה� ע�

ירושלמי יומא א, ה):Among the ingredients that made up the daily ketores

(incense) offered in the Beis HaMikdash was the maaleh

ashan — a certain herb that caused the smoke of the ke-

tores to rise straight up like a stick. Our pasuk, which intro-duces this Torah portion, states, Hashem spoke to Moshe

“after the death of Aharon’s two sons,” indicating that, in general, these pesukim were said after the passing of Na-dav and Avihu, Aharon’s sons. At the time of their passing, Hashem had already appeared to the Jewish people, as the Torah had said,1 and the glory of Hashem appeared to

the entire people.

The next pasuk, which says, אה ן אר� נ� ”for in a “cloud ,כי בע�

will I appear, is a commandment to add maaleh ashan, which creates a “cloud,” to the ketores. This must have been said before the passing of Nadav and Avihu, because it says for in a cloud “will” I appear, in future tense, indi-cating that this commandment was said before Hashem “appeared” to the nation.

There is also a later pasuk,2 פרת. . .ולא כ� קטרת את ה� ן ה� ה ענ� וכס�מות so that the “cloud” of the incense shall blanket the ,י�

Aron-cover. . .so that he shall not die. According to one opinion, this pasuk, which again indicates that the smoke of the ketores should be like a cloud, comes to teach us that the punishment for offering the ketores without the maaleh ashan is premature death at the hand of Heaven. So while the commandment to include maaleh ashan was given while Nadav and Avihu were alive, the punishment for leaving it out was taught after their deaths (Yoma 53a; Yerushalmi Yoma 1:5).

פרת אשר .2 כ� רכת אל פני ה� פ� קדש מבית ל� ל עת אל ה� ל י�בא בכ� וא�מות רן ולא י� א� ל ה� He shall not come at all times into — ע�the Sanctuary, within the Curtain, in front of the Cover that is upon the Aron, so that he should not die.

FROM THE SEFER HACHINUCH

רים ל שכן ז� ש וכ� מקד� ל עת ב� כהנים בכ� נסו ה� מצוה קפד: של א יכ�Mitzvah 184: The Prohibition Upon Kohanim, and

Certainly Non-Kohanim, to Enter the Temple at WillKohanim are forbidden to enter the Sanctuary except to perform the avodah (Temple service). Similarly, non-Kohanim may not enter those areas of the Sanctuary where they are permitted to go, except for such purposes, and the Kohen Gadol may not enter the Kodesh Hako-dashim (Holy of Holies) except to perform those portions of the Yom Kippur service that require him to go there.

1. 9:23. 2. Below, pasuk 13.

למוד ה ת� הרן וגו‘. מ� חרי מות שני בני א� בר ה‘ אל משה א� יד� (א) ו�בי אלעזר בן ר לו בדבור ראשון.] היה ר� ה נאמ� ר. [נ‘‘א: אין אנו יודעים מ� לומ�ל צונן וא� ל ל תאכ� ר לו: א� אצלו רופא, אמ� ס שנכנ� לחולה משל, עז�ריה מושלו ב, שלא תמות ח� ט� ב ב� ל תשכ� ל צונן וא� ל תאכ� ר לו: א� חר ואמ� ב. בא א� ח� ט� ב ב� תשכ�חרי מות שני ר א� כדרך שמת פלוני. זה זרזו יותר מן הראשון. לכך נאמ�ל הרן אחיך וא� בר אל א� יאמר ה‘ אל משה ד� ו� (ב) הרן: בני א�בניו (תורת כהנים אחרי פרשתא א, ג-ד): ולא כדרך שמתו יבא. שלא ימות

ימות. שאם בא הוא מת (שם): כי בענן אראה. כי תמיד אני נראה שם לבא. זהו פשוטו. יזהר שלא י�רגיל שכינתי שם שגלוי ולפי ענני, מוד עם ע�כפורים (שם ו-יג; קטרת ביום ה� ל יבא כי אם בענן ה� בותינו דרשוהו, א� ור�ית ב� לשני רמז ועשר, מאות ע רב� א� שלו טריא גימ� בזאת. (ג) נג.): יומא ף זו לא בכל עת, הרן וגו‘. וא� (ויקרא רבה כא, ט): בזאת יבא א� ראשון שביעי בעשור חדש ה� פרשה ”ב� כפורים, כמו שמפורש בסוף ה� כי אם ביום ה�

חדש“ (להלן טז, כט): ל�

פרשת אחריהרן א� י בנ� י שנ� מות י חר� א� ה אל־מש יהוה ר ב� �א ויד [טז] בר �ה ד תו: ב ויאמר יהוה אל־מש מ) י־יהוה וי( ם לפנ+ ת/ בקרב(ית מב� אל־הקדש ל־עת בכ( בא ל־י( �וא יך( ח א( הרן אל־א�י כ מות י( א ול ארן ל־ה= �ע ר אש< פרת �כ �ה אל־פני פרכת �לאל־הקדש הרן א� בא י( ג בזאת רת: פ �כ �ל־ה �ע ה Dא ר( א+ ן נ( ע( Eב

אונקלוס ר דמיתו תרין ת� ליל יי� עם משה ב� א ומ�א א נוכרית� ת� רוביהון אש� הרן בק� בני א�לל ר יי� למשה מ� אמ� ם יי� ומיתו: ב ו� קד�ל בכ� לל ע� יהי א ול� חוך א� הרן א� עם ם לקד� א רכת� לפ� יו מג� א לקודש� ן עד�א ימות ארי א ול� ל ארונ� א די ע� פרת� כ�א: פרת� ל בית כ� מתגלי ע� א א אנ� נ� ענ� ב�א לקודש� הרן א� לל ע� יהי א ג בד�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / א־ג 376 / ספר ויקרא

PARASHAS ACHAREI

16.

Reproduced from the Milstein Edition of Chumash With Talmud with permission of the copyright holder ArtScroll / Mesorah Publications Ltd

PARASHAS ACHAREI 1 HASHEM spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons, when they ap-

proached before HASHEM, and they died. 2 And HASHEM said to Moshe: Speak to Aha-

ron, your brother — he shall not come at all times into the Sanctuary, within the Cur-

tain, in front of the Cover that is upon the Aron, so that he should not die; for in a cloud

will I appear upon the Aron-cover. 3 With this shall Aharon come into the Sanctuary:

16The death of

Aharon’s sons

and the Yom

Kippur service

3. Below, pasuk 13. 4. See Yoma 53a. 5. Unfortunately, during the period of the Second Beis HaMikdash, the Kohanim Gedolim were often not righteous men, as they were appointed through bribes given to the reigning kings (see Yoma 8b and 9a). 6. Because his nose

� Holy and Holierקדש“ בלא י�בא, ברי: ”אל ה� ן ס� נ� ב� קדש וגו‘. ר� ל עת אל ה� ל י�בא בכ� וא�”אל ר: ב� ה ס� יהוד� בי ור� מות, י� בלא פרת“ כ� פני ה� ו“אל רכת“ פ� ”מבית ל�מות (מנחות פרת“ בלא י� כ� רכת“ בלא י�בא, ו“אל פני ה� פ� קדש“ ו“מבית ל� ה�

כז:):Our pasuk prohibits the Kohanim from entering parts of

the Beis HaMikdash for reasons other than to perform the avodah (Temple service). The pasuk mentions three ar-eas; (1) Into the Sanctuary (Kodesh, קדש within (2) ;(אל ה�the Curtain (רכת פ� in front of the Cover that is (3) ;(מבית ל�upon the Aron (רן א� ל ה� פרת אשר ע� כ� .(אל פני ה�

After warning the Kohanim not to enter these areas, our pasuk says, so that he should not die (at the hand of Heaven). All agree that this punishment applies to one who improperly enters the area mentioned just before the punishment: “in front of the cover,” inside the Kodesh HaKodashim. Everyone also agrees that improperly enter-ing the first area mentioned in the pasuk, the “Kodesh,” violates the prohibition of our pasuk and is punishable only by malkus, lashes, but not by death.

There is a disagreement as to whether the second area mentioned, “within the Curtain,” is punishable by death (Menachos 27b).

� Keeping a Distanceקדש. פירש מאהל מועד, ל עת אל ה� ל י�בא בכ� חיך� וא� הרן א� בר אל א� ד�דים בבג� ומרובה ה משח� בשמן ה� שוח� חי שמ� הרן א� ה א� ר: ומ� מ� ד? א� כיצ�ל וא� חיך� א� הרן א� אל בר ”ד� הקב“ה לו ר מ� א� ה, בקדוש� הם ב� מש ומשת�ה מ� וכ� ה מ� כ� ת ח� ל א� ע� ך לכ� ן מזומ� שאני אני קדש“, ה� אל עת ל בכ� י�בא ת ע� לד� עתו ד� ה והסכימ� מועד מאהל פירש מועד, מאהל שאפרוש

קום (אבות דרבי נתן ב, ג): מ� ה�When Hashem commanded (in our pasuk) that Aharon

should not enter the Sanctuary at any time he wishes, Moshe applied this to himself as well, through a kal va-chomer, a logical argument.

He thought: My brother Aharon was sanctified by be-ing anointed with the shemen hamishchah (Anointing Oil) and by wearing extra holy garments, and even so Hashem prohibited him from entering other than to perform the Temple services. That being the case, I, who do not have these extra preparations, may surely not enter whenever I wish.

Because of this, Moshe no longer entered the Sanctuary, and Hashem agreed with him (Avos DeRabbi Nassan 2:3).

פרת כ� ל ה� אה ע� ן אר� נ� For in a cloud will I appear — כי בע�upon the Aron-cover.

� Misplaced MartyrdomOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was to place the

ketores (incense offering) on the coals inside the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), as the pasuk says,3 He shall place the incense upon the fire “before Hashem.” The phrase before Hashem indicates that this is done inside the Kodesh HaKodashim.4 The Sadducees — a sect that denied the authenticity of the Oral Law — misinterpreted our pasuk to mean that the ketores should be placed on the coals before the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh HaKodashim, and then carried in while it is burning.חוץ מב� שהתקין ד אח� בצדוקי עשה מ� פרת. כ� ה� ל ע� אה אר� ן נ� בע� כי ף ר לו: בני א� מ� ביו א� ע בו א� ג� ה, פ� ה גדול� מח� שמח� ה ש� י� תו ה� והכניס. ביציא�ייתי י ה� מ� ל י� ר לו: כ� מ� פרושים, א� נו מן ה� ראין א� נו מתי� ל פי שצדוקין א� ע�י ת� מ� רתי מ� א� פרת“, כ� ה� ל ע� אה אר� ן נ� בע� ”כי זה ה� א מקר� ה� ל ע� ער מצט�מים יו י� מרו: לא ה� יימנו? א� די לא אק� א לי� יו שב� כש� יימנו, ע� אק� די ו� י�בוא לי�עין יוצאין מחוטמו (יומא יט:): יו תול� ה, וה� שפ� א� ל ב� ד שמת והוט� טין ע� מוע�

During the period of the Second Beis HaMikdash, there was once a Sadducee who was appointed as Kohen Gadol.5 When it was time for him to offer the ketores in the Kodesh HaKodashim, he placed the ketores on the coals before entering the Kodesh HaKodashim. When he left, he was ex-tremely happy because he had succeeded in doing the ser-vice improperly. When he later met his father, his father said to him, “My son, though we are Sadducees, we are afraid that the Perushim, who uphold the Oral Law, may be right!”

The son responded, “My entire life I have wanted to fulfill this verse as we Sadducees understand it, and now that I had the opportunity should I not have taken it?!”

It was only a matter of days before this Sadducee Kohen Gadol died. His body was thrown into a trash heap, and worms were coming out of his nose6 (Yoma 19b).

� The Cloud Herbל ע� אה אר� ן נ� בע� ”כי ר לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� פרת. כ� ה� ל ע� אה אר� ן נ� בע� כי

ן (יומא נג.): ש� עלה ע� ה מ� מד שנותן ב� פרת“, מל� כ� ה�Our pasuk, which says, for in a “cloud” will I appear

upon the Aron-cover, comes to tell us that maaleh ashan, a certain herb which would cause the smoke of the ketores go straight up like a stick and then form a cloud, was to be added to the ingredients of the ketores (Yoma 53a).

377 / VAYIKRA/LEVITICUS PARASHAS ACHAREI 16 / 1-3


ה .3 יל לעל� את וא� ט� ר לח� ק� ר בן ב� קדש בפ� הרן אל ה� — בזאת י�בא א�With this shall Aharon come into the Sanctuary: with a young bull for a chatas offering and a ram for an

olah offering.


כפורים ת יום ה� ת עבוד� מצוה קפה: מצו�Mitzvah 185: The Obligation of the Yom Kippur Service

The Kohen Gadol must properly perform the entire procedure of the Yom Kippur service.

� Seven Days of Seclusionן בעני� היא? אי מ� ן, בעני� מור שא� ה במ� קדש. ה� אל הרן א� י�בא בזאת יום ושמש ה שבע� ש פיר� הרן דמלואים? א� ן בעני� מור ה א� ומ� דמלואים, כהן לדורות ף וא� ה עבוד� נכו ב� כדי לח� ה ל שבע� ר לו כ� ס� ומשה מ� ד אח�עי ליה לגופיה, אי ”בזאת“ מיב� ד. . . וה� מש יום אח� ה ומש� דול פורש שבע� ג�א ן לחודיה, לימ� רב� מרי: אי לק� ה“! א� יל לעול� את וא� ט� ר לח� ק� ר בן ב� ”בפ�רתי (יומא ד., ירושלמי ה ת� ת מינ� מע� אי ”בזאת“ ש� א בזה או באלה, מ� קר�

יומא א, א):In the introduction to the avodah (Temple service) of

Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, בזאת, with “this,” shall

Aharon come into the Sanctuary: with a young bull for a

sin offering and a ram for an olah offering.The word bezos, with this, cannot be referring only to the

offerings themselves, because bezos is feminine and the bull and ram offerings were both male. There must there-fore be something else that the Kohen Gadol is required to do before entering the Sanctuary on Yom Kippur.

This passage is introduced by mentioning the death of Aharon’s sons, which took place on the eighth day of the Miluim (Inauguration of the Mishkan). “Bezos” is con-nected to that Inauguration.

Before the Inauguration of the Mishkan, Aharon and his sons were required to separate themselves and remain in the Mishkan for the first seven days of the Miluim, in preparation for the avodah (Temple Service) of the eighth day. Similarly, the Kohen Gadol must separate from his home and remain in the Beis HaMikdash for seven days before Yom Kippur, in preparation for the Yom Kippur ser-vice (Yoma 4a; Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1).

� With “a Bull”?!נס ה הוא שיכ� ט ומת מ� ח� ר. ש� ק� ר בן ב� קדש בפ� הרן אל ה� בזאת י�בא א�קיש ר, וריש ל� מו של פ� ר“ ולא בד� א אומר: ”. . . בפ� בי חנינ� מו?. . . ר� ר בד� ח� א�ר מ� אן דא� א כמ� בר� שי: מסת� ב א� ר ר� מ� ר. . . א� מו של פ� אפילו בד� ר“ ו� ר: ”בפ� מ� א�טו ר“ א� ק� ר בן ב� קדש בפ� הרן אל ה� ר, דכתיב ”בזאת י�בא א� ם איקרי פ� ד�ר הוכש� ה מ� ב� ך: ואיד� ר“, ”פ� ליה רי וק� מו, בד� א אל� ליה, ייל מע� רניה בק�

את“ (יומא מט:־נ.): ט� ר לח� ק� ר בן ב� קדש? ”בפ� בא אל ה� הרן ל� א�Our pasuk tells us, With this shall Aharon come into the

Sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering. The blood of the young bull was to be sprinkled in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), and then in the Kodesh (Sanctuary).7

Some say that when the pasuk states that Aharon is to come into the Sanctuary with “a young bull,” as opposed to “the blood of a young bull,” it means that the same Ko-hen Gadol who slaughtered the bull must be the one to bring its blood into the Sanctuary and sprinkle it. If he dies between slaughtering the bull and sprinkling its blood, the newly appointed Kohen Gadol must start over and slaugh-ter a new bull.

Others disagree and say that if the new Kohen Gadol comes in with the blood of the original bull, it is also con-sidered to be coming with a “young bull.” This is based on the wording of our pasuk, which says, With this shall Aharon come “into the Sanctuary”: with a young bull. Now, Aharon certainly does not bring the bull itself into the Sanctuary, because it is slaughtered outside. Obviously the blood of the bull is called “a young bull.”

According to the first opinion, our pasuk means, This is what allows Aharon to enter the Sanctuary: a young bull for a sin offering (Yoma 49b-50a).

ש .4 ד קדש ילב� He shall don a sacred linen — כתנת ב�Tunic.

� Choicest Linenב א בריה דר� ב הונ� ר ר� מ� ן? א� א ל� ר עדיפי, מנ� ח� ש. דש� ד קדש ילב� כתנת ב�

ד (יומא לה.): ב� ר ב� ד“, מובח� ד“, ”ב� ד“, ”ב� ד“, ”ב� א ”ב� ר קר� מ� אי: א� עיל�Our pasuk, which talks about the white linen garments

the Kohen Gadol wore during the morning avodah (ser-vice) of Yom Kippur, could have mentioned the word ד ,ב�linen, once, and applied it to all four garments. Instead,

was the first part of his body to enter the Kodesh HaKodashim (Rashi). 7. Below, 16:14,16,18,19.

מש מש לפנים בשמונה בגדים שהוא מש� גיד שאינו מש� ד וגו‘. מ� (ד) כתנת ב�ניגור (ראש השנה כו.), אלא עשה ס� טיגור נ� חוץ שיש בהם זהב, לפי שאין ק� בהם ב�רבעה ככהן הדיוט, וכולן של בוץ (תורת כהנים פרק א, ה): קדש ילבש. בא�רגומו, ”יחית ברישיה“, י�ניח� בראשו. כמו שיהיו משל הקדש (שם י): יצנף. כת�

יום טעון ים. אותו ה� מ� ץ ב� אחתתיה“: ורח� ח בגדו“ (בראשית לט, טז), ”ו� נ� ת� ”ו�היה פעמים וחמש לב.). יומא יא-יב; שם כהנים (תורת חליפותיו בכל טבילה נה מבגדי זהב לבגדי ת חוץ ומחוץ לפנים, ומש� עבוד� ת פנים ל� חליף מעבוד� מ�ים גל� ים ור� לבן ומבגדי לבן לבגדי זהב, ובכל חליפה טעון טבילה ושני קדושי יד�

ש ד קדש ילב( �נת־ב ה: ד כת יל לעל= Fאת וא Gט �ר לח Iר בן־בק Jבפפת Kחגר ובמצנ �ט בד י Oבנ �ל־בשרו ובא �היו ע Qכנסי־בד י Qומם: ים את־בשרו ולבש= Sמ �ץ ב Fח ם ור( ף בגדי־קדש ה ד יצנ Xב

א: ת� על� ר ל� ודכ� א את� ט� לח� ר תורי בתור ב�ומכנסין ש ילב� א קודש� א דבוצ� א ד כתונ�א דבוצ� א נ� ובהמי� בסרה ל ע� יהון דבוץ חת ברישה לבושי א י� א דבוצ� ר ומצנפת� יס�לבשנון: ת בסרה וי� א י� י� א אנון ויסחי במ� קודש�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / ד 378 / ספר ויקרא


with a young bull for a chatas offering and a ram for an olah offering. 4 He

shall don a sacred linen Tunic; linen Breeches shall be upon his flesh, he shall

gird himself with a linen Sash, and cover his head with a linen Turban; they

are sacred vestments — he shall immerse himself in water and then don them.

Confession

8. See Shemos 39:28 and above, 6:3. 9. Yechezkel 44:17. 10. Ibid. 11. However, they were permitted to wear non-sacred outer gar-ments to cover themselves while donning the Breeches (see Schottenstein Edition, Yoma 25a note 3 and 23b note 21).

it says it four times. It repeats the word to tell us that the morning garments were made from the choicest of linens, and were of higher quality than the white linen garments that he wore in the afternoon to perform the avodah of removing the ladle and the coal-pan from the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim (Holy of Holies) (Yoma 35a).

� What’s Bahd?א צמר ש אל� מקד� מש ב� כהנים לובשין לש� ש. אין ה� ד קדש ילב� כתנת ב�ד“, שהוא ש“, ”ב� ד קדש ילב� א: כתיב ”כתנת ב� בי זעיר� ר ר� מ� ופשתים. . . א�

עולה יחידי (ירושלמי כלאים ט, א):The garments worn by an ordinary Kohen during his

avodah (service) in the Beis HaMikdash were made from a material called “bahd” (ד The word bahd means 8.(ב�“individual,” and it refers to linen (flax), which grows on individual stalks. Although wool also grows as individual hairs, we know from our pasuk that bahd means linen and not wool:

Regarding the garments that the Kohen Gadol wore when entering the Kodesh HaKodashim, our pasuk says, He shall don a sacred “bahd” Tunic; “bahd” Breeches shall be upon his flesh… Now, wool garments were not permit-ted in the Kodesh HaKodashim, as the prophet says,9 Wool shall not be upon them when they serve inside the gates of the Inner Courtyard (that is, the Kodesh HaKodashim), within. Therefore, bahd must be linen (Yerushalmi Kilayim 9:1).

� Emulating Angelsא: כשירות ר ב� יה ב� בי חי� ר ר� מ� ן? א� ב� ה בבגדי ל� מ� ש. ול� ד קדש ילב� כתנת ב�ד אח� ”ואיש ב) ט, (יחזקאל ן על� למ� ה ן, מ� ט� של מ� שירות ך כ� ן, על� מ� של ש“ (ירושלמי יומא ז, ב): ד קדש ילב� ן ”כתנת ב� ט� ף למ� דים“, א� בש ב� ם ל� בתוכ�

Our pasuk says that before entering the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would don white linen garments.

The reason he is required to wear white garments at that time is because the service to Hashem in the Beis HaMik-dash is similar to the service of Hashem performed by the angels in heaven. We find that the angels are dressed in linen, which is white, because the pasuk10 refers to the angel Gavriel as, and among them was one man dressed in linen (Yerushalmi Yoma 7:2).

רו ל בש� ד יהיו ע� Linen Breeches shall be upon — ומכנסי ב�his flesh.

� Breeches Firstלמוד ים, ת� ס� מכנ� ר קודם ל� ב� יין שלא יהא ד� רו. מנ� ל בש� ד יהיו ע� ומכנסי ב�

רו“ (יומא כה., סנהדרין מט:): ל בש� ד יהיו ע� ר ”ומכנסי ב� לומ�

When the Kohanim did their service they were allowed to wear only the specific garments listed in the Torah. That being the case, why does our pasuk have to say that the Breeches were “upon his flesh”? He was not permitted to wear any garment under the breeches!

The pasuk is saying that the Kohen should put on the Breeches first, before any other priestly garment11 (Yoma 25a; Sanhedrin 49b).

ם רו ולבש� ים את בש� מ� ץ ב� ח� They are sacred — בגדי קדש הם ור�vestments — he shall immerse himself in water and

then don them.

� Purification for Every Changeמש ין לח� בי: מנ� ר ר� מ� ם. א� רו ולבש� ים את בש� מ� ץ ב� ח� בגדי קדש הם ור�ר שנאמ� יום, ב� בו דש ומק� דול ג� כהן שטובל קידושין ה ר� עש� ו� טבילות ם“, רו ולבש� ים את בש� מ� ץ ב� ח� ש וכו‘ בגדי קדש הם ור� ד קדש ילב� ”כתנת ב�ה, ואומר ”בגדי עון טביל� ה ט� עבוד� ה ל� נה מעבוד� מש� ל ה� דת� שכ� מ� א ל� ה�

זה (יומא לב., לב:): ן זה ל� דים כול� בג� ל ה� קדש הם“ הוקשו כ�Our pasuk says, he shall immerse himself in water and

then don them. This tells us that on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol was to immerse in a mikveh before donning his white linen garments. Our pasuk then adds a reason for the im-mersion: בגדי קדש הם, they are sacred vestments. Although the pasuk is speaking about the linen garments, since the reason for immersion is the fact that the garments are sa-cred, an immersion is also required when the Kohen Gadol put on any sacred garments — including when he initially put on, or changed into, his standard eight garments.

The Kohen Gadol, who performed all of the Yom Kip-pur avodah (Temple service), was required to change his priestly garments throughout the day. During some of the services, he was required to wear only white linen garments, while others were performed while wearing the standard eight garments of the Kohen Gadol, which con-tained threads of gold.

Each time he changed garments he would wash his hands and feet to “sanctify” them, change out of his clothes and immerse in a mikveh, put on the other set of clothes, and again wash his hands and feet. Throughout the day’s service, he would immerse himself a total of five times, and he would wash his hands and feet to sanctify them ten times (Yoma 32a, 32b).

� Priestly Garments — An Absolute Mustה עבוד� ובין לבגד בגד בין קידש ושלא ל ב� שלא ט� דול כהן ג� ם. ולבש�כבת, ה מע� ם“ לביש� א ”ולבש� ר קר� מ� ה. . . א� תו כשר� ד, עבוד� ב� ה וע� עבוד� ל�

כב (זבחים יט:, ירושלמי יומא ג, ו): חר מע� ר א� ב� ואין ד�

379 / VAYIKRA/LEVITICUS PARASHAS ACHAREI 16 / 4


Since our pasuk begins by telling us that the Kohen puts on each garment, the word ם and then don them, at ,ולבש�the end of the pasuk is extra. It comes to teach us that donning the garments is essential to the avodah (Temple service); if the Kohen is lacking any of the garments, the avodah is invalid. On the other hand, it indicates a contrast to the other mitzvos referenced in our pasuk: Immersion in a mikveh and sanctification of the hands and feet are not essential, and the avodah is valid even if they were omitted (Zevachim 19b; Yerushalmi Yoma 3:6).

אל .5 ת בני ישר� From the assembly of the — ומאת עד�Children of Israel.

� From Communal FundsOn Yom Kippur, a bull was brought as a sin offering

to atone for the Kohen Gadol and the Kohanim, and two he-goats were brought to atone for the sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.

א (שבועות פק� אל“ נ� ת בני ישר� הוא מ“ומאת עד� אל. ה� ת בני ישר� ומאת עד�יד.):

The words אל ת בני ישר� From the assembly of the ,ומאת עד�Children of Israel, teach us that the he-goat that was used for the “inside” chatas was to be purchased with commu-nal funds.12 This was unlike the Kohen Gadol’s bull, which was paid for by the Kohen Gadol himself13 (Shevuos 14a).

ח שני שעירי עזים .He shall take two he-goats — יק�

� Two of a KindOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.

ר ”שני“, שיהיו למוד לומ� ה ת� ים, מ� שני שעירי עזים. מיעוט ”שעירי“ שנ�ד ח� לי? ה מ� ל� ח), (פסוק ”שני“ ז), (פסוק ”שני“ ”שני“, וים. . . ש� שניהן

מים (יומא סב:): ד לד� ה, וח� ד לקומ� ראה, וח� למ�Our pasuk says, he shall take two he-goats. The word

he-goats, is in the plural form, which means ,(se’irei) שעיריthat there were two.14 If so, why was it necessary to say, ?two ,שני

The Torah is telling us that the two goats must be alike. Since the word “two” is written three times,15 it teaches us that they are to be similar in three respects: appearance, height, and value (Yoma 62b).

ה ד לעל� יל אח� .And one ram for an olah offering — וא�

� One Ram or Two?בחומש מור א� הוא ה� אן, כ� מור א� ד“ ה� אח� יל ”א� אומר: בי ר� ד. אח� יל וא�בי שמעון אומר: שני אילים הן, ר בר� ז� בי אלע� פקודים (במדבר כט, ח), ר� ה�בי דר� א עמ� ט� אי מ� פקודים, ה� בחומש מור א� ה� ד ואח� אן, כ� מור א� ה� ד אח�ד שבעדרו ד“ מיוח� אי ”אח� בי שמעון מ� ר בר� ז� בי אלע� ור� ד“, דכתיב ”אח�

(יומא ע:):The word יל .ram, mentioned in our pasuk is singular ,א�

Why, then, does the Torah have to say ד ?one ,אח�One opinion explains it at follows: Elsewhere,16 the To-

rah tells us that the mussaf (additional) offerings that were brought on Yom Kippur included ד יל אח� one ram. I may ,א�have thought that there is an obligation to bring two rams on Yom Kippur — the one mentioned in our pasuk, in addi-tion to the one mentioned regarding the mussaf offerings. Therefore, our pasuk adds the word “one,” telling us that the two rams that are mentioned are actually one and the same.

Others say that, in fact, there were two different rams on Yom Kippur. The reason it says “one” is to tell us that they are to bring the choicest one of the flock (Yoma 70b).

את אשר לו .6 ט� ח� ר ה� הרן את פ� Aharon shall — והקריב א�bring near his own chatas offering bull.

� From His Own Fundsכתיב מכדי, כפורים, ביום ה� את אשר לו. ט� ח� ר ה� הרן את פ� והקריב א�את וגו‘ ” (פסוק ג), ”ומאת ט� ר לח� ק� ר בן ב� קדש בפ� הרן אל ה� ”בזאת י�בא א�את“ (פסוק ה), ”והקריב את ט� ח שני שעירי עזים לח� אל יק� ת בני ישר� עד�אי ”לו“ משלו הוא (יומא ג:): ה ה� ע מינ� ה לי? שמ� מ� את אשר לו“ ל� ט� ח� ר ה� פ�

Regarding the Yom Kippur service, the Torah says,17 With this shall “Aharon” come into the Sanctuary: with a young bull for a sin offering. . .From the assembly of the “Children of Israel” he shall take two he-goats for a chatas offering. Since the Torah says that the two he-goats are taken from the Jewish people, it is obvious that the young bull is for Aharon (that is, the Kohen Gadol) himself.

12. That is, from the shekalim that were collected from the Jewish people each year, to pay for the communal offerings. 13. See below, pa-suk 6, “From His Own Funds.” 14. Generally, when the Torah writes a word in plural, with no specific number, it means the smallest plural number, which is two. 15. Once in our pasuk, and twice below, pesukim 7 and 8. 16. Bamidbar 29:8. 17. Above, pesukim 3 and 5.

טאת אשר ח� ר ה� כיור (תורת כהנים פרק ו, ה-ו; יומא שם): (ו) את פ� מן ה�משל ולא בא, שמשלו הוא כאן ולמדך ג), (פסוק עלה למ� האמור [הוא] לו.

דה ד ביתו. מתו� עדו ובע� צבור (תורת כהנים פרשתא ב, ב; יומא ג:): וכפר ב�עונות ביתו (תורת כהנים שם ב-ג; יומא לו:): עליו עונותיו ו�

ים Yעז י Oי־שעיר שנ+ ח יק] ל א ישר( י בנ� ת �עד ת ה ומא

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עזין צפירי תרין ב אל יס� ישר� דבני א כנשת� ה ומן א ת תור� הרן י� רב א� א: ו ויק� ת� על� ד ל� ר ח� א ודכ� את� ט� לח�ביתה: ש אנ� ל וע� עלוהי ר פ� ויכ� לה די א את� ט� דח�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / ה־ו 380 / ספר ויקרא


5 From the assembly of the Children of Israel he shall take two he-goats for a chatas

offering and one ram for an olah offering. 6 Aharon shall bring near his own chatas of-

fering bull, and provide atonement for himself and for his household.The lots

18. Once in our pasuk, and twice below, in pasuk 11. 19. See below, pasuk 11 with Rashi. 20. Below, pasuk 11. 21. Maaser sheni is separated from produce on years 1, 2, 4, and 5 of the seven-year Shemittah cycle. This maaser must be eaten in Yerushalayim, or redeemed with money that is then brought to Yerushalayim, where it is used to buy foods that will be eaten there. 22. However, since he may have only one wife at the time of the avodah (see the next discussion), he gives each of them a conditional divorce; see Yoma 13a-b. 23. See previous note. 24. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 25. Below, pasuk 10.

If so, why does our pasuk emphasize, Aharon shall bring near “his own” chatas offering bull? Don’t we already know it is his? It comes to teach us that not only is it an atone-ment for the Kohen Gadol’s sins, but he must also pay for it with his own money (Yoma 3b).

� His and His Aloneאת אשר לו. ”אשר לו“, משלו הוא מביא ט� ח� ר ה� הרן את פ� והקריב א�פרין מתכ� ציבור ה� שאין ציבור משל י�ביא לא כול י� ציבור, משל ולא פרים בו, מתכ� כהנים יו ה� שהרי אח� כהנים, יו ה� משל אח� י�ביא ל בו, אב�למוד שר, ת� ביא ואם הביא כ� כול לא י� ר (פסוק יא) ”אשר לו“, י� למוד לומ� ת�כב (יומא נא:, שבועות יד.): יו לע� ל� תוב ע� כ� ה ה� נ� ר שוב (שם) ”אשר לו“ ש� לומ�

With regard to the chatas (sin offering) bull offered by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, the Torah uses the phrase his own,” three times.18 One mention comes to tell“ ,אשר לוus that it was not to be purchased from communal funds.

Now, this bull offered atonement not only for the Kohen Gadol, but for all the Kohanim.19 This being the case, we may have thought that all the Kohanim share in paying for this bull. The Torah therefore stresses a second time, “his own,” telling us that the Kohen Gadol alone is to pay for it.

The third mention teaches that if it was not brought from his own funds, the offering is invalid (Yoma 51b; Shevuos 14a).

� Not From Maaser Sheniמן א אל� ה א� ב� ה אינ� את ט� ח� לו. אשר את ט� ח� ר ה� פ� את הרן א� והקריב ר פ� את הרן א� ”והקריב א קר� ר מ� א� א: חסד� ב ר� ר מ� א� ן? ל� מנ� חולין. . . ה�עשר (זבחים צח., את אשר לו“, משלו ולא משל ציבור, ולא משל מ� ט� ח� ה�

מנחות פג., חולין כב.):Our pasuk says regarding the chatas (sin offering) that

was offered by the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, אשר לו, “his own.” This teaches that the chatas was to come from his personal funds. The Torah repeats20 “his own” to teach us that the chatas may not come from maaser sheni (sec-ond tithe)21 funds.

This rule applies not only to the Kohen’s chatas on Yom Kippur, but to any chatas offering (Zevachim 98a; Mena-chos 83a; Chullin 22a).

ד ביתו עדו ובע� And provide atonement for — וכפר ב�himself and for his household.

� Just in Caseתקינין לו, חרת מ� ה א� ף אש� ה אומר: א� בי יהוד� ד ביתו. ר� עדו ובע� וכפר ב�

ד ביתו“, ”ביתו“ זו אשתו עדו ובע� ר ”וכפר ב� מות אשתו, שנאמ� א ת� שמ�(יומא ב., ירושלמי יומא א, א):

Our pasuk says that Aharon (the Kohen Gadol) shall bring his chatas (sin offering) on Yom Kippur, and provide atonement for himself and for his “household.” The word household refers to the Kohen Gadol’s wife. The Torah is telling us that the Kohen Gadol must be married while per-forming the Yom Kippur avodah (Temple service).

Some say that before Yom Kippur he marries a second woman, because we are concerned that his first wife may pass away before he performs the avodah22 (Yoma 2a; Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1).

� One Wife Onlyתים (יומא יג.): ד שני ב� ד ביתו. ולא בע� עדו ובע� וכפר ב�

Our pasuk says that Aharon (the Kohen Gadol) shall bring his chatas (sin offering) on Yom Kippur, and provide atonement for himself and for his “household.” The word household (ביתו), which refers to the Kohen Gadol’s wife, is written in the singular. This teaches us that the Kohen Gadol who performed the avodah (service) on Yom Kippur was not allowed to have more than one wife (Yoma 13a).23

� Through Words or Through Blood?ה ת� א� בר, מד� תוב כ� ה� רים דב� ת ר� פ� בכ� ”וכפר“, ביתו. ד ובע� עדו ב� וכפר אן ה כ� ן נאמר� מים, הרי אני ד� ת ד� ר� פ� א כ� רים או אינו אל� ת דב� ר� פ� אומר בכ�רים, עיר דב� ש� ה ב� אמור� ה ה� ר� פ� ה כ� ה, מ� ר� פ� ן (פסוק י) כ� ל� ה לה� ה ונאמר� ר� פ� כ�ר הרן את פ� רים. . . הרי הוא אומר ”והקריב א� ר דב� פ� ה ב� אמור� ה ה� ר� פ� ף כ� א�ר (יומא פ� ט ה� יין לא נשח� עד� ד ביתו“ ו� עדו ובע� את אשר לו וכפר ב� ט� ח� ה�

לו:, מגילה כ:):The atonement mentioned in our pasuk (וכפר) with re-

gard to the chatas (sin offering) bull of the Kohen Gadol refers to atonement that comes through words of confes-sion (viduy), and not the atonement that comes through sprinkling the blood of the chatas.

We know this through a gezeirah shavah24 that links the term ה ר� פ� ה atonement, of our pasuk, to the term ,כ� ר� פ� כ�written25 regarding the Azazel goat. After the Kohen Gadol recited the Viduy, the Azazel goat was pushed off a cliff, and its blood was not sprinkled at all; its “atonement” came about only through viduy. Similarly, the atonement mentioned by the bull of the Kohen Gadol comes about through viduy.

Another proof that our pasuk cannot be referring to the sprinkling of the blood is from the fact that in our pasuk



the Torah refers to the atonement even before it says to slaughter the bull.26 Had וכפר meant sprinkling the blood, it would have been written after the bull was slaughtered, when the blood is available! (Yoma 36b; Megillah 20b).

שעירם .7 ח את שני ה� ק� He shall take the two — ול�he-goats.

� Are the Kohanim Included?עשה נ� ה� עיר לש� לח� משת� ה� עיר ש� ש איתק� שעירם. ה� שני את ח ק� ול�ת טומא� ל ע� כהנים ה� ל ע� פר מכ� אינו בפנים עשה נ� ה� עיר ש� ה מ� בפנים, לח� משת� עיר ה� ף ש� ם“ (פסוק טו), א� ע� יו, דכתיב ביה ”אשר ל� ש� ד� ש וק� מקד�כי לה� ך: ל� ר מ� א� ה יהוד� בי ור� עבירות, ר בשא� כהנים ה� ל ע� פר מכ� אינו

א (שבועות יג:): ת� מים הוא דא� ה ובד� ראה ובקומ� וים במ� איתקוש שיהו ש�Our pasuk tells us about the two he-goats that were

brought on Yom Kippur as an atonement for the sins of the Jewish people. A lot was cast upon them to decide which one would be offered as a chatas (sin offering) in the Beis HaMikdash and which was to be designated as the Azazel goat, which would be pushed off a cliff.

The chatas atoned for sins of the Jewish people pertain-ing to tumah-contamination of the Beis HaMikdash and its offerings.27 It did not, however, provide atonement for the Kohanim, as the pasuk says,28 ם ע� ,of the people ,אשר ל�indicating that only the general public is included in the atonement, and not the Kohanim.

The Azazel goat provided atonement for all the other sins of the Jewish people.29

Our pasuk says, He shall take the two he-goats. By mentioning them together, the Torah is comparing them to each other. Some say that this tells us that just as the chatas does not atone for the sins of the Kohanim, so too the Azazel goat does not atone for the sins of the Ko-hanim.

Others say that the Azazel goat does provide atonement for the sins of the Kohanim. According to this opinion, when the Torah compares the two he-goats, it means to say only that they are to be similar in appearance, height, and value30 (Shevuos 13b).

� Follow the MajorityIn order for an animal to be suitable for an offering, it

must not be a tereifah.31 A tereifah is an animal with certain internal defects that shorten its life-expectancy.32

עקב ר י� א ב� ח� ב א� ן?. . . ר� ל� ן. . . מנ� מ� א דליתיה ק� שעירם. רוב� ח את שני ה� ק� ול�שעירם“ ח את שני ה� ק� ר ”ול� מ� א א� נ� חמ� לח� דר� משת� עיר ה� א מש� תי� ר: א� מ� א�או א ל� ה הוא, אל� ייהו טריפ� ד מינ� א ח� וים, וליחוש דילמ� שיהו שניהם ש�

א (חולין יא.): ר רוב� ת� ן זיל ב� מרינ� משום דא�The Torah33 states that when we are unsure about a mat-

ter, we are to follow the majority. For example, if the judges in a court disagree with one another, they take a vote, and the ruling follows the opinion of the majority of the judges. Likewise, if one finds meat in the street, he is permitted to eat it if the majority of stores in that town sell kosher meat.

There is another type of “majority” that we follow, based on the way things usually are in the world. One source for following this type of majority is our pasuk:

On Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used for communal atonement: One was offered as a chatas (sin offering), and the other was the Azazel goat, which was pushed off a cliff.

Our pasuk says, He shall take the “two” he-goats. We would know that there were two even if the pasuk had not said so, since “he-goats” is plural. The word “two” comes to add that both were to be similar. This implies that even though the Azazel goat was not used as an offering, it had to be similar to the chatas goat, and not be a te-reifah.

However, the Azazel goat was pushed off a cliff and torn apart. How could we possibly know whether or not it was a tereifah? This proves that the Torah gives us the right to assume that it was not a tereifah, like the “majority” of animals in the world (Chullin 11a).

� Identical GoatsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


שיהו ”שני“? ר לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� ים, שנ� ”שעירם“ מיעוט שעירם. ה� שני וין (ירושלמי סנהדרין ג, ט, ירושלמי שבועות ד, א): שניהם ש�

Our pasuk says, He shall take the “two” he-goats. We would know that there were two even if the pasuk had not said so, since “he-goats” is plural. The word “two” comes to add that both were to be similar (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 3:9; Yerushalmi Shevuos 4:1).

26. Below, pasuk 11. 27. See below, pasuk 16. 28. Below, pasuk 15. 29. See below, pasuk 21. 30. See above, pasuk 5, “Two of a Kind.” 31. See Menachos 5b, Bechoros 57a. 32. See Chullin 42a. 33. Shemos 23:2.

שמאל, ימין ואחד ל� עמיד אחד ל� שעירם גרלות. מ� ל שני ה� הרן ע� ן א� (ח) ונת�שמאל ונותן עליהם. את שכתוב חברו ב� ימין ו� לפי, ונוטל גורל ב� ונותן שתי ידיו בק�

עזאזל (יומא לט.): עזאזל. לח� ל� עזאזל“ משת� שם, ואת שכתוב בו ”ל� שם“ הוא ל� בו ”ל�ר ”ארץ גזרה“ (להלן פסוק כב), חתוכה (יומא סז:): ז וקשה, צוק גבוה, שנאמ� ר ע� הוא ה�

יהוה י לפנ� ם את( יד עמ_ aוה ם bשעיר �ה י את־שנ� ח Xז ולק

לות ר( ם ג Yשעיר �י ה Oל־שנ �הרן ע ן א� Jת ד: ח ונ( הל מוע+ ח א �ת Dפהרן יב א� ט והקר_ ל: עז(אז+ ד ל� Gל אח וגור/ יהוה ל אחד ל� dגור

ם תהון קד� ת תרין צפירין ויקים י� ב י� ז ויס�ל הרן ע� ח ויתן א� א: זמנ� ן שכ� ע מ� יי� בתר�א לשמ� ד א ח� דב� דבין ע� צפירין ע� תרין הרן רב א� ט ויק� אזל: עז� ד ל� א ח� דב� יי� וע� ד�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / ז־ט 382 / ספר ויקרא


7 He shall take the two he-goats and stand them before HASHEM, at the en-

trance of the Ohel Moed. 8 Aharon shall place lots upon the two he-goats:

one lot ‘‘for HASHEM’’ and one lot ‘‘for Azazel.’’ 9 Aharon shall bring near

34. Each pair of identical lots would have been attached together (Meiri, as quoted in Schottenstein Edition, note 49). 35. See the previous discussion for why the Torah wrote the plural “goralos.” 36. Yoma 37a.

לות .8 שעירם גר� ל שני ה� הרן ע� ן א� ת� Aharon shall place — ונ�lots upon the two he-goats.

� Identical LotsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


עשה וין, שלא י� לות“, שיהיו ש� לות. ”גר� שעירם גר� ל שני ה� הרן ע� ן א� ת� ונ�ן (יומא לז.): ט� ד ק� דול ואח� ד ג� ד של כסף, אח� ב ואח� ד של ז�ה� אח�

Regarding the two he-goats that were used on Yom Kip-pur, our pasuk says, Aharon shall place “lots” (לות upon (גר�the two he-goats: one lot for Hashem and one lot for Azazel.

The Torah could have simply said, Aharon shall place one lot for Hashem and one lot for Azazel, and left out the word לות lots, at the beginning of the pasuk. The word ,גר�לות -lots, comes to tell us that the two lots had to be simi ,גר�lar: the same size, and made of the same material (Yoma 37a).

אזל עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘ וגור� ד ל� ל אח� ’’One lot ‘‘for Hashem — גור�and one lot ‘‘for Azazel.’’

� Limiting the LotsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ל זה, ים ע� ל זה ושנ� ים ע� כול יתן שנ� אזל. י� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘ וגור� ד ל� ל אח� גור�א שם אל� אן ל� אזל“, אין כ� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘ וגור� ד ל� ל אח� ר ”גור� למוד לומ� ת�אזל כול יתן של שם ושל עז� ד, י� א אח� אזל אל� עז� אן ל� ד, ואין כ� ל אח� גור�ה‘ ” אין ד ל� ל אח� ר ”גור� למוד לומ� ל זה, ת� אזל ע� ל זה, ושל שם ושל עז� ע�ד (יומא לז., ירושלמי יומא א אח� אזל אל� עז� אן ל� ד, ואין כ� א אח� ה‘ אל� אן ל� כ�

ד, א):Regarding the two he-goats that were used on Yom Kip-

pur, our pasuk says, Aharon shall place lots upon the two he-goats: one lot for Hashem and one lot for Azazel. This seems quite wordy.

Had our pasuk said עז�אזל ה‘ ול� לות ל� lots for Hashem and ,גר�for Azazel, we may have thought that two lots should have “Hashem” written on them and another two lots should have “Azazel” written on them. Thus, two lots would be drawn for each one of the he-goats.34 The Torah therefore adds the word ל lot, in the singular, by each one, telling ,גור�us that there was only one lot that had “Hashem” written on it and one lot that had “Azazel” written on it.

However, though the word ל lot, is singular, and we ,גור�know that only one lot was written for each designation,

I still may have thought that the plural word לות ,lots ,גור�must also be fulfilled. As such, perhaps, after placing the lot of “Hashem” on one goat and the lot of “Azazel” on the other goat, the lot of “Hashem” would then be placed on the Azazel goat and the lot of “Azazel” would be placed on the Hashem goat. Thus, each of the goats would have two “lots.” The Torah therefore adds the word ד one, to tell ,אח�us that each goat had only one lot placed on it (Yoma 37a; Yerushalmi Yoma 4:1).35

� Lots of Different Materialsא! לא ר , פשיט� ב� ל ד� לות של כ� אזל. גור� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘ וגור� ד ל� ל אח� גור�ב, יו והוא של ז�ה� ל� תוב ע� שם כ� ציץ שה� צינו ב� א, לפי שמ� ני� א לכדת� צריכ�ה ית ריב� ה של ז� ה, ריב� ל“ ריב� ל“ ”גור� ר ”גור� למוד לומ� ף זה כן, ת� כול א� י�

ה של אשכרוע� (יומא לז.): של אגוז ריב�Regarding the two he-goats that were used on Yom Kip-

pur, our pasuk says, Aharon shall place lots upon the two he-goats: one lot for Hashem and one lot for Azazel.

The Torah could have simply written, lots, one for Hashem and one for Azazel; why was it necessary to say one “lot” for Hashem and one “lot” for Azazel?

We may have thought that since the Name of Hashem is written on one of the lots, they must be made out of gold, just as the Tzitz (the Headplate of the Kohen Gadol), which also had Hashem’s Name written on it, was made of gold. The extra words “lot” teach us that the lots can be made of any material (Yoma 37a).

� Lots That Speak for Themselvesד חור ואח� ד ש� אזל. וי�ביא שני חוטין אח� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘ וגור� ד ל� ל אח� גור�ל ר ”גור� למוד לומ� אזל? ת� עז� וזה ל� שם ר זה ל� ויאמ� עליהם ויקשור ן, ב� ל�ר אזל“, שיהא ניכ� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘, ”וגור� ר שהוא ל� ה‘ ”, שיהא ניכ� ד ל� אח�ן ויתן עליהם ב� ד ל� חור ואח� ד ש� אזל. וי�ביא שני צרורות אח� שהוא של עז�שיהא ,” ה‘ ל� ד אח� ל ”גור� ר לומ� למוד ת� אזל? עז� ל� וזה שם ל� זה ר ויאמ�אזל. ר שהוא של עז� אזל“, שיהא ניכ� עז� ד ל� ל אח� ה‘, ”וגור� ר שהוא ל� ניכ� ,” ה‘ ל� ד אח� ל ”גור� ר לומ� למוד ת� אזל? עז� ל� וזה ה‘ ל� זה עליהם ויכתוב אזל“, שיהא עז� ד ל� ל אח� ם, ”וגור� ה‘ לעול� צמו שהוא ל� ל ע� שיהא מוכיח� ע�

ם (ירושלמי יומא ד, א): אזל לעול� עז� צמו שהוא ל� ל ע� מוכיח� ע�Regarding the two he-goats that were used on Yom Kip-

pur, our pasuk says, Aharon shall place lots upon the two he-goats: one lot “for Hashem” and one lot “for Azazel.”

The lots were originally made of wood, and later out of gold.36 One had “for Hashem” engraved on it, and the other had “for Azazel” engraved on it. The term ל ,lot ,גור�by definition, indicates that “Hashem” or “Azazel” would be easily and clearly recognizable, so we cannot simply tie a white string on one lot to indicate that it is for Hashem, and a black string on the other lot designating it for Azazel; we must engrave the words themselves



Additionally, we may not even use a white stone to represent “for Hashem” and a black stone “for Azazel,” even though these are easily recognizable. We know this because our pasuk could have said lots, for Hashem and for Azazel, without adding the words ל .lot, two extra times ,גור�The repetition teaches that the lots themselves must indi-cate the choice, with the words written on them. Stones, even though they are distinct from each other, need someone to identify which one is for Hashem and which is for Azazel.

The Torah’s seemingly unnecessary addition of the word ד one, comes to tell us that the words must be inscribed ,אח�on the lots in a permanent way. The words “Hashem” and “Azazel” must therefore be engraved on the lot, not simply written with ink (Yerushalmi Yoma 4:1).

� A Harsh Cliff in the WildernessOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ר“ (פסוק כב), מדב� ר ”ב� למוד לומ� כול בישוב, ת� שה, י� ז וק� אזל. שיהא ע� עז�שה ק� אזל“ ”עז� ך: איד� א ני� ת� (שם). ה“ ”גזר� ר לומ� למוד ת� שבצוק, ין ומנ�

רים (יומא סז:). שבה�The word עז�אזל, Azazel, in our pasuk contains within it

the word ז ,(el) אל which means harsh, and the word (az) ע�which means strong. This teaches us that the mountain from which the Azazel is pushed is to be harsh and tough.

Later,37 the pasuk regarding the Azazel goat says that it shall carry all their sins to an uninhabited land (ארץ ה ”and he should send the he-goat to the “wilderness ,(גזר�ר) מדב� To the wilderness tells us that the mountain was .(ב�to be located in a wilderness, and not in a populated area.

The word ה uninhabited, literally means ,(gezeirah) גזר�“cut sharply.” This teaches us that the Azazel goat was to be pushed off a steep cliff, and not off a mountain with a gradual slope (Yoma 67b).

� Atonement for AdulteryOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


אל עז� א ו� עשה עוז� ל מ� פר ע� אזל“ שמכ� עאל: ”עז� בי ישמ� א דבי ר� נ� אזל. ת� עז�(יומא סז:):

In the days before the Flood in the time of Noach,38 two

angels of destruction, Uza and Azael, descended to earth and came to represent the sin of adultery.39

The he-goat that atones for the sins of the Jewish people by being pushed off the cliff is called עז�אזל, Azazel, hinting that it comes to atone for the act of Uza and Azael, that is, the sin of adultery40 (Yoma 67b).

עיר .9 ש� .The he-goat — את ה�

� Separate GoatsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ר למוד לומ� כשירין, ת� וין שניהן ש� שאין פי ל ף ע� יין א� מנ� עיר. ש� את ה�ה (יומא סב:): עיר“ (פסוק י), ריב� עיר“, ”ש� ”ש�

Our pasuk says, Aharon shall bring near the “he-goat” designated by lot for Hashem, and make it a sin offering.

The words עיר he-goat, in our pasuk and the next one ,ש�are extra, since the previous pasuk already said, Aharon shall place lots upon the two “he-goats.” Our pasuk could have simply said, Aharon shall bring near that which was designated. . .

By repeating the word “he-goat” in each pasuk, the To-rah “separates” the two goats. This tells us that although the two goats are supposed to be identical,41 if they are not, the service is still valid (Yoma 62b).

ל גור� יו ה� ל� ה ע� ל� .Upon which came up the lot — אשר ע�

� The Only Way to ChooseOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


In order to designate which of the two he-goats would be slaughtered as a chatas and which would be sent to Azazel, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a box, one in each hand. He would then place the one in his right hand on the he-goat that was to his right, and the one in his left hand on the he-goat that was to his left.

כבת. . . לפי מע� ל מתוך ק� ית גור� אי: עלי� נ� בי י� ר ר� מ� ל. א� גור� יו ה� ל� ה ע� ל� אשר ע�ה“ (פסוק י) תרי זימני (יומא לט:): ל� ה“, ”אשר ע� ל� א ”אשר ע� א ביה קר� נ� דת�

Our pesukim say that the he-goat “upon which came up the lot” for Hashem shall be brought as a chatas, and the he-goat “upon which came up the lot” for Azazel shall be

37. Below, pasuk 22. 38. Bereishis 6:10-8:19. 39. See Bereishis 6:2 and Schottenstein Edition, note 20. 40. The Mishnah (Shevuos 2b) states that the Azazel atones for all types of sins, not only adultery. Some suggest that the Gemara here means to say that it atones even for the severe sin of adultery (see Schottenstein Edition, note 20). 41. See above, pasuk 5, “Two of a Kind.”

טאת (יומא לט., מ:): גורל עליו קורא לו שם ואומר: לה‘ ח� ניח� ה� טאת. כשמ� (ט) ועשהו ח�

את: ט= �הו ח Gש וע( יהוה ל ל� Gהגור יו eל ה ע( ל/ ר ע( אש יר ע ש( �א את־ה דב� סליק עלוהי ע� די א ת צפיר� י�א: את� ט� ח� עבדנה וי� יי� ד� א לשמ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / ט 384 / ספר ויקרא


the he-goat upon which came up the lot for HASHEM, and make it a chatas offering.

42. We have a rule that whenever the Torah repeats a law regarding sacrificial offerings, it means that this law is an essential requirement, and the offering is invalid if this is omitted. 43. See above, 5:6.

sent to the wilderness, instead of simply saying, the he-goat for Hashem. . .And the he-goat for Azazel. . . The Torah mentions “the lot” two times,42 to tell us that it is essen-tial that the goats be designated through the drawing of lots; if the Kohen chooses on his own, the service is not valid.

However, only drawing the lots, which is mentioned two times, is essential; placing the lots on the goats is not (Yoma 39b).

� No Need to Leave It ThereOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


In order to designate which of the two he-goats would be slaughtered as a chatas and which would be sent to Azazel, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a box, one in each hand. He would then place the one in his right hand on the he-goat that was to his right, and the one in his left hand on the he-goat that was to his left.

יו ל� ניחנו ע� ייתי אומר י� יו, ה� ל� ר אשר ע� ל. אילו נאמ� גור� יו ה� ל� ה ע� ל� אשר ע�ריך ה שוב אינו צ� ל� ן שע� ה“ כיו� ל� ר ”אשר ע� למוד לומ� ה, ת� ת שחיט� ד שע� ע�

(יומא מ:):Our pasuk says, Aharon shall bring near the he-goat

“upon which came up the lot” (יו ל� ה ע� ל� for Hashem, and (ע�make it a sin offering.

Had the Torah left out the word ה ל� came up, we would ,ע�have understood the pasuk to be saying that the he-goat “upon which is” the lot shall be brought as a chatas, which could be understood to mean that the lot must remain on the goat until it is slaughtered as a chatas. Now that the Torah adds the word ה ל� came up, we understand that ,ע�once the lot for Hashem “came up” from the box, there is no need for it to remain on the goat (Yoma 40b).

את ט� הו ח� ש� .And make it a chatas offering — וע�

� Only Through LotsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


In order to designate which of the two he-goats would be slaughtered as a chatas and which would be sent to Azazel, the Kohen Gadol drew lots from a box.

את ט� שם עושהו ח� ת] ה� את, ואין [קריא� ט� ל עושהו ח� גור� את. ה� ט� הו ח� ש� וע�(יומא מ:, מא., קידושין יד., חולין כד., כריתות כח.):

Our pasuk says, Aharon shall bring near the he-goat upon which came up the lot for Hashem, and make it הו) ש� .a sin offering (וע�

In its plain meaning, the pasuk refers to the designation of the he-goat as a chatas, but it can also be understood as, and it — the lot — made it a chatas, indicating that it can be designated as a chatas only through drawing the lots; it cannot be designated verbally, like a regular cha-tas (Yoma 40b, 41a; Kiddushin 14a; Chullin 24a; Kereisos 28a).

� Two for HashemOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the



יו ל� ע� ה ל� שע� זה מת, אזל עז� של ואם מהן. . . ד אח� מת את. ט� ח� הו ש� וע�מהן איזה אב. . . שיסת� ד ע� ירעה שני וה� יו, חת� ת� ים יתק� אזל עז� ל� ל גור� ה�ה: בי זעיר� ר ר� ר: שני שבין זוג ראשון, אמ� מ� ן א� נ� בי יוח� ה?. . . ר� רב תחיל� ק�בי א דר� עמ� א: ט� בי ל� ר ר� ראשון. אמ� את“, ב� ט� הו ח� ש� ן, ”וע� נ� בי יוח� א דר� עמ� ט�ר אמ� היא ד� א כ� תי� חה. וא� יה שלא יד� עו בתלי� את“, קב� ט� הו ח� ש� ן, ”וע� נ� יוח�ווג לו שיזד� יה בתלי� עו את“, קב� ט� הו ח� ש� ה: ”וע� זעיר� בי ה בשם ר� יונ� בי ר�

חבירו (ירושלמי יומא ו, א):If the Azazel goat dies before the chatas is brought, two

more he-goats are brought and the lots are cast again, because the replacement for the Azazel goat must also be chosen by lot. However, this leaves us with two goats for “Hashem,” the original one and the one from the second lottery. Which one should be offered as the chatas?

According to one opinion, the original one is used, be-cause our pasuk says, Aharon shall bring near the he-goat designated by lot for Hashem, and make “it” (הו ש� -a cha (וע�tas offering, instead of simply saying Aharon shall bring near the he-goat… as a sin offering.

The phrase, make “it” a chatas offering, hints that the Torah is speaking about a case where there is more than one goat available for the sin offering; that is, there is the goat from a second lottery, and the Torah is telling us to make “it” — the original one — a sin offering (Yerushalmi Yoma 6:1).

� Exclusive AtonementIf a person mistakenly enters the Beis HaMikdash or eats

from a korban (offering) in a state of tumah (ritual impu-rity), he must bring a chatas (sin) offering for an atone-ment.

If he was aware of his tumah before committing the sin and he also remembered about it again after the sin, he brings his own personal chatas.43

For all other situations — that is, when the person was unaware of his tumah originally and realized it only after the sin; or he was aware of it originally, but then forgot



about it completely, and did not remember after the sin; or he was never aware of the tumah at all44 — the he-goats that were brought as communal chatas offerings at various times throughout the year provide atonement.

א פר אל� עשה בפנים שאין מכ� נ� עיר ה� ש� ן ב� נ� ב יוח� את. מודה ר� ט� הו ח� ש� וע�יה עו לתלי� את“ קב� ט� הו ח� ש� א: ”וע� בי זעיר� ה בשם ר� בי יונ� יא כר� תי� תולה. ו�

נה (ירושלמי שבועות א, ד): שלא ישת�The he-goat that is discussed in our pasuk, whose blood

procedures were performed inside the Sanctuary on Yom Kippur, served as a temporary atonement, to protect a person from punishment, in case he originally knew about his tumah but then forgot about it and entered the Beis HaMikdash or ate from a korban. But if, after Yom Kip-pur, he remembers the tumah, he must still bring his own personal chatas.

Our pasuk says, את ט� הו ח� ש� -and make “it” a sin offer ,וע�ing. The pasuk emphasizes that it atones only for the sin for which it was designated. Therefore, it provides atone-ment for the person who was originally aware of his tumah and then forgot, but not for anyone else — for example, a person who was never aware of his tumah from beginning to end (Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:4).

יו .10 ל� פר ע� י לפני ה‘ לכ� ד ח� עמ� Shall be stood alive — י�before Hashem, to provide atonement through it.

� When to ReplaceOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ת ד שע� י, ע� עמוד ח� קוק ל� י יהיה ז� ת� ד מ� יו. ע� ל� פר ע� י לפני ה‘ לכ� ד ח� עמ� י�ת שע� ד ע� אומר: שמעון בי ר� ה. יהוד� בי ר� דברי חבירו, של מו ד� ן ת� מ�תוב כ� מים ה� ת ד� ר� פ� פר“ בכ� א: ”לכ� ני� א מיפלגי? כדת� אי ק� רים. במ� וידוי דב�ן ל� לה� ה מ� קדש, ה� את פר מכ� ה ”וכל� כ) (פסוק אומר הוא וכן בר, מד�שמעון בי ר� ה, יהוד� בי ר� דברי מים, ד� ת ר� פ� בכ� אן כ� ף א� מים, ד� ת ר� פ� בכ�בר (יומא מ:, ירושלמי יומא תוב מד� כ� רים ה� ת דב� ר� פ� יו“ בכ� ל� פר ע� אומר: ”לכ�

ו, ב, ירושלמי שבועות א, ז):

י ד ח� עמ� א ”י� ר קר� מ� אי: א� נ� בי י� מרי דבי ר� יו. א� ל� פר ע� י לפני ה‘ לכ� ד ח� עמ� י�מים של ן ד� ת� ת מ� ד שע� י, ע� קוק להיות ח� י יהא ז� ת� ד מ� פר“, ע� לפני ה‘ לכ�

חבירו (יומא סה., עא.):Regarding the Azazel goat, our pasuk says that it shall

be stood “alive” (י ”before Hashem, to provide “atonement (ח�

through it. The seemingly extra word י alive, comes to ,ח�tell us that if the Azazel goat dies before the “atonement,” it must be replaced with another one.

According to one opinion, our pasuk is referring to the atonement of the chatas goat; that is, if the Azazel goat died before the blood of the chatas was sprinkled, the Aza-

zel goat must be replaced. We learn this through a gezei-

rah shavah:45 Our pasuk says פר ,to provide atonement ,לכ�and a similar word is used46 with regard to sprinkling the blood: When he is finished “atoning” (פר -for the Sanc (מכ�

tuary…

Another opinion is that since our pasuk says “יו ל� פר ”ע� ,לכ�to provide atonement “through it,” it refers to the atone-ment that comes through the viduy (confession) that is re-cited over the Azazel goat itself; if it dies before that point, it must be replaced (Yoma 40b, 65a, 71a; Yerushalmi Yoma 6:2; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:7).

� Use the New GoatOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the



ה. . . תחיל� ב� עליהם גריל וי� חר א� זוג י�ביא מת משהגריל אם י. ח� ד עמ� י�אב. . . שני, איני יודע� אם שני שבזוג ראשון, אם ד שיסת� שני ירעה ע� וה�ע? שמ� אי מ� י“ ולא שחבירו מת, מ� ד ח� עמ� שני שבזוג שני, כשהוא אומר ”י�

ד (יומא סד:): מ� ר ע� י, ולא שכב� ד ח� עמ� י�If one of the goats dies, two more he-goats are brought

and the lots are cast again, because the replacement goat

44. Although in the last two cases the person never becomes aware that he sinned and does not know he needs atonement, the fact is that he still requires atonement. 45. See note 24. 46. Below, pasuk 20.

ה י“. מ� ד ח� ם כ� רגומו, ”יתק� ל ידי אחרים, ות� י, ע� ד ח� י. כמו יועמ� ד ח� (י) יעמ�עזאזל“, ואיני יודע� שילוחו אם ח אתו ל� ל� ר ”לש� י“, לפי שנאמ� ר ”ח� למוד לומ� ת�לח, מכאן שישת� ד י ע� י“, עמידתו ח� ד ח� ר ”יעמ� לכך נאמ� יים, למיתה אם לח�דה עליו (שם פר עליו. שיתו� ששילוחו למיתה (תורת כהנים פרשתא ב, ו): לכ�עדו דה עליו“ (להלן פסוק כא): (יא) וכפר ב� ז; יומא לו., מ:) כדכתיב ”והתו�

(יומא מא:), שהם כלם קרוים ביתו כהנים ל אחיו ה� שני, עליו וע� וגו‘. וידוי הרן ברכו את ה‘ [וגו‘]“ (תהלים קלה, ר ”בית א� (תורת כהנים פרשתא ג, א), שנאמ�ל פרתו] אינה אלא ע� פרתן [נ“א: כ� פרים בו. וכל כ� כהנים מתכ� יט-כ), מכאן שה�קדש מטמאת וגו‘ ” (פסוק ל ה� ר ”וכפר ע� וקדשיו, כמו שנאמ� ת מקדש טומא�

טז; שבועות יב.־יג:):

י Sעמד־ח י= אזל עז( ל� ל הגור( יו dל ע( ה ל( ע( אשר יר ע ש( �י וה

ה: ר( מדב= �ה ל אז� עז( ל� אתו ח Fל �לש יו ל[ ע( ר פ� �לכ יהוה י Oלפנר Kוכפ אשר־לו את ט( �ח ה� ר iאת־פ ן הר א� יב יא והקר

♪ אשר־לו: את Gט �ח ה� ר Fאת־פ ט Sח וש( ביתו ד jובע עדו ב�

א דב� ע� עלוהי סליק די א י וצפיר�א ר� פ� יי� לכ� ם י קד� ד ח� ם כ� ק� אזל ית� עז� ל�א: דבר� אזל למ� עז� תה ל� ח י� ל� עלוהי לש�א את� ט� דח� א תור� ת י� הרן א� רב יא ויק�

ביתה ש אנ� ל וע� עלוהי ר פ� ויכ� לה די לה: די א את� ט� דח� א תור� ת י� ויכוס

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / י־יא 386 / ספר ויקרא


10 And the he-goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be stood alive before HASHEM,

to provide atonement through it, to send it to Azazel to the wilderness. 11 Aharon

shall bring near his own chatas offering bull and he shall provide atonement for

himself and for his household; then he shall slaughter his own chatas offering

bull.

47. In our pasuk, in pasuk 21, and in pasuk 22.

must also be chosen by lot. However, this leaves us with two goats for “Hashem,” or two for Azazel, the original one and the one from the second lottery. Which one should be used?

According to one opinion, the goat from the second lot-tery is used, because our pasuk says regarding the Aza-zel goat, י ד ח� עמ� .it “shall be” stood alive, in future tense ,י�This indicates that the goat to be used is the one that has yet to stand because of this lottery, not one that has already “stood” as the result of an earlier lottery (Yoma 64b).

� Multiple Azazel GoatsOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


An offering generally provides “atonement” by the ap-plication of its blood.

פר בו חבירו יו“, את שהוא מכ� ל� פר ע� ר: ”לכ� מ� ה א� בי זעיר� יו. ר� ל� פר ע� לכ�פר ר: ”לכ� מ� א א� בי היל� . ר� לח� פר אין חבירו משת� , את שאינו מכ� לח� משת�, את שאינו גומר לח� ה חבירו משת� ר� פ� כ� ל ה� יו“, את שהוא גומר בו כ� ל� ע�

לח� (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): ה אין חבירו משת� ר� פ� כ� ל ה� בו כ�The blood of the chatas is first sprinkled in the Kodesh

HaKodashim, Holy of Holies, then in the Kodesh, Sanctu-ary, toward the Paroches (the Curtain that separated the Kodesh from the Kodesh HaKodashim) and finally, after be-ing mixed with the blood of the Kohen’s bull, it is applied to the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).

If the blood of the chatas spilled before the Kohen Gadol completed all of its blood applications, two more he-goats are brought and the lots are cast anew, because the re-placement goat must also be chosen by lot.

Therefore, if, for example, the blood spilled after sprin-kling it in the Kodesh HaKodashim, a lottery was cast on a second pair of he-goats in order to complete the blood ser-vice. If, after the sprinkling in the Kodesh, the blood spilled again, another lottery was cast on a third pair of he-goats, in order to sprinkle the blood on the Golden Mizbe’ach. That would leave us with three Azazel goats. Which one is to be pushed off the cliff?

Regarding the Azazel goat, our pasuk says that it shall be stood alive before Hashem, to provide “atonement” through it, to send it to Azazel to the wilderness. According to one opinion, this indicates that as long as the chatas compan-ion of this Azazel goat provided even partial atonement, the Azazel goat with which it was partnered is pushed off

the cliff. Thus, in our case, where each of the three chataos brought some atonement, all three Azazel goats would be pushed off the cliff.

Others say that to provide atonement through it refers to the chatas that completed the atonement. Therefore, only the Azazel goat from the last pair would be pushed off the cliff (Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

ה ר� מדב� .To the wilderness — ה�

� In Every EraOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


After the Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael, it took them fourteen years to conquer and divide the land. They then built a Mishkan in Shiloh, which stood for 369 years. When the Aron (Ark) was captured by the Philistines, the Mish-kan was relocated, first to Nov and then to Givon. Finally, after 57 years in those locations, the Beis HaMikdash was built.כב), (פסוק ר“ מדב� ”ב� כא), (פסוק ה“ ר� מדב� ”ה� ה“, ר� מדב� ”ה� ה. ר� מדב� ה�

מים (יומא סז:): בות נוב וגבעון שילה ובית עול� לר�Our passage uses the term “the wilderness” three

times.47 This tells us that the service of sending the Azazel to the wilderness applied in each of the three periods dur-ing which the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rested in Eretz Yisrael: when the Mishkan stood in Nov and Givon, when the Mishkan stood in Shiloh, and then when it rested in the Beis HaMikdash (Yoma 67b).

את אשר לו .11 ט� ח� ר ה� ט את פ� ח� Then he shall — וש�slaughter his own chatas offering bull.

� Do It Yourselfט ח� ”וש� כפורים ה� ביום א נ� חמ� ר� לי ג� לו. אשר את ט� ח� ה� ר פ� את ט ח� וש�לים בע� ן בעינ� לא א למ� בע� ה דשחיט� ל מכל� לו“ אשר את ט� ח� ה� ר פ� את

(מנחות יט.):Regarding the bull of the Kohen Gadol, which was his

own personal chatas (sin) offering, our pasuk says, he shall slaughter “his own” chatas offering bull. Why does the Torah emphasize that he is slaughtering “his own” of-fering? This comes to tell us that this offering is unique in that the owner of the offering must slaughter it himself. With regard to other offerings, there is no such require-ment (Menachos 19a).



חלי אש .12 ה ג� חת� מ� ח מלא ה� ק� He shall take a — ול�shovelful of fiery coals.

� Fiery Coalsלוחשות, ולא עוממות כול י� חלי“ ”ג� אש. חלי ג� ה חת� מ� ה� מלא ח ק� ול�להבת, ה ש� חלת ומחצ� ה ג� כול י�ביא מחצ� ר ”אש“, אי ”אש“ י� למוד לומ� ת�ה חת� מ� ה� מלא ח ק� ”ול� ר לומ� למוד ת� חלת, ג� כוליה וי ה� אי ו� לג� ייל דע� א�

לים (פסחים עה:): ה ניהוי גח� ת לקיח� “ משע� מזבח� ל ה� חלי אש מע� ג�On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovel-

ful of burning coal from the Mizbe’ach (Altar) and bring it into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), along with a ladle full of ketores (incense). He would then spread the ketores onto the coals as an offering to Hashem.

Our pasuk says, He shall take a shovelful of fiery coals חלי אש) from atop the Mizbe’ach. Had the pasuk said only (ג�חלי fiery, I may have thought that ,אש coals, and left out ,ג�he should take smoldering coals whose flames have died down and are no longer flickering. Had the pasuk said אש, fire, and left out חלי coals, I would think that he may take ,ג�flaming pieces of wood, as long as the flames go out and only flickering coals remain by the time he reaches the Kodesh HaKodashim.48 The pasuk therefore specifies that he take fiery coals from atop the Mizbe’ach; they should already be “coals,” but they should still be burning, even as he takes them from the Mizbe’ach (Pesachim 75b).

� Coals of Fire, Not Fire of Coalsר ”אש“ למוד לומ� ה ת� חלי“, מ� ת: ”ג� בי פד� ה בשם ר� בי ירמי� חלי אש. ר� ג�ר ”אש“, למוד לומ� כול עוממות ת� חלי“ י� , ”ג� ליה� בי גח� ל ג� ה ע� שהיא בטיל�לוחשות ד מן ה� א כיצ� חלי אש“, ה� ר ”ג� למוד לומ� להבת, ת� כול ש� אי ”אש“ י�חלי ”ג� ר למוד לומ� לים? ת� גח� בי ג� ל ה ע� בטיל� אש שתהא ה� ין ומנ� לו, ל� ה�

אש“ (ירושלמי יומא ד, ו):On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovel-


A separate, additional wood pile was set up on the Mizbe’ach to make a fire to produce these coals; the Ko-hen was not to take coals from one of the regular fires. We learn this from our pasuk:

Our pasuk says, חלי אש coals of fire. Since the Torah ,ג�says coals before fire, we see that the coals are primary and the fire is secondary. Therefore, the Kohen must take

the coals after the flames have already weakened. The other wood piles on the Mizbe’ach were always blazing with fire, and that is why they could not be used in the ketores (Yerushalmi Yoma 4:6).

מזבח� מלפני ה‘ ל ה� ,From atop the Mizbe’ach — מע�from before Hashem.

� Which Mizbe’ach?On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovel-


תו לפני ה‘ ואין כולו לפני ה‘, הוי אומר זה מלפני ה‘. איזהו מזבח� שמקצ�חיצון (יומא מה:): מזבח� ה�

Our pasuk says, He shall take a shovelful of fiery coals from atop the Mizbe’ach “from before Hashem.” But which Mizbe’ach? The Outer one in the Courtyard, or the Golden one that stood inside the Sanctuary?

The phrase ‘מלפני ה, from before Hashem, means to take the coals from the part of the Mizbe’ach that is “before Hashem.” The Inner Mizbe’ach is located in the Sanctuary, and is completely “before Hashem.” Therefore our pasuk must be speaking about the Outer Mizbe’ach, and it is saying to take the coals from its western side, which is directly in front of the entrance to the Sanctuary — “before Hashem” (Yoma 45b).

יו פנ� ח. . .ומלא ח� ק� -He shall take. . .and his cupped — ול�hands-full.

� Hand Filled, Hands-FullOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovel-


כתיב דלא א כ� ה� ה?. . . חפינ� ל� ה מד� [כלי] עשה שי� הו מ� יו. פנ� ח� ומלא ליף ”מלא“ א י� ה“ לא. או דילמ� ק� מים ד� יו קטרת ס� פנ� א ”מלא ח� יו אל� פנ� בח�

מצו (יומא מז.): ”מלא“ (לעיל ב, ה) מק�Our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall take “his

cupped-hands-full” (יו פנ� of ketores; that is, he should (מלא ח�scoop up as much as he can with his two cupped hands, and transfer it into a ladle to bring it into the Kodesh

48. It is obvious that the Kohen Gadol cannot walk into the Holy of Holies with a flame still burning, as this would be disrespectful due to the smoke it creates (Rashi).

ח, והוא פת� ד שלפני ה� חיצון (יומא מה:): מלפני ה‘. מצ� מזבח. ה� ל ה� (יב) מע�למוד ת� ה מ� קה. ד� נח:): זבחים מה,; יומא ו; ג, פרק כהנים (תורת ערבי מ� ד צ�

הדק“ ממנה קת ”ושח� ר שנאמ� היא, קה ד� קטורת ה� כל הלא ו� קה“, ”ד� ר לומ�חזירה כפורים היה מ� קה, שמערב יום ה� ד� קה מן ה� (שמות ל, לו), אלא שתהא ד�

י מלפנ� �ח מזב �ה ל iמע ש חלי־א ג� ה חת( �מ �א־ה מל ח nיב ולק

פרכת: �ית ל Oיא מב Yה והב oים דק Yמ �רת ס יו קט פנ( א ח( יהוה ומלא דאש� גומרין א חתית� מ� מלי ב יב ויס�

פנוהי ומלי ח� יי� ם מן קד� א דבח� וי מ� מעל�א: רכת� יו לפ� על מג� קיקין וי� קטרת בוסמין ד�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / יב 388 / ספר ויקרא


12 He shall take a shovelful of fiery coals from atop the Mizbe’ach, from before HASHEM,

and his cupped-hands-full of finely ground ketores-spices, and bring it within the Paroches.

The incense

service

49. See note 24. 50. Kemitzah is the procedure of separating a portion of a minchah (meal offering) to be burned on the Mizbe’ach (Altar). The Kohen must use his hand to perform this service; see Yoma 47a. 51. Either human consumption, or “consumption” of the Mizbe’ach (Altar) — that is, applying the blood or burning the sacrificial parts on the Mizbe’ach. 52. See note 24. 53. See note 50.

HaKodashim. Must he actually use his hands, or may he use a scoop that holds the same amount that would fit in his hands?

On the one hand, the pasuk does not say, he shall take “with” his cupped hands, and that seems to indicate that he can use a utensil.

Or, perhaps there is a gezeirah shavah49 that links the word מלא, full, of our pasuk to the word מלא, full, writ-ten by kemitzah,50 and therefore, just as kemitzah must be done with the actual hand of the Kohen, so too here, the ketores must be scooped with his hands.

The question is left unresolved (Yoma 47a). � How to ScoopOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful

of burning coals from the Mizbe’ach (Altar) and bring it into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), along with a ladle full of ketores (incense). He would then spread the ketores onto the coals as an offering to Hashem.אינשי, פני כדח� יו“ פנ� ”מלא ח� לי א פשיט� א: פ� ב פ� ר ר� מ� א� יו. פנ� ומלא ח�מן הו? מ� ה על� למ� ה ט� מלמ� הו? מ� יו אצבעות� אשי בר� ן פ� ח� א: פ� פ� ב ר� עי ב�הו? תיקו (יומא מז:, מנחות יא.): ן זו אצל זו מ� זו וקרב� זו וב� ן ב� פ� הו? ח� ד מ� צ� ה�

Our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall take “his cupped-hands-full” (יו פנ� of ketores; that is, he should (מלא ח�scoop up as much as he can with his two cupped hands, and transfer it into a ladle to bring it into the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim.

Must the ketores be scooped up in the normal manner, or is the service valid even if the Kohen uses one of these unusual methods:

H Picking up the ketores with the tips of his fingers; H Placing the back of his hands on the ketores and sliding

his fingertips downward to fill his hands with ketores; H Placing the back of his hands on the ketores and push-

ing downward until the ketores fills up his hands; H or scooping the ketores with each hand separately, and

then bringing his hands together?These questions remain unresolved (Yoma 47b; Mena-

chos 11a). � Does the Thought Count?On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful

of burning coals from the Mizbe’ach (Altar) and bring it into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), along with a ladle full of ketores (incense). He would then spread the ketores onto the coals as an offering to Hashem.

If the person performing the avodah (Temple service) of an animal offering or a meal offering had the intent to con-sume51 the offering after the time allowed for it, the offering is invalidated. This is known as piggul, literally, rejected.

ליף ”מלא“, הו?. . . י� ת קטורת מ� חפינ� א: חישב ב� פ� ב פ� עי ר� יו. ב� פנ� ומלא ח�ה א ב� ני� מי מה� א נ� כ� ה, ה� ב� חש� ה מ� א ב� ני� ם מה� ת� ה ה� ה, מ� ”מלא“ (ב, ב), ממנח�

ה (יומא מח.): ב� חש� מי מ� ה נ� סל� ה פ� סל� ה פ� ה. . . ומדלינ� ב� חש� מ�Our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall take “his

cupped-hands-full” (יו פנ� of ketores; that is, he should (מלא ח�scoop up as much as he can with his two cupped hands, and transfer it into a ladle to bring it into the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim.

If the Kohen Gadol performed the chanifah (scooping the ketores into his hands) with the intent of burning it after Yom Kippur, does the ketores become piggul?

A gezeirah shavah52 links the word מלא, full, in our pasuk to the word מלא, full, written about the kemitzah service53 of a minchah (meal offering), which seems to indicate that just as a piggul-thought invalidates a minchah, so too, it invalidates the ketores. On the other hand, perhaps we do not compare chanifah to kemitzah in this regard.

The conclusion is that such an improper intent while scooping the ketores does make it piggul (Yoma 48a).

� Between the FingersOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful


יו. . . והביא“ פנ� הו?. . . ”מלא ח� יו מ� פנ� ים של מלא ח� בינ� יו. בין ה� פנ� ומלא ח�תיקו א ליכ� א וה� ן בעינ� והביא“ ח. . . ק� ”ול� א דילמ� או א, איכ� א וה� ן בעינ�

(יומא מז:):Our pasuk says, He (the Kohen Gadol) shall “take”

ח) ק� a shovelful of fiery coals…and his cupped-hands-full (ול�of [ketores]…

If some of the ketores gets stuck between the Kohen’s fingers, are those bits of incense to be burned in the Kodesh HaKodashim along with the rest?

On the one hand, those bits are part of “his cupped-hands-full,” and so they should be burned. Or perhaps the word ח ק� he shall take, refers not only to the coals, but ,ול�to the ketores as well, and since the Kohen had no inten-tion for the ketores to get trapped between his fingers, it is not considered “his taking,” and therefore it may not be burned.

The question remains unresolved (Yoma 47b). � Who Scoops?On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful




”מלא הו? יו מ� פנ� לתוך ח� ן ת� ונ� חבירו ן פ� א: ח� פ� ב פ� עי ר� ב� יו. פנ� ומלא ח�א? א ליכ� ן וה� ח. . . והביא“ בעינ� ק� א ”ול� א, או דילמ� א איכ� ן וה� יו“ בעינ� פנ� ח�

תיקו (יומא מט.):Our pasuk says, He (the Kohen Gadol) shall “take”

ח) ק� a shovelful of fiery coals…and his cupped-hands-full (ול�of [ketores]…

Does the pasuk mean that he shall “take” the coals and also “take” his hands-full of ketores, in which case the Kohen Gadol must be the one to perform the chafinah (scooping up the ketores), or perhaps the word ח ק� he ,ול�shall take, refers only to the coals, and therefore another Kohen can do the chafinah and then transfer the ketores into the Kohen Gadol’s hands?

The question remains unresolved (Yoma 49a).

� Out of BoundsOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful

of burning coals from the Mizbe’ach (Altar) and bring it into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), along with a ladle full of ketores (incense). He would then spread the ketores onto the coals as an offering to Hashem.בי ר� יב, י� ח� חוץ, ב� ית כז� מהן ת ח� מא� קטרת. . .שהקריב ה� יו. פנ� ח� ומלא ה ר� קט� פליגי בה� כי ה. . . ב� ר ר� מ� ן. . .. א� קריב את כול� ד שי� אליעזר פוטר, ע�א וק� או ד� יו“ ל� פנ� ר: ”מלא ח� ב� ר ס� א, ומ� וק� יו“ ד� פנ� ר: ”מלא ח� ב� ר ס� דפנים, דמ�

(זבחים קט:):Our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall take “his

cupped-hands-full” (יו פנ� of ketores; that is, he should (מלא ח�scoop up as much as he can with his two cupped hands, and transfer it into a ladle to bring it into the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim.

The Torah54 forbids us to offer the ketores or any other offering outside the Beis HaMikdash. If someone does offer an offering outside, he is liable to kares.55 However, that is only if he offered up an amount that would be considered a valid offering had it been offered up inside the Beis HaMik-dash. How much ketores is considered a “valid offering”?

According to one opinion, a person is liable only if he burns “his cupped-hands-full” (יו פנ� ח� -of ketores, be (מלא cause that is the amount that the Kohen Gadol has to burn on Yom Kippur. According to another opinion, although the mitzvah is for the Kohen Gadol to burn two hands-full,

that amount is not essential; the service is valid even if he burns no more than one kezayis (the volume of an olive). Accordingly, if someone burns a kezayis of ketores outside the Beis HaMikdash, he is liable to kares (Zevachim 109b).

� His HandsOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful


יו, פנ� בח� ליה א צריכ� ה מ� יו? פנ� בח� נס שיכ� הו מ� ומת ן פ� ח� יו. פנ� ח� ומלא יו“ (ירושלמי יומא ד, ג): פנ� דכתיב ”ומלא ח�

Our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall take “his” cupped-hands-full (יו פנ� of ketores; that is, he should (מלא ח�scoop up as much as he can with his two cupped hands, and transfer it into a ladle to bring it into the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim.

It was suggested that if the Kohen Gadol performed the chafinah (scooping the ketores) and died before burning it, the next Kohen Gadol may have to perform the chafinah again, since our pasuk says that he takes “his” cupped-hands-full (יו פנ� ח� The ketores that was scooped by .(מלא the first Kohen Gadol was from a different person’s hands (Yerushalmi Yoma 4:3).

ה ק� .Finely ground — ד�

� Finest of the FineOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful


ה קת� ממנ� ח� ר (שמות ל, לו) ”וש� ר נאמ� הלא כב� ר ו� למוד לומ� ה ת� ה. מ� ק� ד�ה (יומא מה., כריתות ו:, ירושלמי יומא ד, ה): ק� ד� ה מן ה� ק� ביא ד� א לה� דק“, אל� ה�

The Torah has already told us56 regarding the daily ke-tores offering, you shall grind some of it finely, yet, with regard to the ketores offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk repeats, finely ground incense-spices. This teaches that for Yom Kippur we must take finely ground ketores, and

54. Below, 17:8,9. 55. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 56. Shemos 30:36.

חתה: מ� ל האש. שבתוך ה� כתשת (תורת כהנים שם ט-י; כריתות ו:): (יג) ע� מ� ל�ייב מיתה (תורת כהנים שם יא; יומא ולא ימות. הא אם לא עשאה כתקנה ח�

זה י� פרת כ� ה� ולפני שמע: במ� ת ח� זאה א� ה� באצבעו. והזה (יד) נג.): ע למטה (שם נה.): עלה ושב� ת למ� ח� ע. הרי א� שב�

ן nענ | ה pוכס יהוה י לפנ� ש א� ל־ה( �ע רת את־הקט ן Jת יג ונ(

ח �מות: יד ולק א י( עדות ול ל־ה= �ר ע Kרת אש פ �כ �רת את־ה הקטי ולפנ� ה דמ( rק פרת �כ �ה י Oל־פנ �ע עו באצב( ה sוהז ר פ( �ה ם jמדט �ח טו וש( עו: באצב( ם Gמן־הד ים tמ ע־פע( �ב aש ה uז �י פרת �כ �ה

א ת� ל אש� א ע� י� ת קטרת בוסמ� יג ויתן י�א פרת� ת כ� א י� רת� א קט� נ� פי ענ� ם יי� וח� לקד�ב יד ויס� ימות: א ול� א הדות� ס� ל ע� די פי ל א� די באצבעה ע� א וי� א דתור� מדמ�די י� א פרת� כ� ם ולקד� א קדומ� א פרת� כ�א באצבעה: טו ויכוס ע זמנין מן דמ� שב�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / יג־טו 390 / ספר ויקרא


13 He shall place the ketores upon the fire before HASHEM — so that the cloud of the

ketores shall blanket the Aron-cover that is atop the [Tablets of the] Testimony — so

that he shall not die.

14 He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle with his forefinger

upon the eastern front of the Aron-cover; and in front of the Aron-cover he shall

sprinkle seven times from the blood with his forefinger. 15 He shall slaughter

57. Above, pasuk 2. 58. See Schottenstein Edition, Yoma 55a note 19. 59. 3.2-3.8 inches (8-9.6 cm.). 60. Although a face can be more than a tefach high, there is a rule that �שת פ� ט ת� שת� מוע� פ� , ת� שת� פ� ה לא ת� שת� מרוב� פ� If you caught a large amount, you may have caught ,ת�nothing, but if you caught a small amount, you have certainly caught that. This means that when a Torah measurement must be determined and more than one amount is possible, we choose the smallest amount. Based on this, whenever we learn a lesson from the use of a plural

grind it again, to make it “the finest of the fine” (Yoma 45a; Kereisos 6b; Yerushalmi Yoma 4:5).

אש לפני ה‘ .13 ל ה� קטרת ע� ן את ה� ת� He shall place the — ונ�ketores upon the fire before Hashem.

� Inside JobOn Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol would take a shovelful

of burning coals from the Mizbe’ach (Altar) and bring it into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), along with a ladle full of ketores (incense). He would then spread the ketores onto the coals as an offering to Hashem.כניס (יומא נג., חוץ וי� קן מב� אש לפני ה‘. שלא ית� ל ה� קטרת ע� ן את ה� ת� ונ�

ירושלמי יומא א, ה):The previous pasuk commands the Kohen Gadol to take

the ketores and bring it within the Curtain — that is, inside the Kodesh HaKodashim. Our pasuk continues and says, He shall place the ketores upon the fire before Hashem.

From the order of the pesukim we learn that the ketores is not to be placed upon the coals until after the Kohen Gadol enters the Kodesh HaKodashim (Yoma 53a; Yeru-shalmi Yoma 1:5).

פרת כ� קטרת את ה� ן ה� ה ענ� So that the cloud of the — וכס�ketores shall blanket the Aron-cover.

� The Cloud Factorר שנאמ� ן, ש� עלה ע� ה מ� שנותן ב� יין מנ� פרת. כ� קטרת את ה� ן ה� ענ� ה וכס�ן או שחיסר ש� עלה ע� ה מ� ן ב� ת� א לא נ� פרת“, ה� כ� קטרת את ה� ן ה� ה ענ� ”וכס�יין? מנ� ן ש� ע� עלה מ� עלה יי. . . ב� א� ר מ� א� ה. . . מית� יב י� ח� ניה� מ� ס� ל מכ� ת ח� א�למוד יין ת� ה מנ� נ� ש� ר ימות ה� ר. . . בשא� מ� ב ששת א� ה“, ר� ר ”וכס� למוד לומ� ת�

ה“ (יומא נג. , ירושלמי יומא א, ה): ר ”וכס� לומ�Among the ingredients that made up the ketores (in-

cense) offered in the Beis HaMikdash was the maaleh ashan — a certain herb that caused the smoke of the ke-tores to rise straight up like a stick; the smoke then spread across the ceiling like a cloud.

This is hinted at in our pasuk, which says, so that “the cloud” of the incense shall blanket the Aron-cover… “so that he shall not die.” In order to produce a “cloud,” maaleh ashan must be added. The punishment for failing to do so is premature death at the hand of heaven.

Now, we learned the obligation to add maaleh ashan from an earlier pasuk,57 which says, for “in a cloud” will

I appear upon the Aron-cover. Why do we need two pesu-kim?

According to one opinion, had there been only one pa-suk I may have said that only the root of the maaleh ashan plant may be used, because it is more effective than the leaves. The second pasuk tells us that the leaves may also be used.

Others say that the second pasuk teaches that maaleh ashan is required not only for the ketores of Yom Kippur, which is the subject of this passage, but also for the ketores that is offered on the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar) every day of the year (Yoma 53a; Yerushalmi Yoma 1:5).

מים .14 ע פע� זה שב� פרת י� כ� ה ולפני ה� פרת קדמ� כ� ל פני ה� Upon — ע�the eastern front of the Aron-cover; and in front of the

Aron-cover he shall sprinkle seven times.

� The Eastern Frontא ר ”פני“ אינו אל� קום שנאמ� ל מ� ב, כ� ה א� נ� ה. זה ב� פרת קדמ� כ� ל פני ה� ע�

דים (יומא נה., מנחות כז:): ק�With regard to the Kohen Gadol’s bull offering on Yom

Kippur, our pasuk says that he shall bring the blood into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) and sprinkle some of it upon the eastern “front” (פני) of the Aron-cover.

This teaches us that whenever the Torah uses the word -front, it refers to the eastern side58 (Yoma 55a; Mena ,פניchos 27b).

� Big as a Faceל א: ”ע� כ� ר מה� מ� א א� ב הונ� ן?. . . ר� ל� ח מנ� פורת טפ� ה. כ� פרת קדמ� כ� ל פני ה� ע�ח (סוכה ה., ירושלמי שבת א, א; חות מטפ� נים פ� ה“ ואין פ� פרת קדמ� כ� פני ה�

ירושלמי סוכה א, א):The word פני , translated above as front, literally means

“face.”Our pasuk teaches that the height of the Kapores, the

Cover of the Aron, the Holy Ark in the Mishkan, was a tefach, a handbreadth.59

It was suggested that we know the height because our pasuk refers to the Kohen Gadol sprinkling the blood of his Yom Kippur offering upon the eastern “face” (פני) of the Kapores.

Since a human face is no less than a tefach high, so too, the “face” of the Kapores was a tefach high60 (Succah 5a; Yerushalmi Shabbos 1:1; Yerushalmi Succah 1:1).



� One and Sevenאי ת, מ� ח� ת וא� ח� ל א� ן עם כ� ה מני� ה צריכ� ה ראשונ� א� ז� זה. ה� פרת י� כ� ולפני ה�למוד שאין ת� זה“ י� פרת כ� ”ולפני ה� א ר קר� מ� ר: א� מ� ן א� נ� יוח� בי א. . . ר� עמ� ט�ן ה מני� ה שצריכ� ה ראשונ� א� ז� ל ה� זה, לימד ע� ר י� למוד לומ� ה ת� זה, ומ� ר י� לומ�

ת (יומא נה.): ח� ת וא� ח� ל א� עם כ�ת ח� ים, א� ת ושת� ח� ת, א� ח� ת וא� ח� ת, א� ח� ה מונה: א� י� ך ה� זה. וכ� פרת י� כ� ולפני ה�בי ר ר� מ� ע. . . א� שב� ת ו� ח� שש, א� ת ו� ח� מש, א� ת וח� ח� ע, א� רב� ת וא� ח� לש, א� וש�זה“, כדי שתהא ר ”י� למוד לומ� ה ת� ע“, מ� פרת. . . שב� כ� ל פני ה� בון: כתיב ”ע�

הן (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): ה נמנית עמ� יה ראשונ� י� ז� ה�With regard to the Kohen Gadol’s bull offering on Yom

Kippur, our pasuk says that he shall bring the blood into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) and sprinkle with his forefinger upon the eastern front of the Aron-cover; this means to sprinkle the blood (one time) in an upward direc-tion.

The pasuk continues, and in front of the Aron-cover he shall sprinkle seven “times” (מים -that is, he shall sprin ;(פע�kle the blood another seven times, in a downward direc-tion. The pasuk would have been perfectly understandable had it not written the word זה he shall sprinkle, as well as ,י�the word מים times. According to some, the Torah wrote ,פע�both these words to teach that the seven sprinklings must be counted aloud.

Additionally, the first, upward, sprinkling must be counted along with each of the other seven. Thus he counts, “One and one; one and two…” (Yoma 55a; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

ם .15 ע� את אשר ל� ט� ח� ט את שעיר ה� ח� He shall slaughter — וש�the sin offering he-goat of the people.

� Of the People and for the Peopleפרין בו (שבועות יג:): כהנים מתכ� ם. שאין ה� ע� אשר ל�

With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, He (the Kohen Gadol) shall slaughter the cha-tas (sin offering) he-goat of the people. The Torah did not need to say the words “of the people” to tell us which he-goat we are referring to, because there was only one such chatas offering on Yom Kippur. The extra phrase teaches that this chatas atones only for the sins of ordinary Jews; not for those of Kohanim (Shevuos 13b).

ר פ� ם ה� ה לד� ש� אשר ע� מו כ� ה את ד� ש� He shall do with its — וע�blood as he had done with the blood of the bull.

� Matching Numbersה את ש� ר ”וע� למוד לומ� ה. . . ת� מ� עיר איני יודע� כ� ש� ה ב� ט� ה. למ� ש� אשר ע� כ�ה ומ� ה“, ש� אשר ע� ”כ� ר למוד לומ� שאין ת� ר“, פ� ם ה� לד� ה ש� אשר ע� כ� מו ד�ה ט� שלמ� כשם וות, ש� יו עשיות� ל כ� שיהיו ה“ ש� ע� אשר ”כ� ר לומ� למוד ת�ך ת, כ� ח� עיר א� ש� ה ב� על� ע, וכשם שלמ� עיר שב� ש� ה ב� ט� ך למ� ע, כ� ר שב� פ� ב�

ת (יומא נה., ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): ח� ר א� פ� ה ב� על� למ�With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our

pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall bring the blood into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), and sprinkle “it” upon the Aron-cover — in an upward direction, and in (אתו)front of the Aron-cover — in a downward direction.

The word אתו, it, which is singular, teaches that the blood is sprinkled once in an upward direction. But the pasuk does not say how many times to sprinkle it in a downward direction.

Regarding the blood of the Kohen Gadol’s bull offering, the previous pasuk said that he shall sprinkle with his fore-finger upon the eastern front of the Aron-cover — upward — and in front of the Aron-cover — downward — he shall sprinkle “seven times.” But the pasuk does not say how many times to sprinkle it upward.

Our pasuk therefore adds, he shall do with its blood as he had done with the blood of the bull; this tells us to apply the number that was specified for one of these offerings to the other one. Therefore, the blood of each of the offerings is sprinkled upward one time and downward seven times (Yoma 55a; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

פרת כ� פרת ולפני ה� כ� ל ה� ה אתו ע� And sprinkle it upon — והז�the Aron-cover and in front of the Aron-cover.

� Not “Upon” — Just “Up”ל זה ע� זה, אינו מ� א: כשהוא מ� נ� פרת. ת� כ� פרת ולפני ה� כ� ל ה� ה אתו ע� והז�דו צדד י� ה, על� זה למ� פורת. כשהוא מ� ה של כ� כנגד עובי� א פורת אל� כ� ה�ב ר ר� מ� ני מילי? א� א ה� ה. מנ� על� דו למ� דד י� ה, מצ� ט� זה למ� ה, וכשהוא מ� ט� למ�פרת ולפני כ� ל ה� ה אתו ע� א ”והז� ר קר� מ� א: א� בי זיר� ר ר� מ� עקב א� ר י� א ב� ח� א�ר (פסוק ה דפ� ט� ר ממ� מ� ריך, דג� עיר, דלא צ� ש� ה ב� ט� ר למ� פרת“, לא יאמ� כ� ה�

word, we generally assume it means “two.” Similarly, in our case, although most people’ s faces are more than a tefach high, we know that a face is at least a tefach high, and that is the size we apply.

ל ע� שעיר ה� פר מכ� כהנים, ה� ל ע� פר מכ� פר שה� ה מ� לעם. אשר (טו) עשה אשר כ� שם: ל� גורל ה� עליו שעלה שעיר ה� והוא סא.), (שם ישראל בני מטמאת (טז) נג:): (יומא למטה ע ושב� עלה למ� ת ח� א� פר. ה� ם לד�

ר ”לכל סוף, שנאמ� ע להם ב� מקדש בטומאה ולא נוד� נכנסין ל� ל ה� ישראל. ע�מזיד נכנסין ף ה� טאת הוא שוגג (שבועות ז:): ומפשעיהם. א� טאתם“, וח� ח�

בטומאה (שם):

אל־ מו את־ד( והביא ם ע( ל( ר Eאש את ט( �ח ה� יר את־שע_ר פ( �ה ם jלד ה ש( ע( ר אש< כ� מו את־ד( ה pש וע( פרכת �ל ית מב�ל־ �ע ר Eטז וכפ רת: פ �כ �ה י Oולפנ רת פ �כ �ל־ה �ע אתו ה והז/ם טאת[ �ל־ח לכ( ם Dומפשעיה ל א ישר( י בנ� מטמאת דש הק

על וי� א מ� לע� די א את� ט� דח� א צפיר� ת י�ת י� עבד וי� א רכת� לפ� יו למג� דמה ת י�די וי� א א דתור� ד לדמ� די עב� א דמה כמ�א: פרת� כ� ם ולקד� א פרת� כ� ל ע� תה י�בני ת מסואב� א קודש� ל ע� ר פ� טז ויכ�איהון חט� ל לכ� וממרדיהון אל ישר�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / טז 392 / ספר ויקרא


the chatas offering he-goat of the people, and bring its blood within the Paroches; he shall do

with its blood as he had done with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it upon the Aron-cover

and in front of the Aron-cover. 16 Thus shall he provide atonement upon the Sanctuary for

the contaminations of the Children of Israel, even for their rebellious sins among all their sins;

61. See above, 5:6. 62. Although in the last two cases the person never becomes aware that he sinned and does not know he needs atonement, the fact is that he still requires atonement. 63. Vayikra 20:3. 64. Ibid. 18:30. 65. Bamidbar 35:34.

ל“ ף ”ע� ל, א� או ע� ה ”לפני“ דל� ל“, ל“לפני“, מ� קושי ”ע� ר, לא� ה נאמ� מ� יד), ל�ל (יומא נה.): או ע� דל�

With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall bring the blood into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), and sprinkle it “upon” (ל the Aron-cover — in an upward direction, and (ע�“in front” of the Aron-cover — in a downward direction.

However, since our pasuk says that he should do with the blood of the goat as he had done with the blood of the bull — and the previous pasuk has already told us that the bull’s blood is sprinkled downward seven times — there was no reason for our pasuk to mention that he must sprinkle downward.

The Torah (in our pasuk) mentions the downward sprinkling together with the upward sprinkling to compare them. Just as the downward sprinkling was not “upon” the Aron-cover, but “in front” of the Aron-cover, on the floor, so too, when the pasuk says that the upward sprinkling shall be “upon” the Aron-cover, it does not mean that the blood should make contact with the Aron; the word ל ,ע�upon, means only that the blood is thrown in an upward direction, toward the Aron (Yoma 55a).

� One Upפרת כ� ל ה� ה אתו ע� ן: ”והז� נ� ב� נו ר� פרת. ת� כ� פרת ולפני ה� כ� ל ה� ה אתו ע� והז�

ת (יומא נה.): ח� עיר, א� ש� ה ב� על� ה למ� מ� דנו כ� מ� פרת“, ל� כ� ולפני ה�With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our

pasuk says that the Kohen Gadol shall bring the blood into the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), and sprinkle “it” upon the Aron-cover — in an upward direction, and in (אתו)front of the Aron-cover — in a downward direction.

The word אתו, it, which is singular, teaches that the blood is sprinkled in an upward direction only one time (Yoma 55a).

ם .16 טאת� ל ח� אל ומפשעיהם לכ� קדש מטמאת בני ישר� ל ה� — וכפר ע�Thus shall he provide atonement upon the Sanctuary from the contaminations of the Children of Israel, even

for their rebellious sins among all their sins.

� Which Contaminations?If a person mistakenly enters the Beis HaMikdash or eats

from an offering in a state of tumah (ritual impurity), he must bring a chatas (sin) offering for an atonement.

If he was aware of his tumah before committing the sin and he also remembered about it again after the sin, he brings his own personal chatas.61

For all other situations — that is, when the person was

unaware of his tumah originally and realized it only after the sin; or he was aware of it originally, but then forgot about it completely, and did not remember after the sin; or he was never aware of the tumah at all62 — the he-goats that were brought as communal chatas offerings at various times throughout the year provide atonement.

יש ם. טאת� ח� ל לכ� ומפשעיהם אל ישר� בני מטמאת קדש ה� ל ע� וכפר ת גילוי ה, וטומא� ר� ה ז� ת עבוד� לש טומאות, טומא� ביא ש� ן זה לה� לי בעני�יהא לו ל� ה� טומאות לש ש� ל ע� כול י� מים. . . ד� שפיכות ת וטומא� יות, ער�טומאות, ל כ� ולא אל“ ישר� בני ”מטמאת ר לומ� למוד ת� פר, מכ� עיר ש�ש ת מקד� ל טומאות, הוי אומר טומא� ל כ� תוב מכל� כ� ק ה� ל� צינו שח� ה מ� מ�בי שמעון ה, ר� בי יהוד� יו דברי ר� ש� ד� ש וק� ת מקד� אן בטומא� ף כ� יו, א� ש� ד� וק�קדש מטמאת“, ל ה� ע, הרי הוא אומר ”וכפר ע� אומר: ממקומו הוא מוכר�

מטומאות של קודש (שבועות ז:, ירושלמי שבועות א, ב):Regarding the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk

says, Thus shall he provide atonement upon the Sanctuary for the “tumos” (“contaminations” or “impurities”) of the Children of Israel.

Aside from the sin of entering the Beis HaMikdash or eating from an offering in a state of tumah, we find that the Torah uses the term “tumah” with regard to the sins of idolatry,63 adultery,64 and murder.65 However, our pasuk says, מטמאת, literally, “from” the tumos, which indicates that the offering atones for some tumos, but not all. How do we know which ones?

According to one opinion, we know that the Torah is giv-ing an atonement for entering the Beis HaMikdash or eat-ing from a korban in a state of tumah, because we find that the Torah was already lenient regarding another aspect of that sin: When a person has to bring his personal chatas for this sin, it is an oleh veyoreid, a variable sin offering, meaning that the offering he brings depends on what he can afford — a lamb, two birds, or a meal offering.

According to another opinion, we know it from the word-ing of the pasuk itself — Thus shall he provide atonement “upon the Sanctuary” — that is, for tumah related to the Beis HaMikdash and sanctified food (Shevuos 7b; Yeru-shalmi Shevuos 1:2).

� Aim for the Arkקודש (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): וין כנגד ה� ריך לכ� קדש. צ� ה�

During the Yom Kippur service, after sprinkling the blood of the bull and he-goat offerings in the Kodesh HaKo-dashim (Holy of Holies), the Kohen Gadol would go out to the Sanctuary, and sprinkle the blood toward the Paroches, the Curtain separating the Kodesh (Sanctuary) from the Kodesh HaKodashim.



Our pasuk says, Thus shall he provide atonement upon the Sanctuary (קדש קדש The word .(ה� -the Sanctuary, liter ,ה�ally means “the Holy.” This indicates that when the Kohen Gadol sprinkles the blood toward the Paroches, he should aim toward the part of the Paroches that is opposite the most holy object — the Aron (Ark) (Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

� For Those That Have Nothing to Offerכול ם. י� טאת� ל ח� אל ומפשעיהם לכ� קדש מטמאת בני ישר� ל ה� וכפר ע�ר ”ומפשעיהם למוד לומ� פר, ת� עיר זה מכ� ה שבקודש יהא ש� ל טומא� ל כ� ע�ן, רב� ם בני ק� עים שאינ� ה פש� עים, מ� א דפש� אים דומי� ם“, חט� טאת� ל ח� לכ�

ן (שבועות ז:, ירושלמי שבועות א, ב): רב� ם בני ק� אים שאינ� ף חט� א�If a person mistakenly enters the Beis HaMikdash or eats

from a korban (offering) in a state of tumah (ritual impu-rity), he must bring a chatas (sin) offering for an atone-ment.

If he was aware of his tumah before committing the sin, and he also remembered about it again after the sin, he brings his own personal chatas.66 For all other situations, the he-goats that were brought as communal chatas offer-ings at various times throughout the year provided atone-ment.

With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that it provides atonement even for their rebel-lious (intentional) sins (פשעיהם) among all their (uninten-tional) sins (ם טאת� Since intentional sins are mentioned .(ח�together with unintentional sins, we compare the two.

Just as there is no personal sin offering to atone for in-tentional sins, so too, the unintentional sins listed in our pa-suk refer to those sins that do not have atonement through a personal sin offering. This teaches that the he-goat does not atone for tumah of the Beis HaMikdash and its offer-ings in a situation where one is obligated to bring his own offering (Shevuos 7b; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:2).

� Deliberate or Notגות שג� אות אלו ה� ט� דים. . . ח� מר� עים אלו ה� ם. פש� טאת� ל ח� ומפשעיהם לכ�

(שבועות יב:):With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our

pasuk says that it provides atonement even for their re-bellious sins (פשעיהם) among all their sins (ם טאת� The .(ח�word פשעיהם, their rebellious sins, refers to sins that were done intentionally, and the word ם טאת� their sins, refers to ,ח�those that were unintentional. The he-goat provided atone-ment for both (Shevuos 12b).

� No Substitutesבי ר� ר מ� מי א� בי א� ר� ר מ� דימי א� ב א ר� ת� כי א� ם. טאת� ל ח� לכ� ומפשעיהם

ומפשעיהם אל ישר� בני מטמאת קדש ה� ל ע� ”וכפר א קר� ר מ� א� א: חנינ�ן, רב� ק� בני או דל� עים פש� ה מ� עים, דפש� א דומי� אים חט� ם“, טאת� ח� ל לכ�פר מכ� לא ן רב� ק� בני אים חט� ל אב� פר, מכ� ן רב� ק� בני או דל� אים חט� ף א�

(כריתות כה:):With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our

pasuk says that it provides atonement even for their re-bellious (intentional) sins (פשעיהם) among all their (unin-tentional) sins (ם טאת� -Since intentional sins are men .(ח�tioned together with unintentional sins, we compare the two.

Just as there is no personal sin offering to atone for in-tentional sins, so too, the unintentional sins of our pasuk refer to those sins that do not have atonement through a personal sin offering. This teaches that the he-goat does not atone for sins that require a personal offering, and therefore, even after it is brought, the obligation to bring a personal offering for those sins still remains.

According to one opinion, the same applies to the atone-ment of Yom Kippur itself, and therefore a person who was obligated to bring a chatas (sin offering) or an asham (guilt offering) before Yom Kippur must still bring it after Yom Kippur has passed (Kereisos 25b).

� Aware from the Startסוף, ב� ה ידיע� ה ב� ואין ה תחל� ב� ה ידיע� ה ב� ליש ין מנ� ם. טאת� ח� ל לכ�ע שמ� אות במ� ט� יבי ח� י� ם“ ח� טאת� ל ח� ר ”לכ� למוד לומ� עיר זה תולה, ת� שש�

(שבועות ז:):ת, מר� א א� ם כדק� טאת� ה, אי כתיב מח� ה גמור� ר� פ� פר כ� ם. ונתכ� טאת� ל ח� לכ�

את (שבועות ח:): ט� ל ח� תו לכל� ך דא� הנ� ם“ ל� טאת� ל ח� א דכתיב ”לכ� שת� ה�If a person mistakenly enters the Beis HaMikdash or eats

from an offering in a state of tumah (ritual impurity), he must bring a chatas (sin) offering for an atonement.

If he was aware of his tumah before committing the sin, and he also remembered about it again after the sin, he brings his own personal chatas.67

For all other situations — that is, when the person was unaware of his tumah originally and realized it only after the sin; or he was aware of it originally, but then forgot about it completely, and did not remember after the sin; or he was never aware of the tumah at all68 — the he-goats that were brought as communal chatas offerings at various times throughout the year provide atonement.

With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that it provides atonement even for their re-bellious sins among all their sins (ם טאת� ל ח� The word .(לכ�ם טאת� their sins, can also be interpreted as their chatas ,ח�offerings. This teaches that the he-goat of Yom Kippur

66. See above, 5:6. 67. See above, 5:6. 68. Although in the last two cases the person never becomes aware he sinned and does not know he needs atonement, the fact is that he still requires atonement.

עלה למ� ת ח� א� בפנים משניהם שהזה כשם מועד. לאהל עשה י� וכן ע ושב� עלה למ� ת ח� א� משניהם חוץ מב� פרוכת ה� ל ע� זה מ� כך טה, למ� ע ושב�

ל פי שהם טמאים ף ע� שכן אתם בתוך טמאתם. א� למטה (יומא נו:): ה�שכינה ביניהם (שם נז.):

ם: ם בתוך טמאת= ן את( שכ� �ד ה הל מוע עשה לא ן י� תהון: וכ� רי עמהון בגו סואב� א דש� ן זמנ� שכ� עבד למ� וכן י�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / טז 394 / ספר ויקרא


and so shall he do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them amid their contamination.

69. A metzora is a person who has a type of skin affliction that renders him tamei. 70. A nazir is a person who makes a vow forbid-ding him to drink wine or to consume any grape product; he also may not cut his hair, or become tamei through contact with a corpse.71. Pasuk 2. 72. After the Bnei Yisrael entered Eretz Yisrael, it took them 14 years to conquer and divide the land. They then built a Mishkan in Shiloh, which stood for 369 years. When the Aron (Ark) was captured by the Philistines, the Mishkan was relocated, first to Nov and then to Givon. Finally, after the Mishkan was in those locations for 57 years, the Beis HaMikdash was built.

atones only for a sin that can eventually be liable to a cha-tas offering; that is, in a case where he was aware of his tumah in the beginning, and then forgot. In such a case, if he later remembers, he will be liable to a chatas; the he-goat offering protects him from punishment until that time.

However, if he was never aware of his tumah before he entered the Beis HaMikdash or ate from the offering, then he can never become liable to a personal chatas, and this he-goat does not atone for his sin.

The word ל which ,ל among all, begins with the prefix ,לכ�can mean until. This teaches that the he-goat provides only a temporary atonement, to protect him “until” he be-comes aware of his sin; but once he becomes aware, he is still liable to a chatas (Shevuos 7b, 8b).

� Contamination and Sinב ר� ר מ� א� זיר. . . נ� א ואימ� ע. . . מצור� א יולדת. . .אימ� א אימ� ם. טאת� ח� ל לכ�

ם (שבועות ח.): ל טומאת� ם“, ולא לכ� את� ט� ל ח� א: ”לכ� עי� הוש�A woman after childbirth, a metzora,69 and a nazir70

who became tamei (ritually impure) through contact with a corpse, all require offerings in order to compete their taharah (purification) process.

With regard to the he-goat offering of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that it provides atonement for the “tumos” (contaminations) of the Children of Israel. This means that it atones for the sin of entering the Beis HaMikdash or eat-ing from an offering in a state of tumah.

However, the pasuk does not mean that this offering can also take the place of the offering of a woman after child-birth, or a metzora, or a nazir. We know that, because the end of our pasuk says, among all their sins, which indicates that the he-goat comes only for sins related to tumah, but not for tumah itself (Shevuos 8a).

עשה לאהל מועד And so shall he do for the Tent of — וכן י�Meeting.

� Repeat Performanceעי ליה, כי היכי הוא מיב� ך: ה� ר ל� מ� ה א� בי יהוד� עשה לאהל מועד. ר� וכן י�עשה“ הוא מ“וכן י� בי שמעון? ה� ל, ור� עביד בהיכ� כי נ� י ולפנים ה� ביד לפנ� דע�

א (שבועות ח.): פק� נ�לפנים י לפנ� זה שמ� כשם ר? לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� מועד. לאהל עשה י� וכן ר, פ� ם ה� ה מד� ט� ע למ� ה ושב� על� ת למ� ח� י לפנים א� ה לפנ� ל, מ� היכ� זה ב� ך מ� כ�ם ה מד� ט� ע למ� ושב� ה על� ת למ� ח� לפנים א� י שלפנ� וכשם ל, היכ� זה ב� ך מ� כ�

ל (יומא נו:, זבחים נז.): היכ� זה ב� ך מ� עיר, כ� ש� ה�The previous pesukim have told us that the blood of the

bull and the he-goat offerings that are brought on Yom Kip-pur must be sprinkled in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of

Holies), toward the Aron (Ark), once in an upward direc-tion and seven times in a downward direction.

We learn from our pasuk that the same sprinkling pro-cedure is then repeated in the Sanctuary; the blood of each of the two offerings is sprinkled toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh from the Kodesh HaKo-dashim), once in an upward direction and seven times in a downward direction.

According to one opinion, we learn this from the words (in our pasuk), Thus shall he provide atonement “upon the Sanctuary,” meaning that the Kohen Gadol follows the procedure that was done in the Kodesh HaKodashim when he is in the Sanctuary.

According to another opinion, we learn this from the words, so shall he do “for the Tent of Meeting” (Yoma 56b; Shevuos 8a; Zevachim 57a).

ם שכן את� .That dwells with them — ה�

� Where the Shechinah Dwellsה ב� שנותן מד מל� ב) (פסוק פרת“ כ� ל ה� אה ע� אר� ן נ� בע� ”כי ם. את� שכן ה�ר, שילה מדב� א אהל מועד שב� ר: אין לי אל� מ� ב ששת א� ן. . . ר� ש� עלה ע� מ�ם“ שכן את� עשה לאהל מועד ה� ר. . . ”וכן י� למוד לומ� יין? ת� מים מנ� ובית עול�

(יומא נג.):In the beginning of our passage,71 regarding the ketores

(incense) offering of Yom Kippur, the Torah says, for in a “cloud” will I appear upon the Aron-cover. This teaches that the ketores had to contain an ingredient known as maaleh ashan, a certain herb that causes the smoke to rise straight up like a stick to the ceiling, where it spreads out like a “cloud.”

Our pasuk says, so shall he do for the Tent of Meeting “that dwells with them.” This teaches that the same pro-cedures that were performed in the Sanctuary in the Wil-derness must be performed in any other place where the Shechinah (Divine Presence) dwells. Therefore, maaleh ashan was also added to the ketores that was offered in the Sanctuaries in Shiloh, Nov, and Givon,72 and in the Beis HaMikdash (Yoma 53a)

ם ם בתוך טמאת� שכן את� That dwells with them amid — ה�their contamination.

� Always With Usהם (יומא נו:): ה עמ� ת שהן טמאים, שכינ� ם. אפילו בשע� בתוך טמאת�

Our pasuk says, so shall he do for the Tent of Meeting that dwells with them “amid their contamination.” This teaches that even when the Jewish people are spiritually contami-nated, Hashem’s Presence is with them (Yoma 56b).



ד צאתו .17 קדש ע� פר ב� ם לא יהיה באהל מועד בבאו לכ� ד� ל א� וכ�— Any person shall not be in the Ohel Moed when he comes to provide atonement in the Sanctuary until

his departure.

� When to Stay Outן: נ� ב� נו ר� ד צאתו. ת� קדש ע� פר ב� ם לא יהיה באהל מועד בבאו לכ� ד� ל א� וכ�ר לומ� למוד ת� ה, עז�ר� ב� אפילו כול י� מועד“, באהל יהיה לא ם ד� א� ל ”וכ�מים ר, שילה ובית עול� מדב� א באהל מועד שב� ”באהל מועד“, אין לי אל�ן ת� ת מ� ה, בשע� ר� קט� ת ה� א בשע� קדש“, אין לי אל� ר ”ב� למוד לומ� ין? ת� מנ�תו תו, ביציא� א בכניס� פר“, אין לי אל� ר ”בבאו לכ� למוד לומ� ין? ת� מים מנ� ד�

ד צאתו“ (יומא מד.): ר ”ע� למוד לומ� ין? ת� מנ�Our pasuk tells us that no one was allowed to be in the

Ohel Moed (Sanctuary) while the Kohen Gadol was per-forming the avodah (service) in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) on Yom Kippur.

When the pasuk adds the word קדש in the Sanctuary, it ,ב�teaches that this prohibition applies not only in the Sanctu-ary in the Wilderness, but in later Sanctuaries (in Shiloh and Nov and Givon and in the Beis HaMikdash73) as well.

The end of our pasuk says, he shall provide atonement for himself, for his household, and for the entire congrega-tion of Israel, which seems to indicate that the prohibition to be in the Sanctuary applies only when the Kohen Gadol is offering the ketores (incense), which is an atonement for the entire nation, but not when he goes into the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim to sprinkle the blood of the bull offering (which is an atonement for himself) or the he-goat offering (which is an atonement for ordinary people but not for Kohanim).

However, our pasuk says, פר לכ� when he comes ,בבאו to provide atonement, which teaches us that this prohibi-tion applies at any time that the Kohen Gadol is providing atonement in the Kodesh HaKodashim.

The word בבאו, when he comes, would seem to indicate that the prohibition is only at the moment that he enters the Kodesh HaKodashim, and after that it is permissible to enter the Sanctuary. Therefore, the Torah adds the words ד צאתו .until his departure (Yoma 44a) ,ע�

� No Humans or Angelsד צאתו. אפילו קדש ע� פר ב� ם לא יהיה באהל מועד בבאו לכ� ד� ל א� וכ�ם“ לא יהיו באהל ד� הן (יחזקאל א, י) ”ודמות פניהם פני א� תוב ב� ן שכ� אות�

מועד (ירושלמי יומא א, ה; ה, ב; ירושלמי סוכה ד, ו):

Our pasuk says that when the Kohen Gadol is perform-ing the Yom Kippur avodah (service) in the Kodesh HaKo-dashim (Holy of Holies), “Any adam” — person — shall not be in the Ohel Moed. The term adam (ם ד� is also used (א�in reference to angels, in the pasuk,74 As for the likeness of their faces: There was an “adam” face. Since our pasuk restricts any adam from being in the Sanctuary during the avodah, angels are also banned at that time (Yerushalmi Yoma 1:5, 5:2; Yerushalmi Succah 4:6).

� Upon Enteringקדש“, פר ב� אן (לעיל ו, כג) ”לכ� ר כ� בי אליעזר אומר: נאמ� קדש. ר� פר ב� לכ�ה קדש“, מ� פר ב� ם לא יהיה באהל מועד בבאו לכ� ד� ל א� ן ”וכ� ל� ר לה� ונאמ�

אן בשלא כיפר (זבחים פג.): ף כ� ן בשלא כיפר, א� ל� לה�The blood of most chatas (sin) offerings is applied to the

Outer Mizbe’ach (Altar), located in the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash. If the blood is applied inside the Sanctu-ary instead, the offering is disqualified. According to one opinion, the offering becomes disqualified as soon as its blood is brought into the Sanctuary. This is based on our pasuk:

Our pasuk tells us that no one is allowed to be in the Ohel Moed (Sanctuary) when he [the Kohen Gadol] “comes” to provide atonement in the Sanctuary (קדש ב� פר -mean ,(לכ�ing that no one may be there not only when he is per-forming the service, but even when the Kohen Gadol first enters.

The phrase קדש פר ב� -to provide atonement in the Sanc ,לכ�tuary, is also used75 regarding blood of an outer chatas that is brought into the Sanctuary. Just as the prohibition in our pasuk applies as soon as the Kohen Gadol enters, even before he begins the avodah, so too a chatas whose blood was brought inside becomes disqualified as soon as the blood comes in, even before the sprinkling (Zevachim 83a).

אל ל ישר� ל קה� ד כ� ד ביתו ובע� עדו ובע� He shall — וכפר ב�provide atonement for himself, for his household,

and for the entire congregation of Yisrael.

� In That Orderת ר� פ� תו קודמת לכ� ר� פ� אל. כ� ל ישר� ל קה� ד כ� ד ביתו ובע� עדו ובע� וכפר ב�כהנים יו ה� ת אח� ר� פ� כהנים, וכ� יו ה� ת אח� ר� פ� ת ביתו קודמת לכ� ר� פ� ביתו, כ�

אל (יומא מד.): ל ישר� ל קה� ת כ� ר� פ� קודמת לכ�

73. See previous note. 74. Yechezkel 1:10. 75. Above, 6:23.

היכל. זהב, שהוא לפני ה‘ ב� ח ה� מזבח� אשר לפני ה‘. זה מזב� (יח) אל ה�מזבח� ד מן ה� פרוכת, ועמ� ל ה� זאות ע� ה� ר ”ויצא“, לפי שהזה ה� למוד לומ� ה ת� ומ�חוץ, וי�תחיל מקרן מזבח� ול� מזבח� הזקיקו לצאת מן ה� תנות ה� ולפנים והזה, ובמ�

היא ה ומ� עליו. וכפר נח:): יומא ז-י; ד, כהנים פרק (תורת צפונית מזרחית שעיר, מעורבין זה לתוך זה (תורת ם ה� פר ומד� ם ה� ח מד� פרתו, ולק� כ�

כהנים שם; יומא נג:):

ר בקדש Oפ �ד בבאו לכ הל מוע ה | בא Eהי Qם לא־י ל־אד( יז וכ(

ל: ♪ א+ ל ישר( Fל־קה ד כ( Xד ביתו ובע jעדו ובע ר ב� עד־צאתו וכפ<יו ל[ ע( ר Eוכפ י־יהוה לפנ+ ר Kאש �ח xמזב �אל־ה א צ( וי( יח שני

א במעלה ן זמנ� שכ� א יהי במ� ש ל� ל אנ� יז וכ�ר עלוהי פ� ד מפקה ויכ� א ע� א בקודש� ר� פ� לכ�אל: א דישר� ל� ל קה� ל כ� ש ביתה וע� ל אנ� וע�ר עלוהי פ� ם יי� ויכ� א די קד� דבח� יח ויפוק למ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / יז־יח 396 / ספר ויקרא


17 Any person shall not be in the Ohel Moed when he comes to provide atonement in

the Sanctuary until his departure; he shall provide atonement for himself, for his house-

hold, and for the entire congregation of Yisrael.

18 He shall go out to the Mizbe’ach that is before HASHEM, and make atonement upon it:

76. See note 55. 77. Above, 4:13-21. 78. Above, 4:3-12. 79. See note 55. 80. Above, 4:13-21. 81. Above, 4:3-12. 82. See previous discussion.

Our pasuk says that on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol shall provide atonement for “himself,” for “his household,” and for the “entire congregation of Israel.” The order of the words in our pasuk teaches us that the Kohen Gadol first “provides atonement” by confessing his own sins, over the bull offering; then he recites a second confession on the bull, mentioning his own sins, those of his household, and those of the other Kohanim — in that order; and finally, he recites a third confession, over the he-goat offering, for the sins of the “entire congregation of Israel” (Yoma 44a).

� The Atoner Before the AtonedIf the Sanhedrin mistakenly rules to permit an act that the

Torah forbids under penalty of kares,76 and the majority of the people follow its ruling, the Torah prescribes a special communal chatas (sin offering) of a bull to atone for the sin. This offering is called par he’eleim davar shel tzibbur (bull for a matter that was hidden from the community).77

If an anointed Kohen Gadol mistakenly rules to permit an act that is punishable by kares, and he commits that sin based on his own ruling, he also brings a bull as a chatas. This is called the par Kohen mashiach — the bull of the anointed Kohen.78

ה עד� ר ה� שיח� ופ� ר כהן מ� אל. פ� ל ישר� ל קה� ד כ� ד ביתו ובע� עדו ובע� וכפר ב�שיח� יו, הואיל ומ� עש� ל מ� ה בכ� עד� ר ה� שיח� קודם לפ� כהן מ� ר עומדים, פ�הוא וכן פר, מתכ� ל� פר מכ� ה� קדים שי� הוא דין פרת, מתכ� ה ועד� פר מכ�אל“ (הוריות יג., ירושלמי ל ישר� ל קה� ד כ� ד ביתו ובע� עדו ובע� אומר ”וכפר ב�

הוריות ג, ד):Our pasuk says that on Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol

shall provide atonement for “himself,” for “his household,” and for the “entire congregation of Israel.” The order of the words in our pasuk teaches us a logical principle, that the one who brings about atonement — the Kohen Gadol — must atone for his own sins before he can atone for others.

Therefore, if two chatas bulls are waiting to be offered — a communal error bull and an anointed Kohen bull — the chatas of the Kohen should be offered first (Horayos 13a; Yerushalmi Horayos 3:4).

מזבח� אשר לפני ה‘ .18 א אל ה� צ� He shall go out to the — וי�Mizbe’ach that is before Hashem.

� Which Mizbe’ach?ב (יומא נח.): ה� ז� ח ה� מזבח� אשר לפני ה‘. זה מזב� א אל ה� צ� וי�

Regarding the bull and he-goat offerings that the Kohen Gadol offers on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that after he sprinkles the blood in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) and again in the Sanctuary, toward the Paroches

(the Curtain separating the Kodesh [Sanctuary] from the Kodesh HaKodashim [the Holy of Holies]), He shall go out to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) that is “before Hashem.” This refers to the Golden Mizbe’ach, which is located entirely “before Hashem” — in the Sanctuary, where the Shechinah (Di-vine Presence) rests (Yoma 58a).

� Inside OutIf the Sanhedrin mistakenly rules to permit an act that is

the Torah forbids under penalty of kares,79 and the major-ity of the people follow their ruling, the Torah prescribes a special communal chatas (sin offering) of a bull to atone for the sin. This offering is called par he’eleim davar shel tzib-bur, bull for a matter that was hidden from the community.80

If an anointed Kohen Gadol mistakenly rules to permit an act that is punishable by kares, and he commits that sin based on his own ruling, he also brings a bull as a chatas. This is called the par Kohen mashiach — the bull of the anointed Kohen.81

The blood of these offerings is applied inside the Sanctu-ary — first it is sprinkled toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh [Sanctuary] from the Kodesh HaKo-dashim [the Holy of Holies]), and then it is applied to the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).ה: נחמי� בי ר� ר מ� א� ר, לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� ה‘. לפני אשר מזבח� ה� אל א צ� וי�זה מזבח� ומ� שכהן עומד חוץ ל� מצות ל ה� ל כ� א ע� ב� ר ה� פ� צינו ב� לפי שמ�א אל צ� ר ”וי� למוד לומ� ף זה כן, ת� כול א� זה, י� ה שהוא מ� ע� רוכת בש� פ� ל ה� ע�

מזבח� (יומא נח:): ה לפנים מן ה� י� ן ה� “ היכ� מזבח� ה�א ב� ר ה� אנו בפ� צ� ה: לפי שמ� בי נחמי� ר ר� מ� מזבח� אשר לפני ה‘. א� א אל ה� צ� וי�ה שהוא ע� רוכת בש� פ� ל ה� זה ע� מזבח� ומ� מצות שהוא עומד חוץ ל� ל ה� ל כ� ע�ה, לפנים מן י� ן ה� ר ”אשר לפני ה‘ ”. ואיכ� למוד לומ� ף זה כן ת� כול א� זה, י� מ�ר ”אשר לפני למוד לומ� חיצון, ת� ל מזבח� ה� א ע� בר אל� , או אינו מד� מזבח� ה�

פנימי (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): ל מזבח� ה� א ע� בר אל� א אינו מד� ה‘ ”, ה�Regarding the bull and he-goat offerings that the Kohen

Gadol offers on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says that after he sprinkles the blood in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) and again, in the Sanctuary toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh from the Kodesh HaKo-dashim), He shall “go out” to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) that is before Hashem — that is, the Golden Mizbe’ach.82 But why does the Torah say he should “go out,” when the Mizbe’ach is located inside the Sanctuary?

This teaches that when he sprinkles the blood toward the Paroches, he stands on the west side of the Mizbe’ach closer to the Paroches, and afterward he “goes out” — that is, he goes to the east side of the Mizbe’ach that is closer to the entrance.



This is in contrast to the communal error bull and the anointed Kohen bull, where the Kohen stands on the east side — with the Mizbe’ach between himself and the Pa-roches — even when he is sprinkling the blood toward the Paroches (Yoma 58b; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

� The Far Sideלא א בריש� ע ג� דפ� קרן הוא בה� א מיה� א למ� ע� דכולי מזבח. ה� אל א צ� וי�אל א צ� ”וי� א קר� ר מ� דא� שמואל: ר מ� א� א? עמ� ט� אי מ� הדם), (נתינת ביד ע�

פיק מכוליה מזבח� (יומא נח:): ד דנ� “ ע� מזבח� ה�חית צפונית, צפונית תחיל? מקרן מזר� ן הוא מ� מזבח. מהיכ� א אל ה� צ� וי�צפונית מקרן תחיל וי� חית. . . מזר� דרומית דרומית, בית ער� מ� בית, ער� מ�

“ (ירושלמי יומא ה, ה): מזבח� א אל ה� צ� ר: ”וי� ז� בי אלע� ר ר� בית? אמ� ער� מ�During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol

sprinkled the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh [Sanctuary] from the Kodesh HaKodashim [Holy of Ho-lies]), he would apply the blood to each of the four horns of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).

When the Kohen sprinkles the blood on the Paroches, he stands on the west side of the Mizbe’ach (closer to the Paroches). Yet, he does not begin applying the blood to the horns on the west side of the Mizbe’ach, which are closer to him, but instead, he walks around the Mizbe’ach and begins on its east side.

This is based on our pasuk, which says, He shall “go out” to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) that is before Hashem, which indi-cates that he should go to the side that is closer to the en-trance of the Sanctuary (Yoma 58b; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:5).

עיר ש� ם ה� ר ומד� פ� ם ה� ח מד� ק� He shall take some blood of — ול�the bull and some blood of the he-goat.

� Blending the Bloodה (יומא בי יאשי� בין דברי ר� עיר. שיהיו מעור� ש� ם ה� ר ומד� פ� ם ה� ח מד� ק� ול�

נז:, תמורה ה:):ר פ� ם ה� ה ד� בי בון: עיר� ה בי ר� בי יוס� ר ר� מ� עיר. א� ש� ם ה� ר ומד� פ� ם ה� ח מד� ק� ול�כדי חר כלי א� ן לתוך ך חוזר ובולל� והיל� ן לא, מיכ� עיר מ� ש� ם ה� לתוך ד�ם ן מד� ת� ר ”ונ� למוד לומ� ערות, ת� קוק לה� ין שהוא ז� ן, מנ� ל צורכ� ללו כ� שיב�

בין (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): ן שהן מעור� עיר“, בזמ� ש� ם ה� ר ומד� פ� ה�During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol

sprinkled the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings

toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh [Sanctuary] from the Kodesh HaKodashim [Holy of Ho-lies]), he would apply the blood to each of the four horns of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).

Our pasuk says, He shall take some blood of the bull and some blood of the he-goat and place it on the horns of the Mizbe’ach all around.

According to one opinion, this means that the blood of the bull and the he-goat should be applied together to the horns of the Mizbe’ach, and he therefore had to mix them before making this application (Yoma 57b; Temurah 5b; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

� Bitul-Resistant Mixtureמו ר מרובה מד� מו של פ� דוע� שד� ר י� ב� ד� עיר. ה� ש� ם ה� ר ומד� פ� ם ה� ח מד� ק� ול�בי ור� זה, את זה טלין מב� שאין לעולין אן מכ� ברי: ס� ן נ� ב� ר� עיר, ש� של טל (זבחים פא., מנחות כב., חולין אן למין במינו שאינו ב� ר: מכ� ב� ה ס� יהוד�

צח:, תמורה ה:):During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol

sprinkled the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh from the Kodesh HaKodashim), he would combine the blood of the two animals, and apply the mixture to the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).83

There is a halachic concept known as “bitul b’rov”: As a general rule, when two substances are combined, if there is more of one than the other, the substance with more “nullifies” the one with less, and it becomes as if it is no longer there. Yet, in this case, even though a bull has much more blood than a goat, the blood of the he-goat does not lose its identity, and it is still called the “blood of the he-goat.” Why?

According to one opinion, this is because of the prin-ciple that offerings do not nullify one another.84 According to another opinion, two substances of the same type, in this case, blood, do not nullify each other (Zevachim 81a; Menachos 22a; Chullin 98b; Temurah 5b).

עו .19 ם באצב� ד� יו מן ה� ל� He shall sprinkle upon it — והז�ה ע�from the blood with his forefinger.

� Direct Contactיו (ירושלמי יומא ה, ו): ל� ל גח� יו“ לא ע� ל� יו, ”ע� ר� ל אפ� יו. לא ע� ל� והז�ה ע�

83. See previous discussion. 84. See Ran to Nedarim 52a for an explanation of this principle.

גו (תורת כהנים שם יב; יומא נח. – נט.): ל ג� זאות ע� ע ה� זה שב� רנותיו, מ� ל ק� תנות באצבעו ע� ן מ� ר שנת� ח� דם. א� (יט) והזה עליו מן ה�ה שעבר: וקדשו. לעתיד לבא (תורת כהנים שם יג): וטהרו. ממ�

ל־קרנות �ע ן Sת ונ( יר ע ש( �ה ם jומד פר �ה ם iמד ח �ולקע �ב Eש עו באצב( ם eמן־הד יו sל ע( יט והז(ה יב: Qב ס( �ח מזב� �הה כ וכל( ל: א+ ישר( י Oבנ ת מטמא וקדשו הרו Qוט ים bמ פע( �ח yמזב �ואת־ה ד מוע� הל ואת־א דש את־הק ר פ� �מכ

א דצפיר� א ומדמ� א דתור� א מדמ� ב ויס�סחור: סחור א דבח� מ� ת רנ� ק� ל ע� ויתן ע שב� באצבעה א דמ� מן עלוהי די יט וי�

ת מסואב� דשנה ויק� כנה ויד� זמנין ל ע� א ר� פ� מלכ� כ וישיצי אל: ישר� בני א דבח� מ� ל וע� א זמנ� ן שכ� מ� ל וע� א קודש�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / יט־כ 398 / ספר ויקרא


He shall take some blood of the bull and some blood of the he-goat and place it on the

horns of the Mizbe’ach all around. 19 He shall sprinkle upon it from the blood with his fore-

finger seven times; thus shall he cleanse it and sanctify it from the contaminations of the

Children of Israel.

20 And he shall complete the atonement for the Kodesh, the Ohel Moed, and the Mizbe’ach,

85. Shemos 30:7. 86. “Purity” means to purify one’s soul by repenting for one’s past sins (see Schottenstein Edition, Shekalim 9b note 17). 87. “Holiness” is achieved when one goes beyond the call of duty by abstaining even from permitted pleasures, and by training oneself to avoid even the desire for such pleasures (see Schottenstein Edition, Shekalim 9b note 18).

ז) ל, (שמות יו“, ל� ע� ה ”והז� פנימי? ה� מזבח� לדישון יין מנ� יו. ל� ע� והז�ה ה בגופו (ירושלמי יומא ב, ב): ר� קט� ף ה� יה בגופו א� י� ז� ה ה� ”והקטיר“, מ�

During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol applied the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings to the horns of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar), he sprinkled the blood mixture onto the top of the Mizbe’ach seven times. Regarding this last procedure, our pasuk says, He shall sprinkle “upon it” (יו ל� .from the blood (ע�

The word יו ל� upon “it,” indicates that the blood must ,ע�be sprinkled directly onto the Mizbe’ach itself. Therefore, the coals and ashes that are left on the Mizbe’ach must be cleared away, so that the blood will land on the actual surface of the Mizbe’ach.

Similarly, with regard to the daily ketores (incense) offering on the Golden Mizbe’ach, the Torah85 says, and [Aaron] shall burn ‘‘upon it’’ the incense… This teaches that there is a requirement to remove the old ashes from the Mizbe’ach every day, so that the new ketores can be burned directly on its surface (Yerushalmi Yoma 2:2, 5:6).

מים ע פע� .Seven times — שב�

� One Setערות, ריך לה� ן שהוא צ� ט� אות שלמ� ז� ע ה� כל מודין בשב� מים. ה� ע פע� שב�

ע עשרה (ירושלמי יומא ה, ד): רב� ע“ ולא א� דכתיב ”שב�During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol

applied the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings to the horns of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar), he sprinkled the blood onto the top of the Mizbe’ach seven times.

There is a disagreement as to whether the blood of the two animals was combined before applying it to the horns of the Mizbe’ach, or the blood of each animal was ap-plied separately. However, all agree that the bloods were combined when they were sprinkled onto the top of the Mizbe’ach. We know this because our pasuk says, He shall sprinkle…”seven” times. If the blood of each animal was sprinkled separately, that would be fourteen times, not seven (Yerushalmi Yoma 5:4).

.Thus shall he cleanse it and sanctify it — וטהרו וקדשו

� Where to Standם ת� נות, ה� נות דקר� ת� ן מ� מר� א דג� א, היכ� א מיה� למ� וטהרו וקדשו. דכולי ע�ם קום שקדשו ש� א: ”וטהרו וקדשו“, מ� ר קר� מ� א? א� עמ� אי ט� גו. מ� ל ג� היב ע� י�

טיהרו (יומא נט.):During the Yom Kippur service, after the Kohen Gadol

sprinkled the blood of the bull and the he-goat offerings toward the Paroches (the Curtain separating the Kodesh [Sanctuary] from the Kodesh HaKodashim [Holy of Ho-lies]), he would apply the blood to each of the four horns of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar). According to one opinion, he began with the southeast horn and went around, ending with the northeast horn. According to a second opinion, he began with the northeast horn and ended with the south-east horn.

The next procedure was to sprinkle the blood onto the top of the Mizbe’ach seven times.

Our pasuk says, thus shall he cleanse it (וטהרו) (the Mizbe’ach) and sanctify it (וטהרו). The term וטהרו, cleanse it, refers to sprinkling the blood on top of the Mizbe’ach, while the term וקדשו, sanctify it, refers to applying the blood to the horns. By mentioning them together, the To-rah teaches that when the Kohen Gadol sprinkles the blood on top of the Mizbe’ach, he should stand in the place where he ended the application of blood to the horns. According to the first opinion, that is the north side; according to the second opinion, the south side (Yoma 59a).

� Step by Stepוקדשו“ ”וטהרו דכתיב ה, קדוש� לידי ה מביא� ה הר� ט� וקדשו. וטהרו

(ירושלמי שבת א, ג; ירושלמי שקלים ג, ג):Regarding the avodah (service) of the Kohen Gadol

on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, thus shall he “cleanse” it .(וקדשו) and “sanctify” it (the Mizbe’ach) (וטהרו)

This teaches that in one’s personal growth, he must first strive to achieve taharah, “cleanliness,” or “purity,”86 and this will lead him to kedushah, “sanctity,” or “holiness”87 (Yerushalmi Shabbos 1:3; Yerushalmi Shekalim 3:3).

מזבח .20 קדש ואת אהל מועד ואת ה� פר את ה� ה מכ� And — וכל�he shall complete the atonement for the Kodesh, the

Ohel Moed, and the Mizbe’ach.

� Keeping It in Orderעיר (יומא ש� ם ה� לה ד� ך כ� ר כ� ח� ר, וא� פ� ם ה� לה ד� קדש. כ� פר את ה� ה מכ� וכל�

נז.):We have a rule that when the Torah repeats a law re-

garding offerings, it means that this law is an essential requirement, and the offering is disqualified if this law is not fulfilled.

After the Torah describes in detail the avodah (service) of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, it commands once



again (in our pasuk), and he shall “complete” the atone-ment for the Kodesh. . . This teaches that he must “com-plete” one step before going on to the next, and the order of the sprinklings in the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Ho-lies) is essential; if they were done out of sequence, they are invalid (Yoma 57a).88

� Complete Atonementה, דברי ה, ואם לא כפר, לא כל� קדש. אם כפר, כל� פר את ה� ה מכ� וכל�ה, כפר, ואם ר אם כל� ה לא נאמ� ה: מפני מ� בי יהוד� ר לו ר� מ� א. א� בי עקיב� ר�ולא כלום ה ש� נות לא ע� ת� מ� ת מן ה� ח� כפר, שאם חיסר א� ה, לא לא כל�

(יומא ס:, זבחים מ., נב:, ירושלמי יומא ה, ו):After the Torah describes in detail the avodah (service)

of the bull and he-goat offerings that the Kohen Gadol must perform on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, and he shall “complete” (ה פר) ”the “atonement (וכל� . . .for the Kodesh (מכ�This teaches that if the Kohen Gadol failed to perform all the applications of the blood of the offerings, his avodah is invalid. There is a disagreement, however, as to exactly how we see this from the pasuk:

According to one opinion, our pasuk is saying, if he performs all the “atonements” — the applications of blood — he has “completed” his service; otherwise, the service is not valid.

According to a second opinion, the pasuk is saying, if he “completes” all the applications, he will achieve “atone-ment”; otherwise, he will not (Yoma 60b; Zevachim 40a, 52b; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:6).

� The Non-Essential Mitzvahפר את ה מכ� ר: ”וכל� למוד לומ� כבנו? ת� כול יע� קדש. י� פר את ה� ה מכ� וכל�

עאל (זבחים נב.): בי ישמ� ן, דברי ר� רות כול� פ� כ� ל ה� למו כ� קדש“, ש� ה�After the Torah describes in detail the avodah (service)

of the bull and he-goat offerings that the Kohen Gadol must perform on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, and he shall “complete” (ה פר) ”the “atonement (וכל� . . .for the Kodesh (מכ�This teaches that “atonement” has been achieved once he has completed all the steps described earlier. Even if he now fails to do the mitzvah of pouring out the remaining blood onto the base of the (Outer) Mizbe’ach (Altar) — a mitzvah not mentioned in this passage — the atonement is complete (Zevachim 52a).

� Achieving Cleanlinessה ”וכל� דכתיב נקיות, לידי ה מביא� זריזות קדש. ה� את פר מכ� ה וכל�

פר“ (ירושלמי שבת א, ג; שקלים ג, ג): מכ�After the Torah describes the avodah (service) with

the bull and he-goat offerings that the Kohen Gadol must perform on Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, and he shall

“complete” (ה פר) ”the “atonement (וכל� . . .for the Kodesh (מכ�This teaches that in one’s personal growth, he must first

strive to achieve zerizus, “diligence,” which is hinted at in the word ה -he shall complete — because a diligent per ,וכל�son makes every effort to complete the mitzvos that come to his hand — and this will lead him to nekius, “cleanli-ness” from sin, which is hinted at in the word פר -atone ,מכ�ment (Yerushalmi Shabbos 1:3; Yerushalmi Shekalim 3:3).89

� Complete the Setה תור� ה ה� מר� ת, א� ח� ה א� נ� ת� א מ� ם אל� קדש. אפילו אין ש� פר את ה� ה מכ� וכל�

לה“ (ירושלמי יומא ה, ז): ”כ�We learned in the earlier pesukim that on Yom Kippur

the blood of the bull and he-goat offerings are sprinkled in three different locations: inside the Kodesh HaKodashim (the Holy of Holies); in the Sanctuary, toward the Paroches (the curtain separating the Kodesh from the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim); and on the horns and the top of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).

If the blood of one of the offerings spilled before all the sprinklings were performed, another animal must be brought to finish the avodah (service).

Our pasuk says, And he shall “complete” (ה the (וכל�atonement for the Kodesh. The word ה -complete, im ,וכל�plies that he is only finishing something that was already started. According to one opinion, this teaches that if the blood spills in the middle of one set of sprinklings, and another animal is slaughtered, it is not necessary to start over from the beginning of that set; he may continue from where he left off and “complete” the set that he started (Yerushalmi Yoma 5:7).

� Alive Until When?On Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


מות. תיד ל� מד שע� י“ (לעיל פסוק י), מל� ד ח� עמ� קדש. ”י� פר את ה� ה מכ� וכל�ה (ירושלמי בי יהוד� קדש“, דברי ר� פר את ה� ה מכ� ד ”וכל� י? ע� י הוא ח� ת� ד מ� ע�

יומא ו, ב; ירושלמי שבועות א, ז):Earlier,90 regarding the Azazel goat, it is written, And the

he-goat designated by lot for Azazel shall be stood “alive” before Hashem, to provide “atonement” through it. This in-dicates that the goat is alive now, but eventually it must be dead. Therefore, if it doesn’t die when it is pushed off the cliff, the Kohen must kill it.

We also learn from the pasuk that the goat must remain alive until after “atonement” has been achieved. When is that?

88. See Schottenstein Edition, note 26. 89. See Schottenstein Edition, Shabbos 10b note 29. 90. Pasuk 10.

יו יד( י את־שת� ן הר א� ך �מ כא וס( י: הח= יר zע ש( �את־ה יב Yוהקרל־עונת יו את־כ( ל( ה ע( pחי והתוד �עיר ה ש( �ל־ראש ה �[ידו כ'] עם את( ן iת ונ( ם טאת[ �ל־ח לכ( ם Dל־פשעיה ואת־כ( ל א ישר( י בנ�

הרן א: כא ויסמוך א� י� א ח� ת צפיר� רב י� ויק�א י� א ח� ל ריש צפיר� רתין ידוהי ע� ת ת� י�ת אל וי� ת בני ישר� י� ל עו� ת כ� די עלוהי י� ויו�תהון איהון ויתן י� ל חט� ל מרדיהון לכ� כ�

פרשת אחרי טז / כא 400 / ספר ויקרא


he shall bring the living he-goat near. 21 Aharon shall lean his two hands upon

the head of the living he-goat and confess upon it all the iniquities of the Children

of Israel, and all their rebellious sins among all their sins, and place them upon

The he- goat

to Azazel

91. Above, 1:4. 92. See Bamidbar 15:24.

Our pasuk says, When he is “finished atoning” for the Sanctuary… This is followed by the next pasuk, which says, Aharon shall lean his two hands upon the head of the living he-goat and confess upon it… According to one opin-ion, this teaches that the atoning is not “finished” until after the confession is recited on the head of the Azazel goat. Therefore, the goat must remain alive until that has been done; if it dies before that, it must be replaced (Yerushalmi Yoma 6:2; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:7).

� Separate Setsפר מכ� ה ”וכל� מזבח. ה� ואת מועד אהל ואת קדש ה� את פר מכ� ה וכל�עו, שמ� “ כמ� ל, ”מזבח� י ולפנים, ”אהל מועד“ זה היכ� קדש“ זה לפנ� את ה�נות ת� ת מ� ן מקצ� ת� מרו: נ� אן א� ן. מכ� צמ� ה בפני ע� ר� פ� ה כ� ר� פ� ן כ� מד שכול� מל�נות שבפנים. . . ת� ה במ� תחל� תחיל ב� חר וי� ם א� ם, י�ביא ד� ד� ך ה� שבפנים ונשפ�ה תחיל� תחיל ב� חר וי� ם א� ם, י�ביא ד� ד� ך ה� נות שבפנים ונשפ� ת� מ� ר את ה� מ� ג�חר א� ם ד� י�ביא ם, ד� ה� ך ונשפ� ל היכ� שב� נות ת� מ� ר מ� ג� ל. . . היכ� שב� נות ת� מ� ב�

מזבח� (יומא סא.): תנות ה� ה במ� תחיל� תחיל ב� וי�We learned in the earlier pesukim that on Yom Kippur

the blood of the bull and he-goat offerings are sprinkled in three different locations: inside the Kodesh HaKodashim (the Holy of Holies): in the Sanctuary, toward the Paroches (the curtain separating the Kodesh from the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim); and on the horns and the top of the Golden Mizbe’ach (Altar).

Our pasuk says, And he shall complete the atonement for the “Kodesh,” the “Ohel Moed,” and the “Mizbe’ach.”

According to one opinion, this teaches that each of the three locations is a separate “atonement.” Therefore, if the blood spills in the middle of one set, another animal is brought and slaughtered, and the Kohen Gadol must start over from the beginning of that set, but he does not need to redo any set that was already completed (Yoma 61a).

ו .21 ד� הרן את שתי י� ך א� מ� Aharon shall lean his two — וס�hands.

� Two-Hand ProcedureOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


קום ל מ� ב כ� ה א� נ� דו“ וכתיב ”שתי“ זה ב� ו. כתיב ”י� ד� הרן את שתי י� ך א� מ� וס�ת (מנחות צג:): ח� תוב א� כ� ד שיפרט לך� ה� ים, ע� אן שת� דו“ הרי כ� ר ”י� שנאמ�Before the Azazel goat is sent to the wilderness, the

Kohen Gadol leans his hands on its head and recites the viduy (confession).

Our pasuk says, Aharon shall lean “shetei yadav” (שתי ו ד� his two hands, upon the head of the living he-goat. The ,(י�word yadav, his hands, should be spelled with two yuds

יו) ד� but here it is missing the second yud, so that it is ,(י�spelled ידו, the same as yado (דו his “hand,” is spelled in ,(י�the singular. This teaches that wherever the Torah uses the word דו it actually means two hands, unless it specifically ,י�says “one.”

When the Torah discusses semichah — the mitzvah for the owner of an offering to lean his hands on the animal’s head before it is slaughtered — it says,91 he shall lean “yado” (דו his “hand” — on the head of the olah. We ,(י�know from our pasuk that it means he must lean both his hands on the animal’s head (Menachos 93b).

י ח� עיר ה� ש� .The living he-goat — ה�

� When the Kohen LeansIf the Sanhedrin mistakenly permitted certain types

of idol worship and most of the nation followed their ru-ling, the Sanhedrin must bring a communal bull as an olah (burnt offering), and a he-goat as a chatas (sin offer-ing).92

ואין הרן, בא� ה סמיכ� עון ט� י ח� י“ ח� ”ה� אומר: שמעון בי ר� י. ח� ה� עיר ש� ה�בזקנים (מנחות צב:, א הרן אל� ה בא� בים טעונין סמיכ� ת כוכ� שעירי עבוד�

ירושלמי הוריות א, ח):On Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


Before the Azazel goat is sent to the wilderness, the Kohen Gadol leans his hands on its head and recites viduy (confession).

Our pasuk says, Aharon shall lean his two hands upon the head of the living (י ח� .he-goat (ה�

The word י ח� the living, is unnecessary, because it is ,ה�obvious from the discussion that the Torah is speaking about the goat that is still alive. According to one opin-ion, this word was written to teach that only on this live, communal he-goat chatas must the Kohen Gadol per-form semichah (leaning); when it comes to the he-goat chatas that atones for communal idolatry, the semichah is performed by the members of the Sanhedrin, who are considered the “owners” of the offering (Menachos 92b; Yerushalmi Horayos 1:8).

ם טאת� ל ח� ל פשעיהם לכ� אל ואת כ� ל עונת בני ישר� All — את כ�the iniquities of the Children of Israel, and all their

rebellious sins among all their sins.

� Orderly ConfessionOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin



offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.דה, ד מתו� ם. כיצ� טאת� ל ח� ל פשעיהם לכ� אל ואת כ� ל עונת בני ישר� את כ�ה ד� ”והתו� אומר הוא לח� משת� ה� עיר ש� ב� וכן אתי, ט� וח� עתי ש� פ� ויתי ע�(יומא ם“ טאת� ל ח� פשעיהם לכ� ל ואת כ� אל ישר� בני עונת ל יו את כ� ל� ע�

לו:):On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol recites viduy (confes-

sion) on the bull offering, for sins that were committed by himself, his family, and other Kohanim; and then he recites viduy again on the Azazel goat, for the sins of the rest of the Jewish people.

Regarding the viduy on the he-goat, our pasuk says that he shall confess upon it all the “avonos” (עונת, willful sins, committed out of desire) of the Children of Israel, and all their “peshaim” (פשעיהם, rebellious sins, committed to demonstrate that Hashem is not his master) among all their “chataim” (ם טאת� .(unintentional sins ,ח�

According to one opinion, this teaches that the viduy must be recited in this order — first mentioning avonos, then peshaim, and lastly, chataim (Yoma 36b).

� Not Instead of an OfferingOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ל א: ”עונת“ אלו זדונות. . . ”ואת כ� ני� ם. ת� טאת� ל ח� ל פשעיהם לכ� ואת כ�או עים דל� ה פש� עים, מ� קשויי לפש� ה לי? לא� מ� ם“ ל� טאת� ל ח� פשעיהם לכ�נינהו ן רב� ק� דבני אים חט� ל אב� ן, רב� ק� בני או דל� אים חט� ף א� ן, רב� ק� בני אים דבני ל חט� א דע� לח� למימר� משת� עיר ה� א בש� פר, ומיעטיה קר� לא מכ�פר (כריתות כה:, ירושלמי יומא ג, ז; ירושלמי שבועות א, ג): ן נינהו לא מכ� רב� ק�

Our pasuk says that the Azazel goat provides atonement for all their rebellious (intentional) sins (פשעיהם) among all their (unintentional) sins (ם טאת� The Torah mentions the .(ח�intentional sins together with unintentional sins so that we should compare them.

Just as there is no personal sin offering to atone for in-tentional sins, so too, the unintentional sins of our pasuk, those atoned for by the Azazel goat, are sins for which one does not bring a personal sin offering. Those sins that require a personal offering are not atoned for by the he-goat, and therefore, a person who was obligated to bring a chatas must do so, even after the goat has been pushed

off the cliff (Kereisos 25b; Yerushalmi Yoma 3:7; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:3).

� Sin Versus ImpurityIf one unintentionally committed a sin that is punishable

by kares,93 he must bring a chatas (sin offering) for atone-ment. If he is unsure as to whether or not he transgressed the sin, he must bring an asham talui (guilt offering of uncertainty).א ע. . . אל� פק מצור� ה, ס� ת� א מע� פק יולדת. . . אל� ה ס� ת� א מע� ם. אל� טאת� ל ח� לכ�כפורים לא ליה� יום ה� ר ע� ב� ה שע� פק סוט� ה, ס� ת� א מע� זיר. . . אל� פק נ� ה, ס� ת� מע�קום מ� א ה� כיר בו אל� כפורים, דחטא שאין מ� ליה� יום ה� א כפר ע� ייתי, דה� ת�ם (כריתות כו.): ל טומאת� ם“ ולא לכ� טאת� ל ח� א: ”לכ� עי� ב הוש� ר ר� מ� הוא, א�

Regarding the atonement of Yom Kippur, the pasuk94 says, from all your sins “before Hashem” shall you be pu-rified. The phrase “before Hashem” teaches us that Yom Kippur atones for sins of which only Hashem, but not the sinner, is aware. Therefore, if one was obligated to bring an asham talui — he did not “know” that he committed a sin — and Yom Kippur passes, he is exempt from bringing it after Yom Kippur.

However, there are certain cases where one must bring an offering because of uncertainty, yet the he-goat of Yom Kippur does not remove that obligation.

A woman after childbirth, a metzora,95 and a nazir96 who became tamei (ritually impure) through contact with a corpse, all require offerings in order to compete their taharah (purification) process. When any of these three are in doubt as to whether or not an offering is required, he or she must bring a bird chatas in order to be considered tahor (pure).

Similarly, a sotah, a woman who is suspected of being unfaithful to her husband, must bring a minchah (meal of-fering) as part of the process of proving her innocence, even though her state of “tumah” (“impurity”) is also a matter of uncertainty.97

In all of these cases, although only Hashem is aware of what happened, Yom Kippur does not remove the ob-ligation to bring an offering. That is because our pasuk says, ם טאת� ל ח� among all their “sins,” which indicates ,לכ�that Yom Kippur is only an atonement for sins; it does not remove tumah — and all of these offerings are for the pur-pose of removing tumah (Kereisos 26a).

93. See note 55. 94. Below, pasuk 30. 95. A metzora is a person who has a type of skin affliction that renders him tamei. 96. A nazir is a person who made a vow forbidding him to drink wine or to consume any grape product; he also may not cut his hair, or become tamei through contact with a corpse. 97. See Bamidbar 5:11-31.

מוכן לכך מיום אתמול (שם פרשתא ד, ח; יומא סו:): (כא) איש עתי. ה�

י Yעת יש zביד־א ח Sושל יר ע ש( �ה ל־ראש �עם Gל־עונת יו את־כ( eל יר ע( zע ש( �א ה ש( ה: כב ונ( ר( מדב= �הר: מדב= �ב יר Yע ש( �את־ה ח Fושל ה גזר[ רץ Eאל־א

ך למה� דזמין ר גב� ד בי� ח ל� ויש� א צפיר� ריש ל ע�חוביהון ל כ� ת י� עלוהי א צפיר� כב ויטול א: דבר� למ�א: דבר� במ� א צפיר� ת י� ח ל� ויש� א תב� י� א דל� א רע� לא�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / כב 402 / ספר ויקרא


the head of the he-goat, and send it with a designated man to the wilderness. 22 The

he-goat will bear upon itself all their iniquities to an uninhabited land, and he should

send the he-goat to the wilderness.

98. In our pasuk, in pasuk 10, and in pasuk 22. 99. See note 72.

.A. . .man — איש

� An Ordinary ManOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ר (יומא סו:, כריתות יד., ירושלמי יומא ו, ג): ז� כשיר את ה� איש. לה�Our pasuk says that after the Kohen Gadol recites the

viduy (confession) over the Azazel goat, he shall send it with a designated “man” (איש) to the wilderness.

Kohanim are the ones designated to do avodah (sacrifi-cial service) that brings atonement. The word איש, a man, teaches that even though the Azazel goat provides atone-ment, any man may be designated as the one to push it off the cliff, even if he is not a Kohen (Yoma 66b; Kereisos 14a; Yerushalmi Yoma 6:3).

.Designated — עתי

� Designated and TimelyOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


A person who is tamei (ritually impure) may not enter the Beis HaMikdash compound.

ן (יומא סו:, כריתות יד., ירושלמי יומא ו, ג): עתי. שיהא מזומ�Our pasuk says that after the Kohen Gadol recites the

viduy (confession) over the Azazel goat, he shall send it with a “designated” (עתי) man to the wilderness.

The word עתי, designated, tells us that the person who takes the Azazel goat to the wilderness must be designated for this task before Yom Kippur.

The word עתי (iti) can also be translated as “in its time.” This teaches that the Azazel goat must be sent at its proper time, even if it involves overriding a Shabbos prohibition (such as carrying the animal) and even if it involves over-riding a tumah (ritual impurity) prohibition; for example, if the designated person becomes tamei, he still enters the Beis HaMikdash to receive the goat from the Kohen Gadol (Yoma 66b; Kereisos 14a; Yerushalmi Yoma 6:3).

ה ר� מדב� .To the wilderness — ה�

� To the Wilderness — at All TimesOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


בות ר“ (פסוק כב), לר� מדב� ה“, ”ב� ר� מדב� ה“(פסוק י), ”ה� ר� מדב� ה. ”ה� ר� מדב� ה�עיר ש� ת שילוח� ה� ם נוהגת מצו� מים [שבכול� נוב וגבעון שילה ובית עול�

אזל] (יומא סז:): עז� ל�In our passage, the term “the wilderness” is used three

times.98 This tells us that the service of sending the Azazel to the wilderness applied in each of the three periods that the Shechinah (Divine Presence) rested in Eretz Yisrael: the Sanctuary in Shiloh, the Sanctuary in Nov and Givon, and the Beis HaMikdash99 (Yoma 67b).

ר .22 מדב� עיר ב� ש� ח את ה� ה ושל� To an — אל ארץ גזר�uninhabited land, and he should send the

he-goat to the wilderness.

� Keeping the CarcassOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.ר: מ� ד א� ב ושמואל, ח� ה? ר� א� הנ� הן ב� ה רים מ� ן אב� אות� ר. מדב� ה. . . ב� גזר�אן ר“ ומ� מדב� רין, דכתיב ”ב� ר מות� מ� אן דא� ר: אסורין, מ� מ� ד א� רין, וח� מות�ר ב� ד� ה, חתוכ� א אל� ה גזר� אין ה“ ”גזר� ה“. . . ”גזר� דכתיב אסורין, ר מ� דא�ר א תאמ� ה“ שמ� חר: ”גזר� ר א� ב� זר ויורד, ד� מתג� ר ה� ב� א ד� ה אל� חר: אין גזר� א�רתיו ואין ר (להלן יח, ד) ”אני ה‘“, אני ה‘ גז� למוד לומ� עשה תהו הוא, ת� מ�

הן (יומא סז:): רהר ב� לך� רשות לה�Our pasuk says that the Azazel goat shall carry all their

sins to an uninhabited (ה land, and he should send the (גזר�he-goat to the “wilderness” (ר מדב� .(ב�

One opinion is that the word ר מדב� ,to the wilderness ,ב�teaches that after the goat is killed, it is ownerless like the wilderness, meaning that anyone who wishes may take the carcass and benefit from it.

According to another opinion, the dead goat is forbid-den. This is based on the word ה uninhabited. This ,גזר�word seems unnecessary, because a “wilderness” is, by definition, uninhabited. The word ה -also means “de גזר�cree,” or “prohibition.” The Torah uses it here to teach that it is prohibited to benefit from the dead goat, even though the mitzvah has already been completed.

According to the opinion that the carcass is permitted, the word ה :has several other meanings גזר�

ה literally means “cut sharply.” This teaches us that גזר�the Azazel was to be pushed off a steep cliff, and not off a mountain with a gradual slope. The phrase eretz gezeirah ה) can also mean “a land that cuts,” meaning that (ארץ גזר�when the goat is pushed off, it is torn limb from limb.

The Torah used the word ה ,which also means decree ,גזר�to teach another lesson: A person might question the pur-pose of pushing a goat off a cliff and how that achieves



atonement. To this Hashem responds, “I have ‘decreed’ it, and you have no right to question My laws” (Yoma 67b).

ש .23 ב� ל� אשר ד ב� ה� בגדי את ט ש� ופ� מועד אהל אל הרן א� א וב�— Aharon shall come to the Ohel Moed — he shall

remove the linen vestments that he had worn.

� Why He Cameא להוציא את א אל� א? אינו ב� ה הוא ב� מ� הרן אל אהל מועד. ל� א א� וב�סוק זה סדר חוץ מפ� ל ה� ה ע� ה נאמר� ה כול� ש� ר� פ� ל ה� ה, וכ� חת� מ� ף ואת ה� כ� ה�

(יומא לב., ע:, ירושלמי יומא ז, ב):את ט ש� ”ופ� א קר� ר מ� א� ר: מ� א� א ב� ר� ש. ב� ל� אשר ד ב� ה� בגדי את ט ש� ופ�ה א מ� ם פושט אל� ד� ש“, כלום א� ב� ר ”אשר ל� למוד לומ� ד“ שאין ת� ב� בגדי ה�

ר (יומא עא.): ש כב� ב� ש“, של� ב� ר ”אשר ל� למוד לומ� ה ת� א מ� שלובש, אל�After describing the Yom Kippur avodah (service) of the

bull and he-goat offerings, our pasuk says, Aharon shall come to the Ohel Moed (Sanctuary) — he shall remove the linen vestments that he had worn when he entered the Sanctuary, and he shall leave them there.

The Torah certainly did not mean to say that the Kohen Gadol removes his garments inside the Sanctuary and that he leaves them there! Why, then, was he to enter the Sanc-tuary after the avodah was finished?

This pasuk is actually telling us that the Kohen Gadol later entered the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) to remove the ladle and the coal pan that he had placed there for the ketores (incense) offering. He did this after he of-fered the sacrifices that are mentioned in the next pasuk.

According to one opinion, we know this because our pa-suk says, he shall remove the linen vestments “that he had worn.” The phrase that he had worn seems unnecessary — obviously, if he is removing them, he had worn them!

The pasuk is telling us that he is now removing the linen garments that he had worn previously. However, if we were to follow the order of the pesukim, he would still be wearing the linen garments for the first time.

The Torah is teaching us that after sending off the he-goat to Azazel, the Kohen Gadol donned his year-round gold garments and brought the offerings mentioned in the next pasuk. He then changed back into his white garments and removed the ladle and pan, and — our pasuk says — again changed out of the garments.

Although all the rest of the Yom Kippur service is written in the order that it was performed, this is the one exception to the rule (Yoma 32a, 70b, 71a; Yerushalmi Yoma 7:2).

ם ם ש� .And he shall leave them there — והניח�

� Never Againהן מש ב� א אומר: שלא ישת� בי דוס� ה, ר� מד שטעונין גניז� ם. מל� ם ש� והניח�חר (פסחים כו., יומא יב:, כד., ס., זבחים מו., חולין קיז., כריתות כפורים א� יום ה�

ו., מעילה יא:):Our pasuk says that after the Kohen Gadol finishes the

avodah (service) of Yom Kippur, he shall remove the linen vestments that he had worn when he entered the Sanctu-ary, and he shall “leave them there.”

According to one opinion, the phrase leave them there ם) ם ש� teaches that the linen garments may never be (והניח�used again. According to another opinion, the garments may still be used by an ordinary Kohen; our pasuk means only that they may never again be used by a Kohen Gadol on another Yom Kippur (Pesachim 26a; Yoma 12b, 24a, 60a; Zevachim 46a; Chullin 117a; Kereisos 6a; Me’ilah 11b).

בותינו שאין זה מקומו של מקרא הרן אל אהל מועד. אמרו ר� (כג) ובא א�פרשה כולה נאמרה סכת יומא (לב.), ואמרו: כל ה� ם לדבריהם במ� ע� זה, ונתנו ט�ת קטר� ת העם וה� ית עולתו ועול� ר עשי� ח� סדר, חוץ מביאה זו, שהיא א� ל ה� ע�ולובש דש ופושטן וטובל ומק� זהב, בבגדי חוץ עשים ב� ושעיר שנ� ר אימורי פ�חתה שהקטיר מ� ף ואת ה� כ� לבן, ובא אל אהל מועד להוציא את ה� בגדי ט את בגדי י ולפנים (תורת כהנים פרק ו, ב; יומא שם): ופש� קטרת לפנ� בה ה�רבים. וזהו סדר ר שהוציאם, ולובש בגדי זהב לתמיד של בין הע� ח� בד. א� ה�פנימים וקטרת ר ושעיר ה� עבודת פ� ר בבגדי זהב, ו� ח� העבודות: תמיד של ש�ת מוספין בבגדי זהב, והוצא� ת ה� חתה בבגדי לבן, ואילו ואיל העם ומקצ� של מ�היכל ים וקטורת ה� רב� מוספין ותמיד של בין הע� חתה בבגדי לבן, ושירי ה� ף ומ� כ�מקראות פנימי בבגדי זהב (תורת כהנים שם ה; יומא שם). וסדר ה� ל מזבח� ה� שע�ץ את בשרו מדבר“. ”ורח� שעיר ב� ח את ה� לפי סדר העבודות כך הוא: ”ושל�פרשה טאת וגו‘ ”. וכל ה� ח� ים וגו‘, ויצא ועשה את עולתו וגו‘, ואת חלב ה� מ� ב�

שם. והניחם הרן“: א� ”ובא כך ר ח� וא� חנה“. מ� ה� אל יבא כן חרי ”וא� ד ע�חר רבעה בגדים ליום כפורים א� מש באותן א� מד שטעונין גניזה, ולא ישת� מל�דנו עלה למ� ץ את בשרו וגו‘. למ� (תורת כהנים שם ז; יומא כד.): (כד) ורח�נה מבגדי זהב לבגדי ץ את בשרו ולבשם“ (לעיל פסוק ד), שכשהוא מש� מ“ורח�ת תמיד ד בהן עבוד� ט בגדי זהב שעב� לבן טעון טבילה, [שבאותה טבילה פש�נה מבגדי דנו שכשהוא מש� יום.] וכאן למ� ת ה� עבוד� ש בגדי לבן ל� ר ולב� ח� של ש�לבן לבגדי זהב טעון טבילה (תורת כהנים שם ד-ה; יומא לב:): במקום קדוש. טבילות ע רב� וכן א� רוה, פ� בית ה� ג בג� היתה והיא עזרה, ת בקדוש� מקודש ה�חיל] (תורת כהנים שם ח; יום, אבל הראשונה היתה בחול [נ“א: ב� באות חובה ל� ה�שנה: ש את בגדיו. שמונה בגדים שהוא עובד בהן כל ימות ה� יומא לא.): ולב�יל ח העולה שם: ועשה את עלתו. ”וא� היכל אל החצר, שמזב� ויצא. מן ה�ת העם. הרן וגו‘ ” (פסוק ג): ואת על� עלה, ”בזאת יבא א� לעולה“ האמור למ�ת בני ישראל וגו‘ ” (פסוק ה): עלה, ”ומאת עד� יל אחד לעולה“ האמור למ� ”וא�

ד ב( �ה י את־בגד� ט �ש ופ( ד מוע הל אל־א הרן א� א dכג וב

ץ �ח כד ור( ם: ש= ם Gוהניח אל־הקדש בבאו ש Xב ל( ר Kאשא צ( וי( יו את־בגד[ ש Xב ול( קדוש במקום ים �מ �ב את־בשרו ם: ע= ד ה( Fעדו ובע ר ב� Kם וכפ ע( ת ה( jתו ואת־על ה את־על( dש וע(

ח של� וי� א זמנ� ן שכ� למ� הרן א� כג וייעול

במעלה ש לב� די א בוצ� לבושי ת י�ת י� כד ויסחי ן: מ� ת� צנענון וי� א לקודש�ת י� ש וילב� דיש ק� ר את� ב� א י� במ� בסרה ת וי� תה על� ת י� עבד וי� ויפוק לבושוהי א: מ� ע� ל וע� עלוהי ר פ� ויכ� א מ� ע� ת על�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / כג־כד 404 / ספר ויקרא


23 Aharon shall come to the Ohel Moed — he shall remove the linen vestments that

he had worn when he entered the Sanctuary, and he shall leave them there. 24 He

shall immerse himself in the water in a sacred place and don his vestments; he shall

go out and perform his own olah offering and the olah offering of the people, and shall

provide atonement for himself and for the people.

Removal

of the shovel

and ladle

100. See Shemos 40:32.

ים. . . .23-24 מ� רו ב� ץ את בש� ח� ש. . . ור� ב� ד אשר ל� ב� ט את בגדי ה� ש� ופ�יו ד� בג� ש את ב� He shall remove the linen vestments — ול�that he had worn. . .He shall immerse himself in the

water. . .and don his vestments.

� When to Washמאיר בי ש“, ר� ב� ול� ץ. . . ח� ור� ט. . . ש� ש. ”ופ� ב� אשר ל� ד ב� בגדי ה� ט את ש� ופ�ף דש, א� מק� ך ר כ� ח� וא� ה לובש לביש� ה ה, מ� ללביש� ה פשיט� קיש ר: מ� ב� ס�ה, ללביש� ה פשיט� קיש מ� ברי: ס� ן נ� ב� ור� דש, מק� ך כ� ר ח� וא� פושט ה פשיט�דש (יומא בוש מק� ה כשהוא ל� ף פשיט� דש, א� בוש מק� ה כשהוא ל� ה לביש� מ�

לא:, ירושלמי יומא ג, ו):The Kohen Gadol, who performed all of the Yom Kippur

avodah (Temple service), changed between two sets of priestly garments throughout the day. During some parts of the service he wore his standard eight garments, which contained threads of gold; at other points, he changed into four garments made of white linen. In all, he had to don garments five times throughout the day’s avodah.

Each time he changed garments he would wash his hands and feet to “sanctify” them, immerse in a mikveh, don the garments and again sanctify his hands and feet.

When he washed his hands and feet after immersing, he did so after putting on the garments he was changing into. However, based on our pesukim, there is a disagreement as to when before the immersion he washed his hands and feet:

Our pasuk says, he shall “remove” the linen vestments… This is followed by the next pasuk, which says, He shall im-merse himself…and “don” his vestments. The Torah men-tions his removing his garments next to his donning them so that we compare them.

One opinion says that just as he first donned the garments and then sanctified his hands and feet, so too, he first re-moved the garments and then sanctified his hands and feet.

Another opinion says that just as he sanctified his hands and feet while wearing the garments into which he changed, so too, the first sanctification was done while he was still wearing the garments from which he was chang-ing (Yoma 31b; Yerushalmi Yoma 3:6).

� Immersions and Sanctificationsה קידושין ר� עש� מש טבילות ו� ין לח� ש. מנ� ב� ד אשר ל� ב� ט את בגדי ה� ש� ופ�אהל הרן אל א א� ר ”וב� למוד לומ� יום, ת� דש בו ב� ומק� דול כהן ג� שטובל ש ב� דוש ול� קום ק� ים במ� מ� רו ב� ץ את בש� ח� ד. . . ור� ב� ט את בגדי ה� ש� מועד ופ�ה עבוד� ל� ה מעבוד� נה מש� ה� ל שכ� דת� מ� ל� א ה� ה“, ש� וע� א צ� וי� יו ד� בג� את למוד ה שני קידושין, ת� ה צריכ� ה וטביל� ל טביל� ין שכ� ה. . . מנ� עון טביל� ט�בי שמעון אומר: ר בר� ז� בי אלע� ש“. ר� ב� ץ. . . ול� ח� ץ“, ”ור� ח� ט. . . ור� ש� ר ”ופ� לומ�עון קום שט� עון קידוש, מ� ה, ט� עון טביל� קום שאין ט� ה במ� חומר, ומ� ל ו� ק�אן קידוש ף כ� ד א� ן קידוש אח� ל� ה לה� עון קידוש? אי מ� ה, אינו דין שט� טביל�ד אשר ב� ט את בגדי ה� ש� הרן אל אהל מועד ופ� א א� ר ”וב� למוד לומ� ד, ת� אח�

ש, ב� ה של� א מ� ם פושט אל� ד� ש“ כלום א� ב� ר ”אשר ל� למוד לומ� ה ת� ש“. מ� ב� ל�ה פשיט� ף א� קידוש, עון ט� ה לביש� ה מ� ה, ללביש� ה פשיט� קיש לה� א אל�

עון קידוש (יומא לב., ירושלמי יומא ג, ו): ט�The Kohen Gadol, who performed all of the Yom Kip-

pur avodah (Temple service), was required to change his priestly garments throughout the day. Each time he en-tered the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) he wore a special set of white linen garments, while the service that was performed outside of the Sanctuary was done while wearing his standard eight garments, which contained threads of gold. In all, he had to don clothing five times throughout the day’s avodah.

Each time he changed garments he would wash his hands and feet to “sanctify” them, immerse in a mikveh, don the other set of garments, and again sanctify his hands and feet. This is based on our pesukim:

Our pasuk says, he shall “remove” the linen vestments… This is followed by the next pasuk, which says, He shall “wash” himself in the water…and “don” his vestments.

According to one opinion, “washing” refers to the sancti-fication of his hands and feet. The Torah places the mitzvah between removing the garments and donning the garments, to teach that each of these requires a separate washing.

According to another opinion, “washing” in the next pasuk refers to the immersion in a mikveh, and we know that the hands and feet must be washed through a kal va-chomer (a logical argument): The Torah does not require a Kohen who is tahor (ritually pure) to immerse himself in a mikveh before beginning the day’s avodah (service). Yet, before he begins the avodah, he is required to sanctify his hands and feet by washing them.100 Therefore, the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, who is required to immerse himself before donning the priestly garments, is surely required to sanctify his hands and feet!

Furthermore, our pasuk says, he shall remove the linen vestments “that he had worn.” The phrase that he had worn seems unnecessary — obviously, if he is removing them, he had worn them! This teaches that just as he must sanctify his hands and feet when he “wears” the garments — that is, when he puts them on — so too he must sanc-tify his hands and feet when he removes them (Yoma 32a; Yerushalmi Yoma 3:6).

ם .24 ע� ת ה� תו ואת על� ה את על� ש� א וע� צ� He shall go out — וי�and perform his own olah offering and the olah offer-

ing of the people.

� Divided OfferingsEvery day of the year, two lambs were brought as olos



tamid (daily burnt offerings); one was brought in the morn-ing and one in the afternoon.ד א]: אח� בי עקיב� ה אומר משמו [של ר� בי יהוד� תו. ר� ה את על� ש� א וע� צ� וי�ר ז� בי אלע� ים, ר� רב� ע� מיד של בין ה� ה עם ת� ר ושש� ח� מיד של ש� רב עם ת� ק�ד עם ואח� ר ח� מיד של ש� קרבין עם ת� ה בי שמעון אומר משמו: שש� בר�כתיב כתיבי, אי קר� תרי ן נ� ב� דר� ייהו עמ� ט� אי מ� ים, רב� ע� ה� בין של מיד ת�תו“. על� את ה ש� וע� א צ� ”וי� וכתיב בקר“, ה� ת על� ד ”מלב� כג) כח, (במדבר

א (יומא ע:, ירושלמי יומא ז, ב): כ� ייהו ה� א, ומנ� כ� ייהו ה� ביד מנ� ך, ע� הלכ�Aside from the Yom Kippur offerings that are mentioned

in this passage, it was also necessary to bring mussaf (ad-ditional) offerings, as on every Yom Tov. These included seven lambs and one ram to be brought as olah offer-ings.101

From our pasuk it seems that the mussaf offerings of Yom Kippur were brought together with the afternoon ta-mid, because the pasuk says that after the avodah (ser-vice) of the whole day, the Kohen Gadol shall go out and perform his own olah offering and the olah offering of the people. The “olah offering of the people” refers to the ram that is brought as part of the mussaf offerings.

On the other hand, in the passage dealing with the mus-saf offerings, the Torah102 says, aside from the olah of the morning tamid shall you offer these, which seems to say that the mussaf offerings are to be brought together with the morning tamid!

Therefore, the ram is brought in the afternoon, as our pasuk indicates, and the seven lambs are divided. Accord-ing to one opinion, one lamb was brought in the morning and six in the afternoon. According to another opinion, six lambs were brought in the morning and one in the after-noon (Yoma 70b; Yerushalmi Yoma 7:2).

� The First “Going Out”The Kohen Gadol, who performed all of the Yom Kippur

avodah (Temple service), changed between two sets of priestly garments throughout the day. During some parts of the service, he wore his standard eight garments, which contained threads of gold; at other points he changed into four garments made of white linen. In all, he had to don garments five times throughout the day’s avodah.

Each time he changed garments he would wash his hands and feet to “sanctify” them, immerse in a mikveh, don the other set of garments, and again sanctify his hands and feet.תו“ ה את על� ש� א וע� צ� א ”וי� ר קר� מ� יי: א� ב� ר א� מ� תו. א� ה את על� ש� א וע� צ� וי�

ם (יומא עא.): ע� ביד אילו ואיל ה� ה ע� ה ראשונ� מיציא�

After describing the Yom Kippur service of the bull and he-goat offerings, the previous pasuk says, Aharon shall come to the Ohel Moed (Sanctuary) — he shall remove the linen vestments that he had worn when he entered the Sanctuary. . . This is referring to the Kohen Gadol return-ing to the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) to remove the ladle and the coal pan that were used for the ketores (incense) offering there

This step of the avodah was actually done after the Ko-hen Gadol brought the offerings in our pasuk. Although all the rest of the Yom Kippur service that is described in our parashah is written in the order that it was performed, this is the one exception to the rule.103

According to one opinion, we know this because there is a Halachah LeMoshe MiSinai (a tradition from Sinai) that the Kohen Gadol had to don garments five times on Yom Kippur. Now, if he had removed the ladle and coal pan right after the avodah of the he-goats, which was done while wearing the linen garments, there would be no need to change! He therefore must have changed into the gold garments in between, and that would be to bring the offer-ings mentioned in our pasuk.

But perhaps our pesukim are actually in order, and the reason he had to change was to offer the outer chatas (sin offering), which is not mentioned in our parashah at all, but is part of the mussaf (additional) offerings brought on every Yom Tov?!104

That cannot be the case, however, because our pasuk says, he shall “go out” and perform his own olah offering… This is the first time “going out” is mentioned in our pas-sage, which indicates that this is the first time the Kohen Gadol “went out” — that is, shifted from “inner service” (performed in the Sanctuary or the Holy of Holies) to per-form an “outer service” (a service in the Courtyard) — and that was to bring the ram offerings of our pasuk (Yoma 71a).

ה .25 מזבח� קטיר ה� י� את ט� ח� חלב ה� And the fat of the — ואת chatas offering he shall cause to go up in smoke upon

the Mizbe’ach.

� Out of Order — Againל ע� ה נאמר� ה כול� ה ש� ר� פ� ה� ל וכ� ה. מזבח� ה� קטיר י� את ט� ח� ה� חלב ואת ר ד� וה� ה“, מזבח� ה� קטיר י� את ט� ח� חלב ה� ”ואת כתיבי אי קר� א וה� סדר? ה�רואה ן: ה� ן תנ� את“ ואילו אנ� ט� ח� את ואת שעיר ה� ט� ח� ר ה� (פסוק כז) ”ואת פ�

101. See Bamidbar 29:7-11. 102. Ibid. 28:23. 103. See above, pasuk 23, “Out of Order.” 104. Bamidbar 29:11.

עלו עליו קטרת זרה ועלה ומנחה“ (שמות ל, ט): חיצון, דאילו בפנימי כתיב ”לא ת� ל מזבח� ה� מזבחה. ע� קטיר ה� ר ושעיר: י� טאת. אימורי פ� ח� (כה) ואת חלב ה�

יר zיקט את Gט �ח ה� לב Oח ת xכה וא מחוברין) כשהן (שני שלישי

יו בגד( ס ב� �יכ אזל עז( עיר ל� ש( �ח� את־ה ל� �מש כו וה� ה: ח( מזב+ �הה: aחנ מ� �אל־ה בוא י( ן חרי־כ� וא� ים מ[ �ב את־בשרו ץ Fח ור(

א: דבח� סק למ� א י� את� ט� א דח� רב� ת ת� כה וי�

אזל עז� ל� א צפיר� ת י� כו ודמוביל בסרה ת י� ויסחי לבושוהי ע ב� יצ�א: שרית� למ� ייעול כן ר ת� וב� א י� במ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / כה־כו 406 / ספר ויקרא


25 And the fat of the chatas offering he shall cause to go up in smoke upon

the Mizbe’ach. 26 The one who sends the he-goat to Azazel shall immerse his

clothing and immerse himself in the water; thereafter he may enter the camp.

Conclusion

of the service

105. Pasuk 23. 106. Pasuk 24; see previous discussion. 107. Pasuk 27. 108. Yoma 68b. 109. See Schottenstein Edition, note 11.

פין, ואילו אמורי נשר� עיר ה� ר וש� דול כשהוא קורא אינו רואה פ� את כהן ג�ך (יומא עא.): סוק זה ואיל� א חוץ מפ� קטיר להו! אימ� כי מ� ר ה� ת� את ב� ט� ח�We have learned that the entire Yom Kippur service that

is described in our passage is written in the order that it was performed, except for the removal of the ladle and the coal pan from the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies),105 which took place after the ram offerings.106

However, our pasuk seems to be out of chronological order as well.

Our pasuk speaks about burning the sacrificial parts of the inner bull and he-goat offerings on the Mizbe’ach (Altar), and afterward,107 the Torah instructs us to burn the carcasses of the bull and the he-goat outside the camp. Now, we are taught108 that the bull and goat were burned at the same time that the Kohen Gadol read from the Torah, while still wearing his white linen garments. The sacrificial parts were burned on the Mizbe’ach only later, after the ram offerings, while he was wearing his “gold” garments!

Indeed, when the Sages said that “the entire passage is in the order of the service except for the removal of the ladle and coal pan,” they meant that the passage until that pasuk is in sequence. After that, the verses are not neces-sarily in order (Yoma 71a).

יו .26 ד� בס בג� אזל יכ� עז� עיר ל� ש� לח� את ה� מש� The one who — וה�sends the he-goat to Azazel shall immerse his clothing.

� Point of ContaminationOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


דים. . . בג� מא מט� לח� מש� ה� יו. ד� בג� בס יכ� אזל עז� ל� עיר ש� ה� את לח� מש� וה�לח� מש� “, אי ה� לח� מש� ר ”ה� למוד לומ� ה, ת� ת עז�ר� כול משיצא חוץ לחומ� י�ד, משיצא חוץ א כיצ� “, ה� לח� מש� ר ”וה� למוד לומ� צוק, ת� גיע� ל� ד שי� כול ע� י�ד בס“, ע� אזל יכ� עז� בי יוסי אומר: ”ל� ה, ר� בי יהוד� ים דברי ר� ל� ת ירוש� לחומ�בס אזל יכ� עז� עיר ל� ש� לח� את ה� מש� בי שמעון אומר: ”וה� צוק, ר� שהגיע� ל�

דים (יומא סז:): מא בג� ת ראש ומט� יו“, זורקו בב� ד� בג�Our pasuk tells us that the one who brings the Azazel

goat to the wilderness becomes tamei (ritually impure), and he and his clothing require immersion in a mikveh. At what point does this happen?

According to one opinion, the word לח� מש� the one who ,ה�

sends, tells us that he becomes tamei once he is on his way to the wilderness; as soon as he leaves the city of Yerushalayim.

According to a second opinion, since the word עז�אזל to ,ל�

Azazel, is written next to the word בס shall immerse, we ,יכ�learn that he is not tamei until he reaches the Azazel cliff.

A third opinion is that the word לח� מש� the one who ,ה�sends, refers to the one who pushes the goat off the cliff; it is only at that point that he and his clothing become tamei (Yoma 67b).

� What Next?On Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.אצל לו א ב� ן, תנינ� ן אנ� יו. ד� בג� בס יכ� אזל עז� ל� עיר ש� ה� את לח� מש� וה�לקרות. דול ג� כהן לו א ב� ני ת� יי נ� ת� אית פין. נשר� ה� עיר ש� ואצל ר פ� ה�אזל עז� עיר ל� ש� לח� את ה� מש� ן, ”וה� תנית� יע למ� י� א מס� ה, קר� ני� בי חנ� ר ר� אמ�את“ ט� ח� את ואת שעיר ה� ט� ח� ר ה� תריה? ”ואת פ� ה כתיב ב� יו“, מ� ד� בס בג� יכ�

(ירושלמי יומא ו, ו):After sending away the Azazel goat, the Kohen Gadol

removed the sacrificial parts of the bull and he-goat of-ferings and burned them on the Mizbe’ach (Altar). He was also required to publicly read the passages in the Torah that deal with Yom Kippur. There is a disagreement as to which of these two services was performed first.

Our pasuk, which mentions the person who sent off the Azazel goat, is followed by the commandment to burn the remainder of the bull and he-goat offerings outside the camp. This supports the opinion that the sacrificial parts of the bull and he-goat were removed immediately after the Azazel goat was sent off, so that the remainder would be ready for burning (Yerushalmi Yoma 6:6).

� Only OneOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.א, הד� מן ה נישמעינ� דים? בג� מא שיט� הו ים מ� שנ� ד בי� שילחו לח. מש� וה�ים ד שנ� בי� ה, שילחו מר� א א� , הד� לח� מש� לח� את ה� מש� “, לא ה� לח� מש� ”וה�

דים (ירושלמי יומא ו, ג): מא בג� אינו מט�Our pasuk says, The one who sends ( לח� מש� the he-goat (ה�

to Azazel shall immerse his clothing and immerse himself in the water, meaning that the one who brings the Azazel goat to the wilderness becomes tamei (ritually impure) along with his clothing, and they all require immersion in a mikveh.

The word לח� “מש� the” one who sends, begins with the“ ,”ה�prefix ה, meaning “the.” This teaches that only one person becomes tamei. Therefore, if the goat was sent out with two people, only one of the two is tamei. However, since we have no way to know which one became tamei, both of them will be required to immerse themselves and their clothing109 (Yerushalmi Yoma 6:3).



את .27 ט� ח� את ואת שעיר ה� ט� ח� ר ה� The chatas offering — ואת פ�bull and the chatas offering he-goat.

� Other Inner Sin OfferingsAn offering’s atonement is accomplished through

the application of its blood. The blood of most chataos (sin offerings) is applied to the Outer Mizbe’ach (Altar), which stood outside the Sanctuary, in the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash; these are referred to as outer-chatas offerings.

את“ ט� ”ח� ר לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� את. ט� ח� ה� שעיר ואת את ט� ח� ה� ר פ� ואת פין כפורים שנשר� עיר של יום ה� ר וש� א לפ� דנו אל� מ� את“, לפי שלא ל� ט� ”ח�את“ ט� ר ”ח� למוד לומ� ין? ת� פין מנ� ר נשר� דים, שא� מאין בג� דשן מט� בית ה� א�ריך, הרי הוא אומר בי מאיר אומר: אינו צ� ה, ר� בי יהוד� את“ דברי ר� ט� ”ח�פר“, ”לכ� ר לומ� למוד ת� שאין את“, ט� ח� ה� שעיר ואת את ט� ח� ה� ר פ� ”ואת מא ן מט� שורפ� פרים שה� מתכ� ל ה� ל כ� פר“, לימד ע� ר ”לכ� למוד לומ� ה ת� מ�

דים (זבחים פג.): בג�The blood of a few specific chatas offerings is sprinkled

inside the Sanctuary; these are known as inner-chatas offerings. Other than the blood and the sacrificial fats, the rest of these offerings are burned outside Yerushala-yim.

The bull and he-goat offerings of Yom Kippur are inner-chatas offerings. The next pasuk tells us that the person who burns these offerings becomes tamei (ritually im-pure), as does his clothing, and must be immersed in a mikveh.

We learn from our pasuk that such tumah applies to the one who burns any inner-chatas:

According to one opinion, we know this because our pasuk begins, The “chatas” bull and the “chatas” he-goat, whose blood had been brought to provide atonement in the Sanctuary… The Torah could have simply written, The chatas bull and he-goat… The word chatas is repeated an extra time, to teach that this tumah applies to every inner chatas that is burned.

According to another opinion, we learn it from the fact that our pasuk adds, whose blood had been brought to pro-vide atonement in the Sanctuary. We already know from earlier pesukim that the blood was sprinkled in the Sanctu-ary. It is repeated here to teach that any chatas that atones inside the Sanctuary has this requirement (Zevachim 83a).

פר .To provide atonement — לכ�

� After Atonementן ל� ר לה� פר“, ונאמ� אן (לעיל ו, כג) ”לכ� ר כ� בי שמעון אומר: נאמ� פר. ר� לכ�ה פר“, מ� ם לכ� מ� א את ד� את אשר הוב� ט� ח� את ואת שעיר ה� ט� ח� ר ה� ”ואת פ�ס שנכנ� ם ד� [אין ה� אן ף כ� בפנים], א� ם מ� מד� ה הז� ר [שכב� בשכיפר ן ל� לה�

א] בשכיפר (זבחים פג.): ל אל� בפנים נפס�The blood of most chataos (sin offerings) is applied

to the Outer Mizbe’ach (Altar), located in the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash; these are called outer-chatas of-ferings. If the blood is applied in the Sanctuary instead, the offering is disqualified. According to one opinion, the offering is disqualified as soon as the blood enters the Sanctuary.110 According to another opinion, it is disquali-fied only once the blood is sprinkled in the Sanctuary. This second opinion is based on a gezeirah shavah111 from our pasuk:

Our pasuk discusses burning the bull and he-goat of-ferings of Yom Kippur — the blood of which is sprinkled in the Sanctuary — and says, The sin offering bull and the sin offering he-goat, whose blood had been brought “to provide atonement” (פר פר The word .(לכ� is also used with regard לכ�to disqualification of the blood of an outer chatas that was brought into the Sanctuary, in the pasuk:112 any chatas that there will be brought from its blood to the Ohel Moed “to effect atonement” (פר …(לכ�

Just as our pasuk is speaking about offerings whose blood has already been sprinkled, so too an outer-chatas is disqualified only once the blood has been sprinkled inside the Sanctuary (Zevachim 83a).

אש רפו ב� חנה וש� מ� Someone shall — יוציא אל מחוץ ל�remove to the outside of the camp; and they shall

burn in fire.

� One Camp or Three?In Yerushalayim, there were three zones, with differ-

ent levels of holiness. These corresponded to the three “camps” in the wilderness.

The innermost (and holiest) area was the Camp of the Shechinah (Divine Presence). In the Wilderness this was the Mishkan and its Courtyard, and in Yerushalayim it was the Beis HaMikdash and its Courtyard. In the Wilderness,

110. See above, pasuk 17, “Upon Entering.” 111. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 112. Above, 6:23.

י ולפנים: היכל ולפנ� (כז) אשר הובא את דמם. ל�

א dר הוב את אש ט( �ח יר ה� ת | שע� את וא� ט( �ח ר ה� �כז ואת פ

ה חנ� מ� �ל אל־מחוץ יא Yיוצ דש בק ר פ� �לכ ם מ( את־ד(ם: ואת־פרש= ם Gואת־בשר ם את־ערת/ ש א ב( רפו וש=

א את� ט� א דח� ת צפיר� א וי� את� ט� א דח� ת תור� כז וי�א בקודש� א ר� פ� לכ� מדמהון ל ע� את� די א ויוקדון בנור� א שרית� א למ� ר� פקון למב� ית�כליהון: א� ת וי� בסרהון ת וי� שכיהון מ� ת י�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / כז 408 / ספר ויקרא


27 The chatas offering bull and the chatas offering he-goat, whose blood had been

brought to provide atonement in the Sanctuary, someone shall remove to the out-

side of the camp; and they shall burn in fire their hides, their flesh, and their dung.

113. See Schottenstein Edition, note 13. 114. The parah adumah (Red Cow) was burned outside of Yerushalayim, and its ashes were used to purify people and utensils from corpse tumah; see Bamidbar Ch. 19. 115. Bamidbar 19:3. 116. See note 111. 117. The blood of the parah adumah had to be sprinkled toward the entrance of the Sanctuary (Bamidbar 19:4), and in order to do that, the Kohen had to stand to the east of the Beis HaMikdash. 118. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 119. Above, 4:11. 120. See note 111. 121. We learn this from the wording of that pasuk; just as the innards and dung mentioned at the end of the pasuk are not separated from each other, so, too, the hide and the flesh mentioned at the beginning of the pasuk are not separated.

the second zone was the “Camp of the Leviim,” the area surrounding the Courtyard, where the Leviim encamped. In Yerushalayim, this was the Har HaBayis (Temple Mount). In the Wilderness, the third zone was the rest of the Jews’ encampment, and, in the times of the Beis HaMikdash, it was the city of Yerushalayim.ה ת� אן א� חנות, וכ� לש מ� הם ש� ה נותן ל� ת� ן א� ל� חנה. לה� מ� יוציא אל מחוץ ל�ן ר לך� כיו� חנה“? לומ� מ� ר ”מחוץ ל� ה נאמ� מ� ת, אם כן ל� ח� חנה א� הם מ� נותן ל�

דים (יומא סח.): מאים בג� ת מט� ח� חנה א� א חוץ למ� צ� שי�Regarding burning the bull and he-goat offerings of Yom

Kippur, our pasuk says, someone shall remove to the out-side of “the camp” (singular); and they shall burn in fire… This seems to imply that the offerings are taken out of only one camp, which would mean the innermost one. How-ever, we know this is not the case, because the bull and he-goat offerings are compared to other inner chatas (sin) offerings,113 about which the Torah tells us clearly to burn them outside all three camps.

Why, then, does our pasuk use the singular form of the word “camp”? According to one opinion, it is teaching that the law in the next pasuk — that the one who burns these offerings becomes tamei (ritually impure), as does his clothing — takes effect as soon as he carries the bull and he-goat out of the first camp, the Beis HaMikdash Court-yard (Yoma 68a).

� Outside and EastIn Yerushalayim, there were three zones, with differ-

ent levels of holiness.These corresponded to the three “camps” in the wilderness.

The innermost (and holiest) area was the Camp of the Shechinah (Divine Presence). In the Wilderness this was the Mishkan and its Courtyard, and in Yerushalayim it was the Beis HaMikdash and its Courtyard. In the Wilderness, the second zone was the “Camp of the Leviim,” the area surrounding the Courtyard, where the Leviim encamped. In Yerushalayim, this was the Har HaBayis (Temple Mount). In the Wilderness, the third zone was the rest of the Jews’ encampment, and, in the times of the Beis HaMikdash, it was the city of Yerushalayim.

חנה“, מ� אן ”מחוץ ל� ר כ� בי אליעזר אומר: נאמ� חנה. ר� מ� יוציא אל מחוץ ל�חנות, לש מ� אן חוץ לש� ה כ� חנה“, מ� מ� ן (במדבר יט, ג) ”מחוץ ל� ל� ר לה� ונאמ�אן ף כ� ים, א� ל� ה של ירוש� ח� ן במזר� ל� ה לה� חנות, ומ� לש מ� ן חוץ לש� ל� ף לה� א�

ים (יומא סח., זבחים קה:): ל� ה של ירוש� ח� במזר�

Regarding burning the bull and he-goat offerings of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, someone shall remove to the “outside of the camp” (חנה מ� ל� and they shall burn ;(מחוץ in fire… The same term is used with regard to the parah adumah,114 where the pasuk says,115 he shall take it out to the “outside of the camp” (חנה מ� -A gezeirah sha .(מחוץ ל�vah116 teaches us to apply the laws of one to the other:

Just as the parah adumah was taken out of Yerushala-yim, that is, out of all three camps, so too the Yom Kippur offerings are burned out of Yerushalayim. And just as the parah adumah is burned to the east of Yerushalayim, on Har HaZeisim (Mount of Olives),117 so too, the Yom Kip-pur offerings are burned to the east of Yerushalayim (Yoma 68a; Zevachim 105b).

ם ם ואת פרש� ר� ם ואת בש� ,Their hides, their flesh — את ערת�and their dung.

� In Its SkinIf an anointed Kohen Gadol mistakenly rules to permit

an act that is actually punishable by kares,118 and he com-mits that sin based on his own ruling, he brings a bull as a chatas. This is called the par Kohen Mashiach — the bull of the anointed Kohen. Like the bull of Yom Kippur discussed in our pasuk, the blood of this offering is sprinkled in the Sanctuary, and the bull itself is burned outside of Yerusha-layim.

ר ש� אן עור וב� ר כ� נאמ� בי אומר: ם. ר� ואת פרש� ם ר� ואת בש� ם את ערת�ידי ל ע� ן ל� לה� ה מ� ופרש, ר ש� וב� עור יא) ד, (ויקרא ן ל� לה� ר ונאמ� ופרש, הפשט ידי ל ע� ולא ניתוח� ידי ל ע� אן כ� ף א� הפשט, ידי ל ע� ולא ניתוח�

(יומא סז:):With regard to the mitzvah of burning the bull and he-

goat offerings of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, they shall burn in fire their “hides” (ם ם) ”their “flesh ,(ערת� ר� and ,(בש�their “dung” (ם The same three terms are used with .(פרש�regard to the par Kohen Mashiach, in the pasuk119 that says, But the “hide” of the bull and all its “flesh” …and its innards and its “dung”… A gezeirah shavah120 teaches us to apply the laws of one to the other.

Unlike an olah (burnt offering), which is first skinned and then cut into pieces, the carcass of the par Kohen Mashiach is cut up and burned with the skin still on.121 So too, the Yom Kippur offerings in our pasuk are burned with the skin still on them (Yoma 67b).



שרף .28 .The one who burns — וה�

� A Burning Matterדר את מס� אור, ולא ה� צית את ה� מ� דים, ולא ה� מא בג� שורף מט� שרף. ה� וה�ה (יומא סח:, זבחים ת שריפ� ייע� בשע� מס� שורף“? זה ה� ה ואי זהו ”ה� כ� ער� מ� ה�

קו., ירושלמי יומא ו, ו):Regarding burning the bull and he-goat offerings of Yom

Kippur, our pasuk says, The “one who burns them” (שרף וה�ם shall immerse his clothing and immerse himself in the (את�water; that is, the person who burns the offering becomes tamei (ritually impure), as does his clothing, and must be immersed in a mikveh.

According to one opinion, the phrase ם את� שרף the ,וה�one who burns them, tells us that only someone who par-ticipates in the actual burning, for example, by turning the meat over on the fire, or by stirring the coals as the meat is burning, becomes tamei, but not a person who merely lights the fire or prepares the wood (Yoma 68b; Zevachim 106a; Yerushalmi Yoma 6:6).

� What Came First?ה מ� שרף“, ”וה� ,“ לח� מש� ”וה� כו) (פסוק א קר� ר מ� א� יי: ב� א� ר מ� א� שרף. וה�

א (יומא עא.): ר� ף שורף דמעיק� א , א� ר� לח� דמעיק� מש�Regarding burning the bull and he-goat offerings of Yom

Kippur, our pasuk says, “And the one who” burns them ם) את� שרף shall immerse… The Torah uses the same (וה�terminology regarding sending away the Azazel goat:122 “And the one who” dispatched the he-goat to Azazel shall immerse… telling us to apply the laws of one to the other.

Both of these pesukim are written after the command-ment to burn the sacrificial parts of the inner bull and he-goat offerings on the Mizbe’ach (Altar).123 Yet, we know that the Azazel goat was sent out before the sacrificial parts of the chatas he-goat were burned, because the command-ment is given earlier in this passage.124 This teaches that just as the sending of the Azazel goat took place before the sacrificial parts were burned, so too, the burning of the re-mains of the bull and he-goat, discussed in our pasuk, took place before their sacrificial parts were burned (Yoma 71a).

ם .Them — את�

� It’s Not What It Used to Beם“, ”את� ר לומ� למוד ת� דים, בג� מאין מט� אפר עשו משנ� ף א� כול י� ם. את�סח:, (יומא דים בג� מאין מט� אפר עשו משנ� ולא דים, בג� מאין מט� ם אות�

זבחים קו.):Regarding burning the bull and he-goat offerings of

Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, The one who burns “them”

ם) shall immerse his clothing and immerse himself in (את�the water. The Torah is telling us that the person who burns the offerings becomes tamei (ritually impure), as does his clothing, and must be immersed in a mikveh.

The word ם them, teaches that only someone who ,את�burns “them” — the actual carcasses — becomes tamei, but if someone continues to burn them after they are re-duced to ashes, he does not become tamei, because the ashes are not “them” (Yoma 68b; Zevachim 106a).

פשתיכם .29 נו את נ� כם. . . תע� ה ל� ית� This shall remain — וה�for you. . .you shall afflict yourselves.

� Five Afflictionsר מ� מי? א� כנגד ענויין ה ני חמש� ה� פשתיכם. נו את נ� כם. . . תע� ה ל� ית� וה�ך שור“ (במדבר כט, ז), ו“א� ה, ”ובע� תור� ה ענויין שב� א: כנגד חמש� ב חסד� ר�תון“ (פסוק ב� ת ש� ב� תון“ (להלן כג, לב), ו“ש� ב� ת ש� ב� שור“ (להלן כג, כז), ”ש� בע�

כם“ (יומא עו.): ה ל� ית� לא) , ”וה�Our pasuk says, In the seventh month, on the tenth of

the month (Yom Kippur), you shall “afflict” yourselves. The Torah mentions this commandment, to afflict ourselves on Yom Kippur, in five different pesukim.125 This hints at the five types of physical pleasure that are forbidden on Yom Kip-pur: eating and drinking, washing, smearing oneself with oil, wearing shoes, and engaging in marital relations (Yoma 76a).

עשו ה לא ת� אכ� ל מל� פשתיכם וכ� נו את נ� You shall afflict — תע�yourselves and you shall not do any work.

� What Kind of Affliction?ה צנ� ה או ב� מ� ח� כול ישב ב� עשו. י� ה לא ת� אכ� ל מל� פשתיכם וכ� נו את נ� תע�ה שב אכ� ה מל� עשו“ מ� ה לא ת� אכ� ל מל� ר ”וכ� למוד לומ� ער, ת� כדי שיצט�

עשה (יומא עד:): ל ת� ף ענוי נפש שב וא� עשה א� ל ת� וא�ר לומ� למוד ת� ער, ויצט� ה צנ� וב� ה מ� ח� ב� ישב כול י� פשתיכם. נ� את נו תע�חר, קום א� יו במ� ל� יבין ע� י� ר שח� ב� ה ד� אכ� ה מל� עשו“, מ� ה לא ת� אכ� ל מל� ”וכ�ר, ונות� פגול זה זה, זה ואי חר, א� קום במ� יו ל� ע� יבין י� שח� נפש ענוי ף א�רת, בכ� שאינו טבל ה� את ביא א� ולא רת בכ� שהן ר ונות� פגול ביא א�ה (יומא עד:, פשתיכם“ (פסוק לא) ריב� נו“, ”ועניתם את נ� ר ”תע� למוד לומ� ת�

ירושלמי יומא ח, א):ה ית� עאל: ”וה� בי ישמ� ני ר� עשו. ת� ה לא ת� אכ� ל מל� פשתיכם וכ� נו את נ� תע�ה אכ� ה מל� ה לעינוי, מ� אכ� שביעי“, הקיש מל� חדש ה� ם ב� ת עול� כם לחק� ל�רתי לך� עינוי ס� ף עינוי שא� רת, א� ליה� כ� יבין ע� י� ה שח� אכ� רתי לך� מל� ס� שא�

רת (ירושלמי יומא ח, ג): יו כ� ל� יבין ע� י� שח�Our pasuk says, In the seventh month, on the tenth of

the month (Yom Kippur), you shall “afflict” yourselves and you shall not do any work. The Torah mentions the com-mandment to afflict oneself on Yom Kippur next to the com-

122. Above, pasuk 26. 123. Pasuk 25. 124. Pasuk 22. 125. Our pasuk; below, pasuk 31; below, 23:27 and 32; and Bamidbar 29:7.

ן חרי־כ� ים וא� מ[ �ץ את־בשרו ב Fח יו ור( ס בגד( ב� �ם יכ ף את( שר� �כח וה

י שביע �חדש ה �ם ב ת עול[ nם לחק Dכ ה ל( ית/ ה: כט וה= aחנ מ� �י(בוא אל־העשו א ת� ה ל אכ( ל־מל( ם וכ( תיכ פש �נו את־נ �דש תע ח �שור ל ע( aב

לבושוהי ע ב� יצ� תהון י� כח ודמוקיד

ר כן ייעול ת� א וב� י� ת בסרה במ� ויסחי י�ם ל� ע� ם לקי� לכון כט ותהי א: שרית� למ�נון א תע� רח� א לי� שר� ה בע� א� א שביע� רח� בי�עבדון א ת� א ל� ל עביד� תיכון וכ� פש� ת נ� י�

פרשת אחרי טז / כח־כט 410 / ספר ויקרא


28 The one who burns them shall immerse his clothing and immerse himself in the

water; thereafter he may enter the camp.

29 This shall remain for you an eternal decree: In the seventh month, on the

tenth of the month, you shall afflict yourselves and you shall not do any work,

The eternal

commandment

of Yom Kippur

126. See previous discussion. 127. See note 118. 128. Piggul is an offering that became disqualified when the person performing a key avodah (service) had an intention to consume the offering or to perform one of the other services beyond the allowable time. Nos-sar is an offering that was left over beyond the amount of time that one is allowed to eat it. 129. See previous discussion. 130. See note 111. 131. Devarim 8:3. 132. See also previous discussion. 133. See Bamidbar 30:14. 134. Below, 23:29. 135. See note 118. 136. See previous discussion.

mandment not to do work, telling us to compare these laws:The commandment not to do work is fulfilled by refrain-

ing from certain activities; no “action” is required for this commandment. So too, “afflicting” oneself does not mean to actively cause oneself pain or suffering; there is no need to sit in the hot sun or in the cold. Rather, the mitzvah is fulfilled by refraining from certain activities that give a person physical pleasure.126

Others make the comparison as follows: Doing work on Yom Kippur is punishable by kares,127 and doing work is also punishable by kares in another situation, doing work on Shabbos. Similarly, the “affliction” referred to in the pasuk must also be an activity that is punishable by kares in another situation. The “affliction” referred to must be eating, because one is liable to kares in other situations involving eating — for example, when one eats piggul or nossar.128 Since the Torah repeats the commandment of affliction several times,129 we learn that all types of food are included in the prohibition — not just piggul and nossar.

According to one opinion, we also learn from here that just as doing work on Yom Kippur makes one liable to kares, so too, eating and drinking on Yom Kippur makes one liable to kares (Yoma 74b; Yerushalmi Yoma 8:1,3).

� Food Afflictionן ל� ר לה� אן ”ענוי“, ונאמ� ר כ� א: נאמ� נ� עאל ת� בי ישמ� פשתיכם. דבי ר� נו את נ� תע�בון (יומא עד:): אן ענוי רע� ף כ� בון, א� ן ענוי רע� ל� ה לה� (דברים ח, ג) ”ענוי“, מ�

Our pasuk says, In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month (Yom Kippur), you shall “afflict” (נו .yourselves (תע�This means that one is forbidden to eat or drink on Yom Kippur. According to one opinion, we learn this through a gezeirah shavah:130

Our pasuk uses the word נו you shall “afflict,” and ,תע�a form of this word is used regarding the manna, in the pasuk,131 He “afflicted” you ( נך� יע� and let you hunger. Just (ו�as that “affliction” refers to hunger, so too, the “affliction” of Yom Kippur refers to hunger132 (Yoma 74b).

� Affliction You Can FeelIf a woman makes a neder (vow) to “afflict” herself, her

husband has the right to annul the neder.133 According to one opinion, if she makes a neder forbidding herself to bathe, that is included in the category of “affliction.”

כיפורים ה� יום בי ג� א, דקר� א נ� מעני� א: ב� ר� ר מ� א� פשתיכם. נ� את נו תע�ה לא א, רחיצ� שת� א ה� ע ענוי� ד� א די� פשתיכם“, מילת� נו את נ� דכתיב ”תע�

א (נדרים פ:): שת� א ה� ע עינוי� ד� י�

Our pasuk says, In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month (Yom Kippur), you shall “afflict” yourselves. Later,134 the Torah tells us, For any soul who will not be “afflicted” on this very day will be “cut off” from its people (punished with kares135).

Five types of physical pleasure are forbidden on Yom Kippur — eating and drinking, washing, smearing oneself with oil, wearing shoes, and engaging in marital relations. Yet, only eating and drinking are subject to kares.136 Why doesn’t bathing on Yom Kippur make one liable to kares as well? After all, if a woman makes a neder not to bathe, we consider it a neder of “affliction,” so why isn’t bathing on Yom Kippur considered a lack of affliction?

The answer is because the pasuk says, “on the tenth of the month” (Yom Kippur), you shall afflict yourselves. The Torah is referring to a type of affliction that is already noticeable on Yom Kippur itself, such as fasting. If a person refrains from bathing, he does not feel “afflicted” until after some time has passed, and it is therefore not an affliction punishable by kares (Nedarim 80b).

� Forbidding the ForbiddenAs a general rule, something that is already prohibited

by the Torah cannot acquire additional prohibitions. There is a disagreement, however, in a case where the second prohibition is broader and more inclusive than the first prohibition (“issur kollel”). For example, it is forbidden to eat nonkosher food at any time; when Yom Kippur arrives, all food is forbidden. With regard to nonkosher food on Yom Kippur, some say that since the additional prohibi-tion against eating on Yom Kippur includes more than the original prohibition of eating nonkosher food, a person who eats nonkosher food on Yom Kippur transgresses both prohibitions.

פשתיכם“, נ� את נו ”תע� שמעון: בי ר� בשם ני ת� פשתיכם. נ� את נו תע�כם (ירושלמי שבועות ג, ד): כם ולא מאיסור ל� ר ל� ממות�

Our pasuk says, In the seventh month, on the tenth of the month (Yom Kippur), you shall “afflict” yourselves. This teaches that we are forbidden to eat or drink on Yom Kippur. According to R’ Shimon, “affliction” means depriv-ing yourself of something that you are normally allowed to eat. A food that is always forbidden to you is not included in the commandment to “afflict” yourself, and therefore, if someone eats nonkosher food on Yom Kippur, he trans-gresses only the prohibition of eating nonkosher food, not



the additional prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur, even though the second prohibition includes more than the first (Yerushalmi Shevuos 3:4).

ח אזר� .The native — ה�

� The Native WomanAlthough women are obligated to keep all the negative

commandments of the Torah, they are exempt from most time-related, positive commandments. For example, they are exempt from the mitzvah of eating in a succah, be-cause it is a positive commandment that applies only to a certain time of year.

א נצרכ� לא בעינוי. . . יבות י� שח� חיות אזר� ה� שים נ� ה� את בות לר� ח. אזר� ה�א נ� חמ� ר� ומיעט הואיל א אמינ� ך עת� ד� א לק� ס� עינוי, לתוספת א אל�ן ע ל� שמ� א מ� ל, ק� שים כל� ייבו נ� ה לא נתח� ר� זה� לתוספת עינוי מעונש ומא�

(סוכה כח.־כח:):Our pasuk says that the prohibition against eating or do-

ing work on Yom Kippur applies to both, the native (ח אזר� (ה�(Jew) and the proselyte who dwells among you. The word ח אזר� ,in the beginning ה the” native, has an extra letter“ ,ה�meaning “the,” to teach us that women are also included in this commandment. Now, it is not necessary to tell us that they are included in the prohibition against eating on Yom Kippur, because that is a negative commandment, and although women are exempt from certain positive commandments, they are bound by all the Torah’s prohi-bitions. The extra letter tells us that women are included in the positive commandment to add onto the day of Yom Kippur by starting the fast a bit before Yom Kippur actually begins137 (Succah 28a-28b).

פר עליכם .30 זה יכ� יום ה� For on this day he shall — כי ב�provide atonement for you.

� Day of Atonementה ה, תשוב� ה תשוב� ש� עשה וע� ל לא ת� ר ע� ב� פר עליכם. ע� זה יכ� יום ה� כי ב�פר עליכם. . . מכל זה יכ� יום ה� ר ”כי ב� פר, שנאמ� כפורים מכ� ה ויום ה� תול�

טאתיכם“ (יומא פו.): ח�

בן ר ז� לע� בי ש את ר� ר� ן ח� א ב� תי� בי מ� ל ר� א� עליכם. ש� פר יכ� זה יום ה� כי ב�ר מ� א� דורש, עאל ישמ� בי ר� ה י� שה� ה ר� פ� כ� חלוקי ה ע� רב� א� עת� מ� ש� ה: רי� עז�ד, מי� ב עשה וש� ת לא ת� מצו� ל ר ע� ב� ה. . . ע� תשוב� מן ה� הן, חוץ ה לו: שלש�זה יום ה� תוב אומר ”כי ב� כ� יו ה� ל� פר, ע� כיפורים מכ� ויום ה� ה ה תול� תשוב� ה�פר עליכם“ (ירושלמי יומא ח, ז; ירושלמי שבועות א, ו; ירושלמי סנהדרין י, א): יכ�

Our pasuk says, For on this day (Yom Kippur) he shall provide atonement for you. This teaches that the day of Yom Kippur itself provides atonement for some types of sins. If a person fails to fulfill a positive commandment and repents, he is completely forgiven, but transgressing a negative commandment is a severe sin. Teshuvah (repen-tance) alone is not sufficient to gain full atonement; the sinner must also go through the day of Yom Kippur in order to be completely forgiven (Yoma 86a; Yerushalmi Yoma 8:7; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:6; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10:1).

� Only by DayIf the Sanhedrin mistakenly rules to permit an act that the

Torah forbids under penalty of kares,138 and the majority of the people follow their ruling, the Torah prescribes a bull as a special communal chatas (sin offering) to atone for the sin. This offering is called par he’eleim davar shel tzibbur (bull for something that was hidden from the community).

If an anointed Kohen Gadol mistakenly rules to permit an act that is punishable by kares, and he commits that sin based on his own ruling, he also brings a bull as a chatas. This is called the par Kohen Mashiach — the bull of the anointed Kohen.

Both of these offerings begin with a viduy (confession) that is recited over the animal before it is slaughtered.

פר זה יכ� יום ה� א הוא, דכתיב ”ב� מ� ה בימ� ר� פ� פר עליכם. כ� זה יכ� יום ה� כי ב�עליכם (מגילה כ:):

Regarding the Yom Kippur bull offering of the Kohen Gadol, the Torah says,139 and he shall provide “atonement” for himself and for his household. This is referring to the atonement that comes about through the viduy recited over the bull before its slaughter, because the pasuk men-tions the slaughtering only later.

137. See Yoma 81a-81b. 138. See note 118. 139. Above, pasuk 11.

כפורים ה� יום של זו פרה כ� וגו‘. ח ימש� אשר כהן ה� וכפר (לב) הרן בא� פרשה ה� כל שנאמרה לפי עג.). (יומא גדול בכהן אלא כשרה אינה ח, פרק כהנים (תורת כמוהו שיהא חריו א� בא ה� גדול בכהן ר לומ� ך הוצר�משחה, ה� בשמן משוח� ה� אלא לי אין [שיכול] ידו. את לא ימ� אשר ו� ד):

(תורת וגו‘ ” ידו את לא ימ� אשר ”ו� ר לומ� למוד ת� ין, מנ� בגדים מרובה שבימיו ך, ואיל� מיאשיהו שעמדו גדולים ה� כהנים ה� כל והם שם). כהנים מד לל� אביו. ת ח� ת� הן לכ� נב:): (יומא משחה ה� שמן של צלוחית נגנזה ה): שם כהנים (תורת אדם לכל קודם הוא מקומו את לא ממ� בנו שאם

ם Dר עליכ Oפ �ה יכ ז� �י־ביום ה Qם: ל כ aר בתוככ ר הג/ ח והג� אזר( pהרו: תטה= יהוה י Oלפנ ם טאתיכ �ח מכל ם אתכ� ר ה� �לטת Xחק ם תיכ� פש �את־נ ם Dוענית ם כ ל( היא תון ב( �ש ת �ב �לא ש

לא את־ �ר ימ אש< ח אתו ו� jן אשר־ימש כה �ר ה ם: לב וכפ עול=הקדש: י Oבגד ד Gב �י ה Oש את־בגד Sב ול( יו bב ת א( �ח jן ת ה� �ידו לכ

ירון ביניכון: ל ארי א דיתג� א וגיור� ציב� י�תכון ה י� א� כ� ר עליכון לד� פ� דין יכ� א ה� ביומ�ת לא שב� יי� תדכון: ם מכל חוביכון קד�תיכון פש� ת נ� נון י� א היא לכון ותע� ת� שב�תה ודי בי י� א די יר� הנ� ר כ� פ� ם: לב ויכ� ל� ם ע� קי�א תחות אבוהי ש� מ� נה לש� ת קרב� רב י� יק�א: א לבושי קודש� ת לבושי בוצ� ש י� וילב�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי טז / ל־לב 412 / ספר ויקרא


neither the native nor the proselyte who dwells among you. 30 For on this day he shall pro-

vide atonement for you to purify you; from all your sins before HASHEM shall you be purified.

31 It is a Shabbos of complete rest for you, and you shall afflict yourselves; an eternal decree. 32 The Kohen, who has been anointed or who has been given the authority to serve in place of

his father, shall provide atonement; he shall don the linen vestments, the sacred vestments.

140. Above, pasuk 10. 141. Above, 4:20. 142. See note 111. 143. See note 118. 144. See above, pasuk 29, “Food Affliction.”145. See Shemos 29:30. 146. See Shemos 29:29, and next discussion.

Our pasuk says, For on this “day” (Yom Kippur) he shall provide atonement for you. This teaches that all “atone-ments” of Yom Kippur, including the viduy on the bull, must be performed by day.

The word פר to atone, is used with regard to the bull ,לכ�offering of Yom Kippur,140 and also with regard to the par heleim davar shel tzibbur.141 A gezeirah shavah142 teaches that just as the viduy atonement of the Yom Kippur bull must be done by day, so too the viduy over the par heleim davar shel tzibbur must be done by day.

The same applies to the par Kohen Mashiach — the bull of the anointed Kohen, because the Torah taught us its laws next to the passage of the par heleim davar shel tzibbur, telling us to apply the laws of one to the other (Megillah 20b).

רו טאתיכם לפני ה‘ תטה� From all your sins before — מכל ח�Hashem shall you be purified.

� Before Hashem, Not Before Peopleטאתיכם לפני ה‘ ה: ”מכל ח� רי� ר בן עז� ז� בי אלע� ש ר� ר� רו. ד� לפני ה‘ תטה�פר, עבירות שבין כפורים מכ� קום יום ה� מ� ם ל� ד� רו“ עבירות שבין א� תטה�צה את חבירו (יומא פה:): ד שיר� פר ע� כפורים מכ� חבירו אין יום ה� ם ל� ד� א�

Regarding the atonement of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, from all your sins “before Hashem” shall you be purified. The phrase before Hashem tells us that Yom Kippur atones only for sins that are between man and Hashem. But if someone wronged another person, Yom Kippur alone will not provide atonement unless he first receives forgiveness from the person against whom he sinned (Yoma 85b).

� Only Hashem KnowsIf one unintentionally committed a sin that is punishable

by kares,143 he must bring a chatas (sin offering) for atone-ment. If he is unsure as to whether or not he transgressed the sin, he must bring an asham talui (guilt offering of uncertainty).

יום עליהן ר ב� שע� תלויין מות אש� יבי י� ח� ה‘. לפני טאתיכם ח� מכל בי ר ר� מ� ני מילי? א� ה� כיפורים, מנ� ר יום ה� ח� ביא לא� כיפורים פטורין לה� ה�כיר בו טאתיכם לפני ה‘ וגו‘ ”, חטא שאין מ� א ”מכל ח� ר קר� מ� ר: א� ז� אלע�

פר (כריתות כה:): כפורים מכ� קום יום ה� מ� א ה� אל�Regarding the atonement of Yom Kippur, our pasuk says,

from all your sins “before Hashem” shall you be purified.The phrase “before Hashem” teaches us that Yom Kip-

pur atones for sins that only Hashem is aware of, and not the sinner himself. Therefore, if someone was required to bring an asham talui — which comes because the person

doesn’t know whether he committed a kares-bearing sin — and then Yom Kippur passes, he is exempt from bringing that offering after Yom Kippur (Kereisos 25b).

תון היא .31 ב� ת ש� ב� .It is a Shabbos of complete rest — ש�

� Not Just Fastingכפורים יין ליום ה� ב: מנ� ר סיפרי דבי ר� ב יוסף בשא� ה ור� ב� נו ר� תון. דת� ב� ש�למוד ת� ה, מט� ה� שמיש ובת� ל נד� ס� ה� ת ובנעיל� ה בסיכ� ה ברחיצ� סור שא�

תון“, שבות (יומא עד.): ב� ר ”ש� לומ�With regard to Yom Kippur, our pasuk says, It is a Shab-

bos of “shabbason” (complete rest) for you, and you shall “afflict” yourselves. “Affliction” means that we are forbid-den to eat or drink on Yom Kippur.144 Since the pasuk uses the term “shabbason” (complete rest) next to the commandment to afflict oneself, this hints that there are additional types of “affliction” that are required on Yom Kippur. Besides fasting, we are also forbidden to wash, to smear ourselves with oil, to wear shoes, or to engage in marital relations (Yoma 74a).

ת .32 ח� הן ת� לכ� דו י� את לא ימ� אשר ו� אתו ח ימש� אשר כהן ה� וכפר ביו The Kohen, who has been anointed or who has — א�been given the authority to serve in place of his father,

shall provide atonement.

� One-Step Inaugurationן דלא א ל� דו. ולדורות מנ� לא את י� אשר ימ� ח אתו ו� כהן אשר ימש� וכפר ה�הן דו לכ� לא את י� אשר ימ� ח אתו ו� כהן אשר ימש� א: ”וכפר ה� ני� א? דת� כב� מע�מים י� ת ”שבע� ר (שמות כט, ל) שנאמ� לפי ר, למוד לומ� ה ת� ביו“, מ� ת א� ח� ת�ה, ח שבע� ונמש� ה ה שבע� ב� א נתר� יו“ אין לי אל� נ� יו מב� חת� כהן ת� ם ה� ש� ילב�יין? ה, מנ� ח שבע� ד ונמש� ה יום אח� ב� ד, נתר� ח יום אח� ה ונמש� ה שבע� ב� נתר�קום (יומא ה.): ל מ� דו“ מכ� לא את י� אשר ימ� ח אתו ו� ר ”אשר ימש� למוד לומ� ת�

Ideally, a Kohen Gadol is inaugurated by wearing the eight garments of the Kohen Gadol and by being anointed with the shemen hamishchah (anointing oil), for a period of seven days.145

Throughout our passage, we find that all of the avodah (service) of Yom Kippur had to be performed by “Aharon” — that is, by the Kohen Gadol. Why was it necessary for our pasuk to add, The Kohen, who has been “anointed” or who has “been given the authority” (דו לא את י� ימ� אשר ,ו�which refers to wearing the priestly garments146) to serve in place of his father, shall provide atonement?

It is teaching that even if the Kohen Gadol was anointed or dressed in the eight garments for only one day, he is already qualified to serve on Yom Kippur (Yoma 5a).



� Becoming a Kohen Gadolכהן אשר דו. ”וכפר ה� לא את י� אשר ימ� ח אתו ו� כהן אשר ימש� וכפר ה�הרן, אין ה בא� ה אמור� ש� ר� פ� ל ה� ר? לפי שכ� למוד לומ� ה ת� ח אתו“, מ� ימש�”אשר ר לומ� למוד ת� חר? א� כהן בות לר� יין ומנ� צמו, ע� הרן א� א אל� לי ר למוד לומ� יין? ת� דים מנ� ה ומרובה בבג� משח� שוח� בשמן ה� ח אתו“. מ� ימש�ר למוד לומ� נה? ת� מתמ� חר ה� בות כהן א� יין לר� דו“. ומנ� לא את י� אשר ימ� ”ו�כהן“ (ירושלמי יומא א, א; ירושלמי מגילה א, י; ירושלמי הוריות ג, ב): ”וכפר ה�

Ideally, a Kohen Gadol is inaugurated by wearing the eight garments of the Kohen Gadol and by being anointed with the shemen hamishchah (anointing oil), for a period of seven days.147

Throughout our passage, we find that all of the avodah (service) of Yom Kippur had to be performed by “Aharon” — that is, by the Kohen Gadol. Why was it necessary for our pasuk to add, The Kohen, who has been “anointed” or who has “been given the authority” (דו לא את י� אשר ימ� to (ו�serve in place of his father, shall provide atonement?

Since the Torah mentions only Aharon, we might sup-pose that after Aharon died, no one else could perform the avodah on Yom Kippur. Therefore our pasuk teaches that any Kohen Gadol may do the avodah.

The phrase דו י� את לא ימ� אשר who has been given the ,ו�authority, refers to being dressed in the garments of the Kohen Gadol, as we find in the pasuk,148 The holy vest-ments of Aharon shall belong to his sons after him. . .and to “give them authority” (ם ד� ם את י� לא ב� .through them (ולמ�This teaches that even after the shemen hamishchah was hidden away toward the end of the First Beis HaMikdash era, a Kohen Gadol may be inaugurated and serve on Yom Kippur just by donning the eight garments.

The word כהן the Kohen, in our pasuk is extra, to teach ,ה�that if the Kohen Gadol becomes disqualified on Yom Kip-pur, a substitute Kohen Gadol may perform the service, even though he was not inaugurated in advance (Yerushalmi Yoma 1:1; Yerushalmi Megillah 1:10; Yerushalmi Horayos 3:2).

ל .33 פר וע� מזבח� יכ� קדש ואת אהל מועד ואת ה� ש ה� וכפר את מקד�פר ל יכ� ה� ק� ם ה� ל ע� ל כ� כהנים וע� He shall bring atonement — ה�upon the Holy of Holies, and he shall bring atonement upon the Ohel Moed and the Mizbe’ach; and upon the Kohanim and upon all the people of the congregation

shall he bring atonement.

� For What and for Whom?”וכפר פר. יכ� מזבח� ה� ואת מועד אהל ואת קדש ה� ש מקד� את וכפר “ ”מזבח� ל, היכ� זה מועד“ ”אהל ולפנים, י לפנ� זה קדש“ ה� ש מקד� את אלו ל“ ה� ק� ה� ם ”ע� ן, ע� שמ� כמ� כהנים“ ”ה� רות, עז� אלו פר“ ”יכ� עו, שמ� כמ�פרין ן מתכ� ת שכול� ח� ה א� ר� פ� ן לכ� לוים, הושוו כול� פר“ אלו ה� אל, ”יכ� ישר�

ה (יומא סא., שבועות יג:, בי יהוד� ר עבירות דברי ר� לח� בשא� משת� עיר ה� ש� ב�מנחות צב., חולין קלא:, ירושלמי יומא ה, ו):

On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol brought a bull as a chatas (sin offering) to atone for his own sins and for the sins of the other Kohanim. In addition, two he-goats were used; one was brought as a chatas (sin offering) to atone for the sins of the rest of the Jewish people, who were not Kohanim, and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.

The communal chatas offerings atoned for the sin of entering the Beis HaMikdash or eating from a korban (of-fering) in a state of tumah (ritual impurity). Our pasuk says, He shall bring atonement upon the Holy of Holies, and he shall bring atonement upon the Ohel Moed and the Mizbe’ach. This teaches that the atonement is for tumah violations that occurred in any of these three locations: the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), the Ohel Moed (Sanctuary), or at the Mizbe’ach (Altar).

According to one opinion, the end of our pasuk refers to the Azazel goat, which atones for all other sins, of which the Torah says, and upon the Kohanim and upon all the people of the congregation shall he bring atonement. This teaches that the Azazel goat provided atonement for the Kohanim and for “the people of the congregation” — that is, the general population. And the repetitive phrase, shall he bring atonement, comes to include the Leviim as well (Yoma 61a; Shevuos 13b; Menachos 92a; Chullin 131b; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:6).

� It’s the Location That Mattersמי כי נ� פורת, ה� רון וכ� ש שני דלא הוו א� קדש. דמקד� ש ה� וכפר את מקד�ש מקד� את ”וכפר א קר� ר מ� א: א� ר עול� ה ב� ב� ר ר� מ� אות? א� ז� ביד ה� דלא ע�

קודש (מנחות כז:): ש ל� מקוד� קום ה� קדש“, מ� ה�Regarding the bull offering of Yom Kippur, the Torah149

says, He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprin-kle with his forefinger “al” (ל upon — the eastern front — (ע�of the Aron-cover. In general, when the Torah uses the word “al,” it means that this is the exact way the mitzvah must be done. That being the case, it should have been impos-sible to bring this offering during the time of the Second Beis HaMikdash, since they no longer had the Aron!

Our pasuk says, He shall bring atonement upon the Holy of Holies (קדש ה� ש קדש The phrase .(מקד� ה� ש literally ,מקד�means “the Sanctuary of holiness.” This teaches that the atonement depends on the place that is designated for ho-liness, not on the Aron itself, and therefore the blood may be sprinkled in the Kodesh HaKodashim even if the Aron is not there (Menachos 27b).

147. See Shemos 29:30. 148. Shemos 29:29. 149. Above, pasuk 14.

ר yפ �ח� יכ מזב� �ד ואת־ה xהל מוע ש הקדש ואת־א jלג וכפר את־מקד

ם כ ה־זאת ל( ית( ר: לד וה= פ+ �ל יכ Gה ם הק( Fל־ע ל־כ( �ים וע tהנ כ �ל ה Jועה נ[ ש( �ת ב Xח �ם א טאת( �ל־ח אל מכ( י ישר( ל־בנ� �ר ע פ �ם לכ ת עול( nלחק

ן שכ� ל מ� א וע� ש קודש� ל מקד� ר ע� פ� לג ויכ�

א י� הנ� ל כ� וע� ר פ� יכ� א דבח� ל מ� וע� א זמנ�לד ותהי ר: פ� א יכ� ל� א דקה� מ� ל ע� ל כ� וע�בני ל א ע� ר� פ� ם לכ� ל� ם ע� לקי� לכון א ד�א ת� בש� א חד� חוביהון ל מכ� אל ישר�

פרשת אחרי טז / לג־לד 414 / ספר ויקרא


33 He shall bring atonement upon the Holy of Holies, and he shall bring atonement

upon the Ohel Moed and the Mizbe’ach; and upon the Kohanim and upon all the

people of the congregation shall he bring atonement. 34 This shall be to you an eternal

decree to bring atonement upon the Children of Israel for all their sins once a year;

150. Above, pasuk 6. 151. Above, pasuk 15. 152. There is an oral tradition from Sinai that five types of chatas offerings are to be left to die; one of them is a chatas whose owner has already received atonement from a replacement offering. 153. See previous discus-sion. 154. When a Jew acquires a Canaanite slave, the slave must undergo a partial conversion to Judaism; at that point, he is obligated to keep all the mitzvos that a Jewish woman is obligated to keep, and he therefore also needs atonement for his transgressions.

כהנים ל ה� .And upon the Kohanim — וע�

� Kohanim Includedה ה, במ� ר� פ� הן כ� צינו ל� כהנים“ מ� ל ה� פר וע� כהנים. כשהוא אומר ”יכ� ל ה� וע�לו אצל ר מכל� הרן, שהרי הות� רו של א� פרו בפ� ב שיתכ� פרין? מוט� הן מתכ�לו אצל ביתו ר מכל� עשה בפנים שלא הות� נ� עיר ה� פרו בש� ל יתכ� ביתו, וא�

(שבועות יג:):Two chatas (sin) offerings brought on Yom Kippur had

their blood sprinkled inside the Sanctuary; one was the bull of the Kohen Gadol, and the other was the he-goat of the people.

Regarding the Kohen Gadol’s bull, the Torah150 says, Aharon shall bring near “his own” sin offering bull, which seems to indicate that the offering atones only for the Ko-hen Gadol and no one else. Regarding the he-goat, the Torah151 says, He shall slaughter the sin offering he-goat “of the people,” which indicates that it atones for the general population, but not Kohanim. Is it possible that the Ko-hanim were excluded from the atonement of all the Yom Kippur offerings?!

Our pasuk specifically mentions, He shall bring atone-ment…”and upon the Kohanim,” to teach that, in fact, the Kohanim do receive atonement from one of the inner-chatas offerings. But which one?

With regard to the bull offering, the pasuk says that it shall provide atonement for himself “and for his household.” Thus, even though the Torah said that it is the offering of the Kohen Gadol himself, it atones for his household as well. Once the Torah expanded who is covered by this offering, it is logical to say that this is also the offering that atones for the other Kohanim (Shevuos 13b).

� Congregation of Kohanimם ע� ל כ� ל וע� כהנים ה� ל ”ע� דכתיב ל, ה� ק� דאיקרו כהנים, כהנים. ה� ל וע�

פר“ (הוריות ו.): ל יכ� ה� ק� ה�If the chatas (sin) offering of an individual gets lost, and

he offers a replacement instead, and then the original ani-mal is found, the original chatas is left to die.152 According to R’ Shimon, this rule does not apply to a communal cha-tas offering; rather, if it was lost and replaced, then, when it is found, it is allowed to pasture until it develops a blemish, at which point it may be redeemed.

The chatas bull of Yom Kippur atones only for the Kohen Gadol, his household, and the other Kohanim.153 It would therefore seem that it is not a “communal” offering. Yet, R’ Shimon says that if this bull is lost and replaced, it is

treated as a communal offering. He bases this on our pa-

suk, which says, and upon the Kohanim and upon all the

people of the congregation shall he bring atonement. The Torah mentions the atonement of the Kohanim together with the atonement of the congregation, to teach us that the Kohanim have the status of a “congregation,” and their chatas is considered a “communal” offering (Horayos 6a).

פר ל יכ� ה� ק� ם ה� ל ע� ל כ� And upon all the people of the — וע�congregation shall he bring atonement.

� Even Slavesדים (חולין קלא:): פר. אלו עב� יכ�

Regarding the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kip-pur, our pasuk says, and he shall bring atonement upon

the Ohel Moed…and upon all the people of the congregation

shall he bring atonement. Why does the pasuk say “shall

he bring atonement” a second time?According to one opinion, this teaches that Canaanite

slaves154 are also included in the atonement of Yom Kippur (Chullin 131b).

ה .34 נ� ש� ת ב� ח� ם. . .א� ת עול� כם לחק� ה זאת ל� ית� This shall be — וה�to you an eternal decree. . .once a year.

� When Order Is EssentialThe Kohen Gadol, who performed the entire Yom Kip-

pur avodah (Temple service), was required to change his priestly garments several times throughout the day. During some of the services, he was required to wear only white linen garments, while he performed other services wearing the standard eight garments of the Kohen Gadol, which contained threads of gold.

כפורים עשה יום ה� ל מ� ה. כ� נ� ש� ת ב� ח� ם. . .א� ת עול� כם לחק� ה זאת ל� ית� וה�ר מ� א� כלום, ה ש� ע� לא חבירו ל� עשה מ� הקדים אם סדר, ה� ל ע� מור א� ה�רים דב� ל אב� מבפנים, ן ב� בבגדי ל� עשין נ� רים ה� בדב� י, ת� אימ� ה: יהוד� בי ר�ה ש� שע� ה מ� חבירו ל� עשה מ� הקדים אם חוץ, מב� ן ב� ל� בבגדי עשין נ� ה�עשים בבגדי נ� רים ה� רים אמורים בדב� מה דב� ה אומר: ב� בי נחמי� שוי, ר� ע�חוץ ב מב� עשים בבגדי ז�ה� נ� רים ה� ל בדב� חוץ, אב� ן בין מבפנים בין מב� ב� ל�ה ית� ”וה� רשו ד� ד אח� א מקר� ושניהם ן: נ� יוח� בי ר� ר מ� שוי, א� ה ע� ש� שע� ה מ�”זאת“ כתיב ר. . . ב� ה ס� יהוד� בי ה“ ר� נ� ש� ת ב� ח� ם. . . א� ת עול� לחק� כם זאת ל�ב, בגדי ז�ה� עוטי ד למ� וח� חוץ, ן מב� ב� בגדי ל� עוטי ד למ� ת“, ח� ח� וכתיב ”א�כבי מע� דלא ים שיר� עוטי למ� ד וח� ב, ז�ה� בגדי עוטי למ� ד ה: ח� נחמי� בי ור�

(יומא ס.־ס:):



Regarding the avodah (service) of Yom Kippur, our pa-suk says, “This” (זאת) shall be to you an eternal “decree” ת) ת) ”once“ …(לחק� ח� .a year (א�

The term ה decree, teaches that the exact order of ,חוק�the avodah is essential; if a service was performed out of its order, it must be repeated. On the other hand, the word זאת, this, and the word ת ח� once, are words that ,א�limit the application of a law, and they tell us that not all of the avodah must be performed in order, only parts of it.

One opinion is that the word זאת excludes those ser-vices outside of the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies), which the Kohen Gadol performs while wearing his white garments, and the word ת ח� excludes services that are א�performed with the gold garments. Accordingly, the only type of services in which the order is essential are those performed with the white garments inside the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim.

Another opinion is that זאת excludes services that the Kohen Gadol performs wearing his gold garments, and ת ח� ’excludes pouring out the remainder of the offerings א�blood onto the base of the Mizbe’ach (Altar). According to this opinion, other than pouring out this blood, the order of all services that are done while he is wearing the white garments is essential (Yoma 60a-60b).

� The Extra Bullא? אי אי הילכת� כפורים. למ� ר יום ה� ר“ (לעיל ד, ח), זה פ� פ� ם. ”ל� ת עול� לחק�א ק: לא נצרכ� ר יצח� ן ב� חמ� ב נ� ר ר� מ� ה ביה! א� ה“ כתיב� א, ”חק� כב, פשיט� לע�ן ב� עשים בבגדי ל� נ� רים ה� דב� ה“ א� ה ”חק� ר: כי כתיב� מ� ה, דא� בי יהוד� א לר� אל�רים ל דב� ה ולא כלום, אב� ש� חבירו לא ע� עשה ל� בפנים, שאם הקדים מ�שוי ע� ה ש� שע� ה מ� חבירו, ל� עשה מ� הקדים חוץ, ב� ן ב� ל� בבגדי עשים נ� ה�

(זבחים מ.):With regard to the communal chatas (sin offering) bull,

the Torah155 says, He shall do to the bull (ר פ� as he had (ל�done to the chatas bull. The Torah could have written, He shall do to “it”; the extra word ר פ� to the bull, teaches that ,ל�all of the blood sprinklings of the bull offering of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur are essential.

However, our pasuk refers to the avodah (service) of Yom Kippur as an eternal “decree” (ת and we have ,(לחק�a rule that the term ה decree, indicates that the entire ,חוק�

avodah being discussed is essential, and if one part is left out, the avodah is invalid.

That being the case, why did the Torah have to refer-ence the bull of Yom Kippur when discussing the com-munal chatas? We know from ת that every element of לחק�the avodah is essential!

There is one opinion that the word ה -in our pasuk re חוק�fers only to the avodah that is performed in the Kodesh Ha-Kodashim (Holy of Holies).156 Therefore, the Torah wrote ר פ� to teach that all of the blood sprinklings are essential ל�as well (Zevachim 40a).

� Two Goats or NoneOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the


ה“ (מנחות כבין זה את זה ”חוק� כפורים מע� ם. שני שעירי יום ה� ת עול� לחק�כז.):

Our pasuk refer to the avodah (service) of Yom Kippur as an eternal “decree” (ת .(לחק�

The term ה -decree, teaches that everything de ,חוק�scribed here is essential, and if one part is left out, the avodah is invalid. Included in this is that the two he-goats are dependent on each other; if one is missing, the avodah of the other one is not valid (Menachos 27a).

ה ה‘ את משה אשר צו� ש כ� ע� י� And [Aharon] did as — ו�Hashem commanded Moshe.

� Torah Readingבשם אידי בי ר� ה? ש� ר� פ� ה� ת לקריא� יין מנ� משה. את ה‘ ה צו� אשר כ�ן ה ה‘ את משה“, מיכ� אשר צו� ר, ”כ� למוד לומ� ה ת� ש“, מ� ע� י� ק: ”ו� בי יצח� ר�

ה (ירושלמי יומא ז, א): ש� ר� פ� ת ה� לקריא�After detailing the entire avodah (service) of Yom Kip-

pur, the Torah (in our pasuk) concludes, and [Aharon] did as Hashem commanded Moshe. The Torah could have simply written, and Aharon did so.

The extra words, as Hashem commanded Moshe, teach us that the Kohen Gadol was required to publicly read the Torah passages that describe the Yom Kippur service that Hashem commanded Moshe (Yerushalmi Yoma 7:1).

155. Above, 4:20. 156. See previous discussion.

סדר כ� עשה כפורים ה� יום כשהגיע� וגו‘. ה‘ צוה אשר כ� ש ע� י� ו� (לד) ת יים גזיר� הרן, שלא היה לובשן לגדולתו, אלא כמק� גיד שבחו של א� זה. ולה� ה�

בר, כתוב מד� ט שור או כשב. במוקדשין ה� מלך (שם י): (ג) אשר ישח� ה�קריב קרבן“ (תורת כהנים פרשתא ו, ה): ר ”לה� שנאמ�

ה: פ aה יהוה את־מש ר צו/ אש� ש כ� �ע �ויהרן ואל־ ר אל־א� ב �ה לאמר: ב ד Kר יהוה אל־מש Oב �רביעי [יז] א ויד

ה ר אשר־צו/ ב( ה הד( Eם ז מרתG אליה� ל וא= א י ישר( ל־בנ� יו ואל כ( נ( ב(שב ט שור או־כ� �ר ישח ל אש א ית ישר( יש איש מב� zיהוה לאמר: ג א

משה: ת י� יי� קיד פ� די א כמ� ד עב� ו�לל ר: ב מ� ליל יי� עם משה למימ� א ומ�בני ל ועם כ� ועם בנוהי הרן עם א�א מ� פתג� דין להון ר ותימ� אל ישר�ר גב� ר ג גב� ר: למימ� יי� קיד פ� די ר אל די יכוס תור או אמ� מבית ישר�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / א-ג 416 / ספר ויקרא


and [Aharon] did as HASHEM commanded Moshe.

1 HASHEM spoke to Moshe, saying: 2 Speak to Aharon and to his sons and to all the

Children of Israel, and say to them: This is the matter that HASHEM has command-

ed, saying: 3 Any man from the House of Israel who will slaughter an ox, a sheep,

17Service outside

the Tabernacle

157. Bamidbar 30:2. 158. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 159. For example, see Shemos 16:16,32, 29:1, 35:4 and Vayikra 8:5, 9:6. 160. Below, pasuk 7.


17.

אל .2 .The Children of Israel — בני ישר�

� Only for Jewsבים עובדי כוכ� ואין ה� ל שחוטי חוץ, אל מצווין ע� ישר� בני אל. ישר� בני צמו לע� ה מ� ב� לו בונה ד ואח� ד אח� ל כ� ך לפיכ� חוץ, שחוטי ל ע� מצווין

ה שירצה (זבחים קטז:): ל מ� ליה� כ� קריב ע� ומ�Our passage discusses the prohibition against bringing

offerings outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and begins, Speak to Aharon and to his sons and to all “the Children of Israel.”

This teaches that the prohibition applies only to the Jew-ish people. A non-Jew is permitted to build a private altar wherever he desires and bring offerings to Hashem on it (Zevachim 116b).

ר ב� ד� .This is the matter — זה ה�

� Who May Annul a Vow?ן (הכא) ”זה ל� ר לה� ר“ ונאמ� ב� ד� אן (במדבר ל, ב) ”זה ה� ר כ� ר. נאמ� ב� ד� זה ה�רים, נד� ת ש� ר� ף פ� אל, א� ישר� ל וכ� יו נ� הרן וב� בשחוטי חוץ, א� ה ר“, מ� ב� ד� ה�אשי ר� ן ל� לה� ף א� טות מ� ה� אשי ר� אן כ� ה ומ� אל, ישר� ל וכ� יו נ� וב� הרן א�ב ששת: ר ר� מ� א? א� הלכת� אי בשחוטי חוץ למ� טות מ� אשי ה� טות. . . ר� מ� ה�

ה בהקדש (נדרים עח., בבא בתרא קכ:): ר שיש שאל� לומ�Our passage discusses the prohibition against bringing

offerings outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, and be-gins, Speak to Aharon and to his sons and to all the Chil-dren of Israel, and say to them: This is the matter (ר ב� ד� (זה ה�that Hashem has commanded…

The phrase ר ב� ד� this is the matter, also appears in the ,זה ה�passage that deals with the laws of annulling vows, which begins with the words,157 And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of the Children of Israel, saying: This is the mat-ter (ר ב� ד� ה� that Hashem has commanded… A gezeirah (זה shavah158 between the two passages tells us to apply the laws of one to the other:

Our passage was said to “all of the Children of Israel” equally. This teaches that vows may be annulled by any three Jews, even laymen. On the other hand, the passage of annulling vows was said to “the heads of the tribes” — that is, expert judges — which teaches us that an expert judge may, on his own, annul a vow. Similarly, when a person conse-crates an animal as an offering, it is a type of “vow.” There-fore, an expert judge may annul the consecration on his own, without a panel of three (Nedarim 78a; Bava Basra 120b).

� For All Generationsא בדור מי דלא יהא נוהג אל� כי נ� ר“ דשחוטי חוץ, ה� ב� ד� ר. ”זה ה� ב� ד� זה ה�

ם“ (בבא בתרא קכ.): ם דכתיב (פסוק ז) ”לדרת� ת� אני ה� זה! ש�Regarding the prohibition against bringing offerings out-

side the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, This is the matter (ר ב� ד� …that Hashem has commanded (זה ה�

Throughout the Torah, the phrase ר ב� ד� ה� this is the ,זה matter, is used when a commandment is given for just that one generation.159 However, this passage is an exception to the rule, because the Torah goes on to clearly state,160 this shall be “an eternal decree” to them for their genera-tions (Bava Basra 120a).

.Any man — איש איש .3


ה ר� עז� שים חוץ ל� ד� מצוה קפו: של א לשחט ק�Mitzvah 186: The Prohibition to Slaughter Sacred

Offerings Outside the Temple Courtyard

� For Human Consumptionבי יוסי. . . א ”איש איש“. . . ור� ר קר� מ� יב. . . דא� י� הדיוט ח� שוחט ל� איש איש. ה�ך“ פ� ם ש� הוא ד� איש ה� שב ל� ם יח� א ליה ”מד� פק� יב נ� י� הדיוט דח� שוחט ל� ה�

שוחט לאיש (זבחים קח.־קח:): אפילו ה� ו�In discussing the prohibition against slaughtering an of-

fering outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man (איש איש, literally, a man, a man) from the House of Israel who will slaughter… According to one opinion, the double expression, a man, a man, teaches that a person is liable even if he slaughtered the offering for a man to eat, and not as a korban (offering) for Hashem.

According to another opinion, we learn this law from the next pasuk, which says, it shall be considered as bloodshed “for that man.” The phrase for that man is extra, to teach that it is “considered as bloodshed” even if it was slaugh-tered for a person (Zevachim 108a-108b).

ט ט שור. . . או אשר ישח� Who will slaughter an — אשר ישח�ox. . .or who will slaughter.

� Bird OfferingsBird offerings are slaughtered in a unique manner known

as melikah. Melikah differs from shechitah in two respects: the cut is made with the Kohen’s thumbnail rather than


with a knife, and the neck is cut from the back rather than from the throat.ביד ליה? אי ע� שב“ (פסוק ד) מ� ם יח� אי ”ד� א, ה� בי עקיב� ט. ור� או אשר ישח�ט“. ישח� אשר מ“או ליה א פק� נ� עאל? ישמ� בי ור� עוף, ה� ת שחיט� בות לר�ל ולא ע� יב י� שוחט הוא ח� ל ה� עי ליה ע� הוא מיב� ך: ה� ר ל� מ� א א� בי עקיב� ר�א ר“ (פסוק ב). . .אין לי אל� ב� ד� א ליה מ“זה ה� פק� עאל? נ� בי ישמ� מולק, ור� ה�ף כול א� ט“, י� ר ”או אשר ישח� למוד לומ� ן? ת� ל� ט עוף מנ� ח� ה, ש� שוחט בהמ�

ר“ (זבחים קז.): ב� ד� ר (פסוק ב) ”זה ה� למוד לומ� מולק. . . ת� ה�Regarding the prohibition against slaughtering an of-

fering outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, Any man…who will slaughter an ox, a sheep, or a goat…or who will slaughter it outside the camp. According to one opin-ion, the Torah repeats the phrase, or who will slaughter it, to teach that although the pasuk lists only animals, one is also liable for slaughtering a bird offering outside the Beis HaMikdash Courtyard. However, the opening phrase of this passage,161 ר ב� ד� this is the matter, indicates that ,זה ה�one is liable only for “this” — that is, for shechitah — but not if one performs melikah on a bird offering outside.

According to another opinion, we learn that one is liable for slaughtering a bird offering from the next pasuk, which says, it shall be considered as bloodshed for that man, he has shed blood. This indicates that, in addition to what was specifically mentioned above, there is additional “shedding of blood” that is prohibited — slaughtering a bird offering. The extra phrase, or who will slaughter it, in our pasuk, does not come to include bird offerings, but to exclude melikah from this prohibition (Zevachim 107a).

.An ox, a sheep, or a goat — שור או כשב או עז

� Any OxOne is liable for slaughtering or bringing an offering out-

side the Beis HaMikdash only if that offering could have been validly brought in the Beis HaMikdash.

לים, ן בבע� ר זמ� ת מחוס� ף עול� כול שאני מוציא א� שור או כשב או עז. י�ל קום, ”כשב“ מכ� ל מ� ר ”שור“ מכ� למוד לומ� ע, ת� ם מצור� אש� זיר ו� ם נ� אש� ו�

קום (זבחים קטו.): ל מ� קום, ”עז“ מכ� מ�Regarding the prohibition against slaughtering an of-

fering outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, Any man…who will slaughter an ox, a sheep, or a goat…

The Torah did not have to list these animals, because they are the only ones that can be brought as offerings. By listing them, the Torah is teaching that one is liable for slaughtering “any” ox, sheep, or goat offering outside — including if one slaughtered or offered an olah (burnt

offering) before the owner was obligated to bring it; for ex-ample, the olah of a woman after childbirth or of a metzora, that was slaughtered before she or he had completed the necessary days of purification.

Likewise, it teaches that one is liable even for an asham (guilt offering) of a nazir or a metzora that was slaughtered in a way that disqualifies the offering.

Since these offerings could have been slaughtered in a valid way inside the Beis HaMikdash, one is liable for slaughtering them outside (Zevachim 115a).

חנה מ� ט מחוץ ל� חנה או אשר ישח� מ� In the camp, or who — ב�will slaughter it outside the camp.

� Which Camp?In Yerushalayim, there were three zones, with differ-

ent levels of holiness, which corresponded to the three “camps” in the wilderness. The innermost (and holiest) area was the Camp of the Shechinah (Divine Presence), which was the Beis HaMikdash and its Courtyard. The sec-ond camp (the “Camp of Leviim”) was the Har HaBayis (the Temple Mount), and the third (the “Camp of Yisrael”) was the city of Yerushalayim.

The various types of offerings are divided into two cat-egories: kodshei kodashim (most holy) and kodashim kalim (less holy). All offerings must be slaughtered in the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash (the Camp of the Shechi-nah), and kodshei kodashim must be slaughtered specifi-cally on the north side of the Courtyard.חנה“, מ� ר ”או עז ב� למוד לומ� חנות, ת� לש מ� כול חוץ לש� חנה. י� מ� מחוץ ל�כול י� חנה“ מ� ”ב� אי חנה“, מ� ”ב� ר לומ� למוד ת� יה, לוי� חנה במ� ף א� ין מנ�ט מחוץ ישח� אשר ר ”או למוד לומ� יב, ת� י� יהא ח� רום ד� ה ב� שוחט עול� ה�א צ� י� ח, זב� ל כ� ת לשחיט� אוי ר� שאין ד מיוח� חנה, מ� ל� חוץ ה מ� חנה“ מ� ל�ת לשחיט� אוי שים, ר� ד� דשי ק� ת ק� לשחיט� אוי פי שאין ר� ל ף ע� רום שא� ד�

לים (זבחים קז:): שים ק� ד� ק�רי: מ� ב ר� ר מ� א� חנה“, מ� ל� ו“מחוץ חנה“ מ� ”ב� חנה. מ� ל� חנה. . .מחוץ מ� ב�

ה בפנים (זבחים קז:): אר� ו� חוץ וצ� ה ב� יתויי כול� לא�Regarding the prohibition against slaughtering an offer-

ing outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man from the House of Israel who will slaughter an ox, a sheep, or a goat “in the camp” (חנה מ� -or who will slaugh ,(ב�ter it “outside the camp” (חנה מ� .(מחוץ ל�

The term חנה מ� ל� outside the camp, is also found ,מחוץ with regard to the chatas (sin offering) bull of the Kohen Gadol and the chatas bull for a communal error,162 both of which must be burned outside all three camps; that is,

161. Pasuk 2. 162. Above, 4:12 and 21.

חנה. חוץ לעזרה: מ� ב�

ד ואל־ ה: aחנ מ� �ל מחוץ ט ישח( ר Eאש או ה חנ� מ� �ב ז או־ע�יהוה ל� ן קרב( יב להקר_ הביאו א ל מועד הל א ח �ת פ

א ר� מב� יכוס די א או שרית� במ� א עז� או א זמנ� ן שכ� מ� ע ד ולתר� א: שרית� למ�יי� ם קד� א נ� קרב� א ב� ר� לק� יתה א� א ל�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / ד 418 / ספר ויקרא


or a goat in the camp, or who will slaughter it outside the camp, 4 and he has not

brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed to bring it as an offering to HASHEM

163. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 164. See Bamidbar 31:50. 165. See also discussion on next pasuk, “Times Have Changed.” 166. See note 163. 167. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes

outside Yerushalayim. We might have thought to compare this to our pasuk, teaching that one is liable only if he slaughters an offering outside Yerushalayim. Our pasuk therefore clarifies by saying, in the camp, which states that one is liable even if he slaughters the offering inside the “Camp of Leviim,” which is the Temple Mount.

On the other hand, had the Torah written only in the camp, we may have understood that one is liable even if he slaughters kodshei kodashim in the Courtyard, but on the southern side instead of the northern side. The Torah writes outside the camp to teach that one is liable only outside the “Camp of the Shechinah,” an area where no offerings may be slaughtered.

According to another opinion, the word חנה מ� in the ,ב�camp, teaches that one is liable if the animal is outside the Courtyard but its neck is inside. Even though the act of slaughter was performed “in the camp,” he is still liable (Zevachim 107b).

ה‘ .4 ן ל� רב� קריב ק� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו לה� And he — ואל פת�has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed to

bring it as an offering to Hashem.

� An Inside OfferingOn Yom Kippur, two he-goats were used to atone for the

sins of the Jewish people: one was offered as a chatas (sin offering) and the other, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.

In order to choose which goat was to be used for which purpose, both goats were brought to the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash and lots were cast. The Azazel goat remained in the Courtyard until after the Kohen Gadol re-cited the viduy (confession) over it.

ן“ שומע� רב� ה‘. אי ”ק� ן ל� רב� קריב ק� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו לה� ואל פת�ח ר ”ואל פת� למוד לומ� ן. . . ת� רב� ית שנקראו ק� ב� דשי בדק ה� אני אפילו ק�חוץ, יו ב� ל� יב ע� י� ח אהל מועד ח� אוי לפת� ר� ל ה� אהל מועד לא הביאו“ כ�חוץ, אוציא אלו יו ב� ל� יבין ע� י� אין ח� ח אהל מועד אוי לפת� ל שאינו ר� כ�אוי לח� שהוא ר� משת� עיר ה� ח אהל מועד, ולא אוציא ש� שאין ראוין לפת�צאו ה‘, י� דין ל� ה‘ ” מי שמיוח� ר ”ל� למוד לומ� ח אהל מועד, ת� בוא אל פת� ל�

שם (יומא סג:, זבחים קיג:, תמורה ו:, יג.): דין ל� אלו שאין מיוח�Regarding the punishment of kares163 for a person who

slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, and he has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed to bring it as an “offering” (ן רב� .to Hashem (ק�

The term ן רב� offering, can include any donation to the ,ק�treasury of the Beis HaMikdash, even if it is not an offering brought on the Mizbe’ach (Altar).164 However, our pasuk says, he has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, which indicates that one is liable for slaughtering only an

offering intended for the Mizbe’ach, which is the “offer-ing” that should have been brought to the Beis HaMikdash Courtyard. An animal that was not an offering but was donated to the treasury need not be brought to the Court-yard, and slaughtering it outside does not incur kares.

The Azazel goat is also meant to be brought to the Courtyard — for the lottery and the viduy — but one is not subject to kares if he slaughters it outside, because our pasuk says, as an offering “to Hashem,” and the Azazel goat is pushed off a cliff; it is not brought as an offering to Hashem (Yoma 63b; Zevachim 113b; Temurah 6b, 13a).

� Forbidden From the StartBefore the Mishkan was built. the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private altar. When the Mishkan stood, this was prohibited. Bamos were again permitted for certain short periods of time: the 14 years during which the people were conquering and dividing Eretz Yisrael (when the Mishkan was temporarily set up in Gilgal), and the 57 years between the destruction of Mishkan Shiloh and the building of the Beis HaMikdash, when the Mishkan stood first in Nov and then in Givon.

ן שים שהקדיש� ד� בר בק� אן הוא מד� ד כ� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו. ע� ואל פת�ן עונש� שהרי מות, ב� ה� איסור ת בשע� ן והקריב� מות ב� ה� איסור ת בשע�ח אהל מועד לא הביאו וגו‘ ” (עבודה זרה נא:, ר: ”ואל פת� מור, שנאמ� א�

זבחים קו.):Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of kares applies

to a person who slaughters an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and he has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed.

This refers to an animal that was consecrated as an of-fering at a time that bamos were forbidden, and from the start, the owner was obligated to bring it to the Ohel Moed. If the offering was consecrated before the Mishkan was built, so it was then permitted to bring it on a bamah, a person who slaughters it outside after the Mishkan is built is not subject to kares165 (Avodah Zarah 51b; Zevachim 106a).

� The Commandmentא תי� ן א� נ� בי יוח� ר ר� מ� ן. . . דא� ל� ה מנ� ר� זה� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו. א� ואל פת�ף א אם כן הזהיר, א� ש אל� נ� ן לא ע� ל� ה לה� ה“ (פסוק ט), מ� א� ה“ ”הב� א� ”הב�

א אם כן הזהיר (זבחים קו.־קו:): ש אל� נ� אן לא ע� כ�If a person mistakenly transgresses a negative com-

mandment that carries a penalty of kares,166 he must bring a chatas (sin offering) as an atonement.

Our pasuk tells us that a person who slaughters an of-fering outside the Beis HaMikdash is subject to kares. The negative commandment that prohibits this act is derived through a gezeirah shavah:167



With regard to slaughtering an offering outside, our pasuk says, and he has not “brought it” (הביאו) to the en-trance of the Ohel Moed. A similar word is used in reference to offering up an offering outside:168 and he will not “bring it” (יביאנו) to the entrance of the Ohel Moed. Just as there is a negative commandment against bringing an offering outside,169 there is also a negative commandment against slaughtering it outside (Zevachim 106a-106b).

� On the Roofגו (זבחים קז:): עוטי ג� ה לי. . . למ� מ� ח אהל מועד. ל� אל פת�

Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of kares applies to a person who slaughters an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and he has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed. These words seem unneces-sary, since the previous pasuk has already told us that he slaughtered it “outside the camp.”

According to one opinion, our pasuk is teaching that even if a person slaughters an offering in an improper place that is at the entrance of the Ohel Moed, within the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash — such as on the roof of the Sanctuary — he is not subject to kares (Zevachim 107b).

� Fit for the Ohel MoedThe ashes of a parah adumah (Red Cow) were used to

purify people and utensils from corpse tumah. The parah adumah was not brought to the Beis HaMikdash; it was burned outside of Yerushalayim.

On Yom Kippur, two he-goats were brought to atone for the sins of the Jewish people; one was brought as a cha-tas (sin offering), and the other one, the Azazel goat, was pushed off a cliff in the wilderness.

ה, וכן ה חוץ מגת� פ� את ששר� ט� ת ח� ר� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו. פ� ואל פת�ח אהל מועד ר ”ואל פת� טור, שנאמ� חוץ, פ� לח� שהקריב ב� משת� עיר ה� ש�

לא הביאו“ (זבחים קיב.):ן ר זמ� ת מחוס� בה עול� כול שאני מר� ח אהל מועד לא הביאו. י� ואל פת�ח אהל ר ”ואל פת� למוד לומ� לים? ת� ה בין בבע� את בין בגופ� ט� ה וח� בגופ�יבין עליהן (זבחים י� ח אהל מועד אין ח� בא בפת� אוי ל� ל שאינו ר� מועד“, כ�

קטו.):

Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of kares170 ap-plies to a person who slaughters an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and he has not brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed. This indicates that the punishment applies only for slaughtering an offering that should have been brought it to “the entrance,” inside the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash.

Therefore, kares does not apply if he slaughters or of-fers a parah adumah or the Azazel goat outside the Beis HaMikdash, since those are not meant to be offered in the Beis HaMikdash.

Similarly, if an animal has been consecrated but is not yet eligible to be an offering — for example, it the animal is less than eight days old, or if the owner is not yet obligated to bring it171 — one is not liable if he slaughters it outside (Zevachim 112a, 115a).

� Only Itיו (ירושלמי ראש השנה ח אהל מועד לא הביאו. ולא את חליפ� ואל פת�

א, א):Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of kares172 ap-

plies to a person who slaughters an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and he has not brought “it” (הביאו) to the entrance of the Ohel Moed.

The suffix ו at the end of the word הביאו, which means “it,” teaches that one is liable only for slaughtering the of-fering itself outside, not if he slaughters an animal that was designated as a temurah, a substitute for the offering173 (Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1:1).

ן ה‘ .Before the Mishkan of Hashem — לפני משכ�

� Fit for the Mishkanן, אתנ� וה� מחיר וה� ד, נעב� וה� מוקצה וה� ע, נרב� וה� רובע� ה� ה‘. ן משכ� לפני ר ”לפני טור, שנאמ� חוץ, פ� ן ב� ה ויוצא דופן, שהקריב� טריפ� ים, וה� כלא� וה�יו (זבחים ל� יבין ע� י� ן ה‘ אין ח� בא לפני משכ� אוי ל� ל שאין ר� ן ה‘ ”, כ� משכ�

קיב.):Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of kares174 ap-

plies to a person who slaughters an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and he has not brought

words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 168. Pasuk 9. 169. Devarim 12:13. 170. See note 163. 171. Cer-tain people — a woman who has given birth, a nazir, or a metzora, for example — are required to bring offerings only after a certain number of days have passed. 172. See note 163. 173. One is forbidden to make a temurah, to substitute an animal designated for a korban (offering) with another animal, even if the replacement is of better quality. If one does so, both the original animal and the one he sought to replace it with are sanctified. See Schottenstein Edition, note 13. 174. See note 163.

חוץ (זבחים קז.): זורק דמים ב� בות את ה� פשו: דם שפך. לר� ייב בנ� ם האדם שמתח� (ד) דם יחשב. כשופך ד�(ה) אשר הם זבחים. אשר הם רגילים לזבוח� (שם קו:):

ך פ( ש( ם pד הוא �ה יש א_ ל( ב ש ח( י+ ם pד יהוה ן jמשכ י לפנ�ר אש ן �ע �ה למ מו: �ע רב מק� הוא �ה יש zא ה( ת Sונכרזבחים ם ה� ר Eאש את־זבחיהם ל א ישר( י בנ� יאו ב י(

א בר� לג� ב ש� יתח� א דמ� יי� ד� א שכנ� מ� ם קד�א ש� אנ� וישתיצי ד אש� א דמ� הוא ה�בני יתון י� די ה בדיל מה: ע� מגו הוא ה�בחין ד� אנון די דבחיהון ת י� אל ישר�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / ה 420 / ספר ויקרא


before the Mishkan of HASHEM — it shall be considered as bloodshed for that man, he

has shed blood, and that man shall be cut off from the midst of his people. 5 So that

the Children of Israel will bring their feast offerings that they have been slaughtering

175. See note 163. 176. See note 163. 177. See note 163. 178. See note 163. 179. See note 163.

it…before the Mishkan of Hashem. This indicates that one is liable for slaughtering an offering outside only if it was fit to be offered inside the Mishkan (or the Beis HaMikdash).

Therefore, one is not liable if the animal would, for any reason, be unfit as an offering (Zevachim 112a).

ך פ� ם ש� הוא ד� איש ה� שב ל� ם יח� It shall be considered as — ד�bloodshed for that man, he has shed blood.

� That Manן? ל� ה מנ� תור� ל ה� ך. הוא ולא שלוחו. . . בכ� פ� ם ש� הוא ד� איש ה� שב ל� ם יח� ד�ב ת� כ� ר ד� ה� ך! נ� מה� ניליף חוץ, משחוטי ליף די� א� חוץ. משחוטי ליף די�ל לכ� ן עני� תנהו לגופו, ן עני� אינו אם הוא“, ה� איש ה� ת ”ונכר� א: נ� חמ� ר�

ה (קידושין מג., ירושלמי תרומות ז, א; ירושלמי כתובות ג, א): ה כול� תור� ה�As a general rule, if someone appoints a shaliach

(agent) to carry out a transgression, the shaliach himself is responsible for the misdeed, and he is not considered as acting on behalf of the one who sent him. However, there are several exceptions. Our pasuk teaches that those are, indeed, exceptions, and the law should not be applied to other cases:

When our pasuk discusses the punishment of kares175 for a person who slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, it says, it shall be considered as bloodshed for “that man” (הוא איש ה� ”he has shed blood, and “that man ,(ל�הוא) איש ה� shall be cut off from the midst of his people. The (ה�Torah says “that man,” to teach that only the person who actually slaughtered the animal is liable, not the one who may have appointed him to do it. The pasuk then repeats “that man,” to teach that this rule — that only the agent is liable — applies to all other transgressions as well (Kiddu-shin 43a; Yerushalmi Terumos 7:1; Yerushalmi Kesubos 3:1).

� Blood Beyond the Wallsעאל בי ישמ� זורק דברי ר� בות את ה� ך. לר� פ� ם ש� הוא ד� איש ה� שב ל� ם יח� ד�

(סנהדרין לד:):When our pasuk discusses the punishment of kares176

for a person who slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, it says, it shall be considered as bloodshed for that man, “he has shed blood.” The extra phrase, he has shed blood, teaches that not only is one liable for slaugh-tering the offering outside, but even if a person properly slaughtered it in the Beis HaMikdash Courtyard but applied the blood to an altar outside the Beis HaMikdash, he is also subject to kares (Sanhedrin 34b).

� One at a Timeים (זבחים קח.): ד ולא שנ� הוא. אח� איש ה� ל�

When our pasuk discusses the punishment of kares177 for a person who slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, it says, it shall be considered as bloodshed for

“that man,” in the singular. This teaches that if two men slaughtered the animal together, they are not liable (Ze-vachim 108a).

הוא איש ה� ת ה� .And that man shall be cut off — ונכר�

� Reverse Transgressionרת, נוש כ� ן ע� רב� ל ק� ת“, ע� ה‘. . . ונכר� ן ל� רב� קריב ק� הוא. ”לה� איש ה� ת ה� ונכר�

רת (קידושין נז:): נוש כ� ה אין ע� עז�ר� ל חולין שנשחטו ב� ע�When our pasuk discusses the punishment of kares178

for a person who slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, it says, and he has not brought it…to bring it as an offering to Hashem…and that man shall be cut off.

This teaches that one is liable only if the animal was consecrated as an offering and it was slaughtered outside. If someone did the opposite, slaughtering an unconsecrat-ed animal inside the Beis HaMikdash, he is not subject to kares (Kiddushin 57b).

� The Whole Manנוס ומוטעה (זבחים קח:): עוטי שוגג א� הוא. למ� איש ה� ה�

When our pasuk discusses the punishment of kares179 for a person who slaughters an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, it tells us “that man” shall be cut off.

The expression “that man” refers to the “entire” person, with his full will. If he transgressed the sin by mistake, or he was forced or misled into doing it, he is not subject to kares (Zevachim 108b).

Their feast offerings that — את זבחיהם אשר הם זבחים .5they have been slaughtering.

� Times Have ChangedBefore the Mishkan was built. the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private altar. When the Mishkan stood, this was prohibited.

ת ן בשע� מות והקריב� ב� ת היתר ה� ן בשע� חים שהקדיש� אשר הם זבחים. בזב�אל את זבחיהם אשר ן אשר י�ביאו בני ישר� ע� ר ”למ� מות, שנאמ� ב� איסור ה�

ר (עבודה זרה נא:, זבחים קו:): רתי לך� כב� חים שהת� הם זבחים“, זב�Our pasuk discusses the prohibition against slaughter-

ing an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and says, So that the Children of Israel will bring their feast offerings “that they have been slaughtering” (אשר הם זבחים) on the open field…to the Mishkan.

The words, that they have been slaughtering, refer to animals that were consecrated before the Mishkan was built, when it was permissible to slaughter them “on the open field.” Nevertheless, now that the Mishkan was built, they must be brought to the Mishkan (Avodah Zarah 51b; Zevachim 106b).



� Animals OnlyBefore the Mishkan was built, the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private altar. After the Mishkan was built, this was prohibited.ב ששת: ר ר� מ� ה. א� מ� ה בב� מנח� אין ה אומר: יהוד� בי ר� זבחים. הם אשר

ולא ”זבחים“, ה, מ� בב� עופות אין ה, מ� בב� ה מנח� אין אומר ה� לדברי . . .מנ�חות, ”זבחים“, ולא עופות (זבחים קיט:):

Our pasuk discusses the prohibition against slaughter-ing an offering outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and says, So that the Children of Israel will bring their feast offerings “that they have been slaughtering” (אשר הם זבחים) on the open field…

That they have been slaughtering indicates that, until that time, it was permissible to slaughter offerings on a bamah. One opinion says that the Torah added the word ם ”,them, in the phrase and you shall slaughter “them ,אות�at the end of the pasuk, to teach that only “them” — the animal offerings referred to earlier in the pasuk — were allowed on a bamah, but not menachos (meal offerings) or bird offerings (Zevachim 119b).

דה ש� ל פני ה� .On the open field — ע�

� Akin to Idolatryעלה מות מ� ב� ת איסור ה� ה בשע� מ� זובח� בב� ל ה� מד שכ� דה. מל� ש� ל פני ה� ע�

דה (עבודה זרה נא:, זבחים קו:): ש� ל פני ה� תוב כאילו הוא זובח� ע� כ� יו ה� ל� ע�Our pasuk discusses the prohibition against slaughter-

ing offerings outside the Mishkan or the Beis HaMikdash, and uses the expression, offerings that they have been slaughtering “on the open field.” The phrase “on the open field” hints at the sin of idolatry.180

This teaches that slaughtering an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash is considered like bringing an offering to a false god (Avodah Zarah 51b; Zevachim 106b).

ה‘ .And they shall bring them to Hashem — והביאם ל�

� Positive CommandmentBefore the Mishkan was built, the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private altar. This was prohibited when the Mishkan stood.

ת עשה (עבודה זרה נא:, זבחים קו:): ה‘. זו מצו� והביאם ל�

Our pasuk is discussing an offering that was conse-crated before the Mishkan was built, at a time when it was permissible to slaughter it “on the open field.”181 Neverthe-less, our pasuk says, now that the Mishkan has been built, ה‘ they shall bring them to Hashem. This phrase ,והביאם ל�is a positive commandment to bring such offerings to the Mishkan (Avodah Zarah 51b; Zevachim 106b).

� Bring Them Allגליה� א מיניה אבוה� דשמואל משמואל: היא בפנים ור� ה‘. בע� והביאם ל�לפנים ה כול� שתהא ד ” ע� ה‘ ”והביאם ל� כתיב ליה: ר מ� הו? א� חוץ, מ� ב�

(זבחים כו.):Regarding the requirement to slaughter all offerings in-

side the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, they shall bring “them” (והביאם) to Hashem. The word indicates that the entire animal (all of “them”) must והביאםbe in the Courtyard when it is slaughtered. An animal may not be slaughtered if any part is outside (Zevachim 26a).

� Slaughtered in the Wombמים, של� ה ד� וול� חולין היא יוסף: ב מר� יי ב� א� מיניה עי ב� ה‘. ל� והביאם ר מ� יב עליה משום שחוטי חוץ, או לא? א� י� הו? מי מח� חוץ, מ� ה ב� ט� ושח�

ה‘ ” (תמורה יב.): א ביה ”והביאם ל� רינ� ליה: מי ק�Shechitah (slaughtering) of a pregnant animal is consid-

ered a shechitah of the fetus as well, since the fetus is part of the mother’s body.

After the Torah has told us that one who slaughters an offering outside the Courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash is subject to kares,182 our pasuk says, and they shall bring them to Hashem to the entrance of the Ohel Moed.

This teaches that one receives kares only if the offering was fit to be brought to the Courtyard of the Beis HaMik-dash. If a person consecrates the fetus of a pregnant ani-mal as an offering, the animal cannot be offered before it is born, so a person is not subject to kares if he slaughters the unsanctified mother animal outside, even though that is also a “shechitah” of the fetus (Temurah 12a).

ם .6 ד� כהן את ה� ק ה� ר� .The Kohen shall throw the blood — וז�

� Kohen Not RequiredBefore the Mishkan was built. the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private

180. See Schottenstein Edition, Zevachim 106b note 7. 181. See above, “Times Have Changed.” 182. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli.

קדו שם“ (ישעיה יג, כא; תורת כהנים פרק ט, ח): שדים, כמו ”ושעירים יר� שעירם. ל� (ז) ל�

ד אל־ הל מוע� ח א �ת יהוה אל־פ� ם ל� �הביא aשדה ו �י ה ל־פנ� �ען כה� �ה ק �ו וזר ם: אות= יהוה ל� ים tמ של( י זבח� בחו וז( ן yכה �הלב ח �יר ה ד והקט� yהל מוע ח א �ת Dח יהוה פ jל־מזב �ם ע את־הד(ם שעיר �ם ל א־יזבחו עוד את־זבחיה יהוה: ז ול ח� ל� יח� ניח Oלר

ע יי� לתר� ם יתנון לקד� וי� א קל� פי ח� ל א� ע�ת נכס� ויכסון א הנ� כ� ת לו� א זמנ� ן שכ� מ�ת א י� הנ� תהון: ו ויזרוק כ� ם יי� י� קודשין קד�א ן זמנ� שכ� ע מ� יי� בתר� א ד� דבח� ל מ� א ע� דמ� : יי� ם א קד� עו� א בר� ל� ב� א לאתק� רב� סק ת� וי�שדין ל� דבחיהון ת י� עוד ידבחון א ז ול�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / ו־ז 422 / ספר ויקרא


on the open field, and they shall bring them to HASHEM at the entrance of the

Ohel Moed to the Kohen; and they shall slaughter them as feast peace-offerings to

HASHEM. 6 The Kohen shall throw the blood upon the Mizbe’ach of HASHEM, at the

entrance of the Ohel Moed; and he shall cause the fats to go up in smoke for a satisfy-

ing aroma to HASHEM. 7 They shall no longer slaughter their offerings to the demons

183. Devarim 12:27. 184. Bamidbar 18:17.

altar. When the Mishkan stood, this was prohibited. Bamos were again permitted for certain short periods of time: the 14 years during which the people were conquering and dividing Eretz Yisrael (when the Mishkan was temporarily set up in Gilgal), and the 57 years between the destruction of Mishkan Shiloh and the building of the Beis HaMikdash, when the Mishkan stood first in Nov and then in Givon.א פק� ח ה‘ ” נ� ל מזב� ם ע� ד� כהן את ה� ק ה� ר מ“וז�ר� ז� ם. ד� כהן את ה� ק ה� ר� וז�

(זבחים קיח., קיט:):When our pasuk teaches that offerings may be brought

only in the Mishkan, and not on a bamah, it says, “The Ko-hen” shall throw the blood upon the Mizbe’ach of Hashem, at the entrance of the Ohel Moed. This teaches that the obli-gation for specifically a Kohen to do the avodah (sacrificial service) applies only when an offering is brought to the entrance of the Ohel Moed. When an offering was brought on a bamah, even a non-Kohen was permitted to perform the avodah (Zevachim 118a, 119b).

� Blood and Fatsל ף ע� חלב א� ה‘. ל� ניחח� לריח� חלב ה� והקטיר ם. . . ד� את ה� כהן ה� ק ר� וז�בי ן. . . ר� א ל� יות מנ� בד ושתי כל� כ� ן חלב, יותרת ה� שכח� ר, א� ש� פי שאין ב�עלה לריח� ניחח� ה מ� ת� “ כל שא� א ”לריח� ניחח� ר קר� מ� ר: א� מ� ן דידיה א� נ� יוח�

(פסחים עט., מנחות כו.):ד אח� תוב כ� ה‘. ל� ניחח� לריח� חלב ה� והקטיר ם. . . ד� ה� את כהן ה� ק ר� וז�תוב ך בכור שור או בכור כשב או בכור עז“, וכ� אומר (במדבר יח, יז) ”א�ח אהל מועד והקטיר ח ה‘ פת� ל מזב� ם ע� ד� כהן את ה� ק ה� ד אומר ”וז�ר� אח�ה או אימורין אכיל� ר ל� ש� ם או ב� ד שיהא ש� ה‘ ”, ע� חלב לריח� ניחח� ל� ה�

ה (ירושלמי פסחים ז, ה): ר� קט� לה�A pasuk says,183 You shall perform your olah offerings,

“the meat and the blood,” upon the Mizbe’ach of Hashem, your God. One opinion is that the Torah mentions meat and blood together to teach that one may perform zerikah (applying the blood of an offering to the Mizbe’ach) only if the animal’s meat still exists

Our pasuk says, The Kohen shall throw the blood upon the Mizbe’ach of Hashem…and he shall cause the “fats” to go up in smoke… Similarly, the Torah says regarding the offering of a firstborn animal,184 their blood shall you throw upon the Mizbe’ach and their “fat” shall you cause to go up in smoke. These pesukim clarify that the zerikah may be performed even if the actual meat no longer exists, but the sacrificial fats do. Additionally, it is enough for only one kezayis (olive’s) volume — the minimum size considered to be “consumption” — of meat or fats to exist.

The diaphragm and kidneys of an offering are not actu-ally fats, but they are burned on the Mizbe’ach with the fats,

so they are not meat that may be eaten. Our pasuk adds, for a satisfying aroma to Hashem, to teach us that zerikah may be performed as long as any part of the animal that is offered on the Mizbe’ach “for a satisfying aroma to Hashem” remains, even the diaphragm or the kidneys. The reason our pasuk mentions the fats is to teach us that zerikah may not be done if only the libation minchah (meal offering) that accompanies the main offering still exists (Pesachim 79a; Menachos 26a; Yerushalmi Pesachim 7:5).

ח אהל מועד ח ה‘ פת� ל מזב� Upon the Mizbe’ach of — ע�Hashem, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.

� Mizbe’ach Not RequiredThroughout most of the history of the Jewish people,

one was forbidden to bring an offering upon a bamah (private altar). However, bamos were permitted before the Mishkan was built and for certain short periods of time: the 14 years during which the people were conquering and dividing Eretz Yisrael (when the Mishkan was temporarily set up in Gilgal), and the 57 years between the destruction of Mishkan Shiloh and the building of the Beis HaMikdash, when the Mishkan stood first in Nov and then in Givon.

ח אהל . . . פת� בי שמעון אומר: ”מזבח� ח אהל מועד. ר� ח ה‘ פת� ל מזב� ע�ל ע� ה העל� מות ב� ה� איסור ת בשע� ך לפיכ� ה. . . מ� בב� מזבח� ואין מועד“.

יב (זבחים קח:): י� אבן ח� ל ה� ע או ע� סל� ה�Regarding the obligation to bring offerings only in the

Mishkan, and not on a bamah, our pasuk says, The Kohen shall throw the blood upon the Mizbe’ach of Hashem, at the entrance of the Ohel Moed. According to one opinion, this teaches that a Mizbe’ach (Altar) is required only in the Mishkan (“at the entrance of the Ohel Moed”). During the times that bringing an offering on a bamah is permitted, even a stone may be used as an altar. Likewise, when it is forbidden to bring an offering outside the Beis HaMik-dash, one is liable even if he does not build a Mizbe’ach, but merely offers up the offering upon a stone (Zevachim 108b).

שעירם .7 They shall no — ולא יזבחו עוד את זבחיהם ל�longer slaughter their offerings to the demons.

� An Offering to Markulisין לשוחט ר: מנ� ז� בי אלע� ר ר� מ� שעירם. א� זבחיהם ל� יזבחו עוד את ולא זבחיהם את עוד יזבחו ”ולא ר שנאמ� יב, י� ח� שהוא רקוליס למ� ה בהמ�בדו ע� י� ה ”איכ� ל) יב, (דברים דכתיב ה, רכ� לכד� ן עני� אינו אם שעירם“, ל�נא., (עבודה זרה ה רכ� כד� לשלא ן עני� תנהו אלהיהם“, את אלה גוים ה� ה�

סנהדרין סא., זבחים קו.):



The Torah says,185 Beware for yourself…lest you seek out their gods, saying, ‘‘How” did these nations serve their gods, and even I will do the same. This teaches that one may not worship an idol the way it is normally served, even if that involves something that seems disrespectful to the idol. For example, the idol that is known as Markulis was worshiped by throwing stones at it; although this ap-pears to be a degrading form of worship, it is forbidden to do it.

Our pasuk says, They shall no longer slaughter their of-ferings to the demons after whom they stray. This teaches that it is forbidden to slaughter an offering to any idol even if it is not a normal way to worship it, since slaughter is one way we serve Hashem in the Beis HaMikdash (Avodah Zarah 51a; Sanhedrin 61a; Zevachim 106a).

� A Lesser ProhibitionBefore the Mishkan was built, the Jews in the Wilderness

were permitted to bring offerings on a bamah, a private altar. This was prohibited when the Mishkan stood.

מות ב� ת היתר ה� ן בשע� חים שהקדיש� יזבחו עוד את זבחיהם. בזב� ולא ”ולא ר לומ� למוד ין? ת� מנ� עשה לא ת� מות. . . ב� איסור ה� ת בשע� ן והקריב�ם ת עול� ר ”חק� למוד לומ� רת, ת� נוש כ� כול יהא ע� יזבחו עוד את זבחיהם“, י�

הם (עבודה זרה נא:, זבחים קו:): חרת ל� הם ולא א� הם“, זאת ל� תהיה זאת ל�We had learned186 that if an animal was consecrated as

an offering, before the Mishkan was built, and the Mish-kan was then built before it was offered, there is a positive commandment to bring that offering in the Mishkan.

Our pasuk adds a prohibition against bringing it outside the Mishkan: They shall no longer slaughter their offer-ings. . .

Generally, one who brings an offering outside the Mish-kan would be punished with kares.187 However, since this animal was consecrated when bamos were permitted, the person who now slaughters it outside does not re-ceive kares.188 We know this from the end of our pasuk, which says, “this” shall be an eternal decree to them for their generations, which teaches that only “this” — the positive and negative commandments — shall be to them, not the punishment of kares (Avodah Zarah 51b; Zevachim 106b).

� What Is Prohibited?א: ”ולא יזבחו בי זעיר� בי שמואל בשם ר� ולא יזבחו עוד את זבחיהם. ר�(ירושלמי שים ד� לק� ה תנ� מטי ליה: ר מ� א� שעירים“ ל� זבחיהם את עוד

סנהדרין ז, ט; ז, י):Our pasuk says, They shall no longer slaughter their of-

ferings to the demons. According to one opinion, this is a prohibition against bringing an offering to an idol even when that is not the normal way of serving it. According to another opinion, it is a prohibition against bringing offer-ings to Hashem outside the Beis HaMikdash (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:9, 7:10).189

ר .8 אלהם תאמ� .And to them you shall say — ו�

� Slaughtered “and” Offered Upבי ר� דבי א נ� כדת� ין?. . . מנ� חוץ ל� ן שהעל� חוץ מוקטרי ר. תאמ� אלהם ו�

רשיות (זבחים קז.): רב פ� ר“ לע� עאל: ”אלהם תאמ� ישמ�Our pasuk introduces the prohibition against bringing

an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, with the words, “And” to them (אלהם ,and ,(ו) you shall say… The vav (ו�at the beginning of the pasuk, connects this passage to the previous one, which discusses slaughtering an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash. This teaches that even if an offering has been slaughtered outside and is no longer fit to be brought on the Mizbe’ach (Altar), one is still liable if he offers it on an outside altar (Zevachim 107a).

.Any man — איש איש

� A Man, a Manוהעלו באבר חזו שא� ים שנ� בות לר� ר? לומ� למוד ת� ה מ� איש. איש בני כלשון ה ה תור� דבר� יוסי אומר. . . בי שמעון, ר� בי דברי ר� יבין. . . י� שח�

ם (זבחים קח:): ד� א�Regarding the prohibition against bringing an offering

outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man (איש איש, literally, a man, a man) from the House of Israel. According to one opinion, the double expression, a man, a man, teaches that even if two men together throw an offering onto the fire outside the proper area, they are both liable. According to another opinion, the Torah is sim-ply using a common style, and the double expression does not teach anything (Zevachim 108b).

185. Devarim 12:30. 186. See above, pasuk 5, “Positive Commandment.” 187. See note 182. 188. See note 182. 189. Bavli Zevachim 106a explains that the seemingly extra word עוד, no longer, allows us to learn two prohibitions from this pasuk; see also the previous two discussions.

ייבין (תורת כהנים פרק י, ו; זבחים קו.): ט אחד והעלה חבירו שניהם ח� חוץ, שאם שח� שוחט ב� חוץ כ� קטיר איברים ב� מ� ל ה� ייב ע� עלה עלה. לח� (ח) אשר י�

ם: ם לדרת= Dה היה־זאת ל( Qם ת eת עול ם חק� חריה� ים א� Yם זנ Oר ה אש�ל א ית ישר( יש איש מב� zר א �ם תאמ Eאלה חמישי (שלישי כשהן מחוברין) ח ו�

ח: �או־ז=ב ה Gעל ה Kעל אשר־י� ם בתוכ[ אשר־י(גור ר ומן־הג�יהוה ל� אתו עשות ל� נו יביא א ל מועד הל א ח �ת ט ואל־פ

ם תהי ל� ם ע� תריהון קי� ן ב� ע� די אנון ט�ר תימ� ח ולהון ריהון: לד� להון א ד�א גיור� ומן אל ישר� מבית ר גב� ר גב�א ת� על� סק י� די ביניכון ירון יתג� די ן שכ� מ� ע ט ולתר� א: י� קודש� ת נכס� או יי� ם תה קד� ד י� יתנה למעב� י� א א ל� זמנ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / ח־ט 424 / ספר ויקרא


after whom they stray; this shall be an eternal decree to them for their generations.

8 And to them you shall say: Any man of the House of Israel and of the proselyte

who shall dwell among you Who will offer up an olah or a sacrifice, 9 and he will

not bring it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed to perform its service to HASHEM —

190. See also discussion on next pasuk, “What We Learn From Each Word.” 191. Each Shabbos, cups of levonah were placed with the Show-bread on the Shulchan (Table); the levonah was burned on the Mizbe’ach the following Shabbos.

ח ב� ה או ז� עלה על� Who will offer up an olah or a — אשר י�sacrifice.

� Any Offeringם, ש� בות אימורי א� ין לר� ה, מנ� א עול� ח. אין לי אל� ב� ה או ז� עלה על� אשר י�למוד לים? ת� שים ק� ד� שים, ואימורי ק� ד� דשי ק� את, ואימורי ק� ט� ואימורי ח�

ח“ (זבחים קט.): ר ”ז�ב� לומ�In discussing the prohibition against bringing an offering

outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man…who will offer up an olah (burnt offering) or a sacrifice… Had the Torah mentioned only “olah,” we would have thought that the prohibition applies to an olah, which is to be completely burned upon the Mizbe’ach (Altar), but not other offerings. The Torah therefore adds the words, או ח or a sacrifice, to teach that one is liable if he offers up ,ז�ב�the sacrificial parts of any offering outside (Zevachim 109a).

� Like an Olahם, ש� ר א� ומבש� את, ט� ר ח� מבש� עלה למ� ין מנ� ח. ב� ז� או ה על� עלה י� אשר ושתי עומר, ה� ר וממות� לים, ק� שים ד� ק� ר ומבש� שים, ד� ק� דשי ק� ר ומבש�ה ה“ מ� ר ”על� למוד לומ� טור? ת� מנ�חות, שפ� רי ושי� נים, פ� ולחם ה� לחם, ה�ף שא� ין ומנ� ה. א� על� לה� ה שראוי� ל כ� ף א� ה, א� על� לה� ה ראוי� שהיא ה עול�ן, שלח� דר ה� מס� גיש, וה� מ� מניף, וה� וה� , מולח� פותת, וה� בולל, וה� יוצק, וה� ה�ר לומ� למוד ת� טור? שפ� חוץ, ב� בל מק� וה� קומץ, וה� נרות, ה� את מטיב וה�ל שהוא ף כ� ה, א� ר עבוד� ה שהיא גמ� א� על� ה ה� ח“, מ� ה או ז�ב� עלה על� ”אשר י�

ה (זבחים קטו:): ר עבוד� גמ�In discussing the prohibition against bringing an offering

outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man…who will offer up an olah (burnt offering) or a sacrifice… The Torah singles out the olah to teach that one is liable only if he offers up something that, like an olah, was to be offered on the Mizbe’ach (Altar). One who offers parts of an offering that were meant to be eaten is not liable.

Also, offering an olah is the last step of its avodah (ser-vice). According to one opinion, this teaches that if one does an earlier step of the avodah, such as receiving the blood of an animal offering or adding oil to a minchah (meal offering) outside, he is not liable (Zevachim 115b).

� What We Learn From “Or”עאל בי ישמ� זורק, ור� בות את ה� ח“ לר� א אומר: ”או ז�ב� בי עקיב� ח. ר� ב� או ז�

לק (סנהדרין לד:, זבחים קז.): ביד ליה, לח� אי ע� ח“ מ� אי ”או ז�ב� ה�In discussing the prohibition against bringing an offering

outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk begins, Any man…who will offer up an olah (burnt offering) “or” …a sacrifice (או)

According to one opinion, the Torah uses the word או, or, to teach that one is also liable if he performs zerikah (ap-plying the blood of an offering) outside the Beis HaMikdash. According to another opinion, the word או is not extra; we need it to tell us that one is liable if he offers up either an olah “or” a shelamim (peace offering); he does not have to offer up both to be liable190 (Sanhedrin 34b; Zevachim 107a).

ח אהל מועד .9 And to the entrance of the — ואל פת�Ohel Moed.

� Not Just Animalsת קטורת, ומנח� ה, וה� לבונ� קומץ, וה� בות ה� ין לר� ח אהל מועד. מנ� ואל פת�ים? ין, ושלשת לוגין מ� סך שלשת לוגין י� מנ� , וה� שיח� ת כהן מ� כהנים, ומנח�ח אהל א לפת� ב� ל ה� ח אהל מועד לא יביאנו“, כ� ר ”ואל פת� למוד לומ� ת�

חוץ (זבחים קט.): יו ב� ל� יבין ע� י� מועד ח�The previous pasuk discussed the prohibition against

bringing up an animal offering outside the Beis HaMikdash. Our pasuk adds, and he will not bring it to the entrance of

the Ohel Moed. This teaches that one is liable for offering up outside the Beis HaMikdash anything that was meant to be offered up inside its Courtyard or Sanctuary (at “the entrance of the Ohel Moed”). This includes the portion of a minchah (meal offering) that must be burned, ketores (incense), the levonah,191 and the libations, all of which are to be offered up inside (Zevachim 109a).

ה‘ עשות אתו ל� . . .And he will not bring it — לא יביאנו ל�to perform its service to Hashem.

� What We Learn From Each Wordא ליה מ“לא פק� א ליה? נ� לק מנ� א, לח� בי עקיב� עשות אתו. ר� לא יביאנו ל�ואינו יב י� ח� הוא לם ש� ל ה� ע� ליה, עי מיב� הוא ה� עאל, ישמ� בי ור� יביאנו“, עאל, בי ישמ� עשות אתו“, ור� א ליה ”מל� פק� א נ� בי עקיב� סר, ור� ל הח� יב ע� י� ח�סרו שח� חוץ למוקטרי ד וח� חוץ, ב� והעלו סרו שח� פנים למוקטרי ד ח�

חוץ (זבחים קז.): והעלו ב�Regarding the prohibition against bringing an offering

outside the Beis HaMikdash, the previous pasuk begins, Any man…who will offer up an olah (burnt offering) “or”

a sacrifice… According to R’ Akiva, the Torah uses the (או)word או, or, to teach that one is also liable if he performs zerikah (applying the blood of an offering) outside the Beis

HaMikdash.According to R’ Yishmael, the word או is not extra;

we need it to tell us that one is liable if he offers up an olah “or” a shelamim (peace offering) — and he does not have to offer up both to be liable. R’ Akiva notes that our



pasuk says, and he will not bring “it” (יביאנו) — in the sin-gular — to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, teaching that one is liable for offering up even one offering (Zevachim 107a).

The following chart shows what R’ Akiva and R’ Yish-mael learn from the various phrases of our pesukim:

R’ Akiva R’ Yishmael

or ,או One is liable for performing zerikah outside.

One is liable for of-fering up even one offering outside

he ,לא יביאנוwill not bring “it” (singular)

One is liable for offering up even one offering outside.

One is liable only if he offers up a “complete” thing192 outside.

עשות אתו ,ל�to perform “its” service (all of “it”)

One is liable only if he offers up a “complete” thing outside.193

One is liable only if he offers up a “complete” thing outside, even if the offering had been properly slaugh-tered inside the Beis HaMikdash.194

� For Hashemה‘ ” (זבחים קח.): טור. . . דכתיב ”ל� הדיוט פ� עלה ל� מ� ה‘. ה� ל�

Regarding the prohibition against bringing an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, and he will not

bring it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed to perform its ser-

vice “to Hashem.” This teaches that the prohibition applies only to an offering being brought to Hashem. If someone offers up an offering to worship a human being, although he is liable for the sin of idolatry, he is not liable for bringing an offering outside the Beis HaMikdash (Zevachim 108a).

� There’s Still a Wayבות פסולין, ין לר� שים כשרים, מנ� ד� א ק� עשות אתו. אין לי אל� לא יביאנו ל�

ושקבלו למקומו, וחוץ נו לזמ� ט חוץ ושנשח� מא, ט� וה� יוצא, וה� ן, ל� כגון ה�ה על� נין למ� נית� ה, וה� על� ן למ� נ� ה שנת� ט� נין למ� נית� מו, וה� רקו את ד� פסולין וז�חוץ, ן ב� נ� נין בפנים שנת� נית� ן בפנים, וה� נ� חוץ שנת� נין ב� נית� ה, וה� ט� ן למ� נ� שנת�יביאנו ”לא ר לומ� למוד ת� יין? מנ� ן, לשמ� שלא ן ט� ששח� את ט� וח� ח ופס�חוץ (זבחים קט.): יו ב� ל� יבין ע� י� ח אהל מועד ח� בל בפת� מתק� ל ה� עשות“ כ� ל�

Regarding the prohibition against bringing an offering outside the Mishkan or Beis HaMikdash, our pasuk says, and he will not bring it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed. This indicates that one is liable only if he brings an offering that was fit to be offered in the Beis HaMikdash.

If an offering becomes invalid after it has already been brought into the Courtyard — for example, if the meat is left overnight, if it becomes tamei (ritually impure), if it was slaughtered with the intention of eating it past its accept-able time, or if its blood was applied by an unfit Kohen or to the wrong place — its parts may not be offered on the Mizbe’ach. However, if they were wrongly placed on the Mizbe’ach, then, after the fact, it is left there to be burned.

Our pasuk adds the word עשות ,to perform its service ,ל�to teach us that if there is any way to “perform its service” on the Mizbe’ach, even if only after the fact, one is liable if he offers it up outside (Zevachim 109a).

יו מ� הוא מע� איש ה� ת ה� That man shall be cut off from — ונכר�his people.

� “That Man,” as Opposed to — ?ים. . . יב] ולא שנ� י� ה ח� ד [שהעל� הוא“, אח� בי יוסי אומר: ”ה� הוא. ר� איש ה� ה�

נוס, מוטעה (זבחים קח:): עוטי שוגג, א� עי ליה למ� בי שמעון. . . מיב� ור�Our pasuk teaches that if a person brings an offering

outside the Beis HaMikdash, “that man” — in the singu-lar — shall be cut off from his people. According to one opinion, this teaches that if two men offered it together, they are not liable.

According to another opinion, the phrase “that man” does not exclude two people, but rather it means the “en-tire person,” with his full awareness. If he transgressed the sin by mistake, or he was forced or misled into doing it, he is not subject to kares (Zevachim 108b).

נפש ר ”ב� שנאמ� נכרתין: (י) כל דם. לפי וימיו נכרת ת. ז�רעו ונכר� (ט) ר למוד לומ� מוקדשים, ת� ם ה� ל ד� ייב אלא ע� פר“ (פסוק יא), יכול לא יהא ח� יכ�אי שלי, פונה אני מכל י. פנ� תי פנ� ”כל דם“ (תורת כהנים פרשתא ח, ב): ונת�

דם היא בריה ב� בשר. של כל י ועוסק בו (שם ד): (יא) כי נפש ה� עסק�פר ל נפש האדם, תבוא נפש ותכ� פר ע� מזבח� לכ� ל ה� תיו ע� תלויה, ולפיכך נת�

נפש: ל ה� ע�

ל א ישר( ית מב� יש א יש י וא יו: מ= �ע מ+ הוא �ה יש zא ה( ת Sונכרפש נ �י ב �נ י פ( ת� �ת ם ונ= ל־ד[ ל כ( Xר יאכ Kם אש ר בתוכ( pומן־הגר הגפש Eנ י יא כ� ה: מ= �ע רב מק� ה Gאת י zת �והכר ם את־הד( לת Eאכ ה=ר פ� �לכ �ח מזב �ל־ה �ע כם ל( יו ת_ �נת י אנ ו� הוא ם pבד שר ב( �ה

ר י וגב� מה: הוא מע� א ה� ש� וישתיצי אנ�ירון א די יתג� אל ומן גיור� ר מבית ישר� גב�א ואתן רוגזי ל דמ� ביניכון די ייכול כ�תה א ואשיצי י� ת דמ� א דייכול י� ש� באנ�א היא א בדמ� ש בסר� מה: יא ארי נפ� מגו ע�א ר� פ� א לכ� דבח� ל מ� בתה לכון ע� א יה� אנ� ו�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / י־יא 426 / ספר ויקרא

192. See Zevachim 108b: According to one opinion, “complete” means all of the sacrificial parts of the offering; according to a second opinion, it means a complete limb; and according to a third opinion, it means a complete kezayis (the volume of an olive). 193. See previous note. 194. See Schottenstein Edition, note 22.


that man shall be cut off from his people.

10 Any man of the House of Israel and of the proselyte who dwells among them who

will consume any blood — I shall concentrate My attention upon the soul consuming

the blood, and I will cut it off from the midst of its people. 11For the soul of the flesh is

in the blood and I have assigned it for you upon the Mizbe’ach to provide atonement

Prohibition

against eating

blood

195. See previous discussion. 196. With regard to me’ilah the Torah (below, 5:15) says, If a person will commit a misappropriation…against the “holies of Hashem”…; that is, items that are “exclusively for Hashem.” Animals designated as kodshei kodashim (most-holy) offerings are subject to me’ilah from the time they are designated as an offering until their blood is applied to the Mizbe’ach. At that point the meat becomes permissible to Kohanim, and is no longer “exclusively for Hashem”; the meat is therefore not subject to me’ilah. On the other hand, me’ilah does not apply to offerings that are kodashim kalim (lesser holiness), such as a shelamim, until after the blood is applied and the sacrificial parts become fit to be burned on the Mizbe’ach. At that point, those sacrificial parts (but not the meat) are “exclusively for Hashem” and are subject to me’ilah.

ם .10 ל ד� .Any blood — כ�

� Any?נפש שים שה� ד� ם ק� א ד� ם“ אין לי אל� ל ד� ר ”כ� למוד לומ� ה ת� ם“ מ� ם. ”ד� ל ד� כ�ל ר ”כ� למוד לומ� ין? ת� מצית מנ� ת� ם ה� ם חולין וד� פר, ד� יוצא בו שהוא מכ�

ם“ (כריתות ד:, כב.): ד�ה כן, אין לי מר� א א� תנית� א: מ� ב חסד� בי בון בשם ר� בי יוסי בי ר� ם. ר� ל ד� כ�נפש ה� ם יין ד� מנ� ה, ר� פ� לכ� אוי שהוא ר� ר ב� שין, ד� במוקד� נפש ם ה� א ד� אל�ל ם“. וכ� ר ”ד� למוד לומ� שין? ת� מצית בין בחולין בין במוקד� ם ת� בחולין וד�ה ר� פ� זכיר כ� מצית אינו מ� ה, אצל ת� ר� פ� זכיר כ� ם שהוא אצל נפש הוא מ� ד�

(ירושלמי פסחים ה, ח):Regarding the punishment of kares for a person who drinks

blood, our pasuk says, Any man of the House of Israel…who will consume “any” (ל blood… The Torah could have written (כ�who will consume blood. Why does it add the word ל ?any ,כ�

The next pasuk explains this prohibition: I have assigned it for you upon the Mizbe’ach to provide atonement. Based on this, one might think that a person is liable only if he eats the blood of an offering, and only if he eats the “life-blood” that spurts out when the animal is first slaughtered, since that is the only blood that is fit to be applied to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) to provide atonement.

Our pasuk therefore teaches that one is liable if he eats “any” blood — even the blood of an animal that is not an offering, and even the blood that drains out from the animal after the initial spurt (Kereisos 4b, 22a; Yerushalmi Pesachim 5:8).

� The Blood of a FetusIf a dead fetus is found inside a slaughtered animal, the

fetus may be eaten after its blood is removed, like any other part of the mother animal’s body.

ם ד� ייב א� מיח� נפש ם ה� ד� ייב א� דמיח� א היכ� ל ם“, כ� ל ד� ו“כ� ם“, ם. ”ד� ל ד� כ�מצית ת� ם ה� ד� ייב א� נפש לא מח� ם ה� ד� ייב א� א דלא מח� ל היכ� מצית, וכ� ת� ה�

(חולין עד:):Regarding the punishment of kares for a person who

eats blood, our pasuk says, Any man of the House of Is-rael…who will consume “any” (ל blood… According to (כ�one opinion, the word “blood” alone refers to only the “life-blood” that spurts out when the animal is slaughtered. The word ל any, teaches that one is subject to kares even for ,כ�eating the blood that drains out afterward.195

Since both types of blood are mentioned together, we compare them. Therefore, just as there is no kares for eating the “lifeblood” of a dead fetus, because it has no “lifeblood,” so too there is no penalty of kares for eating any blood from the fetus (Chullin 74b).

פר .11 מזבח� לכ� ל ה� כם ע� תיו ל� אני נת� And I have assigned — ו�it for you upon the Mizbe’ach to provide atonement.

� Out of Placeפרו נתכ� מזבח� ם ל� שהגיע� ד� ן כיו� פר. לכ� מזבח� ל ה� כם ע� תיו ל� נת� אני ו�ר ב� תיו ולא לד� ה נת� ר� פ� פר“, לכ� א ”לכ� ר קר� מ� מי, א� ר נ� ש� כי ב� לים, אי ה� בע�

חר (זבחים כו:): א�Regarding the blood of an offering, our pasuk says, I have

assigned it for you upon the Mizbe’ach to provide atonement. According to one opinion, this teaches that as long as the blood is applied to the Mizbe’ach, it provides atonement, even if it was applied to the wrong part of the Mizbe’ach. Therefore, if the blood of an offering that was supposed to be applied to the lower half of the Mizbe’ach was applied to the upper half, or vice versa, the offering is valid.

Usually, applying the blood to the Mizbe’ach makes it permissible to eat the meat of the offering. However, our pasuk says to provide atonement, teaching that applying blood to the wrong part of the Mizbe’ach serves only to provide atonement. Although the offering is valid, its meat may not be eaten (Zevachim 26b).

� Sacrificial BloodMe’ilah is the prohibition against benefitting from con-

secrated items. With regard to offerings, the general rule is that the parts of the offering that are supposed to be offered up to Hashem are subject to the law of me’ilah until the mitzvah has been fulfilled, and the parts that are eaten by people are not subject to me’ilah.196

א הן, מנ� א אין מועלין ב� יית� פר. מדאור� מזבח� לכ� ל ה� כם ע� תיו ל� אני נת� ו�בי שמעון דבי ר� יהא, כם כם“, של� א ”ל� ר קר� מ� א: א� ר עול� מ� מילי? א� ני ה�א ר קר� מ� ר: א� מ� ן א� נ� בי יוח� ה, ור� תיו ולא למעיל� ה נת� ר� פ� פר“, לכ� א: ”לכ� נ� ת�ף ה, א� ה אין בו מעיל� ר� פ� ר כ� ח� ה לא� ה, מ� ר� פ� ר כ� ח� ה כלא� ר� פ� ”הוא“, לפני כ�עוטי ד למ� ה לי? ח� מ� ם ל� ד� אי ב� תי קר� ני תל� ה. . . וה� ה אין בו מעיל� ר� פ� לפני כ�ה (יומא נט:, זבחים מו., עוטי מטומא� ד למ� ה, וח� עוטי ממעיל� ד למ� ר, וח� מנות�

חולין קיז., מעילה יא.):



בי בי מאיר, ור� מים דברי ר� יו בד� ני, מועלין ה� פר, ת� נפש יכ� ם הוא ב� ד� כי ה�ן: נ� בי יוח� הו בשם ר� ב� בי א� מים, ר� ה בד� מים אומרים: אין מעיל� חכ� שמעון ו�ד (ירושלמי ת נפש בלב� ר� פ� א כ� פר“, אין לך� בו אל� נפש יכ� ם הוא ב� ד� ”כי ה�

יומא ה, ו):Regarding the blood of an offering, our pasuk says, I

have assigned it “for you” (כם upon the Mizbe’ach “to (ל�

provide atonement” (פר (הוא) ”for your souls; for “it is (לכ�

the blood that atones for the soul. These three words — הוא, כם פר and ,ל� .limit the laws that apply to blood — לכ�

According to most opinions, one of them teaches that the law of me’ilah does not apply to the blood of an offer-ing. However, there is a disagreement as to which word we learn this from:

One opinion is that we learn it from the word כם for ,ל�

you. This teaches that the blood is considered “yours,” and therefore it is not subject to me’ilah.

A second opinion is that we learn it from the word פר ,לכ�to provide atonement. This teaches that the blood was given sanctity only with regard to providing atonement, not with regard to me’ilah.

A third opinion is that we learn it from the word הוא, it is, which implies that the blood always remains in the same state. Therefore, just as there is surely no me’ilah once it has been applied to the Mizbe’ach, for then the mitzvah has already been fulfilled, so too, there is no me’ilah even before the mitzvah is done.

The other two exclusions in our pasuk exclude blood from the prohibition against eating nossar (an offering that was left over beyond the permissible time period), and from the prohibition against eating from an offering that has become tamei (ritually impure) (Yoma 59b; Zevachim 46a; Chullin 117a; Me’ilah 11a; Yerushalmi Yoma 5:6).

פר נפש יכ� ם הוא ב� ד� For it is the blood that atones — כי ה�for the soul.

� Soul Bloodנפש ם שאין ה� פר ד� ה בו מכ� נפש יוצא� ם שה� פר. ד� נפש יכ� ם הוא ב� ד� כי ה�

פר (פסחים סה:, זבחים לה., כריתות כב.): ה בו אינו מכ� יוצא�Regarding the blood of an offering, our pasuk says, כי

פר יכ� נפש ם הוא ב� ד� which may be translated: For it is the ,ה�

blood that, “through the soul,” atones. This teaches that the only blood applied to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) to pro-vide atonement is the “lifeblood” of the animal; that is, the blood that spurts out immediately after the animal is slaughtered, which causes its “soul” to depart (Pesachim 65b; Zevachim 35a; Kereisos 22a).

� Atonement Through Bloodם הוא ד� ר ”כי ה� ם, שנאמ� ד� א ב� ה אל� ר� פ� פר. אין כ� נפש יכ� ם הוא ב� ד� כי ה�

פר“ (יומא ה., זבחים ו., מנחות צג:): נפש יכ� ב�Our pasuk says, for it is the blood [of an offering] that

atones for the soul. This teaches that the atonement provided by an offering comes by applying its blood to the Mizbe’ach (Yoma 5a; Zevachim 6a; Menachos 93b).

ל נפש מכם .12 .Any person among you — כ�

� Feeding Childrenל ע� גדולים ה� זהיר לה� ם“, ד� ל תאכ� לא מכם נפש ל ”כ� מכם. נפש ל כ�

ים (יבמות קיד.): ד� נים. . . דלא ליספו להו בי� קט� ה�The Torah contains many warnings against eating

blood.197 Our pasuk adds, “Any person” among you may

not consume blood, to teach us that it is forbidden for an adult to give blood (or any other prohibited food) to a mi-nor to eat (Yevamos 114a).

� Eating a Drinkמן ה ל� ע שמ� ה יונ� בי ר� ה? אכיל� ל בכל� יה שתי� שה� ין מנ� מכם. נפש ל כ�ן ה נ� ם“, מ� ל ד� ל נפש מכם לא תאכ� אל כ� רתי לבני ישר� מ� ל כן א� א, ”ע� הד�שקה, ש אינו לא אוכל ולא מ� ר� ם שק� ני ד� א ת� ש, ה� ר� ם שק� יימין? אם בד� ק�(ירושלמי ה אכיל� את אותו ר� ה ק� תור� וה� כמות שהוא, יימין ן ק� נ� כי א אל�

מעשר שני ב, א; ירושלמי יומא ח, ג; ירושלמי שבועות ג, ב):Our pasuk says, Any person among you may not “eat”

ל) ,blood. The pasuk cannot be referring to congealed (תאכ�solid blood, because the Torah forbids blood only in its natural, liquid state. Yet, our pasuk refers to it as “eating,” not “drinking.” This teaches that the Torah refers to both eating and drinking as “eating,” and both are included in any prohibition to “eat” something (Yerushalmi Maaser Sheni 2:1; Yerushalmi Yoma 8:3; Yerushalmi Shevuos 3:2).

197. For example, above, 3:17 and 7:26.

נים (שם ו):] (יג) אשר יצוד. קט� ל ה� זהיר גדולים ע� [(יב) כל נפש מכם. לה�ר ציד, מכל למוד לומ� ין, ת� רנגולין מנ� ווזין ות� צד, [נצודין ועומדין כגון] א� אין לי אלא ה�

זמנה זאת (תורת ל בשר אלא בה� ר ”אשר יצוד“, שלא יאכ� מקום, [אם כן למה נאמ�כהנים פרק יא, ב; חולין פד.)]: אשר יאכל. פרט לטמאים (תורת כהנים שם ג):

י רתי לבנ� �מ ן א( ל־כ� �ר: יב ע פ+ �פש יכ Kנ �ם הוא ב י־הד/ Qם כ תיכ� פש �ל־נ �עם לא־ Dר בתוככ ר הג/ xם והג ל ד[ �אכ ם לא־ת Dפש מכ Kל־נ ל כ( א ישר(

ר ם אש ר בתוכ( pל ומן־הגר הג א י ישר( יש מבנ� יש א ם: יג וא ל ד= �יאכר: פ= ע( aהו ב Gמו וכס ך את־ד( �פ ל וש( yכ ר י+א( Eה או־עוף אש eיד חי Oצוד צ י(

א פש� ל נ� א הוא ע� תיכון ארי דמ� פש� ל נ� ע�ל אל כ� רית לבני ישר� ל כן אמ� ר: יב ע� פ� מכ�די א וגיור� א ייכול דמ� א ש מנכון ל� אנ�ר א: יג וגב� א ייכול דמ� ירון ביניכון ל� יתג�ירון א די יתג� אל ומן גיור� ר מן בני ישר� גב�א די א או עופ� ית� א ח� ביניכון די יצוד ציד�א: פר� סנה בע� ת דמה ויכ� מתאכל ויישוד י�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / יב־יג 428 / ספר ויקרא


for your souls; for it is the blood that atones for the soul. 12 Therefore I have said to the Chil-

dren of Israel: ‘‘Any person among you may not consume blood; and the proselyte who

dwells among you may not consume blood.’’

13 Any man of the Children of Israel and of the proselyte who dwells among them who will trap

a prey of a beast or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

Covering

blood

צוד ציד .13 .Who will trap a prey — אשר י�


ם ד� ת כסוי ה� מצוה קפז: מצו�Mitzvah 187: The Obligation to Cover the Blood After

SlaughteringA person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic animal)

or a bird is required to cover its blood with earth.

� In Moderationמאליהן ועומדין נצודין צוד“, י� ”אשר א אל� לי אין ציד. צוד י� אשר ה קום, אם כן מ� ל מ� ר ”ציד“ מכ� למוד לומ� רנגולים, ת� וזין ות� ו� ין, כגון א� מנ�ר ש� ם ב� ד� ל א� ה דרך ארץ שלא יאכ� ה תור� צוד“ למד� ר ”אשר י� למוד לומ� ת�

זאת (חולין פד.): ה ה� נ� זמ� א בה� אל�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-

mal) or a bird is required to cover its blood with earth. This is the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, covering the blood.

Our pasuk introduces the mitzvah of kisuy hadam with the words, Any man of the Children of Israel…who will trap “a prey” (ציד) of a beast or bird… The word ציד, a prey, seems unnecessary. It teaches us that the mitzvah applies to any “prey,” not only to animals and birds that need to be trapped, but even to those that are already “trapped,” meaning domestic birds that do not try to escape, such as chickens.

Why, then, does the Torah mention trapping at all? The Torah is teaching us proper behavior: A person should not indulge in expensive luxuries like eating meat, ex-cept upon rare occasions, as if it were necessary to trap an animal each time he wanted to eat meat (Chullin 84a).

ה או עוף י� .A beast or bird — ח�

� Kisuy Hadam and Offeringsב ר ר� ר ב� שין. . . מ� ל לא במוקד� ם נוהג. . . בחולין אב� ד� ה או עוף. כסוי ה� י� ח�ף עוף אינו ה קדש, א� ה אינ� י� ה ח� ה או עוף“, מ� י� א ”ח� ר קר� מ� ר: א� מ� שי א� א�

קדש (חולין פד.):A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomes-

tic animal) or a bird is required to cover its blood with earth. This is the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, covering the blood.

When a bird offering is slaughtered, there is no mitzvah of kisuy hadam. We learn this from our pasuk, which in-troduces the mitzvah of kisuy hadam with the words, Any man of the Children of Israel…who will trap a chayah or bird… Since the chayah and the bird are mentioned to-gether, they are compared to each other: A chayah cannot be brought as an offering; so too, the bird that our pasuk

includes in the mitzvah of kisuy hadam is only one that is not consecrated as an offering (Chullin 84a).

� One Act Covers Bothל ה ובין מועטת, ”עוף“ כ� ה, בין מרוב� י� ע ח� שמ� ל מ� ה“ כ� י� ה או עוף. ”ח� י� ח�קום יות במ� ה ח� ט מא� ח� מרו ש� אן א� ט, מכ� ע עוף, בין מרובה ובין מוע� שמ� מ�ה י� ן, ח� ד לכול� ד כסוי אח� קום אח� ה עופות במ� ן, מא� ד לכול� ד כסוי אח� אח�ה, סנ� ה יכ� י� ט ח� ח� ה אומר: ש� בי יהוד� ן, ר� ד לכול� ד כסוי אח� קום אח� ועוף במ�מרו לו: הרי הוא ה או עוף“, א� י� ר ”ח� עוף, שנאמ� ך ישחוט את ה� ר כ� ח� וא�דרי ליה? א מה� אי ק� פשו הוא“. מ� מו בנ� ר ד� ש� ל ב� אומר (פסוק יד) ”כי נפש כ�לק ה לח� בי יהוד� לק; ור� עי ליה לח� אי ”או“, מיב� ן: ה� נ� ב� מרי ליה ר� א� כי ק� ה�מו ר ד� ש� ל ב� ע, דכתיב ”כי נפש כ� שמ� א מ� מו“ טוב� ן ”ד� נ� ב� א; ור� פק� מו“ נ� מ“ד�

פשו הוא“ (חולין פו:): בנ�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomes-


Our pasuk introduces the mitzvah of kisuy hadam with the words, Any man of the Children of Israel…who will trap a chayah or bird… The words ה או עוף י� ,a chayah or bird ,ח�can refer to a single chayah and a single bird, or to the entire category of “chayah” and “bird,” which would refer to even many animals and birds. Therefore, if someone slaughters many chayos, or many birds, it is sufficient to perform the mitzvah of kisuy hadam one time, by covering all the blood at once.

However, according to one opinion, since the pasuk says a chayah “or” a bird, the word “or” separates the two, indicating that if someone slaughters both a chayah and a bird, he must perform a separate act of kisuy for each one.

According to another opinion, the word “or” tells us only that there is a mitzvah of kisuy even if someone slaughters only a chayah or only a bird. The first opinion says that we know that from the next pasuk, which refers to “its” blood (מו in the singular. The first opinion notes that the ,(ד�word מו ”,its” blood, is referring to the blood of “all flesh“ ,ד�which, he says, indicates numerous creatures (Chullin 86b).

הו מו וכס� ך את ד� פ� He shall pour out its blood and — וש�cover it.

� Respect for a Mitzvahשלא סה, יכ� בו ך פ� שש� מה ב� ה“, וכס� ך. . . פ� ”וש� הו. וכס� מו ד� את ך פ� וש�

יו (שבת כב., חולין פז.): ל� רגל, שלא יהיו מצות בזויות ע� סנו ב� יכ�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Regarding the slaughter of a chayah or a bird, our pasuk



says, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. The Torah mentions “pouring out its blood” — meaning slaugh-tering it — together with the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, so that we compare one to the other. Just as slaughtering is done with one’s hand, so too, kisuy hadam should be done with one’s hand, and not with one’s foot, because one must not treat Hashem’s mitzvos disrespectfully (Shabbos 22a; Chullin 87a).

� Slaughter and Coverסה (בבא קמא צא:, ך יכ� פ� ה“, מי שש� ך. . . וכס� פ� הו. “וש� מו וכס� ך את ד� פ� וש�

חולין פז.):A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Regarding the slaughter of a chayah or a bird, our pasuk says, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. The Torah mentions “pouring out its blood” —slaughter-ing it — together with the mitzvah of kisuy hadam. This teaches that the slaughterer is the one who has the ob-ligation to cover the blood198 (Bava Kamma 91b; Chullin 87a).

� No Shechitah Requiredך“ פ� ”וש� ר שנאמ� ה, תור� מן ה� לעוף ה שחיט� אין הו. וכס� מו ך את ד� פ� וש�

גי (חולין כז:): א ס� למ� ה בע� בשפיכ�Regarding the slaughter of a chayah or a bird, our pasuk

says, he shall pour out its blood (מו ך את ד� פ� .(וש�According to one opinion, the Torah uses the phrase

“pour out its blood,” rather than an expression of shechi-tah (kosher slaughtering), because — according to this opinion — a bird does not require shechitah by Torah law; it may be killed in any manner. This opinion holds that shechitah of birds is a Rabbinic obligation (Chullin 27b).

� Without Interruptionשין. . . ל לא במוקד� ם נוהג. . . בחולין אב� ד� הו. כסוי ה� מו וכס� ך את ד� פ� וש�ה“ וכס� ך. . . פ� ”וש� א קר� ר מ� דא� ית. . . ב� ה� בדק דשי בק� ן: סקינ� ע� אי במ� א כ� ה�יה ה פדי� ר שפיכ� א זה שמחוס� צ� ה וכסוי, י� א שפיכ� ר אל� מי שאינו מחוס�שאינו מי , מזבח� דשי ק� א תימ� אפילו כי, לה� תית דא� א שת� וה� וכסוי, ה וכסוי (חולין ה גריר� ר שפיכ� א זה שמחוס� צ� ה וכסוי, י� א שפיכ� ר אל� מחוס�

פד.):A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Our pasuk describes the mitzvah of kisuy hadam as, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth. The Torah mentions “pouring out its blood” — slaughtering it — to-gether with the mitzvah of kisuy hadam. This teaches that the mitzvah of kisuy hadam applies only when it can be performed immediately after the shechitah (slaughtering), with no other steps in between.

According to one opinion, the mitzvah of kisuy hadam begins only after an act of shechitah that made the chayah or bird fit to be eaten. If a chayah or a bird that was conse-crated to the treasury of the Beis HaMikdash was slaugh-tered, it may not be eaten until it is first redeemed. Since redemption would have to take place between the shechi-tah and the kisuy, there is no mitzvah of kisuy.

Similarly, with regard to a bird offering, where the blood must first be allowed to go on the Mizbe’ach (Altar), and it would be necessary to scrape it off to do kisuy, there is no mitzvah of kisuy (Chullin 84a).

� Unfit for Human Consumptionבי ר ר� מ� ם? א� ד� בי מאיר בכסוי ה� א דר� עמ� אי ט� מ� הו. וכס� מו ך את ד� פ� וש�ה“ (לעיל פסוק ד) משחוטי חוץ, ה“, ”שפיכ� ר ”שפיכ� מ� קיש: ג� שמעון בן ל�ה ה שאינ� אן, שחיט� ף כ� ה, א� ה שחיט� ה שמ� ה ראוי� ה שאינ� ן, שחיט� ל� ה לה� מ�הוא בי מאיר, ה� כל“ כתיב; ור� בי שמעון, ”אשר יא� ה; ור� ה שחיט� ה שמ� ראוי�

א (חולין פה.): ת� מא הוא דא� עוטי עוף ט� למ�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomes-


Regarding the slaughter of a chayah or a bird, our pasuk says, Any man…who will trap a beast or bird that may be eaten, he shall pour out (ך פ� its blood and cover it with (וש�earth.

According to one opinion, the phrase “that may be eat-en” teaches that the mitzvah of kisuy hadam applies only to an act of shechitah (kosher slaughtering) that makes the chayah or bird fit to be eaten.

According to another opinion, even if the animal does not become fit to be eaten, there is still a mitzvah to cover the blood. We learn this through a gezeirah shavah:199

Our pasuk refers to shechitah with the phrase, he shall pour out (ך פ� its blood. A similar phrase is used with (וש�regard to slaughtering an offering outside the Beis HaMik-dash, which, on the contrary, forbids the animal from be-ing eaten:200 he has shed (ך פ� blood. Just as that pasuk is (ש�speaking about an “unfit” shechitah, so, too, our pasuk is speaking even about a shechitah that is “unfit.” This opin-ion explains that when our pasuk uses the phrase “that may be eaten,” it means to exclude a nonkosher species of chayah or bird from the mitzvah of kisuy hadam (Chullin 85a).

� How Much Blood to Coverיב י� כין ח� ס� ל ה� ז ושע� נית� ם ה� מד שד� הו“, מל� הו. ”וכס� מו וכס� ך את ד� פ� וש�ל יש א הוא, אב� ם אל� ם ד� ן שאין ש� י בזמ� ת� ה: אימ� בי יהוד� ר ר� מ� סות, א� לכ�מו ל ד� מד שכ� הו“, מל� ך: ”וכס� א איד� ני� סות. ת� טור מלכ� ם שלא הוא פ� ם ד� ש�ר מ� סות; א� יב לכ� י� יים, ח� פ� ל אג� ז ושע� נית� ם ה� מרו, ד� אן א� סות, מכ� יב לכ� י� ח�ל נפש, אב� ם ה� ה ד� רים אמורים, שלא כס� מה דב� מליאל: ב� ן שמעון בן ג� ב� ר�ל מו“ כ� ברי ”ד� ן ס� נ� ב� א מיפלגי, ר� אי ק� סות, במ� טור מלכ� נפש פ� ם ה� ה ד� כס�

198. See also next pasuk, “Everyone’s Mitzvah.” 199. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezei-rah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesu-kim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 200. Above, pasuk 4.

פרשת אחרי יז / יב־יג 430 / ספר ויקרא


201. Yechezkel 24:8.

מליאל ן שמעון בן ג� ב� מו, ור� ת ד� אפילו מקצ� מו“ ו� ר ”ד� ב� ה ס� בי יהוד� מו, ר� ד�ד (חולין פח.): מיוח� מו“ ה� ר ”ד� ב� ס�

A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-mal) or a bird is required to cover its blood with earth. This is the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, covering the blood.

Regarding the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, our pasuk says, he shall pour out “its blood” (מו .and cover it with earth (ד�There is a disagreement as to what the Torah means by “its” blood.

One opinion is that it means all of its blood. Therefore, even the blood that splatters or clings to the knife must be scraped off and covered.

A second opinion is that the Torah means any of its blood; it is sufficient to cover any small amount of the blood, even if it is only the blood on the knife.

A third opinion is that it means all of its “unique” blood, meaning, all of the “lifeblood” that spurts out when the chayah or bird is first slaughtered; the remainder of the blood is not included in the mitzvah (Chullin 88a).

ר פ� הו בע� .And cover it with earth — וכס�

� In the Earthר ה, שנאמ� על� ר למ� פ� ה וע� ט� ר למ� פ� ריך שיתן ע� שוחט צ� ר. ה� פ� הו בע� וכס�ריך צ� שוחט שה� מד מל� ר“ פ� ”בע� א אל� ר, נאמ� לא ר פ� ע� ר“, פ� בע� הו ”וכס�

ה (ביצה ז:, חולין לא., פג:): על� ר למ� פ� ה וע� ט� ר למ� פ� שיתן ע�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Regarding the slaughter of a chayah or a bird, our pasuk says, he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth ר) פ� ר The word .(בע� פ� literally means “in” the earth. This בע�teaches that there must be a layer of loose earth beneath the blood and a layer of loose earth over the blood, so that the blood is completely “in” the earth (Beitzah 7b; Chullin 31a, 83b).

� Not Just Earthמקומות ה בשלש� עאל: ישמ� בי ר� משום ן נ� יוח� בי ר� ר מ� א� ר. פ� בע� הו וכס�ר. . . (סוטה ב� ל ד� ה בכ� כ� הל� ר“ ו� פ� ה ”בע� מר� ה א� תור� א, ה� ה עוקבת מקר� כ� הל�

טז., ירושלמי קידושין א, ב):כלי, ה� את יו ל� יכפה ע� או נים אב� ב� סנו יכ� כול י� הו“, ”וכס� ר. פ� בע� הו וכס�ק, וחול ד� זבל ה� בות ין לר� ר, מנ� פ� א ע� ואין לי אל� ר“, פ� ר ”בע� למוד לומ� ת�ונסורת ה, ק� ד� ן פשת� ונעורת רסית, ח� ת ושחיק� נים, אב� ת ושחיק� ק, ד� ה�ר לומ� למוד ן? ת� ש� שכת� ה ומגופ� ה, לבנ� רסית וח� וסיד ה, ק� ד� שין ר� של ח�כלי ת ושחיק� ס, ג� ה� וחול ס, ג� ה� זבל ף א� בה מר� שאני כול י� הו“, ”וכס�למוד ת� ן? ומורס� וסובין, ח, וקמ� ן, ש� כת� שלא ה ומגופ� ה, ולבנ� כות, ת� מ�

ר“ (חולין פח.): פ� ר ”בע� לומ�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


In several places, a Halachah LeMoshe MiSinai (oral tradition from Sinai) overrides the simple meaning of the Torah.

Regarding the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, our pasuk spe-cifically says, cover it with “earth” (ר פ� Yet, a Halachah .(בע�LeMoshe MiSinai teaches that one need not necessarily use earth; he may use any substance in which plants can grow, such as lime, ground earthenware, or crushed brick (Sotah 16a; Yerushalmi Kiddushin 1:2).

According to another teaching, we learn this from the pasuk itself. Had the Torah meant to say that one must use only earth, it would have written סנו ר יכ� פ� and with earth ,ובע�shall he cover it. Instead, the pasuk first says, and cover it, without specifying what he must use. This would lead us to believe that the blood may be covered with anything, even by placing a stone or an overturned vessel on it. Then the pasuk says with earth, which teaches that the blood must be covered with something similar to earth, any substance in which plants can grow (Chullin 88a).

� Once Is Enoughהו“ ”וכס� א מיעוט� כתיב סות. . . מלכ� טור פ� ה ל� ונתג� הו כס� ר. פ� בע� הו וכס�

(חולין פז.):A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Regarding the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, our pasuk says, and cover “it” (הו with earth. The letter vav at the end (וכס�of the word הו which means “it,” indicates that only one ,וכס�act of covering is required. Therefore, if one covered the blood, and it then became uncovered, he need not cover it again (Chullin 87a).

� The Blood That Was Not Coveredמו הגו בד� כהנים. ולא נ� ת ה� ה? בעזר� רי� רגו את זכ� ן ה� ר. איכ� פ� הו בע� וכס�ר“, פ� הו בע� מו וכס� ך את ד� פ� ן כתיב ”וש� מ� צבי, ת� ם ה� ל ולא כד� י� א� ם ה� לא כד�תהו“ מ� ע ש� ל צחיח� סל� ה ע� י� ה ה� ה בתוכ� מ� א (יחזקאל כד, ז) ”כי ד� כ� ם ה� בר�

(ירושלמי תענית ד, ה):A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Zechariah ben Yehoyadah was a Kohen and prophet who rebuked the aristocrats of the Kingdom of Yehudah for deifying King Yoash. At the king’s bidding, the aristocrats murdered him in the Beis HaMikdash compound, on no less holy a day than Yom Kippur.

His blood lay bubbling on the Courtyard floor for 252 years. When the Babylonian general Nebuzaradan came to destroy the Beis HaMikdash and saw the blood, he ordered the massacre of 80,000 young Kohanim.

Why didn’t they give Zechariah’s blood at least the re-spect that is given to the blood of a chayah, and cover it, as our pasuk says, and cover it with earth?

This was orchestrated by Hashem in order to avenge the murder in the time of Nebuzaradan, as the prophet201 says, So that it might stir up My (that is, Hashem’s) wrath to take vengeance, have I placed her blood upon the smooth rock, that it be not covered (Yerushalmi Taanis 4:5).



אל .14 ר לבני ישר� אמ� .So I say to the Children of Israel — ו�

� Everyone’s Mitzvahסות? יב לכ� י� ין שח� חר, מנ� הו א� א� ה, ור� ט ולא כס� ח� אל. ש� ר לבני ישר� אמ� ו�

אל (חולין פז.): ל בני ישר� ה לכ� ר� זה� אל“ א� ר לבני ישר� אמ� ר ”ו� שנאמ�A person who slaughters a chayah (nondomestic ani-


Kisuy hadam is the obligation of the one who slaugh-tered the chayah or bird.202 However, if he leaves without having covered the blood, anyone who comes upon it is obligated to perform the mitzvah. This is why our pasuk, which refers to the mitzvah of kisuy hadam, says, so I say “to the Children of Israel”… This indicates that the mitz-vah is incumbent upon all of the Jewish people (Chullin 87a).

רת יו יכ� ל אכל� .Whoever consumes it will be cut off — כ�

� Only KaresMe’ilah is the prohibition against benefitting from con-

secrated items. With regard to offerings, the general rule is that the parts of the offering that are supposed to be offered up to Hashem are subject to the law of me’ilah until the mitzvah has been fulfilled, and the parts that are permissible for people are not subject to me’ilah.

בי שמעון בי מאיר, ור� מים, דברי ר� יו בד� ני: מועלין ה� רת. ת� יו יכ� ל אכל� כ�ל ”כ� ן נ� יוח� בי ר� בשם יה חי� בי ר� מים. . . בד� ה מעיל� אין אומרים: מים חכ� ו�

ד (ירושלמי יומא ה, ו): רת נפש בלב� א כ� רת“, אין לך� בו אל� יו יכ� אכל�Regarding the blood of any creature, our pasuk says,

whoever consumes it will be “cut off,” referring to the pun-ishment of kares.203 According to one opinion, this teaches that eating blood carries only the penalty of kares. Even if it is the blood of an offering, it is not subject to the law of me’ilah204 (Yerushalmi Yoma 5:6).

ל נפש .15 .Any person — וכ�

� Drinking a BirdThe neveilah (carcass) of a kosher bird, that is, a bird

that died without shechitah (kosher slaughter), is subject to a unique law regarding tumah (ritual impurity): Rather than convey tumah through contact or carrying, like the neveilah of an animal, it transmits tumah only through being swallowed. The person who swallows it becomes tamei, as does his clothing.

ר ריש מ� ה כתיב ביה, א� ה: אכיל� ן ב� וינ� מא. . . וה� אור ט� הו ב� ל נפש. המח� וכ�שותה (חולין קכ.): בות את ה� א ”נפש“ לר� ר קר� מ� קיש: א� ל�

With regard to the neveilah of a kosher bird, our pasuk begins, Any “person” (נפש) who will “eat” (ל a [bird] (תאכ�that died… This seems to indicate that one only becomes tamei if he “eats” the neveilah, but not if he melts it down and “drinks” it. However, our pasuk uses the word נפש (nefesh), which means not only “person,” but also desire, or satisfaction. Therefore, if a person consumes the nevei-lah in any way that satisfies him — whether though eating or through drinking — he becomes tamei (Chullin 120a).

ה ה וטרפ� .that died or was torn [A bird] — נבל�

� Consecrated and Unconsecrated, Inside and OutThe neveilah (carcass) of a kosher bird, that is, a bird

that died without shechitah (kosher slaughter), is subject to a unique law regarding tumah (ritual impurity): Rather than convey tumah through contact or carrying, like the neveilah of an animal, it transmits tumah only through being swallowed. The person who swallows it becomes tamei, as does his clothing.

Bird offerings are slaughtered in a unique manner known as melikah. Melikah differs from shechitah in two respects: the cut is made with the Kohen’s thumbnail rather than

202. See previous pasuk, “Slaughter and Cover.” 203. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 204. See also above, pasuk 11,”Sacrificial Blood.”

נפש תלויה בו: כי נפש, שה� פשו הוא. דמו הוא לו במקום ה� (יד) דמו בנ�דם. דם ובשר לשון זכר, נפש לשון נפש היא ה� נפש כל בשר דמו הוא. ה�כתוב, ת עוף טהור דבר ה� ל נבלה וטרפה. בנבל� נקבה: (טו) אשר תאכ�מאה בליעה. ולמדך כאן שמט� ת בבית ה� ע� שאין לה טומאה אלא בשעה שנבל�נכתבה אלא גע]. ”וטרפה“ האמורה כאן לא מאה במ� [ואינה מט� אכילתה ב�

למוד בליעה, ת� מאה בבית ה� ת עוף טמא מט� לדרוש. וכן שנינו: יכול תהא נבל�טרפה במינו שאין טמא עוף יצא טרפה, במינו שיש מי ”וטרפה“, ר לומ�יכנס או קדש ל יאכ� אם עונו. ונשא (טז) ז): יב, פרק שם כהנים (תורת ל טומאה זו ככל שאר טומאות (שם יד): ובשרו לא ירחץ ייב ע� מקדש ח� ל�לקות (שם יג): ל כבוס בגדים במ� ת גופו ענוש כרת, וע� ל רחיצ� ונשא עונו. ע�

ם Fל ד א י ישר( אמר לבנ� פשו הוא ו= �מו בנ ר ד( ש( ל־ב( פש כ( Eיד כי־נ

יו Gכל ל־א וא כ( מו ה שר ד( ל־ב( פש כ( י נ< לו כ� yא תאכ ר ל Gש ל־ב( כ(ר yח ובג Gאזר ה ב= ה וטרפ( ל נבל( iר תאכ פש אש ל־נ ת: טו וכ( יכר+א ר: טז ואם ל ה+ רב וט( Dע א עד־ה( Oמ ים וט( Sמ �ץ ב Fח יו ור( ס בגד( וכב

א עונו: פ Gש ץ ונ( א ירח[ ס ובשרו ל ב �יכ

פשה בנ� דמה א בסר� ל ש כ� נפ� יד ארי

ל כ� ם ד� אל ישר� לבני רית אמ� ו� הוא א ל בסר� ש כ� א תיכלון ארי נפ� א ל� בסר�ל ל דיכלנה ישתיצי: טו וכ� דמה היא כ�א ציב� א בי� א ותביר� ש די ייכול נביל� אנ�א י� ע לבושוהי ויסחי במ� ב� א ויצ� ובגיור�טז ואם וידכי: א מש� ד ר� ב ע� א� ויהי מס�בל חובה: סחי ויק� א י� ע ובסרה ל� ב� א יצ� ל�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יז / יד־טז 432 / ספר ויקרא


14 For the life of any creature — its blood represents its life, so I say to the Children of

Israel, ‘‘You shall not consume the blood of any creature; for the life of any creature is

its blood, whoever consumes it will be cut off.’’

15 Any person who will eat a [bird] that died or was torn — the native or the pros-

elyte — he shall immerse his garments and immerse himself in the water; he shall

remain contaminated until the evening and then become pure. 16 But if he does not

immerse [his garments] and does not immerse his flesh, he shall bear his iniquity.

205. A tereifah is an animal or bird that has one of the fatal defects listed in the Mishnah, Chullin 42a-b; it is prohibited for consumption even if slaughtered properly. 206. See note 203. 207. Unlike an animal that was a tereifah and then was slaughtered, which is not tamei. 208. Chullin 42a-b.

with a knife, and the neck is cut from the back rather than from the throat.

בבית דים בג� ה מא� מט� לפנים שהיא ה מליק� תהא כול י� ה. וטרפ� ה נבל�איסור תרת את ה� ה שאין מ� ה טריפ� ה“, מ� ר. . . ”טרפ� למוד לומ� ה? ת� בליע� ה�ה שהיא לפנים, הואיל והיא א מליק� צ� איסור, י� תרת את ה� ל שאין מ� ף כ� א�תהא כול י� ה. . . בליע� ה� בבית דים בג� מא מט� אין איסור, ה� את תרת מ�בית ה א� מא� חוץ מט� שים בין מבפנים ובין מב� ד� ת חולין לפנים, וק� שחיט�ף חוץ א� וה בפנים כב� ו� ה ש� ה טריפ� ה“, מ� ר. . . ”טרפ� למוד לומ� ה? ת� בליע� ה�שים בין מבפנים ד� ת חולין בפנים וק� א, שחיט� צ� חוץ י� וות בפנים כב� ל ש� כ�בית א� דים בג� מאין מט� אין חוץ כב� בפנים וו ולא ש� הואיל חוץ, מב� בין

ה (זבחים סט.): בליע� ה�We learn from our pasuk that if melikah that was per-

formed on a bird offering was invalid, the carcass is still not a neveilah, even though the bird is not valid as an of-fering, nor may it be eaten.

With regard to the neveilah of a kosher bird, our pasuk begins, Any person who will eat a [bird] that died (ne-veilah) or was torn (tereifah205)… The word tereifah seems unnecessary, because a tereifah is not tamei when it is alive, and, once it dies, it is a neveilah. The Torah mentions tereifah here, together with neveilah, to teach that just as becoming a tereifah does not make the bird permitted in any way, so too, in order for a neveilah to be tamei, it must die in a way that does not remove any prohibitions. When a bird offering undergoes an invalid melikah, it may not be brought as an offering, but if it was wrongly placed on the Mizbe’ach (Altar), it remains there. Since this melikah permitted the bird in some way, the bird does not transmit neveilah tumah.

Similarly, just as there is no difference between a bird that became a tereifah inside the Beis HaMikdash or out of it, so too, a bird transmits neveilah tumah only if it was killed in a way that is no different inside the Beis HaMik-dash or outside. Therefore, if an unconsecrated bird had a kosher shechitah with a knife in the Beis HaMikdash com-pound, it is not tamei, since it would not be tamei if it were slaughtered outside.

If a bird offering was slaughtered with a knife outside the Beis HaMikdash, the one who slaughters it incurs the pen-alty of kares206 for slaughtering an offering outside its prop-er place; he does not incur kares if he kills the bird some other way. Therefore, such shechitah is considered valid

in a sense, and the bird would not have neveilah tumah. And since we established that neveilah tumah applies only when there is no difference between the slaughter outside the Beis HaMikdash or inside, if a bird offering was slaugh-tered inside with a knife, it is also not a neveilah, even though it cannot be offered or eaten (Zevachim 69a).

� Slaughtered, but to No AvailThe neveilah (carcass) of a kosher bird, that is, a bird

that died without shechitah, is subject to a unique law regarding tumah (ritual impurity): Rather than convey tumah through contact or carrying, like the neveilah of an animal, it transmits tumah only through being swallowed. The person who swallows it becomes tamei, as does his clothing.

ה י� ה ח� ה, אם טריפ� ה נאמר� מ� ה“ ל� ה: ”טרפ� בי יהוד� ר ר� מ� ה. א� ה וטרפ� נבל�א ה, אל� ל נביל� ה הרי היא בכל� י� ה ח� ה אינ� ה, אם טריפ� ה“ אמור� הרי ”נבל�

ה (זבחים סט:): מא� ה שמט� ט� ה ששח� ביא טריפ� לה�With regard to the neveilah of a kosher bird, our pasuk

begins, Any person who will eat a [bird] that died (nevei-lah) or was torn (tereifah)… The word tereifah seems to be unnecessary. The tereifah is not tamei when it is alive, and, once it dies without shechitah, it is a regular neveilah! We must say that it is referring to a tereifah that was slaugh-tered properly, and the Torah is teaching that, even so, it is tamei207 (Zevachim 69b).

� Double ProhibitionThe neveilah (carcass) of a kosher bird, that is, a bird

that died without shechitah, is subject to a unique law re-garding tumah (ritual impurity): Rather than convey tumah through contact or carrying, like the neveilah of an animal, it transmits tumah only through being swallowed. The per-son who swallows it becomes tamei, as does his clothing.ן, נ� בי יוח� א לר� ייע� א מס� ים. . . וד� יב שת� י� ן אומר: ח� נ� בי יוח� ה. ר� ה וטרפ� נבל�ה ה“? אם טרפ� ר ”וטרפ� למוד לומ� ה ת� ה“, מ� נבל� ל נפש אשר תאכ� ל ”וכ�ה, ל נבל� ה, הרי הוא בכל� ה מת� ה“, אם טרפ� ר ”נבל� ר נאמ� הלא כב� ה, ו� י� ח�

ה היא (ירושלמי נזיר ו,א): ר נבל� ויימ�A tereifah is an animal or bird that has one of the fatal

defects listed in the Mishnah;208 it is prohibited for con-sumption even if slaughtered properly. A neveilah is an animal or bird that died without being slaughtered properly.

If a tereifah dies and becomes a neveilah, according to



one opinion, a person who eats it transgresses only the prohibition against eating neveilah. According to another opinion, he transgresses both the prohibition of eating a tereifah and that of eating a neveilah. There is a proof to this opinion from the wording of the following teaching:

“With regard to the neveilah of a kosher bird, our pasuk begins, Any person who will eat a [bird] that died (neveilah)

or was torn (tereifah)… The word tereifah seems to be un-necessary. If the tereifah is still alive, it is not tamei, and if it died without shechitah, then it is ‘included’ in neveilah!”209

Now, if a tereifah that dies is only a neveilah, why did this teaching say it is “included” in neveilah instead of simply saying it is a neveilah? Obviously, it is both: a tereifah and a neveilah (Yerushalmi Nazir 6:1).

209. See previous discussion for the answer to this question. 210. Devarim 13:16. 211. Yirmiyahu 34:5.

י (שמות כ, ב) ”אנכי ה‘ אלהיך“, רתי בסינ� (ב) אני ה‘ אלהיכם. אני הוא שאמ�בי ג). ר� יג, (תורת כהנים פרק גזרותי בלו תה ק� לכותי, מע� עליכם מ� לתם וקב�תק בעריות (שם ד) בימי עזרא, לפיכך בא אומר: גלוי וידוע� לפניו שסופן לנ�ע ונאמן יין להפר� עליהם בגזירה, ”אני ה‘ אלהיכם“, דעו מי גוזר עליכם, ד�עשיהם של מצרים גיד שמ� ים. מ� עשה ארץ מצר� לם שכר (שם ה): (ג) כמ� לש�ענים מקולקלים מכל האומות, ואותו מקום שישבו בו ישראל מקולקל ושל כנ�עממין שאותן גיד מ� שמה. אתכם מביא אני אשר ו): (שם כל ה� מן שכבשו ישראל מקולקלים יותר מכולם (שם ז): ובחקתיהם לא תלכו. מה חקוקין להם, כגון ר, אלא אלו נמוסות שלהן, דברים ה� כתוב שלא אמ� הניח� ה�רכי האמורי שמנו חכמים (שבת בי מאיר אומר: אלו ד� דיאות. ר� רטיאות ואצט� ט�עשו. אלו דברים האמורים י ת� סז, א-ב; תורת כהנים שם ט): (ד) את משפט�

י תשמרו. אי לאומרן: ואת חקת� תורה במשפט, שאלו לא נאמרו היו כד� ב�מלך, שיצר הרע משיב עליהם למה לנו לשומרן, ואומות ת ה� דברים שהם גזיר�טאת. ת מי ח� טנז וטהר� ע� ת ש� ת חזיר ולביש� העולם משיבין עליהן, כגון אכיל�שאים ליפטר [נ“א: אני גז�רתי תם ר� ר אני ה‘ גזרתי עליכם, אי א� לכך נאמ�ל תפטר אי ליפטר] (תורת כהנים שם י): ללכת בהם. א� ש� תה ר� עליהם, אי א�ת האומות (שם ד חכמ� ת ישראל, אלך ואלמ� דתי חכמ� ר: למ� מתוכם. שלא תאמ�ט פרשה שלא פר� בות שאר דקדוקי ה� י. לר� רתם את חקת� יא): (ה) ושמ�ושמירה חוקים, ל� עשייה ו� שמירה ליתן חר, א� דבר יב). (שם [בהם] כתוב ה�משפטים ל� עשייה אלא ן נת� שלא לפי י). ט, פרשתא (שם משפטים ל� עשייה ו�ר בעולם בא. שאם תאמ� י בהם. לעולם ה� חוקים (לעיל פסוק ד): וח� ושמירה ל�לם שכר (שם): הלא סופו הוא מת (תורת כהנים שם): אני ה‘. נאמן לש� זה, ו� ה�

ל א י ישר( בר אל־בנ� �ה לאמר: ב ד Kר יהוה אל־מש Oב �[יח] א וידים Sרץ־מצר aה א עש� ם: ג כמ� aהיכ י יהוה אל Yם אנ מרתG אלה� וא=ר Eאש ן �ע �רץ־כנ aא ה עש� וכמ� עשו ת� א ל ה Gבתם־ב �יש ר Kאשכו: א תל+ ם ל Dעשו ובחקתיה א ת� ה ל מ( ם ש( Kיא אתכ מב אני י Yם אנ ה� כת ב( Eל י תשמרו ל( Fעשו ואת־חקת י ת� Jט ד את־משפ(

ר אש י �ט ואת־משפ( את־חקתי ם ה ושמרת< ם: aהיכ אל יהוה יש zיהוה: ס ששי ו א י Yאנ ם ה� ב( י jח ו( ם Gאד ה= ם eאת ה Kעש י�

לל עם ר: ב מ� ליל יי� עם משה למימ� א ומ�הכון: א יי� אל� ר להון אנ� אל ותימ� בני ישר�די ים דמצר� א רע� דא� א מ� ע� די ג כעוב�א מ� די ע� עבדון וכעוב� א ת� ה ל� יתבתון ב�ן מ� תכון ת� על י� א מ� ן די אנ� ע� א דכנ� רע� דא�כון: א תה� ובנימוסיהון ל� עבדון א ת� ל�תטרון י מ� קי� ת וי� עבדון ת� י דינ� ת ד י�הכון: ה ותטרון א יי� אל� ך בהון אנ� למה�א ש� תהון אנ� עבד י� י די י� ת דינ� י וי� מ� ת קי� י�ר ו גב� : יי� א אנ� א למ� ע� יי ח� בהון ויחי

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / א־ו 434 / ספר ויקרא

18.

And do not follow their — ובחקתיהם לא תלכו .3traditions.

� Is It Their Tradition or Ours?ייף כדרך תיזין את ראשו בס� יו מ� גין ה� נהר� ת ה� ובחקתיהם לא תלכו. מצו�ניחין את ראשו א מ� ה אומר: ניוול הוא לו אל� בי יהוד� ה, ר� לכות עוש� מ� שה�ר מ� א, א� ני� מנוולת מזו. ת� ה מרו לו: אין מית� ן וקוצץ בקופיץ, א� ד� ס� ל ה� ע�ה ל מ� מנוולת היא, אב� ה אני יודע� שמית� ף מים: א� חכ� ה ל� בי יהוד� הן ר� ל�דכתיב ן כיו� ן נ� ב� ור� תלכו“, לא ”ובחקתיהם ה תור� ה מר� א� שהרי אעשה ן (סנהדרין נב:, ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ג): מרינ� א ג� ייהו ק� א לא מינ� יית� ייף באור� ס�אמורי, רכי ה� כים ולא מד� מל� ל ה� א, שורפין ע� ני� ובחקתיהם לא תלכו. ת�ה ן דכתיב שריפ� א כיו� כתיב ”ובחקתיהם לא תלכו“, אל� ן, וה� רפינ� היכי ש�ייהו או מינ� א דכתיב (ירמיה לד, ה) ”ובמשרפות אבותיך� וגו‘ ”, ל� יית� באור�

ן (סנהדרין נב:): מרינ� א ג� ק�In our pasuk, the Torah commands us, do not follow their

traditions — that is, do not imitate the customs of the non-Jewish nations.

One of the four types of capital punishment that is ad-ministered by the Sanhedrin is hereg (beheading). The quickest and most efficient way of doing this would be with a sword. However, one opinion maintains that we may not execute a person with a sword, because that is the custom of the Roman government. Instead, we should use an axe.

Others say that we do use a sword. Since the Torah spe-cifically mentions beheading with a sword,210 we learned this method from the Torah and not from the Romans.

We find a support to this argument from another custom:When a Jewish king dies, his bed and all of his personal

belongings are burned as a sign of respect, so that no-body else will be able to use that which the king used. Even though this was also the custom of the Amorites, our practice was not based on them but on a pasuk regarding King Tzidkiyahu, who was told by the navi Yirmiyahu,211


1 HASHEM spoke to Moshe, saying: 2 Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them:

I am HASHEM, your God. 3 Do not perform the practice of the land of Egypt in which

you dwelled; and do not perform the practice of the land of Canaan to which I bring

you, and do not follow their traditions. 4 Carry out My laws and safeguard My decrees

to follow them; I am HASHEM, your God. 5 You shall observe My decrees and My laws,

which man shall carry out and by which he shall live — I am HASHEM.

18

212. See Schottenstein Edition, note 2. 213. See Tosafos, Bava Kamma 38a ד”ה אלא.

You will die peacefully, and like the burnings performed for your forefathers…so will they burn for you (Sanhedrin 52b; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:3).

� How to Keep the Yard Cleanעושה עושה? הוא ד כיצ� חצרו קר לנ� רוצה ה� תלכו. לא ובחקתיהם עשה כן שוק לא י� א, וב� גומ� ם שותת ויורד ל� א ושוחט וד� גומ� קום חוץ ל� מ�יו חר� ה א� ריך בדיק� ה כן צ� ש� ר ”ובחקתיהם לא תלכו“ ואם ע� משום שנאמ�

(חולין מא:):In our pasuk, the Torah commands us, do not follow their

traditions — that is, do not imitate the customs of the non-Jewish nations.

Idolaters had a practice of slaughtering an animal over a pit, and allowing its blood to run into the pit as a form of worship.212 Therefore, we are forbidden to slaughter an animal over a pit.

If someone wishes to slaughter an animal in his yard and wants to keep his yard clean, he should slaughter the animal away from the pit, and make a groove in the ground for the blood to flow into the pit. However, even this is allowed only on private property, which is generally kept clean. Since most people do not care about keeping a public area clean, if he does this there it will seem that he is imitating the idolaters by having the blood flow into a pit. If someone does do so in a public place, we must in-vestigate whether he is, in fact, an apostate (Chullin 41b).

הם אני ה‘ אלהיכם .4 לכת ב� י תשמרו ל� עשו ואת חקת� י ת� ט� את משפ�— Carry out My laws and safeguard My decrees to

follow them; I am Hashem, your God.

� Laws and Decreesאלהיכם. ה‘ אני הם ב� לכת ל� תשמרו י חקת� ואת עשו ת� י ט� משפ� את ואלו תבו, שיכ� דין הוא נכתבו לא שאלמ� רים דב� עשו“, י ת� ט� משפ� ”את שם, ”ואת ת ה� זל וברכ� מים וג� יות ושפיכות ד� בים וגלוי ער� ת כוכ� הן: עבוד�חזיר ת אכיל� הן: ואלו עליהן משיב ן ט� ש� שה� רים דב� תשמרו“, י חקת�א , ושמ� לח� משת� עיר ה� ע וש� ת מצור� הר� ה וט� מ� ת יב� חליצ� טנז ו� ע� ת ש� ולביש�ר ”אני ה‘ ” אני ה‘ למוד לומ� עשה תוהו [ללא תועלת] הם, ת� ר מ� תאמ�

הן (יומא סז:): רהר ב� קתיו ואין לך� רשות לה� חק�Our pasuk says, Carry out My laws (י ט� -and safe (משפ�

guard My decrees (י .(חקת�י ט� My laws, refers to mitzvos that are logical, such ,משפ�

as the prohibitions against murder and robbery. י My ,חקת�decrees, are those mitzvos that we view as “decrees” of the King which we don’t understand, and which the evil incli-nation challenges us to ignore — such as the prohibitions

against eating pork or wearing shaatnez (a mixture of wool and linen).

Our pasuk concludes, I am Hashem, your God, saying, I, Hashem, commanded these mitzvos, and you are not permitted to question them (Yoma 67b).

ם .5 ד� א� ם ה� עשה את� .Which man shall carry out — אשר י�

� Torah Study for All of Mankindא אל� ר נאמ� לא וישראלים ולוים כהנים ם. ד� א� ה� ם את� עשה י� אשר דול ג� ככהן הוא הרי ה תור� ב� ועוסק כרי נ� שאפילו דת� מ� ל� א ה� ם“, ד� ”א�

(בבא קמא לח., סנהדרין נט., עבודה זרה ג.):Our pasuk says, You shall observe My decrees and My

laws — the mitzvos — which “man” (ם ד� א� .shall carry out (ה�The word ם ד� א� man, includes all human beings — Jews ,ה�and non-Jews alike.213

We learn from this that even a non-Jew who studies the parts of Torah relevant to him — the seven Noahide laws — is rewarded for his Torah study (Bava Kamma 38a; San-hedrin 59a; Avodah Zarah 3a).

הם י ב� .And by which he shall live — ו�ח�

� Living With Torahמות הם“ ולא שי� י ב� ח� ת. . . ”ו� ב� ש� יין לפקוח� נפש שדוחה את ה� הם. מנ� י ב� ו�ח�

הם (יומא פה.): ב�Regarding the laws of the Torah, our pasuk says, which

man shall carry out and by which he shall “live” (הם י ב� ח� .(ו�This teaches that saving a life generally overrides Torah laws. According to one opinion, this is the basis for the law that saving a life overrides the laws of Shabbos (Yoma 85a).

� Idolatry or Deathת ם עבוד עבוד� ד� א� מרו לו ל� ין שאם א� עאל מנ� בי ישמ� ר ר� מ� הם. א� י ב� ו�ח�הם“ ולא י ב� ח� ר ”ו� למוד לומ� רג? ת� ל יה� עבוד וא� ין שי� רג מנ� ל תה� בים וא� כוכ�ללו ר (כב, לב) ”ולא תח� למוד לומ� א ת� רהסי� כול אפילו בפ� הם, י� מות ב� שי�

שתי“ (סנהדרין עד., עבודה זרה כז:): דשי ונקד� את שם ק�תוב כ� ט לך� ה� ר� בדם“ (שמות כ, ה), וכשפ� ע� ל ”לא ת� יו בכל� כל ה� הם. ה� י ב� ו�ח�א (להלן כב, לד) נ� חמ� ב ר� ת� ר כ� ד� א אונס, וה� צ� הם י� מות ב� הם“ ולא שי� י ב� ח� ”ו�א א וה� א בצנע� ד? ה� א כיצ� אפילו באונס, ה� דשי“ ד� ללו את שם ק� ”ולא תח�

א (עבודה זרה נד.): רהסי� בפ�Our pasuk says that Hashem gave the mitzvos, which

man shall carry out and by which he shall “live” (הם י ב� ח� .(ו�This teaches that saving a life overrides almost all the laws of the Torah.



According to one opinion, this includes even idolatry. Therefore, if someone threatens to kill a Jew unless he worships an idol, the Jew is not obligated to forfeit his life.

However, if the sin will be committed in the presence of ten Jews, which is a public desecration of Hashem’s Name, all agree that the victim must give up his life rather than worship the idol, because the Torah says,214 you shall not desecrate My Holy Name, and I will be sanctified among the Children of Israel215 (Sanhedrin 74a; Avodah Zarah 27b, 54a).

� The Heretical Healerר עקב איש כפ� א י� ש, וב� כו נ�ח� ה שנש� מ� ר בן ד� ז� בי אלע� עשה בר� הם. מ� י ב� ו�ח�ר לו: מ� עאל. א� בי ישמ� פותו ולא הניח� לו ר� א לר� נדיר� א משם של ישו פ� מ� ס�ה. מ� ד שמת בן ד� יה ע� י� ביא רא� אני. לא הספיק לה� יה שירפ� י� אני מביא רא�ם ולא עול� לום מן ה� את� בש� צ� ה שי� מ� שריך� בן ד� עאל: א� בי ישמ� ר לו ר� מ� א�ש“. דר ישכנו נ�ח� מים, דכתיב (קהלת י, ח) ”ופרץ ג� ן של חכ� ה גדיר� צת� ר� פ�ליה, ה הו� ה ומ� בוא, ל� תיד לע� ש נ�ח� ישכנו שלא א אל� כו, נש� ש נ�ח� א ול�הם“ (ירושלמי שבת יד, ד; ירושלמי י ב� ח� ם ו� ד� א� ם ה� עשה את� ר ”אשר י� מימ�

עבודה זרה ב, ב):Our pasuk says that Hashem gave the mitzvos, which

man shall carry out and by which he shall “live” (הם י ב� ח� .(ו�This teaches that saving a life overrides almost all the laws of the Torah. However, it is forbidden to receive medical treatment from a min (a fanatical idol worshiper) even to save one’s life, because we are concerned that if the min is successful, the person may come under his influence.

An incident occurred with R’ Elazar ben Dama, the nephew of R’ Yishmael, who was bitten by a snake. A min by the name of Yaakov of Kfar Sama came to heal him, but R’ Yishmael did not allow it. R’ Elazar was about to argue that it was permitted because of our pasuk, but he died be-fore he had a chance. R’ Yishmael proclaimed, “Fortunate are you, Ben Dama, that you departed the world in peace!” (Yerushalmi Shabbos 14:4; Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 2:2).

� Not So Fastהם“,, ואין י ב� ח� ם ו� ד� א� ם ה� עשה את� בי לוי: כתיב ”אשר י� ר ר� הם. אמ� י ב� ו�ח�עים יום (ירושלמי תענית ד, ה): רב� ר א� ח� א לא� ם חוזר אל� ד� יו של א� מאור עינ�

On both the 17th of Tammuz and Tishah B’Av, five trag-edies occurred. Why, then, was Tishah B’Av established as a full, 24-hour fast day, and the 17th of Tammuz as only a partial fast, beginning only at daybreak?

Regarding the laws of the Torah, our pasuk says, which man shall carry out and by which he shall “live” (הם י ב� ח� .(ו�This teaches that the Torah’s laws are meant to protect one’s health, not to endanger it. Fasting weakens a per-son’s vision, and he does not fully recover until forty days later. Since the 17th of Tammuz and Tishah B’Av are within forty days of each other, the Sages could not establish both of them as full fast days, as that could cause permanent damage to one’s vision, and would not be in keeping with the lesson of our pasuk (Yerushalmi Taanis 4:5).

ה .6 לות ערו� רו לא תקרבו לג� ל שאר בש� Any — איש איש אל כ�man shall not approach his close relative to uncover

nakedness.


יות ער� ל ה� ת מכ� ח� דן בא� מצוה קפח: של א להתע�Mitzvah 188: The Prohibition to Conduct Oneself in an

Intimate Manner With Any One of the ArayosOne is forbidden to have any enjoyable physical contact

with any woman who is forbidden to him.

� Rabbinic Restrictionsת: בי פד� ר ר� מ� ה. א� לות ערו� רו לא תקרבו לג� ל שאר בש� איש איש אל כ�ר ”איש איש ד, שנאמ� יות בלב� ה של גלוי ער� א קורב� ה אל� ה תור� סר� לא א�

ה“ (שבת יג., עבודה זרה יז.): לות ערו� רו לא תקרבו לג� ל שאר בש� אל כ�Our pasuk introduces the prohibitions against arayos

(forbidden relations) with the words, Any man shall not approach his close relative to uncover nakedness (לות לג�ה ה The term .(ערו� לות ערו� to uncover nakedness, refers to ,לג�marital relations. According to one opinion, this indicates that all other forms of intimacy are forbidden by Rabbinic law (Shabbos 13a; Avodah Zarah 17a).

� “Any” Man — Including Non-Jewsה מ� ”איש“, ה. ערו� לות לג� תקרבו לא רו בש� שאר ל כ� אל איש איש יות ער� ה� ל ע� רין שמוזה� גוים ה� את בות לר� איש“? ”איש ר לומ� למוד ת�

אל (חגיגה יא:, סנהדרין נז:): כישר�ה מ� ”איש“ ה. ערו� לות לג� תקרבו לא רו בש� שאר ל כ� אל איש איש יות ער� ל ע� או שב� גוים ה� את ביא לה� א אל� איש“? ”איש ר לומ� למוד ת�דונו שי� אל, ישר� יות ער� ה� ל ע� או ב� ואם אומות, כדיני שידונו אומות ה�

אל (ירושלמי קידושין א, א): ם כדיני ישר� אות�

214. Below, 22:32. 215. By way of a gezeirah shavah, the Gemara (Sanhedrin 74b) derives that “among the Children of Israel” refers to no less than ten Jews.

(שם בים ר� לשון ר נאמ� לכך זכר, כ� נקבה ה� זהיר לה� תקרבו. לא (ו) זו אביך. ת ערו� (ז) ב): (שם שכר לם לש� נאמן ה‘. אני א): יג, פרק ר ונאמ� אביך“ ת ”ערו� כאן ר נאמ� שמעו, כמ� אלא אינו או אביך. אשת

אשת כאן ף א� אביו, אשת לן לה� ה מ� יא), (כ, גלה“ אביו ת ”ערו� לן לה�אביו אשת שאינה אמו להביא אמך. ת וערו� נד.): (סנהדרין אביו

(שם):

י Yאנ ה ערו[ לות �לג תקרבו א ל בשרו ר ל־שא� אל־כ( איש ה yל �א תג ת אמך ל Fיך( וערו tב ת א( Fיהוה: ס ז ערות Fה: ס ח ערו ת= ערו( ה Dל �תג א ל וא ה אמך

תקרבון א ל� בסרה ריב ק� ל לכ� ר גב�ת ז ערי� : יי� א אנ� א ערי� ה א� ל� לג�ך אמ� לי תג� א ל� ך אמ� ת וערי� אבוך ת ח ערי� ה: ערית� לי תג� א ל� היא

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / ז־ח 436 / ספר ויקרא


6 Any man shall not approach his close relative to uncover nakedness; I am HASHEM.

7 The nakedness of your father and the nakedness of your mother you shall not un-

cover; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

Forbidden

relationships

216. A Jewish marriage takes place in two stages. The first stage is erusin (betrothal); in this stage they are legally married in most respects, but may not yet live together as man and wife. Nisuin represents the completion of the marriage, which is brought about by the chuppah ceremony. 217. In the case of a betrothed naarah (a girl between 12 and 12 1⁄2 years old), the punishment is death by stoning. For any other married woman, the punishment is death by strangulation. 218. Shemos 21:10. 219. Therefore, if he did so mistakenly he is liable to bring two chatas (sin) offerings. 220. See next discussion.

Our pasuk introduces the prohibitions against arayos (forbidden relations) with the words, “Any man” (איש איש) shall not approach his close relative to uncover nakedness. The double expression, איש ,literally, a man, a man ,איש teaches that even non-Jews are included in this prohibition.

But since adultery is already forbidden as one of the seven Noahide laws that non-Jews are obligated to ob-serve, what does our pasuk add? Our pasuk is discussing a case where a non-Jewish woman would not be consid-ered “married,” and a Jewish woman would; for example, if a Jewish woman entered only the first stage of marriage — erusin, “betrothal”216 — or even if she already entered the second stage, chuppah, but did not yet live with her husband. She is then forbidden to other men by Torah law, but not by the Noahide laws.

If a non-Jew has relations with such a woman, he re-ceives the same death penalty that a Jew would receive,217 as opposed to beheading, which is the punishment for transgressing the Noahide laws (Chagigah 11b; Sanhedrin 57b; Yerushalmi Kiddushin 1:1).

� Marriage Obligationsר ז� אלע� בי ר� ה. ערו� לות לג� תקרבו לא רו בש� שאר ל כ� אל איש איש ל ה, וכן הוא אומר ”איש איש אל כ� ה“ (שמות כא, י) זו עונ� אומר: ”שאר�

ה“ (כתובות מז:, ירושלמי כתובות ה, ז): לות ערו� רו לא תקרבו לג� שאר בש�The Torah218 obligates every husband to provide his wife

with “she’eir, kesus, and onah.” According to one opinion, she’eir refers to marital relations (while kesus and onah refer to clothing and food, respectively). This is based on our pasuk, which introduces the prohibitions against arayos (forbidden relations) with the words, Any man shall not approach “she’eir besaro” — his close relative — to un-cover nakedness. Thus, the word she’eir is associated with marital relations (Kesubos 47b; Yerushalmi Kesubos 5:7).

� Keep Your Distanceה. ”איש איש אל לות ערו� רו לא תקרבו לג� ל שאר בש� איש איש אל כ�שים נ� ם עם ה� ד� יחד א� ל יתי� מרו: א� אן א� רו לא תקרבו“, מכ� ל שאר בש� כ�

בריות (אבות דרבי נתן ב): ת ה� ע� ק. . . מפני ד� בפונד�Our pasuk introduces the prohibitions against arayos

(forbidden relations) with the words, Any man shall not “approach” (תקרבו) his close relative to uncover nakedness. That is, a person must make safeguards so that he does not even “approach” these sins.

This teaches that a man should not be alone in an inn with a woman who is forbidden to him, so that he not be tempted to sin.

Even if the woman is his sister or daughter, for whom he has no natural attraction, he should still not be secluded with her at an inn, because the other people there may not know that they are related, and they will come to suspect him of sinning (Avos DeRabbi Nassan §2).

הוא .7 אמך� לה תג� לא אמך� ת וערו� ביך� ת א� -The naked — ערו�ness of your father and the nakedness of your mother

you shall not uncover; she is your mother.


ב ת א� לות ערו� מצוה קפט: של א לג�Mitzvah 189: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s FatherA man is forbidden to have relations with his father.

ת אם לות ערו� מצוה קצ: של א לג�Mitzvah 190: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s MotherA man is forbidden to have relations with his mother.

� Your Mother and Your Father’s Wifeליה� יב ע� י� אם ח� ל ה� א ע� ב� לה אמך� הוא. ה� ת אמך� לא תג� ביך� וערו� ת א� ערו�משום א אל� יב י� אינו ח� אומר: ה יהוד� בי ר� ב, אשת א� ומשום אם משום , ביך� “ זו אשת א� ביך� ת א� ה ”ערו� בי יהוד� ר ר� ב� ס� א: ק� ב� ר ר� מ� ד. . . א� אם בלב� ה�אשת בין אמו שהיא ביו אשת א� בין ע שמ� ה, ומ� ו� ה ש� בגזיר� ה ייתי ל� ומ�ת ר ”ערו� למוד לומ� יין? ת� ביו מנ� ה אשת א� ה אמו, אמו שאינ� ביו שאינ� א�ייבו מח� ה ת� ואי א� ייבו מח� ה ת� אמו א� היא“ משום אמך� לה תג� אמך� לא

ביו (סנהדרין נג:): משום אשת א�ביו ה אשת א� לה אמך� הוא. אמו שאינ� ת אמך� לא תג� ביך� וערו� ת א� ערו�ה ן עונש לאמו שאינ� נ� ב� לה“. . . ור� ת אמך� לא תג� ר ”ערו� למוד לומ� יין? ת� מנ�א ”אמך� ר קר� מ� ב אידי: א� א בריה דר� ב שיש� ר ר� מ� א להו? א� ביו מנ� אשת א�ביו ביו כאמו שהיא אשת א� ה אשת א� תוב לאמו שאינ� כ� ה ה� א� הוא“, עש�

(סנהדרין נד.):If a man has relations with his mother who is also his

father’s wife, according to the Rabbis, he is liable for both transgressions.219 According to R’ Yehudah he is liable only for the sin of having relations with his mother. R’ Yehudah’s opinion is based on our pasuk:

The first segment of our pasuk says, The nakedness of your father. According to R’ Yehudah, this refers to one’s father’s wife,220 and it would seem at first that the prohibi-tion applies whether or not she is also his mother.

The pasuk then adds, and the nakedness of your mother. This refers to his mother even if she is not his father’s wife.

Finally the pasuk says, she is your mother. Why was it



necessary to repeat that she is his mother? This teaches that when she is both his mother and his father’s wife, he is liable only for violating the prohibition of relations with “your mother.” Therefore, according to R’ Yehudah, the first segment of the pasuk is discussing a father’s wife who is not his mother (Sanhedrin 53b).

� To Whom Is the Torah Referring?“ זו אשת ביך� ת א� לה אמך� הוא. ”ערו� ת אמך� לא תג� וערו� ביך� ת א� ערו�ר נאמ� ש, מ� ביך� מ� ת א� ערו� א אינו אל� ביך� או ה אומר אשת א� ת� , א� ביך� א�ה“ ביו גל� ת א� (כ, יא) ”ערו� ן ל� ר לה� ונאמ� לה“ . . . לא תג� ביך� ת א� אן ”ערו� כ�תוב כ� אן באישות ה� ף כ� בר א� תוב מד� כ� ביו] ה� ן באישות [אשת א� ל� ה לה� מ�א, פק� נ� כב) (פסוק ר“ ז�כ� מ“ואת אי ה� ש, מ� מ� ביך� א� ת ערו� ן נ� ב� ור� בר. . . מד�

ים (סנהדרין נד.): יו שת� ל� ייב ע� לח�According to R’ Yehudah, when our pasuk says, The

nakedness of your father…you shall not uncover, it refers to one’s father’s wife. We know this through a gezeirah shavah:221

Our pasuk says �ביך ת א� ,The nakedness of your father ,ערו�and a later pasuk,222 which clearly is speaking about one’s father’s wife, uses a similar expression: A man who shall lie with his father’s wife will have uncovered his “father’s shame” (ביו ת א� .(ערו�

According to the Rabbis, however, our pasuk is referring to a son actually having relations with his father. Although this is already prohibited because of the commandment,223 You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, our pasuk is adding that in the case of one’s own father, he is liable for violating two prohibitions224 (Sanhedrin 54a).

� Your Mother, Not Your Father’s Wifeא ”אמך� היא“, ר קר� מ� לה אמך� הוא. א� ת אמך� לא תג� ביך� וערו� ת א� ערו�ייבו משום אם אמו (סנהדרין עה:): ה מח� ת� ייבו ואי א� ה מח� ת� משום אמו א�

אם ל ה� א ע� לב� ה ר� זה� הוא. א� אמך� לה תג� אמך� לא ת וערו� ביך� ת א� ערו�לה“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ו): ת אמך� לא תג� יין? ”ערו� מנ�

When our pasuk says, the nakedness of your mother you shall not uncover, it is referring to one’s mother, whether or not she is the wife of his father. Now, the Torah does not clearly tell us that having relations with one’s mother is punishable by death; it says so only regarding one’s fa-ther’s wife.225

According to R’ Yehudah we learn the punishment

through a gezeirah shavah.226 Our pasuk says �ביך ת א� ,ערו�The nakedness of your father, and the pasuk about one’s father’s wife uses the similar expression: A man who shall lie with his father’s wife will have uncovered his “father’s shame” (ביו א� ת and that pasuk clearly states, they ,(ערו�shall be put to death (מות יומתו).

According to the Rabbis, we learn it from the extra phrase, she is your mother, at the end of our pasuk227 (San-hedrin 85b; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:6).

ביך� הוא .8 ת א� לה ערו� ביך� לא תג� ת אשת א� -The naked — ערו�ness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is

your father’s shame.


ה אמו ל פי שאינ� ף ע� ב וא� ת אשת א� לות ערו� מצוה קצא: של א לג�Mitzvah 191: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of One’s Father’s Wife, Even if She Is Not One’s Mother

It is forbidden for a man to have relations with a woman who is or was married to his father, even if she is not his mother.

� Father’s Widowלהו? א מנ� ביו א� לאשת ה ר� זה� א� ן, נ� ב� ור� לה. תג� לא ביך� א� אשת ת ערו�עי מיב� הוא ה, ה� יהוד� בי ור� לה“, תג� לא ביך� אשת א� ת מ“ערו� להו א פק� נ�ה (סנהדרין נד., ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ו): ר מית� ח� ביו לא� ה לאשת א� ר� זה� ליה לא�הוא ה, ה� בי יהוד� א, ור� פק� א נ� א דקר� הוא מסיפ� ן, ה� נ� ב� ביך� הוא. ור� ת א� ערו�ייבו משום אשת ה מח� ת� ייבו ואי א� ה מח� ת� ב א� עי ליה משום אשת א� מיב�

איש (סנהדרין נד.):Our pasuk begins, The nakedness of your father’s wife

you shall not uncover, which is a prohibition against hav-ing relations with one’s father’s wife. According to R’ Ye-hudah, this was already forbidden by the previous pasuk, which says, The nakedness of your father…you shall not uncover!228 Why is our pasuk necessary?

According to R’ Yehudah, our pasuk teaches that even after a father dies, his wife is still forbidden to his son.

According to the Rabbis, we know that from the addi-tional phrase at the end of our pasuk, it is your father’s shame. According to R’ Yehudah, that phrase teaches that if a man has relations with his father’s wife, he is liable only for violating the prohibition of “his father’s wife,” and not for

221. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in different places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 222. Below, 20:11. 223. Below, pasuk 22. 224. Therefore, if he did so mistakenly, he must bring two chatas (sin) offerings. 225. Below, 20:11. 226. See note 221. 227. See above, “Your Mother and Your Father’s Wife.” 228. See discussion above, “To Whom Is the Torah Referring?”

אביך. ת ב� (ט) (שם): מיתה ר ח� לא� בות לר� אביך. אשת ת ערו� (ח) ית או מולדת חוץ. בין שמע (יבמות כב:): מולדת ב� ת אנוסה במ� ף ב� א�

יים את אמה, ובין שאומרים לו הוצא את אמה (יבמות שאומרים לו לאביך ק�מזרת או נתינה: כג.), כגון מ�

ת �וא: ס ט ערו Qיך( ה Yב ת א( Fה ערו yל �א תג יך( ל Yב שת־א( א+או ית �ב דת Eמול ך( ת־אמ �ב או יך( ב ת־א( �ב אחותך ת iן: ס י ערו ת= ערו( ה Dל �תג א ל חוץ דת Eמול

היא: אבוך ת ערי� לי תג� א בוך ל� ת א� את�ך אמ� ת ב� או אבוך ת ב� ך ת� אח� ת ט ערי�מן חרי או ת א� א מן אבוך מן את� דיליד�ת תהן: י ערי� לי ערי� א תג� ן ל� חר� ר א� ך לגב� אמ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / ט־י 438 / ספר ויקרא


8 The nakedness of your father’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your father’s shame.

9 The nakedness of your sister — whether your father’s daughter or your mother’s

daughter, whether born to one who may remain in the home or born to one who must

remain outside of it — you shall not uncover their nakedness.

229. Therefore, if he did so mistakenly, he brings only one chatas (sin offering). 230. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 231. Pasuk 11.232. R’ Yehudah derives this from a gezeirah shavah; see previous discussion.

the additional transgression of having relations with “a mar-ried woman”229 (Sanhedrin 54a; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:6).

The chart below summarizes the various derivations that we discussed in our pasuk and the previous pasuk, ac-cording to R’ Yehudah and the Rabbis.

ת אמך .9 ביך� או ב� ת א� ת אחותך� ב� The nakedness of — ערו�your sister — whether your father’s daughter or your

mother’s daughter.


חות ד שהיא א� חות בכל צ� ת א� לות ערו� מצוה קצב: של א לג�Mitzvah 192: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Sister, No Matter How She Is One’s SisterA man is forbidden to have relations with his sister, wheth-er they share the same father, the same mother, or both.

� Logic Does Not SufficeThe punishment for having relations with one’s sister is

kares,230 and, as with almost all kares violations, if there are witnesses to the act, Beis Din (the court) will administer malkus (lashes). However, for a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” (ה ר� זה� azharah). It must also tell us ,א�the punishment (עונש, onesh) for violating the prohibition.ת אמו ביו שלא ב� ת א� א ב� ת אמך. אין לי אל� ביך� או ב� ת א� ת אחותך� ב� ערו�ת ת ב� ר ”ערו� למוד לומ� ין? ת� ת אמו מנ� ביו וב� ת א� ביו, ב� ת א� ת אמו שלא ב� וב�דין, ר יש לי מן ה� ד שלא יאמ� ביך� אחותך� הוא“, ע� ביך� מולדת א� אשת א�ת ת אמו, ב� ביו שלא ב� ת א� ביו וב� ת א� ת אמו שלא ב� ל ב� ר ע� ה אם הוזה� מ�

דין (מכות ה:): זהירין מן ה� דת� שאין מ� מ� א ל� ל שכן, ה� ת אמו לא כ� ביו וב� א�With regard to the prohibition against having relations

with one’s sister, our pasuk begins, The nakedness of your sister — whether your father’s daughter or your mother’s daughter… The Torah mentions a father’s daughter or a mother’s daughter. What about a sister from both parents?

One might say that the prohibition for a sister from both parents may be derived through a kal vachomer (a logical argument): If a sister from one parent is forbidden, certainly a sister from both parents is forbidden! But the prohibition is not derived from a kal vachomer, but from a later pasuk,231 which says, The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter who was born to your father — “she is your sister.” The extra phrase, she is your sister, teaches that a sister from both parents is also forbidden.

Since the Torah had to tell us this prohibition, we see that Beis Din cannot give malkus based on a prohibition that we know through a kal vachomer (Makkos 5b).

ית או מולדת חוץ Whether born to one who — מולדת ב�may remain in the home or born to one who must

remain outside of it.

� Born to an Outsiderבין יים, ק� ביך� לא� לו שאומרים בין חוץ. מולדת או ית ב� מולדת א (פסוק יא) נ� חמ� ר ר� מ� ביו], וא� ה לא� ביך� הוצא [שאסור� שאומרים לו לא�

”אחותך� היא“ (יבמות כג.):When our pasuk teaches the prohibition against having

relations with one’s sister, it says, The nakedness of your


R’ Yehudah The Rabbis

ביך ת א� The nakedness of your ,ערו�father (pasuk 7)

Prohibits relations with a father’s wife who is not his mother

Prohibits relations with the father himself

ת אמך the nakedness of your ,ערו�mother (pasuk 7)

Prohibits relations with one’s mother who is not his father’s wife

Prohibits relations with a mother who is not his father’s wife

she is your mother ,אמך� היא(pasuk 7)

When one has relations with his mother who is his father’s wife, one is liable only for “mother”

Punishment for a mother who is not his father’s wife232

ביך ת אשת א� The nakedness of ,ערו�your father’s wife (pasuk 8)

Prohibits relations with one’s father’s wife after the father’s death

Prohibits relations with a father’s wife

ביך� הוא ת א� it is your father’s ,ערו�shame (pasuk 8)

One who has relations with his father’s wife is not liable for “a married woman”

Prohibits relations with a father’s wife after his father’s death


sister — whether your father’s daughter…“whether born to one who may remain in the home or born to one who must remain outside of it.” This means that even if one’s sister was born to his father by a woman who “must remain out-side of the home,” because she is forbidden to the father by a kares-level prohibition, she is still a “sister,” and is forbidden (Yevamos 23a).

לה .10 ת בתך� לא תג� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� The nakedness of — ערו�your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter —

you shall not uncover.


בן ת ה� ת ב� לות ערו� מצוה קצג: של א לג�Mitzvah 193: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Son’s DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his son’s

daughter.

ת ב� ת ה� ת ב� לות ערו� מצוה קצד: של א לג�Mitzvah 194: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Daughter’s DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his daughter’s

daughter.

ת ב� ת ה� לות ערו� מצוה קצה: של א לג�Mitzvah 195: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his daughter or

granddaughter.

� Is Her Granddaughter Forbidden? It Dependsה ה דיד� ת בת� ה וב� ה דיד� ת בנ� א ב� לה. ה� ת בתך� לא תג� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� ערו�ת ה ואת ב� ת בנ� לה את ב� ה לא תג� ה ובת� ת אש� רי, וכתיב (פסוק יז) ”ערו� ש�

אן בנשואין (יבמות כב:, צז.): סין, כ� אן (פסוק יז) באונ� ד? כ� א כיצ� ה“ ה� בת�There seems to be a contradiction between two pesukim:With regard to the prohibition against having relations

with one’s granddaughter, our pasuk says, The nakedness of “your” son’s daughter or “your” daughter’s daughter — you shall not uncover. This implies that one’s wife’s grand-daughter (through another man) is not forbidden to him.

Yet, a later pasuk233 clearly says, you shall not take “her” son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter!

Our pasuk is discussing a woman with whom he had a child out of wedlock. Our pasuk is saying that his grand-daughters from that relationship are forbidden to him. However, if that woman has a granddaughter from another man, that granddaughter is not forbidden. The later pasuk, however, refers to a person’s wife, teaching that her grand-daughter is forbidden under all circumstances(Yevamos 22b, 97a).

� His, But Not His Wife’sנישואין, ת בתו מן ה� ד כדון ב� לה. ע� ת בתך� לא תג� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� ערו�“ (ירושלמי יבמות יא, א): ת בתך� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� סין? ”ערו� אונ� ת בתו מן ה� ב�

ת בתך� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� לה. כתיב ”ערו� ת בתך� לא תג� ת בנך� או ב� ת ב� ערו�א, מור, אל� ר א� יימין? אם לנישואין, הרי כב� ן ק� ה אנ� ן“. מ� ת� לה ערו� לא תג�

סין (ירושלמי סנהדרין ט, א): ן לאונ� ן לנישואין תניהו עני� אם אינו עני�The Torah later234 says that one is forbidden to have re-

lations with his wife’s granddaughter, whether or not she is also his own granddaughter. Why, then, does our pasuk need to tell us that he is forbidden to his own granddaughter?

Our pasuk is prohibiting relations with a woman who is his granddaughter, and not his wife’s granddaughter. That is, he was not married to the grandmother, but had a child with her out of wedlock (Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1; Yeru-shalmi Sanhedrin 9:1).

ה תך� הנ� .For they are your own shame — כי ערו�

� Your Daughter: Prohibition and Punishmentב לי ר� ר מ� א: א� ב� ר ר� מ� א, דא� ש� מדר� א ר איסור� עיק� ה. בתו הנ� תך� ערו� כי ה“ (שם), א ”זמ� תי� ה“ (להלן פסוק יז), א� ה“ ”הנ� א ”הנ� תי� בדימי: א� ר א� ק ב� יצח�ה“ (להלן כ, יד) (חגיגה יא:, יבמות ג., סנהדרין נא., עה:, עו., פז:, כריתות ה.): ”זמ�

Our pasuk forbids one to have relations with his grand-daughter who was born to him “out of wedlock” — that is, he was not married to the grandmother.235 However, the Torah does not clearly state a prohibition against his own daughter who was born to him out of wedlock. Instead, we derive the prohibition through a gezeirah shavah:236

Our pasuk uses the word ה they are, and the pasuk237 ,הנ�

233. Pasuk 17. 234. Ibid. 235. See previous discussions. 236. See note 221. 237. Pasuk 17.

עו.), (סנהדרין בר מד� כתוב ה� מאנוסתו בבתו וגו‘. בנך ת ב� ת ערו� (י) בהן ר שנאמ� ובתה“, אשה ת מ“ערו� למדין אנו מאשתו בתו ת וב� ובתו כב:): (יבמות חר א� מאיש שהיא בין ממנו, שהיא בין יז), (פסוק לה“ תג� ”לא דין, ה� מן זהירין מ� שאין לפי אלא לבתך, וחומר ל ק� בנך. ת ב� ת ערו�

ת ערו� (יא) (ה.)]: כריתות [נ“א: (ג.) יבמות סכת במ� שוה מגזרה למדוה [לפי ונכרית. משפחה אחותו ל ע� ייב ח� שאינו לימד אביך. אשת ת ב�ף א� יכול הוצא, לאביך שאומרים חוץ“, ”מולדת ט) (פסוק עלה למ� ר שאמ�ת אשת אביך“, בראויה לקידושין (יבמות כג.): ר ”ב� משפחה ונכרית,] לכך נאמ�

תך ערו= י zכ ן ת[ ערו( ה Dל �תג א ל ת־בתך( �ב או ת־בנך( �בדת Eמול יך( ב א( שת ת־א� �ב ת �ה: ס יא ערו נ( ה+ת Fה: ס יב ערו ת= ערו( ה Dל �תג א ל וא bה אחותך יך( ב א(ת Fוא: ס יג ערו Qה יך( Yב א( ר Oשא ה yל �תג א ל יך( Yב אחות־א(

תהן לי ערי� א תג� ך ל� ת� ת בר� ך או ב� ת בר� ב�ת את� ת ת ב� יא ערי� אנין: ך ערית� ארי היא ך ת� אח� אבוך מן א דיליד� אבוך ת אבוך ת אח� ה: יב ערי� לי ערית� א תג� ל�ת יג ערי� ת אבוך היא: ריב� לי ק� א תג� ל�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / יא־יג 440 / ספר ויקרא


10 The nakedness of your son’s daughter or your daughter’s daughter — you shall not

uncover their nakedness; for they are your own shame.

11 The nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter who was born to your father — she

is your sister; you shall not uncover her nakedness.

12 The nakedness of your father’s sister you shall not uncover; she is your father’s flesh.

238. Below, 20:14. 239. Pasuk 9. 240. Therefore, if he did so mistakenly, he is liable to bring two chatas (sin) offerings. 241. See above, pasuk 9, “Logic Does Not Suffice.” 242. Above, pasuk 9. 243. Pasuk 14. 244. This is derived through a gezeirah shavah; see Gemara there.

that forbids his wife’s daughter or granddaughter also says, “they are” (ה close relatives. Just as one’s wife’s (הנ�daughter was included together with her granddaughter, so too, his own out-of-wedlock daughter is forbidden just like his out-of-wedlock granddaughter.

We also know through a second gezeirah shavah that the punishment for relations with a daughter is death by burning.

The pasuk that forbids one’s wife’s daughter says, it is a “depraved plot” (ה The same word is used regarding his .(זמ�wife’s mother:238 A man who shall take a woman and her mother, it is a “depraved plot” (ה they shall burn him ;(זמ�and them in fire. Just as the punishment for a wife’s mother is burning, so too, the punishment for a wife’s daughter is burning. And since our pasuk is linked to a wife’s daughter through the first gezeirah shavah, the punishment for one’s own daughter is also burning (Chagigah 11b; Yevamos 3a; Sanhedrin 51a, 75b, 76a, 87b; Kereisos 5a).

ביך� אחותך� הוא .11 ביך� מולדת א� ת אשת א� ת ב� The — ערו�nakedness of your father’s wife’s daughter who was

born to your father — she is your sister.


ביו ת אשת א� ב והיא ב� א� חות מן ה� ת א� לות ערו� מצוה קצו: של א לג�Mitzvah 196: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Sister Who Is the Daughter of One’s Father’s WifeA man is forbidden to have relations with his sister.

� Two Prohibitions or One?ת ביך� אחותך� הוא. כתיב (פסוק ט) ”ערו� ביך� מולדת א� ת אשת א� ת ב� ערו�ביך� ביך� מולדת א� אשת א� ת ת ב� ”ערו� ,“ אמך� ת ביך� או ב� ת א� אחותך� ב�ת אשת ייבו משום אחותו ומשום ב� ה לח� ע מינ� ה לי? שמ� מ� אחותך� הוא“ ל�ביך� עי ליה, מי שיש לו אישות לא� ה. . . מיב� בי יהוד� בי יוסי בר� ביו. . . ור� א�ה ב� ביך� לא� אישות שאין בים כוכ� ועובדת ה משפח� אחותו ל� ט פר� ה, ב�

(יבמות כב:):ה, בי יהוד� בי יוסי בר� ביך� אחותך� הוא. ור� ביך� מולדת א� ת אשת א� ת ב� ערו�ייבו ה מח� ת� ייבו ואי א� ה מח� ת� א ”אחותך� הוא“, משום אחותו א� ר קר� מ� א�עי בדי ליה? מיב� אי ע� אי ”אחותך� הוא“ מ� ן, ה� נ� ב� ביו, ור� ת אשת א� משום ב�דין זהירין מן ה� ר שאין מ� ת אמו, לומ� ביו וב� ת א� ל אחותו ב� ייבו ע� להו, לח�

(יבמות כב:):The Torah has already told us earlier239 that one is for-

bidden to have relations with the daughter of his father. What is our pasuk adding when it prohibits your father’s wife’s daughter who was born to your father?

According to the Rabbis, this teaches that if a man has relations with a woman who is both the daughter of his father and the daughter of his father’s wife, he has violated two prohibitions.240

The later phrase, she is your sister, is a prohibition against having relations with a woman who is a sister from both of your parents. Even though the Torah has already prohibited a sister from one parent, and we ought to know through a kal vachomer (logical conclusion) that a sister from both parents is certainly forbidden as well, it was nec-essary to have our pasuk, because Beis Din cannot punish based on a prohibition derived through a kal vachomer.241

According to R’ Yose the son of R’ Yehudah, since the pasuk concludes, she is your sister, this indicates that he is liable only for her as his “sister,” that is, his father’s daugh-ter, but not for her as his “father’s wife’s daughter.”

According to R’ Yose, our pasuk teaches that the Torah prohibits one’s father’s daughter only if she was born to a woman who could be his father’s “wife.” If the daughter was born through a union between his father and a non-Jewish woman or a Canaanite slave, to whom his father cannot possibly be halachically married, the daughter is not considered a “sister” (Yevamos 22b).

לה .12 ביך� לא תג� ת אחות א� The nakedness of your — ערו�father’s sister you shall not uncover.


ב ת אחות א� לות ערו� מצוה קצז: של א לג�Mitzvah 197: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Father’s SisterA man is forbidden to have relations with his father’s sister.

� What Kind of Sister?אם (יבמות נד:): ב בין מן ה� א� לה. בין מן ה� ביך� לא תג� ת אחות א� ערו�

The Torah (in our pasuk) forbids one to have relations with his father’s sister.

Regarding one’s own sister, the Torah242 clearly says that the prohibition applies whether she is a paternal sis-ter (“your father’s daughter”) or a maternal sister (“your mother’s daughter”). On the other hand, when the Torah prohibits a father’s brother’s wife,243 it speaks only about the wife of one’s father’s paternal brother.244

Is our pasuk also speaking only about a father’s paternal sister, or even his maternal sister?



To address this, the Torah245 warns us a second time, the

nakedness of your mother’s sister or “your father’s sister”

you shall not uncover — teaching that one’s father’s ma-ternal sister is also prohibited (Yevamos 54b).

לה .13 ת אחות אמך� לא תג� The nakedness of your — ערו�mother’s sister you shall not uncover.


ת אחות אם לות ערו� מצוה קצח: של א לג�Mitzvah 198: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Mother’s SisterA man is forbidden to have relations with his

mother’s sister.

תך� הוא .14 ב דד� לה אל אשתו לא תקר� ביך� לא תג� ת אחי א� — ערו�The nakedness of your father’s brother you shall not uncover; do not approach his wife, she is your aunt.


ב א� ל אחי ה� בוא ע� מצוה קצט: של א ל�Mitzvah 199: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Father’s BrotherBesides the prohibition against a man having relations with another man, there is an additional prohibition if it is

his father’s brother.

ב א� ל אשת אחי ה� בוא ע� מצוה ר: של א ל�Mitzvah 200: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Father’s Brother’s WifeA man is forbidden to have relations with his father’s

brother’s wife.

� Your Uncle’s Wife Is Your Auntהלא ו� הוא. תך� דד� ב תקר� לא אשתו אל לה תג� לא ביך� א� אחי ת ערו�

ה (סנהדרין כח:): על� ה כב� ל דאש� אשת דודו היא, מכל�With regard to the prohibition against having relations

with a father’s brother’s wife, our pasuk says, she is “your

aunt.” Although she is not a blood relative, the Torah says

that she is “your aunt” because she is married to your un-cle. This teaches that a husband and wife are considered a single unit when it comes to relationships (Sanhedrin 28b).

לה .15 תך� לא תג� ל� ת כ� The nakedness of your — ערו�daughter-in-law you shall not uncover.


בן ל אשת ה� בוא ע� מצוה רא: של א ל�Mitzvah 201: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Daughter-in-LawA man is forbidden to have relations with his

daughter-in-law.

� Daughter-in-Law: Prohibition and PunishmentFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must

tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� ,עונש) azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,א�onesh) for violating the prohibition.

תך� לא ל� ת כ� יין, ”ערו� תו מנ� ל� ל כ� א ע� ה לב� ר� זה� לה. א� תך� לא תג� ל� ת כ� ערו�אלה תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� יין (פסוק כט) ”כי כ� רת מנ� לה“, כ� תג�

ונכרתו“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ו):Our pasuk says, The nakedness of your daughter-in-law

you shall not uncover. This is the azharah against having relations with one’s daughter-in-law.

At the end of our passage,246 the Torah says, For if

anyone commits “any of these abominations,” the people

doing so will be “cut off” from among their people, teach-ing that relations with any of the listed arayos, including a daughter-in-law, is punishable by kares.247

From a later pasuk248 we learn that if there were proper witnesses and warning, having relations with a daughter-in-law is punishable by sekilah (stoning) (Yerushalmi San-hedrin 7:6).

חיך� הוא .16 ת א� לה ערו� חיך� לא תג� ת אשת א� -The naked — ערו�ness of your brother’s wife you shall not uncover; it is

your brother’s shame.

245. Below, 20:19. 246. Pasuk 29. 247. See note 230. 248. Below, 20:12.

אשתו אל ערותו, היא ה ומ� לה. תג� לא אביך אחי ת ערו� (יד) רתי אלא בשיש לבנך אישות לא תקרב: (טו) אשת בנך היא. לא אמ�

י): י, (תורת כהנים קדושים פרק ונכרית ושפחה צז.) (יבמות אנוסה פרט ל� בה, ל ידי נשואי הראשונה, כתוב אלא ע� ר ה� ת אשה ובתה. לא אס� (יז) ערו�

ת Fוא: ס יד ערו Qר אמך ה Oי־שא Qה כ yל �א תג אחות־אמך לתך דד= ב תקר( א ל אל־אשתו ה yל �תג א ל יך( Yב י־א( Qאחא ל וא ה בנך( שת א� ה yל �תג א ל תך ל= �כ ת Fוא: ס טו ערו Qהה yל �תג א ל יך( Yח שת־א( א+ ת Fה: ס טז ערו ת= ערו( ה Dל �תגה yל �תג א ל ה Gובת ה eאש ת Fוא: ס יז ערו Qה יך( Yח א( ת Fערו

ך ת אמ� ריב� לי ארי ק� א תג� ך ל� ת אמ� אח�לי תג� א ל� אבוך ח א� ת יד ערי� היא: אבוך ח א� ת את� ב תקר� א ל� לאתתה ת את� לי תג� א ל� ך לת� כ� ת טו ערי� היא: ת טז ערי� ה: ערית� לי תג� א היא ל� ך בר�אחוך ת ערי� לי תג� א ל� אחוך ת את�לי א תג� ה ל� ת� א ובר� ת אתת� היא: יז ערי�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / יד־יז 442 / ספר ויקרא


13 The nakedness of your mother’s sister you shall not uncover; for she is your

mother’s flesh.

14 The nakedness of your father’s brother you shall not uncover; do not approach

his wife, she is your aunt.

15 The nakedness of your daughter-in-law you shall not uncover; she is your son’s

wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness.

16 The nakedness of your brother’s wife you shall not uncover; it is your brother’s

shame.

17 The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you shall not uncover;

249. Above, pasuk 9. 250. Pasuk 14. 251. This is derived through a gezeirah shavah; see Gemara there. 252. Devarim 25:5. 253. Ibid.


ח ל אשת א� בוא ע� מצוה רב: של א ל�Mitzvah 202: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of

One’s Brother’s WifeA man is forbidden to have relations with his brother’s wife.

� What Kind of Brother?חיך� לא ת אשת א� חיך� הוא. ”ערו� ת א� לה ערו� חיך� לא תג� ת אשת א� ערו�אם או ב בין מן ה� א� ה אומר בין מן ה� ת� אם, א� ב בין מן ה� א� לה“, בין מן ה� תג�חיך� הוא“, בין ת א� ר ”ערו� למוד לומ� אם. . . ת� ב ולא מן ה� א� א מן ה� אינו אל�

אם (יבמות נה.): ב בין מן ה� א� מן ה�אם ח מן ה� א אשת א� חיך� הוא. אימ� ת א� לה ערו� חיך� לא תג� ת אשת א� ערו�א רי� ה ש� על� ת ב� ר מית� ח� ב לא� א� ח מן ה� ה אשת א� ב, מ� א� ח מן ה� כאשת א�א קר� ר מ� א, א� רי� ה ש� על� ב� ת מית� ר ח� לא� אם ה� מן ח אשת א� ף [ביבום] א�

ה תהא (יבמות נה.): ית� י� הו� ”הוא“, ב�Our pasuk forbids one to have relations with his broth-

er’s wife.Regarding one’s own sister, the Torah249 clearly says

that the prohibition applies whether she is a paternal sis-ter (“your father’s daughter”) or a maternal sister (“your mother’s daughter”). On the other hand, when the Torah prohibits one’s father’s brother’s wife,250 it speaks only about the wife of one’s father’s paternal brother.251

Is our pasuk speaking only about the wife of a paternal brother, or even that of a maternal brother?

To address this, our pasuk adds the extra phrase, it is your brother’s shame — to teach us that relations with the wife of even a maternal brother is prohibited.

However, there is a difference between the two types of brothers. If one’s paternal brother dies without leav-ing any offspring, the surviving brother is to marry the widow; this is the mitzvah of yibum.252 When discuss-ing the wife of a maternal brother, however, our pasuk says הוא, “she is” [the shame of your brother], to in-dicate that she always remains forbidden (Yevamos 55a).

� Conflicting Commandmentsחיך� לא ת אשת א� חיך� הוא. ”ערו� ת א� לה ערו� חיך� לא תג� ת אשת א� ערו�

ד אח� בדיבור נאמרו שניהן ה), כה, (דברים “ ליה� ע� י�בא ה מ� ”יב� לה“, תג�(ירושלמי נדרים ג, ב; ירושלמי שבועות ג, ח):

Our pasuk says that a man is forbidden to have relations with his brother’s wife even after his brother has died. This seems to contradict another pasuk,253 which says that if a man dies leaving a widow but no offspring, there is a mitzvah of yibum: Her brother-in-law shall come to her, and take her to himself as a wife!

Since there is a situation where the prohibition does not apply (in the case of yibum), Hashem pronounced both this prohibition and the mitzvah of yibum together, at the very same moment (Yerushalmi Nedarim 3:2; Yerushalmi Shevuos 3:8).

לה .17 ה לא תג� ה ובת� ת אש� The nakedness of a — ערו�woman and her daughter you shall not uncover.


ה ה ובת� ל אש� בוא ע� מצוה רג: של א ל�Mitzvah 203: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of a

Woman and Her DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his wife’s

daughter or mother.

ה ת� לות ערו� ח לג� ה לא תק� ת בת� ה ואת ב� ת בנ� You shall — את ב�not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daugh-

ter to uncover her nakedness.


ה ת בנ� ה וב� ת אש� לות ערו� מצוה רד: של א לג�Mitzvah 204: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of a

Woman and Her Son’s DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his wife’s grand-

daughter.

ה ת בת� ה וב� ת אש� לות ערו� מצוה רה: של א לג�Mitzvah 205: The Prohibition to Reveal the Ervah of a

Woman and Her Daughter’s DaughterA man is forbidden to have relations with his wife’s grand-

daughter.



ה הוא ה זמ� ה הנ� אר� ,They are close relatives — ש�it is a depraved plot.

� Three in Oneן לכול� ן א� עש� תוב כ� ה� הוא“ ה זמ� ה הנ� ה אר� “ש� הוא. ה זמ� ה הנ� ה אר� ש�ה זמ� מיו] ואם ח� ואם חמותו יו משום חמותו ל� ה ע� ת שאסור� ח� ה א� [אש�

ת (כריתות טו.): ח� א�Our pasuk forbids one to have relations with his wife’s

daughter, her son’s daughter, or her daughter’s daughter.The reverse is also prohibited: One may not have rela-

tions with his mother-in-law, his father-in-law’s mother, or his mother-in-law’s mother. According to one opinion, if a man mistakenly has relations with a woman who is related to him in all three ways,254 he brings only one chatas (sin offering). We learn this from our pasuk, which says, ה זמ� it is” a depraved plot, in the singular, indicating that“ ,הואall the variations of the “mother-in-law prohibition” are considered to be one “depraved plot” (Kereisos 15a).

� Connection Between Mother and DaughterFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


ף א� דורות, ה שלש� ן ט� למ� ה מ� ה, ו� ש� ה לגזיר� ה“ ”זמ� ה“ ”זמ� הוא. ה זמ�עשה. ן בלא ת� על� ף למ� עשה, א� ן בלא ת� ט� ה למ� ה דורות. מ� ן שלש� על� למ�ה, ן בשריפ� על� ה למ� ן דרך נישואין. מ� על� ף למ� ן דרך נישואין, א� ט� ה למ� מ�ה ש� ן ע� על� ף למ� ה, א� ת נקיב� ר כב� כ� ת ז� ה ב� ש� ן ע� ט� ה למ� ה. מ� ן בשריפ� ט� ף למ� א�

ה. (ירושלמי יבמות ב, ד;יא, א): ר כאם נקיב� כ� אם ז�There is a gezeirah shavah255 that links our pasuk, which

states the prohibition against having relations with one’s wife’s daughter or granddaughter, and the pasuk that states the punishment for having relations with one’s wife’s mother:256

Our pasuk says, The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you shall not uncover…it is a “depraved plot” ה) -The same term is used with regard to a mother-in .(זמ�law: A man who shall take a woman and her mother, it is a “depraved plot” (ה .they shall burn him and them in fire ;(זמ�

Thus, there are a number of laws that we can apply from one pasuk to the other.

Just as our pasuk includes your wife’s granddaughter along with her daughter, so too your wife’s grandmother is included with her mother.

Just as our pasuk states a prohibition for your wife’s daughter (and granddaughter), so too there is a prohibition for your wife’s mother (and grandmother).

Just as the pasuk regarding your wife’s mother is talking about a wife that you are legally married to, as it says, A man who shall “take” a woman, which is a term that indicates marriage, so too our pasuk, which says only, a “woman” and her daughter, is referring to your wife.

Just as the punishment for having relations with one’s mother-in-law is burning, that is also the punishment for relations with one’s wife’s daughter or granddaughter.

Finally, the prohibition here applies to relations with one’s wife’s granddaughter through her son (a male) or through her daughter (a female). Similarly, the prohibi-tion against relations with a wife’s grandmother applies whether it is her paternal grandmother or her maternal grandmother (Yerushalmi Yevamos 2:4, 11:1).

ה .18 ה אל אחת� .A woman in addition to her sister — ואש�


יים יות מח� ל שתי אח� בוא ע� מצוה רו: של א ל�Mitzvah 206: The Prohibition to Cohabit With One’s

Wife’s Sister While One’s Wife Is Alive

� Lifelong Prohibitionה (יבמות ח:): ר מית� ח� עוטי לא� ה. למ� ה אל אחת� ואש�

Our pasuk expresses the prohibition against having re-lations with a wife’s sister as, You shall not take a woman “in addition to” (אל) her sister. The word אל, in addition to, teaches that the prohibition is in effect only as long as the person’s wife is alive; if one’s wife dies, this prohibition no longer applies (Yevamos 8b).257

254. For example: Leah had two daughters, Yocheved and Dinah, and a son Asher. Yoche-ved had a daughter Miriam, and Asher had a daughter Serach. A man (Kalev) married both of Leah’s granddaughters, Miriam and Serach, as well as her daughter Dinah. Leah is thus related to Kalev in all three ways. See diagram. 255. See note 226. 256. Below, 20:14.257. See below, “Even After Divorce.”

ח את אשה וכן לעני�ן העונש, ”אשר יק� ר לא תקח, לשון קיחה. לכך נאמ�ס אשה מותר לישא בתה (יבמות ואת אמה“ (להלן כ, יד), לשון קיחה. אבל אנ�ת חטאין“, רגומו, ”עצ� ארה הנה. קרובות זו לזו: זמה. עצה, כת� צז.): [ש�

ת (קדושין נ:): לצרר. ח� חטוא:] (יח) אל אחתה. שתיהן כא� שיצרך יועצך ל�יה. למדך שאם גרשה לא ישא את Dי עשות את זו צרה לזו: בח� לשון צרה, ל�

יים: ח� ן שהיא ב� אחותה כל זמ�

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you shall not take her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter to uncover her na-

kedness — they are close relatives, it is a depraved plot. 18 You shall not take a woman

in addition to her sister, to make them rivals, to uncover the nakedness of one upon

the other in her lifetime.

258. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 259. See note 258. 260. See next discussion. 261. See note 221. 262. Devarim 25:5.

ח לצרר .You shall not take to make them rivals — לא תק�

� Rivaling SistersWhen a man dies leaving a widow but no descendants,

there is a mitzvah of yibum; his brother is to marry the widow. However, if the widow is forbidden to the surviving brother because of a kares258 prohibition (for example, she is his daughter), the mitzvah of yibum does not apply.ד] לא ם אח� פלו לפני י�ב� זו [שנ� רות זו ל� עשו צ� ה שנ� ע� ח לצרר. בש� לא תק�

ת מהן (יבמות יט., כח:): ח� יהא לך� ליקוחין אפילו בא�Where there were three brothers, two of whom were

married to sisters, and both those brothers died without children, leaving their widows — the sisters — to the third brother for yibum, according to one opinion, the mitz-vah of yibum does not apply at all. This is based on our pasuk:

Our pasuk says, You shall not take a woman in addi-tion to her sister, to make them rivals. This can also be interpreted as saying that when the two sisters are already “rivals,” by falling to the third brother at the same time, the brother shall not “take” (that is, “marry”) either one of them (Yevamos 19a, 28b).

ה ת� לות ערו� .To uncover her nakedness — לג�

� Is One Forbidden, or Both?ח תק� לא ה אחת� אל ה ”אש� כתיב כתיבי, אי קר� תרי ה. ת� ערו� לות לג�ה ד, במקום מצו� א כיצ� ע, ה� שמ� א מ� חד� ה“ ד� ת� לות ערו� לצרר“ וכתיב ”לג�ה מותרת (יבמות ת� ר� ה וצ� ה היא אסור� שתיהן אסורות, שלא במקום מצו�

ח:):If a man dies leaving a widow but no descendants, there

is a mitzvah of yibum; his brother is to marry the widow. If the widow is an ervah, that is, she is forbidden to the second brother because of a kares259 prohibition (for ex-ample, she is his wife’s sister), the mitzvah of yibum does not apply. Not only is the ervah exempt from yibum, but any other wife that was married to the dead brother (the co-wife of the ervah) is exempt as well. According to one opinion, our pasuk is the source for this law.260

However, there seems to be a contradiction in our pa-suk: On the one hand, the pasuk uses a plural term, to make them “rivals,” which implies that both the ervah and her co-wife (her “rival”) are exempt from (and forbidden for) yibum. Then the pasuk continues, to uncover “her” nakedness, in the singular, which seems to say that only the ervah herself is forbidden!

It depends. In a yibum situation, where both of them

were married to the dead brother, both are forbidden, due to the prohibition of a “brother’s wife.” The pasuk uses the singular term to teach that if his wife’s sister and this other woman were both married to another, unrelated, man and he dies or divorces them, only the ervah herself is forbid-den to her relative; he may, however, marry the “rival” co-wife (Yevamos 8b).

ליה .Of one upon the other — ע�

� Chain Exemptions ,“ ליה� ה י�בא ע� מ� ר (דברים כה, ה) ”יב� ר? לפי שנאמ� למוד לומ� ה ת� ליה. מ� ע�בר, מד� תוב כ� ה ה� תור� אמורות ב� יות ה� ער� ל ת מכ� ח� אפילו בא� אני שומע� ה [יבום] ן במקום מצו� ל� ה לה� “, מ� ליה� ן ”ע� ל� ר לה� “ ונאמ� ליה� אן ”ע� ר כ� נאמ�היא, א אל� לי ואין ח“, תק� ”לא א נ� חמ� ר� ר מ� וא� ה, מצו� במקום אן כ� ף א�ה ת� ר� צ� ת ר� צ� ה, ת� ר� צ� א אל� לי ואין ”לצרר“, ר לומ� למוד ת� ין? מנ� ה ת� ר� צ�

צור (יבמות ג:): ר ”לצרר“, ולא ל� למוד לומ� יין? ת� מנ�If a man dies leaving a widow but no descendants, there

is a mitzvah of yibum; his brother is to marry the widow. However, if the widow is an ervah, that is, she is forbidden to the second brother because of a kares prohibition (for example, she is his wife’s sister), the mitzvah of yibum does not apply.

Not only is she exempt from yibum, but any other wife that was married to the dead brother (the co-wife of the ervah) is exempt as well.

To explain the following law, we will give an example: Reuven, Shimon, and Levi were brothers. Reuven is mar-ried to Rachel and Devorah. Shimon is married to Leah — who is Rachel’s sister — and Yocheved. Levi is married to Miriam.

If Reuven dies, Levi can perform yibum with either of Reuven’s wives. If Levi chose to marry Devorah and he then dies, Shimon may not perform yibum with Miriam, since her co-wife, Devorah, had once been a co-wife of Shimon’s ervah,

According to one opinion, we learn this through a gezei-rah shavah261 from our pasuk:

With regard to the mitzvah of yibum, The Torah says,262 her brother-in-law shall come “to her” ( ליה� The same .(ע�word is found in our pasuk, in connection with the pro-hibition against marrying a wife’s sister: You shall not take a woman in addition to her sister, to make them ri-vals, to uncover her nakedness “upon her” ( ליה� in her (ע�lifetime.

Just as the word �ליה in that pasuk is speaking of ע�the obligation to marry the widow because of the mitz-vah of yibum, so too, in our pasuk, which deals with the



prohibition of arayos, the word �ליה includes a yibum ע�situation, and it forbids us to perform that mitzvah with an ervah.

Our pasuk continues, לצרר, to make them rivals (co-wives). A man who marries his wife’s sister is obviously making her a co-wife, so there was no reason for the Torah to say this. Rather, the Torah is referring to the co-wife of the sister, and teaching that she is also exempt from yibum.

The double ר in the word לצרר indicates many co-wives. This teaches that the co-wife of the co-wife is exempt as well (Yevamos 3b).

� Why Is Our Pasuk Needed?א ב� י. . . ר� א ח� ש� ך נ� ר כ� ח� א מת ומת וא� ש� א דנ� “ היכ� ליה� ליה. איצטריך ”ע� ע�א עמ� אי ט� ה, מ� ה שלא במקום מצו� ר� א למישרי צ� ר:. . . כי איצטריך קר� מ� א�א רי� ליה� ש� א שלא במקום ע� אסיר� ליה� הוא ד� “? במקום ע� ליה� א ”ע� ר קר� מ� א�

(יבמות ח.):If a man dies leaving a widow but no descendants, there

is a mitzvah of yibum; his brother is to marry the widow. If the widow is an ervah, that is, she is forbidden to the sec-ond brother because of a kares prohibition (for example, she is his daughter), the mitzvah of yibum does not apply, and not only is she exempt from yibum, but any other wife that was married to the dead brother (the co-wife of the ervah) is exempt as well. According to one opinion, our pasuk is the source for this law.263

But why do we need a source for this law at all? As a rule, a positive commandment (such as the mitzvah of yibum) never overrides a kares prohibition!

The pasuk is needed for a situation where the first broth-er married one of two sisters, and then died. At this point, yibum removes the prohibition of the second brother mar-rying his “brother’s wife,” and he is expected to perform yibum. If, before yibum, the second brother marries the widow’s sister, we might think that just as the “brother’s wife” prohibition was lifted for the sake of the mitzvah, so too, is the prohibition of marrying the “wife’s sister,” and he may perform yibum. Our pasuk is teaching that this is not so.

According to another opinion, our pasuk is needed to teach that the co-wife of the ervah is forbidden only in a yibum situation, because then she is a “brother’s wife.” However, if an ervah and another woman were both mar-ried to an unrelated man and he dies or divorces them, only the ervah herself is forbidden to her relative; he may, however, marry the “rival” co-wife. We learn this from the word aleha ( ליה� which links our pasuk to the pasuk of ,(ע�

yibum.264 Therefore, a co-wife of an ervah is prohibited only in an “aleha” (that is, yibum) situation (Yevamos 8a).

ייה .In her lifetime — בח�

� Even After Divorceה לא (יבמות ח:): רש� ב דנתג� ל ג� ף ע� , דא� ייה� ל שבח� ייה. כ� בח�

Our pasuk says, You shall not take a woman “in addition to” (אל) her sister…in her lifetime ( ייה� in ,אל The word .(בח�addition to, would seem to say that the prohibition against marrying a wife’s sister applies only when she is “in addi-tion to” her sister, as long as one is still married to the first sister, but not if he divorces her. The pasuk therefore adds the word �ייה in her lifetime, to teach that as long as the ,בח�first sister is still alive, the prohibition against marrying the second sister remains in effect (Yevamos 8b).

ב .19 ה לא תקר� ת� ת טומא� ה בנד� You shall not — ואל אש�approach a woman in her time of unclean

separation.


ה ה נד� ל אש� בוא ע� מצוה רז: של א ל�Mitzvah 207: The Prohibition to Cohabit With a Niddah

� Dangerous Approachלמיד עשה בת� הו, מ� ני דבי אלי� ב. ת� ה לא תקר� ת� ת טומא� ה בנד� ואל אש�יו תפיל� נוטלת אשתו ה ית� וה� יו מ� י� חצי ב� ומת רבה. . . ה� ה נ� שש� ד אח�ה תור� ב� כתיב הם, ל� ה מר� וא� שות מדר� תי ובב� כנסיות תי בב� ם רת� ז� ומח�רבה א ה� ר� רבה וק� ה ה� נ� עלי שש� “, ב� מיך� ייך� וארך י� (דברים ל, כ) ”כי הוא ח�ת ח� ם א� ע� יו?. . . פ� מ� חצי י� ה מת ב� מפני מ� רבה מים ה� למידי חכ� ושימש ת�בימי ה. . . רתי ל� מ� וא� ע ל אותו מאור� ה כ� מסיח� ה ית� וה� ה אצל� חתי ר� נתא�ולא ר ש� בקירוב ב� עמי ן ש� וי� עמי ה ת� עמי וש� ל כ� אצלך? א� הו לבוניך מ�שלא גו, שהר� קום מ� ה� רוך ב� ה, ל� רתי מ� וא� חר. א� ר ב� ד� ל ע� עתו ד� ה לת� ע�ה לא ת� ת טומא� בנד� ה ”ואל אש� ה ה תור� מר� שהרי א� ה, תור� נים ל� א פ� ש� נ�

ב“ (שבת יג.־יג:): תקר�ה ה תור� שת� יג שע� א, איזהו סי� ני� ב. ת� ה לא תקר� ת� ת טומא� ה בנד� ואל אש�ב“, ה לא תקר� ת� ת טומא� ה בנד� ה? הרי הוא אומר ”ואל אש� ריה� בנד� לדב�ר ”לא למוד לומ� בטלים? ת� רים ה דב� בר עמ� ויד� ה, שקנ� וינ� ה בקנ� כול יח� י�

ב“ (אבות דרבי נתן ב): תקר�With regard to the prohibition against having relations

with a woman who is in a state of niddah,265 our pasuk says, You shall not “approach” (ב a woman in her time (תקר�of unclean separation. This indicates that a husband and wife must keep a “distance” from each other when she is a niddah; that is, they may not engage in acts that may lead to violating the prohibition.

263. See previous discussion. 264. See previous discussion. 265. A niddah is a woman who experiences bleeding as part of her monthly cycle.

ה: ת= ערו( לות �לג ב �תקר א ל ה ת[ טמא( ת jבנד ה Gיט ואל־אש

ה: ה־ב= מא( ע לט( �ר oבתך לז ן שכ( Oא־תת ל יתך( שת עמ� כ ואל־א

ב א תקר� ה ל� א ברחוק סובת� יט ולאתת�

א ך ל� בר� ת ח� כ ובאת� ה: ערית� ה א� ל� לג�ה: א ב� ב� א� א לאסת� רע� לז� ך תתן שכבת�

פרשת אחרי יח / יט־כ 446 / ספר ויקרא


19 You shall not approach a woman in her time of unclean separation, to uncov-

er her nakedness. 20 You shall not give your “copulation of seed” to your neighbor’s

wife, to contaminate yourself with her.

266. Devarim 30:20. 267. See Schottenstein Edition, 13a note 31. 268. See note 258. 269. Ibid. 270. See note 265. 271. Above, 15:24. See Schottenstein Edition, Shevuos 18b notes 5 and 7.

Once, there was a student who learned a great deal of Torah and spent much time serving Torah scholars, and yet he died at a young age. His widow would go around to the houses of prayer and the houses of study, and ask, “It is written regarding the Torah,266 For this is your life and the length of your days! How is it that my husband, who studied so much Torah, died at a young age?” And no one had an answer for her.

One time, she was visited by Eliyahu HaNavi,267 who asked her, “How did your husband conduct himself when you were a niddah?” She responded that her husband would eat, drink, and engage in other acts of closeness with her, but they would never even consider having rela-tions. Said Eliyahu, “Blessed is Hashem Who killed him because he did not show respect for the Torah, which says (in our pasuk), You shall not approach a woman in her time of unclean separation!” (Shabbos 13b; Avos DeRabbi Nassan 2).

� Multiple OffensesIf a person mistakenly transgresses a kares-level prohi-

bition268 he must atone for his sin by bringing a chatas (sin offering). If he commits the same sin many times due to the same error, he still only brings one chatas to atone for his one error.

מ“ואל ליה א פק� נ� ן? ל� מנ� לק ב. לח� תקר� ה לא ת� ת טומא� בנד� ה ואל אש�יד., מכות נה., (יבמות ה ואש� ה אש� ל כ� ל ע� ייב לח� ה“ ת� טמא� ת בנד� ה אש�

כריתות ב:):Our passage lists the arayos (forbidden relationships)

that are punishable by kares.269 As with all kares prohibi-tions, if a person mistakenly transgresses them, he must bring a chatas (sin offering). If he had relations with more than one ervah during a single period of unawareness, it is not as though he transgressed the same sin many times; rather, he must bring a separate chatas for each woman with whom he had relations.

According to one opinion, the source for this is our pa-suk, which says regarding the prohibition of a niddah, You shall not approach “a woman” in her time of [niddah]. The Torah could have simply said, You shall not approach a niddah. The extra word ה a woman, teaches that each ,אש�woman is treated as a separate violation (Yevamos 55a; Makkos 14a; Kereisos 2b).

� A Time to Delayיוסי בן ן ת� יונ� בי ר� מיניה א בע� ב. תקר� לא ה ת� טומא� ת בנד� ה אש� ואל ין מנ� ה נד� לבועל ה ר� זה� א� א, לקוני� בן יוסי בן שמעון בי מר� א לקוני� בן ת ה בנד� ה, ”ואל אש� ה לבועל נד� ר� זה� ק ביה. א� ת� א פ� ל� ל ק� ק� ה? ש� תור� מן ה�לו ה מר� וא� ה טהור� ה� עם מש למש� ה ר� זה� א� א אל� ב“. תקר� לא ה ת� טמא�

א (לעיל טו, כד) ר קר� מ� ה: א� ר חזקי� מ� ן? א� ל� ד מנ� נטמאתי דלא ניפריש מי�יו (שבועות יח:, ירושלמי ל� ה תהא ע� ת� ת נד� יו“, אפילו בשע� ל� ה ע� ת� ”ותהי נד�

הוריות ב, ה):Our pasuk says, You shall not approach a woman in her

time of unclean separation, which is a prohibition against having relations with a woman when she is a niddah.270

However, if a woman suddenly becomes a niddah while having relations, her husband may not separate him-self immediately. We learn this from an earlier pasuk,271 which says, then her state of niddah will be “upon him.” This teaches that there is a circumstance that they are to remain together even when she is in a state of niddah (Shevuos 18b; Yerushalmi Horayos 2:5).

ע .20 ר� בתך� לז� You shall — ואל אשת עמיתך� לא תתן שכ�not give your “copulation of seed” to your

neighbor’s wife.

� Seedless Actר] מת, מש [באב� ט למש� ע. פר� ר� בתך� לז� ואל אשת עמיתך� לא תתן שכ�יב י� ר ח� מ� אן דא� א למ� טור, אל� יות פ� ער� מש מת ב� ר מש� מ� אן דא� א למ� ניח� ה�

ה (יבמות נה:): מש מת� ט למש� א פר� ר? אל� א למימ� אי איכ� מ�Regarding the prohibition against adultery, our pasuk

says, You shall not give your “copulation of seed” ( בתך� שכ�ע ע to your neighbor’s wife. The term (לז�ר� -of seed, im ,לז�ר�plies a complete act, which produces seed. However, we are taught that one is liable even for starting to have rela-tions. That being the case, what is ע ?teaching us לז�ר�

According to one opinion, it teaches that one is not li-able if he has relations with a limp organ. According to another opinion, it teaches that he is not liable if he has relations with a corpse (Yevamos 55b).

ה ה ב� מא� .To contaminate yourself with her — לט�

� It Depends on Herה, שוגגת, מותרת ה, אסור� ה מזיד� ית� לוי, אם ה� ר ת� ב� ד� ה ה� ה. ב� ה ב� מא� לט�

(ירושלמי סוטה ה, א):A woman who willingly commits adultery becomes for-

bidden to her husband.However, with regard to this prohibition, our pasuk

says, You shall not give your “copulation of seed” to your neighbor’s wife, to contaminate yourself “with her” (ה .(ב�The word ה with her, is extra, to teach us that her ,ב�status regarding her husband depends on “her” state of mind. That is, if she knowingly transgressed, she is for-bidden to her husband, but if she did so unintentionally, she does not become forbidden to him (Yerushalmi Sotah 5:1).



מלך .21 עביר ל� רעך� לא תתן לה� You shall not present — ומז�of your children to pass through for Molech.


מלך רענו ל� מצוה רח: של א נתן מז�Mitzvah 208: The Prohibition to Give of One’s Offspring

to MolechIt is forbidden to give one’s child to the priests of Molech to perform the ritual of passing the child through flames.

� Unacceptable Distortionעביר לה� תתן לא רעך� ”ומז� אומר מלך. ה� ל� עביר לה� תתן לא רעך� ומז�ה (מגילה כה. תקין אותו בנזיפ� א מש� מיות� אר� א ב� ר� עב� מלך“ לא תתן לא� ל�

ירושלמי מגילה ד, י):Our pasuk discusses one of the prohibitions that are

punishable by kares (or, if there were proper witnesses and warning, capital punishment) — that a parent may not hand over his child to the priests of Molech, who make two bonfires and walk the child between the fires.

If someone distorts the simple meaning of the pasuk by saying that it means “you shall not have relations with a non-Jewish woman, to produce children for idol worship” — a sin that is not liable to kares — he is to be silenced with condemnation for this distortion and for misapplying the law (Megillah 25a; Yerushalmi Megillah 4:10).

� Four Factorsר ס� כול העביר ולא מ� כי: י� מי ה� א נ� ני� מלך. ת� עביר ל� רעך� לא תתן לה� ומז�כול יהא מולך ולא העביר י� ר ל� ס� ר ”לא תתן“. מ� למוד לומ� יב, ת� י� יהא ח�יהא כול י� מולך ל� שלא והעביר ר ס� מ� עביר“. ”לה� ר לומ� למוד ת� יב, י� ח�כול יהא אש י� מולך ולא ב� ר והעביר ל� ס� מלך“. מ� ר ”ל� למוד לומ� יב, ת� י� ח�בך� צא ימ� ”לא י) יח, (דברים ן ל� לה� ר ונאמ� עביר“ ”לה� אן כ� ר נאמ� יב, י� ח�

אש (סנהדרין סד:): אן ב� ף כ� אש א� ן ב� ל� ה לה� אש“ מ� עביר בנו ובתו ב� מ�Our pasuk discusses one of the prohibitions that are

punishable by kares (or, if there were proper witnesses and warning, capital punishment), saying, You shall not present (לא תתן) of your children to pass through (עביר (לה�for Molech (מלך That is, a parent may not hand over his .(ל�child to the priests of Molech, who make two bonfires and walk the child between the fires.

We see from the pasuk that a person is liable only if three conditions are met: (1) He actually handed his child to the priests; (2) they passed him through; and (3) it was

for Molech and not for some other idol.Additionally, our pasuk is linked to another pasuk

through a gezeirah shavah, teaching a fourth condition:272

Our pasuk uses the word עביר to pass through, and ,לה�the same word is found in another pasuk dealing with this prohibition:273 There shall not be found among you one who passes (עביר ”.his son or daughter “through the fire (מ�

This teaches a fourth condition — to be liable, the child must specifically be passed though “fire,” not something else (Sanhedrin 64b).

� Not All at Onceר שנאמ� טור, פ� רעו ז� ל כ� העביר מלך. ל� עביר לה� תתן לא רעך� ומז�

רעך� (סנהדרין סד:): ל ז� “ ולא כ� רעך� ”מז�Our pasuk discusses one of the prohibitions that are

punishable by kares (or, if there were proper witnesses and warning, capital punishment), saying, You shall not present of your children ( רעך� to pass through for Molech. That is, a (מז�parent may not hand over his child to the priests of Molech, who make two bonfires and walk the child between the fires.

The prefix מ, of, in the word �רעך ,of” your children“ ,מז�teaches that one is liable only if he handed over some of his children, not if he handed over all of them (Sanhedrin 64b).274

� Negative Commandmentיין? מנ� מולך ל� רעו ז� לנותן ה ר� זה� א� מלך. ל� עביר לה� תתן לא רעך� ומז�

מלך“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, י): עביר ל� רעך� לא תתן לה� ”ומז�For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


One who hands over his child to the priests of Molech to be passed between two bonfires is liable to death by stoning.

The prohibition is found in our pasuk, which says, You shall not present of your children to pass through for Molech (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:10).

ה .22 ב משכבי אש� ר לא תשכ� כ� You shall not lie — ואת ז�with a man as one lies with a woman.


רים זכ� ל ה� בוא ע� מצוה רט: של א ל�Mitzvah 209: The Prohibition for a Male to Cohabit With

Another Male

272. See note 221. 273. Devarim 18:10. 274. See Schottenstein Edition, note 15.

מלך. עבודה זרה היא ששמה מולך (סנהדרין סד.). וזו היא עבודתה, (כא) ל�גליו] בן [בר� עבירין את ה� כומרים ועושין שתי מדורות גדולות ומ� שמוסר בנו ל�

כומרים (שם): בין שתי מדורות האש (שם סד:): לא תתן. זו היא מסירתו ל�ת האש (שם): עבר� מלך. זו ה� עביר ל� לה�

יך( Dם אלה Oל את־ש xל �א תח מלך ול �יר ל עב� ן לה� א־תת� כא ומזרעך ל

י ב משכב� Xא תשכ ר ל כ( ת־ז( י יהוה: שביעי (רביעי כשהן מחוברין) כב וא zאנה ה־ב[ מא( בתך לט( ן שכ( Oא־תת ה ל eל־בהמ וא: כג ובכ( Qה ה Gה תועב אש[

א למלך ר� עב� א תתן לא� יך ל� כא ומבנ�

א ך אנ� ה� א דאל� ת שמ� לל י� א תח� ול�א תשכוב משכבי א ל� ת דכור� : כב וי� יי�א ל בעיר� א היא: כג ובכ� א תועבת� אתת�ה ב� א ב� א� לאסת� ך שכבת� תתן א ל�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / כא־כג 448 / ספר ויקרא


21 You shall not present of your children to pass through for Molech, and

do not profane the Name of your God — I am HASHEM.

22 You shall not lie with a man as one lies with a woman, it is an

abomination. 23 Do not lie with any animal to be contaminated with it;

Molech

Sodomy and

bestiality

275. See below, pasuk 29, “From the Start.” 276. Below, 20:13. 277. See note 258.

� The Androgynosנדרוגינוס א� ר: מ� א� אליעזר בי ר� ה. אש� משכבי ב תשכ� לא ר כ� ז� ואת אי בי סימ� טור. . . ר� קבות שלו פ� ל בנ� כרות שלו אב� ה. . . בז� יו סקיל� ל� יבין ע� י� ח�בי א דר� עמ� אי ט� ה משתי מקומות, מ� יו סקיל� ל� יבין ע� י� נדרוגינוס ח� אומר: א�ר שיש בו שני כ� ה“, אי זהו ז� ב משכבי אש� ר לא תשכ� אי. . . ”ואת ז�כ� סימ�שני ביה דאית ב ג� ל ף ע� ן, א� נ� ב� ור� נדרוגינוס, א� זה אומר הוי בות, משכ�

ר“ כתיב (יבמות פג:, ירושלמי יבמות ח, ו): כ� בות ”את ז� משכ�Our pasuk says, You shall not lie with a male as one lies

with a woman (ה This is the prohibition for a .(משכבי אש�man to have relations with another man.

The phrase ה -as one lies with a woman, liter ,משכבי אש�ally means, the “cohabitations” of a woman, in the plural.

According to one opinion, this is alluding to an androgy-nos — someone who has both male and female organs, making relations with him possible in two ways — and the Torah is telling us that one is liable for either way.

According to another opinion, a man who has relations with an androgynos as a female is not liable, because our pasuk says, ר -the” male, indicating that one is li“ ,ואת ז�כ�able only if he commits the sin as he would with a male (Yevamos 83b; Yerushalmi Yevamos 8:6).

� Either Wayתוב כ� לך� ה� גיד מ� ה“, אש� ”משכבי ה. אש� משכבי ב תשכ� לא ר כ� ז� ואת

ה (סנהדרין נד.): אש� בות ב� ששני משכ�If a man has relations with one of the women forbidden

to him, he is liable whether he committed the act in the natural way or in an unnatural way. We learn this through our pasuk, which says regarding a man having relations with another man, You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a woman (ה ה The phrase .(משכבי אש� as one ,משכבי אש�lies with a woman, literally means the “cohabitations” of a woman, in the plural. This teaches that there are two ways of “cohabitation” with a woman, and if she is forbidden to him, either way is prohibited (Sanhedrin 54a).

� Partial Is Complete”משכבי יב], י� [ח� בזכור ערה מ� ה� ה. אש� משכבי ב תשכ� לא ר כ� ז� ואת

ה“ כתיב ביה (יבמות נד:, סנהדרין נה.): אש�We learn through pesukim that wherever it is forbidden

to have relations with a woman, one may not even begin the act.275

With regard to a man having relations with another man, the same rule applies, because our pasuk says, You shall not lie with a male “as one lies with a woman,” comparing a male to a female (Yevamos 54b; Sanhedrin 55a).

� Both Partiesה ר� זה� א� לשוכב, ה ר� זה� א� דנו מ� ל� ה. אש� משכבי ב תשכ� לא ר כ� ז� ואת

”ואת אומר הוא הרי ריך, צ� אינו אומר: א עקיב� בי ר� יין?. . . מנ� ב לנשכ�כב (סנהדרין נד:, ירושלמי ה“, קרי ביה לא תש� ב משכבי אש� ר לא תשכ� ז�כ�

סנהדרין ז, ז):For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


When a man has relations with another man, the Torah states clearly that both parties are to receive capital pun-ishment.276

The prohibition for the active partner is stated clearly in our pasuk: You shall not lie (ב תשכ� with a male as (לא one lies with a woman. Where do find a prohibition for the passive partner?

According to one opinion, it is learned from the phrase ב -you shall not lie. Since the Torah is written with ,לא תשכ�out vowels, this can also be read כב you shall not be ,לא תש�lied with (Sanhedrin 54b; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:7).

ה הוא .It is an abomination — תועב�

� Abnormal Behaviorה (נדרים נא.): ה ב� ת� ה“. . . תועה א� אי ”תועב� ה הוא. מ� תועב�

Our pasuk refers to a man having relations with another man as to’eivah (ה an abomination. Why was this — (תועב�strong term used for this sin and not the many others dis-cussed in our passage?

The word to’eivah can also be understood as an acro-nym for “to’eh atah bah,” meaning, “you are straying with this.” Since this person is pursuing an unnatural relation-ship, he is “straying” from normal behavior (Nedarim 51a).

ה .23 ה ב� מא� בתך� לט� ה לא תתן שכ� ל בהמ� Do not lie — ובכ�with any animal to be contaminated with it.


בהמות ב עם ה� מצוה רי: של א לשכ�Mitzvah 210: The Prohibition of Bestiality for a Man

It is forbidden for a man to have relations with an animal.

� Dual ProhibitionIf a person mistakenly transgresses a kares-level pro-

hibition,277 he must atone for his sin by bringing a chatas (sin offering). If he commits the same sin many times due to the same error, he still brings only one chatas to atone for his one error.

לשוכב, ה ר� זה� א� דנו מ� ל� ה, ב� ה מא� לט� בתך� שכ� תתן לא ה בהמ� ל ובכ�ריך, הרי הוא אומר ”לא תתן א אומר: אינו צ� בי עקיב� יין. . . ר� ב מנ� לנשכ�יו. . . ל� ה ע� בהמ� והביא ה בהמ� ל ה� א ע� ב� . . . ה� תך� שכיב� תתן לא ,“ בתך� שכ�



א היא תך� חד� “ ושכיב� בתך� ת, ”שכ� ח� א א� יב אל� י� א אינו ח� בי עקיב� לדברי ר�(סנהדרין נד:):

For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� ,עונש) azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,א�onesh) for violating the prohibition.

Our pasuk is the azharah against a man actively having relations with an animal: Do not lie ( בתך� שכ� תתן with (לא any animal. Where do we find the prohibition against a man bringing a male animal upon himself, allowing him-self to be the passive party?

According to one opinion, we learn this from the very same words, which can be read as �תך which ,לא תתן שכיב�means “do not lie before an animal” (to submit yourself to the animal’s action).

Since both prohibitions are learned from the same words, they are considered the same transgression. Therefore, if someone is unaware that this is forbidden and he violates the prohibition both actively and passively, he is obligated to bring only one chatas (sin offering) (Sanhedrin 54b).

ה ה לרבע� עמד לפני בהמ� Aה לא ת A woman shall not — ואש�stand before an animal for mating.


בהמות שים עם ה� נ� ה ה� בנ� מצוה ריא: של א תשכ�Mitzvah 211: The Prohibition of Bestiality for a Woman

It is forbidden for a woman to have relations with an animal.

.It is a perversion — תבל הוא

� Tasteless Actה מן כולהון א ביא� ד� א ה� ני� ה? מי ש� בלין יש ב� אי תבל?. . . ת� תבל הוא. מ�

ביאות (נדרים נא.):

Our pasuk describes a woman having relations with an animal as tevel (תבל), a perversion. Why was the term tevel used for this sin rather than any of the others in our passage?

The word tevel is similar to tavlin, spice. The Torah is rebuking the woman, “Is there any ‘spice’ (enjoyable ‘fla-vor’) in this act? Why do you pursue an abnormal rela-tionship which does not even give you true enjoyment?” (Nedarim 51a).

ל אלה .24 מאו בכ� ל תט� Do not become contaminated — א�through any of these.

� All or Any?א ייהו לא? אל� א מינ� חד� מא, ב� ל אלה הוא דמט� ל אלה. בכ� מאו בכ� ל תט� א�

ל אלה (סנהדרין פא., מכות כד.): ת מכ� ח� או, בא� ל�Although the phrase ל אלה ,literally means “all” of these כ�

we learn from our pasuk that it can also be translated as “any” of these:

After listing many forbidden relationships, our pasuk concludes, Do not become contaminated through “ל אלה ”.כ�Does only a person who violates all of these prohibitions become “contaminated”?! It is obvious that the Torah is not saying that! It is saying that a person who does any of these acts is contaminated (Sanhedrin 81a; Makkos 24a).

רץ .27 א� נשי ה� שו א� אל ע� תועבת ה� ל ה� For the — כי את כ�inhabitants of the Land who are before you

committed all these abominations.

� Secondary Relativesין? ה מנ� תור� רץ. רמז לשניות מן ה� א� נשי ה� שו א� אל ע� תועבת ה� ל ה� כי את כ�שות, ק� אל“ ”ה� רץ“, א� ה� נשי א� שו ע� אל ה� תועבת ה� ל כ� את ”כי ר שנאמ�

אי נינהו, שניות, (יבמות כא. ירושלמי יבמות ב, ד): כות, ומ� א ר� ל דאיכ� מכל�

בליתם“ (ישעיה ל ת� פי ע� (כג) תבל הוא. לשון קדש וערוה וניאוף, וכן ”וא�ע בהמה: ע אדם וזר� חר,) ”תבל הוא“, לשון בלילה וערבוב, זר� י, כה). (דבר א�(כח) ולא תקיא הארץ אתכם. משל לבן מלך שהאכילוהו דבר מאוס,

יימת עוברי עבירה שאין עומד במעיו אלא מקיאו. כך ארץ ישראל אינה מק�מריקה ריקון, לשון ”ולא תרוקן“, רגומו ות� יד). יב, (תורת כהנים קדושים פרק

צמה מהם: ע�

ל־ �כד א הוא: בל Kה ת Gלרבע ה eבהמ י לפנ� ד עמ לא־ת� ה ואש(י zנטמאו הגוים אשר־אנ לה ל־א י בכ( לה כ_ yל־א מאו בכ( �תטיה( ל� ע( ה Gעונ אפקד ו= רץ א( ה( א pתטמ �כה ו ם: aמפניכ �ח ל� �משאת־חקתי ם ת �א ם Eכו ושמרת יה: aאת־ישב רץ Gא ה( א zתק �וח אזר( ה= לה yא ה( תועבת �ה מכל עשו ת� א ול י �ט ואת־משפ(שו ע( ל א ה( תועבת �ל־ה את־כ( י כז כ ם: aבתוככ ר הג/ ר והג�א־ מפטיר כח ול רץ: א= ה( א Gתטמ �ו ם לפניכ� ר Eאש רץ Gא י־ה( נש+ �אה את־הגוי eא ר ק( Kאש ה כ� ם את[ Dאכ מ� �ם בט רץ אתכ א( יא ה( תק_לה yא תועבת ה( �ה מכל ה עש ר י� Eל־אש י כ( ם: כט כ aר לפניכ Kאש

ט א למשל� ם בעיר� א תקום קד� א ל� ואתת�ל אבון בכ� א תסת� א הוא: כד ל� ה תבל� ב�א י� ממ� בו ע� א� ל אלין אסת� אלין ארי בכ�ת ב� א� מיכון: כה ואסת� גלי מן קד� א מ� די אנ�ת ורוקינ� ה ה על� רית חוב� סע� א וא� רע� א�תון א� כו ותטרון א: ה� תב� י� ת י� א רע� א�מכל עבדון א ת� ול� י דינ� ת וי� י מ� קי� ת י�ירון א דיתג� א וגיור� ציב� אלין י� א ה� ת� תועב�אלין א ה� ת� ל תועב� ת כ� ביניכון: כז ארי י�מיכון קד� די א רע� א� שי אנ� דו עב�תרוקן א כח ול� א: רע� א� ת ב� א� ואסת�א כמ� ה ת� י� אביכון בס� תכון י� א רע� א�מיכון: כט ארי א די קד� י� ממ� ת ע� ת י� דרוקינ�אלין ה� א ת� תועב� מכל עבד י� די ל כ�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / כד־כט 450 / ספר ויקרא


a woman shall not stand before an animal for mating, it is a perversion.

24 Do not become contaminated through any of these; for through all of these the na-

tions that I expel before you became contaminated. 25 The Land became contaminated

and I recalled its iniquity upon it; and the Land disgorged its inhabitants. 26 But you

shall safeguard My decrees and My judgments, and not commit any of these abomina-

tions — the native or the proselyte who lives among you. 27 For the inhabitants of the

Land who are before you committed all these abominations, and the Land became con-

taminated. 28 Let not the Land disgorge you for having contaminated it, as it disgorged

the nation that was before you. 29 For if anyone commits any of these abominations,

The holiness of

the Land

278. See Yechezkel 17:13. 279. Mishlei 6:5. 280. See Schottenstein Edition, note 25. 281. See Yechezkel 17:13. 282. Devarim 25:16. 283. Pasuk 27. 284. Pasuk 25. 285. Below, 20:18.

In our passage, the Torah lists the arayos — the close relatives that one is forbidden to marry. To prevent people from coming to violate these serious transgressions, the early Sages prohibited marriage to certain relatives who are less closely related. These are known as sh’nios, שניות, secondary arayos.

The concept of sh’nios is hinted at in our pasuk. After listing the arayos, our pasuk says, For the inhabitants of the Land who are before you committed all (אל these (ה�abominations.

Rather than use ha’eileh (אלה the more common ,(ה�word for “these,” the Torah used the word eil, (אל) which also means strong ones.278

By saying that the listed sins are strong or severe, it implies that there are other, less severe, relation-related sins, hinting at the sh’nios (Yevamos 21a; Yerushalmi Yevamos 2:4).

� Haughtiness and Immoralityסות ג� בו שיש ם ד� ל א� כ� רץ. א� ה� נשי א� שו ע� אל ה� תועבת ה� ל כ� את כי ת ה‘ א (משלי טז, ה) ”תועב� כ� יות, כתיב ה� ער� ל ה� ל כ� א ע� . . . כאילו ב� רוח� ה�

אל“ (סוטה ד:): תועבת ה� ל ה� ם ”כי את כ� ת� ה לב“ וכתיב ה� ל גב� כ�After listing all of the arayos (forbidden relationships),

the Torah (in our pasuk) says, For the inhabitants of the Land who are before you committed all these “abomina-tions” (תועבת).

The same term is used in connection with the trait of haughtiness, in the pasuk,279 Everyone of a haughty heart is an abomination to Hashem (‘ת ה This teaches that .(תועב�a haughty person is considered as sinful as one who trans-gressed all the prohibitions of forbidden relations280 (Sotah 4b).

� Bad and Worseן שה עונש� בי לוי: ק� ר ר� מ� רץ. א� א� נשי ה� שו א� אל ע� תועבת ה� ל ה� כי את כ�הן ר ב� הן ”אל“ וזה נאמ� ר ב� יות, שזה נאמ� ן של ער� של מדות יותר מעונש�

(דברים כה, טז) ”אלה“ (בבא בתרא פח:):Our pasuk says that the inhabitants of the Land who are

before you committed all (אל these abominations related (ה�to arayos (forbidden relations). The word אל (these) signi-fies that these are severe sins.281

Regarding dishonest weights and measures, the Torah282 uses the longer form of that word, eileh: all who do “these”

indicating that the sin of dishonest weights is even ,(אלה)more severe than arayos! (Bava Basra 88b).

ה .28 אכם את� מ� רץ אתכם בט� א� קיא ה� Let not the — ולא ת�Land disgorge you for having contaminated it.

� The Holy Landא לות ב� יות. . . ג� עון גלוי ער� ה. ב� אכם את� מ� רץ אתכם בט� א� קיא ה� ולא ת�כז) (פסוק ר שנאמ� ן, במקומ� ויושבין אחרים אין וב� ן גלין אות� ומ� ם עול� ל�א תטמ� רץ“, וכתיב (פסוק כה) ”ו� א� נשי ה� שו א� אל ע� תועבת ה� ל ה� ”כי את כ�אכם מ� רץ אתכם בט� א� קיא ה� “, וכתיב ”ולא ת� ליה� ה ע� אפקד עונ� רץ ו� א� ה�

ה“ (שבת לג.): את�After listing all of the arayos (forbidden relationships),

the Torah (in our passage) warns us of the consequences that come as a result of this sin:

For the inhabitants of the Land who are before you com-mitted all these abominations.283

The Land became contaminated…and the Land dis-gorged its inhabitants.284

And in our pasuk: Let not the Land disgorge you for hav-ing contaminated it.

The holy Land of Eretz Yisrael cannot tolerate immoral-ity, which is the opposite of holiness. Jews and non-Jews alike who engaged in such behavior were exiled from the Land and replaced with other nations (Shabbos 33a).

אלה .29 תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� For if anyone — כי כ�commits any of these abominations.

� From the Startה, ן לנד� יות כול� ער� ל ה� אלה. הוקשו כ� תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� כי כ�ה (יבמות ח., נד:, קידושין סז:, כריתות ב:): א� ער� ף כל בה� ה א� א� ער� ה בה� ה נד� מ�

After listing all of the arayos (forbidden relationships), the Torah (in our pasuk) says, For if anyone commits any of these abominations… The Torah here groups all the arayos together in one statement, telling us to apply the laws of one to the others.

With regard to a person who has relations with a nid-dah, the Torah says,285 he has “bared” (he’erah, ה ער� Lה) her source. The term ha’araah (ה ע� ער� signifies the beginning ,(ה�of the act of a man and woman having relations.

Our pasuk teaches us to apply this to all forbidden



relations; just as in the case of a niddah one is liable as soon as he begins the act, that applies to all the other ara-yos as well (Yevamos 8a, 54b; Kiddushin 67b; Kereisos 2b).

� Only Theseאלה“ ה� תועבת ה� ”מכל אלה. ה� תועבת ה� מכל עשה י� אשר ל כ� כי

רת (יבמות כא., בבא בתרא פח:): עוטי מדות מכ� למ�Regarding the sin of arayos (forbidden relationships),

our pasuk says, For if anyone commits any of “these” אלה) ”abominations, the people doing so will be “cut off (ה�from among their people. That is, they will be punished with kares.286

The Torah also refers to using false weights and mea-sures as an “abomination,” in the pasuk,287 For an abomi-nation of Hashem, your God, are all who do this. Neverthe-less, our pasuk teaches that only “these” abominations — that is, arayos — are liable to kares, and not false weights (Yevamos 21a; Bava Basra 88b).

� Not a Marriageיו קידושין. . . ל� ה ע� ל מי שאין ל� אלה. כ� תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� כי כ�מילי. . . ני א ה� מנ� ה. . . תור� יות שב� ער� ל ה� מכ� ת ח� ל א� א ע� ב� זה ה� זה, ואיזה ל ונכרתו“, הוקשו כ� אלה תועבת ה� מכל ה� עשה י� אשר ל א ”כ� ר קר� מ� א�ף ה קידושין א� פסי ב� ה לא ת� ה אחות אש� ה, מ� אחות אש� ם ל� יות כול� ער� ה�

ה קידושין (קידושין סז:): פסי ב� ם לא ת� יות כול� ל ער� כ�After listing all of the arayos (forbidden relationships),

our pasuk says, For if anyone commits any of these abomi-nations, grouping all the arayos together in one statement, telling us to apply the laws of one to the others.

With regard to one’s wife’s sister the Torah says,288 You shall not “take” (ח .a woman in addition to her sister (תק�The word ח -take, indicates a legally recognized mar ,תק�riage. The Torah is teaching that you shall not take — it is impossible to have a marriage — between a man and his wife’s sister.

According to one opinion, our pasuk tells us to apply this to all arayos that are liable to kares, telling us that there can be no legal “marriage” with any of these relatives (Kiddushin 67b).

� Separate LiabilityOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand

the Torah’s intent is:לא מד לל� ל כל� ה� מן א צ� וי� ל בכל� ה י� שה� ר ב� ד�א צ� ל כלו י� כל� ל ה� מד ע� א לל� א אל� צ� צמו י� ל ע� מד ע� Something that ,לל�was included in a general category and was singled out to teach [a new law] was not singled out to teach [only] re-garding itself; rather, it was singled out to teach regarding the entire general category.מכל עשה י� אשר ל כ� ”כי אלה. ה� תועבת ה� מכל עשה י� אשר ל כ� כי ל לחילוק כל� את מן ה� צ� ה, וי� יית� ל ה� אלה ונכרתו“, אחותו בכל� תועבת ה� ה�

ל (ירושלמי שבת ז, ב; ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ה): כל� ל ה� ע�Regarding the sin of arayos (forbidden relationships),

our pasuk says, For if anyone commits any of “these” אלה) ”abominations, the people doing so will be “cut off (ה�from among their people. That is, they will be punished with kares.289

If a person mistakenly transgresses a kares-level prohi-bition he must atone for his sin by bringing a chatas (sin offering). If he commits the same sin many times due to the same error, he still brings only one chatas to atone for his one error. However, If he had relations with more than one ervah during a single period of unawareness, it is not as though he transgressed the same sin many times, which would be covered by one chatas; rather, he must bring a separate chatas for each woman with whom he had relations.

According to one opinion, we know this because our pa-suk says that all of the arayos are liable to kares, yet with regard to relations with one’s sister, the Torah specifically says that it is liable to kares:290 A man who shall take his sister…they shall be “cut off”…

The reason the Torah repeated the punishment with re-gard to a sister is to teach that just as there is a separate liability for a sister, there is a separate liability for each of the other arayos as well (Yerushalmi Shabbos 7:2; Yerush-almi Sanhedrin 7:5).

� Contamination Through CarryingThere are some sources of tumah (ritual impurity), for

example, a niddah or a neveilah (carcass of an animal), that transmit tumah by a person carrying the item, even without coming into direct contact with it. This is known as tumas masa, tumah of carrying.

286. See note 258. 287. Devarim 25:16. 288. Above, pasuk 18. 289. See note 258. 290. Below, 20:17.

ל כך (שם פרק יג, כב): זהיר בית דין ע� רתי. לה� רתם את משמ� שמע (תורת כהנים פרשתא ט, כ): (ל) ושמ� נקבה במ� זכר וה� נפשות העשת. ה� (כט) ה�ר ייבים כלייה. לכך נאמ� תם מתח� ה הנאה יש לי בכם, וא� י, ומ� חר� תם נפסלים מא� מאו איני אלהיכם, וא� מאו בהם אני ה‘ אלהיכם. הא אם תט� ולא תט�

”אני ה‘ אלהיכם“ (שם):

את־ ם Eל ושמרת ם: מ= �ע רב מק� ת עש ה= שות נפ( �ה ונכרתו עשו נ� ר Eאש תועבת �ה חקות מ+ עשות י לבלת י משמרת

ם: פ פ פ aהיכ י יהוה אל Yם אנ ה� מאו ב( �א תט ם ול לפניכפ' פסוקים. כ"י כ"ל סימן. עד"ו סימן.

מהון: עבדון מגו ע� די� א ת� פש� וישתיצון נ�א ת מימרי בדיל דל� טר� ת מ� ל ותטרון י�א די אתעבידו ת� ד מנימוסי תועב� למעב�יי� א אנ� בהון אבון תסת� א ול� מיכון קד�

הכון: אל�

רש“י

פרשת אחרי יח / ל 452 / ספר ויקרא


the people doing so will be cut off from among their people.

30 You shall safeguard My charge not to do any of the abominable traditions that

were done before you and not contaminate yourselves through them; I am HASHEM,

your God.

291. See note 221. 292. See note 258. 293. Ibid. 294. Pasuk 5. 295. Bamidbar 18:8.

ה עבוד� יין ל� ה: מנ� בי עקיב� ר ר� מ� אלה. א� תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� כי כ�ה תוב תועב� ה, וכ� ה בניד� תוב תועב� ה?. . . כ� א כניד� ש� א במ� מ� ה שהיא מט� ז�ר�ה אלה“, תועב� תועבת ה� עשה מכל ה� ל אשר י� ה ”כי כ� ה,. . . בניד� ר� ה ז� עבוד� ב�ל אין אני “. . . אב� ה אל ביתך� ביא תועב� ה (דברים ז, כו) ”ולא ת� ה ז�ר� עבוד� ב�ה, ה הוקש� ה שבניד� ה אומר: לתועב� בי עקיב� ה, ר� יודע� לאי זה מהן הוקש�א (ירושלמי שבת ט, ש� א במ� מ� ה מט� ה ז�ר� ף עבוד� א א� ש� א במ� מ� ה מט� ניד� ה ה� מ�

א; ירושלמי עבודה זרה ג, ו):According to one opinion, we may learn laws of idolatry

from the laws of niddah through a gezeirah shavah291 that links them:

With regard to all the arayos (forbidden relationships), including niddah, our pasuk says, For if anyone commits any of these “abominations” (תועבת). This term is also used in connection to idolatry in the pasuk that says, You shall not bring an “abomination” (ה …into your home (תועב�

Therefore, just as a niddah conveys tumah by being carried, so too an idol conveys tumah by being carried (Yerushalmi Shabbos 9:1; Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 3:6).

עשת שות ה� נפ� The people doing so — ונכרתו ה�will be cut off.

� Passive Actionייהו אית להו (בבא קמא לב.): רו� ה לת� א� עשת. הנ� שות ה� נפ� ונכרתו ה�

If a person transgressed a kares292 prohibition when he was not aware that it was forbidden, he must bring a chatas (sin) offering.

As a general rule, one is liable to a chatas only when he sins through an action. However, the sin of arayos (forbid-den relationships) is an exception to the rule.

With regard to arayos, our pasuk says, the people “doing so” (עשת .will be cut off from among their people (kares) (ה�“The people doing so” includes both the man and the woman. Although the woman is passive, she is considered as “doing” the sin since she also derives pleasure from it. Therefore, if she mistakenly violated one of these prohibi-tions, she must bring a chatas (Bava Kamma 32a).

� Actively Resisting Temptationעשת“, ואומר (לעיל פסוק שות ה� נפ� עשת. ”ונכרתו ה� שות ה� נפ� ונכרתו ה�

ה ר עביר� ב� יושב ולא ע� ל ה� א כ� הם“, ה� י ב� ח� ם ו� ד� א� ם ה� עשה את� ה) ”אשר י�ה (מכות כג.): ר כעושה מצו� כ� נותנין לו ש�

After listing all of the arayos (forbidden relationships), our pasuk says, the people “doing so” (עשת will be cut (ה�off from among their people (be punished with kares293). By actively doing one sin, a person can have his life cut short.

When it introduces our entire passage, the Torah says,294 You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which man shall carry out (עשה by not sinning — and by which — (י�he shall live.

This teaches that a person who controls his desire and refrains from doing a sin is rewarded as though he actively “did” a mitzvah, and is rewarded with life (Makkos 23a).

רתי .30 רתם את משמ� You shall safeguard My — ושמ�charge.

� Safety Measuresיבמות ה.; (מועד קטן רתי למשמ� משמרת עשו רתי. משמ� את רתם ושמ�

כא.):In our passage, the Torah lists all of the arayos — the

close relatives that one is forbidden to marry. To prevent people from coming to violate these serious transgres-sions, the early Sages prohibited marriage to certain relatives who are less closely related. These are known as sh’nios, שניות, secondary arayos.

The concept of sh’nios is hinted at in our pasuk: After listing the arayos, the Torah here says, You shall safeguard “mishmarti” (My charge), which teaches that we must make safeguards to assure that we do not transgress the actual prohibitions of arayos.

According to another teaching, our pasuk is telling us that one must make safeguards to protect terumah (the portion of produce that is given to a Kohen) from tumah (ritual impurity). We know this because terumah is re-ferred to as mishmeres, “My charge,” in the pasuk,295 And I — behold! I have given you the “mishmeres” of My terumos (Moed Katan 5a; Yevamos 21a).



פרשת קדשים �Parashas Kedoshim


או .3 ביו תיר� Every man: Your mother and — איש אמו וא�father shall you revere.


או ביו תיר� מצוה ריב: איש אמו וא�Mitzvah 212: The Obligation to Revere One’s Father

and MotherOne is obligated to treat his father and mother with rev-erence. For example, he should not sit in his father’s or

mother’s place or contradict their words.

� Are Women Obligated?ין? כשהוא ה מנ א איש, אש� או. ”איש“, אין לי אל� ביו תיר� איש אמו וא�ר: למוד לומ ה ת ים, אם כן מ אן שנ או“ הרי כ ביו תיר� אומר ”איש אמו וא�מפני עשות ה ל ד� בי� סיפק אין ה עשות, אש� דו ל בי� סיפק איש ”איש“?

ליה� (קידושין ל:): שרשות אחרים ע�Our pasuk says, “every man” must revere his parents.

Does this mean that a woman does not need to revere her parents?

The wording of our pasuk is, Every man: Your mother and father “tira’u” (או (ו) you shall revere. The suffix u ,(תיר�at the end of tira’u makes the word plural, so it is address-ing both a man and a woman, commanding that both must revere their parents.

The pasuk refers to every “man” because he is always obligated to do this. However, once a woman gets married, she must revere her husband and listen to him more than to her parents1 (Kiddushin 30b).

� Like Revering Hashemר (דברים או“, ונאמ ביו תיר� ר ”איש אמו וא� או. נאמ ביו תיר� איש אמו וא�אם ב ו� ת א� תוב מורא כ� ה ה עבד“, השו� א ואתו ת ו, יג) ”את ה‘ אלהיך� תיר�

קום (קידושין ל:, ירושלמי פאה א, א; ירושלמי קידושין א, ז): מ� ת ה למוראThere are two similar pesukim. Our pasuk says, Every

man: Your mother and father shall you “revere.” A pasuk in Devarim2 says, Hashem, your God, shall you “revere,” Him shall you serve.

The mitzvah of revering one’s parents is so special and important that the Torah compares it to the obligation to revere Hashem (Kiddushin 30b; Yerushalmi Pe’ah 1:1; Yerushalmi Kiddushin 1:7).

� Both Equalב א� כול שכבוד ה� קום, י� ל מ� אם בכ� ב קודם ל� א� או. ה� ביו תיר� איש אמו וא�מד, מל או“, תיר� ביו וא� אמו ”איש ר לומ למוד ת אם? ה� כבוד ל ע עודף קום, מפני ל מ� אם בכ� ב קודם ל� א� מים: ה� מרו חכ� ל א� ששניהם שקולים. אב�

ביו (כריתות כח.): בין בכבוד א� י� שהוא ואמו חWhen the Torah discusses the obligation to honor one’s

parents, it sometimes mentions the father first,3 and some-times mentions the mother first, as our pasuk says, Every man: Your mother and father shall you revere. The Torah switches the order to show that one must revere and honor his mother just as much as his father.

The Sages, however, taught that as long as one’s mother is married to his father, he must give more honor to his fa-ther. This is because the mother, as the father’s wife, must herself honor the father, her husband. But if the mother got divorced and is no longer married to the father, the

1. See Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, notes 43 and 44. 2. 6:13. 3. See, for example, Shemos 20:12 and 21:15.

קהל, מד שנאמרה פרשה זו בה� ת בני ישראל. מל� בר אל כל עד� (ב) ד�מפני שרוב גופי תורה תלויין בה (תורת כהנים פרשתא א, א): קדשים תהיו. ערוה גדר תה מוצא שכל מקום שא� העבירה, ומן העריות מן הוו פרושים דשכם“ (להלן כא, ז-ח), חללה וגו‘ אני ה‘ מק� תה מוצא קדושה, ”אשה זונה ו� א�חללה וגו‘ ” דשו“ (שם טו), [”קדשים יהיו, אשה זונה ו� לל ז�רעו אני ה‘ מק� ”ולא יח�(שם ו-ז)]: (ג) איש אמו ואביו תיראו. כל אחד מכם תיראו אביו ואמו, ין, כשהוא אומר ”תיראו”, הרי זהו פשוטו. ומדרשו, אין לי אלא איש, אשה מנ�עשות, אבל אשה ר ”איש”, שהאיש סיפק בידו ל� ים. אם כן למה נאמ� כאן שנ�רשות אחרים עליה (תורת כהנים שם ג; קידושין ל:): אמו ואביו תיראו. כאן בן ירא את אביו יותר מאמו, ובכבוד הקדים אם לאב, לפי שגלוי לפניו שה�

יותר אמו את בד מכ� בן שה� לפניו שגלוי לפי יב), כ, (שמות לאם אב הקדים י תשמרו. בתת� בדברים (קידושין ל.-לא.): ואת ש� לתו ד� מפני שמש� מאביו, ל מורא אב, רתיך ע� ל פי שהזה� ף ע� ר, א� בת למורא אב, לומ� ת ש� ך שמיר� סמ�(תורת מצות כל ה� בשאר וכן לו, ע תשמ� ל בת, א� ש� את ה� לל לך: ח� ר יאמ� אם ואביך תה א� אלהיכם. ה‘ אני לב.): מציעא בבא ה:-ו.; יבמות י; שם כהנים מורא? איזהו דברי. את טל לב� לו ע תשמ� לא לפיכך (שם), בכבודי ייבים ח�ואיזהו כבוד? דבריו. יסתור את ולא במקומו, בר יד� ולא במקומו, ישב לא כניס ומוציא (תורת כהנים שם; קידושין לא:): נעיל, מ� לביש ומ� שקה, מ� אכיל ומ� מ�ל, ל תפנו אל האלילים. לעבדם (תורת כהנים שם). ”אלילים”, לשון א� (ד) א�

כלא הוא חשוב:

פרשת קדשיםת ל־עד� ר אל־כ ב ה לאמר: ב ד� ר יהוה אל־מש� �ב [יט] א ויד�י י קדוש אנ! היו כ' ים ת* ם קדש' מרת. אלה- ל וא/ א0 י־ישר בנ3י בתת4 ואת־ש� או תיר ביו וא אמו יש ג א' ם: היכ9 אל יהוה ם אליל אל־ה< ל־תפנו ד א� ם: היכ9 אל יהוה י אנ! תשמרו

אונקלוס לל ב מ ר: למימ� משה עם יי� ליל א ומר ותימ אל ישר� דבני א כנשת� ל כ� עם יי� א אנ� דיש ק ארי תהון דישין ק להון ומן אבוהי תהון מן אמה ר ג גב הכון: אל�א דילי תטרון אנ� א י� ב יומי ש ת וי� חלין ד�ן עו� ט ר ת ב� תתפנון א ד ל� הכון: אל� יי�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / א־ד 456 / ספר ויקרא

PARASHAS KEDOSHIM

19.


PARASHAS KEDOSHIM 1 HASHEM spoke to Moshe, saying: 2 Speak to the entire assembly of the Children

of Israel and say to them: You shall be holy, for holy am I, HASHEM, your God.

3 Every man: Your mother and father shall you revere and My Sab-

baths shall you observe — I am HASHEM, your God. 4 Do not turn to the idols,

19 Holiness,

parents,

Sabbaths,

and idols

4. See ibid. 21:17. 5. See Schottenstein Edition, 49a note 1. 6. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 7. 31:16. 8. See Schottenstein Edition, 67b note 3. 9. See ibid. note 6.

son must honor his mother and his father equally (Kereisos 28a).

� Opposite of ReverenceFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


אמו ”איש יין? מנ ואמו ביו לל א� למק ה ר� זה� או. א תיר� ביו וא� אמו איש או“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, יא): ביו תיר� וא�

If someone curses his father or mother, he is executed by stoning (sekilah).4 The “warning” against cursing one’s parents is found in our pasuk — Every man: Your mother and father shall you revere. Cursing one’s parents is the opposite of reverence (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:11).5

י תשמרו בתת� או ואת ש� ביו תיר� Every man: Your — איש אמו וא�mother and father shall you revere and My Sabbaths

shall you observe.

� Don’t Listenב א� כבוד יהא כול י� תשמרו. י בתת� ש� ואת או תיר� ביו וא� אמו איש י בתת ואת ש או תיר� ביו וא� אמו ”איש ר לומ למוד ת ת? ב� דוחה ש אם ו�

יבין בכבודי (יבמות ה:): י� תשמרו“, כולכם חביו: ר לו א� מ ין שאם א� י תשמרו. מנ בתת� או ואת ש� ביו תיר� איש אמו וא�ר שנאמ לו? ע ישמ שלא ה] [אביד� חזיר ת ל א לו: ר מ שא� או מא, היטיבין י� י תשמרו, אני ה‘ ”, כולכם ח בתת או ואת ש ביו תיר� ”איש אמו וא�

בכבודי (יבמות ו., בבא מציעא לב.):Our pasuk says, Every man: Your mother and father shall

you revere… I am Hashem, “your” God. The word “your” refers to all the people mentioned in the pasuk: the man (the child), the mother, and the father, teaching that they all must honor Hashem, and Hashem’s honor comes be-fore theirs.

Therefore, if a parent asks a child to violate a prohibition or not to do a mitzvah, he may not listen to his father or mother (Yevamos 5b, 6a; Bava Metzia 32a).

י תשמרו בתת� And My Sabbaths shall you — ואת ש�observe.

� How Many Offerings?If a person mistakenly transgresses a kares-level pro-

hibition6 — such as doing melachah (forbidden labor) on Shabbos — he must atone for his sin by bringing a chatas

(sin offering). If he commits the same sin many times due to the same error, he still brings only one chatas to atone for his one error. If, however, he violated the prohibition, and then realized that the act was forbidden, and then again forgot and committed the same sin, that is a new error, and he is required to bring a second chatas. Addi-tionally, if his error led him to violate several prohibitions, he must bring a separate chatas for each one.

תות ב� רבה בש אכות ה ה מל� ש� ת וע� ב� ר ש יודע עק י תשמרו. ה בתת� ואת ש�אי כתיבי, (שמות ני מילי?. . . תרי קר� ה� ת. . . מנ� ב� ת וש ב� ל ש ל כ� י�ב ע רבה, ח הי תשמרו“, בתת ת“, וכתיב ”ואת ש ב� ש אל את ה מרו בני ישר� לא, טז) ”וש�תות ב� לש ת ח א ה שמיר� ת“, ב� ש ה את אל ישר� בני מרו ”וש� ד? כיצ א ה�ת (שבת סט:): ב� ת וש ב� ל ש ת לכ� ח ה א י תשמרו“, שמיר� בתת רבה, ”ואת ש ה

Our pasuk says, And My Sabbaths — in plural — shall you observe. A pasuk in Shemos7 says, The Children of Israel shall observe the Shabbos, using the singular. Why does one pasuk speak of Shabbos in the singular, and the other in the plural?

The pasuk in Shemos, which refers to one Shabbos, deals with a case where a person was totally unaware of the existence of Shabbos. Although he desecrated many Shabbosos, he brings only one chatas, since it was all based on a single mistake.8

Our pasuk, which mentions many Shabbosos, discusses a case where a person lost track of the calendar and was unaware that this day was Shabbos and he violated several Shabbosos. It is assumed that sometime during the week he found out what day it was, but he forgot again. There-fore, each forgotten Shabbos is a separate mistake, so that each one requires its own chatas9 (Shabbos 69b).

אלילם .4 ל תפנו אל ה� .Do not turn to the idols — א�


ה ב� חש� ה לא במ� ר� ה ז� ר עבוד� ח� מצוה ריג: של א לפנות א�ה ט� ב� ולא בדבור ולא בה�

Mitzvah 213: The Prohibition to Turn Toward Avodah Zarah Through Thought, Speech, or Observation

We are forbidden to think about idols, speak about them, or even look at them.

� Not Just Idolsה, כל ב� להסת סור בחול א� ף ה א צמ� א ע ודיוקנ� אלילם. ה� אל תפנו ל א�נין: בי ח� ר ר מ א? א� למוד� אי ת אלילם“. מ ל תפנו אל ה� ר ”א משום שנאמ

עתכם (שבת קמט., ירושלמי עבודה זרה ג, א): ל תפנו אל מד א

457 / VAYIKRA/LEVITICUS PARASHAS KEDOSHIM 19 / 1-4


Our pasuk says, Do not turn to “ha’elilim” (אלילם the ,(ה�idols. The word אלילם, idols, is similar to the word לים ,חל�which means, recesses, deep places.

The pasuk is therefore understood to be saying: do not turn to the products that come from the depths of a per-son’s mind, that is, “artwork,” which is the creation of a person’s thoughts and inspiration10 (Shabbos 149a; Yeru-shalmi Avodah Zarah 3:1).

כם עשו ל� ה לא ת� סכ� And molten gods shall you — ואלהי מ�not make for yourselves.


תו צמו ולא לזול� ה לא לע� ר� ה ז� עשות עבוד� מצוה ריד: של א ל�Mitzvah 214: The Prohibition to Make an Idol, Either for

Oneself or for Others

חהו .5 You shall slaughter it to find favor — לרצנכם תזב�for yourselves.

� Only With Intentר מ א� ין? מנ כב לע סול. . . פ� שהוא שים ד� בק� סק מתע חהו. תזב� לרצנכם

עתכם זביחו (זבחים מז., מנחות קי., חולין יג.): חהו“, לד לו: ”לרצנכם תזב�Our pasuk says that when we slaughter a shelamim

(peace offering), we should do it לרצנכם, literally, accord-ing to your will. This means that one must slaughter the shelamim willfully and with intent. But if he did the act without intent to slaughter — if, for example, a person was lifting a knife and it happened to properly cut the animal’s neck — the offering is invalid (Zevachim 47a; Menachos 110a; Chullin 13a).

� For Usר אעשה רצונו רתי אליכם זבחו כדי שתאמ מ חהו. לא א� לרצנכם תזב�זובחים, תם א לרצונכם א אל� זובחים תם א לרצוני לא רצוני, עשה וי

חהו“ (מנחות קי.): ר ”לרצנכם תזב� שנאמ

Our pasuk says that we bring the offerings לרצנכם, which can be translated as, for “your” will.

When we bring an offering (korban) to Hashem, we are not “giving” Hashem a “bribe” so that He will benefit us. Rather, offerings are meant to be brought of our own will, because they are for our good, by fulfilling Hashem’s com-mandments and gaining atonement for our sins (Menachos 110a).

� Only One, Not Twoד, אח� ח זב שוחטים ים שנ יהא שלא ח, תזב יוסף ב ר ני דת� חהו. תזב�חהו” א: ”תזב� הנ� ב כ ר ר מ חים. וא� ד שוחט שני זב� חהו“, שלא יהא אח� ”תזב�

כתיב (חולין כט.):Our pasuk says that when we slaughter offerings, לרצנכם

חהו חהו) ”to find favor for yourselves “tizbachuhu ,תזב� ,(תזב�you shall slaughter it.

The Torah here spelled the word חהו ,tizbachuhu ,תזב�without a vav (ו) after the ches (ח). Therefore the word is also to be understood as if it were pronounced חהו ,תזב�tizbacheihu, which means you — in the singular — shall slaughter it. This teaches that only one person may slaughter an offering; two people may not hold the knife and slaughter it together.

The hu (הו) at end of the word tizbachuhu means “it,” in the singular. This teaches that a person may slaughter only one offering at a time; he may not slaughter two offerings at once, even with a long knife (Chullin 29a).

ת .6 חר� כל וממ� On the day of your — ביום זבחכם יא�slaughter shall it be eaten and on the next day.

� Only by Dayח) ג, (לעיל דכתיב ה ולשחיט� ה לסמיכ� שר. . . כ� יום ה ל כ� זבחכם. ביום

ה ”ביום זבחכם“ (מגילה כ:): ה בשחיט� ט“, וכתיב ב� ח ך. . . וש� מ ”וס�Our pasuk says that a shelamim (peace offering) may

be eaten on the day of your slaughter… and on the next

10. There is a dispute among Rishonim about the nature of this prohibition. Some say that it forbids only gazing at a work of art meant to

עשותן חריהם, סופך ל� תה פונה א� סכה. תחילתן אלילים הם, ואם א� ואלהי מ�לכם אחרים ולא אחרים ל� עשו ת� לא לכם. עשו ת� לא יא): (שם אלהות צמכם, אבל אחרים עושין לכם, הרי כבר עשו לע� ר לא ת� (שם יב). ואם תאמ�ר ”לא יהיה לך“ (שמות כ, ג), לא שלך ולא של אחרים: (ה) וכי תזבחו נאמ�ת להאכל ל מנ� מד שלא תהא זביחתן אלא ע� וגו‘. לא נאמרה פרשה זו אלא לל�ן אכילה, הרי זה (תורת כהנים פרק א, א), שאם לקבוע� להם זמ� ן ה� זמ� בתוך ה�לרצנכם טז): ז, (לעיל וגו‘ ” קרבנו ח זב� נדבה או נדר ”ואם ר נאמ� כבר ת רוח, שיהא לכם לרצון, שאם ח� ל מנת נ� ת זביחתו תהא ע� תזבחהו. תחל�

חשבת פסול לא ירצה עליכם לפני: לרצנכם. אפיימנ“ט. זהו חשבו עליו מ� ת�וין סק שפסול בקדשים, שצריך שיתכ� בותינו למדו מכאן למתע� לפי פשוטו. ור�ל מנת לשחוט (חולין יג.): (ו) ביום זבחכם יאכל. כשתזבחוהו תשחטוהו ע�ענין אינו יאכל וגו‘. אם כבר: (ז) ואם האכל לכם עתי שקב� זה ן זמ�ח שלמיו וגו‘ ” (לעיל ר זב� ר ”ואם האכל יאכל מבש� נו, שהרי כבר נאמ� לחוץ לזמ�יהיו ז, יח), תנהו ענין לחוץ למקומו (תורת כהנים שם ד; זבחים כח.-כח:). יכול נפש האכלת ממנו עונה תשא“ (לעיל ר ”וה� למוד לומ� ל אכילתו, ת� ייבין כרת ע� ח�חשבת חוץ למקומו (זבחים כט.): נשחט במ� ז, יח), ”ממנו“ ולא מחבירו, יצא ה�

♪ ם: היכ9 אל יהוה י אנ! ם Aכ ל עשו Bת א ל ה מסכ אלהי ו3הו: Dח תזב ם לרצנכ- יהוה Bל ים מ! של ח ב� ז� תזבחו י Iה וכ

י שליש נותר עד־יום ה� ת וה� Mחר ל וממ/ Oכ א ם י3 Pו ביום זבחכ

י Rשליש ה� ביום ל Oכ א י3 כל א ה3 ם Tז וא ף: ישר3 ש Oא ב

יי� א עבדון לכון אנ� א ת א ל� תכ� ן דמ חל� ודם ת קודשין קד� ארי תכסון נכס הכון: ה ו אל�דיתנכס א ו ביומ� א לכון תכסנה: עו� יי� לרר א ודאשת� תרוהי דב א וביומ� יתאכל ז ואם ד: יתוק� א בנור� ה א� תלית� א יומ� ד עה א� תלית� א ביומ� יתאכל א ל� אתאכ�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / ה־ז 458 / ספר ויקרא


and molten gods shall you not make for yourselves — I am HASHEM, your God.

5When you slaughter a feast peace-offering to HASHEM, you shall slaughter it to find favor for

yourselves. 6 On the day of your slaughter shall it be eaten and on the next day, and whatev-

er remains until the third day shall be burned in fire. 7 But if it shall be eaten on the third day,

Piggul/

Rejected

offerings

be worshiped, even if it has not yet been worshiped. Others hold that the prohibition includes gazing at any man-made artwork, because this distracts a person from serving Hashem (see Schottenstein Edition, note 35). 11. Above, 3:8. 12. That night is halachically the beginning of the third day. 13. Above, 7:18. 14. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is im eino inyan

day. The phrase the “day” of your slaughter teaches that the offering must be slaughtered by day.

Another pasuk11 says regarding offerings, He shall lean…and slaughter. “Leaning” refers to semichah, the owner placing his hands on the head of the animal and leaning on it with his full weight. That pasuk mentions leaning and slaughtering together to teach that just as slaughtering must be done during the day, semichah must also be done during the day (Megillah 20b).

� Yeravam’s ArgumentDuring the reign of King Rechavam, son of King Shlomo,

Eretz Yisrael split into two kingdoms: the Kingdom of Yehu-dah, which included the tribes of Yehudah and Binyamin, and the Kingdom of Yisrael, which consisted of the remaining ten tribes. Yeravam was the king of the Kingdom of Yisrael. He served idols and convinced the Jews to do so as well.

כל יא� זבחכם ”ביום ה מר� א� ה תור� ה ת. חר� וממ� כל יא� זבחכם ביום עשרתיכם“ מים מ ה (עמוס ד, ד) ”לשלשת י� מר� ה א� ה ז�ר� עבוד� ת“, ו חר� וממ�

(ירושלמי עבודה זרה א, א):Our pasuk tells us that a shelamim (peace offering) may

be eaten on the day of your slaughter…and on the next day, which is a total of two days. However, the practice of idolaters at that time was to eat offerings brought to the idols for three days.

This was one argument Yeravam used to persuade his citizens that the idols are very “kind” to their worshipers, and they should therefore serve them (Yerushalmi Avodah Zarah 1:1).

רף אש יש� שלישי ב� ד יום ה� ר ע� נות� And whatever remains — וה�until the third day shall be burned in fire.

� Only by Dayד ר ע נות� ר ”וה למוד לומ לין לאור שלישי. . . ת כול יהו נאכ� ד יום. י� ר ע� נות� וה�ל לאור שלישי (פסחים ג., זבחים נו:): ל ואינו נאכ� יום“, בעוד יום הוא נאכ�

Our pasuk says that a shelamim (peace offering) is eaten on the day it is slaughtered and on the next day, which seems to mean that it may not be eaten after night-fall on the the second day. On the other hand, it tells us that whatever remains “until the third day” shall be burned in fire; i.e., that the leftovers are to burned during daytime of the third day. What, then, is the status of the meat on the night following the second day;12 may it be eaten then?

The wording of our pasuk is, שלישי ד יום“ ה ר ”ע נות� -liter ,והally, and whatever remains “until the day, the third,” should be burned. Since the Torah is written without vowels or

punctuation, the words, ad yom (ד יום until the day, can ,(עalso be read as, od yom (עד יום), while it is day, and stop-ping the phrase there. The pasuk is then understood as, On the day of your slaughter shall it be eaten and on the next day, and whatever remains [shall be eaten] “while it is day.” Any meat that remains until the night of the third day may not be eaten (Pesachim 3a; Zevachim 56b).

שלישי .7 יום ה� כל ב� כל יא� But if it shall be eaten — ואם הא�on the third day.

� Out of PlaceAn animal offering has four critical “blood services”:

slaughtering, catching the blood in a holy vessel, bring-ing the blood to the Altar, and applying the blood to the Altar. If, while performing one of these avodos (services), someone had in mind that the offering be consumed after the proper time, it is invalidated and considered piggul, “repulsive.” If someone did one these avodos with intent to eat the offering outside of its proper place, the offering is invalid, but it is not piggul.ת ש ר� בפ� ”שלישי“ אומר כשהוא שלישי. ה� יום ב� כל יא� כל הא� ואם ”ואם ז, יח) ר (לעיל נאמ ר שהרי כב� ר, למוד לומ שאין ת תהיו, קדשים לחוץ ן עני� אינו אם שלישי“, ה יום ב יו מ� של� ח זב ר מבש כל יא� כל הא�

ן חוץ למקומו (זבחים כח.־כח:): נו, תנהו לעני לזמThe previous pasuk taught us that a shelamim is eaten

on the day it is offered and on the next day. Our pasuk says, But if it shall be eaten on the third day, it is rejected — it shall not be accepted, and is an invalid offering. This seems to mean that if someone ate the offering on the third day, the entire offering becomes invalid. However, this cannot be, because the essential avodah was already completed properly, and the offering was already valid at that time.

Rather, the pasuk refers to a case where one had intent while doing the avodah to eat the offering improperly, and this intent invalidates the offering.

What type of improper intent does the pasuk refer to?The wording of the pasuk — if it shall be eaten on the

third day — seems to mean that the person intended to eat the meat of the offering after its proper time. However, an earlier pasuk says,13 And if some of the meat of his shelamim offering will be consumed at all on the third day, it will not be accepted, and that pasuk teaches that the intent to consume an offering beyond its proper time invalidates the offering.

Our pasuk is referring to a person who had intent to eat the offering outside of its proper place, and teaches that the offering is invalid14 (Zevachim 28a-b).



� Suitable for ThreeThere are two categories of korbanos (offerings): kod-

shei kodashim, most-holy offerings, which must be eaten in the Beis HaMikdash, and kodashim kalim, less-holy of-ferings, which may be eaten throughout Yerushalayim.

אי תהיו, מ קדשים ת ש ר� דפ� שלישי.“שלישי“ יום ה� כל ב� יא� כל הא� ואם ר, ש� בב� ם, בד� ש משול� שיהא קום למ� ליה עי מיב� הוא ה ביה? ת רש ד�

ובאימורין (זבחים כט., פב.):Our pasuk says that if a shelamim (peace offering) is

eaten on the third day, it is rejected, invalid. This does not mean that someone actually ate it on the third day, because that would not invalidate the offering. Rather, it means that while doing one of the offering’s blood-services, the person intended to eat it in an improper way. And although the pasuk speaks of eating on “the third day,” it actually means that he intended to eat it outside of its proper place.15

According to one opinion, the word “third” hints that in order to invalidate an offering, the place in which the person intended to eat the offering is one that is or was suitable for three avodos (sacrificial services): throwing the blood of an offering (zerikah), eating the meat of an offer-ing, and burning the sacrificial parts of an offering.

There were certain periods of time when Jews were al-lowed to bring offerings on bamos (private altars): Before the Mishkan was built; during the fourteen years that the Jews conquered and divided Eretz Yisrael; and later, when a temporary Mishkan stood at Nov and Givon.

Therefore, any place outside of the area of the Beis HaMikdash was suitable for offering, applying the blood of, and eating offerings when bamos were permitted, and if someone intended to eat the offering in these places, the offering is invalid.

There is, however, one place in which offerings may never be eaten, and which was never suitable for burning or eating an offering. This is the Beis HaMikdash building itself, known as the Heichal (Sanctuary). Therefore, even if one intended to eat an offering in the Heichal, which is definitely “outside of the proper place” for eating it, the offering does not become invalid, since the Heichal is not suitable for all the three services (Zevachim 29a, 82a).

צה .It is rejected — it shall not be accepted — פגול הוא לא יר�

� Conditions for PiggulAn offering has four critical “blood avodos” (services):

slaughtering the animal (shechitah), receiving the blood in a vessel (kabbalah), bringing the blood to the Mizbe’ach (Altar) (holachah), and applying the blood to the Mizbe’ach (zerikah).

If a person does one of these avodos with intent to eat the offering after the time limit for eating, the offering be-comes invalid, and someone who eats its meat is punished with kares (premature death).16 This disqualification is called piggul.

If someone did the avodah with intent to eat the offering outside of its proper place, the offering is invalid, but it is not piggul and there is no kares penalty.

צה“, ”יר� ר: ר מ מ דא� תירין, מ ל ה שיקרבו כ� ד יב ע י מיח רת לא צה. כ� יר�ל כ� שיקרבו ד ע שר כ� ת א רצ� ה ה מ� סול, פ� ת א רצ� ה ך כ� שר כ� ת א רצ� כה

תירין (מנחות טז:): מ ל ה ד שיקרבו כ� סול ע ת פ� א רצ� ף ה תירין, א מ הThe law of piggul applies only if — other than having

an improper intent during one of them — all the blood avodos were done properly. If any of these avodos were done improperly, the offering is invalid but not piggul. For example, if one slaughtered an offering with intent to eat it outside of its proper place, and then did a later avodah with intent to eat it beyond its time, the offering is not piggul, since the slaughtering was done improperly — with intent to eat it outside of its place.17

We learn this law from our pasuk, which says, it is piggul (rejected) — it shall not be accepted, צה The Torah18 uses .יר�the same word regarding valid offerings: it is acceptable, צה for a fire offering to Hashem. This teaches that just as ,יר�a valid offering needs to have all its avodos done properly, so too, an offering can become piggul only if it was other-wise done properly (Menachos 16b).

א כי את קדש ה‘ חלל .8 יו עונו יש� Each of those who — ואכל�eat it will bear his sin, for what is sacred to Hashem

has he desecrated.


ר מצוה רטו: של א לאכל נות�Mitzvah 215: The Prohibition to Eat Nossar

We are prohibited from eating meat of a korban (offering) that was left beyond the time in which it may be eaten.

� The Power of a Gezeirah ShavahOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the

legufo, teneihu inyan l’davar acheir (חר ר א ב� ן לד� ן לגופו תנהו עני� This means that if a certain law cannot be applied exactly as .(אם אינו עני�written in the Torah (because, for example, other pesukim taught us differently or because the Torah taught the law elsewhere), we apply the law to a similar case. 15. See previous discussion. 16. See note 6. 17. See Mishnah, Zevachim 29b. 18. Below, 22:27.

ק פגולים כליהם“ (ישעיה סה, ד): (ח) ואכליו עונו פגול. מתועב, כמו ”ומר�נשחט חוץ למקומו, ל ה� בר. [ואינו ענוש כרת ע� כתוב מד� ישא. בנותר גמור ה�

סכת כריתות (ה.) למדוהו בר,] ובמ� כתוב. וזהו בנותר גמור מד� שכבר מיעטו ה�מגזרה שוה:

י־את־ כ* א יש עונו כליו ח וא ה: צ9 ר י3 א ל הוא פגול יה: מ9 ע� מ3 וא ה! ה� פש נ� ה� ה Yונכרת ל Zחל יהוה קדש

ח ודייכלנה א: עו� לר יהי א ל� הוא ק ח� מר�יי� ד א קודש� ת י� ארי בל יק חובה מה: מע הוא ה א ש� אנ� וישתיצי חל א

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / ח 460 / ספר ויקרא


it is rejected — it shall not be accepted. 8 Each of those who eat it will bear his sin,

for what is sacred to HASHEM has he desecrated; and that soul will be cut off from its

people.

19. Above, 7:18. 20. See Schottenstein Edition, note 17. 21. See note 6. 22. 29:34. 23. See Menachos 73b. 24. See note 6. 25. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or, in some cases, words with similar meanings) appear in two different places in the Torah, the reference links the pesukim, so that they shed light on one another. A gezei-rah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 26. Above, 22:2. 27. See previous discussion. 28. Above, 7:18.

Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or, in some cases, words with similar meanings) appear in two (or more) places in the Torah, the reference links the pesu-kim, so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah sha-vah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai.ה ל� ה ק ו� ה ש� ל תהי גזיר� ם א א כי את קדש ה‘ חלל. לעול� יו עונו יש� ואכל�ה א מגזיר� תוב אל� כ� ה ולא לימדו ה ד מגופי תור� , שהרי פיגול אח� בעיניך�א“, יו עונו יש� ן ”ואכל� ל� ר לה ר לוי: נאמ א ב בד� ני ז ן ת� נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ ה, דא� ו� ש�ן ל� ה לה א“, מ ה תש� עונ� ממנו אכלת נפש ה� ”וה ז, יח) (לעיל אן ר כ� ונאמ

רת (כריתות ה.): אן כ� ף כ� רת א כ�If an offering is brought with intent to eat it beyond the

proper time, it is considered piggul, and one who eats its meat is liable to kares. We learn this from a gezeirah sha-vah from our pasuk.

A pasuk19 that discusses piggul says, and the soul that partakes of it “avonah tisa” (א ה תש� .shall bear its sin ,(עונ�Our pasuk says, Each of those who eat it “avono yisa” (עונו א will bear his sin)… and that soul will be cut off from its ,יש�people (kares). The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as in our pasuk the person is punished with kares, so too, when a person eats piggul, he is punished with kares.

We learn from here that a gezeirah shavah is strong enough even to teach about severe punishments, like kares20 (Kereisos 5a).

� Clarifying the Meaningל ם א לעול� אי: סימ בי ר ר מ חלל. א� ה‘ קדש את כי א יש� עונו יו ואכל�ה, ולא לימדו ד מגופי תור� ר אח� , שהרי נות� ה בעיניך� ל� ה ק ו� ה ש� תהי גזיר�א] כ� ליף ”קדש“ ”קדש“ [כתיב ה� אי היא? י� ה, מ ו� ה ש� א מגזיר� תוב אל� כ� הפת� ר א כי־את־קדש ה’ חלל“ וכתיב (שמות כט, לד) ”וש� יו עונו יש� ”ואכל�

אש. . . כי־קדש וגו‘ ” (כריתות ה.): ר ב� נות� את־הThe previous pasuk taught us that an offering brought

with intent to eat it outside of its proper place is invalid. The pasuk before that discusses the law of nossar (meat of an offering left over past its proper time), stating that if the meat of a shelamim (peace offering) is left until after its time for eating — the third day — it must be burned, but it does not tell us the punishment for one who eats the meat.

Our pasuk says, Each of those who eat it will bear his sin… and that soul will be cut off from its people (kares21). Simply understood, this connects to the previous pasuk, teaching that one who eats from an offering brought with the intent to eat it or do an essential avodah outside its proper place is punished with kares.

However, a gezeirah shavah teaches that our pasuk actu-ally refers to the earlier case of nossar.

Our pasuk says, Each of those who eat it will bear his

sin, for what is “kodesh” (קדש), sacred, to Hashem has he desecrated. A pasuk in Shemos22 says regarding nossar — it may not be eaten, because it is “kodesh” (קדש), holy. The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as the pasuk in Shemos deals with nossar, our pasuk also deals with nossar, and it teaches that someone who eats nossar is punished with kares (Kereisos 5a).

� Offerings of Non-JewsA non-Jew may bring certain types of offerings (korba-

nos) in the Beis HaMikdash.23

בים לא נהנין דשי עובדי כוכ� א כי את קדש ה‘ חלל. ק� יו עונו יש� ואכל�ה מא, דכתיב ב� ר וט� יבין עליהם משום פיגול נות� י� ואין ח ולא מועלין. . . אל דשי בני ישר� זרו מק� יו וינ� נ� הרן ואל־ב� בר אל־א ה (לעיל כב, ב)“ ד בטומא�ה, דכתיב ר חילול חילול מטומא� ליף נות� ללו את שם [וגו‘] ” וי� ולא יחיו ר ”ואכל� בי נות� ללו וגו‘ ”, וכתיב ג אל ולא יח ה (שם) ”בני ישר� בי טומא� גבי ר, דכתיב ג ון מנות� ון ע� ליף פיגול ע� א כי את קדש ה‘ חלל“. וי� עונו יש�ר בי נות� א“, וכתיב ג ה תש� אכלת ממנו עונ� נפש ה� פיגול (לעיל ז, יח) ”והאל ולא עובדי א כי את קדש ה‘ חלל“, וכולהו בני ישר� יו עונו יש� ”ואכל�

בים (תמורה ג.): כוכ�According to one opinion, the offering of a non-Jew has

different laws than the offering of a Jew.If the offering of a Jew is brought with intent to eat it after

the proper time, it is piggul, and if someone eats it he is punished with kares.24 If the offering was actually left over beyond the time it may be eaten, it becomes nossar, and someone who eats it is punished with kares. Also, if a tamei person eats a Jew’s offering, he is punished with kares. How-ever, an offering of a non-Jew is not subject to these laws.

We learn this from a series of gezeiros shavos25 involving our pasuk.

An earlier pasuk26 says that tamei people shall withdraw from the holies “of the Children of Israel.” This teaches that the prohibition of tumah applies only to the offerings of Jews, not those of non-Jews.

That pasuk continues, and they shall not “yechallelu” ללו) -desecrate, My holy Name. Our pasuk, which dis ,(יחcusses nossar,27 uses a similar word: Each of those who eat it will bear his sin, for what is sacred to Hashem has he “chilleil” (חלל), desecrated. The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as the law of tumah applies only to a Jew’s offer-ing, the law of nossar also applies only to such an offering.

Our pasuk begins with the phrase, Each of those who eat it will bear “avono” (עונו), his sin. A pasuk that discusses piggul says,28 and the soul that eats from it shall bear “avo-nah” (ה its sin. A gezeirah shavah between these two ,(עונ�forms of the same word teaches that just as the law of

461 / VAYIKRA/LEVITICUS PARASHAS KEDOSHIM 19 / 8


nossar applies only to a Jew’s offering, the same is true for the law of piggul (Temurah 3a).

דך� לקצר ולקט .9-10 ת ש5 לה פא� רצכם לא תכ� ובקצרכם את קציר א�ם את� עזב ת� גר ול� ני לע� קט. . . תל� לא ירך� When you reap — קצ7the harvest of your land, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of your field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not take… for the poor and the

proselyte shall you leave them.


ה ת פא� מצוה רטז: מצו�Mitzvah 216: The Obligation of Pe’ah

When we harvest our fields, we are obligated to leave the “edge,” an unharvested portion to be taken by the poor.

דה ש� ה ב� פא� לות ה� מצוה ריז: של א לכ�Mitzvah 217: The Prohibition to Harvest the Pe’ah of

One’s FieldWe are prohibited from harvesting our entire field without leaving over the “edge,” an unharvested portion that is for

the poor.

ת לקט מצוה ריח: מצו�Mitzvah 218: The Obligation of Leket

If one or two stalks fall down as one is reaping the field, he is obligated to leave them for the poor.

ציר ק� ת ה� נופלים בשע� ת שבלים ה� ח� ק� מצוה ריט: של א ל�Mitzvah 219: The Prohibition to Gather Stalks That Fall

During the Harvest (Leket)We are prohibited from gathering one or two stalks that

fall down as we are reaping the field.

רצכם .9 When you reap the — ובקצרכם את קציר א�harvest of your land.

� At the BeginningWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he

must leave the “edge” of the field uncut for poor people to take. This portion is called pe’ah (corner).

יב י תחיל לקצור מיח א דא רצכם“ כתיב, מעידנ� ”בקצרכם את קציר א�דה (חולין קלח.): ה ש� בכול�

Our pasuk says regarding the pe’ah obligation, “When you reap” the harvest of your land, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of your field. The words, when

you reap, teach that one becomes obligated to give pe’eh for the entire field as soon as he begins to reap it. Therefore, if someone began to reap his field and then sold part to someone else, the original owner leaves pe’ah for the entire field, and the buyer has no pe’ah obligation (Chullin 138a).

� Even in the MiddleWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


ה לקצור. מ� א אפילו יש לו כ ר ”לקצר“? אל� למוד לומ ה ת ”ובקצרכם“, מר לומ למוד ת ה מ ”ובקצרכם“ קיש: ל� בן שמעון בי ר בשם ה יונ� בי ר יהושע בי ר בשם יוסי בי ר בסוף. ת ח וא ה בתחל� ת ח א א אל� ”לקצר“? ת ח בוה וא ת לג� ח א א ר ”לקצר“? אל� למוד לומ ה ת בן לוי: ”ובקצרכם“, מ

להדיוט (ירושלמי פאה א, ג):Usually, one leaves pe’ah at the end of the field, after

he finishes harvesting the rest of the field. According to one Tanna, one may also leave pe’ah in the middle of the field, even before harvesting the rest of the field. This law is learned from our pasuk, but later Sages disagreed about how exactly it is derived.

Our pasuk describes the pe’ah obligation as follows: When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not com-plete to the corner of your field “liktzor” (לקצר), to reap. According to one opinion, the phrase to reap, in the future tense, teaches that one may leave pe’ah even if there is still produce left in the field to reap.

Another opinion notes that the Torah repeats the word “reap” — When you “reap” the harvest…the corner of your field to “reap.” The repetition comes to add that pe’ah may be left even at the beginning or in the middle of the reaping.

A third opinion learns a different law from the extra word “reap”: Generally, fields owned by the Beis HaMikdash do not have a pe’ah obligation. Our pasuk teaches that if the Beis HaMikdash treasurer bought from a private person produce that was growing there is a pe’ah obligation. The reason is that although the treasurer already paid for the produce, it does not actually belong to the Beis HaMikdash until after it is harvested. 29 Therefore, at the time of har-vest the produce still belongs to the private person, and the pe’ah obligation takes effect (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 1:3).

� What Is Obligated?When a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


29. See Schottenstein Edition, 11a, for why this is so.

ים, אבל ת או שת� ח� ת קצירה א� נושרים בשע� ניח� פאה בסוף שדהו (תורת כהנים שם י; פאה א, ג): ולקט קצירך. שבלים ה� ת שדך. שי� לה פא� (ט) לא תכ�שלש אינן לקט (פאה ו, ה):

ה Pל תכ� א ל ם ארצכ יר את־קצ' ט ובקצרכם

ט: תלק3 א ל ירך קצ* קט ול� לקצר דך ש/ ת פא_תשיצי א ל� רעכון דא א ד� חצ� ת י� דכון ט ובמחצ�קט: תל א ל� ך ד� חצ� ד א ט� ולק� ד למחצ� ך קל� דח א את� פ�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / ט 462 / ספר ויקרא


9 When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not complete your reaping

to the corner of your field, and the gleanings of your harvest you shall not take.

Gifts to the poor

30. There is a dispute whether the person must actually fulfill the positive mitzvah in order to be exempt from malkus or he is exempt as long as it is possible to do the positive commandment (see Schottenstein Edition, 141a note 48).

נות רצכם“. איל� ר ”א למוד לומ יין? ת ה, קטנית מנ א תבוא� קציר. אין לי אל�אפילו קציר “, אפילו קציר אורז ו “. . . ”קצירך� דך� ר ”ש� למוד לומ יין? ת מנ

ן (ירושלמי פאה א, ד): דוחOur pasuk begins with the words, When you reap the

“harvest.” The word “harvest” usually refers to grain. How do we know that other types of produce are obligated in pe’ah?

Our pasuk continues to say, When you reap the harvest of “your land.” The phrase “your land” teaches that peas and beans, which grow close to the land, are also obligated in pe’ah.

The pasuk then says, you shall not complete…to the cor-ner of “your field.” “Your field” is a reference to fruit trees, and teaches that one must give pe’ah even from trees.

Finally, the pasuk says, and the gleanings of “your har-vest” you shall not take. The term “your harvest” teaches that even rice and millet are obligated in pe’ah (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 1:4).

� Boat-GrownWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


ייבת הו שתהא ח רץ, מ א� ה ל� ת חוצ� עי: קציר ס ב� בי פינח� רצכם. ר קציר א�ה הקדש טור, אי מ רץ פ� א� ה ל� טור וחוצ� הקדש פ� ר, ה ה? שלא תאמ בפיא�ה רצכם“ ולא קציר חוצ� ני ”קציר א ח ת� שכ יב א י� רץ ח א� ה ל� ף חוצ� יב, א י� ח

רץ (ירושלמי פאה ב, ה): א� ל�Our pasuk says that the pe’ah obligation applies to the

harvest of your land. We learn from here that produce grown outside of Eretz Yisrael that was then harvested in Eretz Yisrael is not obligated in pe’ah. For example, if pro-duce grew in a boat, and then entered Eretz Yisrael where it was harvested, one does not have to give pe’ah from it. Since the produce did not grow in Eretz Yisrael, it is not the harvest of “your” land (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 2:5).

דך� לקצר ת ש� לה פא� You shall not complete your — לא תכ�reaping to the corner of your field.

� Four ReasonsWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


ניח ה לה ה תור� מר� רים א� ה דב� ע� רב� בי שמעון: בשביל א ר ר מ לה. א� לא תכ�ד, חש� ומפני ה עניים, ביטול ומפני עניים, גזל מפני דהו: ה בסוף ש� פיא�יה ה פנוי� ע� ית ש� ב ל ה ע לה מפני גזל עניים, שלא יראה ב ל תכ ומשום בעניים יהו שלא עניים, ביטול ומפני ה, פא� זו הרי ני, ע� לקרובו ר ויאמד, שלא יהיו ה, ומפני חש� ית פא� ב ל ה ע ניח ב יו מ כש� מרין ע יושבין ומשדהו,. . . ה בש� הניח פא� ם שלא ד� א� ה ל� מאר� בא בין אומרים, ת� וש� עוברין

אין (שבת כג.־:, ירושלמי פאה ד, ג): מ� ר מפני ה�

According to one opinion, the phrase, you shall not “complete” your reaping to the corner of your field, teaches that pe’ah must be left from the end of the field, when one completes the harvest. But one may not designate part of the field as pe’ah in the middle of the harvest.

There are four reasons for this:1. If one would be allowed to leave pe’ah in the middle of

the harvest, he might designate pe’ah when no other poor people are around, and then quickly call his poor relative to come and take it. To prevent this from hap-pening, the owner must leave pe’ah at the end of the harvest, so that all poor people will know when to come and collect it.

2. If there was no set time for leaving pe’ah, the poor peo-ple would have to wait next to the field throughout the harvest to see when the owner leaves over the pe’ah. The Torah therefore gave a set time for leaving pe’ah — at the end of the harvest.

3. If one would leave pe’ah in the middle of the harvest, then when the end of the harvest comes and he does not leave pe’ah, people who see this might suspect him of not separating pe’ah.

4. If one was allowed to leave pe’ah in the middle of the harvest, unscrupulous people might not leave over pe’ah at all, claiming that they had done so earlier. Now that one must leave pe’ah at the end of the harvest, it will be obvious who is leaving pe’ah and who is not (Shabbos 23a-b; Yerushalmi Pe’ah 3:4).

� Can’t Be UndoneWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


Generally, when a person violates a negative command-ment he is punished with malkus (lashes). One of the exceptions to this rule is where the Torah gives a positive command that corrects the violation, called a lav shenitak la’asei (עשה ק ל או שנית� 30.(ל

ל ן בכל ה, ישנ� לה וכל� יא. . . ”לא תכ בי חי� א ור עי� בי אוש ני ר לה. דת� לא תכ�ה משום בי יהוד� עמיה דר ה ט ע מינ� ה. שמ בי יהוד� עים דברי ר רב� לקות א מר ב ס� ם דק� ע יינו ט ם ה ת� א ה� יו. דלמ� ל� עשה לוקין ע� ק ל או שנית� ר ל ב ס� דק�

ע (חולין קמא:): שמ א מ ר� עזב” (להלן פסוק י) מעיק� ”תR’ Yehudah says that if someone did not give pe’ah, he

is punished with malkus, since he violated the prohibition, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of your field.

The next pasuk says, for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them. This seems to be saying that if the per-son violated our pasuk’s prohibition and did not leave over pe’ah, then he can correct his failure by fulfilling for the poor



and the proselyte shall you leave them. If this understanding is correct, the Torah here is giving a positive command-ment that corrects the prohibition of not leaving pe’ah. If R’ Yehudah holds that one gets malkus for violating this pro-hibition, it must be that he disagrees with the principle that one does not receive malkus for a lav shenitak la’asei, and holds that one does receives malkus for such a prohibition.

However, this is not the case. Our pasuk is not discussing a person who violated the prohibition; it is instructing a per-son harvesting his field not to reap the pe’ah, but instead, for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them. Accord-ingly, pe’ah is not a lav shenitak la’asei (Chullin 141b).

� The Whole ThingWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


למוד ת עושה? ה פא� דהו ש� ל כ� עשות ל רוצה שאם ין מנ דך. ש� ת פא�“ (נדרים ו:): דך� ת ש� ר ”פא לומ

In discussing the pe’ah obligation, our pasuk says, you shall not complete pe’as sadecha ( דך� ת ש� literally, the ,(פאcorner of your field.

However, another way to translate the words pe’as sadechah is, the corner that “is” your field, meaning that the entire field is pe’ah. The pasuk is teaching that if a person wishes, once he has harvested at least one stalk he may leave his entire field as pe’ah (Nedarim 6b).

� PartnersWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


ב ת פות לא, כ� ך אין, שות� “, דיד� דך� ב דכתיב ”ש� ל ג ף ע ה, א דך. פא� ת ש� פא�עוטי ה לי? למ מ� “ ל� דך� א ”ש� רצכם“. אל� א ”ובקצרכם את קציר א נ� חמ� ר

בים (חולין קלה:): פות עובד כוכ� שות�Our pasuk states that the pe’ah obligation applies

when you reap the harvest of “artzechem” (רצכם which ,(אmeans, your land, in the plural. The pasuk then says, you shall not complete your reaping to the corner of “sadecha” ( דך� which means, your field, in the singular.31 ,(ש�

The word artzechem, in the plural, teaches that if two Jews own land in partnership, they are obligated to give pe’ah. When the pasuk refers to “your field” in the singular, it is referring to a Jew. If a partner in the field is a non-Jew, there is no pe’ah obligation (Chullin 135b).

� Many Fields, Many GiftsWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


דה מש� יוציא שלא ,“ דך� ”ש� ר שנאמ ה. . . פא� ל פסיקין מ ואלו דך. ש�ה (ירושלמי פאה ב, א): חבירת� ל

Our pasuk says that one should give pe’ah from the cor-ner of sadecha ( דך� your field. Since the Torah speaks ,(ש�in the singular tense — field, not fields — we learn that if a person owns many fields, he must give pe’ah from each individual field; he may not leave pe’ah in one field for an-other field (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 2:1).

� Size of the FieldWhen a farmer in Eretz Yisrael harvests his field, he


One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or sometimes words with similar meanings) appear in differ-ent places, the reference links the pesukim so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. יהושע בי ה. ר בפיא� ייבת ע ח בית רוב ע רק אליעזר אומר: ק בי דך. ר ש� ,“ דך� אן ”ש� ר כ� נאמ אליעזר? בי א דר עמ� ה ט ים. . . מ את ה ס� אומר: בעוש�ף ע, א ן, בית רוב ל� ר לה דך� שנאמ ה ש� “. מ דך� ים (פסוק יט) ”ש� ר בכלא ונאמן ל� ר לה “, ונאמ דך� אן ”ש� ר כ� ? נאמ בי יהושע א דר עמ� ה ט ע. מ אן בית רוב כ�ף יים, א ת ן ס� ל� ר לה דה שנאמ ה ש� דה“, מ ש� חת� עמר ב כ (דברים כד, יט) ”וש�

יים (ירושלמי פאה ג, ו): ת אן ס� כ�Our pasuk says regarding the pe’ah obligation: You shall

not complete your reaping to the corner of “sadecha” ( דך� ,(ש�your field. A pasuk below32 tells us, “Sadecha” ( דך� your ,(ש�field, shall you not plant kilayim (a mixture), meaning, that we may not plant different types of seeds together in the same “field.” Since both pesukim use the word “sadecha,” a gezeirah shavah tells us to apply the laws of one to the other. Regarding kilayim, a “field” is defined as an area large enough to plant a quarter-kav of seeds;33 we may not plant different species within this area. The gezeirah shavah teaches that this definition applies to pe’ah as well, and only a field at least large enough to plant a quarter-kav of seeds is obligated in pe’ah.

Another opinion gives a smaller measurement: As long as the field can grow two se’ah of produce, it is obligated in

31. In Hebrew, the suffix cha, ך�, means “your” in the singular, while the suffix chem, כם, means “your” in the plural. 32. Pasuk 19. 33. An area measuring 10 1⁄5 amos by 10 1⁄5 amos.

כל איזהו עוללות? ניכרות. והן שבה. לא תטול עוללות (י) לא תעולל. רמך. שאין לה לא כתף ולא נטף (תורת כהנים פרק ג, ג; פאה ז, ד): ופרט כ�אני ג): (תורת כהנים שם ב; פאה שם בצירה ת בשע� נושרים ענבים ה� רגרי ג�

ל תגזל ר ”א� יין להפרע, ואיני גובה מכם אלא נפשות, שנאמ� ה‘ אלהיכם. ד�ע את קבעיהם נפש“ (משלי כב, כב-כג; תורת יריב ריבם וקב� דל וגו‘, כי ה‘

כהנים שם ז):

תלקט א ל כרמך רט ופ� ל תעול א ל י וכרמך

♪ ם: היכ9 אל יהוה י אנ! ם את עזב Bת ולגר י aנ ע ל9קט תל א ל� ך רמ� דכ א ונתר� לל תע� א ל� ך רמ� י וכהכון: אל� יי� א אנ� תהון י� תשבוק ולגיורי ניי לע

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / י 464 / ספר ויקרא


10 You shall not pick the undeveloped twigs of your vineyard; and the fallen fruit of

your vineyard you shall not gather; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them

— I am HASHEM, your God.

34. Devarim 24:19. 35. 23:22. 36. Chinuch here keeps to his guideline of following Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos. However, Rambam retracted this position and in Yad HaChazakah, his legal work, he rules [as Ramban contends in Sefer HaMitzvos] that this obligation and prohibition actually refer to leaving oleilos, deficient grape clusters, that have neither “shoulders,” a broad top, nor tapered mini-clusters, but just some grapes scattered along the length of the central stem, as noted in the following discussion. See Schottenstein Edition of Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 221 note 8. 37. See previous note. 38. See previous discussion.

pe’ah. This too is learned from a gezeirah shavah:A pasuk34 that discusses the law of shich’chah, the ob-

ligation to leave over a forgotten sheaf for the poor, tells us, and you forgot a sheaf “basadeh” (דה ש� .in the field ,(בThe word “basadeh” is another form of the word “sadecha” ( דך� .in our pasuk, so a gezeirah shavah links the two (ש�The law regarding shich’chah is that if one forgot a bundle that contains two se’ah he does not have to leave it for the poor, since it is called a “field” rather than a “sheaf.” The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as a “field” with re-gard to shich’cah is the amount of two se’ah, so too, with regard to pe’ah, a field that produces two se’ah is consid-ered a “field” and is obligated in pe’ah (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 3:6).

.And the gleanings of your harvest — ולקט קצירך

� Using Your Handsבי יוסי אומר: “ ולא לקט קיטוף . . . ר א ”לקט קצירך� ני� ולקט קצירך. דתתולש ”לקצר“, ר לומ למוד ת ין? מנ עוקר ציר, ק� א אל� לי אין ”קציר“, ” (חולין קלז., ירושלמי פאה א, ד): ר (להלן כג, כב) ”בקצרך� למוד לומ ין? ת מנ

דו (ירושלמי פאה ד, ז): קוצר בי� ל ה ולקט קצירך. לא כ�Leket is the one or two stalks that fall down during the

harvest. These stalks are given to the poor.According to one opinion, one is obligated in leket only

where he harvests his grain with a proper harvesting tool, such as a sickle or scythe. But if he picks the grain by hand there is no law of leket. This is learned from our pasuk, which says, and the gleanings (leket) of “your harvest” you shall not take, indicating that only a proper harvesting ob-ligates one in leket.

This applies to grain, which is not normally harvested by hand. But in the case of produce normally picked by hand, even this opinion agrees that one is obligated in leket if he picked the produce in this way.

The beginning of our pasuk said regarding the pe’ah obligation, When you “reap”…you shall not complete to the corner of you field “to reap.” That pasuk repeats “reaping” to teach that if one normally harvests a crop by hand, pull-ing it up with its roots — as one does with lentils — he is obligated in pe’ah. The same thing applies to leket.

Similarly, a pasuk below35 tells us, When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not remove completely the corners of your field “as you reap.” Reaping is repeated there as well. That teaches that if the normal way to reap a specific crop is to pluck the food off the plant, when one

does so he is obligated in pe’ah and leket (Chullin 137a; Yerushalmi Pe’ah 1:4, 4:7).

ם .10 עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� רמך� לא תעולל. . . לע� You shall not — וכ�pick the undeveloped twigs of your vineyard… for the

poor and the proselyte shall you leave them.


כרם ת ה� ת פא� ח� נ� ת ה� מצוה רכ: מצו�Mitzvah 220: The Obligation to Leave Pe’ah (Oleilos) in

the VineyardWhen people harvest a vineyard, they pick all the good-quality grapes first, and then come back to harvest the rest of the grapes. We are commanded to leave over the

leftover grapes for the poor.36

כרם ת ה� לות פא� מצוה רכא: של א לכ�Mitzvah 221: The Prohibition to Remove Pe’ah (Oleilos)

From the VineyardWhen people harvest a vineyard, they pick all the good-quality grapes first, and then come back to harvest the rest of the grapes. We are prohibited to take these grapes for ourselves, but must instead leave them over for the poor.37

� What Are Oleilos?טף ולא נ� תף ה לא כ� ל שאין ל� איזוהי ”עוללת“? כ� רמך� לא תעולל. וכ�

(משנה פאה ז, ד):Our pasuk teaches us that we must give the “undevel-

oped twigs” of the vineyard, called oleilos, to the poor.What exactly are oleilos?A fully developed cluster has a central stem, with small

bunches of grapes growing from the top and numerous individual grapes growing from the bottom. If a cluster is missing both of these features — it has only a few isolated grapes — it is considered oleilos and must be given to the poor (Mishnah, Pe’ah 7:4).

� Give Everythingעניים. . . א אומר: ל� בי עקיב� רמך� לא תעולל. כרם שכולו עוללות. . . ור וכ�

רמך� לא תעולל“, אפילו כולו עוללות (משנה פאה ז, ז): ”וכOur pasuk tells us, You shall not pick the undeveloped

twigs of your vineyard. The term “undeveloped twigs,” also called oleilos, refers to grape stems that have only a few isolated grapes growing from them, as opposed to a full cluster.38

What is the law where one’s vineyard grew only oleilos?One opinion holds that he must give them all to the poor.



Had our pasuk said to leave the oleilos for the poor “when you harvest your vineyard,” it would mean that we leave them only when we are harvesting other clusters for ourselves. Since our pasuk simply says that we must leave them over, it means that we must leave the oleilos even if our entire vineyard is oleilos and there are no regular grapes for us to harvest (Mishnah, Pe’ah 7:7).

ם עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� קט לע� רמך� לא תל� רמך� לא תעולל ופרט כ� You — וכ�shall not pick the undeveloped twigs of your vineyard; and the fallen fruit of your vineyard you shall not gath-er; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them.


כרם ת פרט ה� ח� נ� ת ה� מצוה רכב: מצו�Mitzvah 222: The Obligation to Leave Peret of the

VineyardWe are obligated to leave over peret, the grapes that fall on

the ground during the harvest, for the poor.

כרם מצוה רכג: של א ללקט פרט ה�Mitzvah 223: The Prohibition to Gather Peret of the

VineyardWe are prohibited from taking peret, the grapes that fall down during the harvest, for ourselves instead of leaving

them for the poor.

� Defining the Termה (משנה בציר� ת ה נושר בשע איזהו ”פרט“? ה קט. רמך� לא תל� ופרט כ�

פאה ז, ג):Our pasuk tells us, קט תל לא רמך� כ the “peret” of ,ופרט

your vineyard you shall not gather. Instead, you should give it to the poor.

What, exactly, is peret?It refers to the individual grapes that fall while one is

harvesting a vineyard (Mishnah, Pe’ah 7:3).

� Not Normal(ירושלמי פאה דו בי� פורט ולא ה “ רמך� ”פרט כ קט. רמך� לא תל� ופרט כ�

ד, ז):Leket refers to the one or two stalks that fall down during

the grain harvest, while peret refers to the grapes that fall down during the grape harvest. Both leket and peret must be left for the poor.

The normal way to harvest grain is with special harvesting tools, like a sickle. If someone picked grain by hand, which

is an unusual way to harvest it, he is exempt from leket.39

When discussing leket, the Torah says, the gleanings of your harvest ט Fק you shall not gather. Our pasuk uses ,לא תלthe same words, the fallen fruit (peret) of your vineyard לא ט Fק you shall not gather. A gezeirah shavah40 between ,תלthe two pesukim teaches that just as one who harvests grain by hand — which is an unusual way to harvest — is exempt from the leket obligation, so, too, one who picks grapes by hand — which is an unusual way to harvest — is exempt from peret (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 4:7).

� Two Out of Fourתנות עניים שבכרם ע מ רב קט. א רמך� לא תל� רמך� לא תעולל ופרט כ� וכ�ופרט תעולל לא רמך� ”וכ דכתיב ה, פא� וה ה שכח� וה עוללות וה� פרט ה

קט“. . . (חולין קלא.): רמך� לא תל כThere are four gifts that are given to the poor from a vine-

yard: (1) Peret, grapes that fall down during the harvest. (2) Oleilos, isolated grapes that grow out on a grape branch, not in a cluster. (3) Shich’chah, forgotten grapes. (4) Pe’ah, the edge of the vineyard left unharvested for the poor.

The first two gifts are learned from our pasuk, which says, You shall not pick the “undeveloped twigs” (oleilos) of your vineyard; and the “fallen fruit” (peret) of your vine-yard you shall not gather; for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them. The other two gifts — shich’chah and pe’ah — are learned from other pesukim (Chullin 131a).

� “For” a Poor PersonPe’ah is the edge of the field that one must leave over for

the poor. Another gift given to the poor is oleilos, which are isolated grapes that grow out of a grape branch and do not form a full cluster.קט“ אי ”לא תל אליעזר ה בי ור ני, קט לו לע� ני“, לא תל קט לע� ”לא תל�

ל שלו (גיטין יב.): ני ע זהיר לע� עי ליה לה ביד ליה? מיב� אי ע� מThere is a disagreement whether a rich person may take

pe’ah for a particular poor person.One way to understand this disagreement is based on

our pasuk. The pasuk says, You shall not pick the undevel-oped twigs (oleilos) of your vineyard… for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them.

One opinion notes that the pasuk can be read as one long statement: You shall not pick the undeveloped twig for the poor. This means that “you,” the owner of the field, who is not poor, may not take the “undeveloped twigs” — oleilos — for a poor person. Similarly, a person who is not poor may not take pe’ah for a poor person.

39. See previous pasuk, “Using Your Hands.” 40. See note 25.

דברות עשרת ה� זהרה לגונב ממון, אבל ”לא תגנוב“ שב� (יא) לא תגנבו. א�עליו ייבין שח� דבר מענינו, למד ה� דבר נפשות, לגונב זהרה א� יג) כ, (שמות בה“ ”וכחש ר שנאמ� לפי חשו. ולא תכ� ח): (מכילתא בחדש דין בית ת מית�ר למוד לומ� ין, ת� זהרה מנ� דנו עונש, א� לם קרן וחומש, למ� (לעיל ה, כב, כד), מש�

ע ר ”ונשב� קרו. לפי שנאמ� חשו“ (תורת כהנים פרשתא ב, ג): ולא תש� ”ולא תכ�ר למוד לומ� ין, ת� זהרה מנ� דנו עונש, א� לם קרן וחומש“ (לעיל שם) למ� ל שקר יש� ע�קרו ולא תשבעו. חשו ולא תש� קרו“: לא תגנבו ולא תכ� ”ולא תש�שקר (תורת כהנים שם ה): ע ל� קר, סופך לישב� חש, סופך לש� בת, סופך לכ� אם גנ�

יש bא א־תשקרו ול חשו Bא־תכ ול בו תגנ א ש יא ל אנ קרון תש א ול� דבון תכ א ול� תגנבון א יא ל�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / יא 466 / ספר ויקרא


11 You shall not steal, you shall not deny falsely, and you shall not lie Honest dealings with others

41. Below, 23:22. 42. For example, to break into someone’s house and steal something when the owner is not at home. Stealing openly is forbidden under Mitzvah 229, below, pasuk 13. 43. See Shemos 22:3.

The other opinion permits a wealthy person to take for the poor, and understands the phrase You shall not pick… for the poor to mean that the command not to pick was also directed for the poor. The pasuk is telling a poor person who owns a vineyard that he must leave oleilos for other poor people to take, and he must leave pe’ah from a field he owns (Gittin 12a).

ם עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� For the poor and the proselyte — לע�shall you leave them.

� Keep It!לקט. ל עניים למשק הוו ולא ר, ע בכיש� ר לוי ז� ם. עזב את� גר ת� ול� ני לע�ולא ם“, את� עזב ת גר ול ני ”לע� ליה: ר מ א� ששת, ב דר מיה לק א את�

לפים (חולין קלד:): עט עורבים ולא ל� ל�The previous pasuk told us that a field owner may not

keep pe’ah, the edge of the field, and leket, the one or two stalks that fall down during the harvest. Our pasuk tells us that one should leave over these items for the poor. This teaches that if there are no poor people around, he does not have this obligation, and he may keep the leket for himself (Chullin 134b).

� Too Dangerousלית ובדקל ע, בד� רק ר לק ה נתנית במחוב� פיא� ם. ה עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� לע�ה תבוא� לפניהם, ח נ ה עזב“, ”ת עניים. . . ל לק ומח מוריד ית ב ה ל ע בלמוד לית ובדקל כן, ת כול בד� כבדות, י� מ רים ב מיר, תמ� ן בע� ה, תלת� ש� בק

ה (ירושלמי פאה ד, א): נ� כ� ם“. . . ומוציא אני את אלו שהן של ס ר ”את� לומThe previous pasuk mentioned the law of pe’ah, which

is the edge of the field one must leave unharvested for the poor. This obligation applies also to fruit trees.

Our pasuk says, For the poor and the proselyte “shall you leave.” The words “shall you leave” indicate that one should leave the pe’ah in its original state, while it is still attached to the ground; one should not harvest the grain first and then give it to the poor.

The pasuk continues, for the poor and the proselyte shall you leave them. The word “them” implies that you leave attached only the types of produce mentioned, but there are other types of produce that you detach for the poor.

Therefore, plants and trees that do not pose any danger to people who come to harvest them are left attached. How-ever, when it comes to trees that are dangerous to climb, such as a palm tree (which has a smooth trunk and no branches) or a tall trellis, the owner should first harvest the pe’ah and then give it to the poor (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 4:1).

� Questionable Leketח לפניהן נ עזב“, ה פק לקט לקט?. . . ”ת יין שס� ם. ומנ עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� לע�

משלך� (ירושלמי פאה ד, ז):The previous pasuk taught that we may not keep leket,

the one or two stalks that fall down during the harvest. Our

pasuk tells us that for the poor and the proselyte “shall you leave them.” Later,41 the Torah again says regarding leket — for the poor and the proselyte “shall you leave them.”

The Torah repeats this to teach that even if we are in doubt whether the fallen stalks are leket, we must still leave them for the poor (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 4:7).

� How Many?ן פרט, שני שבלים ה אינ� רגרים פרט, ושלש� ם. שני ג עזב את� גר ת� ני ול� לע�ייהו עמ בין:. . .ט א� בי ר ר אמ הלל. . . בית כדברי לקט; ן אינ� לש וש� לקט,

גר“ (ירושלמי פאה ו, ד): ני ול דבית הלל, ”לע�Leket refers to one or two stalks that fall during the har-

vest. Peret refers to one or two grapes that fall while one picks grapes. One must leave leket and peret for the poor to take.

The previous pasuk discussed the law of leket while our pasuk teaches the law of peret. The pasuk ends off regard-ing both obligations — for the “poor” and the “proselyte” shall you leave them. Since the pasuk mentions two people — the poor and the proselyte — we see that leket consists of two stalks, so one stalk can be given to each of two people. Similarly, peret consist of two grapes, which can be distributed that way as well. However, three stalks or grapes, which can be given to three people, are not leket and peret (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 6:4).

.You shall not steal — לא תגנבו .11


מון מצוה רכד: של א לגנב שום מ�Mitzvah 224: The Prohibition to Steal Anything of Value

We are forbidden to steal money or items of value in a hidden way.42

� That’s Also Stealing!When someone is caught with a stolen object, he pays

twice its value to the owner. He pays its value (or gives back the article itself) to return what he stole, and is re-quired to pay an additional amount, equivalent to its value, as a fine. This second amount is known as kefel (double).

שלומי כפל לם ת ת לש ל מנ� ט, ”לא תגנבו“ ע ת למיק ל מנ� ”לא תגנבו“ ע(בבא מציעא סא:, ירושלמי סנהדרין ח, ג):

It is forbidden to take the property of another person, even if you are planning to return it, and you are taking it only to annoy him in the meantime.

It is also forbidden even if you want to help the other person. For example, you know he will not take a gift from you, so you want to steal from him in order that when you are found guilty you will be required to pay him double as a fine.43 Even in such cases, taking what is someone else’s is forbidden (Bava Metzia 61b; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 8:3).



� Stealing or Kidnaping?ה ת� בר. א תוב מד כ� שות ה לא תגנבו. ”לא תגנב“ (שמות כ, יג) בגונב נפ�בר, מד תוב כ� מה ה מון?. . . ב בגונב מ� א אל� אינו שות, או נפ� בגונב אומר תוב כ� מון ה ך ”לא תגנבו“ בגונב מ� א איד� ני� שות. ת אן בנפ� ף כ� שות א בנפ�

מון (סנהדרין פו.): אן, במ� ף כ� מון, א בר, במ� תוב מד כ� מה ה בר,. . . ב מדWhen our pasuk says not to steal, it is discussing steal-

ing money. We know this because a pasuk later in our pas-sage44 forbids robbing and cheating another person. Just as those prohibitions involve money, our pasuk also deals with stealing money.45

However, the prohibition not to steal mentioned in the Ten Commandments46 refers to kidnaping a person. The proof is that the Torah lists that prohibition together with murder and adultery, and these are punishable by death. Kidnaping is the only form of stealing punishable with death (Sanhedrin 86a).

חשו .You shall not deny falsely — ולא תכ�


דינו חר בי� מון שיש לא� ל מ� חש ע� מצוה רכה: של א נכ�Mitzvah 225: The Prohibition to Deny a Monetary

Obligation to Another

� Don’t Deny!A shomer is a person who is watching another person’s

item. If he is irresponsible and the item is lost or destroyed, he must pay the value of the item to the owner. But if the item is destroyed through an unavoidable accident, the shomer does not have to pay.

If someone steals an item from another person, he is responsible for the item under all circumstances, even if it was lost through an unavoidable accident.

ה ר� זה� סין. . . א יב באונ� י� ן וח זל� יו ג ל� עשה ע� דון נ כופר בפק� חשו. ה ולא תכ�חשו“ (בבא קמא קה:) ר ”לא תכ למוד לומ ין? ת מנ

If a shomer is watching an item, and when the owner asks for it back, he denies ever having it, he is now con-sidered a thief, and he is responsible even for unavoidable accidents. This is a “punishment” for his false denial.

For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� ,עונש) azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,א�onesh) for violating the prohibition.

The azharah for the sin of denying having something that you were watching is found in our pasuk, which says, You shall not deny falsely (Bava Kamma 105b).

עמיתו קרו איש ב� And you shall not lie to one — ולא תש�another.


מון ת מ� ל כפיר� ע ע� ב� מצוה רכו: של א לש�Mitzvah 226: The Prohibition to Swear Falsely in Denial

of a Monetary Obligation

קר .12 ש� בעו בשמי ל� You shall not swear falsely — ולא תש�by My Name.


שקר ע ל� ב� מצוה רכז: של א נש�Mitzvah 227: The Prohibition to Swear Falsely

We are prohibited from making a false oath. There are two types of false oaths: One is where a person swears to do something (or not to do something) and does not keep his word. The second is where he swears that he did some-thing or did not do something, and the opposite is true.

� Past or Future?ל, ולא ן: אוכ נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ ב דימי א� א ר ת� קר. כי א� ש� בעו בשמי ל� לא תש�לתי ולא כ קר“, א� ש� בעו בשמי ל א, ”ולא תש� כ� תיה מה� ר� זה� ל שקר, וא אוכא את שם ה’ אלהיך� א (שמות כ, ז) ”לא תש� כ� תיה מה� ר� זה� וא וא לתי ש� כ א�ן: נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ הו א� ב� בי א ר ר מ ה א� בי ירמי� ר ר מ בין א� א ר� ת� וא“. . . כי א� ש� לקר“, ש� ל בשמי בעו תש� מ“לא תיה ר� זה� וא שקר, לתי, כ א� ולא לתי כ א�

רו“ (במדבר ל, ג) (שבועות כ:־כא.): חל דב� ל עובר ב“לא י ל ולא אוכ אוכOur pasuk forbids a “false oath.” According to one opin-

ion, a false oath is where one made an oath that he will or will not do something and he did not keep his word. But if someone swears falsely about a past event, this is

44. Pasuk 13. 45. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is davar halameid mei’inyano, knowing what the Torah is discussing by looking at the context. 46. Shemos 20:13.

שם את תשא ”לא ר שנאמ� לפי ר, נאמ� למה בשמי. ולא תשבעו (יב) ין מיוחד, מנ� ל שם ה� ייב אלא ע� שוא“ (שמות כ, ז), יכול לא יהא ח� ה‘ אלהיך ל�שקר“, כל שם שיש לי ר ”ולא תשבעו בשמי ל� למוד לומ� כנויין, ת� בות כל ה� לר�שכיר (שם ט): לא ר כובש שכ� עשק. זה ה� ו): (יג) לא ת� (תורת כהנים שם כתוב ה� יום בשכיר בקר. ד ע� פעולה: ה� ל ע� מוסב נקבה, לשון תלין.

ילה. ובמקום ל� ן גבוי שכרו כל ה� לפיכך זמ� מה, שיציאתו מששקעה ח� בר, מד�ילה, בר בשכיר ל� שמש“ (דברים כד, טו), מד� חר הוא אומר ”ולא תבוא עליו ה� א�יום ה� כל שכרו גבוי ן זמ� לפיכך ר, ח� ש� ה� מוד ע� עלה משי� פעולתו ת שלמ� שה�ית עונה ב� ל ה� ע� ן לב� (תורת כהנים שם יב; בבא מציעא קי:). לפי שנתנה תורה זמ�

קש מעות: לב�

Yלת וחל� קר Mש ל� י בשמ! בעו א־תש/ יב ול עמיתו: Bבעך את־ר3 עשק Bיג לא־ת יהוה: י bאנ יך אלה- ם �את־שעד־בקר: אתך יר Tכ ש ת פעל_ ין ל א־ת ל תגזל א ול

בשמי בעון תשת א יב ול� ברה: בח : יי� א אנ� ך ה� דאל� א שמ� ת י� חל ות א לשקר�א ל� נס תא א ול� ך בר� ח ת י� עשוק ת א יג ל�א: פר� צ ד ע ך ת� לו� א אגיר� ד א גר� א תבית

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / יב־יג 468 / ספר ויקרא


to one another. 12 You shall not swear falsely by My Name, thereby desecrating

the Name of your God — I am HASHEM. 13 You shall not cheat your fellow and you

shall not rob; a worker’s wage shall not remain with you overnight until morning.

47. See Shemos 20:7. 48. Bamidbar 30:3. 49. Shemos 20:7. 50. The opinion of Yerushalmi here is that a “false” oath and an oath made in “vain” are the same thing, and therefore must have been said at the same time. Cf. next discussion and above, “Past or Future?” 51. A vain oath is when someone swears about something obvious, something that is obviously false, or to do something that is impossible. A false oath is not obviously false. 52. Below, 26:23. 53. Ibid. 22:32. 54. Shemos 31:14. 55. See note 25.

not a false oath. Rather, it is forbidden under the category of a “vain oath,” which means to swear for no reason or purpose, because the oath was never true.47

Another opinion holds that a “false oath” is an oath made about the past that is not true; such an oath can be described as “false,” since we know it is false at the time of the oath. However, swearing to do something in the future and not fulfilling what one promised is not considered a “false oath,” since the oath was not false when he made it; by doing this, one violates he shall not profane his word48 (Shevuos 20b-21a).

� Self-Defenseמוכסין ול מין חר� ול גין הר� ל ת א ע נשב קר“, ש� ל� בשמי בעו תש� ”ולא

(ירושלמי נדרים ג, ד):If a robber or extortionist comes to take someone’s

property, one is permitted to lie and say that the property is forbidden or belongs to the king, so that the robber or extortionist will not take it.

According to one opinion, one may even take an oath to verify his false claim, so that the robber will believe him.

We learn this from our pasuk, which says, You shall not swear “lashaker” (קר ש� -falsely. In Hebrew, the pre ,(לfix la, means, for, so the pasuk is saying, you shall not ,לswear for [the purpose of] falsehood. But swearing falsely to protect one’s property is not included in the prohibition (Yerushalmi Nedarim 3:4).

� At the Same Timeוא“ (שמות כג א), ו“שקר“ שניהן בדיבור קר. ”ש� ש� בעו בשמי ל� ולא תש�(ירושלמי בר לד פה ולא לשמוע ה יכול� אוזן שאין ה מ ר, נאמ ד אח�

שבועות ג, ח):Our pasuk says, You shall not swear “falsely” by My

name. In the Ten Commandments,49 there is a similar pro-hibition, but there the wording is, You shall not take the Name of Hashem “in vain.”50

When Hashem taught these laws to Moshe, He pro-nounced both of these expressions at the same time. This is something that no human can do, and the human ear usually cannot recognize the two words being said as one, but Moshe did (Yerushalmi Shevuos 3:8).

לת� את שם אלהיך Thereby desecrating the Name of — וחל�your God.

� Same Punishmentשם ת שקר וחלול ה וא ושבוע ת ש� עון שבוע לת� את שם אלהיך. ב וחל�כים דר� עטין וה ם מתמ ד� ה ובני א� ל� ה כ� ה ובהמ� ב� ה ר� ע� ה ר� י� ת ח ב� וחילול ש

ל תקרי סרו לי“, א ר (להלן כו, כג) ”ואם באלה לא תו� משתוממין, שנאמדה“, ש� ת ה י כם את ח חתי ב� ה, וכתיב (שם כב) ”והשל ל� א בא� ”באלה“ אל�שם את לת� וחל קר ש� ל בשמי בעו תש� ”ולא שקר ת בשבוע וכתיב דשי“, ללו את שם ק� שם כתיב (להלן כב, לב) ”ולא תח “, ובחלול ה אלהיך�חילול ליף וי� ת“, יומ� לליה� מות ”מח יד) (שמות לא, כתיב ת ב� ובחלול ש

ת שקר (שבת לג.): חילול משבועDifferent sins bring different types of punishment.Hashem will sometimes cause a community to suffer by

bringing wild animals. They attack cattle and people. This prevents people from traveling, causing the highways to become deserted. This generally comes as a result of one of four sins: swearing in vain, swearing falsely (the prohi-bition of our pasuk),51 desecrating Hashem’s Name, and desecrating the Shabbos.

We know that this is the punishment for swearing in vain or swearing falsely, because in the tochachah, which describes the punishments Hashem will bring if the Jews sin, the pasuk says,52 If באלה, through these — the punish-ments detailed in the tochachah — you will not be chas-tened toward Me… Since the Torah is written without vow-els, the word באלה, through these, can also be read, ה ל� ,בא�on account of the oath, and the previous pasuk says, I will incite the wildlife of the field against you… This tells us that wild animals —and the destruction they cause — come as a result of false and vain oaths.

In regard to desecrating Hashem’s Name, the Torah says,53 דשי ללו את שם ק� you shall not desecrate My ,ולא תחholy Name. Likewise, in connection with desecrating the Shabbos, the Torah says,54 ת יומ� מות לליה� -its desecra ,מחtors shall be put to death. Our pasuk uses the same term regarding a false oath, You shall not swear falsely by My Name, לת� .thereby desecrating, the Name of God ,וחל

We learn from a gezeirah shavah55 that the same punish-ment that comes as a result of false oaths — wild beasts — also comes as a result of desecrating Hashem’s Name

or the Shabbos (Shabbos 33a).

עשק את רעך .13 .You shall not cheat your fellow — לא ת�


עשק מצוה רכח: של א ל�Mitzvah 228: The Prohibition to Withhold a Monetary

ObligationIf we are watching the item of another person or we owe another person money, we may not withhold the item or

money from him.



� No Cheatingעשה, לו ו ל� ה שמות ה חמש� כיר עובר ב ר ש� כובש שכ ל ה עשק. כ� לא ת�(בבא לין ת� ל ב ומשום תגזל,. . . ל ב ומשום , רעך� את עשק ת ל ב משום

מציעא קיא.):If a person refuses to pay his worker, he violates five

negative commandments and one positive command-ment.

Three of the negative commandments are learned from our pasuk, which says, You shall not cheat your fellow and you shall not rob; a worker’s wage shall not remain with you overnight until morning. “Cheating your fellow” means cheating a worker by not paying him. “Robbing” also means not paying a worker, thereby “robbing” his wages from him. And whenever an employer does not pay his worker, the worker’s wages are “remaining with him overnight until the morning” and beyond (Bava Metzia 111a).

� “Cheating” Versus “Robbing”שוב, לך א: לך ו� ב חסד� ר ר מ זל? א� עשק. איזה הוא עושק ואיזהו ג� לא ת�ר מ א א� זל. . . אל� ך, זה הוא ג� די ואיני נותן ל� שוב, זה הוא עושק. יש לך� בי� ו�זל. . . ך, זה הוא ג� די ואיני נותן ל� ך, זהו עושק, יש לך� בי� תיו ל� ב ששת: נת רך, זה הוא תיו ל� ם, זה הוא עושק, נת רתיך� מעול� יי: לא שכ ב ר א מ א א� אל�יו ל� עבור ע� תוב ל כ� ן ה ה חלק� מ� ר: זה הוא עושק זהו גזל, ול� מ א א� ב� זל. ר� ג�

אוין (בבא מציעא קיא.): בשני לOur pasuk says, You shall not “cheat” your fellow and

you shall not “rob.” “Cheating” means not paying a worker his wages. “Robbing” also refers to withholding wages.56 Why does the Torah repeat this prohibition?

There are four opinions.One opinion is that “cheating” refers to an employer who

keeps on delaying the payment, while “robbing” means that he refuses to pay outright.

The second opinion is that “cheating” means to tell one’s worker that he has already paid him when he re-ally did not, and “robbing” means refusing to pay right now.

A third opinion is that “cheating” refers to where the employer falsely claims that he never hired the worker. “Robbing” means that he admits to hiring the worker, but falsely claims that he already paid him.

The fourth opinion holds that both expressions refer to withholding wages in any way, and the Torah says both simply to establish two transgressions for not paying a worker (Bava Metzia 111a).

� Your “Fellow”A ger toshav (resident alien) is a non-Jew who accepts

not to practice idolatry.57

ב (ירושלמי בבא מציעא ט, יא): ט לגר תוש� עשק את רעך. פר� לא ת�Our pasuk refers to “your fellow.” This specific prohi-

bition does not apply if the worker is a ger toshav (Yeru-shalmi Bava Metzia 9:11).

.And you shall not rob — ולא תגזל


מצוה רכט: של א לגזלMitzvah 229: The Prohibition of Robbery

We are forbidden to steal someone else’s object openly, such as by grabbing it from his hands.

� It’s Still HisIf someone finds a lost object and picks it up after the

owner gave up on ever finding it, he may keep it. But if he picks it up and the owner only gives up hope afterward, it still belongs to the owner, and he is required to return it.

ה עובר ת לגוזל� ל מנ� ה לפני יאוש ע ל� ה, נט� פל� ע שנ� ה סל א� לא תגזל. ר�שב תשיבם” (דברים כב, א) ומשום ן, משום ”לא תגזל”, ומשום ”ה� בכול�

לם” (שם ג) (בבא מציעא כו:): ל להתע ”לא תוכIf someone picks up a lost item with intention to keep

it, before the owner gave up hope, he transgresses three commandments. Two of these are commandments related to returning a lost object: The Torah says,58 you shall

surely return [lost objects], and, you shall not hide [from a

lost object], meaning, that one may not ignore the lost item and refuse to return it.

The third commandment is the prohibition of our pasuk

— you shall not rob. Since the finder picked up the ob-ject before the owner gave up hope, it still belongs to the owner, so when the finder takes it for himself he is robbing from the owner (Bava Metzia 26b).

� Another Form of “Returning”Generally, unless the Torah specifies a punishment,

the punishment for actively violating most negative com-mandments is malkus (lashes). An exception is where the Torah gives a positive commandment that serves to cor-rect the violation.

ר ”לא תגזל“, (לעיל מ א א� נ� חמ� זל, דר א. . . ג� א איכ� א? וה� לא תגזל. ותו ליכ�לוקה אין שלומין בת יב י� דח ן כיו� ם ת� ה� ה“. . . גזל� ה את ”והשיב כג) ה,

לם (מכות טז., חולין קמא.): ומשAccording to one opinion, the person does not have to

actually do the positive commandment to be exempt from malkus. Rather, as long as it is possible to do it, he is ex-empt. He receives malkus only where he makes it impos-sible to do the positive commandment.

Our pasuk forbids robbing. A different pasuk says59 that the robber shall return the stolen item, which is a positive commandment that corrects the act of robbing. It was originally thought that if the robber burns or destroys the item, he is punished with malkus, since he has now made it impossible to return it.

In truth, however, he does not receive malkus in this case, because he can still “return” the stolen item by pay-ing for it (Makkos 16a; Chullin 141a).

56. See previous discussion. 57. There are disagreements regarding what other mitzvos, if any, he is obligated to accept. 58. Devarim 22:1 and 3. 59. Above, 5:23.

פרשת קדשים יט / יב־יג 470 / ספר ויקרא


60. 24:15. 61. For example, if the worker did not ask for his wages on the day he completed the work 62. 24:14. 63. There are disagreements regarding what other mitzvos, if any, he is obligated to accept. 64. See note 25.

ד בקר כיר אתך� ע� ת ש� לין פעל� A worker’s wage shall — לא ת�not remain with you overnight until morning.


כיר ר ש� חר שכ� מצוה רל: של א נא�Mitzvah 230: The Prohibition to Delay Payment of a

Worker’s WageWe are prohibited from delaying the payment of a worker. A day laborer must be paid by the next morning, and a

night laborer must be paid by the next night.

� Day or Night?ה? יל� ל ל ה ין לשכיר יום שגובה כ� ד בקר. מנ כיר אתך� ע� ת ש� לין פעל� לא ת�ה יל� ין לשכיר ל ד בקר“, ומנ כיר אתך� ע ת ש� לין פעל ר ”לא ת� למוד לומ תרו“ (בבא מציעא ר (דברים כד, טו) ”ביומו תתן שכ� יום? שנאמ ל ה שגובה כ�

קי:):Our pasuk says that we should not delay a worker’s

wage overnight until morning. A pasuk in Devarim60 says, On that day shall you pay his hire (wages). When do wages have to be paid: before the morning, or before the end of the day?

Our pasuk is referring to someone who works by day; he must be paid before the next morning. The pasuk in Devarim discusses a person who works at night, who must be paid before the end of the next day (Bava Metzia 110b).

� Cash on Deliveryרו והודיעו, ן, גמ� ליתו לאומ� נותן ט ד בקר. ה כיר אתך� ע� ת ש� לין פעל� לא ת�ה לו נ� לין“. נת� יו משום ”לא ת� ל� מים אינו עובר ע� ה י� ר� ד עש� אן וע אפילו מכ�לין (בבא ל ת� יו משום ב ל� ה עובר ע� מ� ח יו ה ל� ה ע� קע� ן שש� יום, כיו� חצי ה ב

קמא צט.):Our pasuk teaches the prohibition not to delay a work-

er’s wages. If the worker works the whole day, one must pay him by the next morning, and if he works for part of the day, he must pay him by the end of that day.

However, this applies only once the worker completed the job.

If someone hires a craftsman to make something for him, the job is finished when the craftsman delivers the fin-ished product to the owner. Therefore, if a craftsman deliv-ers an item during the day, the owner must pay him by the end of the day. However, if the item was not yet delivered, the owner does not have to pay him even if the work was completed many days earlier (Bava Kamma 99a).

� Only the First Morningת לין פעל ר ”לא ת� ע שנאמ שמ ד בקר. ממ כיר אתך� ע� ת ש� לין פעל� לא ת�מד ד בקר“? מל ר ”ע למוד לומ ה ת ד בקר? מ “, איני יודע שע כיר אתך� ש�

ד (בבא מציעא קי:): ד בקר ראשון בלב� א ע שאינו עובר אל�Our pasuk says, A worker’s wage shall not remain with

you overnight “until morning.” The pasuk seems repeti-tive, since “overnight” is the same thing as “until the morn-ing.”

This teaches that the prohibition applies only to the first morning. If the employer does not pay the worker for several days, or if for some reason the prohibition did not apply on the first morning,61 he does not violate this prohibition, even if many more mornings pass without his paying (Bava Metzia 110b).

� Residents, Aliens, and Rentals“ (דברים כד, יד) זה אוכל ריך� ד בקר. ”בשע� כיר אתך� ע� ת ש� לין פעל� לא ת�ר למוד לומ ה וכלים? ת בות בהמ� ין לר ם, מנ ד� ר א� א שכ נבילות, אין לי אל�אן לו, מכ� ל� שמות ה ל ה ן עוברים בכ� , וכול� רצך� ל שבא “ כ� רצך� (שם) ”באר כלים יש בו משום ד שכ ה ואח� ר בהמ� ד שכ ם ואח� ד� ר א� ד שכ מרו אח� א�בי בר יוסי בי ר לין“. ת� ”לא ומשום טו), (דברים שם רו“ שכ� תתן ”ביומו רו“ ואין בו משום ב יש בו משום ”ביומו תתן שכ� ה אומר: גר תוש� יהוד�אי ד. . . מ עשק“ בלב� ל ת א משום ”ב הן אל� ה וכלים אין ב� לין“, בהמ� ל ת� ”בבי בר יוסי בי ור כיר.“ ”ש� יד) (שם כיר“ ”ש� ר מ ג� א. . .? מ� ק א נ� דת א עמ� ט

כיר“ (בבא מציעא קיא:): כיר“ ”ש� ר ”ש� מ ה לא ג� יהוד�In Devarim,62 the Torah tells us, You shall not “cheat” a

poor or destitute hired person among your brethren, or a proselyte who is in your land, or one who is in your cit-ies. “Cheating” in that pasuk refers to withholding wages. The term “one who in your cities” teaches that we may not withhold the wages of a ger toshav (resident alien), a non-Jew who accepts not to practice idolatry 63 and may therefore live in Eretz Yisrael (“your cities”). The words “in your land” teach that if we rent things in “our land,” such as animals or utensils, we may not “cheat” the owner by not paying the rent.

According to one opinion, these laws apply also to the prohibition in our pasuk — A worker’s wage shall not re-main with you overnight until morning. Therefore, if one hires a ger toshav to work during the day, or if one rents an animal or utensil for the day, he must pay by the next morning.

This opinion learns this from a gezeirah shavah.64 The pasuk in Devarim says, You shall not cheat a… “sachir” כיר) ”hired person, and our pasuk says, A “sachir’s ,(ש�wage (כיר ש� ת .shall not remain with you overnight (פעלThe gezirah shavah teaches that just as the prohibition to withhold wages applies even to a ger toshav and payment for rentals, the same is true for our pasuk’s prohibition to delay payment overnight.

Another opinion disagrees and holds that our pasuk does not prohibit delaying the wages of a ger toshav or delaying rental payments. This opinion did not learn about this gezeirah shavah from his teachers, and a gezeirah sha-vah must be based on tradition (Bava Metzia 111b).

� “With You”ר לומ למוד ת עו, תב� לא אפילו כול י� כיר“, ש� ת פעל לין ת� ”לא אתך. . “, שיש אתך� ר ”אתך� למוד לומ כול אפילו אין לו, ת . י� עתך� “, לד ”אתך� ,“ ”אתך� ר לומ למוד ת ני, שולח� ואצל ני חנו� אצל הו המח� אפילו כול י�ני (בבא מציעא קיב., ירושלמי בבא ני ואצל שולח� הו אצל חנו� ולא שהמח�

מציעא ט, יא):



The wording of our pasuk is, A worker’s wage shall not remain “with you” overnight. We learn several laws from the words “with you.”

H The prohibition applies only where the money remains “with you,” meaning, based on your decision. But if the worker did not ask for payment, there is no prohibi-tion to delay payment, since it was his decision not to demand payment.65

H The prohibition applies only where the employer has the wages “with him,” but refuses to pay. But if he does not have any money on hand, he does not violate the prohibition.66

H The prohibition applies only where the responsibility to pay is with you — the employer. But if the employer made an arrangement with a storekeeper and the work-er that the worker will take merchandise from the store as payment for his work, the prohibition does not apply, since the storekeeper is now responsible to pay. If the storekeeper did not let the worker take things from his store until the morning, the employer does not violate our pasuk’s prohibition (Bava Metzia 112a; Yerushalmi Bava Metzia 9:11).

לל חרש .14 .You shall not curse the deaf — לא תק�


ה אל בין איש בין אש� ד מישר� לל אח� מצוה רלא: של א לק� Mitzvah 231: The Prohibition to Curse Any Jew

We may not curse another Jew, such as by saying “Hashem should punish So-and-so,” even if the person being cursed

is deaf or does not hear the curse.

� Even the Downtroddenבר (סנהדרין סו.): תוב מד כ� מך� ה לים שבע לל חרש, באומל� לא תק�

A pasuk in Shemos67 teaches us that we may not curse a judge or a leader of the Jews.

Our pasuk tells us that we may not curse even a deaf person. A deaf person is usually humble and downtrodden,

so our pasuk is forbidding us from cursing any humble, lowly person (Sanhedrin 66a).

� All Jewsלל חרש“ (שבועות לו.): חבירו דכתיב ”לא תק לל חרש. ו לא תק�

Our pasuk says that we may not curse a deaf person or any other downtrodden person.68

We learn from other pesukim that a person may not curse his father.69 A deaf person and a father are similar in that they both act the way members of our nation are supposed to act. Therefore, any Jew who acts properly is included in the prohibition, and we may not curse him (Shevuos 36a).70

� No Action, Yes MalkusFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must

tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� ,עונש) azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,אonesh) for violating the prohibition.

Generally, unless the Torah specifies a punishment, the punishment for violating most negative commandments is malkus (lashes). This applies only where the violation involves an action; but if there is no action involved, the person does not receive malkus.

ר מ ר א� ז� בי אלע� ר ר מ ן? א� ל� שם, מנ� לל את חבירו ב מק לל חרש. ה לא תק�א (דברים כח, נח) ”אם לא תשמר“, וכתיב (שם פסוק ר קר� מ א: א� עי� בי אוש רת מר לקות. . . ואי א� ה זו מ א� פל� “. . . הוי אומר ה כתך� א ה’ את מ נט) ”והפל�לל א, דכתיב ”לא תק כ� תיה מה� ר� זה� לל את חבירו [לוקה] א א לק מ� בשל�

חרש“ (תמורה ג:־ד.):An exception to the rule that malkus is given only when

a person violates a prohibition by peforming an action is where a person curses his friend using Hashem’s Name. We learn from a different pasuk71 that if a person shows disrespect to Hashem, he is punished with malkus, even though all he did was say something and did no action.

We know that the pasuk refers to the sin of cursing one’s friend, not simply saying Hashem’s Name in vain, because cursing one’s friend has an azharah — our pasuk’s state-ment, You shall not curse the deaf or any other Jew,72 but merely saying Hashem’s Name does not (Temurah 3b-4a).

65. This is only on a Biblical level. Under Rabbinic law, the employer is required to pay before morning even though the worker did not ask for payment (see Schottenstein Edition, note 12). 66. There are two opinions on what this means. One opinion says that if he does not have any available cash he is not required to sell his possessions to pay the worker. A second opinion holds that he is obligated to sell his possessions, but if he has none, he does not have to borrow money to pay the worker (see Schottenstein Edition, note 13).67. 22:27. 68. See previous discussion. 69. See Sanhedrin 66a. 70. See Tosafos there, 71 .ד“ה גמר. Devarim 28:58-59. 72. See previous discussion.

למוד בות כל אדם, ת� ין לר� לי אלא חרש, מנ� לל חרש. אין (יד) לא תק�ה חרש ר ”חרש“, מ� מך לא תאר“ (שמות כב, כז), אם כן למה נאמ� ר ”בע� לומ�(תורת יים ח� ב� שאינו מת ה� יצא יים, ח� ב� שהוא כל ף א� יים, ח� ב� שהוא מיוחד דבר לא תתן סומא ב� כהנים שם יג): ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. לפני ה�עוקף תה וא� חמור, לך ח וק� שדך מכור ר תאמ� ל א� לו. הוגנת שאינה עצה

זה אינו מסור דבר ה� עליו ונוטלה הימנו (שם יד): ויראת מאלהיך. לפי שה�ר לטובה עתו של זה לטובה או לרעה, ויכול להשמט ולומ� ע אם ד� בריות ליד� ל�חשבותיך. וכן כל דבר כיר מ� מ� ר בו ”ויראת מאלהיך“, ה� ונתי, לפיכך נאמ� ו� נתכ�בו ר נאמ� בו, כירות מ� בריות ה� שאר ואין העושהו, אדם של ללבו מסור ה�

”ויראת מאלהיך“ (שם פרק ז, יד):

י יהוה: ♪ bאנ יך אלה- את מ3 �ן מכשל ויר Oא תת י עור ל eש ולפנ ל חר eל א־תק� יד ל

: א יי� ך אנ� ה� ל מאל� א ותדח קל� א תשים ת זי ל� א ח� ם דל� ע וקד� מ א ש� א תלוט דל� יד ל�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / יד 472 / ספר ויקרא


14 You shall not curse the deaf, and you shall not place a stumbling block before the

blind; you shall fear your God — I am HASHEM.

73. Rambam (Hil. Rotze’ach 12:14) asserts that this includes both a person who is unaware that the act is a sin, or even a person who knows it is a sin, but is “blinded” by his desire to do it anyway. 74. It is forbidden to make sanctified foods or terumah (the portion of produce given to a Kohen) tamei. 75. Shemos 21:15 and 17. 76. The prohibition to worship idols is one of the seven Noahide Laws, which even non-Jews must observe. 77. Since Rabbah would one day inherit his father, he might get upset when he sees his father ruining his possessions.

And you shall not place a — ולפני עור לא תתן מכשלstumbling block before the blind.


דרך ם ב� כשיל ת� מצוה רלב: של א לה�Mitzvah 232: The Prohibition to Cause an Unsuspecting

Person to Stumble on the WayWe are prohibited from giving others bad advice or

helping other people do sins.

� A Different Kind of BlindnessA nazir is a person who accepts on himself to do the

laws of nezirus, which include not cutting hair, not drinking wine, not eating grapes or grape products, and not coming in contact with a dead body.

ר זיר ואב� ין לנ� ם כוס י ד� ין שלא יושיט א� ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. מנר ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“ (פסחים כב:): למוד לומ ? ת י לבני נח ח מן ה

Our pasuk, And you shall not place a stumbling block before the blind, includes not to cause a spiritually “blind” person73 to “stumble” and do sins.

For example, if a nazir has no other access to wine, one may not give him a cup of wine, because a nazir is prohib-ited from drinking wine. By giving him wine, one is giving him the opportunity to sin (Pesachim 22b).

� Preventative Measuresיי ב ין?. . . א ה מנ תור� רות מן ה ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. רמז לציון קב�

א: ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“ (מועד קטן ה.): כ� ר מה� מ א�Our pasuk says, And you shall not place a stumbling

block before the blind. This includes not causing a spiritu-ally “blind” person to “stumble” and do sins. Also included is that we should try to prevent people from doing sins by mistake.

This is a basis for the practice of marking off areas that have graves, so that people should not walk there with sanctified food or terumah, which would cause it to be-come tamei74 (Moed Katan 5a).

� No Hitting!בר (מועד קטן תוב מד כ� דול ה כה לבנו ג� ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“, במ

יז.):Our pasuk says, And you shall not place a stumbling

block before the blind. This includes putting people in a position where you may cause them to sin.

This teaches us that a father may not hit a child who is old enough to respond by hitting him back or cursing him. Since the child’s response would violate a prohibition,75

the father may be causing his child to commit a sin (Moed Katan 17a).

� Selling Woodלבי בניה ז א, ב� הוא א ליה ה ה הו� שי ב א מכשל. ר תתן לא עור ולפני א ”לפני עור לא תתן מכשל“, איכ� שי: ה� ב א א לר בינ� ר ליה ר� מ א, א� נור�

ה ניתנו (נדרים סב:): ק� ס� ר ליה: רוב עצים לה מ א�Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin. This includes even causing a non-Jew to do something he is forbidden to do, such as worshiping idols.76

Some idolaters serve their idols by burning wood. Even so, it is permitted to sell them wood, because most wood is used for heating or cooking, and not for idol-worship (Nedarim 62b).

� Waiving the Rightה בריה. ב� נפי ר אי בא ע שיר� ר א ק� ב הונ� עור לא תתן מכשל. דר ולפני “לפני ר א ב ע� ח, וק� ת א ר� ח. ודלמ� ת ח אי לא ר� ת ר: איזול איחזי אי ר� מ א�

ריה (קידושין לב.): חיל ליה ליק� עור לא תתן מכשל“? דמ�Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin.Once, R’ Huna wanted to train his son Rabbah in the

mitzvah of honoring parents. He took silks and ripped them in front of Rabbah to see if Rabbah would get angry and say something disrespectful to him.77

To be certain that he would not violate our pasuk by causing Rabbah to act improperly and thereby sin, R’ Huna first made up his mind that he allows Rabbah to dishonor him. This way, Rabbah would not be violating the com-mandment to honor his father if he were to become upset at him (Kiddushin 32a).

� Honest Shepherdא כתיב ן, וה� סרינ� א לרועה היכי מ ת� ן חיו� ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. אנם חוטא ולא לו (בבא ד� ה אין א� ק� א חז� ”לפני עור לא תתן מכשל“? אל�

מציעא ה:):Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin.There is a rule that a shepherd is disqualified from being

a witness, because a shepherd steals from others by allow-ing his sheep to graze in other people’s fields.

If this is the case, however, how is one allowed to give animals to a shepherd? The owner is causing the shepherd to sin when he allows the sheep to graze in other people’s fields!?

There are two types of shepherds. There is a shepherd who watches his own sheep, and there is a shepherd hired by others to watch their sheep.



When a shepherd watches his own sheep, he may al-low them to graze in private fields, because otherwise he would have to take them farther away to ownerless fields. To save time, he takes the sheep to the closer, privately owned fields.

However, a shepherd who watches the sheep of others is being paid for his time, so he loses nothing by taking the sheep to the public pasture. Therefore, there is no concern that he will let the sheep graze in a private field, and one may give him his sheep to watch (Bava Metzia 5b).

� Matters of Interestלוה וה לוה מ ה עשה, ת בלא עוברין ואלו מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני ”ולפני משום. . . עוברים סופר ה ף א אומרים: מים חכ� ו עדים, וה� רב והע�

ראת� מאלהיך� אני ה‘ ” (בבא מציעא עה:): עור לא תתן מכשל וי�Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin.The Torah forbids lending another Jew money with inter-

est, and also prohibits borrowing with interest.78 If a Jew lends with interest, both he and the borrower also violate the prohibition of our pasuk, since each of them is causing the other to sin: The lender causes the borrower to borrow with interest, and the borrower causes the lender to lend with interest (Bava Metzia 75b).

� Foolproofשלא ן אות� לוה ומ עות מ� לו שיש מי ל כ� מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני

בעדים עובר משום ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“ (בבא מציעא עה:):Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin.Based on this, when lending money, one should make

sure to have witnesses to the loan, so that he has proof of the loan.

If one would lend without witnesses, the borrower might deny the loan, since there is no proof. And if this happens, the lender violates our pasuk, because he has caused the borrower to sin (Bava Metzia 75b).

� Reason for the Punishmentבי ה כר ברי ל� א ס� ב� ער� א: בני מ פ� ב פ� ר ר מ ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. א�ברי משום ”ולפני עור א ע� סירוס, וק� ל ה ר: בני נח מצווין ע מ א, דא� חידק�

לא תתן מכשל“ (בבא מציעא צ:):Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin. This includes even causing a non-Jew to do something he is forbidden to do.

There were certain Jews in Eretz Yisrael who owned bulls. They allowed non-Jews to come and castrate the bulls so that they would work better. When one of the Sages heard about this, he punished the bull owners by forcing them to sell the bulls.

One way to explain why the Sage punished them is that non-Jews are also forbidden to castrate animals. Therefore, when the bull owners allowed the non-Jews to castrate their animals, they caused them to sin, and that violated the prohibition of our pasuk (Bava Metzia 90b).

� You Didn’t Cause Itא דלמ� או ה וח� רו� ה משום להו: א עי� איב מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני ה ה? דאית ליה בהמ� א מינ� פק� אי נ משום ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“? למת משום מר וח ליה, אי א� רו א מ א ק� ה, ה� וח� רו� ת משום ה מר לדידיה. אי א�לא ליה אית וכי לדידיה. ליה אית א ה� מכשל“, תתן לא עור ”ולפני ין מנ ן: ת� בי נ� ר ר מ א, א� ני� ת וה� מכשל“? תתן עור לא ”ולפני ר משום ב ע�ר למוד לומ , ת י לבני נח ח זיר ואבר מן ה ין לנ� ם כוס של י ד� שלא יושיט א�קיל איהו, ן ליה ש� הבינ א דכי לא י כ� א ה� ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“. וה�אי דק� ן סקינ� ע אי במ א כ� ה� מכשל“? תתן לא עור ”לפני משום ר ב ע� וק�

א (עבודה זרה ו.-:): הר� בתרי עברי נOur pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another


The Rabbis forbade doing business with idolaters during the three days leading up to their idolatrous festivals.

The reason for this, according to one opinion, is that if one sells an item to the non-Jew at this time, he might use it for idol worship on the festival. Therefore, selling the item causes the non-Jew to sin, and is a violation of our pasuk.

According to this opinion, one may sell things to the non-Jew if he already has an animal to offer to his idol. Since he already has the ability to do the sin, selling him another animal (or item suitable for idol worship) is not considered causing him to sin.

Similarly, if a nazir80 has access to a cup of wine, and one hands him a cup of wine, he does not violate our pasuk, since the nazir could have taken it himself (although it is still forbidden to assist a person in violating a prohibition). The only way he would violate our pasuk’s prohibition is by handing the nazir wine that was out of his reach, since

78. See below, 25:37, and Devarim 25:30. 79. The prohibition to worship idols is one of the seven Noahide Laws, which even non-Jews must observe. 80. A nazir is a person who accepts on himself to do the laws of nezirus, which include not cutting hair, not drinking wine or eating grapes or grape products, and not coming in contact with a dead person.

קרוי דין לקל את ה� מק� יין ה� ד� מד שה� משפט. מל� עשו עול ב� (טו) לא ת�”תועבה“, קרוי ול שהע� א). ד, (שם פרק ותועבה חרם ומשוקץ, שנאוי ול, ע�תועבה קרויה ת ה‘ וגו‘ כל עשה עול“ (דברים כה, טז) וה� ר ”כי תועב� שנאמ�

קץ ר ”ולא תביא תועבה אל ביתך והיית חרם כמהו ש� ”שקץ“ ו“חרם“, שנאמ�זה הוא עני ר: תאמ� שלא דל. פני תשא לא כו): ז, (שם וגו‘ ” קצנו תש�רנס בנקיות (תורת כהנים שם ב): דין ונמצא מתפ� רנסו, אז�כנו ב� ייב לפ� והעשיר ח�

ל פני־ד א א־תש< ל ט משפ ב� ול ע עשו Bטו לא־ת א שני (חמישי כשהן מחוברין) בדינ� ר שק עבדון ת א טו ל�א מסכנ� פי א ב תס א ל�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / טו 474 / ספר ויקרא


15 You shall not commit a perversion of justice; you shall not favor the poor

81. The prohibition to worship idols is one of the seven Noahide Laws, which even non-Jews must observe. 82. See Bava Kamma 15b.

the nazir could not have sinned without his help (Avodah Zarah 6a).

� Selling to a Middlemanמש לש שיכולים רים [דב� ן ומכול� א, נ� ת� מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני בין ומז זיל א� א דלמ� וליחוש ה. . . חביל� הן ל� מוכרין ה] ז�ר� ה עבוד� ללא דלפני לפני א ן, קדינ� מפ “לפני“ א יי: ב א ר מ א� טרי? ומק חריני לא

ן (עבודה זרה יד., כא.): קדינ� מפOur pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another


A Jew may not sell idolaters the types of plants or spices they use for idol worship, since by doing so, he is helping them serve idols.However, he may sell them large quanti-ties of these plants, since the buyer is not likely to use them for himself but will sell them to others.

But what about those who would be purchasing the items from his buyer? Isn’t he causing them to sin?

Our pasuk says, And you shall not place a stumbling block “before” the blind, teaching that we are prohibited only to place the “stumbling block” — the opportunity to sin — directly in front of the spiritually “blind” person. Here, though, the Jew is not selling the items suitable for idol worship to the people who will sin with them, but to a middleman. He therefore does not violate our pasuk (Avo-dah Zarah 14a, 21a).

� Don’t Rent to ThemThe Cutheans were non-Jews who were resettled in

Eretz Yisrael toward the end of the era of the First Beis HaMikdash. They were attacked by lions, and they took that as a sign that they must serve the God of the Jews who ruled the Land. They therefore converted to Judaism, but they kept many of their idolatrous practices. Later on they began openly worshiping idols. The Cutheans also denied the Oral Law, and disagreed with how the Sages ex-plained the Torah. Nevertheless, some opinions consider them to be Jews.

It is forbidden to plant one’s field on Chol HaMoed, or to do other field work not needed for the festival. The Cuthe-ans do not observe this law, since it is not clearly stated in the Torah.

לא אומר: ר ז� אלע� בן שמעון בי ר א, ני� ת מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני ל שמו, וכותי זה עושה בו דהו לכותי, מפני שנקראת ע ם ש� ד� שכיר א� יל שמו? תיפוק א מפני שנקראת ע אי אירי� ה בחולו של מועד. . . מ אכ� מל�א משום ר, חד� מ א� א ועוד ק� ליה משום ”לפני עור לא תתן מכשל“! חד�

ל שמו (עבודה זרה כא: ־ כב.): ”לפני עור“, ועוד מפני שנקראת עIt is prohibited to rent a field to a Cuthean. One reason

is that the Cuthean might work the field on Chol HaMoed, so by renting him the field we are causing him to sin. This

would violate our pasuk, which teaches that we may not cause another person to “stumble” and sin (Avodah Zarah 21b-22a).

� Dangerous Mulesהוו א ד הוא פיתח� ל בה מי ע� א איתר ת� ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל. כי א�אני ות בביתו של זה ו מ� ך ה לא ר, מ מ א. א� ת� א חוור� ית� יימין ביה כודני� קר ליה מ א להו. א� בנינ� ר ליה מז מ פיה, א� ק לא פ בי, נ� ע ר מ אסעוד אצלו? ש�

”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“. . . (חולין ז:):Our pasuk teaches us that we may not cause another

person to “stumble” and sin.Once, Rebbi invited R’ Pinchas ben Yair to his home.

When R’ Pinchas ben Yair arrived, he saw that Rebbi had white mules in his house. These mules are dangerous because they kick people and wound them, and these wounds never heal. R’ Pinchas ben Yair therefore refused to eat in Rebbi’s home.

When Rebbi heard this, he offered to get rid of the mules by selling them. R’ Pinchas ben Yair responded that he may not sell them since the Torah forbids having danger-ous item in one’s house.82 Therefore, selling these mules to another Jew causes him to do this sin, and one may not cause another person to sin; and selling them to an idolater would violate a Rabbinic law against selling them beasts of burden (Chullin 7b).

� The Simple Meaningסור א� ה ל� ק� ת של ר ב� ד� ל כ� א? עמ� ט אי מ מכשל. תתן לא עור ולפני

עשות, דכתיב ”ולפני עור לא תתן מכשל“ (כלה רבתי י): לOur pasuk tells us, and you shall not place a stumbling

block before the blind, which simply means that we may not put an obstacle in the way of a blind person, since he will trip over it. Similarly, we may not do anything that damages a person when he is unaware of the danger in-volved.

For example, one may not give his friend a barrel of wine and claim that it contains oil. This can cause the friend harm, because he might invite guests thinking that he has enough oil for the meal, and when he realizes that he does not have oil, he will be very embarrassed (Kallah Rabbasi §10).

ט .15 משפ� ול ב� עשו ע� You shall not commit a — לא ת>perversion of justice.


ט משפ� ול ה� מצוה רלג: של א לע�Mitzvah 233: The Prohibition to Pervert Justice

When judging monetary cases, a judge is prohibited from giving a verdict not according to the Torah’s laws.



דול ר פני ג� .And you shall not honor the great — ולא תהד�


דין דול ב� בד ג� מצוה רלד: של א לכ�Mitzvah 234: The Prohibition [Upon a Judge] to Honor a

Litigant Who Is Prominent

With righteousness shall you — בצדק תשפט עמיתךjudge your fellow.


ת שופט שישפט בצדק מצוה רלה: מצו�Mitzvah 235: The Obligation Upon a Judge to Judge

RighteouslyA judge is obligated to treat both claimants equally, and not honor one more than the other. Also included is that a person capable of being a judge must serve as one, if this is needed. In addition, we should judge others favorably.

� One Is Enoughר ”בצדק תשפט שר, שנאמ מי כ� ד נ א ח יית� בצדק תשפט עמיתך. מדאור

“ (סנהדרין ג.): עמיתך�Our pasuk says, with righteousness, “tishpot” (תשפט)

your fellow. The word “tishpot” means “you” — in the singular — “shall judge.” According to one opinion, this teaches that, Biblically, only one judge is needed, not three, to judge most types of cases. The Sages, however, decreed that three judges are always needed (Sanhedrin 3a).

� Two Types of Cases“, וכתיב (דברים טז, כ) בצדק תשפט עמיתך. כתיב ”בצדק תשפט עמיתך�אן בדין שאין מרומה אן בדין מרומה כ ד? כ א כיצ ”צדק צדק תרדף“, ה�

(סנהדרין לב:):Our pasuk says, with “righteousness” shall you judge

your fellow, mentioning the word “righteousness” once. A pasuk in Devarim83 mentions the word “righteousness”

twice: Righteousness, righteousness, shall you pursue.Our pasuk discusses a regular court case, where the

judges must judge righteously, but do not have to do any-thing extra. The pasuk in Devarim refers to a case where there is strong reason to suspect that one of the parties is making a false claim. In such cases, the judges must be extra careful to judge righteously. For example, they should question that person’s witnesses thoroughly to see whether they are saying the truth (Sanhedrin 32b).

� No Preferential Treatmentבר ד מד ד עומד, אח� ד יושב ואח� ”בצדק תשפט עמיתך“, שלא יהא אח�

ריך� (שבועות ל.): צר דב� ד אומר לו ק רכו ואח� ל צ� כ�Our pasuk tells us, with righteousness shall you judge

your fellow. This means that the judge should not treat one of the claimants differently than the other. For example, he should not tell one of the people to sit and the other to stand, or let one speak longer than the other. Doing this would not be a “righteous” judgment, since the one who receives less honor will feel discouraged, and will not ar-gue his case properly (Shevuos 30a).

� Two Other Meaningsב יוסף ”בצדק ני ר ף זכות. ת� ן את חבירך� לכ בצדק תשפט עמיתך, הוי ד�פה (שבועות ל.) דל לדונו י� ה ובמצות השת ם שאתך� בתור� “, ע תשפט עמיתך�

Our pasuk says, with righteousness shall you judge “amisecha” ( your fellow. On a simple level, the ,(עמיתך�pasuk means that a judge should judge righteously.

However, the word amisecha, your fellow, is singular, referring to one fellow, while in a court case a judge judges between at least two people. The pasuk is hinting that every person should “judge” his fellow Jew with “righteousness”; meaning, that if he sees the other person doing something that might be a sin, he should give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that the action was not a sin.84

According to another opinion, the word amisecha is a contraction of the words am (ם ) and itecha ,(ע ,(אתך�

83. 16:20. 84. See Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, note 30.

זה, גדולים הוא בן זה, ר: עשיר הוא ר פני גדול. שלא תאמ� ולא תהד�ר פני ר ”ולא תהד� דבר. לכך נאמ� ישנו ואראה בבושתו, עונש יש ב� י ך אב� היא�חר, דבר א� שמעו. (תורת כהנים שם ג): בצדק תשפט עמיתך. כמ� גדול“ אומר: אני רכיל. תלך (טז) לא ד): (שם זכות ף לכ� חבירך את דן הוי גל פרי לשון הרע, הולכים בבתי רעיהם לר� לחי מדנים ומס� ל שם שכל מש� ע�שוק, נקראים ”הולכי רכיל”, הולכי פר ב� ה ישמעו רע לס� ה יראו רע או מ� מ�כתוב שאין רכילות מצינו שלא י, לדבר� וראיה בלעז. אישפיי‘‘מנט רגילה, רזל“ (ירמיה ו, כח), [”הולך בלשון הליכה. ”לא תלך רכיל”, ”הלכי רכיל נחשת וב�לה סוד“ (משלי יא, יג)]. ושאר לשון הרע אין כתוב בו הליכה: ”מלשני רכיל מג�ברת גדלות“ סתר רעהו“ (תהלים קא, ה), ”לשון רמיה“ (שם קכ, ב), ”לשון מד� ב�כ‘‘ף נחלפת בגימ‘‘ל, גל, שה� לשון [לשון] הולך ומר� (שם יב, ד). לכך אני אומר שה�לפות זו בזו. בי‘‘ת בפ‘‘א [ובו“ו], שכל האותיות שמוצאיהם ממקום אחדמתח�

גל יר� ”ו� וכן ד‘‘י. בצ� י‘‘ן וז� [ורי“ש] מ‘‘ד, בל� ונו‘‘ן [בכ‘‘ף], וקו‘‘ף בכ‘‘ף וגימ‘‘ל ל ל ע� וכן ”לא רג� י רעה. בדך“ (שמואל-ב יט, כח), רגל ותר מה לאמר על� בע�מוכר וכל ה� ר כל סחורה, ח� גל א� סוחר ומר� וכן רוכל, ה� לשנו“ (תהלים טו, ג). זר תמיד בעיירות נקרא ”רוכל” ל שם שמח� נשים, ע� שט בהם ה� בשמים להתק�יהודיא“ די רציהון ק� לו אכ� ”ו� כמו קורצין“, תיכול ”לא רגומו: ות� רוגל. לשון י שהיה משפטם לכא” (ברכות נח.). נראה בעינ� (דניאל ג, ח), ”אכל קורצא בי מ�ר חזוק שדבריו מקויימים לעטה, והוא גמ� בל דבריהם שום ה� מק� לאכול בבית ה�”קורץ לשון קורצין”, ת ”אכיל� נקראת לעטה ה� ואותה האמת. ל ע� וי�עמידם בעיניו“ (משלי ו, יג), שכן דרך כל הולכי רכיל לקרוץ בעיניהם ולרמוז דברי לראות רעך. ם ד� ל ע� עמד ת� לא שומעים: ה� שאר יבינו שלא רכילותן עליו לסטים באים יה או בנהר, וח� צילו, כגון טובע� יכול לה� תה במיתתו וא�ע: לם שכר, ונאמן להפר� (תורת כהנים פרק ד, ח; סנהדרין עג.): אני ה‘. נאמן לש�

ך gא־תל טז ל ך: עמית9 ט תשפ דק בצ- גדול י eפנ ר תהד4 א ולא א־תשנ. י יהוה: יז ל ך אנ! Aם רע hל־ד עמד ע� Bא ת יך ל מ כיל בע� ר

א תדינה א בקושט� ב� פי ר ר א א תהד ול�א ך ל� מ� א תיכול קורצין בע ך: טז ל� בר� לחא תשני : יז ל� א יי� ך אנ� בר� א דח ל דמ� תקום ע

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / טז־יז 476 / ספר ויקרא


and you shall not honor the great; with righteousness shall you judge your fellow.

16 You shall not be a gossipmonger among your people, you shall not stand

aside while your fellow’s blood is shed — I am HASHEM. 17 You shall not hate

85. See ibid. note 32. 86. This is allowed, following specific guidelines, if it will prevent damage to the one being spoken about or if it can be presented in a way that would diminish ill-will between the people involved; see Chafetz Chaim, Hil. Rechilus Ch. 9, at length. 87. Devarim 22:13-19. 88. Under Torah law, Jewish marriage takes place in two stages. In the first stage, called erusin or kiddushin [betrothal], the man gives the woman an object of value (like a ring). [There are other methods as well; see Mishnah, Kiddushin 2a.] At this point, they are legally married even though they may not yet not live together. They become fully married at the second stage, called nisuin. This is accomplished by the husband bringing his wife into a chuppah. At this point they are allowed to live together. 89. And he must pay a fine of 100 sela’im to the girl’s father. 90. See previous discussion. 91. For example, if a judge who ruled the man innocent approaches him privately,

meaning, people with you. This refers to Torah scholars, who are like you (with you), the judge, in their observance of Torah and mitzvos. The pasuk is saying that he should judge the case of a Torah scholar with righteousness, meaning before the cases of other people, in order to show respect to the Torah scholar85 (Shevuos 30a).

מיך .16 כיל בע� You shall not be a — לא תלך ר�gossipmonger among your people.


גל מצוה רלו: של א לר�Mitzvah 236: The Prohibition of Relating Gossip

We are forbidden from saying gossip (rechilus). This means that when we hear someone speaking negatively about another person, we may not go to the person who was spoken about and tell him that the other person spoke

badly about him.86

� What Is a Rachil?The Torah elsewhere87 discusses the law of ע a ,מוציא שם ר

defamer. He is a husband who brings witnesses to testify that his young wife was unfaithful after they were legally married [after kiddushin, but before nisuin88]. If his claim is found to be false, the husband is punished with malkus (lashes).89

ר: מ“לא מ ר א� ז� בי אלע� ן? ר ל� ע מנ� ה למוציא שם ר ר� זה� כיל. א לא תלך ר�זה ל� ך ר יהא שלא דין לבית ה ר� זה� א הוא ה ן. . . ת� נ� בי ור כיל“. . . ר� תלך

זה (כתובות מו.): שה ל� וק�For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


According to one opinion, the “warning” for the sin of de-faming one’s wife is learned from our pasuk, which says, You shall not be a “rachil” (כיל among your people. The term (ר�rachil means “gossipmonger,” a person who reports about the negative behavior of others, whether true or untrue.

Another opinion holds that the word rachil does not refer to a gossipmonger. Instead, it is a contraction of the words, rach (ך ), which means, easy to me. The pasukליand li ( ,(רmeans that when a judge presides over a case, he should not go “easy” on one of the claimants, and treat the other one harshly (Kesubos 46a).

� Keep It a SecretIf, when the court judges a case, there is a difference

of opinion among the various judges, the case is decided according to the majority.

יי חביר ו כה מז אני ר יאמ לא לכשיצא יין ומנ מיך. בע� כיל ר� תלך לא תלך ”לא ר נאמ זה ל י? ע ל בו ע� יי ר שחביר אעשה ה ל מ אב� ייבים, מח

“ (סנהדרין כט., לא.): מיך� כיל בע ר�Our pasuk forbids gossip, which includes telling any in-

formation that can cause someone damage or pain.If the court ruled someone guilty based on a majority of

opinions, a judge who disagreed with the verdict may not say, “I ruled the person innocent, but what can I do; the other judges were in the majority, and they ruled him guilty!” Say-ing this would be considered “gossip,” since he is revealing which judges gave the guilty verdict, and this will cause the guilty party to be upset at those judges (Sanhedrin 29a, 31a).

� Write It RightIf, when the court judges a case, there is a difference

of opinion among the various judges, the case is decided according to the majority.

תבי? כ� היכי ב מיכת וכו‘, אי ז כ אומרים ים שנ מיך. בע� כיל ר� תלך לא כין ופלוני ופלוני ר: פלוני ופלוני מז מ קיש א� אי. ריש ל� ר: ז כ מ ן א� נ� בי יוח� רייהו א בינ א איכ� ה פלוני. . . אל� כ� ר: מדבריהן נזד מ ר א� ז� בי אלע� ייבין. ר מחאי, משום ”לא תלך ר: ז כ מ ן א� נ� בי יוח� “, ר מיך� כיל בע משום ”לא תלך ר�

כיל“ (סנהדרין ל.): ר�Our pasuk forbids gossip. We learn from this that if some

of the judges ruled that the person was guilty and some ruled that he was innocent, they may not reveal which judges ruled that he was guilty, since that will cause the defendant to be upset at those judges.90

If most of the judges ruled the person innocent and some guilty, there is a disagreement about how the judges should write the verdict.

One opinion says, they simply write, “The defendant was found innocent.” They may not spell out which judges ruled him innocent and which guilty, because that would be considered gossip.

A second opinion holds that since here the judges are giving an official verdict, this is not considered “gossip.” To write “The defendant was found innocent” looks like a lie, since it sounds like all the judges ruled him innocent. Therefore, the verdict should clearly note the opinions of each of the judges. According to this opinion, revealing the identity of the judges is gossip only when it is done after the case is over.91

A third opinion is concerned both about gossip and about accuracy. Therefore, the verdict should say, “Through the



words of the court, So-and-so was found innocent.” This lan-guage implies that not all the judges ruled him innocent, but does not reveal which judges ruled him guilty (Sanhedrin 30a).

ם רעך ל ד� עמד ע� You shall not stand aside while — לא ת�your fellow’s blood is shed.


ם רעים ל ד� עמד ע� מצוה רלז: של א ל�Mitzvah 237: The Prohibition to Stand Idle While One’s

Fellow Is in DangerIf we see another Jew whose life is in danger or is about to suffer a financial loss, we are forbidden to refrain from

saving him or his money.

� No Proofצילו ן לה רגו שנית� ר חבירו לה� ח יין לרודף א ם רעך. מנ ל ד� עמד ע� לא ת�יין לרואה את חבירו “. . . מנ ם רעך� ל ד עמד ע ר ”לא ת למוד לומ פשו? ת בניב י� יו, שהוא ח ל� אין ע� לסטין ב� רתו, או ה גור י� ר, או ח ה� נ� שהוא טובע ב

“ (סנהדרין עג.): ם רעך� ל ד עמד ע ר ”לא ת למוד לומ צילו? ת להThe law is that if a person is pursuing another person

to kill him, we may kill the pursuer to save the life of his intended victim.

It was originally thought that this is learned from our pasuk, You shall not stand aside while your fellow’s blood is shed. The pasuk means that we may never stand aside and avoid saving a Jew’s life, even where he is being attacked or pur-sued and the only way to save him is by killing the attacker.

However, in truth, our pasuk might just mean that we save a Jew where this does not involve killing another Jew. For ex-ample, if someone is drowning at sea we should pull him out of the water, or if a wild animal is attacking him we should kill the animal. But the pasuk is not saying that we kill a pursuer to save the life of the person being pursued92 (Sanhedrin 73a).

בך .17 חיך� בלב� א את א� You shall not hate your — לא תשנ�brother in your heart.


חים מצוה רלח: של א לשנא א�Mitzvah 238: The Prohibition to Hate One’s Fellow

We are forbidden to hate another Jew in our hearts, not revealing it to the other person.93

� Whom May We Hate?או“ ש� ת מ ח אך� רבץ ת בך. ”כי תראה חמור שנ חיך� בלב� א את א� לא תשנ�כתיב א למסניה? וה� רי� אל. ומי ש אי שונא?. . . שונא ישר� (שמות כג, ה), מא, איסור� ביד דע� הדי ס א דאיכ� א אל� ?“ בך� בלב� חיך� א� את א תשנ� ”לא

(פסחים קיג:):A pasuk in Shemos94 speaks about the donkey of “some-

one you hate.”Our pasuk teaches that you shall not hate your brother

in your heart. So how can there be a Jew whom we hate?The wording of our pasuk is you shall not hate your

“brother” in your heart. “Brother” means a person who acts like us. This teaches that we are not prohibited from hating one is wicked and does sins willingly.95 The pasuk in Shemos is discussing a wicked person, whom we are permitted to hate (Pesachim 113b).

� The Sotah’s WarningA sotah is a woman suspected of being unfaithful to her

husband. A sotah is forbidden to her husband.96 A woman becomes a sotah only if her husband first warned her against being with a certain man privately and she ignored his warning.

ה מר� פי שא� עקב אומר: כל בי אליעזר בן י בך. ר חיך� בלב� א את א� לא תשנ�ר (במדבר למוד לומ כול כגון זו, ת “, י� בך� חיך� בלב� א את א� ה ”לא תשנ� תור�

ה וקנא את אשתו“ (סוטה ג.): יו רוח קנא� ל� ר ע� ב ה, יד) ”וע�The Torah describes97 the warning of a sotah as, a spirit

of jealousy had passed over him and he had warned his wife. Some explain this to mean that if a husband sees his wife secluded with another man, it is a mitzvah for him to warn her not to continue doing so.

A different opinion, however, says that this pasuk is needed to permit the husband to give the warning. When a husband warns his wife, he creates hateful feelings between them. Since our pasuk prohibits hating another Jew, perhaps the husband should not give the warning. The pasuk, and he had warned his wife, teaches that the husband is, in fact, permitted to warn his wife if he sees her secluded with other men (Sotah 3a).

� Get Physicalלקלנו, כנו לא יסטרנו ולא יק כול לא י בך“, י� חיך� בלב� א את א� ”לא תשנ�

בר (ערכין טז:): תוב מד כ� לב ה ה שב “, שנא� בך� ר ”בלב� למוד לומ תOur pasuk begins with the prohibition against hating an-

other Jew — You shall not hate your brother in your heart,

explaining his position to befriend him (see Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, note 27). 92. Rather, we learn this law from a different source; see Gemara there. 93. It is, of course, forbidden to hate another Jew even if we do tell him about it. This mitzvah, however, refers specifi-cally to hating without revealing it. Such hatred is worse than revealed hatred, because the other person does not know to protect himself from the hater, and because the hatred will continue to fester and grow in the heart of the hater. 94. 23:5. 95. See Schottenstein Edition, note 13. 96. The Torah (Bamidbar 5:11ff) describes the procedure for determining whether or not she is guilty. 97. Bamidbar 5:14.

בים (תורת כהנים שם, ערכין לבין את פניו בר� (יז) ולא תשא עליו חטא. לא ת�ר לו: ר לו: לאו. למחר אמ� גלך, אמ� שאילני מ� ר לו: ה� טז:): (יח) לא תקם. אמ�

ני, זו היא נקימה. לת� שאילך, כדרך שלא השא� ר לו: איני מ� רדומך, אמ� שאילני ק� ה�שאילני ר לו: ה� ר לו: לאו. למחר אמ� רדומך, אמ� שאילני ק� ר לו: ה� ואיזו היא נטירה, אמ�

א־ ול ך את־עמית יח� תוכ ח� gהוכ ך Aב בלב יך ח! את־אך מ ע� י eאת־בנ א־תטר ול א־תקם יח ל טא: ח3 יו jל ע א תש.

ת י� ח תוכ א ח� אוכ� ך בלב� אחוך ת י�א: חוב� לה די ל ע בל תק א ול� ך בר� חך מ� לבני ע בו ר דב� א תט א תקום ול� יח ל�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / יח 478 / ספר ויקרא


your brother in your heart; you shall reprove your fellow and do not bear a sin because of him. 18 You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the members of your people;

98. See Schottenstein Edition, note 10. 99. Some explain this as a person who marries a woman only because of her money. 100. See Schottenstein Edition, Bava Metzia 31a notes 19 and 25. 101. In fact, we may not rebuke a person, even in private, in a way that

and then continues with the obligation to rebuke another Jew — you shall reprove your fellow. The pasuk puts these two commands together to teach that even when rebuking another Jew, we may not hate him.

The Torah specifies, you shall not hate… “in your heart,” to teach that only hating in one’s heart is forbidden when giving rebuke, but one may do actions of “hate.” For ex-ample, there are specific circumstances under which a person may hit or curse a person to stop him from sinning (Arachin 16b).98

� It’s Not Worth itה אש� נושא ה ל כ� אומר: א עקיב� בי ר בך. בלב� חיך� א� את א תשנ� לא אוין, משום ”לא תקם“ (פסוק ה ל� ה מהוגנת לו עובר משום חמש� שאינ�“, ומשום בך� חיך� בלב� א א� יח), ומשום ”לא תטר“ (שם), ומשום ”לא תשנ�ך“ (להלן כה, לו) חיך� עמ� “ (פסוק יח), ומשום ”וחי א� מוך� בת� לרעך� כ� ה ”וא�ה מן ה ורבי� טל פרי� א מב מות, ונמצ� ה רוצה הוא שת� מתוך ששונא אות�

ם (אבות דרבי נתן כו, ד): עול� ה�When getting married, a man should search for a woman

suitable for him. If he marries a woman who is not a good match,99 this will lead to many interpersonal sins. For ex-ample, they will come to hate each other, which our pasuk forbids (Avos DeRabbi Nassan 26:4).

.You shall reprove your fellow — הוכח� תוכיח� את עמיתך


ה שור� אל שאינו נוהג כ� ה לישר� ח� ת תוכ� מצוה רלט: מצו�Mitzvah 239: The Obligation to Reprove a Fellow Jew

Who Does Not Act Properly

� Double Rebukeע, שמ מ מים פע� ה מא� אפילו ,“ ”הוכח א: ב� ר� ליה ר מ א� תוכיח. הוכח� ר לומ למוד ת ין? מנ ב ר ל� למיד ת למיד, ת ל ב ר ה� א אל� לי אין ,“ ”תוכיח

קום (בבא מציעא לא.): ל מ� “, מכ� ”הוכח תוכיחר יב להוכיחו? שנאמ י� ר מגונה שח ב� חבירו ד� רואה ב ין ל� הוכח� תוכיח. מנר למוד לומ ויוכיחנו? ת חזור ין שי “. הוכיחו ולא קבל מנ ”הוכח תוכיח

קום (ערכין טז:): ל מ� “, מכ� ”תוכיחOur pasuk teaches the obligation to rebuke another

Jew, saying, hochei’ach tochi’ach ( תוכיח ,literally ,(הוכחreprove, shall you reprove, your fellow. In Hebrew, the word hochei’ach ( -reprove, refers to an ongoing act of re ,(הוכחproving.100 This teaches that if we speak to someone to correct his ways but he keeps on sinning, if we are doing it properly, we must continue to try to correct him, even one hundred times.

The word tochi’ach ( shall you reprove, seems ,(תוכיחextra. According to one opinion, it teaches that even a student should correct his teacher if he sees him doing something wrong. However, he should do so respectfully,

such as by saying, “My teacher, haven’t you taught us about such-and-such a law?”

A second opinion says that the extra word tochi’ach teaches an additional lesson about rebuking a person many times. It is telling us that even if one rebukes some-body for a particular sin, and that person does that same sin again, he should still continue to rebuke him; he may not give up and say that just as the person did not listen in the past, he will not listen in the future either (Bava Metzia 31a; Arachin 16b).

יו חטא ל� א ע� And do not bear a sin because of — ולא תש�him.


אל ם מישר� ד� לבין פני א� מצוה רמ: של א לה�Mitzvah 240: The Prohibition to Embarrass a Fellow JewWe are prohibited from publicly embarrassing another Jew. Even when rebuking a sinner, we may not embarrass him.

� Don’t Embarrass Himיב י� שח מגונה ר ב� ד� חבירו ב רואה ל� ין מנ חטא. יו ל� ע� א תש� ולא יו ל� ע� א תש� ”לא ר לומ למוד ת יו, נ� פ� נים משת אפילו כול י� להוכיחו. . ..

חטא“ (ערכין טז:):Our pasuk first teaches the obligation to rebuke another

Jew, and then says, and do not bear a sin because of him. This means that we should not rebuke him in public to embarrass him, because if we do this, we will bear a sin be-cause of him — because we embarrassed him101 (Arachin 16b).

מך .18 ע� בני את תטר ולא תקם You shall not take — לא revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the

members of your people.


מצוה רמא: של א לנקםMitzvah 241: The Prohibition to Take Revenge

מצוה רמב: של א לנטרMitzvah 242: The Prohibition to Bear a Grudge

If someone does something wrong to us, we are forbidden to feel resentment toward the other person even if we do

not take any revenge on him.

� Obligated to Take Revenge?אינו ש כנ�ח� ונוטר נוקם שאינו ם כ� ח� למיד ת ל כ� תטר. ולא תקם לא מון הוא דכתיב. . . הוא במ� כתיב ”לא תקם ולא תטר“, ה ם, וה� כ� למיד ח� תן ת� חרפ� שומעין עולבין ן ואינ� בין נעל� ה א ני� ת א וה� לא? א דגופ� א ער� וצכצאת יו ”ואהב� לא) ה, (שופטים אומר תוב כ� ה עליהן משיבין. . . ן ואינ�

קיט ליה בליביה (יומא כב:־כג.): ם דנ� תו“, לעול� שמש בגבר� ה



Our pasuk forbids one from taking revenge or even just bearing a grudge against someone who wronged him.

According to one opinion, this applies only to where the sin is in money-related matters; for example, the other person refused to lend him a utensil that he needed.102 But if someone causes another person to suffer, such as where he hurts him physically or embarrasses him, these prohibi-tions do not apply.103

However, if a Torah scholar is embarrassed or hurt by others, there are specific situations where he must bear a grudge against the person, and if other people want to avenge his honor, he should allow them to do so. This is because an insult to a Torah scholar is an insult to the Torah itself, and he must stand up for the Torah’s honor.104

Even so, the scholar himself should not take action against the person, because the Sages tell us that a person should remain silent in the face of insults, and if one does so, he receives a very great reward105 (Yoma 22b-23a).

� Tit for Tatר לו: מ ה א� ה? נקימ� ה ואיזו היא נטיר� לא תקם ולא תטר. איזו היא נקימ� , רדומך� שאילני ק ר לו הוא: ה מ ר א� ח� או. למ� ר לו: ל� מ , א� לך� ג� שאילני מ הה. ואיזו היא ני, זו היא נקימ� לת שאילך� כדרך שלא השא ר לו: איני מ מ א�לו: ר מ א� ר ח� למ� לא. ליה: ר מ א� , רדומך� ק שאילני ה לו: ר מ א� ה? נטיר�היא זו ני, לת ך שלא השא איני כמות� ך: היל� ר לו מ , א� שאילני חלוקך� ה

ה (יומא כג.): נטיר�Our pasuk prohibits taking revenge or bearing a grudge.An example of taking revenge: Reuven asks Shimon to

lend him a tool, and Shimon refuses. The next day, Shi-mon asks Reuven to borrow his tool. If Reuven says, “I will not lend it just as you did not lend me your tool,” this is revenge.

An example of bearing a grudge: Reuven asks Shimon to lend him a tool, and Shimon refuses. The next day, Shi-mon asks Reuven to borrow his coat. If Reuven agrees to

lend the coat, but says, “I am not like you; you did not want to lend me your tool, yet I am lending you my coat.”106 By mentioning Shimon’s refusal to lend him the tool, Reuven shows that he bears a grudge over it (Yoma 23a).

� Don’t Cut Off Your Nose…ת ח ע קופד ומ� ט ה מק א? הו� מך“, היך עביד� ”לא תקם ולא תטר את בני ע�

דיה (ירושלמי נדרים ט, ד): חזור ותמחי לי� דוי, ת א לי� כינ� סOur pasuk prohibits taking revenge or bearing a grudge.It is natural for a person to want to take revenge. How

can he overcome this desire?He should consider the following thought:If someone was cutting meat, and his hand slipped

and he cut his finger instead, would he take “revenge” by hurting the hand that did the cutting?! Here too, all Jews are considered like one person. Thus, when one takes re-venge and hurts another Jew, it is like he is hurting himself (Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4).

מוך בת� לרעך� כ� ה� You shall love your fellow as — וא�yourself.


אל ת ישר� הב� ת א� מצוה רמג: מצו�Mitzvah 243: The Obligation to Love a Fellow Jew

We are obligated to love every Jew like we love ourselves. This means that we should take care of and be concerned about others and their property the same way we take care

of ourselves and our own property.

� Dignified DeathCertain serious sins in the Torah are punished through

execution carried out by Beis Din (Rabbinic court). There are four types of execution used by beis din: sekilah, stoning; sereifah, burning; hereg, beheading; and chenek, strangling.

,“ מוך� בת� לרעך� כ� ה א ”וא� ר קר� מ ן: א� חמ� ב נ ר ר מ מוך. דא� בת� לרעך� כ� ה� וא�ה (פסחים עה., כתובות לז:, סוטה ח:,בבא קמא נא., סנהדרין פ� ה י� ברור לו מית�

מה., נב., נב:, ירושלמי סוטה א, ה; ירושלמי סנהדרין ו, ד):Our pasuk commands us to love another Jew like

ourselves. This applies even to a person who is being ex-ecuted; we should carry out his death sentence in the least painful and gruesome manner, just like we would want for ourselves.

embarrasses. 102. See next discussion. 103. Even according to this opinion, this is not recommended. See Schottenstein Edition, 23a note 7, which states that most authorities do not agree with this opinion at all. 104. See Schottenstein Edition, ibid., notes 11 and 15. 105. See Schottenstein Edition, ibid., note 10. 106. See Schottenstein Edition, note 5.

ני, זו היא נטירה, שנוטר האיבה לת� ר לו: הא לך, ואיני כמותך שלא השא� לך, אמ� ג� מ�בת לרעך שאינו נוקם (תורת כהנים שם יא; יומא כג.): ואה� פי ל ף ע� בלבו א�תורה (תורת כהנים שם יב): (יט) את בי עקיבא: זה כלל גדול ב� ר ר� כמוך. אמ�ים וגו‘. חקים אלו רביע� כלא� י תשמרו. ואלו הן: בהמתך לא ת� חקת�ש ר ”לא תלב� ר, לפי שנאמ� ים. למה נאמ� דבר: ובגד כלא� ם ל� ע� גזרות מלך שאין ט�

אניצי פשתן, ש גיזי צמר ו� טנז צמר ופשתים י�חדו“ (דברים כב, יא), יכול לא ילב� ע� ש�טנז, דבר שהוא שוע� ע� ר ש� למוד לומ� לבדים, ת� בות ה� ין לר� ר ”בגד”. מנ� למוד לומ� ת�נמלל ושזור זה עם טווי ונוז (תורת כהנים פרק ד, יח). ואומר אני, ”נוז” לשון דבר ה�זיין לנאזי דאית בהון (מועד קטן יב:), שאנו ברו, מישטי‘‘ר בלע“ז, כמו: ח� זה לח�חברת צמר ופשתים: חם מ� טנז” פירש מנ� ע� מפרשין לשון כמוש, פלישטר‘‘א. ולשון ”ש�

יט את־חקתי יהוה: י אנ! מוך כ עך לר3 בת. ה� וא/א־ ל דך ש/ ים כלא� יע� א־תרב' ל בהמתך רו תשמיך: ל9 ע ה על- Bי א ל ז טנ ע� Bש ים כלא� גד mוב ים Mכלא ע hתזר

: יי� א אנ� ך ת� כו� ך בר� לח ותרחם רכב ת א ל� ך בעיר� תטרון י מ קי� ת יט י�

ערובין ע תזר א ל� ך קל� ח ערובין ך: על� ק יס א ל� טנז�א ע ש ערובין ולבוש

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / יט 480 / ספר ויקרא


you shall love your fellow as yourself — I am HASHEM.

19 You shall observe My decrees: you shall not mate your animal into another spe-

cies, you shall not plant your field with mixed seed; and a garment that is a mixture

of shaatnez shall not come upon you.

Love your fellow

Kilayim/

Forbidden

mixtures

107. See Shemos 21:15. 108. See Schottenstein Edition, note 38. 109. See Schottenstein Edition, 32a note 24.

For example, “stoning” begins by pushing the person off a platform or roof. We use a roof that is exactly twice his height. We do not use a lower roof because then he will not die as quickly and will undergo more pain, and we do not use a higher roof because then the body will needlessly become defaced, and that is inappropriate (Pesachim 75a; Kesubos 37b; Sotah 8b; Bava Kamma 51a; Sanhedrin 45a, 52a, 52b; Yerushalmi Sotah 1:5; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 6:4).

� Foresightדש ם שיק ד� סור לא� ב: א� ר ר מ ה א� ב יהוד� ר ר מ מוך. דא� לרעך� כ� בת� ה� וא�יו, ל� ע� נה ותתג מגונה ר ב� ד� ה ב� יראה א שמ� ה, שיראנ� ד ע ה אש� ה� את

“ (קידושין מא.): מוך� בת� לרעך� כ� ה ר ”וא� מ א א� נ� חמ� ורA man should not get married until he first sees the

woman he is considering marrying. Otherwise, he might not like the way she looks, and will come to dislike her. He would then violate our pasuk, which tells us that we must love every Jew (Kiddushin 41a).

� “As Yourself”בת� ה ר: ”וא� מ א א� תנ� ב מ ביו? ר ם לא� קיז ד� הו שי מוך. בן מ בת� לרעך� כ� ה� וא�

“ (סנהדרין פד:): מוך� לרעך� כ�It is forbidden for a person to hit and wound his parent,

and one who does so faces the death penalty.107 However, according to some opinions, a child may perform medical procedures on his parent, even though he will be wounding him.

Our pasuk commands one to love your fellow “as your-self,” meaning that whatever one does not want for himself he should not do to another. This indicates that we may do to others whatever we would do to ourselves. According to this opinion, since a person does not mind wounding himself to perform a medical procedure, he may do this even to his parent (Sanhedrin 84b).108

� Not the Right Timeתו מש מט� ם שיש ד� סור לו לא� א: א� ב חסד� ר ר מ מוך. א� לרעך� כ� בת� ה� וא�א שמ� יי: ב א ר מ א� ע? שמ מ אי מ ,“ מוך� כ� לרעך� בת� ה ”וא� ר שנאמ יום, ב

יו (נדה יז.): ל� נה ע� ר מגונה ותתג ב� ה ד� יראה ב�Our pasuk commands us to love every Jew.A man should not have marital relations with his wife in

the light of day. The reason is that in the bright light of the day, he might see some flaw in her appearance, and will come to dislike her. He would then violate the command of our pasuk — You shall love your fellow as yourself (Nid-dah 17a).

� A Great Principleה (ירושלמי תור� דול ב ל ג� ה אומר: זהו כל� בי עקיב� מוך“, ר בת� לרעך� כ� ה� ”וא�

נדרים ט, ד):

The command of our pasuk — you shall love your fellow as yourself — is a great principle in the Torah (Yerushalmi Nedarim 9:4).109

מוך� אני ה‘ בת� לרעך� כ� ה� You shall love your fellow as — וא�yourself — I am Hashem.

� He Created Them Allמוך� אני בת� לרעך� כ� ה מוך� אני ה‘. הלא הוא אומר ”וא� בת� לרעך� כ� ה� וא�ה אוהבו, ואם ת� מך� א עשה ע אתיו, ואם עושה מ ם? כי אני בר� ע ה ט ה‘ ”, מר ה נאמ ה גדול� ר אומר: בשבוע� ז� בי שמעון בן אלע� ה אוהבו. ר ת� או אי א ל�אני אוהבו ה ת� אם א אתיו, בר� ” ה‘ אני , מוך� לרעך� כ� בת� ה ”וא� זה, ר ב� ד�ין לפרוע (אבות דרבי נתן טז, ה): י� או אני ד ר טוב, ואם ל� כ� לם לך� ש� ן לש נאמ�

Our pasuk tells us, You shall love your fellow as yourself — I am Hashem.

The connection between the term “your fellow” and “I am Hashem” teaches that the mitzvah to love others does not apply to those who willfully fail to observe the Torah, such as heretics or idol worshipers.

According to one opinion, the final words of the pasuk, I am Hashem, give the reason for our pasuk’s command; you must love other Jews, because I am Hashem, and I have created them. And since Hashem created all Jews — both Torah scholars and the unlearned — we must love all these Jews, with the exception of the wicked ones.

Another opinion gives two other interpretations of the phrase “I am Hashem.”

H It is an expression of an oath, teaching that we are obli-gated under a strict oath to love other Jews.

H It means, “I am Hashem, and you can trust Me that I will reward those who love their fellow Jews, and punish those who fail to do so” (Avos DeRabbi Nassan 16:5).

ים .19 רביע� כלא� י תשמרו בהמתך� לא ת� You shall — את חקת�observe My decrees: you shall not mate your animal

into another species.


ה עם מין שאינו מינו רביע� בהמ� מצוה רמד: של א לה�Mitzvah 244: The Prohibition to Mate Animals of

Different Species

� Everyone and Everywhere”את שמואל: ר מ דא� ים. כלא� רביע� ת� לא בהמתך� תשמרו י חקת� את ים, רביע כלא ר, ”בהמתך� לא ת קתי לך� כב� ק י תשמרו“, חוקים שח� חקתה ה, מ ב� רכ� דך� בה ף ש� ה, א ע� רב� ה בהמתך� בה ים“. מ ע כלא� דך� לא תזר ש�ה רץ בין בחוצ� א� דך� בין ב� ף ש� רץ, א א� ה ל� רץ בין בחוצ� א� בהמתך� בין ב�

רץ (קידושין לט., סנהדרין ס., ירושלמי כלאים א, ז; ירושלמי ערלה ג, ז): א� ל�



There are many categories of kilayim, mixtures, forbid-den by the Torah. One is to mate different types of animals with each other, and a second is to plant different types of crops together. This includes planting different types of seeds together, or grafting different types of trees to-gether.110

Our pasuk says, you shall not mate your animal into another species, you shall not plant your field with mixed seed. According to one opinion, the second part of the pa-suk, you shall not plant your field with mixed seed, actually refers to grafting trees. This is because the pasuk has just mentioned mating animals, and grafting trees is similar to mating animals. Just as when mating animals a single unit — the offspring — is created, so too, when grafting trees, the two trees are merged to form a single unit.111

Based on this, the above opinion learns several laws that relate to mating animals and grafting branches. The pa-suk begins, י תשמרו literally, My decrees shall you ,את חקתobserve. The expression, My decrees shall you observe, is unusual, since the Torah usually expresses this some-what differently, as you shall observe My decrees (רתם ושמי חקת The pasuk worded the phrase differently here .(את because it means that My decrees — the laws of kilayim mentioned in the pasuk — apply even before the point of shall you observe; that is, before you were given the Torah at Sinai. This opinion maintains that everyone, since the times of Noach, was commanded not to mate animals and not to graft trees.

We also learn from our pasuk that it is prohibited to graft trees even outside of Eretz Yisrael. The prohibition to mate animals applies outside Eretz Yisrael, since it has nothing to do with the land. Since the pasuk mentions this law together with grafting trees, we learn that grafting trees is also forbid-den even outside Eretz Yisrael (Kiddushin 39a; Sanhedrin 60a; Yerushalmi Kilayim 1:7; Yerushalmi Orlah 3:7).

� All Living ThingsOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the

Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or, in some cases, words with similar meanings) appear in two (or more) places in the Torah, the reference links the pesukim, so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai.

ים. . . אי ה. . . לכלא ל בהמ� ד כ� ד שור ואח� ים. אח� רביע� כלא� בהמתך� לא ת�(בבא ת ב� יד) מש (דברים ה, “ ”בהמתך� ,“ ”בהמתך� ליף י� ה ע� רב� דה ים כלא

קמא נד:, ירושלמי בבא קמא ה, ח):Our pasuk tells us, you shall not mate “behemtecha”

( -your animal, into another species. When discuss ,(בהמתך�ing the prohibition to do melachah (forbidden labor) on Shabbos, the pasuk says,112 you shall not do any work, you, your son, your daughter… and all “behemtecha” ( your animals. In the case of Shabbos we know ,(בהמתך�that all living things are included in the prohibition, even

birds. The gezeirah shavah between the pesukim teaches that here too, the prohibition to mate different species applies to all living things, even birds (Bava Kamma 54b; Yerushalmi Bava Kamma 5:8).

� Only Different Typesייתי “, ה� רביע ”בהמתך� לא ת ר נאמ אילו ים. כלא� רביע� בהמתך� לא ת�ר למוד לומ ר, ת כ� ליה� ז� ה שעולה ע� ע� ה בש� בהמ� ם ה ד� אומר לא יאחוז א�

ים“ (בבא מציעא צא.): ”כלאOur pasuk says, you shall not mate your animal into

another species (ים Had the pasuk simply said, you .(כלאshall not mate your animal, one might have thought that it is forbidden to physically mate any two animals, even of the same species. The Torah therefore adds the words, into another species, to teach that only mating different types of animals is forbidden113 (Bava Metzia 91a).

� The Laws of Natureרכיבין יין שאין מ ני, מנ ים. ת� רביע� כלא� י תשמרו בהמתך� לא ת� את חקת�ל, מין בשאינו אכ� בי עץ מ ל ג ל ע � אכ ל ולא עץ מ אכ� בי עץ מ ל ג ק ע עץ סר�קתי ק י תשמרו“. . . משום חוקים שח� ר ”את חקת למוד לומ יין? ת מינו מנעוף ים“, כלא רביע ת לא ”בהמתך� א אל� כתיב לית כדון ד מי. . .ע בעול�

י תשמרו“ (ירושלמי כלאים א, ז): ני מ“את חקת יי ת� נ יין? אית ת מנOur pasuk teaches the prohibitions of kilayim of ani-

mals — to mate different types of animals with each other, and kilayim of seeds — to plant different types of seeds together.

According to one opinion, the pasuk’s opening state-ment, תשמרו י חקת -literally, My decrees you shall ob ,את serve, comes to add another kilayim prohibition; we are not allowed to graft two types of trees with each other. Since the pasuk mentions the decrees before the obser-vance, it refers to “laws” that were in place before the giving of the Torah; i.e., the laws of nature that Hashem established when He created the world.114 Since Hashem created different kinds of trees, we may not change this by grafting one type of tree with another.

According to another opinion, this teaching informs us of a law regarding kilayim of animals. The wording of the pasuk is, you shall not mate your “animal” into another species, which seems to forbid only mating animals, not other creatures (e.g., birds). However, since we are told to observe Hashem’s “decrees” — the laws of nature, we may not mate any types of living things together (Yerushalmi Kilayim 1:7).

� Active Involvementנקבות רים אצל ה עמיד זכ� כול לא יהא מ ים. י� רביע� כלא� בהמתך� לא ת�סור ת א� “, אין א רביע ר ”בהמתך� לא ת למוד לומ רים, ת זכ� ונקבות אצל הרים רים אצל נקבות ונקבות אצל זכ� ת זכ� עמיד א ל מ , אב� רביע א מלה אל�

(ירושלמי כלאים ח, ב):Our pasuk says, “you shall not mate” your animal into

another species. “You shall not mate” means that we may not actively mate different species together. But it is per-mitted to put males and females of different species into

110. See Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Yerushalmi, General Introduction to Tractate Kilayim. 111. See Schottenstein Edition, Kid-dushin 39a note 25. 112. Devarim 5:14. 113. See Schottenstein Edition, note 28. 114. See Schottenstein Edition, 5b note 8. See

פרשת קדשים יט / יט 482 / ספר ויקרא


also above, “Everyone and Everywhere.” 115. The Torah usually says the verb, in this case, planting, before the noun, in this case, the field (see Schottenstein Edition, Moed Katan 2b note 21). 116. 22:9.

the same pen, even though they will then mate with each other (Yerushalmi Kilayim 8:2).

ים ע כלא� דך� לא תזר� You shall not plant your field — ש�with mixed seed.


ן בשום רכיכ איל� עים ולא נ� מצוה רמה: של א לזרע� כלאי זר�רץ א� קום ב� מ�

Mitzvah 245: The Prohibition to Sow Seeds as Kilayim or to Graft Trees in Any Place in Eretz Yisrael

� “Your” Fieldעים זר� עוטי למ הוא, “! ה דך� ”ש� כתיב: ה� א ואל� ים. כלא� ע תזר� לא דך� ש�

רץ (קידושין לט.): א� שבחוץ ל�Our pasuk says, you shall not plant “your” field with

mixed seed. This teaches that the prohibition to plant dif-ferent seeds together applies only in your Land — Eretz Yisrael, which was given by Hashem to the Jewish people. There is no prohibition to plant mixed seeds outside of Eretz Yisrael (Kiddushin 39a).

� Not Just Plantingר למוד לומ יין? ת יים מנ , מק א זורע ים“, אין לי אל� ע כלא� דך� לא תזר� ”ש�דך� לא“ (מועד קטן ב:, מכות כא:, עבודה זרה סד., ירושלמי כלאים ים ש� ”כלא

ח, א):The prohibition of kilayim is not only to plant different

types of seed together, but even to allow such seeds to grow in one’s field. If a person sees a mixture of seeds growing in his field, he must uproot them immediately.

The wording of our pasuk, ים ע כלא� דך� לא תזר translates ,ש�literally, as your field you shall not plant with “kilayim” (mixed seed), which is unusual. The pasuk should read לא ים דך� כלא� ע ש� you shall not plant your field “kilayim.”115 ,תזר

The unique phrasing tells us to read the words דך� לא as ש�if they were connected to the previous word, ים -form ,כלאing the phrase, דך� לא ים ש� .kilayim [in] your field, no ,כלאThis teaches that kilayim — a mixture of seeds planted together — may not be in your field, even if you did not plant it (Moed Katan 2b; Makkos 21b; Avodah Zarah 64a; Yerushalmi Kilayim 8:1).

� Eating KilayimThere are two types of kilayim involving plants. One is

called kilayim of the vineyard (kilei hakerem), which refers to planting grain or other seeds with grape seeds, or next to a grapevine. The second is called kilayim of seeds (kilei zeraim), which includes planting mixture of seeds that do not include grapes. There are certain differences between these two types of kilayim.

בין ה אכיל� ב בין אסורין כרם כלאי א ואימ� ים. כלא� ע תזר� לא דך� ש�לכלאי איתקוש רו? ש� ה א� הנ� ב אסירי ה אכיל� ב עים זר� כלאי ה, א� הנ� בה ים“, מ ע כלא� דך� לא תזר ים ש� רביע כלא ה, דכתיב ”בהמתך� לא ת בהמ�

ר (חולין קטו.): יוצא ממנו מות� דך� ה ף ש� ה מותרת, א יוצא ממנ� בהמתך� ה

If one planted kilayim of the vineyard, whatever grows becomes forbidden to be eaten or to benefit from, but in the case of kilayim of seeds, one may eat the produce that grows.

Our pasuk mentions the prohibition to mate different species of animals together with the prohibition of kilayim of seeds, teaching that these prohibitions are compared to each other. Just as one is permitted to benefit from or even to eat an animal born from two species, the product of kilayim of seeds is also permitted even to be eaten (Chul-lin 115a).

� Two Varietiesאומר ייתי ה� ים“, כלא� ע תזר לא דך� ”ש� כתיב ים. כלא� ע תזר� לא דך� ש� רביע אפילו שני מיני שעורים. ”בהמתך� לא ת אפילו שני מיני חטים, ון ב� ן, או שור ל� ב� בי שור ל� ל ג חור ע ייתי אומר אפילו שור ש� ים“, ה� כלאייתי אומר אפילו “. ה� ליך� עלה ע� טנז לא י ע ים ש חור. ”ובגד כלא בי ש� ל ג עש תלב ”לא דים בבג� ש פיר פשתים. מיני שני אפילו ו צמר, מיני שני רתי ס דים שא� ה כלאי בג� ו“ (דברים כב, יא). מ חד� טנז צמר ופשתים י ע שרתי לך� ס ים שא� ף כלא , שני מינין, לא זה ממין זה, ולא זה ממין זה, א לך�

קום, לא זה ממין זה, ולא זה ממין זה (ירושלמי כלאים א, א): ל מ� בכ�Our pasuk tells us that we may not mate different spe-

cies of animals with each other nor plant different types of seeds together. It then teaches us the law of shaatnez — and a garment that is a mixture of combined fibers (wool and linen) shall not come upon you.

This teaches that just as shaatnez applies only to dis-tinct types of material — wool and linen — the prohibitions mentioned in the beginning of the pasuk also apply only to different species. However, two varieties of the same spe-cies are permitted. For example, one may mate a black cow with a white one or plant red wheat with white wheat (Yerushalmi Kilayim 1:1).

� One Seed or Two Seeds?ים“, רמך� כלא ע כ ים. כתיב (דברים כב, ט) ”לא תזר ע כלא� דך� לא תזר� ש�בי ה. ר בי יאשי� ע שני מינים בכרם, דברי ר ד שיזר יב ע י� מד שאינו ח מללא דך� ”ש� כתיב ן ת� יונ� בי דר עתיה ד ל ע ד. אח� מין אפילו ר: מ א� ן ת� יונ�יא י� בר ים“? ח כלא רמך� ע כ תזר ר ”לא נאמ ר ב� לאיזה ד� ים“, כלא� ע תזרדך� ה ”ש� בי יאשי� עתיה דר ל ד ד. ע יו אפילו מין אח� ל� חמיר ע� מרין: לה א�יא י� בר ים“. ח רמך� כלא ע כ ר ”לא תזר ר נאמ ב� ים“, לאיזה ד� ע כלא� לא תזררמך� לוקה דך� לוקה משום כ יה, שאם התרו בו משום ש� י� תר� מרין לה א�

(ירושלמי כלאים ח, א): The word kilayim (ים ,means mixture. Our pasuk (כלא�

you shall not plant your field with kilayim, forbids planting any two types of seeds together. In Devarim116 the Torah deals with kilayim that applies to a vineyard: You shall not sow your vineyard “with a mixture” (ים .(כלא�

According to one opinion, this means that you shall not add into your vineyard a “mixture” of grain or certain other seeds. In other words, one transgresses this com-mandment only when he plants two types of seeds, which would themselves be a forbidden mixture, in his vineyard.

According to another opinion, one may not plant even



one type of seed in a vineyard. According to this opinion, when the pasuk says you may not plant a “mixture” in your vineyard, it means do not create a mixture by planting the other seed in your vineyard.

This disagreement is based on how to understand the pasuk in Devarim in light of our pasuk. Our pasuk says, you shall not plant your field with mixed seed (kilayim). A vineyard is also a “field,” and is included in this prohibition. Why, then, did the Torah add the pasuk in Devarim, which is a separate commandment singling out a vineyard?

According to the first opinion, that pasuk is simply an additional commandment that applies specifically to a vineyard, so that a person who plants two different types of seeds in his vineyard violates two prohibitions; if he did so intentionally, with proper witness and warning, he would receive two sets of malkus (lashes).

According to the second opinion, had the Torah writ-ten only, you shall not plant your field with kilayim, we would think that the prohibition applies only when some-one “plants kilayim,” meaning that he plants a mixture of seeds in a field with other crops, but not if he plants a single type of seed in a field that already has a different type of crop. The pasuk in Devarim adds that planting even one foreign seed in a vineyard is prohibited. Similarly, planting one seed in a field of any other type is forbidden (Yerushalmi Kilayim 8:1).

ליך עלה ע� טנז לא י� ע� ים ש� And a garment that is — ובגד כלא�a mixture of shaatnez shall not come upon you.

� Three Stepsווי ונוז (נדה סא:): ד שיהיה שוע ט� טנז“ כתיב, ע ע� ”ש�

The Torah forbids us to wear garments made from a blend of wool and linen. Our pasuk calls this mixture טנז ע טנז shaatnez. The word ,ש ע -is actually a combina שtion of three words: ווי ,smoothed (that is, combed) ,שוע ,ט�spun, and נוז, woven. This teaches that the Torah prohibi-tion applies only when the wool and linen fibers are first combed, then spun into thread, and, finally, the wool and linen threads are woven into cloth117 (Niddah 61b).

� Upon, Not Underמים: מרו חכ� ל א� , אב� חתיך� ציעו ת כול לה ה י� ת� ל א ליך“, אב� עלה ע� ”לא י�רו (יומא סט., ביצה יד:, תמיד ל בש� א ע רך לו נימ� א תכ� עשות כן שמ� סור ל א�

כז:, ירושלמי כלאים ט, א):Our pasuk tells us that a garment containing shaatnez,

a mixture of wool and linen, shall not come upon you. This teaches that it is forbidden not only to wear shaatnez but even to drape it “upon” you, for example, to use it as a blanket.118 But it is permitted to spread a shaatnez gar-ment on the ground and lay on it, because then the shaat-nez is not “upon” You.

The Rabbis, however, forbade one from lying on a shaatnez garment, because a small piece of the garment might become wrapped on the skin. If this happens, one violates the shaatnez prohibition, since that piece is “upon” his body (Yoma 69a; Beitzah 14b; Tamid 27b; Yerushalmi Kilayim 9:1).

� On You or Upon You ,“ ליך� עלה ע� א ”לא י נ� חמ� ב ר ת ך צריכי, דאי כ� ני מצר ליך. ה� עלה ע� לא י�ב ת אפילו מוכרי כסות, כ� א, ו נ� חמ� ר ר ס ה א� א� על� ל דרך ה א כ� ה אמינ� הו�ה דאית ביה א דלביש� טנז“ דומי� ע ש ש א (דברים כב, יא) ”לא תלב נ� חמ� רפיש ה דנ� א לביש� וק� א ד ה אמינ� ש“, הו� א ”לא תלב נ� חמ� ב ר ת ה. ואי כ� א� הנ�ד:, (יבמות “ ליך� ע� עלה י ”לא א נ� חמ� ר ב ת כ� לא, ה א� על� ה ל אב� ה, ית� י� הנ�

ירושלמי כלאים ט, א):The prohibition against wearing shaatnez, a mixture of

wool and linen, is written two times in the Torah: Our pa-suk says that a garment of shaatnez shall not come “upon you,” while a pasuk below119 says, You shall not “wear” shaatnez, wool and linen together.

The later pasuk teaches that the prohibition applies only when one is deriving pleasure, such as warmth, from the garment. If the garment is being worn only for some other purpose (for example, to show potential buyers how it looks), then it is not forbidden.

Our pasuk teaches that even if you are not actually “wearing” the garment, but it is just draped “upon you” (like when someone is covered with a blanket), it is in-cluded in the prohibition (Yevamos 4b; Yerushalmi Kilayim 9:1).

117. See Schottenstein Edition, Yevamos 5b note 8. There is, however, a Rabbinic prohibition to wear any mixture of wool and linen, even when these processes were not done. 118. See next discussion. 119. Devarim 22:11.

מקרא. (כ) נחרפת לאיש. מיועדת ומיוחדת לאיש, ואיני יודע� לו דמיון ב�מאורסת לעבד עברי שמותר ת חורין, ה� ענית שחציה שפחה וחציה ב� ובשפחה כנ�בר (תורת כהנים פרק ה, ב; כריתות יא.): והפדה לא נפדתה. כתוב מד� בשפחה, ה�פדויה ואינה פדויה. וסתם פדיון בכסף (תורת כהנים שם ג): או חפשה. בשטר ייבה מיתה, כי לא דבר שלא לח� קר ה� ל בית דין לב� (שם): בקרת תהיה. יש ע�

לקות, תהא בותינו למדו מכאן שהיא במ� שה, ואין קידושיה קידושין גמורין. ור� חפעשות וגו‘, והפלא לוקה ”אם לא תשמור ל� ל ה� לקין קורין ע� מ� יינים ה� ד� בקריאה, שה�כתך וגו‘ (דברים כח, נח-נט): תהיה. היא לוקה ולא הוא (תורת כהנים ה‘ את מ�ייב עליה מיתה, שאין קידושיה שם ד; כריתות שם): כי לא חפשה. לפיכך אין ח�ייב[ין] מיתה (תורת כהנים שם ה): קידושין, הא אם חופשה, קידושיה קידושין וח�

ה וא שפח aע וה ת־זר� ה שכב� ב את־אש י־ישכ� יש כ* א כ ו

א ל ה jחפש או ה ת נפד א ל פדה וה יש לא פת qחר נ9ה: ש חפ/ א כי־ל יומתו א ל ה Pהי ת* בקרת ה Mן־ל נת�

א והיא רע� ת ז א שכב ר ארי ישכוב עם אתת� כ וגבת א אתפריק א ל� ק� ר ואתפר� א לגב א אחיד� מת� אר ה בשט� ת ל אתיהיב א א ל� א או חרות� ספ� בכת: ר ר� א אתח� א יומתון ארי ל� א תהי ל� בקרת�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כ 484 / ספר ויקרא


20 If a man lies carnally with a woman, and she is a slavewoman who has been designat-

ed for another man, and who has not been redeemed, nor has freedom been granted her;

there shall be an investigation — they shall not be put to death, for she has not been freed.

Shifchah charufah/

Designated maidservant

120. See previous discussion. 121. See Schottenstein Edition, 75b note 19. 122. Kares is premature death; a fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 123. A Jewish “slave” is actually a bondsman, a servant whose services are purchased for a period of six years. He is not the property of the purchaser, there are limitations on the types of work he may be given to do, in certain ways he must be treated like a member of the purchaser’s household, and he must be given severance at the end of his term of service. Unlike a regular Jew, a bondsman is permitted to marry a Canaanite slavewoman (see Shemos 21:4). 124. Normally, adultery is punished with kares (if there were no witnesses) or with execution (if there were witnesses and he was warned). Here, however, the marriage of a slavewoman to a Hebrew bondsman is not a real marriage, and therefore these punishments do not apply. See below, “Not Completely Free.” See also Schottenstein edition, note 41. 125. See above, 18:29 “From the Start.” 126. See previous discussion. 127. See Schottenstein Edition, note 5. 128. See note 122. 129. See note 123.

� The Whole Thing Is Shaatnezר ה ב ניח� בי “? ר ליך� עלה ע� י ר ”לא נאמ ר ב� זה ד� לאי ליך. עלה ע� י� לא ים תו יש בו כלא דול קצ� ה בגד ג� י� א: שאם ה� בי זעיר� ן בשם ר נ� בי יוח� ה ר ב� ס�שני (ירושלמי כלאים ט, ד ה סה בו מצ תו אין בו לא יכ רץ ומקצ� א� ומונ�ח ב�

א):Our pasuk tells us that a garment of shaatnez may not

be “upon” a person, meaning, he may not drape it over his body to get pleasure from it (for example, to use it as a blanket).120

The wording of the pasuk is ליך� עלה ע� literally, shall ,לא יnot go up upon you. The pasuk could have simply said that the garment shall not go up, and it obviously means that it may not go up on a person. Why does the pasuk say, upon you ( ליך� ?(ע�

It teaches that no part of the garment may be upon you, even if that part of the garment does not contain shaatnez. For example, if a large garment has shaatnez at one end and not on the other, one may not place the part with the shaatnez on the ground, and cover oneself with the other part. The reason is that once part of a garment has shaat-nez, the entire thing is considered shaatnez121 (Yerushalmi Kilayim 9:1).

ע .20 ת זר� ה שכב� ב את אש� If a man lies — ואיש כי ישכ�carnally with a woman.

� Is the Beginning Enough?The Torah forbids a man from having relations with cer-

tain women. In some cases, the punishment for such an act is kares (premature death122), but in other cases the punishment is only malkus (lashes).ן? ל� מנ� אוין ל יבי י� דח ה א� ער� ה ע. זר� ת שכב� ה אש� את ב ישכ� כי ואיש אוין ל יבי י� דח ל מכל� ה, חרופ� ה שפח� בי ג ע“ זר ת ”שכב א נ� חמ� ר לי מדג

ה (יבמות נה.): א� ער� בהOur pesukim deal with a shifchah charufah, a “desig-

nated” slavewoman. This is a Canaanite slavewoman who is married to a Hebrew bondsman.123 If another man has relations with such a woman, he violates a negative com-mandment, but is not liable to kares.124 Instead, he must bring an asham (guilt offering).

We learned elsewhere125 that with regard to relations

forbidden by kares, even starting the prohibited act is pun-ishable.

Our pasuk describes the punishable act as ע זר ת ,שכבliterally, cohabitation of seed. This teaches that he is obli-gated in an asham only if he does a complete act with her, not if he only starts the act.

However, the Torah specifies that the act must be com-pleted only with regard to a shifchah charufah, which is unique in that the person brings an asham. This teaches us that regarding all forbidden relationships where the pun-ishment is malkus, one is liable for even starting the act (Yevamos 55a).

� Not Just a Manיין? ה מנ אוי לביא� ד שר� נים ויום אח� ע ש� א איש, בן תש ”איש“, אין לי אל�

ר ”ואיש“ (סנהדרין סט.): למוד לומ תOur pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a slavewoman married to a Jewish “slave,”126 he must bring an asham offering.

Our pasuk begins with the word ואיש, literally, and a man,

indicating that this applies only to an adult. The prefix vav

and, seems extra. It teaches that even a 9-year-old boy ,(ו)— who is not yet a man — is included in the law of shifchah

charufah. Although a boy under 13 does not usually get punished, if he cohabits with a shifchah charufah he must bring an asham127 (Sanhedrin 69a).

� Each and Every OneIf a person mistakenly transgresses a kares-level prohi-

bition128 — such as doing melachah (forbidden labor) on Shabbos — he must atone for his sin by bringing a chatas (sin offering). If he commits the same sin many times due to the same error, he still only brings one chatas to atone for his one error. If, however, he violated the prohibition, and then realized that the act was forbidden, and then again forgot and committed the same sin, that is a new error, and he is required to bring a second chatas. Addi-tionally, if his error led him to violate several prohibitions, he must bring a separate chatas for each one.

We now discuss how this applies to the laws of an asham

(guilt offering) brought for relations with a shifchah charu-

fah, a slavewoman married to a Jewish slave.129



קין? ה גופין מוחל� בי שפח� ן דג ל� ע. ומנ� ת זר� ה שכב� ב את אש� ואיש כי ישכ�ל ל כ� לק ע ה“ (לעיל יח, יט), לח יות ”ואל אש� בי ער� רת ג מ או א� ר ליה, ל מ א�ע והיא ת זר ה שכב ב את אש� מי כתיב ”כי ישכ ה נ בי שפח� ה, ג ה ואש� אש�

ה (כריתות ט.־:): ה ושפח� ל שפח� ל כ� לק ע ה“, לח שפח�If a man had relations with a shifchah charufah, inten-

tionally or by mistake, he must bring an asham. If he did so many times, he must bring only one asham. However, if he mistakenly lived with several shifchos charufos, even if he did not know about the prohibition in between, he brings an asham for each woman he lived with.

Our pasuk says, If a man lies carnally with a woman, “and she is a slavewoman” who has been designated for (married to) another man. The pasuk could have sim-ply said, If a man lies carnally with a woman who has been designated for another man, and who has not been redeemed, nor has freedom been granted her, making it clear that she is a slavewoman. The extra words “and she is a slavewoman” teach that the man is liable sepa-rately for each slavewoman with whom he lives (Kereisos 9a-b).

� Exclusionsייבי מיח דלא ה חרופ� ה בשפח� ה רכ� כד שלא גומר שו ע� ע. זר� ת שכב�ה בשפח� ה רכ� כד שלא וין מתכ כתיב; ע“ זר ת ד“שכב ה, רכ� כד רה כמע�ה רכ� כד שלא ניעור כתיב; ע“ זר ת ד“שכב וין, מתכ כאינו דפטורין

ע“ כתיב (כריתות יא:): ת זר א? ד“שכב עמ� אי ט שן, מ ה דפטורין כי� בשפח�Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,130 he must bring an asham (guilt offering).

Our pasuk describes this act as ע זר ת -literally, co ,שכבhabitation of seed. We learn from here that if a man lives with a shifchah charufah in an unnatural manner, or he does it without any intention131 or while sleeping, he is ex-empt from an asham, since all these acts are not cohabita-tion of seed (Kereisos 11b).

ה נחרפת לאיש And she is a slavewoman — והיא שפח�who has been designated for another man.

� A Kind of Marriageר ”והיא תי מקודשת, שנאמ אומר חרופ� ה נחרפת לאיש. ה� והיא שפח�

ה נחרפת לאיש“ (קידושין ו.): שפח�Our pesukim teach the law that if a man has relations

with a slavewoman who has been “necherefes” (נחרפת), designated, for another man (a Jewish slave132) he must bring an asham (guilt offering). According to one opinion, the pasuk discusses a slavewoman who was partially freed

by her owner,133 and thus is eligible to be “married” on some level.134

When a man performs kiddushin (betrothal)135 with a woman, he must tell her, “Behold, you are married to me,” or some other statement showing that he wants to marry her. According to the above opinion, if a man said to a reg-ular woman, “You are my charufah,” the kiddushin takes effect. This is because the word charufah comes from the same root as necherefes, which is used in our pasuk to describe a kind of “marriage” (Kiddushin 6a).

� Another Meaningה ה בעול� ל שפח� א ע יב אל� י� ם אינו ח ה נחרפת לאיש. לעול� והיא שפח�אי דה ע שמ מ אי ומ לאיש“, נחרפת ה שפח� ”והוא ר שנאמ ד, בלב�יו ל� ע� ח תשט ”ו יט) יז, (שמואל־ב דכתיב הוא נויי דש א נ� ליש� ”נחרפת“ עלי“ ריפות ב כתש בתוך ה� מ א, (משלי כז, כב) ”ב עית אימ� רפות“. ואי ב� ה�

(כריתות יא.):תירגם בגט. . . ה יוצא� ה] [שאינ� א פשיט� לאיש. נחרפת ה שפח� והיא ה בכתוש� לאיש“, נחרפת ה שפח� ”והיא ה: עקיב� בי לפני ר גר ס ה עקילרפות“. ה� יו ל� ע� ח תשט ”ו יט) יז, (שמואל־ב ר אמ ת דא ה כמ� איש, לפני שמעון בי ר בי ר ז� לע� בי ר ה פירש� כן ן: נ� יוח� בי ר בשם יה חי� בי ר ר מ א�ה איש, כמ� לפני ה בכתוש� לאיש“, נחרפת ה ”והיא שפח� מים, לפני חכ�קידושין (ירושלמי עלי“ ב ריפות בתוך ה� כתש מ ”ב כז, כב) (משלי ר דתימ

א, א):Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,136 he must bring an asham (guilt offering).

Our pasuk describes a shifchah charufah as “necherefes” .designated, for another man (a Jewish slave) ,(נחרפת)

The word necherefes also has another meaning. A pa-suk137 tells us, and she scattered some “harifos” (רפות (ה�crushed grain, upon it. Since the word necherefes has the same root as harifos, it includes a reference to something being crushed or undergoing some physical change. Ac-cording to one opinion, this teaches that the law of shif-chah charufah applies only where the slavewoman was physically “changed”; that is, she already had relations with another man before the current man.138 But if she never had relations with anybody up until this point, the law of shifchah charufah does not apply.

Another opinion learns from here that although a hus-band usually divorces his wife with a get (bill of divorce), the “husband” of a shifchah charufah cannot divorce his wife with a get. Since the Torah describes her as necherefes, the Torah is telling us that the nature of her relationship to her “husband” is only with regard to having relations, but she is not truly married to him.139 Since there is no real

130. See note 123. 131. See Schottenstein Edition, Kereisos 11a note 48. 132. See note 123. 133. See below, “Who Is a Shifchah Charufah?” 134. A Canaanite slavewoman (or slave) cannot become legally married. Here, since she has been partially freed, that part is theoretically eligible for marriage. See Schottenstein Edition, note 12. 135. A Jewish marriage is performed in two stages. The first stage is called kiddushin, or erusin, and it is typically performed by the man giving the woman money or something else of value, and declaring, “Behold, you are married to me.” The second stage is called nisuin, at which time the couple begin to live together as man and wife. 136. See note 123. 137. II Shmuel 17:19. 138. There is some discussion about whether this means that she already had relations with the slave for whom she was designated, or it means relations with any man; see Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, Kereisos 11a note 20. 139. Marriage does not take effect in a Canaanite slave or slavewoman. Since a shifchah charufah is at least a half-slave, she cannot become married in the classic sense, but is merely “designated” to her husband (see Schottenstein Edition, Yerushalmi Kiddushin 5a note 26).



140. See note 123. 141. The pasuk is saying that the slavewoman is partially freed, since she redeemed herself partially with money, and was not freed (completely) through any other method (i.e., a document). 142. See note 25. 143. Devarim 24:1. 144. See previous discussion. 145. See note 123. 146. That is, she did not receive a release document that would have freed her completely. 147. See note 25. 148. Devarim 24:1.

marriage, a get cannot work (Kereisos 11a; Yerushalmi Kid-dushin 1:1).

ה ן ל� ה לא נת� ה או חפש� ת� פדה לא נפד� And who has not — וה�been redeemed, nor has freedom been granted her.

� Two Waysלמוד כל, ת כול ל פדה“, י� ה. ”וה� ן ל� ה לא נת� ה או חפש� ת� פדה לא נפד� וה�פדה“. ר ”וה� למוד לומ כל, ת כול ל ה, י� ת� ה“. אי לא נפד� ת� ר ”לא נפד� לומא בכסף, וה כסף. ואין לי אל� ה בכסף ובש� ה פדוי� ה ואינ� ד? פדוי� א כיצ ה�ה“, ן ל� ה לא נת ה או חפש� ת� פדה לא נפד� ר ”וה� למוד לומ ין? ת ר מנ בשט�ן ל� לה ה מ א), כד, (דברים כריתת“ ספר ה ל� ב ת ”וכ� אומר הוא ן ל� ולה

ר (גיטין מא:): אן בשט� ף כ ר א בשט�Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,140 he must bring an asham (guilt offering). The pasuk here says about this slavewoman, לא פדה וה�ה ת� -literally, and she was redeemed, she was not re ,נפד�

deemed, indicating that she was redeemed partially but not fully. “Redeeming” means that she pays the owner money in exchange for her freedom. So we see that a Canaanite slave can go free through paying money to the owner.

A second way to free a Canaanite slave is by the owner giving him a document that sets him free. This is learned from the continuation of our pasuk, ה ן ל� ה לא נת nor ,או חפש�

has freedom been granted her.141 We learn from a gezeirah

shavah142 that this “freedom” refers to being freed through a document: The pasuk here uses the word “her” (ה ,(ל�and the Torah says regarding the law of divorce,143 and

he wrote to “her” (ה a bill of divorce. This teaches that (ל�just as that pasuk refers to divorcing through a document (a get), our pasuk also refers to freeing the slavewoman through a document (Gittin 41b).

� Half FreeThere are two ways to free a Canaanite slave or slave-

woman: The slave can redeem himself by paying the owner or the owner can give him a document of release.144

בי בדו, ר חרר חצי ע מש ה. ה ן ל� ה לא נת� ה או חפש� ת� נפד� פדה לא וה�בי ר, דר חלוקת בשט ה: מ ב� ר ר מ ה. א� נ� מים אומרים: לא ק� חכ� ה, ו נ� אומר: ק�לכסף, ר קיש שט� ה“, מ ן ל� נת ה לא חפש� ה או ת� נפד� פדה לא ”וה� ר: ב ס�ן נ� ב� ור חציו; בין כולו בין מי נ ר שט� ף א חציו, בין כולו בין כסף ה מעבד ף א לא, ה חצי� ה אש� ה מ� ה, מאש� א) כד, (דברים ה“ ”ל� ה“ ”ל� מרי ג�ב ור ה. . . פדוי� ה ואינ� ה פדוי� ה, נ� ק� כל ,דברי ה בכסף ל אב� לא; חציו מי נה פדוי� ה“, ת� נפד� לא פדה ”וה� ר: ב ס� בי דר בכסף, חלוקת מ ר: מ א� יוסף ר בשט� ל אב� ם, ד� א� בני כלשון ה תור� ה דבר� ברי: ס� ן נ� ב� ור ה, פדוי� ה ואינ�דין בכסף ר והוא ה ב יוסף: פליגי בשט� ך ר ר ל� מ ה. . . א� נ� כל לא ק� דברי ה

(גיטין מא:):If the owner frees only half his slave, there is a disagree-

ment whether the slave is indeed half-freed or the slave is not freed at all. There are three approaches as to where the disagreement applies.

According to one approach, all agree that half the slave can purchase part of his freedom by paying the owner part of his redemption price, and the disagreement is whether this can be done through a document.

Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,145 he must bring an asham (guilt offer-ing). The pasuk here says about this slavewoman פדה וה�ה ת� נפד� literally, and she was redeemed, she was not ,לא redeemed, indicating that she was redeemed partially but not fully. “Redeeming” means that the slavewoman pays money in order to be freed. So we see that she can be partially freed through money.

The pasuk then continues, ה ן ל� נת ה לא חפש� nor has ,או freedom been granted her, meaning that she did not re-ceive a document of release.146 This approach holds that since the pasuk mentions freeing through redemption together with freeing through a document, we learn one from the other. Just as a slave can be redeemed partially through money, he can also be freed partially through a document.

The second opinion learns from a gezeirah shavah147 that a document does not work to free partially. Our pasuk says that freedom has not been granted “her” (ה When .(ל�the Torah discusses a man divorcing his wife,148 it also uses the word “her”: and he wrote to “her” (ה a bill of (ל�divorce. The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as a woman cannot be partially divorced, a slave cannot be partially freed through a document.

According to the second approach of the disagreement, all agree that a document cannot free a slave partially, based on the gezeirah shavah from the laws of divorce. The disagreement is whether redemption through money works to free a slave partially.

One opinion maintains that the words ה ת� נפד� פדה לא ,וה�she was redeemed, she was not redeemed, means that she was redeemed partially but not fully, as explained earlier. The second opinion understands that the pasuk repeats the term “redeemed” as a style of speaking, but it does not teach any lesson. Accordingly, the true intention of the pasuk lies in the words ה ת� ,she was not redeemed ,לא נפד�meaning that she was not redeemed at all.

The third approach to the disagreement understands the disagreement as applying to any type of freedom, whether by money or through a document. One opinion then holds that the words, she was redeemed, she was not redeemed, mean that she was partially redeemed. And since freedom through a document is mentioned in the same pasuk, a document can also be used to free a slave partially. The second opinion holds that she was redeemed, she was not redeemed is a style of speaking, and it means that she was not redeemed at all. Therefore, she cannot be partially



redeemed using money, and certainly not with a document (Gittin 41b).

� Similar to a Womanל ה, כ� יב ב� י� ה עבד ח ייבת ב� ה ח אש� ה שה� ל מצו� ה. כ� ן ל� ה לא נת� או חפש�ה“ ”ל� ה“, ”ל� ר מ דג� ה, יב ב� י� עבד ח אין ה� ה ייבת ב� ה ח אש� שאין ה� ה מצו�

ה (חגיגה ד.): (דברים כד, א) מאש�ר מ בי א� מרו לפני ר בי יהושע בן לוי: א� ר ר מ ה. דא� ן ל� ה לא נת� או חפש�א ה אל� נ� ק� הם אומר אני אין לו ת ר ל� מ הו? א� בדי מ שתי מפלוני ע יא נתי�ה (גיטין ה” מאש� ה” ”ל� ר ”ל� מ בי? ג� א דר עמ� אי ט ן: מ נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ ר. וא� בשט�

לט:).ה ה. . .. ”או חפש� רים צריכין שיהו לשמ� ה דב� ה. שלש� ן ל� ה לא נת� או חפש�

ה“ (ירושלמי סוטה ב, ב): ן ל� לא נתOur pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,149 he must bring an asham (guilt offer-ing).

Our pasuk describes the slavewoman as one who has not been redeemed, or freedom has not been granted “her” (ה When the Torah discusses a man divorcing his .(ל�wife,150 it also uses the word “her”: and he wrote to “her” ה) a bill of divorce. We learn from a gezeirah shavah that (ל�a Canaanite slave (and slavewoman) is compared to an ordinary Jewish woman with regard to mitzvos. Thus, a Canaanite slave is obligated in all mitzvos that apply to a Jewish woman, but is exempt from all other mitzvos (Cha-gigah 4a).151

We also learn another law from this gezeirah shavah. A slave or slavewoman can be freed with a document.152 The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as a document of divorce must be written for the sake of the woman being divorced (lishmah), so too, a document used to release a Canaanite slave must be written for the sake of that slave (Gittin 39b).

There is an additional lesson as well: If a husband says his wife is “ownerless,” another man may not marry her unless he gives her a divorce document. According to some, the gezeirah shavah teaches that if an owner gives up ownership of his slave, while the slave no longer has any obligation to him, the slave may still not get married until the owner gives him a document freeing him. He may not marry a slavewoman because he is somewhat free, but he may not marry a Jewish woman because he is still partially a slave (Yerushalmi Sotah 2:2).

ה ש� כי לא חפ� תו יומ� ה. . .לא ן ל� נת� ה לא ה או חפש� ת� נפד� פדה לא וה�— And who has not been redeemed, nor has freedom been granted her… they shall not be put to death, for

she has not been freed.

� Who Is a Shifchah Charufah?ה. ש� תו כי לא חפ� ה. . .לא יומ� ן ל� ה לא נת� ה או חפש� ת� פדה לא נפד� וה�חורין, ת ב ה וחצי� ה שפח� ה שחצי� כל ה]? [חרופ� ה שפח� היא איזו עאל אומר: זו בי ישמ� א. ר בי עקיב� ה“, דברי ר ת� פדה לא נפד� ר ”וה� שנאמ

ה“, ת� ר: ”לא נפד� למוד לומ ה? ת כול כול� פדה“ י� אית. . . ”וה� ד� ה ו היא שפח�ה ואינ� ה פדוי� ד? כיצ א ה� פדה“. ”וה� ר לומ למוד ת ה? ת� נפד� לא כול י�בי ת חורין ומאורסת לעבד עברי, דברי ר יה ב ה וחצי� ה שפח� ה, חצי� פדוי�בר ומאורסת תוב מד כ� ענית ה כנ ה בשפח� עאל אומר: ישמ� בי א; ר עקיב�ה ה תור� ה“? דבר� ת� פדה לא נפד� ר ”וה� למוד לומ ה ת לעבד עברי, אם כן מה ה“, בשפח� ש� ם. . . אחרים אומרים: ”לא יומתו כי לא חפ� ד� כלשון בני א�ני ת� דק� עאל. . . ישמ� בי לר עני. כנ לעבד ומאורסת בר מד תוב כ� ענית ה כנש. ל דהוא חופ ה“, מכל ש� ן? דכתיב ”כי לא חפ� ל� מאורסת לעבד עברי מנ�יך ות� כו� א למ� בע� לדידי ר, מ א� ק� עאל ישמ� בי לר ה. . . רי� עז בן ר ז� אלע� בי רכתיב מכדי אני, ש א כ� וה� ם, ד� א� בני כלשון ה תור� ה דדבר� ליה א סביר�ה מינ� ע שמ לי? ה מ� ל� ה“ ת� נפד� לא פדה ”וה� ה“, ש� חפ� לא ”כי א קר� ליה פדה א ”וה� מ� אחרים בשל� ת חורין. ל ה ב ה וחצי� ה שפח� א לחצי� ת� כי א� לה�דעבד א ה� א אל� ם, ד� א� בני כלשון ה תור� ה דבר� בר[י] ס� ק� ה“ ת� נפד� לא ן ה תנהו עני� ן לדיד� ה“ אם אינו עני� ש� א ”כי לא חפ� ר קר� מ ן? א� ל� עני מנ� כנ

לדידיה (כריתות יא.):Our pesukim teach the law of a shifchah charufah.

The basic definition of a shifchah charufah is a Canaan-ite slavewoman who is “designated” (married) to a man. If another man has relations with her he must bring an asham (guilt offering).

There are various opinions as to the exact identity of a shifchah charufah.

R’ Akiva: It refers to a slavewoman who is half-slave and half-free,153 and is married to a Jewish slave.154 He learns this from our pasuk, which says, ה ת� פדה לא נפד� ,literally ,וה�and she was redeemed, she was not redeemed, meaning that half of her was redeemed but not the other half.

R’ Yishmael: A shifchah charufah is a slavewoman that was not redeemed at all, and is married to a Jewish slave. R’ Yishmael understands that the pasuk is repeating the term “redeemed” as a style of speaking, but the true inten-tion of the pasuk lies in the words ה ת� she was not ,לא נפד�redeemed.

He knows that the slavewoman is married to a Jewish slave from the end of the pasuk, which says, for “she” has not been freed. This indicates that the man to whom she is married is “freed”; he is a Jewish slave who is “freed” automatically after six years.155

R’ Elazar ben Azaryah: A shifchah charufah is a slave-woman who is half-slave half-free, and is married to a Jewish slave (similar to R’ Akiva’s view). R’ Elazar agrees with R’ Yishmael that in general, the Torah does repeat words as a style of speaking. Here, however, the phrase, and she was redeemed, she was not redeemed, cannot be stylistic, because the end of the pasuk — for she has not been freed — already tells us that. Rather, it must mean that half of her was redeemed and the other half was not redeemed.

An anonymous opinion: A shifchah charufah is a slave-woman who was not redeemed at all, and is married to a Canaanite slave, not a Jewish one. This opinion holds that the phrase and she was redeemed, she was not redeemed, is using a manner of speech and means only that she was

149. See note 123. 150. Devarim 24:1. 151. See Schottenstein Edition, note 24. 152. See above, “Two Ways.” 153. For ex-ample, the owner gave her a document stating that half of her is free, or she gave money to the owner to free half of herself. See above, “Half Free.” 154. See note 123. 155. See Shemos 21:2.



156. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is im eino inyan legufo, teneihu inyan l’davar acheir (ן אם אינו עני�חר ר א ב� ן לד� ,If a certain law cannot be applied exactly as written in the Torah (because, as in our case, it is already known) .(לגופו תנהו עני�we apply the law to a similar case. 157. See note 123. 158. See Schottenstein Edition, note 13. 159. The Torah sets the number of lashes at thirty-nine. However, the court examines the person to see if he can survive this amount of lashes, and if he cannot, they give him a smaller amount of lashes, according to what he can handle. 160. See note 123. 161. See previous discussion. 162. See note 123.

not redeemed. According to this, the words, for she has not been freed are extra, and actually refer to the husband of the shifchah charufah, telling us that he is a Canaanite slave who has not been freed156 (Kereisos 11a).

See chart below for a summary of the various opinions.

.There shall be an investigation — בקרת תהיה

� Her Punishmentר לומ למוד ת לוקין? שניהן כול י� ה. לוק� שהיא מד מל תהיה. בקרת א נ� ליש� ”בקרת“ דין דה� ין ומנ לוקה. אינו והוא ה לוק� היא ”תהיה“, ינין י� ד ה גדול א, ני� כדת ה, בקריא� תהא ק: יצח� בי ר ר מ א� הוא? לקות דמתהיה, בביקור אומר: שי א ב ר כהו. ה אומר שלישי מונה, שני קרא, מ

לש (כריתות יא.): ראוין להשת כות ה� א מ ן, אין אומדין אותו אל� כדתנOur pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,157 he must bring an asham (guilt offering).

The pasuk here says about the shifchah charuah — בקרת literally, she shall be “bikores.” The word bikores hints ,תהיהat malkus (lashes), teaching that the shifchah charufah is punished with malkus.

How does bikores hint at malkus?One opinion says that bikores is similar to the word

kriah, reading. When the court gives a person malkus, the judges read certain pesukim from the Torah.158

A second opinion says that bikores is derived from the word bikkur, which means examination. This refers to mal-kus, because before giving a person this punishment, the judges examine the person to see how many lashes he can withstand.159

The pasuk says, “she” shall be bikores, to teach that only the shifchah charufah herself receives lashes. The man who cohabited with her is not punished with lashes; he must only bring an asham (Kereisos 11a).

� Ladies Firstה ה לוק� אש� ן, אין ה� רב� איש מביא ק� ה, ה� ה לוק� אש� ן שה� בקרת תהיה. בזמאת ב ישכ כי ”ואיש דכתיב א: ב� ר� ר מ ן? א� ל� מנ� ן, רב� ק� מביא איש ה� אין

או ה ת� נפד� לא פדה וה� לאיש נחרפת ה שפח� והוא ע זר ת שכב ה אש�נכתוב א, קר� עי משת� א ק� באיש א כ� ה� ד ע מכדי, ה“. ל� ן נת לא ה חפש�אי מ סוף לכתוב ”בקרת תהיה“? א ה‘ ” (פסוק כא), ולב מו ל ”והביא את אש�מו אש� את ”והביא ב ת כ� סוף ולב תהיה“, ”בקרת א בריש� א נ� חמ� ר ב ת כ�ה‘, ואם לא מו ל ר, אם בקרת תהיה היא, והביא את אש� מ א� כי ק� ה‘ ”? ה� ל

מו (כריתות יא.): תהיה בקרת לא י�ביא הוא את אש�Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,160 he must bring an asham (guilt offering), and the slavewoman is punished with malkus.

The law of malkus is learned from our pasuk, she shall be “bikores,” which hints at malkus.161 The next pasuk teaches the asham obligation: He shall bring his guilt offer-ing to Hashem. This seems out of order, because our pasuk begins, If a “man” lies carnally with a woman, etc. So the Torah should first have said the man’s penalty — he shall bring a guilt offering, and then the woman’s — she shall be “bikores.” By saying the law of the woman first, the Torah teaches that only if she shall be “bikores,” then, he shall bring a guilt offering; but if she is not “bikores,” i.e., she does not get malkus, then the man does not have to bring a guilt offering.

If for some reason the shifchah charufah does not get malkus — if she sinned by mistake, for example — the man does not bring an asham (Kereisos 11a).

ה ש� ,They shall not be put to death — לא יומתו כי לא חפ�for she has not been freed.

� Not Completely Freeלמוד ה, ת ר גומר ב� ה כדרך ששט� כול יהא כסף גומר ב� ה. י� ש� כי לא חפ�ה“, ש� חפ� ל“לא ה כול� ה ש� ר� פ� ה ל כ� ה אורע� ה“, ת� נפד� לא פדה ”וה� ר לומ

ה (גיטין לט:): כסף גומר ב� ה, ואין ה ר גומר ב� , שט� ר לך� לומOur pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,162 he must bring an asham (guilt offering), and the slavewoman is punished with malkus.


R’ Akiva R’ Yishmael R’ Elazar ben Azaryah Anonymous opinion

ה ת� פדה לא נפד� she ,וה�was redeemed, she was not redeemed

A shifchah charufah is a slavewoman who is half redeemed, half not redeemed.

A shifchah charufah is a totally unredeemed slavewoman; the Torah is using this stylistically.

This is an extra phrase to teach that a shifchah charufah is half redeemed, half not redeemed.

A shifchah charufah is a totally unredeemed slavewoman; the Torah is using this stylistically.

ה ש� for she has ,כי לא חפ�not been freed

Not extra A shifchah charufah is married to a man who is “freed” — a Jewish bondsman who goes free after six years.

This gives the basic definition of a shif-chah charufah — an unfreed slavewoman.

A shifchah charufah is married to a man who has not been freed — a Canaanite slave.


The pasuk here tells us that although adultery is gener-ally punished with execution, in our case, they shall not be put to death, for she has not been freed. That is, since she is a Canaanite slave who was not freed from slavery, her marriage to the Jewish slave was not a halachic “mar-riage,” and there is no death penalty.

There are two ways that a Canaanite slave (or slave-woman) can be freed: He can redeem himself with money, or the owner can give him a document of release. The pasuk earlier discussed these two methods of freedom in relation to a shifchah charufah. It says, and she was re-deemed, she was not redeemed, meaning, she was partially redeemed with money but not completely, nor freedom — a document of release — has been granted her.163

According to this, when the end of the pasuk says, they shall not be put to death, for she has not been “freed,” it means that she was not freed through a document. The pasuk, however, does not mention anything about her not being “redeemed,” as it did earlier.

One opinion learns from this that redemption does not free her fully; even if she had been redeemed fully, she would not be put to death. The reason is that freedom through money helps only to free her from her obligations to the owner, but she is still considered a slave with regard to the laws of marriage. Therefore, even if she was fully redeemed with money, her marriage to the Jewish slave is invalid and there is no death penalty, and the laws of our passage apply (Gittin 39b).

� The Spreading Marriageה דש� שנתק חורין ת ב ה וחצי� ה שפח� ה חצי� ה. ש� חפ� לא כי יומתו לא ב ר ר מ א� א זיר� בי ר לשמעון. . . ה דש� ונתק ה זר� וח� ה חרר� ונשת לראובן, א, בר� מסת דידי ותיה כו� א: זיר� בי ר ר מ א� ראשון, קדושי מרו ג� ן: חמ� נליה ר מ א� יומתו. ה ש� חפ� א ה� ה“, ש� חפ� לא כי יומתו ”לא דכתיב

ה (גיטין מג:): דש� ה ונתק זר� ה וח� ש� יי. . . שחופ� ב אA Canaanite slave or slavewoman cannot be legally

married. If a Canaanite slave was partially freed, and a Jew married her, only the part of her that is free becomes

married (at most).164 Since she is not fully married, if she commits adultery with another man, she is not executed.

According to one opinion, though, if the owner then freed the slavewoman completely, the marriage automati-cally “spreads” to all of her, and she is now fully married to the Jew.

This is learned from our pasuk. It discusses a shifchah charufah, a partially freed slavewoman who was married to a Jewish slave.165 It tells us that if another man had relations with her, they shall not be put to death, for she “has not been freed.” We learn from this that if the owner had freed her completely, and then she lived with another man, they would be put to death. The reason is that since half of her was married to the slave, now that she is freed the marriage spreads to all of her, and she is fully married to the Jewish slave.

According to another opinion, the pasuk means to ex-clude a case where she remarried the Jewish slave after she was set free. In such a case, her marriage is certainly valid, and she is put to death for adultery. But if she did not remarry the slave, her original marriage does not spread to the rest of her (Gittin 43b).

ם .22 ש� א� כהן באיל ה� יו ה� ל� The Kohen shall — וכפר ע�provide him atonement with the ram of the

guilt offering.

� Minimum ValueOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the


ר ”באיל“ (לעיל ה, טז), ”באיל“ (זבחים מח.): מ ם. ג� ש� א� באיל ה�Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

163. See above, “Two Ways.” 164. Others say she cannot get married at all; see Schottenstein Edition, note 4. 165. See above, “Who Is a Shifchah Charufah?”

שוגג כ� מזיד ה� את בות לר� חטא. אשר טאתו מח� לו ח ונסל� (כב) מתם אטימתו. אט� לתם ערלתו. ו� ער� (תורת כהנים שם ז; כריתות ט.): (כג) ו�ערלים. לכם יהיה שנים שלש ממנו: מליהנות ונסתם אטום יהא

אם יכול ג). ג, פרשתא כהנים (תורת נטיעתו ת משע� לו, מונה י מאימת�יהא הוייתו ב� ”יהיה“, ר לומ� למוד ת� מותר, יהא שנים שלש ר ח� לא� הצניעו

(שם ד):

ם: ש/ יל א Oד א Zהל מוע ח א ת� יהוה אל־פ- Bמו ל יא את־אש aכא והב

אתו ט ל־ח� ע� יהוה י eלפנ ם ש א יל ה/ gבא ן כה ה� יו ל ע כב וכפר

א: פ ט/ ר ח אתו אש� ט ח� ח לו מ3 hא ונסל Mט ר ח qאשם לת� ער� Bל ו אכ Bץ מ eל־ע עתם כ רץ ונט� א באו אל־ה י־ת שלישי כג וכ*

ל: כ3 א א י3 ים ל ם ערל! Pכ ה ל הי� נים י* ש ש ל תו את־פריו ש ערל

ע לתר יי� ם קד� שמה א ת י� יתי כא וי

ר פ כב ויכ א: מ� אש� ר ל א דכ זמנ� ן שכ מם א קד� מ� אש� א ד א בדכר� הנ� עלוהי כלה וישתבק ב ח� די חובתה ל ע יי� תעלון ארי כג ו ב: ח� די מחובתה ל דמיכ ן אל ל כ� ותצבון א רע� לאת שנין ת אבה תל א י� ק� ח� חקון ר� ותרא יתאכל: א ל� ד� אב� ק ל ח� יהי לכון מר�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כא־כג 490 / ספר ויקרא


21 He shall bring his asham offering to HASHEM, to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, a ram

guilt offering. 22 The Kohen shall provide him atonement with the ram of the guilt offer-

ing before HASHEM for his sin that he had sinned; and his sin that he had sinned shall be

forgiven him.

23 When you shall come to the Land and you shall plant any food tree, you shall treat its

fruit as forbidden; for three years they shall be forbidden to you, they shall not be eaten.

166. See note 123. 167. 5:16. 168. Pasuk 15 there. 169. See note 123.

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,166 he must bring an asham (guilt offering). The pasuk here says, the Kohen shall provide him atone-ment, “be’ail” (באיל), with the ram of the guilt offering.

The Torah earlier167 uses the term “be’ail” (באיל) with regard to a different asham offering, and says168 that its value must be [two] silver shekels. We learn from a gezei-rah shavah that just as the asham discussed there must be worth two shekalim, the asham mentioned in our pasuk must also be worth that amount (Zevachim 48a).

אתו אשר ט� ח לו מח� א ונסל� ט� אתו אשר ח� ט� ל ח� כהן. . .ע� יו ה� ל� וכפר ע�א ט� The Kohen shall provide him atonement…for — ח�his sin that he had sinned; and the sin that he had

sinned shall be forgiven him.

� Many Sins, One Offeringד ן אח� רב� מד שמביא ק� א, מל ט� אתו אשר ח� ט� ל ח� כהן. . .ע� יו ה� ל� וכפר ע�מזיד עשות ל א“, ט� ח� אשר אתו ט� מח לו ח ”ונסל רבה, ה עבירות ל ע

כשוגג (כריתות ט.):Our pesukim teach that if a man has relations with a

shifchah charufah, a Canaanite slavewoman married to a Jewish slave,169 he must bring an asham (guilt offering). Our pasuk tells us that this offering will atone for “his sin that he had sinned.” The pasuk could have simply said that he will be atoned for his sin. The extra words that he sinned teach that even if he lived with the shifchah charu-fah many times, he still brings only one asham offering for all his sins.

The pasuk continues, his sin that he had sinned shall be forgiven him. This phrase is repetitive, since the pasuk already mentioned that he will be atoned for his sin that he had sinned. It teaches that whether he sinned with the shifchah charufah intentionally or unintentionally, he must bring an asham (Kereisos 9a).

תו את פריו .23 רל� לתם ע� ער� ל ו� אכ� ל עץ מ� עתם כ� And you — ונט�shall plant any food tree, you shall treat its fruit as

forbidden.


ה רל� מצוה רמו: של א לאכל ע�Mitzvah 246: The Prohibition to Eat Orlah

We are forbidden to eat or benefit from orlah, fruit that grows on a tree within the first three years after it is planted.

� Pre-existing Tree(ירושלמי רץ א� אל ל� ישר� או שלא ב� ד גוים ע טעו לשנ� ט פר� עתם“, ”ונט�

ערלה א, ב):The law of orlah prohibits us to eat or have benefit from

fruits that grew on a tree within its first three years.Our pasuk tells us that the law of orlah applies When you

shall come to the Land and you shall plant any food tree. If a tree was planted before the Jews first entered Eretz Yisrael, there is no law of orlah, and one may eat even the fruit that grows in the tree’s first three years (Yerushalmi Orlah 1:2).

� Benefiting From Orlahין ה, מנ א איסור אכיל� כל“, אין לי אל� תו. ”ערלים לא יא� רל� לתם ע� ער� ו�ר למוד לומ נר? ת דליק בו את ה ע בו, ולא י נה ממנו, שלא יצב שלא יה�כב:, (פסחים ם כול� את בות לר כל“, יא� לא ערלים תו“. . . רל� ע� לתם ער ”ו

קידושין נו:, בבא קמא קא.):Our pasuk discusses the law of orlah, which forbids the

fruit that grew on a tree within its first three years. The pasuk seems repetitive, saying, you shall treat its [orlah] fruit as forbidden… for three years they shall be forbidden to you, they shall not be eaten.

The end part of the pasuk says only that orlah fruit is forbidden in terms of eating. The earlier part tells us that orlah is forbidden even for benefit. Therefore, one may not use dye produced from orlah, nor even use oil of orlah to light a lamp, benefiting from it as it is being destroyed (Pesachim 22b; Kiddushin 56b; Bava Kamma 101a).

� Even the PeelsThe Hebrew word את/את (es/eis) is frequently untranslat-

able, but it can mean it, him, or in addition to.

לתם ער ר ”ו מ א א� נ� חמ� פרי, ור עשה שומר ל תו את פריו. דנ רל� לתם ע� ער� ו�(ברכות פרי ל שומר ניהו? אי ומ לפריו, פל ט� ה את פריו“, את תו רל� ע�

לו:):לתם ער ני כן, ”ו סור משום קליפין, ות� ס א� פר תו את פריו. ק רל� לתם ע� ער� ו�מעשרות (ירושלמי פריו את עורל שהוא ר ב� ד� פריו“, את תו רל� ע�

ד, ד):The law of orlah prohibits us to eat or benefit from fruits

of a young tree within its first three years.Our pasuk says regarding orlah: you shall treat “es piryo”

,its fruit, as forbidden. According to one opinion ,(את פריו)the word es comes to include something secondary to the fruit — the peels that protect it (Berachos 36b).

Another opinion learns this law from the above phrase,



but in a different way. The wording of the pasuk is that you should treat as forbidden תו את פריו רל� which literally ,ע�means, the “orlah” [of] its fruit. The word orlah means cov-ered over. Thus, the pasuk can be understood as saying that what covers over the fruit — the peels — are forbidden (Yerushalmi Maasros 4:4).

� “Food” Treeלתם ער ר ”ו ע שנאמ שמ בי מאיר אומר: ממ ה ר י� ל. ה� אכ� ל עץ מ� עתם כ� ונט�ר למוד לומ ה ת א מ ל הוא? אל� אכ� תו את־פריו“, איני יודע שעץ מ רל� ע�מדך� וה. הוי אומר זה פלפלין, לל ם עצו ופריו ש� ע ל“? עץ שט אכ� ”עץ מ

ה (יומא פא:, סוכה לה.): רל� יבין בע� י� פלפלין ח שהולקורות יג לסי� יב, י� ח ל אכ� למ שהוא את ל“, אכ� מ� עץ ל כ� עתם ”ונט�יהא יג לסי� יו ל� חישב ע� אפילו ל, אכ� ה, אותו של מ ת� טור. מע ולעצים פ�ע שמ תו. ממ ר מתחיל� ב� ד ד� בי יוסי, ילמ ל“. ר אכ� ר ”עץ מ למוד לומ יב, ת י� חכל“, וכי אין יודעין שבעץ כם ערלים לא יא� נים יהיה ל� לש ש� ר ”ש� שנאמל“? את אכ� ל עץ מ עתם כ� ר ”ונט למוד לומ ה ת בר? מ תוב מד כ� ל ה אכ� מערלה (ירושלמי טור פ� ולעצים, ולקורות יג לסי� יב, י� ח ל אכ� למ שהוא

א, א):Our pasuk tells us that when you shall plant any “food

tree,” you may not eat or benefit from the fruit that grows in the first three years (orlah). The term “food tree” seems to be teaching that the orlah applies only to a tree that pro-duces fruit, prohibiting us from eating those fruit. However, the continuation of the pasuk says this clearly, you shall treat its fruit as forbidden; for three years… they shall not be eaten. Why the repetition?

According to one opinion, the term “food tree” comes to include a kind of tree whose wood (“tree”) is itself food, meaning, it has the same taste as its fruit. This refers to the pepperberry plant, whose stem, twigs, and leaves all have the same taste as its berries. Although the pepperberry plant is quite short, it is nevertheless considered a “tree” with regard to orlah, and its fruit are forbidden during the first three years

Another opinion learns from here that the law of orlah applies only to a tree planted for the sake of food. But if one planted a tree as a hedge to separate between two yards, or to use its wood for building or for firewood, any fruits that grow on the tree are not orlah (Yoma 81b; Succah 35a; Yerushalmi Orlah 1:1).

� Seeds of Orlahני: יי ת� נ מוך לפריו. אית ת ני: בס� יי ת� נ תו את פריו“, אית ת רל� לתם ע� ער� ”ו�ע. שמ במ רעינין וג קליפין לפריו, מוך בס� ר מ דא� אן פריו. מ את בעורל יין, רעינין מנ רעינין. וג ע ולא ג שמ ר בעורל את פריו, קליפין במ מ אן דא� מא, ה מן הד� עי נישמעינ מוך לפריו. אית דב� ר ”את פריו“ בס� ך מימ וי סופ� ה�עורלו ופריו פריו את עורל שהוא ר ב� ד� פריו“, את תו רל� ע� לתם ער ”ו

(ירושלמי ערלה ג, א):Our pasuk discusses the law of orlah, which forbids the

fruit that grew on a tree within its first three years. The

seeds of an orlah fruit also have the status of orlah and are forbidden.

Our pasuk says, You shall treat “es piryo” (פריו ,(את its fruit, as forbidden. One opinion holds that the word es170 comes to include anything next to the fruit, teach-ing that both the peels and seeds of the fruit are forbid-den.

According to another opinion, the word es is understood to mean from or through. The word orlah means covered over. Thus, the phrase, תו את פריו רל� ”literally, the orlah “es ,ע�its fruit, means something that is covered over through its fruit — the seeds, which are covered over by the fruit171 (Yerushalmi Orlah 3:1).

� Proper Place for Circumcisionיד) יז, (בראשית אן כ ר נאמ קום? מ� שבאותו ה למיל� יין מנ תו. רל� ע�אן ף כ ר שעושה פרי א ב� ן ד� ל� ה לה תו“, מ רל� ן ”ע� ל� ר לה ונאמ תו“, רל� ”ע�

ר שעושה פרי (שבת קח.): ב� ד�Our pasuk discusses the law of orlah, which forbids the

fruit that grew on a tree within its first three years.When discussing the law of circumcision, the Torah172

uses the term orlaso (תו רל� to describe the foreskin. Our (ע�pasuk uses the word orlaso with regard to the law of or-lah, which prohibits the fruit of a tree within its first three years.

A gezeirah shavah173 between these pesukim teaches us where on the body circumcision is done.

Our pasuk refers to trees that bear fruit, teaching us that circumcision on a person is performed at the place that produces fruit (Shabbos 108a).

כם ערלים נים יהיה ל� לש ש� For three years they shall — ש�be forbidden to you.

� Public TreesOne of the rules used by the Oral Law to understand the

Torah is ribui achar ribui (ר רבוי ח an inclusion after ,(רבוי אan inclusion. This rule states that when the Torah says two inclusionary words one after the other, the second inclu-sion serves to limit the first one, telling us that this “inclu-sion” is actually an “exclusion.”

טוע נ� ה אומר: להוציא את ה בי יהוד� בים. ר ר טוע ל� נ� בות את ה כם“, לר ”ל�בים ר ע, ל� שמ חיד מ י� עתם“, ל א: דכתיב ”ונט מ� א ק נ� א דת עמ� אי ט בים. מ ר ל�ה: בי יהוד� בים. ור ר טוע ל� נ� ביא את ה כם“, לה� א ”ל� נ� חמ� ב ר ת ע, כ� שמ לא מבים ר בין חיד י� בין כם“, ו“ל� חיד, י� ל בין בים ר ל� בין ע שמ מ עתם“ ”ונט(פסחים עט למ א אל� רבוי ר ח א רבוי ואין רבוי ר ח א רבוי וי ה� ע, שמ מ

כב:־כג.):Our pasuk discusses the law of orlah, which forbids the

fruit that grew on a tree within its first three years.If someone planted a tree for public use, there is a dis-

agreement whether the orlah prohibition applies.

170. The Hebrew word את/את (es/eis) is frequently untranslatable, but it can mean it, him, or in addition to. 171. See Schottenstein Edition, 33b note 4. 172. Bereishis 17:14. 173. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or, in some cases, words with similar meanings) appear in two (or more) places in the Torah, the refer-ence links the pesukim, so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai.

פרשת קדשים יט / כא־כג 492 / ספר ויקרא


174. 11:12. 175. See note 173. 176. See Schottenstein Edition, note 24. 177. See above, “Food Tree.” 178. Bamidbar 29:1. 179. See Schottenstein Edition, 2b notes 26 and 27.

Our pasuk says regarding orlah: When…“you shall plant” (עתם any food tree you shall treat its fruit as (ונטforbidden. The word עתם is plural and addresses more ונטthan one person.

One opinion holds that the plural form of you is speak-ing to many people, each of whom is planting a tree for his own use, because that is the common purpose of plant-ing. Therefore, this term does not include a tree planted for the public. The pasuk then continues to say, for three years they shall be forbidden “to you” (כם again using ,(ל�the plural form. The words “to you” seem extra, since the pasuk could have simply said, for three years they shall be forbidden. This phrase teaches that the orlah prohibition applies even to a tree planted for the public.

A second opinion holds that since the word עתם is ונטplural, it does include a tree planted for the public. When the pasuk then says, for three years they shall be forbidden “to you” (כם in the plural, it again includes trees planted ,(ל�for the public. Since the Torah here refers to public trees two times, it is excluding a tree planted for the public from the law of orlah (Pesachim 22b-23a).

� A Tree’s Yearנים. . . לש ש� דכתיב ”ש� ן? ל� מנ� ה נטיע� ול ערלים. כם ל� יהיה נים לש ש� ש�ה מתשרי, נ� ה ש� נ� ליף ש� וי� רביעת“, ה ה� נ� ש� ערלים“, וכתיב (פסוק כד) ”וב

ה“ (ראש השנה ט:): נ� ש� דכתיב (דברים יא, יב) ”מרשית הOur pasuk deals with the law of orlah, which forbids

fruit that grows on a tree during its first three years. The next pasuk deals with the law of neta reva’i, which is the fruit that grows in a tree’s fourth year. This fruit may be eaten only in Yerushalayim (or redeemed, and the money brought to Yerushalayim where it is spent on food eaten in the city). The “years” with regard to these laws are not full calendar years from the day the tree is planted or takes root, but are counted with the new year, beginning on the first of Tishrei. Therefore, if a tree was planted long enough before Tishrei to take root, its second year begins on the first of Tishrei.

We know that Tishrei is the beginning of the year for these calculations, because a pasuk in Devarim174 says, from the beginning of the “year” (ה נ� ש� The pesukim here .(הthat deal with orlah and reva’i also use the word “year”: Three “years” (נים they shall be forbidden to you…in (ש�the fourth “year” (ה נ� ש� all its fruit shall be sanctified. A (ובgezeirah shavah175 links the term “year” in the pasuk in Devarim with the “year” written here regarding orlah and reva’i.

The “beginning of the year” discussed in the pasuk in Devarim is the first of Tishrei,176 so too, our pesukim also have the year beginning on the first of Tishrei (Rosh Ha-shanah 9b).

� Mitzvah Treeתו, עו למצו� ל: אתרוג שנט� א שא ב חונ� כם ערלים. ר נים יהיה ל� לש ש� ש�

כם“ (להלן כג, מ) חתם ל� ן ”ולק א כן תנינ ה?. . . ול� רל� יב בע� י� הו שיהא ח מם בר ה. מצו� ה מן לא מים, בד� כם“, ל� חתם ”ולק ן מ� ת ה? מצו� ה מן ולא א), כט, (במדבר כם“ ל� יהיה ה תרוע� ”יום ר שופ� בי ג ר דתימ ה כמ� א כ� ה�קום ל מ� כל“, מכ� כם ערלים לא יא� נים יהיה ל� לש ש� א ”ש� קום, וכ� ל מ� מכ�

(ירושלמי ערלה א, א):If someone planted a tree to serve as a hedge or to use

its wood, the fruits of the tree do not become orlah, be-cause our pasuk limits the law of orlah to a “food tree.”177

However, according to one opinion, if someone planted an esrog tree in order to use its fruit for the mitzvah of the Four Species, the law of orlah applies. Since he plans on using the esrogim, and the esrogim themselves are food, the tree is considered a “food tree.”

Our pasuk says regarding orlah, for three years they shall be forbidden “to you” (כם A pasuk that discusses .(ל�the shofar used on Rosh Hashanah says,178 a day of shofar-blowing it shall be “for you” (כם There the words “for .(ל�you” teach that one can do the mitzvah of shofar in any way, even with a shofar used for idol worship. Similarly, in our pasuk, the words “to you” teach that the orlah applies to fruit of any kind, even one planted for the sake of a mitzvah179 (Yerushalmi Orlah 1:1).

� Even in the Fourth Yearה ד חמש� ה זו אסורין ע מרו פירות נטיע� כם ערלים. א� נים יהיה ל� לש ש� ש�רביעת“ ה� ה נ� ש� ”וב ן: נ� יוח� בי ר בשם א ס� י בי ר א? עמ� ה ט ט. מ בשב� ר ש� ע�נים יהיה לש ש� א: ”ש� בי זעיר� ר ר ה? אמ ע מינ מ ת ש� ה א (להלן פסוק כד). מבתוך שעומד ן מכיו� א נ� מ� בי ר ר ה“. . .אמ נ� ש� וב כל, יא� לא ערלים כם ל�תו (ירושלמי שביעית ב, ד, ירושלמי ראש השנה שלים שנ� ן מ תו של איל� שנ�

א, ב):The law of orlah forbids fruit that grows on a young tree

during its first three years. These “years” are not full cal-endar years from the day the tree is planted or takes root, but are counted with the new year, beginning on first of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah). Therefore, if a tree was planted long enough before Tishrei to take root, its second year begins on the first of Tishrei.

However, even after the tree reaches its fourth year, its fruit are still orlah until the 15th of Shevat of that year. The reason is that while the new year for a young tree is Rosh Hashanah, the new year for a mature tree is the 15th of Shevat. Once a tree is in its fourth year, it is already mature, and its new year begins on the 15th of Shevat. Therefore, its third year extends until that day.

We learn this from our pasuk and the next. The first words of the next pasuk are, רביעת ה ה� נ� ש� )וwith a vav ( ,ובat the beginning, meaning “and” in the fourth year. The “and” connects that pasuk to ours, so that the pesukim read, for three years they shall be forbidden…and on the fourth year. This teaches that the fruits remain orlah for part of the fourth year (Yerushalmi Sheviis 2:4; Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1:2).



רביעת .24 ה ה� נ� ש� .And in the fourth year — וב�


עי ע רב� ת נט� מצוה רמז: מצו�Mitzvah 247: The Obligation Regarding the Fourth-Year

Fruits (Neta Reva’i)The fruit that grows on a tree in the fourth year after it is planted, called neta reva’i, has sanctity, and the owner must eat it in Yerushalayim. Or, he may redeem the neta reva’i with money, and then use that money to buy food in

Yerushalayim, which is eaten there.

� Even in the Fifth Yearמים ופע� חמישת“. . . ה ה נ� ש� וב רביעת. . . ה� ה נ� ש� ”וב רביעת. ה� ה נ� ש� וב�

עי (ראש השנה י.): ה משום רב� יין אסור� עד חמישית ו שבOur pasuk says, And in the fourth year, all its fruit shall

be sanctified to laud Hashem. This teaches that the fruit of a tree’s fourth year, called neta reva’i, must be eaten in Yerushalayim.180

The “years” with regard to neta reva’i are not full cal-endar years, but are counted based on the arrival of the first of Tishrei (Rosh Hashanah). Therefore, if a tree was planted long enough before Tishrei to take root, its second year begins on the first of Tishrei.

However, even after the tree reaches its fifth year, its fruits continue to have the status of neta reva’i until the 15th of Shevat. The reason is that while the new year for a young tree is Rosh Hashanah, the new year for a mature tree is the 15th of Shevat. Since the tree is already in its fifth year, it is already mature, and its new year begins on the 15th of Shevat. Therefore, its fourth year extends until that day.181

We learn this from our pasuk and the next.The first words of the next pasuk are חמישת ה ה נ� ש� with ,וב

a vav (ו) at the beginning, meaning “and” in the fifth year. The “and” connects that pasuk to ours, so that the pesu-kim read, In the fourth year, all its fruit shall be sanctified…and in the fifth year. This teaches that the law of neta reva’I applies even for part of the fifth year (Rosh Hashanah 10a).

ה‘ .Shall be sanctified to laud Hashem — קדש הלולים ל�

� Two “Praises” ,” ה‘ ל הלולים ”קדש ן, נ� ב� ר נו דת� מילי? ני ה� א מנ� ה‘. ל� הלולים קדש

א: עקיב� בי ר ר מ א� אן מכ� חריהם. ולא לפניהם ה כ� בר� שטעונים מד מלרך (ברכות לה., ירושלמי ברכות ו, א): ם שיטעום כלום קודם שיב� ד� סור לא� א�

Our pasuk discusses the law of neta reva’i, the fruit of a tree in its fourth year, which must be eaten in Yerushalayim.

The pasuk tells us that this fruit shall be sanctified “hillulim” (הלולים) to Hashem. The word hillulim means praises, in the plural. This hints at the obligation to recite two blessings to praise Hashem when eating: one be-fore eating and one afterward (Berachos 35a; Yerushalmi Berachos 6:1).

� Redemption and Praiseעי אי מיב� א? ה ת� כי הוא דא� אי ”קדש הלולים“ לה� ה‘. וה קדש הלולים ל�ה עון שיר� ט� ר ה ב� ך ד� כליה, ואיד� ר א ד חליה וה� א א נ� חמ� ר ר מ ד] דא� ליה ח

עון חלול (ברכות לה.): ה אין ט� עון שיר� עון חלול, ושאינו ט� ט�Our pasuk says that neta reva’i fruit shall be sanctified

“hillulim” (הלולים) to Hashem.According to one opinion, since the word hillulim is plu-

ral, it is as if the Torah wrote hillul twice.The word hillul (הלול), praise, is similar to the word chil-

lul (חלול), redemption. The first word “hillul” teaches that neta reva’i fruits must be redeemed before one eats them outside Yerushalayim.

The second “hillul” tells us that neta reva’i applies only to a fruit associated with praise, the songs sung by the Leviim in the Beis HaMikdash. The Leviim would sing when the wine that accompanied the offerings (nesachim) was poured on the Mizbe’ach (Altar).182 According to this opnion, only grapes, from which wine is made, have the law of neta reva’i, not other fruits (Berachos 35a).

� Like Maaser SheniMaaser sheni, the “second tithe,” is a tithe that must be

separated from produce grown in Eretz Yisrael during cer-tain years of the Shemittah cycle. One must eat this pro-duce in Yerushalayim, or redeem it with money, buy food with the money in Yerushalayim, and eat the food there. If the owner himself redeems it, he must add a “fifth”183 of its value onto the redemption price. Also, if one left maaser sheni in his house and did not eat it in Yerushalayim before the fourth and seventh years of the Shemittah cycle, he must destroy the maaser. This is known as biur maasros, removal of the tithes.

אי אומרים: אין לו חומש ואין לו מ עי, בית ש ה‘. כרם רב� קדש הלולים ל�מרי ”קדש“, א דבית הלל ג� עמ� אי ט ביעור, ובית הלל אומרים: יש לו. . . מ

180. This is called “lauding Hashem,” because when the person eats the fruit in Yerushalayim, he praises Hashem (see Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, Berachos 35a note 10). 181. See Schottenstein Edition, note 3. 182. When an olah (burnt offering) or a shelamim (peace offering) is brought in the Beis HaMikdash, the owner must bring wine along with the offering. This wine is poured on the Mizbe’ach (Altar) as an offering. 183. He actually adds an additional quarter of the value. The Torah refers to this addition as “one-fifth,” because the

ר עש� עשר שני (קידושין נד:) שכתוב בו ”וכל מ� (כד) יהיה כל פריו קדש. כמ�ת לחומ� חוץ נאכל אינו שני עשר מ� ה מ� ל), כז, (להלן ” ה‘ ל� קדש וגו‘ הארץ

ה‘ ” הוא, שנושאו שם ף זה כן. ודבר זה ”הלולים ל� ים אלא בפדיון, א� ירושל�ים (תורת כהנים שם ט; ברכות לה.): שמ� לל ל� בח� ולה� לש�

יהוה: Bל ים הלול! קדש ל־פריו כ ה הי- י* ת רביע ה/ ה נ ש ל כד וב� כ� יהי א רביעת� א ת� כד ובש

: יי� ם קד� ן תשבח� קדש אבה

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כד 494 / ספר ויקרא


24 And in the fourth year, all its fruit shall be sanctified to laud HASHEM.

surcharge is a fifth of the final payment. For example, if the food is worth $100, he must redeem it for $125; the $25 surcharge is one quarter of the food’s value, but one-fifth of his $125 payment. See, however, below, 27:27, “How to Calculate.” 184. See note 173. 185. Below, 27:30. 186. Below, 27:30. 187. Every seventh year is a Shemittah year. During this year, we may not work the fields in Eretz Yisrael, and the produce of these fields are regarded as ownerless. Shemittah produce is exempt from tithes, but is obligated in bikkurim. 188. A person becomes an “onein” immediately upon the death of one of his immediate relatives for whom he is obligated to mourn: father, mother, brother, unmarried sister, son, daughter, or wife. One remains an onein (Biblically) for the day of the relative’s passing (and possibly the following evening, as well). 189. Devarim 20:6. 190. See above, “Redemption and Praise.”

ף עשר יש לו חומש, ויש לו ביעור, א ה מ עשר, מ ”קדש“ (להלן כז, ל) ממ„קדש” מרי ג� לא אי מ ובית ש ביעור, לו ויש חומש לו יש עי רב� כרם

עשר (קידושין נד:): „קדש” ממNeta reva’i is the fruit of a tree in its fourth year. Like

maaser sheni, these fruits must be eaten in Yerushalayim, or redeemed and the money brought to Yerushalayim.

There is a disagreement, however, whether the other laws of maaser sheni — that the owner must add a fifth to the redemption price and the laws of biur maasros — apply to reva’i.

One opinion holds that these laws apply to neta reva’i. He learns this from a gezeirah shavah.184 Our pasuk says regarding neta reva’i, all its fruit shall be “kodesh” (קדש), sanctified, and a pasuk about maaser sheni says,185 it is “kodesh” (קדש), holy, to Hashem. Just as maaser sheni is subject to the law of adding a fifth and biur maasros, the same is true for neta reva’i.

However, another opinion does not learn this gezeirah shavah, and therefore says that these laws do not apply to neta reva’i (Kiddushin 54b).

� Whose Is it?כתיב עשר. ממ ”קדש“ ”קדש“ ר מ מי ג� נ עי רב� כרם ה‘. הלולים ל� קדש רץ א� ר ה� עש ל מ עשר (להלן כז, ל) ”וכ� בי מ א ”קדש הלולים“, וכתיב ג כ� ה�ף עשר א בי מ ה קדש דכתיב ג ה‘ הוא קדש“, מ עץ ל רץ מפרי ה� א� ע ה� מזרף א ברשותיה, א נ� חמ� ר אוקמיה יה פדי� ן לעני הוא בוה ג� מון דמ� ב ג ל עמון דידיה הוא, או מ� ב דל ל ג ף ע עי, א בי כרם רב� מי דכתיב ג אי קדש נ ה

א ברשותיה (בבא קמא סט:): נ� חמ� חולי אוקמיה ר ן א לעניAccording to one opinion, maaser sheni does not belong

to the owner of the produce. Instead, it belongs to Hashem, and Hashem gives the owner permission to eat it. Never-theless, when it comes to redeeming maaser sheni, there is a difference between the owner and other people: When the owner redeems it, he must add a fifth to the value of the maaser, but when others redeem it, they do not add a fifth. This shows that the Torah considers maaser sheni to be in the owner’s “possession” with regard to redeeming it.

Our pasuk says about neta reva’i, all its fruit shall be “kodesh” (קדש), sanctified. A pasuk that discusses maaser sheni says,186 it is “kodesh” (קדש), holy, to Hashem. We learn from a gezeirah shavah that the above laws apply to neta reva’i as well; neta reva’i is the property of Hashem, but is considered in the owner’s possession with regard to redeeming it, and he must therefore add a fifth (Bava Kamma 69b).

� Like BikkurimEvery year, a landowner in Eretz Yisrael who grows

certain produce is obligated to set aside the first of them each year — called bikkurim — and bring them to the Beis HaMikdash. There, he stands next to the Mizbe’ach (Al-tar) and says certain pesukim that express his thanks to Hashem. The bikkurim fruit are given to a Kohen.

ר לל. ויהא מות� ה יו את ה ל� ”קדש הלולים“, הרי הוא כקודש שקורין ע�סור לאונן (ירושלמי פאה ז, ה; ירושלמי גיד שהוא א� ני ”קדש“, מ לאונן? ת�

מעשר שני ה, ב):Our pasuk says that neta reva’i, the fruit of the fourth

year, shall be sanctified “to laud Hashem.” According to one opinion, the words to laud Hashem hint at the bik-kurim, since the owner of the bikkurim praises Hashem when he brings them to the Beis HaMikdash. The pasuk is teaching that neta reva’i is compared to bikkurim: Just as bikkurim applies even to fruits that grow during the Shemittah year (the sabbatical year),187 the same is true for neta reva’i.

We also learn from our pasuk that an onein, a person whose immediate relative died,188 may not eat neta reva’i. Our pasuk calls neta reva’i “sanctified,” teaching that just as sanctified food (offerings) is forbidden to an onein, neta reva’i is also forbidden to such a person (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 7:5; Yerushalmi Maaser Sheni 5:2).

� Which Year?א בר� חמישית. מסת לל, ברביעית וב י הוא מח ת ה‘. אימ� קדש הלולים ל�מרין: לא רין א� ן דקיס� נ� ב� יב לו. ור י� מים הוא ח ל ברביעית ד� חמישית אב� בל פריו קדש רביעית יהיה כ� ה ה� נ� ש� א ברביעית, דכתיב ”וב א אל� בר� מסת

ה‘ ” (ירושלמי סוטה ח, ה): הלולים לWhen the Jews go to war, there are certain people who

do not have to join. One of these is a person who planted or acquired a new vineyard.

The pasuk189 describes this person as one who has planted a vineyard and not “chillelo” (חללו). The word chill-elo is similar to the word chullin, unsanctified. The pasuk means that the vineyard owner did not yet have a chance to use the grapes of the vineyard as ordinary, unsanctified produce. But once he is able to do this, he must go to war.

At what point is the vineyard considered unsanctified? Is this in the fourth year, when he can redeem the grapes and eat them anywhere, or in the fifth year, when he can eat them even without redeeming?

Our pasuk says that neta reva’i fruit shall be sanctified “hillulim” (הלולים), to Hashem. The word “hillulim” is simi-lar to the word chillulim (חלולים), redemption, teaching that neta reva’i must be redeemed before eating it outside of Yerushalayim.190 The word chillelo in the pasuk about



going to war is similar to the word chillulim. Therefore, according to one opinion, the phrase “not chillelo” means that the owner did not yet redeem the fruit in the fourth year. But once he did do, he is no longer exempt from going to war (Yerushalmi Sotah 8:5).

תו .25 כם תבוא� So that it will increase for — להוסיף ל�you its produce.

� Only a Vineyardן ל� ר לה תו“, ונאמ כם תבוא� אן ”להוסיף ל� ר כ� תו. נאמ כם תבוא� להוסיף ל�אן כרם (ברכות לה.): ף כ� ן כרם א ל� ה לה רם“, מ כ� ת ה (דברים כב, ט) ”ותבוא

The previous pasuk discussed the law of neta reva’i, the fruit of a tree in its fourth year. This fruit must be eaten in Yerushalayim, or redeemed and the money used to buy food in Yerushalayim, which is eaten there. According to one opinion, this law applies only to a vineyard, not to other fruit trees.

Our pasuk states the reward for keeping the mitzvah of neta reva’i: so that it will increase for you its “produce” תו) ”A pasuk in Devarim191 says, and the “produce .(תבוא�ת) -of the vineyard. According to this opinion, a gezei (ותבואrah shavah192 teaches that just as that pasuk discusses the produce of a vineyard, our pasuk also deals with such pro-duce, teaching that the law of neta reva’i applies only to a vineyard (Berachos 35a).

� It Belongs to Himחמשית תאכלו את פריו להוסיף ה ה נ� ש� תו. כתיב ”וב כם תבוא� להוסיף ל�ל ת כמוסיף פירות חמישית ע גלילי אומר: הרי א בי יוסי ה כם וגו‘ ”. ר ל�לין בע� ף פירות רביעית ל לין א בע� ה פירות חמישית ל פירות רביעית. מ

(ירושלמי מעשר שני ה, ב):The previous pasuk discussed the law of neta reva’i, the

fruit of a tree in its fourth year. This fruit must be eaten in Yerushalayim, or redeemed and the money used to buy food in Yerushalayim, which is eaten there.

Our pasuk says, And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will increase for you its produce. One opinion understands this as saying that the fruit of the fifth year will be “increased” onto the fruit of the fourth year, meaning

that the fruits of these two years are compared to each other and have the same law. Just as the fruit of the fifth year is the property of the owner, so too, the fruit of the fourth year is the property of the owner, even though it has sanctity and must be eaten in Yerushalayim (Yerushalmi Maaser Sheni 5:2).

ם .26 ד� ל ה� You shall not eat over the — לא תאכלו ע�blood.


מצוה רמח: של א לאכל ולשתות כדרך זולל וסובאMitzvah 248: The Prohibition to Eat and Drink in the

Manner of a Glutton or DrunkardA young teenage boy is commanded not to eat meat and drink wine in a manner that makes him a ben sorer

u’moreh, a “wayward and rebellious son.”193

� One Prohibition, Many Meaningsתאכלו ם“? לא ד� ל ה תאכלו ע ”לא דכתיב אי ם. מ ד� ל ה� תאכלו ע� לא

ל דמכם (ברכות י:): ללו ע קודם שתתפל נפש שאין טועמין כ� רגו את ה נהדרין שה� ין לס ם. מנ ד� ל ה� לא תאכלו ע�ם“ (מועד קטן יד:, סנהדרין סג.): ד� ל ה ר ”לא תאכלו ע למוד לומ יום? ת אותו ה

ה שהוא פש� ה קודם שתצא נ בהמ� ין לאוכל מן ה ם. מנ ד� ל ה� לא תאכלו ע�חר ”לא תאכלו ר א ב� ם“. ד� ד� ל ה ר ”לא תאכלו ע למוד לומ עשה? ת בלא תיין מנ א אומר: בי דוס� ק. ר מזר� ם ב יין ד� עד ו ר ש� ם“, לא תאכלו ב� ד� ל ה עם“. . . ד� ל ה ר ”לא תאכלו ע למוד לומ ל הרוגי בית דין? ת ברין ע שאין מר ”לא תאכלו למוד לומ ין? ת ה לבן סורר ומורה מנ ר� זה� ן: א נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ א�

ם“ (סנהדרין סג.): ד� ל ה עOur pasuk prohibits us from eating “over the blood,” and

this has numerous meanings. H A person should not eat before praying “over the blood”

— for his well-being. This means that upon waking up in the morning, one should not eat before saying the morning prayers (Berachos 10b).

H Judges may not eat “over the blood” of a person they are executing. This means that they may not eat on a day that they will be executing someone (Moed Katan 14b; Sanhedrin 63a).

191. 22:9. 192. See note 173. 193. See Devarim 18:21ff.

להוסיף תהיה שתשמרו זאת ה� מצוה ה� תבואתו. לכם להוסיף (כה) בי עקיבא נטיעות. היה ר� לכם תבואתו, שבשכרה אני מברך לכם פירות ה�ע שנים אני רב� ר אדם: הרי א� אומר: דברה תורה כנגד יצר הרע, שלא יאמ�ר ”להוסיף לכם תבואתו” (תורת כהנים שם): אני ער בו חנם, לפיכך נאמ� מצט�בטחתי: (כו) לא תאכלו ונאמן לשמור ה� כך, ל בטיח� ע� מ� ה‘. אני ה‘ ה�זהרה נהדרין (סג.; תורת כהנים פרק ו, א): א� רבה פנים נדרש בס� דם. לה� ל ה� ע�

ת חולין מבהמ� לאוכל זהרה וא� דמים, ת זריק� לפני קדשים ר ל מבש� יאכ� שלא חשין בחולדה מנ� חשו. כגון אלו ה� רבה: לא תנ� פשה, ועוד ה� טרם שתצא נ�דרך (סנהדרין סה:): ובעופות (תורת כהנים שם ב): פתו נפלה מפיו, צבי הפסיקו ב�תחיל מלאכה, ולא תעוננו. לשון עונות ושעות, שאומר יום פלוני יפה לה�ת ראשכם. קפו פא� שעה פלונית קשה לצאת (סנהדרין שם): (כז) לא ת�ונמצא הקף ראשו עגול חתו (מכות כ:), ד� אזנו ולפ� אחורי צדעיו ל� שוה מ� זה ה�

ם כ- ל יף bלהוס את־פריו אכלו ת ת חמיש Bה ה נ< ש כה וב�

ם Mל־הד ע� אכלו ת א כו ל ם: היכ9 אל יהוה י אנ! תו תבואם Aראשכ ת פא4 פו תק א כז ל נו: תעונ3 א ול חשו Bתנ א ל

אבה ת י� תיכלון א חמשת� א ת� כה ובש

הכון: אל� יי� א אנ� לתה על לכון א פ� לאוס�א ול� חשון תנ א ל� א דמ� ל ע תיכלון א כו ל�דרישכון א את� פ� קפון ת א כז ל� תעונון:

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כה־כז 496 / ספר ויקרא


25 And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit — so that it will increase for you its

produce — I am HASHEM, your God.

26 You shall not eat over the blood; you shall not read omens and you shall

not believe in lucky times. 27 You shall not round off the edge of your scalp

194. There are many conditions needed to make a person a ben sorer u’moreh; see Sanhedrin 68b-72a. 195. For example, a person’s bread fell out of his mouth while he was eating, and he takes this as a sign that whatever he does that day will not succeed. 196. See Bereishis 42:36. 197. See Schottenstein Edition, 48a note 1. 198. 18:10.

H A person should not eat “over the blood” of a slaugh-tered animal. This refers to where the animal is mov-ing around and thrashing after it is slaughtered, and its lifeblood is still coming out.

H When an offering (korban) is brought in the Beis HaMik-dash, the Kohen collects its blood in a vessel, and then sprinkles the blood on the Mizbe’ach (Altar). Our pasuk forbids eating the meat of the offering “over its blood,” meaning while the blood is still in the vessel, before it is sprinkled.

H When a person’s close relative dies, it is customary for other people to provide him with his first meal after the funeral. In the case of a person executed by the court, this custom is not followed; they should not eat a con-dolence meal “over the blood” of the executed person, nor do they observe the period of mourning over him.

H A young, teenage boy may not eat meat and drink wine in a manner that will make him a ben sorer u’moreh, a “rebellious and wayward son.”194 This is called eating “over his blood,” because a boy who does act like a ben sorer u’moreh is punished with execution by the court (Sanhedrin 63a).

חשו ולא תעוננו You shall not read omens and — לא תנ�you shall not believe in lucky times.


חש מצוה רמט: של א לנ�Mitzvah 249: The Prohibition to Follow Superstitious

OmensWe are forbidden to do something or refrain from doing something based on an omen that has no logical connec-

tion to the action at hand.195

מצוה רנ: של א לעונןMitzvah 250: The Prohibition to Divine Auspicious TimesWe are forbidden to say that certain times are favorable or unfavorable for the success of one’s activities. Also includ-ed is to perform tricks through sleight of hand that give the impression that one is doing something supernatural.

� Weasels, Birds, and Fishגים ה בעופות ובד� חשים בחולד� מנ חשו ולא תעוננו, כגון אלו ה לא תנ�

(סנהדרין סו.):Our pasuk tells us, You shall not read omens. For ex-

ample, if one is about to go on a trip or start a project, he is forbidden to observe the actions of weasels, birds, or fish

and interpret them as omens for whether or not his trip or project will be successful (Sanhedrin 66a).

� Warning Signולא חשו תנ ”לא עקב: י בן ליעזר בי ר ני ת� תעוננו. ולא חשו תנ� לא נין, ה סימ� ר שלש� ח ד לא ן, ובלב ש יש סימ� פי שאין נ ח ל ף ע א תעוננו“, חל“, (שם מב, לו) ”יוסף י ר� ל ה ע� ן מת� ד� אני בבאי מפ כגון (בראשית מח, ז) ”ו

חו“ (ירושלמי שבת ו, ט): מן תק� איננו ושמעון איננו ואת בני�Our pasuk forbids taking random superstitious signs as

omens for whether he should do something or not. Even so, a person can consider certain happenings as a sign of sorts, taking them into account in making his decisions. And even this is permitted only after three similar things happen.

We learn about this exception from the life of Yaakov. When his sons wanted to take Binyamin down to Egypt, Yaakov refused to let him go.196 His reason was that three bad things had happened to him before that point: His wife Rachel died, Yosef had disappeared, and Shimon had been taken hostage by the Egyptian viceroy. He was therefore afraid that this was a sign that another bad thing would occur, and Binyamin would come to harm (Yerushalmi Shabbos 6:9).197

� Separate ProhibitionsOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the

Torah is: Kol davar shehayah bichlal veyatza min hakelal lelameid, lo lelameid al atzmo yatza, ela lelameid al hakelal kulo yatza (מד לל לא מד לל ל כל� מן ה א צ� וי� ל בכל� ה י� שה� ר ב� ל ד� כ�א צ� ל כולו י� כל� ל ה מד ע א לל א אל� צ� צמו י� ל ע This means that .(עwhen the Torah gives a general category and then men-tions something from that category and applies a certain law to it, that law applies to the rest of the category as well.

The usual punishment for violating a negative com-mandment is malkus (lashes). If someone violates many such prohibitions, he receives a separate set of malkus for each violation.

צאו מן וי� יו ל ה� עינון בכל� ניחוש וה� הלא ה חשו ולא תעוננו“, ו ”לא תנ�ל לחילוק (ירושלמי שבת ז, ב; ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ה): כל� ה

A pasuk in Devarim198 forbids various types of sorcery and omens: There shall not be found among you…one who practices divinations, one who believes in lucky times, one who reads omens, a sorcerer. In our pasuk, the Torah singles out the prohibitions not to read omens or believe in “lucky” times. This teaches that these acts are indepen-dent prohibitions, and if someone does both these things, he is punished with two sets of malkus.

Since the Torah removed these acts from the general prohibition found in Devarim, we apply the the rule of kol



davar. Therefore, every act mentioned in that general pro-hibition — including practicing divinations and sorcery — is considered a separate prohibition, and if one does them at the same time he is punished with a separate set of malkus for each one (Yerushalmi Shabbos 7:2; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:5).

ת ראשכם .27 קפו פא� You shall not round off the — לא ת�edge of your scalp.


ראש אתי ה� קיף פ� מצוה רנא: של א לה�Mitzvah 251: The Prohibition to Round Off the Peyos of

One’s HeadWe may not “round off” the hair of the head, by shaving off the peyos. The peyos refer to the hair on certain areas of

the side of the head.

� Women and Minorsת ראשכם ולא קפו פא ר: ”לא ת ב א ס� ב הונ� ת ראשכם. ר קפו פא� לא ת�שי ני נ� וה� ה, פ� ק� ה יש לו ה ת� שח� ל שיש לו ה “, כ� נך� זק� ת שחית את פא תה הב� א ר ב א ד� א ב ור ה. פ� ק� בה מי נ ליתנהו ה ת� שח� בה וליתנהו הואיל א ל היכ� ף, כ� קיף לניק� ש מ ע, ואיתק שמ ף במ ניק� ד ה קיף ואח� מ ד ה ר: אח� ב ס�

ייב (נזיר נז:): מי מיח קיף נ ייב מ ף מיח דניק�Our pasuk prohibits “rounding off” the hair of the head

by shaving the peyos. The simple meaning of the pasuk is that a person may not round out his own hair or al-low someone else to do this. However, since the pasuk expresses the prohibition as, You shall not round off, etc., we learn that when a person rounds off someone else’s hair, he too violates our prohibition.

Based on this, there is a disagreement whether a woman is prohibited to shave a man’s head.

All agree that a woman may round off her own hair or that of another woman. This is because the continuation of our pa-suk mentions the prohibition to destroy one’s beard, teach-ing that only a person who has the prohibition of destroying his beard is prohibited to round off the hair on his head. Since a woman has no prohibition to destroy her beard,199 she has no prohibition to round off the hair on her head.

One opinion holds that this exempts a woman from the prohibition entirely, and she may even round off the hair on a man’s head. However, a second opinion maintains

that the comparison to destroying a beard is limited to only permitting her to round off the hair of her own head. So while a woman is permitted to round off the hair of her own head, or that of another woman, she may not round off the hair of a man’s head.

There is also a disagreement about whether a man may round off the head of a minor. One opinion holds that since our pasuk includes both the person being shaved and the person doing the shaving, it teaches that the person doing the shaving violates a prohibition only if the person being shaved does as well. Since a minor does not violate the prohibition (since he is exempt from all mitzvos), a man who rounds off the minor’s hair also does not violate the prohibition.

A second opinion, however, holds that our pasuk does not mean to link the prohibition of the one doing the shav-ing to the one being shaved, and therefore a man may not shave the head of a minor (Nazir 57b).

� The “Splendor” of Peyosע מ ת ש� ה א “ (דברים כד, כ), מ� חבט זיתך� ת ראשכם. ”כי ת קפו פא� לא ת�

ת ראשכם“ (ירושלמי פאה א, ד): קפו פא ה: ”לא ת בי יונ� ר ר מ ה, א� מינ�A pasuk in Devarim200 tells us, When you beat your olive

tree — to shake loose the olives — do not remove all the splendor (אר ?What is the “splendor” of an olive tree .(תפ

Our pasuk discusses the prohibition to remove the peyos (“edges”) of one’s head and beard. It says, You shall not round off the edge (ת of your scalp, and you shall not (פא“destroy” the edge of your beard. If removing the peyos of the head and face is called “destruction,” it must be that peyos are considered the “splendor” of the face.

The pasuk in Devarim, too, is telling us to leave “pe’ah” (some unharvested fruit) on the olive tree for the poor, for that is the splendor of the tree201 (Yerushalmi Pe’ah 1:4).

נך ת זק� שחית את פא� And you shall not destroy — ולא ת�the edge of your beard.


ן ק� ת ז� שחית פא� מצוה רנב: של א לה�Mitzvah 252: The Prohibition to Destroy the Edges of the

BeardA person is forbidden to destroy the peyos (edges) of his

beard by cutting them off with a razor.

199. In the unlikely event that she has one. See discussion below, “Not Women.” 200. 24:20. 201. See Schottenstein Edition, 13a notes 8 and 9.

ת זקנך. רבה: פא� עלה מצדעיו ה� ל אחורי אזניו עקרי שערו למ� סביב, שע�עלה אצל הראש שהוא ים בכל לחי ולחי למ� זקן וגבוליו. והן חמש: שת� סוף ה�ד לחי�ים יח� נטרו מקום חבור שני ה� טה בס� ת למ� ח� רחב ויש בו שתי פאות, וא�רכן של אמוריים להיות משרטין בשרם (שם כ.): (כח) ושרט לנפש. כן ד�

מחוקה ושקוע� שאינו נמחק לעולם, ע. כתב ה� עק� כשמת להם מת: וכתבת ק�ע. עק� שחיר לעולם (תורת כהנים שם י; מכות כא.): ק� ט והוא מ� ח� עקעו במ� שמק�ענום“ (שמואל־ב כא, ו). תוחבין עץ ע אותם“ (במדבר כה, ד), ”והוק� לשון ”והוק�ע, פורפויינט בלע“ז: רק� ק� בארץ ותולין אותם עליהם, ונמצאו מחוקין ותחובין ב�

תתנו א ל פש נ ל רט qכח וש ך: נ9 זק ת פא_ ת Oית א שח א ת� וליהוה: י אנ! ם Aכ ב תתנו א ל ע עק� Bק בת וכת ם בבשרכ

ך: כח וחבול א דדקנ� את� ת פ� בל י� א תח ול�ורושמין בבסרכון א תתנון ל מית ל� ע : יי� א אנ� בכון תתנון א ל� חריתין

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כח 498 / ספר ויקרא


and you shall not destroy the edge of your beard. 28 You shall not make a cut in your

flesh for the dead, and a tattoo shall you not place upon yourselves — I am HASHEM.

202. Below, 21:5. 203. See note 173. 204. 14:1.

� Not Womenעית איב� ה? ת� שח� בה איתנהו דלא ן ל� ומנ� נך. זק� ת פא� שחית את ולא ת�א ר קר� מ א, דא� א קר� עית אימ� ן, ואיב� ק� א לא אית להו ז� א, דה� ר� א סב� אימ�א קר� ני מדש� ,“ נך� זק� ת פא את שחית ת ולא ראשכם ת פא קפו ת ”לא ולא נך� זק� “ נך� אי ”זק� נכם מ זק ת א פא נ� חמ� ניכתוב ר כן דאם בדיבוריה,

ן אשתך� (קידושין לה:): זקOur pasuk forbids destroying the edges of one’s beard.If a woman happens to grow a beard, she is permitted to

destroy it. There are two opinions on why this is so.The first opinion says that since a woman generally does

not have a beard, in the unlikely event that she does have one, the Torah does not consider it a true “beard” with re-gard to this prohibition.

Another opinion learns the exemption of women from the wording of our pasuk. It begins by telling us, You shall not round off the edge of your scalp (ראשכם). The word your scalp, is plural, and addresses more than one ,ראשכםperson. The pasuk then continues, and you shall not de-stroy the edge of your beard ( נך� נך� The word .(זק� your ,זק�beard is singular, and addresses one person, or one type of person. The Torah changes from plural to singular to teach that it is speaking specifically to one group — the men, who generally grow beard hair — telling them you shall not destroy the edge of your beard, but there is no prohibition to destroy the beard of a woman (Kiddushin 35b).

� Shaving Versus Destroyingכול אפילו גילחו לחו“ (להלן כא, ה), י� ם לא יג נ� ת זק� שחית. ”ופא ולא ת�לקט כול ליקטו במ שחית“, י� ר ”ולא ת למוד לומ יב, ת י� ים יהא ח ר במספ�ד? כיצ א לחו“ ה� יג ם לא נ� זק� ת ר: ”ופא למוד לומ יב, ת י� יהא ח וברהיטני מכות נח:, מ:, (נזיר ר ע ת זה אומר הוי ה? ת� שח� ה בו שיש גילוח איזהו

כא.):Our pasuk forbids “destroying” the edges of one’s beard,

saying, And you shall not destroy the “edge” of (ת your (פאbeard. Later,202 the Torah gives a similar prohibition to Ko-hanim: they shall not shave an “edge” of (ת .their beard (ופא

A gezeirah shavah203 teaches us to apply the laws of one pasuk to the other.

Our pasuk says that “destroying” the beard — cutting the entire hair down to the skin (or root) — is forbidden. The pasuk regarding Kohanim says that “shaving” the beard is forbidden, meaning that only a utensil normally used for “shaving” is prohibited. These lessons teach that the prohibition applies only to something that cuts the hair down to the skin (or root) and is normally used for shav-ing, like a razor. However, there is no prohibition to cut the beard hair with scissors, since they do not cut the hair down to the skin (or root). Similarly, there is no prohibition to shave down the beard hair with a file, since this is not normally used for shaving (Nazir 40b, 58b; Makkos 21a).

נפש .28 .A cut…for the dead — ושרט ל�

� Making the CutThe usual punishment for violating a negative com-

mandment is malkus (lashes). If someone violates many such prohibitions, he receives a separate set of malkus for each violation.

ם? י� ה ב בע� תו שט� ל ספינ� ל וע פ ל ביתו שנ� ט ע ר כול אפילו ש� ”ושרט“, י�רט למש� ין ומנ ד. בלב מת ה ל ע א אל� יב י� ח אינו נפש“ ”ל� ר לומ למוד תלמוד ת ת? ח וא ת ח א ל כ� ל ע יב י� ח שהוא ד אח� מת ל ע שריטות מש ח�ין מנ אומר: יוסי בי ר ה. ושריט� ה שריט� ל כ� ל ע ייב לח ”ושרט“ ר לומת? ח ת וא ח ל א ל כ� יב ע י� מש מתים, שהוא ח ל ח� ת ע ח ה א רט שריט� למש�פיקתיה לביתו א א ונפש, וה� ל נפש ל כ� ייב ע נפש“, לח ר ”ל� למוד לומ תת ח א ה וגדיד� ה שריט� יוסי בי ר ר ב ס� ק� ם? י� ב ה בע� שט� תו ולספינ� ל פ שנ�

מת“ (מכות כ:־כא.): ם (דברים יד, א) ”ל� ת� היא, וכתיב ה�Our pasuk tells us, You shall not make a cut in your flesh

“for the dead.”According to one opinion, the Torah specifies “for the

dead,” to teach that there is no prohibition to cut oneself for other misfortunes, such as for a financial loss.

Additionally, instead of saying, נפש לא תתנו -liter ,ושרט ל�ally, And “you shall not put a cut” in your flesh, the pasuk could have simply said, נפש לא תשרטו you shall not cut ,ל�for the dead. The pasuk uses the expression “putting a cut” to teach that each cut is a separate violation, and if one cut himself several times over the same dead person, he is punished with malkus for each cut.

Another opinion says that a pasuk in Devarim,204 you shall not cut yourselves…“for a dead person,” teaches us that this prohibition applies only to cutting oneself in mourning for a dead person. Our pasuk’s phrase “for the dead” teaches that if a person made one cut in his flesh in mourning for several dead people, he receives malkus for each person, because each one is considered a separate sin (Makkos 20b-21a).

כם אני ה‘ ע לא תתנו ב� עק� And a tattoo shall you — וכתבת ק�not place upon yourselves — I am Hashem.


ע עק� רנו כתבת ק� מצוה רנג: של א נכתב בבש�Mitzvah 253: The Prohibition to Etch a Tattoo

Upon Our Flesh

� What Kind of Tattoo?ב ולא ת ע, כ� עק כותב כתובת ק כם אני ה‘. ה ע לא תתנו ב� עק� וכתבת ק�ובכחול בדיו עקע ויק שיכתוב ד ע יב י� ח אינו ב ת כ� ולא ע קעק ע, קעקבי שמעון אומר: ה משום ר בי שמעון בן יהוד� ר שהוא רושם. ר ב� ל ד� ובכ�ע לא תתנו עק ר ”וכתבת ק שם, שנאמ ם את ה ד שיכתוב ש� יב ע י� אינו חד דיכתוב אני שי: ע ב א א לר ב� א בריה דר� ח� ב א ר ליה ר מ כם אני ה‘ ”. א� ב�שיכתוב שם ד יב ע י� אינו ח א: ר� פ� ר ק ני ב כדת� ליה: לא, ר מ ש. א� מ� ה‘ מ



כם אני ה ”, אני ה‘ ע לא תתנו ב� עק ר ”וכתבת ק בים, שנאמ ת כוכ� עבודחר (מכות כא.): ולא א

Our pasuk forbids making a tattoo, called ע עק on ,כתבת קour flesh. The term ע עק .means writing of a skin-prick כתבת קWe learn from here that in order to violate this prohibition, one would have to write something on the skin, and then cut into the skin so that the ink penetrates under the skin. But if one wrote on his skin without etching it, or etched his skin without writing on it, he has not violated the prohibition.

There is a disagreement about what type of writing is considered a tattoo forbidden by the Torah. One opinion holds that any kind of letter or mark is forbidden. A second opinion holds that only tattooing the name of an idol is in-cluded in the prohibition.205 He learns this from our pasuk, which concludes with the words “I am Hashem.” The pasuk means that since Hashem is the only true God, we may not tattoo ourselves with the name of an idol (Makkos 21a).

ה .29 זנות� לל את בתך� לה� ל תח� Do not profane your — א�daughter to make her a harlot.

� Marrying Off a DaughterFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must

tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� .(azharah ,אבי ר ר מ יין?. . . א� תו מנ ה לבתו מאנוס� ר� זה� ה. א זנות� לל את בתך� לה� ל תח� א�עקב בי י ה ר תקיף ל� ה“. מ זנות� לל את בתך� לה ל תח א ”א ר קר� מ א: א� ע� איל�כי ה“ לה� זנות� לל את בתך� לה ל תח אי ”א עקב: ה ר י א ב ח� ב א אחוה דרה“, זנות� לל את בתך� לה ל תח א, ”א ני� עי ליה לכדת אי מיב� א? ה ת� הוא דא�ר למוד לומ בר, ת תוב מד כ� אל ה שיא את בתו ללוי וישר� מ כול בכהן ה י�בר, במוסר את בתו שלא לשם תוב מד כ� ה“, בחילול שבזנות ה זנות� ”להה מינ� ע שמ לל“, תח ל ”א אי מ חל, ת ל א א קר� א לימ� כן אם אישות? בדי ליה? אי ע� ה“ מ זנות� לל את בתך� לה ל תח אי ”א א, ה ב� יי ור� ב רתי. וא תלל את בתך� ל תח א ”א ני� קן, כדת שיא את בתו לז� מ ני: זה ה בי מ ר ר מ א�א עקיב� בי ר קן. לז� בתו את שיא מ ה זה אומר: אליעזר בי ר ה“, זנות� לה

שהא בתו בוגרת (סנהדרין עו.): מ אומר: זה הה. בשריפ� סין. . . אונ� ה� מן בתו ל ע א ב� ה ה. זנות� לה� בתך� את לל תח� ל א�לל ל תח ה, ”א ע מינ� מ ת ש� ה א ר� זה� בי בון: אפילו לא בי יוסי בי ר ר ר מ א�

“ (ירושלמי יבמות יא, א, ירושלמי סנהדרין ט, א): את בתך�The wording of our pasuk is, Do not “techalel” (לל ,(תח

profane, your daughter, etc. However, the word tachel חל) without a second lamed, also means profane. The ,(תTorah chose the longer word techalel to teach us that it is

referring to two types of “profaning.”If a man has relations with his daughter he is executed

by burning. This applies whether he had this daughter with his wife or she was born to him from another woman.

According to one opinion, the azharah for this is found in our pasuk. Do not profane your daughter to make her a har-lot means that a father should not profane his daughter by having relations with her. The pasuk does not specify by whom he had this daughter, so it includes even a daughter born out of wedlock. This is the first “profaning.”

The beginning of the pasuk, Do not profane your daugh-ter, might be misunderstood to mean that a father who is a Kohen should not marry off his daughter to a Levi or Yisrael, because this “profanes” her, since she will then lose her status as a Kohen. The pasuk therefore clarifies, to make her a harlot, meaning to give her to a man without marry-ing her to him.206 This is the second type of “profaning.”

Another opinion learns the prohibition for a father to live with his daughter from a different pasuk. According to him, the other “profaning” referred to by our pasuk is when a father marries off his young daughter to an old man. This is considered “profaning” her, because he will not be able to satisfy her desire, and she will sin by seeking to fulfill it elsewhere.

Alternatively, the pasuk refers to a father who does not allow his daughter to get married even though she is ready for it. She will become “profaned” through this, because she will seek to have relationships outside of marriage (Sanhedrin 76a; Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1; Yerushalmi San-hedrin 9:1).

רץ א� .Lest the Land go astray — ולא תזנה ה�

� How Does Land “Go Astray”?נין (ירושלמי כלאים א, א): פירות מז ן שה רץ, מיכ� א� ולא תזנה ה�

Our pasuk tells us that if a father gives over his daughter to an inappropriate marriage,207 the Land will go astray, meaning that the seeds planted in it it will “stray” and pro-duce a different fruit. We see from this that it is possible for a seed to produce a different fruit than it is supposed to.

For example, there is a grain known as darnel, which is a type of weed that grows in wheat fields and is similar to wheat. Darnel comes from a wheat seed that “strayed” and produced darnel instead of wheat.

205. See Schottenstein Edition, note 37. 206. See Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, note 39. 207. See previous discussion.

זנותה. במוסר בתו פנויה לביאה שלא לל את בתך לה� ל תח� (כט) א�לשם קידושין (תורת כהנים פרק ז, א; סנהדרין עו.): ולא תזנה הארץ. אם רצכם, חר ולא בא� עשותן במקום א� תה עושה כן הארץ מז�נה את פירותיה ל� א�ג-ד): שם כהנים תורת ג; ג, (ירמיה וגו‘ ” רביבים ימנעו ”ו� אומר הוא וכן

אפונדתו, וב� במנעלו, ולא קלו, במ� לא יכנס לא תיראו. ומקדשי (ל) זהירכם ל פי שאני מ� ף ע� גליו (תורת כהנים שם ט; ברכות נד.). וא� ל ר� ובאבק שע�בת (תורת מקדש דוחה ש� י תשמורו”, אין בני�ן בית ה� בתות� מקדש, ”את ש� ל ה� ע�

כהנים שם ז; יבמות ו.):

ה לא. רץ ומ/ א ה ה qא־תזנ ה ול Mזנות ל את־בתך לה� �ל ל־תח� כט א�

י יהוה: או אנ! Mי תיר ש! י תשמרו ומקד hבתת ה: ל את־ש� רץ זמ/ jא הא ה ול� טעיות ך לא ת� ת בר חל י� א ת כט ל�

ת עצ א רע� א ותתמלי א רע� א תטעי דילי תטרון א י� ב ת יומי ש ל י� חטאין: : יי� א אנ� חלין ד� תהון קדשי מ ולבית

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / כט־ל 500 / ספר ויקרא


29 Do not profane your daughter to make her a harlot, lest the Land go astray, and the

land become filled with depravity.

30 My Sabbaths shall you observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere — I am HASHEM.

208. See Schottenstein Edition, Nedarim 51a note 16. 209. For example, it is forbidden to wear shoes or a money belt in the Beis HaMikdash, or use it as a shortcut. 210. See above, 19:3, “Don’t Listen.” Shabbos shows honor to Hashem because it acknowledges that Hashem created the world. 211. See Schottenstein Edition, note 17.

This teaching has practical significance: The prohibition of kilayim forbids planting different species of seeds to-gether in the same field. Since darnel comes from a wheat seed, it considered the same species as wheat. Therefore, one may plant wheat together with darnel, and it is not considered kilayim (Yerushalmi Kilayim 1:1).

ה רץ זמ� א� ה ה� לא� And the land become filled with — ומ�depravity.

� Long-Term ConsequencesA person born as a result of certain forbidden relations

has the status of a mamzer, and is forbidden to marry a regular Jew.

ל איזהו מהן רבה ואין יודע ע שים ה ל נ� א ע ה. הרי שב� רץ זמ� א� ה ה� לא� ומ�ה, ת מאיזה מהן קבל� ע ה יוד רבה ואינ� שים ה ליה� אנ� או ע� א, וכן היא שב� ב�ם כולו עול� ל ה� לא כ� ח נושא את אחותו, ונתמ ב נושא את בתו וא� א א� נמצ�

ה“ (יבמות לז:): רץ זמ� א� ה ה� לא� ר ”ומ� ל זה נאמ מזרין, וע מה אש� א ויש� וילך זו ה במדינ� ה אש� ם ד� א� א יש� לא ה. זמ� רץ א� ה� ה לא� ומ�לא ח נושא אחותו וממ א א� ווגו זה אצל זה ונמצ� א יזד חרת, שמ� ה א במדינ�

ה“ (יומא יח:): רץ זמ� א� ה ה� לא� ר ”ומ� ל זה נאמ מזרות, וע ם כולו מ עול� ל ה� כ�Our pasuk forbids a father from making his daughter

a harlot by allowing her to have relations with a man to whom she is not married. The pasuk explains that because of this the land will become filled with depravity, meaning that since people will not know who their true parents are, siblings will come to marry each other, and their children will be mamzerim.

Similarly, if a woman has relations with many men, she will not know whose child she bore, and a man who has relations loosely will not know who all the women are, and may one day marry the daughter of one of them.

A similar concern also exists in certain cases of mar-riage. The law is that a man may not marry a woman in one country and then marry another woman in a different country. Since the families live in different places, they might not know that they share the same father. Therefore, a child of one family might marry the child of the other, and their children will be mamzerim (Yevamos 37b; Yoma 18b).

� Meaning of “Zimah”A person born as a result of certain forbidden relations

has the status of a mamzer, and is forbidden to marry a regular Jew.

ה היא (נדרים נא., יבמות לז:): ה“. . . זו מ� אי ”זימ� ה. מ רץ זמ� א� ה ה� לא� ומ�Our pasuk forbids a father from making his daughter

a harlot by allowing her to have relations with a man to whom she is not married. The pasuk says that this will

cause the land to be filled with “zimah” (ה .depravity ,(זימ�The word zimah is a contraction of the words, zo mah hi

ה היא) meaning, this [child], what is it? According to ,(זו מ�one opinion, this means that when the harlot has a child, we do not know who his father is.208

According to a second opinion, it means that since the child does not know who his father is, he might end up marrying his own sister. If he does marry a girl that might be his sister, his child is described as “zimah” — this [child], what is it, meaning that the status of the child is unknown, since it might be a mamzer (Nedarim 51a; Yevamos 37b).

או אני ה‘ .30 שי תיר� י תשמרו ומקד� בתת� My Sabbaths — את ש�shall you observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere

— I am Hashem.


ש מקד� ה מן ה� ירא� ת ה� מצוה רנד: מצו�Mitzvah 254: The Obligation to Revere the

Beis HaMikdashWe are commanded to have feelings of fear and reverence for the Beis HaMikdash, and to act in a reverent way while

in the Beis HaMikdash.209

� Not on Shabbosש דוחה מקד� ן בית ה כול יהא בני או. י� שי תיר� י תשמרו ומקד� בתת� את ש�כולכם או“, תיר� שי ומקד� תשמרו י בתת ש ”את ר לומ למוד ת ת? ב� ש

יבין בכבודי (יבמות ו.): י� חOur pasuk says, My Sabbaths shall you observe and My

Sanctuary shall you revere — I am Hashem.It was suggested that the words “I am Hashem” refer back

to the Sanctuary, teaching that although we must revere the Sanctuary, the Sanctuary itself must “serve” and honor Hashem. The mitzvah of Shabbos shows honor to Hashem.210 Our pasuk therefore teaches that we may not violate the Shabbos to build the Beis HaMikdash211 (Yevamos 6a).

� Compared to Shabbosה ת, ונאמר� ב� ה“ בש ה ”שמיר� או. נאמר� שי תיר� י תשמרו ומקד� בתת� את ש�ירא ה מתי� ת� ת א ב� ת לא מש ב� ש ה ב אמור� ה ה� ה שמיר� ש, מ מקד� א“ ב ”מור�ש ש לא ממקד� מקד� ה ב אמור� א ה� ף מור� ת, א ב� ש ל ה א ממי שהזהיר ע אל�ש? א מקד� ש, ואי זו היא מור� מקד� ל ה א ממי שהזהיר ע ירא אל� ה מתי� ת� אבי ל ג ק שע ב� א� תו, וב� לו, בפונד� קלו, במנע� ית במ ב ר ה ם בה ד� נס א� לא יכ�ג, ו.־ו:, סופרים (יבמות חומר ו� ל מק ה ורקיק� א, נדרי� פ עשנו ק י ולא יו, גל� ר

ספר תורה ג):ש מקד� ן שבית ה א בזמ או. ואין לי אל� שי תיר� י תשמרו ומקד� בתת� את ש�י בתת ש ”את ר לומ למוד ת ין? מנ ים י� ק ש מקד� ה בית שאין ן בזמ ים, י� קא ף מור� ם, א ת לעול� ב� ש ה ב אמור� ה ה� ה שמיר� או, מ שי תיר� תשמרו ומקד�

ם (יבמות ו:): ש לעול� מקד� ה ב אמור� ה�



Our pasuk mentions revering the Beis HaMikdash togeth-er with the mitzvah of Shabbos — My Sabbaths shall you observe and My Sanctuary shall you revere. This teaches that these two mitzvos are compared to each other.

When we keep Shabbos, we do so out of reverence for Hashem, Who commanded us to observe it; we do not fear the Shabbos itself. Similarly, we do not revere the Beis HaMikdash itself by worshiping it or bowing down toward it. Rather, we act reverently in the Beis HaMikdash to show our respect for Hashem, Who “dwells” in the Beis HaMikdash. For example, a person may not enter the Beis HaMikdash with his walking stick, or while wearing his shoes or his money belt. He must also make sure to wash his feet so that he does not enter with dirty feet. He also may not use the Beis HaMikdash as a shortcut. It is certainly forbidden to spit in the Beis HaMikdash.

Our pasuk’s comparison also teaches that just as the mitzvah of Shabbos applies at all times, even after the Beis HaMikdash is destroyed, so too, we must revere the Beis HaMikdash even after it is destroyed212 (Yevamos 6a-b; Soferim 6; Sefer Torah §3).

ידענים .31 אבת ואל ה� ל תפנו אל ה� Do not turn to [the — א�sorcery of] the Ovos and Yid’onim.


עשה אוב עשות מ� מצוה רנה: של א ל�Mitzvah 255: The Prohibition to Practice the Sorcery of OvWe are forbidden to practice the sorcery of Ov, which is done by conjuring up the spirits of the dead in order to communicate with them. The prohibition includes both

conjuring up the spirit and communicating with it.

עשה ידעוני עשות מ� מצוה רנו: של א ל�Mitzvah 256: The Prohibition to Practice the Sorcery of

Yid’oniWe are forbidden to practice the sorcery of Yid’oni. This sor-cery is performed by placing the bone of a certain creature into one’s mouth, which then speaks and reveals the future.

� How It’s Doneבר משחיו, מד ל אוב זה פיתום ה ע ידענים. ב אבת ואל ה� ל תפנו אל ה� א�

ה (סנהדרין סה.): בר בפיו. הרי אלו בסקיל� מד וידעוני זה הOur pasuk forbids “turning toward” — i.e., practicing —

the sorceries of Ov and Yid’oni.

How are these sorceries done?In Ov, the person communicates with the dead by raising

the spirit of a dead person from the ground and causing it to rest under his armpit, from where it speaks. Alterna-tively, he causes the spirit to rest under any joint, to speak from there.

Yid’oni works by the person causing a spirit to speak from his mouth. He does this by taking a bone of the animal known as yadua and placing it in his mouth, from where it speaks (Sanhedrin 65a).

� Don’t Do Itל תפנו יין? ”א ל אוב מנ ע ה לב ר� זה� ידענים. א אבת ואל ה� ל תפנו אל ה� א�

אבת“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, י): אל ה�For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must

tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� .(azharah ,א

If a person practices the sorcery of Ov or Yid’oni he is executed through stoning. The azharah against doing these things is found in our pasuk: Do not turn to [the sorcery of]

the Ovos and Yid’onim (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:10).

קן .32 ז� פני רת� ד� וה� קום ת� ה שיב� In the presence of — מפני an old person shall you rise, and you shall honor the

presence of an elder.


מים ת כבוד חכ� מצוה רנז: מצו�Mitzvah 257: The Obligation to Honor Torah Scholars

� Converts Are Also Includedדיקים, צ ה עם צדק ה גירי וכולל קן. ז� פני רת� ד� וה� קום ת� ה שיב� מפני מיך ליה ”וכי י�גור אתך� קן“, וס� רת� פני ז� ד קום וה� ה ת� ר ”מפני שיב� שנאמ

גר” (מגילה יז:):

212. See Schottenstein Edition, Yevamos 6b note 4.

זה אוב ל ע� וידעוני. ב� אוב ל ע� לב� זהרה א� האבת. אל תפנו ל (לא) א�יה ששמה י�דוע� לתוך פיו, והעצם כניס עצם ח� בר משחיו. וידעוני מ� מד� פיתום ה�קשו. להיות עסוקים בם, ל תב� בר (תורת כהנים שם י, סנהדרין סה.-סה:): א� מד�עב אתכם (תורת כהנים שם אני מת� י, ו� מאין לפנ� תם מיט� סקו בם א� שאם תתע�חליפין במי (שם): (לב) מפני תם מ� יא): אני ה‘ אלהיכם. דעו את מי א�

ר ”זקן“, אין זקן אלא שקנה חכמה למוד לומ� אי, ת� שמ� שיבה תקום. יכול זקן א�רת פני זקן. איזהו הדור, לא ישב במקומו, [ולא (שם יב; קידושין לב:): והד�בר במקומו], ולא יסתור את דבריו. יכול י�עצים עיניו כמי שלא ראהו, לכך יד�כיר בו נאמר ”ויראת מאלהיך”, שהרי דבר זה מסור ללבו של עושהו, שאין מ�ר בו ”ויראת מאלהיך” (תורת כהנים שם יד): לב נאמ� מסור ל� אלא הוא, וכל דבר ה�

ה מא< ל־תבקשו לט אבת ואל־הידענים א� ל־תפנו אל־ה/ לא א�

י eפנ jדרת ה תקום וה/ י שיב gם: לב מפנ היכ9 י יהוה אל ם אנ! Aה ביהוה: ס רביעי (ששי כשהן מחוברין) י bאנ יך אלה- *מ3 את �ויר זקן

* מ' דגושה

א ל� ודכורו בדין ר ת ב� תתפנון א לא ל�

הכון: א יי� אל� א בהון אנ� ב� א� תתבעון לאסת�ר ד א תקום ותה ית� ר באור ב ם דס לב מן קד�

: יי� א אנ� ך ה� מאל� ל ותדח א ב� ס� פי א

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / לא־לב 502 / ספר ויקרא


31 Do not turn to [the sorcery of] the Ovos and Yid’onim; do not seek to be contami-

nated through them — I am HASHEM, your God.

32 In the presence of an old person shall you rise, and you shall honor the presence

of an elder and you shall revere your God — I am HASHEM.

213. See next discussion. 214. See note 173. 215. Bamidbar 11:16. 216. See Schottenstein Edition, note 18.

Our pasuk tells us to rise up for a “zakein” (literally, elder), referring to a Torah scholar.213 The next pasuk dis-cusses a ger (convert): When a proselyte dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him.

One of the blessings of Shemoneh Esrei is a blessing for the righteous (דיקים צ ה ל The main subject of this .(עblessing is asking Hashem to have mercy on the righteous and the Torah scholars, and that blessing mentions also converts. The Sages included converts in the blessing for Torah scholars, since we see in our pesukim that the Torah mentions them together (Megillah 17b).

� What Is a Zakein?קן כול אפילו מפני ז� קום“, י� ה ת� ן: ”מפני שיב� נ� ב� נו ר קום. ת� ה ת� מפני שיב�ר (במדבר יא, טז) ם, שנאמ כ� א ח� קן אל� קן“, ואין ז� ר ”ז� למוד לומ אי, ת שמ אקן גלילי אומר: אין ז� בי יוסי ה אל“. ר ה לי שבעים איש מזקני ישר� ”אספ�קום“, אפילו ה ת� ה אומר: ”מפני שיב� ה. . . איסי בן יהוד� כמ� ה ח� נ� א מי שק� אל�ניק ייהו י א בינ א? איכ� מ� א ק נ� יינו ת גלילי ה בי יוסי ה ע. ר שמ ה במ ל שיב� כ�אפילו ר: ב גלילי ס� ה יוסי בי ר לא. כים וח ניק י ר: ב א ס� מ� א ק נ� כים, ת וחא נ� חמ� ך: . . . נכתוב ר ר ל� מ גלילי? א� בי יוסי ה א דר עמ� אי ט כים. מ ניק וח י�ר, למימ א? נ� חמ� ר לגינהו דפ א שנ� אי מ , רת� ד וה� קום ת� קן ז� ה שיב� מפני כים (קידושין ניק וח ה: אפילו י ע מינ� אי, שמ או ה אי ל� אי וה או ה אי ל� דה

לב:־לג.):Our pasuk says, In the presence of a “seivah” (ה old ,(שיב�

person, shall you rise, and you shall honor the presence of a “zakein” (קן .literally, elder ,(ז�

There is a disagreement about how to explain our pasuk. One opinion says that since the beginning of the pasuk speaks of a seivah, an old person, it means that one must stand up for any old person, even if he is ignorant and a sinner.

A second opinion says that the pasuk refers only to an old person who is also wise. He learns this from a gezeirah shavah.214 Our pasuk uses the word zakein, elder, and a later pasuk215 uses a similar word: gather to me seventy men from the “ziknei” (זקני), elders, of Israel. Just as the pasuk below discusses elders who are Torah scholars, the same is true for our pasuk. According to this opinion, when the pasuk mentions a seivah and a zakein, it actually refers to one person who is both a seivah, an old person, and a zakein, a wise person.

A third opinion holds that the term zakein refers to any Torah scholar, even if he is young. This opinion under-stands the word zakein (קן ,as a contraction of the words (ז�zeh kanah (ה נ� ק� this one has acquired [wisdom].216 ,(זה Therefore, any person knowledgeable in Torah is included, regardless of his age. The term seivah, on the other hand, refers to an old person, even if he is not learned (as long

as he is not a sinner). Thus, according to this opinion, one must honor a scholar even if he is young, and an old per-son even if he is not a scholar.

The third opinion proves his position from the wording of the pasuk, קן רת� פני ז� ד קום וה� ה ת� In the presence of ,מפני שיב�a “seivah” (old person) shall you rise, and you shall honor the presence of a “zakein.” If the pasuk would be discuss-ing only one person — an old person who is also wise — it would have put the words “seivah” and “zakein” together: רת� ד וה� קום ת� קן ז� ה שיב� -In the presence of a “seivah za ,מפני

kein” an old, wise person, shall you rise and honor. Since the Torah mentions seivah and zakein separately, we see that it is referring to two different categories of people; a seivah is an old person even if he is not wise, and a zakein is a wise person even if he is young.

The second opinion maintains that if the Torah was referring to different people, it would have applied both rising up and honoring to both categories, saying ה מפני שיב�קן ז� פני רת� ד וה� קום רת� ת� ד וה� קום In the presence of a seivah ,ת�shall “you rise and honor,” and “you shall rise and honor” the presence of a zakein. Since the Torah mentions only “rising” with regard to a seivah and “honoring” with regard to a zakein, we see that a seivah and a zakein are the same person (Kiddushin 32b-33a).

� Standing and Honoringחוק, ר� קום ממ� יו נ� מפ� עמוד י כול י� קן. ז� פני רת� ד� וה� קום ת� ה שיב� מפני שיש קום במ� א אל� ה קימ� רתי מ א� לא ,“ רת� ד וה� קום ”ת� ר לומ למוד תר למוד לומ ץ, ת מרח� כסא ומבית ה יו מבית ה נ� עמוד מפ� כול י הידור. . . י�איזוהי הידור. . . שיש קום במ� א אל� ה קימ� רתי מ א� לא ,“ רת� ד וה� קום ”ת�לא יי: ב א ר מ א� מות. א ע רב א זה אומר הוי הידור? ה ב� שיש ה קימ�יו (קידושין ק מלא עינ� מובה� בו ה ל בר ק אב� בו שאינו מובה� א בר ן אל� ר� אמ�

לב:־לג.):ר למוד לומ מון, ת במ� דרנו יה כול י� קן. ז� פני רת� ד� וה� קום ה ת� שיב� מפני בו שאין הידור ף א כיס, חסרון ה ב� שאין ה קימ� ה מ ,“ רת� ד וה� קום ”ת�ה ף קימ� ה הידור שאין בו ביטול א ה להידור, מ קיש קימ� חסרון כיס. . . אה חסרון ה שאין ב� ה קימ� ה, מ מי הידור לקימ� קיש נ ה ביטול, וא שאין ב�ניות אומ� עלי ב אין מרו: א� אן מכ� כיס, חסרון בו שאין הידור ף א כיס ם אכת� במל שעוסקין ה ע� בש� מים חכ� למידי ת מפני עמוד ל אין ש� ר

(קידושין לג., ירושלמי ביכורים ג, ג):Our pasuk tells us, In the presence of an old person “shall

you rise,” and “you shall honor” the presence of an elder. On a simple level, these are two separate obligations: (1) to stand up in the presence of an elder; and (2) to show him honor him by praising him or giving him gifts.

The pasuk mentions “honoring” together with “rising,” to compare them to each other. One might have thought that the obligation to rise applies whenever a person sees



an elder, even if it will disrupt his work. The pasuk is teach-ing that just as honoring can be done during a person’s free time when he is not working, so too, the obligation to stand is only if it will not disrupt his work.

We also learn from the pasuk’s comparison that just as “rising” does not involve a loss of money, “honoring” also does not involve a loss of money. Thus, honoring an elder does not require that we give him gifts.

This proves that the obligation to give honor to an el-der is not separate from the obligation to stand for him; rather, “honoring” defines the obligation of rising, telling us that one should stand up in a way that gives honor to the elder.

Therefore, the obligation to rise is only when the elder is within one’s four amos, because that is when it is clear that he is standing up for the elder.

Also, there is no obligation to stand up for an elder in a bathhouse or lavatory, since this does not bring honor to the elder (Kiddushin 32b-33a; Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3:3).

� Measure for Measureם כ� ח� למיד ת ל כ� ר: ז� אלע� ר’ ר מ א� קן. ז� פני רת� ד� וה� קום ת� ה שיב� מפני , כח למודו משת מים ות אריך י� ע ואינו מ ש� א ר� בו נקר� שאין עומד מפני רצל אשר מים כ אריך י� ע ולא י ש� ר� ר (קהלת ח, יג) ”וטוב לא יהיה ל� שנאמ

ר (קידושין לג:): מ ר ”פני“ ”פני“ ג� ז� רא מלפני אלהים“. . . ר’ אלע� איננו י�Our pasuk teaches the obligation to stand in the pres-

ence of an elder or Torah scholar.217

If a person does not stand up for his teacher, he is called a “wicked” person. His punishment is that he will not live long, and will forget his learning.

Our pasuk tells us “mipnei” (מפני), in the presence of, an older person shall you rise. A pasuk in Koheles218 says, A wicked person will not enjoy good, and like a shadow he will not endure, because he does not fear “milifnei” (מלפני), before, God. The words milifnei and mipnei are similar expression of the same root, so we learn that the pasuk in Koheles refers to a person who does not rise up in the presence of an older person or sage.219 The pasuk calls him a wicked person, and informs us that he will not enjoy “good,” meaning, he will forget his Torah, which is called “good”; and like a shadow he will not endure, meaning, he will not have a long life

These punishments are middah keneged middah,

measure for measure. Since he did not honor his teacher, he will not be given the opportunity to receive this honor for himself: He will not be honored as an elder because he will die early, nor will he be honored as a Torah scholar, since he will forget his learning (Kiddushin 33b).

� A New Manפרת,. . . ה מכ שיא, גדול� ן נ� ת� ם, ח� כ� ני ח� קן. ת� רת� פני ז� ד� קום וה� ה ת� מפני שיב�י�גור ”וכי תריה? כתיב ב ה קן“, מ ז� פני רת� ד וה� קום ה ת� ”מפני שיב� ם כ� ח�לו מוחלין גר ה ה מ� לג), פסוק (להלן אתו“ תונו לא רצכם בא גר אתך� יו (ירושלמי ל עונות� ל כ� ה מוחלין לו ע נ� ם שנתמ כ� ף ח� יו, א ל עונות� ל כ� ע

ביכורים ג, ג):When a person is appointed the sage or judge of a city,

he is considered like a new person, and gains atonement for past sins. We learn this from our pasuk and the next. Our pasuk commands us to honor elders and Torah schol-ars, while the next pasuk speaks about converts. This teaches that a Torah sage is compared to a convert. A convert is considered a newborn child, and all his sins are forgiven. So too, when a person is appointed as the sage of the city, his sins are forgiven (Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3:3).

� Hashem Did It Firstרוך דוש ב� ק� ר ה מ בי סימון: א� ר ר קן. אמ רת� פני ז� ד� קום וה� ה ת� מפני שיב�אני ,” אני ה‘ מאלהיך� ראת� וי� קן ז� פני רת� ד וה� קום ה ת� ”מפני שיב� הוא: ראש ירושלמי ג; ג, ביכורים (ירושלמי ה תחיל� קן ז� ת עמיד ימתי שקי הוא

השנה א, ג):Our pasuk tells us, In the presence of an old person shall

you rise, and you shall honor the presence of an elder…I am Hashem. It is as if Hashem were saying, “I, Hashem” was the first one in history to “stand” for an elder. When our forefather Avraham was 99 years old, he circumcised himself. Then, when Avraham was sitting at the door of his tent, Hashem came to visit him, and “stood” before him (Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3:3; Yerushalmi Rosh Hashanah 1:3).

ראת� מאלהיך .And you shall revere your God — וי�

� You Can’t Fool Himר לומ למוד ת הו, א� ר� שלא כמי יו עינ� עצים י כול י� מאלהיך. ראת� וי�כול “. . . י� ראת� מאלהיך� ”וי� ר בו נאמ לב סור ל מ� ר ה ב� “, ד� ראת� וי� קום. . . ”ת�לא א א ה� חיוב� ן זמ א ט� דכי מ� א, חיוב� ן זמ דלימטיה מי מק יו עינ� עצים י“ (קידושין לב:־לג.): ראת� קום. . . וי� ר: ”ת� למוד לומ מיה, ת אים מק זי ליה דק� ח�

217. See above, “What Is a Zakein?” 218. 8:13. 219. See Schottenstein Edition, note 9.

ר לו אמש היית עובד עבודה זרה, ת דברים. לא תאמ� (לג) לא תונו. אונא�גבורה (שם פרק ח, ב; בבא מציעא תה בא ללמוד תורה שנתנה מפי ה� כשיו א� וע�

חברך (שם נט:): אני ר ל� ל תאמ� נח:): (לד) כי גרים הייתם. מום שבך א�ה‘ אלהיכם. אלהיך ואלהיו אני:

ח א תונו אתו: לד כאזר< ם ל Aר בארצכ Oגור אתך גי־י לג וכ*

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א רעכון ל� א בא גיור� ר עמכון י יתג ארי לג ו

א א מנכון יהי לכון גיור� ציב� תה: לד כי תונון י�רין י� ך ארי ד ת� חם לה כו� ר עמכון ותר י דיתגהכון: יי� אל� א ים אנ� א דמצר� רע� הויתון בא

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / לג־לד 504 / ספר ויקרא


33When a proselyte dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him. 34 The pros-

elyte who dwells with you shall be like a native among you, and you shall love

him like yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt — I am HASHEM, your

God.

220. In Eretz Yisrael we do not trust him, because he might be claiming falsely that he converted in order to benefit from the goodness of Eretz Yisrael. 221. See previous discussion. 222. See Schottenstein Edition, 47a note 5. 223. 22:20. 224. 25:17.

Our pasuk commands us to stand up for an elder, and ends with the words, and you shall revere your God.

The pasuk is warning us not to use any “tricks” to get out of the obligation. For example, if a person sees an el-der approaching, he should not close his eyes so that when the elder approaches he will not see him and will not have to stand up. He should instead fear Hashem, Who knows that he is intentionally trying to avoid doing the mitzvah (Kiddushin 32b-33a).

� Try To Avoid Itקן ין לז� ר אומר: מנ ז� בי שמעון בן אלע� ראת� מאלהיך. ר קן וי� רת� פני ז� ד� וה�“ (קידושין לב:, ירושלמי ביכורים ג, ראת� קן וי� ר ”ז� למוד לומ , ת טריח שלא י

ג):Our pasuk says, And you shall honor the presence of an

elder and you shall revere your God. Since the word “elder” comes right before “and you shall revere your God,” the pasuk can be understood as saying that the elder himself should fear and revere Hashem. This means that the elder should not trouble people to stand up for him; if he can get where he needs to go using a different route, he should avoid using a route where he will pass people, forcing them to stand up for him. Although the people might not realize what he is doing, he should fear Hashem, Who knows that he is just trying to get honor for himself (Kiddushin 32b; Yerushalmi Bikkurim 3:3).

רצכם לא תונו אתו .33 When a proselyte — וכי י�גור אתך� גר בא�dwells among you in your land, do not taunt him.

� Does He Need Proof?למוד בלנו, ת כול נק ר גר אני י� מ א וא� רצכם. מי שב� וכי י�גור אתך� גר בא�ין? מנ רץ א� ל� ה בחוצ� רץ א� ב� א אל� לי אין . . . לך� ק במוחז� “ ”אתך� ר לומרץ? א� ר ב� למוד לומ ה ת . אם כן מ קום שאתך� ל מ� “, בכ� ר ”אתך� למוד לומ תי ה, דבר י� ביא רא� ריך לה� רץ אין צ� א� ה ל� ה, בחוצ� י� ביא רא� ריך לה� רץ צ� א� ב�ביא ריך לה� רץ צ� א� ה ל� רץ בין בחוצ� א� מים אומרים: בין ב� חכ� ה, ו בי יהוד� רבלים רץ מק א� אפילו ב� עי ליה ד הוא מיב� רץ, ה א� א כתיב ב� א ה� ה. . . ואל� י� רא�יירי מג ק� אל ישר� דארץ א טיבות� משום א אמינ� ך עת� ד א לק� דס גרים,

(יבמות מו:־מז.):Our pasuk discusses converts to Judaism, When a pros-

elyte dwells among you ( in your land, etc. The words (אתך�“among you” teach that if a person known as a non-Jew claims that he had converted, he must first be established among us, meaning that he must prove to us that he has converted. But without proof, he is not believed to say that he has become a Jew.

There is a disagreement about where this law applies.

One opinion holds that since our pasuk says, in your land, we see that only in Eretz Yisrael he has to prove his conversion, but everywhere else he is believed without proof.220

A second opinion holds that a convert must bring proof even outside of Eretz Yisrael. When the pasuk mentions in your land, it is not speaking about believing a convert but about accepting converts; it means that we accept con-verts even in Eretz Yisrael. One might have thought that we should not accept converts in Eretz Yisrael, because the person might be converting only to benefit from the goodness of Eretz Yisrael. Our pasuk teaches that this is not the case.

But perhaps, because our pasuk says, When a proselyte dwells among you “in your land,” we should accept con-verts only in Eretz Yisrael?

It was suggested that the word אתך�, among you, indi-cates that we accept converts wherever we are (Yevamos 46b-47a).

� Secondhand Informationר ”וכי י�גור למוד לומ ין? ת יו עמו מנ א ועד� רצכם. ב� וכי י�גור אתך� גר בא�פלוני, של דינו בבית ייר שנתג ענו מ ש� מרי דא� רצכם“. . . בא גר אתך�

ן (יבמות מו:־מז.): ע ל� שמ א מ ייהו, ק� א לא ליהמנ ך אמינ� עת� א ד לק� סOur pasuk says, When a proselyte “dwells” among you

in your land. The words “among you” teach that a per-son claiming to be a convert is believed only if he brings proof.221

The word “dwells” teaches that we allow him to dwell with us even based on proof that is not usually acceptable according to Jewish law. Normally, witnesses can testify only to what they saw themselves; they may not testify based on what they heard from others. Here, though, if the witnesses say that they heard from others that the person was converted in a certain Beis Din, they are believed222 (Yevamos 46b-47a).

� Three Sinsה גר עובר בשלש� נה את ה מא רצכם לא תונו אתו. ה וכי י�גור אתך� גר בא�

רצכם לא תונו אתו“ (בבא מציעא נט:): אוין. . . ”וכי י�גור אתך� גר בא לOur pasuk tells us that we may not taunt a covert, mean-

ing that we may not embarrass or insult him. If someone does this, he violates three sins. One of them is our pasuk. The other two are a pasuk in Shemos, 223 which clearly for-bids embarrassing a convert, and a pasuk below, 224 which commands us not to embarrass Jews in general (Bava Metzia 59b).



ה .35 משור� ל וב� משק� ה ב� מד� ט ב� משפ� ול ב� עשו ע� You shall — לא ת�not commit a perversion in justice, in measures of

length, weight, or volume.


ל מדות בכל� ל ה� מדות וכ� מצוה רנח: של א להונות ב�Mitzvah 258: The Prohibition to Defraud With

Inaccurate Weights and Measures

� Practical Examplesת מדיד זו ה, מד� ב ה, משור� וב� ל משק� ב� ה מד� ב� ט משפ� ב� ול ע� עשו ת� לא מים. גש� ה בימות ד ולאח� ה מ� ח ה בימות ד לאח� ימדוד שלא ע, רק ק(בבא רתיח י שלא ה, משור� ב ח. במל יו משקלות� טמין י שלא ל, משק� ב

מציעא סא:, בבא בתרא פט:):Our pasuk commands us not to commit a perversion in

justice, by using inaccurate measures of length, weight, or

volume.

“Length” refers to measuring land. For example, when children inherit land from their father and need to divide it up, they should not measure some of the portions in the winter and others in the summer. This is because the rope used for measuring stretches in the damp winter weather and shrinks in the hot summer weather. Thus, a portion measured in the summer will be smaller than one mea-sured in the winter.

“Weight” refers to the weights (“counterweights”) used on a scale.225 An example of an inaccurate weight is one that has been buried in salt. The salt makes the weight heavier than it originally was; for example, a one-pound weight will now weigh more than a pound. Our pasuk for-bids a buyer from using such a weight, since he will pay for only a pound and will receive more than that.

“Volume” refers to measuring volume of liquids. If a merchant is selling liquid and measures it out to his

customers with a measuring cup, he should not pour the liquid quickly so that it forms a foam, because he would then be giving the buyer too little liquid (Bava Metzia 61b; Bava Basra 89b).

בני צדק .36 Correct scales, correct — מאזני צדק א�weights.


מדות לים וה� משק� ים וה� מאזנ� ת צדוק ה� מצוה רנט: מצו�Mitzvah 259: The Obligation to Maintain Accurate

Weights and MeasuresWe are commanded to make sure that our scales, weights,

and measures are extremely accurate.

� The Fox, the Wolf, and the Wellלים ן: שלש מאות משלות שוע� נ� בי יוח� ר ר מ בני צדק. וא� מאזני צדק א�ושני יאכלו בסר בות לש: ”א� א ש� נו אל� אין ל� נו וא� מאיר, בי לר יו לו ה�ה ר� מצ� דיק ”צ צדק“, בני א צדק ”מאזני ב), יב, (יחזקאל ה“ תקהינ� נים ב�

יו“ (משלי יא, ח) (סנהדרין לח:־לט.): חת� ע ת ש� בא ר� י� ץ ו נחל�The Sages sometimes related parables involving a fox

to teach a lesson.A wolf was looking for food. A fox told him to go help

the Jews with their Shabbos preperations, and in return the Jews will allow him to eat some of the Shabbos food. However, when the wolf tried doing this, the Jews drove him away with sticks.

The wolf was very angry and wanted to kill the fox.The fox then suggested a different way to get food. He

took the wolf to a well. The well had two buckets attached to a pulley system above it, so that when one bucket was lowered the other rose up. The fox went into the upper bucket and the other bucket went up. The fox then tricked the wolf into thinking there was bread and cheese in the well by showing him the reflection of the moon in the

225. In earlier times, scales were balance scales. Such scales have an upright bar, and a balanced bar hangs across it, with a pan hanging from each end. The item being weighed was placed in one pan, and something whose weight was known, called a “counterweight,” was placed in the other pan. When both pans were perfectly balanced, it meant that the two sides had the same weight. For example, if the counterweight was exactly a pound, a pound of items would have to be placed on the opposite pan to make both pans balance.

”לא ר נאמ� כבר הרי יין, לד� אם משפט. ב� עול עשו ת� (לה) לא מדה שנוי כאן, היא ה� הו ”משפט“ ה� משפט“ (לעיל פסוק טו), ומ� עשו עול ב� ת�קר במדה הרי הוא יין, שאם יש� מודד נקרא ד� מד שה� משורה. מל� משקל וה� וה�ו“תועבה“, ”חרם“ ו“משוקץ“ ”שנאוי“ ול“ ”ע� וקראוי דין, ה� את לקל כמק�את לל ומח� הארץ, את מא מט� יין: בד� האמורים דברים חמשה ל� וגורם רצם גלה אותם מא� חרב, ומ� ישראל ב� פיל את שכינה, ומ� לק את ה� שם, ומס� ה�

שמעו: כמ� משקל. ב� ו): (שם הארץ ת מד� זו במדה. ה): שם כהנים (תורת משקולות ה� הם צדק. בני א� (לו) יבש]: [וה� ח ל� ה� ת מד� היא משורה. וב�ח: אשר ל� ת ה� יבש: הין. זו היא מד� ת ה� ת. היא מד� ששוקלין כנגדן (שם): איפ�ים בין נתי במצר� חר, אני הבח� ל מנת כן (שם י). דבר א� הוצאתי אתכם. ע�שטומן ממי להפרע� נאמן ה� אני ו� בכור, של שאינה לטפה בכור של טפה (בבא מציעא סא:): בהם כירים שאין מ� בריות את ה� להונות ח במל� משקלותיו

ה: לו מאזני משור/ ל וב� jמשק ה ב� מד ט ב� Mמשפ ול ב� jעשו ע Bלה לא־ת

ם אני יהוה Aכ ה ל qהי דק י* ין צ- bדק וה Pת צ יפ� �דק א בני־צ דק א� qצם mים: לז ושמרת רץ מצר/ ם מא� אתי אתכ- �ם אשר־הוצ היכ אלי יהוה: פ ם אנ! Mם את עשית- Bי ו ט� ל־משפ ל־חקתי ואת־כ את־כ

א חת� במש בדין ר שק עבדון ת א לה ל�

דקשוט ן ו� לו מאזנ� א: ובמכלת� א תקל� במוהינין דקשוט ן מכיל� דקשוט ן תקל� מפקית הכון די א א יי� אל� דקשוט יהון לכון אנ�ל ת כ� ים: לז ותטרון י� א דמצר� רע� תכון מא י� : א יי� תהון אנ� עבדון י� י ות ל דינ ת כ� י וי� מ קי�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים יט / לה־לז 506 / ספר ויקרא


35 You shall not commit a perversion in justice, in measures of length, weight, or vol-

ume. 36 You shall have correct scales, correct weights, a correct ephah, and a correct

hin — I am HASHEM, your God, Who brought you forth from the land of Egypt. 37 You

shall observe all My decrees and all My ordinances, and you shall perform them — I

am HASHEM.

Weights and

measures

226. 11:8. 227. See Schottenstein Edition, 19a note 37. 228. 25:15. 229. See Schottenstein Edition, 19b note 2. 230. See Schottenstein Edition, note 10. 231. See Schottenstein Edition, note 17.

water, which looked like a cake of cheese. He told the wolf to go into the other bucket so that he would be lowered into the well.

The wolf did this, and the fox’s bucket went up, while the wolf remained stuck in the well. When he asked the fox how he could get of the well, the fox answered by citing two pesukim. First, he cited a pasuk in Mishlei,226 which says that when a righteous person is saved from a trouble, that trouble is decreed on a wicked person instead. Here too, the wicked wolf was trapped at the bottom of the well instead of the fox. Then the fox cited our pasuk, correct scales, correct weights, interpreting it to mean that Hashem gives everyone — both the righteous and the wicked — the correct reward and punishment, according to what they deserve (Sanhedrin 38b-39a).

� It’s Your Responsibilityה ר� ן שכ� ת ה שמ מצו� ל מים: כ� מרו חכ� ן א� צדק“, מיכ� בני צדק א� ”מאזני ה ר� ן שכ� ת ה שמ ל מצו� א כ� תנית� . . . כיני מ ליה� רין ע� ה, אין בית דין מוזה� בצד�

ליה� (ירושלמי בבא בתרא ה, ה): שין ע� ה אין בית דין נענ� בצד�Normally, the court is responsible to make sure that peo-

ple perform mitzvos. If they see someone not doing a mitz-vah — for example, he does not put on tefillin — they must force him to do the mitzvah. If the court fails to do this, they are responsible for the person’s sin and they get punished.

Our pasuk says, “You shall have” correct scales, correct weights. The words “you shall have” teach that the pasuk is talking to the person who has the weights, telling us that the person himself is ultimately responsible for maintain-ing correct weights, not the court.227 Although the court is required to appoint inspectors to check that everyone’s weights are correct and honest, if they did not do so they are not punished.

This rule applies to all other mitzvos where the Torah mentions the reward for the mitzvah together with the mitzvah, as it does regarding having correct weights. As the pasuk says in Devarim,228 A perfect and honest weight shall you have… so that your days shall be lengthened on the Land that Hashem, your God, gives you (Yerushalmi Bava Basra 5:5).229

ת צדק והין צדק .A correct ephah, and a correct hin — איפ�

� A “Correct” Yesל בכל הין הלא ו צדק“, ”הין ר לומ למוד ת ה מ צדק. והין צדק ת איפ�ר מ או שלך� צדק. א� ר לך� שיהא הן שלך� צדק ול א לומ ה? אל� י� ה ה� איפ�

לב (בבא מציעא מט.): ד ב פה ואח� ד ב בר אח� הוא שלא יד יי: ה ב א

The ephah and hin are measurements of volume. Our pasuk tells us that one who sells things by volume must have accurate ephah and hin measures so that he does not cheat his customers.

If the Torah already told us that the ephah, which is a larger measure, must be accurate, then certainly, the hin, which is a smaller measure, must be accurate. Why then does the Torah mention the hin?

Since the Torah is written without vowels, the word הין, hin, can be read as הין, hein, which means yes. The pasuk is saying that when a person says “yes” or “no” — he says that he will do something or not do something — he should make it “correct.”

There are two opinions about what this means. One opinion holds that the person must keep his word, and do (or not do) what he said he would.

According to a second opinion it means that when a person makes a verbal commitment, he should sincerely mean to do what he says. But he may change his mind later if he has a good reason to do so230 (Bava Metzia 49a).

ים Who brought you forth — אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצר�from the land of Egypt.

� Hashem Knowsא. . . נ� חמ� ב ר ת ה לי דכ� מ� א: ל� ב� ר ר� מ ים. א� אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצר�נתי רוך הוא: אני הוא שהבח דוש ב� ק� ר ה מ לות? א� ים במשק� ת מצר יציאתיד ה של בכור, אני הוא שע� ה שאינ� ה של בכור לטפ� ים בין טפ� במצר

ח (בבא מציעא סא:): מל יו ב ע. . . וממי שטומן משקלות� ר ליפ�When Hashem took the Jews out of Egypt, he killed all

the firstborn Egyptians. Since the Egyptian women were immoral and lived with men other than their husbands, it was not known which people were firstborn.231 Hashem Himself, however, knew exactly who were the firstborn and killed them.

Our pasuk discusses the obligation to have accurate weights and measures, and ends by mentioning the Exo-dus: I am Hashem, your God, Who brought you forth from the land of Egypt. Sometimes, a person can make inac-curate weights, and people will not realize this. For ex-ample, he puts his weights in salt, so that they weigh more but look no different from any other weight. Our pasuk therefore mentions the Exodus, teaching that just as at the Exodus Hashem knew who was a firstborn and who was not, He is also aware of people who falsify weights, and will punish them for their actions (Bava Metzia 61b).



.Any man — איש איש .2

� Even Non-Jewsאת בות לר ליה עי מיב� מלך“,. . . ל� רעו מז� יתן אשר איש. . . ”איש (חגיגה אל כישר� ה ר� ז� ה עבוד� ל וע שם ה ת ברכ ל ע רין שמוזה� כרים, נ� ה

יא:):There was a pagan practice in which a man passed his

child between two fires in honor of the idol, Molech. Our pasuk teaches that if someone does this practice, he is executed through stoning.

The language of the pasuk is, איש איש, literally, a man, a man,… who shall give of his seed to Molech, shall be put to death. According to one opinion, the extra “a man” teaches that even non-Jews are included, and they too may not give over their child to Molech or worship other idols232 (Chagigah 11b).

בן א� רץ ירגמהו ב� א� ם ה� ת ע� מלך מות יומ� רעו ל� איש איש. . .אשר יתן מז�— Any man… who shall give of his seed to Molech, shall be put to death; the people of the land shall pelt

him with stones.

� The PunishmentFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must


בן. א� רץ ירגמהו ב� א� ם ה� ת ע� מלך מות יומ� רעו ל� איש איש. . .אשר יתן מז�אל אשר יתן ר בישר� ג� גר ה אל ומן ה יין? ”איש איש מבני ישר� עונש מנסנהדרין (ירושלמי בן“ א� ב� ירגמהו רץ א� ה� ם ע ת יומ� מות מלך ל רעו מז

ז, י):If a person passes his children through fire for Molech,

he is executed through stoning (sekilah). The source for this punishment is our pasuk, which says, Any man… who

shall give of his seed (his children) to Molech, shall be put

to death; the people of the land shall “pelt him with stones”

(Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:10).

מלך .3 ן ל� ת� רעו נ� For he had given from his — כי מז�offspring to Molech.

� Even Grandchildrenי) יח, (דברים ר שנאמ לפי ר? למוד לומ ה ת מלך“, מ ן ל� ת� נ� רעו מז� ”כי בנו בן ובתו, בנו א לי אל� אין אש“, בנו ובתו ב� עביר צא בך� מ ימ� ”לא ח ת א פ� נ� רעו“, ת מז ”בתתו (להלן פסוק ד) ר למוד לומ ין? ת מנ בתו ובן (סנהדרין הוא א חרינ� א ה ש� דר� רעו“? מז ”בתתו ליק וס� רעו“ מז ב“כי

סד:):In our pasuk, Hashem says that if a person gives over his

children to Molech, I shall concentrate My attention upon

that man, and I shall cut him off from among his people,

for he had given from his offspring to Molech, meaning that Hashem punishes the person with kares.233

The phrase, for he had given from his offspring to

232. Non-Jews are obligated in the seven Noahide laws, one of which is the prohibition not to serve idols. According to the opinion cited here, the source for this is our pasuk. 233. Premature death. A fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. See the following discussion.

זהרות: מות יומת. בבית ל הא� ר. עונשין ע� (ב) ואל בני ישראל תאמ�פרשתא כהנים (תורת אותן ייעין מס� הארץ ם ע� דין לבית כח� אין ואם דין, שעתידין ם ע� חר, א� דבר הארץ. נבראת שבגינו ם ע� הארץ. ם ע� ד): י, שלי, אי פנ� י. פנ� את אתן (ג) (שם): ללו ה� מצות ידי ל ע� הארץ את ש ליר�צבור (שם), שאין כל י ועוסק בו (שם ה): באיש. ולא ב� פונה אני מכל עסק�ובתו בנו עביר ”מ� ר שנאמ� לפי מלך. ל� ן נת� רעו מז� כי נכרתין: צבור ה�

ן נת� מז�רעו ”כי ר לומ� למוד ת� ין, מנ� בתו ובן בנו בן י), יח, (דברים באש“ כהנים (תורת מלך” ל� מז�רעו ”בתתו ר לומ� למוד ת� ין, מנ� פסול ע זר� מלך”. ל�לי, מקודשת שהיא ישראל כנסת את מקדשי. את מא ט� ן ע� [למ� ו-ז): עלימו. י� עלם ואם ה� (ד) (להלן כא, כג):] י“ מקדש� את לל יח� ”ולא כלשון שם כהנים (תורת רבה ה� בדברים עלימו שי� סוף אחד בדבר העלימו אם יא): (שם גדולה נהדרי ס� עלימו שי� סוף נה קט� נהדרי ס� העלימו אם י).

אל י ישר eה לאמר: ב ואל־בנ ר יהוה אל־מש� �ב חמישי [כ] א ויד�

ל א ר בישר ר | הג< eל ומן־הג א מבני ישר יש איש תאמר א'בן: א/ הו ב xרץ ירגמ jא ם ה ת ע_ Mמלך מות יומ ן מזרעו ל� zר ית אשמו רב ע� י אתו מק} bת הוא והכר� יש ה� א' ני ב ן את־פ gאני את Bג ו

ל את־ Oל י ולח� ש מא את־מקד ן ט� ע� לך למ� מ ן ל� hת י מזרעו נ aכיניהם את־ע3 רץ א ה ם ע� ימו על י� ם eעל ה� ם ד וא י: קדש* ם �שית אתו: bמ י ה מלך לבלת! הוא בתתו מזרעו ל� יש ה� א' מן־ה

ב ולבני ר: למימ� משה עם יי� ליל א ומאל ישר� מבני ר ר גב ר גב אל תימ ישר�יתן די אל בישר� ירון דיתג א גיור� ומן א מ� יתקטל ע א ל� יתקט� למלך רעה מזא אנ� ג ו א: בנ� בא ירגמנה אל ישר� בית תה הוא ואשיצי י� א ה בר� ת רוגזי בג אתן י�ב למלך בדיל רעה יה מה ארי מז מגו עא ת שמ� א י� ל� ח קדשי ולא ת מ א י� ב� א� לס�א בית מ� ש יכבשון ע דקודשי: ד ואם מכבהב הוא בדי� א ה בר� ת עיניהון מן ג אל י� ישר�תה: א י� ל� ט� א לק רעה למלך בדיל דל� מז

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / א־ד 508 / ספר ויקרא

20.


1 HASHEM spoke to Moshe, saying: 2 Say to the Children of Israel: Any man from the

Children of Israel and from the proselyte who lives with Yisrael, who shall give of his

seed to Molech, shall be put to death; the people of the land shall pelt him with stones. 3 I shall concentrate My attention upon that man, and I shall cut him off from among

his people, for he had given from his offspring to Molech in order to defile My Sanc-

tuary and to desecrate My holy Name. 4 But if the people of the land avert their eyes

from that man when he gives from his offspring to Molech, not to put him to death —

20Punishments

234. See previous note. 235. See previous pasuk, “The Punishment.” 236. Above 16:16.

Molech, seems extra, because the previous pasuk already told us that we are discussing a person doing the Molech practice.

The phrase teaches that one may not give any of his offspring — even his grandchildren — to Molech, and if he does so Hashem will punish him with kares (Sanhedrin 64b).

� Another Punishment(ירושלמי מלך“ ל ן ת נ� רעו מז ”כי יין? מנ רת כ� מלך. ל� ן ת� נ� רעו מז� כי

סנהדרין ז, י):In our pasuk, Hashem says that if a person gives over his

children to Molech, I shall concentrate My attention upon that man, and I shall cut him off from among his people, for he had given from his offspring to Molech. The phrase “cut him off” refers to the punishment of kares.234

If a person served Molech intentionally, in front of wit-nesses and with proper warning, he is stoned.235 But if there were no witnesses or he was not warned, he is pun-ished with kares (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:10).

שי מא את מקד� ן ט� ע� In order to defile My — למ�Sanctuary.

� A Kind of Tumah ” וגו‘ אל ישר� בני מטמאת קדש ל ה ”וכפר ע שי. מקד� את מא ן ט� ע� למ�ה ה ז�ר� ת עבוד� לש טומאות, טומא ביא ש� ן זה לה� (לעיל טז, טז), יש לי בעני�ה הוא אומר ה ז�ר� עבוד� מים. ב ת שפיכות ד� יות וטומא ת גילוי ער� וטומאל אל“ ולא כ� ר ”מטמאת בני ישר� למוד לומ שי“. . . ת מא את מקד� ן ט ע ”למ

טומאות (שבועות ז:, ירושלמי שבועות א, ב):The Torah tells us236 that on Yom Kippur, the Kohen

Gadol brings a goat as an offering in order to atone for the Sanctuary from the “tumos” of Israel. The term tumah usually refers to a person who became ritually impure from touching a dead person and the like. The goat atones for someone who entered the Beis HaMikdash or ate an offer-ing while tamei.

Our pasuk tells us that a person who performs the Molech ritual defiles (מא my Sanctuary. So we see that (טthe Torah describes idol worship as “tumah.” If so, one could think that the goat of Yom Kippur also atones for idol worship.

The pasuk therefore says that the goat atoned “from” the tumos of Israel, teaching that it atones only for regular

tumah, not for sins that, like idol worship, are referred to as tumah (Shevuos 7b; Yerushalmi Shevuos 1:2).

מלך .4 רעו ל� When he gives from his offspring — בתתו מז�to Molech.

� Even MamzerimPreviously, the pasuk taught that one who practices the

Molech rite is executed by the court through stoning. Our pasuk and the next tell us what happens if the court did not execute him: But if the people of the land avert their eyes from that man “when he gives from his offspring to Molech,” not to put him to death — then I shall concentrate My atten-tion upon that man and upon his family, etc.

The phrase “when he gives from his offspring to Molech” is extra, since the passage has already mentioned pre-viously that we are dealing with one who gives over his children to Molech. It comes to teach that the prohibition and punishment against giving one’s children over to the priests of Molech applies not only to legitimate children, but even to mamzerim (Sanhedrin 64b).

מית אתו .Not to put him to death — לבלתי ה�

� By All Meansרעו הוא בתתו מז� איש ה� רץ את עיניהם מן ה� א� ם ה� עלימו ע� עלם י� ואם ה�

ה שירצו. (ירושלמי סוטה ט, יב): ל מית� מית, בכ� מלך לבלתי ה� ל�Previously, the pasuk taught that one who practices the

Molech rite is executed by the court through stoning. Our pasuk and the next tell us what happens if the court did not execute him: But if the people of the land avert their eyes from that man when he gives from his offspring to Molech, “not to put him to death” — then I shall concentrate My attention upon that man and upon his family, etc.

The phrase “not to put him to death” seems extra, be-cause if the people are averting their eyes — failing to pun-ish him — that means they aren’t killing him, because that is his punishment!

Our pasuk is telling Beis Din that they should ‘”put him to death” in any way possible: if they are unable to execute him by stoning, which is the way he should be killed, they should kill him another way. Also, if the court is unable to kill him, then other people should do so (Yerushalmi Sotah 9:12).



אתו .5 תי והכר� חתו ובמשפ� הוא ה� איש ב� י נ� פ� את אני מתי — וש�Then I shall concentrate My attention upon that man

and upon his family; and I will cut him off.

� Double JeopardyIf someone commits a sin that is punishable by execu-

tion by Beis Din, he is not obligated to pay for damage he caused at the same time that he became liable to the death penalty. An example of this is if someone set fire to some-one else’s object on Shabbos; he does not have to pay for the object, since his setting the object on fire makes him liable to the death penalty for violating Shabbos.

This rule is known as “kam lei b’derabbah minei, he re-ceives the greater one” — the monetary obligation is set aside, because he is liable to the greater penalty.ר: מ א א� ב� תי אתו. ר� חתו והכר� הוא ובמשפ� איש ה� י ב� נ� מתי אני את פ� וש�עלימו עלם י א (לעיל פסוק ד), ”ואם ה כ� ה מה� נ� ק� א בן ה בי נחוני� א דר עמ� טמתי אני מלך“, ”וש רעו ל הוא בתתו מז איש ה רץ את עיניהם מן ה� א� ם ה� ערת שלי ה, כ� ה תור� מר� תי אתו“, א� חתו והכר הוא ובמשפ איש ה י ב� נ את פ�שלי רת כ� ף א , שלומין ת ה מן טור פ� כם של� ה מית� ה מ כם, של� ה כמית�

שלומין (כתובות ל:): ת טור מן ה פ�According to one opinion, the law of kam lei b’derabbah

minei also applies to kares;237 if someone becomes ob-ligated to pay something at the same time he becomes liable to kares he does not have to pay the money.

This is learned from our pesukim. An earlier pasuk238 told us that one who does the Molech ritual is executed through stoning. The previous pasuk and ours tell us, But if the people of the land avert their eyes from that man when he gives from his offspring to Molech, not to put him to death, then I shall…cut him off, meaning that if the court does not execute him, Hashem will punish him with kares instead. Since kares replaces execution by the court, we see that they are treated similarly. Just as execution by

the court exempts a person from his simultaneous money obligations, the same is true for kares (Kesubos 30b).

� Why Is the Family Punished?ה תור� שב עבירות ל וכ� חתו. ובמשפ� הוא ה� איש ב� י נ� פ� את אני מתי וש�איש י ב� נ מתי אני את פ� כתיב ”וש חתו לא? וה� א“] ממשפ ד מ“לא תש� [לבחתו א, משפ ט� בי שמעון: אם הוא ח� ר ר מ א, א� ני� ות חתו“, ובמשפ הוא הה כול� שאין מוכס ה ב� שיש ה ח� משפ� לך� אין , לך� ר לומ את? ט� ח� מה ם ת� יו. ה� ל� פין ע� ה לסטים, מפני שמח ה לסטים שאין כול� מוכסין, ושיש ב�א“] [ב“לא תש� א כ� ממנו] ה� ה ל� נות ק בפורע� חתו [משפ א חרינ� א א בדינ�ר? לומ למוד ת ה מ אתו“, תי ”והכר אומר: בי ר א, ני� כדת דידיה. א בדינ�רת, ה בהיכ� ה כול� ח� משפ� ל ה כול כ� י“, י� נ מתי אני את פ� ר ”וש לפי שנאמרת בהיכ� ה כול� ה ח� משפ� ה ל כ� ולא רת בהיכ� אתו ”אתו“, ר לומ למוד ת

(שבועות לט.):Usually, when a person sins, only he is punished, not

his family.However, when a person passes his children through fire

for Molech, even members of his family who did not protest are punished. We learn this from our pasuk, which says, then I shall concentrate My attention upon that man “and upon his family.” Although the family did not sin, they are punished because they did nothing to protest.239

However, the family does not receive the same punish-ment as the sinner himself. Our pasuk continues to say, I will cut “him” off, referring to the kares punishment. The word “him” teaches that only the sinner himself is pun-ished with kares, not his family (Shevuos 39a).

דשתם והייתם קדשים .7 You shall sanctify — והתק�yourselves and you will be holy.

� You Do Your Partאותו דשין מק ט מע צמו ע דש מק ם ד� א� קדשים, והייתם דשתם והתק�אותו דשין מק זה ה ם עול� ב� ה, על� מלמ אותו דשין מק ה ט� מלמ רבה, ה

א (יומא לט.): ב� ם ה עול� ל�

237. See note 233. 238. Above, Pasuk 2. 239. See Schottenstein Hebrew Edition, notes 34 and 35.

אלא חטאה, מה משפחה וכי שמעון: בי ר� ר אמ� חתו. ובמשפ� (ה) שכולם מוכסין, כולם שאין מוכס בה שיש משפחה לך שאין מדך לל�לפי ר, נאמ� למה אתו. תי והכר� לט.): שבועות יג; (שם עליו פין מח�”אתו“, ר לומ� למוד בהכרת, ת� משפחה כל ה� יהו יכול חתו”, ”ובמשפ� ר שנאמ�

לזנות יד): (שם ביסורין אלא בהכרת, משפחה ה� כל ולא בהכרת אותו אפילו ו� בכך, שעבדה טו) (שם זרה עבודה שאר בות לר� מלך. ה� חרי א�פרק (שם זרה עבודה פרישות זו דשתם. והתק� (ז) עבודתה: זו אין

י, ב):

י אתו ת חתו והכר� הוא ובמשפ� יש ה� bא י ב נ~ י את־פ Iי אנ מת ה וש�

פש נ ם: ו וה� מ/ רב ע� מלך מק� י ה� �חר Bיו לזנות א חר Bים א זנ' ל־ה� ת | כ eואי aת ת� ם ונ/ Aחריה Bת א אבת ואל־הידענים לזנ ה אל־ה/ mר תפנ אשם תקדשת מו: ז וה רב ע� י אתו מק� bת וא והכר� ה פש ה� qנ ני ב� את־פמחוברין) כשהן ששי (שביעי ם: היכ9 אל יהוה י bאנ י Tכ ים Rקדש ם היית- ו*ם: מקדשכ9 יהוה י bאנ ם Mם את עשית- Bו י ח ושמרתם את־חקת�

ת Mיומ מות ואת־אמו יו Tב את־א ל zל יק� ר אש יש א יש ט כי־א'

הוא א ה בר� ת רוגזי בג א י� וי אנ� ה ואשן ע� ל דט� ת כ� וי� תה ואשיצי י� דוהי ובסע�מהון: ר מלך מגו ע ת תרוהי למטעי ב� בר בדין ודכורו למטעי ת ו ואנ ש די יתפני ב�הוא א ה ש� ת רוגזי באנ� תריהון ואתן י� בדשון ז ותתק מה: ע מגו תה י� ואשיצי הכון: אל� יי� א אנ� ארי דישין ק ותהון א תהון אנ� עבדון י� י ות מ ת קי� ח ותטרון י�ילוט די ר ר גב ט ארי גב דשכון: יי� מקא יתקטל ל� ת אמה אתקט� ת אבוהי וי� י�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / ה־ט 510 / ספר ויקרא


5 then I shall concentrate My attention upon that man and upon his family; and I will

cut him off from among their people, him and all who stray after him to stray after the

Molech. 6 And the person who shall turn to the sorcery of the Ovos and the Yid’onim

to stray after them — I shall concentrate My attention upon that person and cut him off

from among his people.

7 You shall sanctify yourselves and you will be holy, for I am HASHEM, your God.

8 You shall observe My decrees and perform them — I am HASHEM, Who sanctifies

you. 9 For any man who will curse his father or his mother shall be put to death;

Molech

240. See Schottenstein Edition, note 8. 241. The Torah has to teach us this because we might have thought that since the same punish-ment applies for hitting a parent and cursing a parent, their rules are similar. If that were the case, we would say that just as there is no prohibition against hitting a dead parent, there is also no prohibition against cursing one. 242. See Schottenstein Edition, 85b note 16.

Our pasuk tells us, You shall sanctify yourselves and you will be holy. We learn from here that if we sanctify ourselves a little, Hashem will make us holy to a much greater degree; if we sanctify ourselves down below, Hashem makes us holy above; and if we sanctify ourselves in this world, Hashem will make us holy in the World to Come (Yoma 39a).240

ביו ואת אמו .9 לל את א� For any man — איש איש אשר יק�who will curse his father or his mother.


אם ב ו� לל א� מצוה רס: של א לק�Mitzvah 260: The Prohibition to Curse One’s Father or

Mother

� “And” or “Or”?ביו ואמו קלל“, ן, ”א� נ� ב� נו ר ביו ואת אמו. ת� לל את א� איש איש אשר יק�כה אינו ה מ לל, מ יב במק י� כה וח יב במ י� כול, הואיל וח ה. שי� ר מית� ח לאר לומ למוד ת יים. . . מח א אל� יב י� ח אינו לל מק ה ף א יים, מח א אל� יב י� חא ר ליה קר� ית ן דמי ת� בי יונ� א לר ניח� ה. ה� ר מית� ח ביו ואמו קלל“ , לא ”א�

ביו ואת אמו“ (סנהדרין פה:): לל את א� א. . . “אשר יק ני� ביו ואמו“. . . דת ”א�ביו ביו ואמו, א� א א� ביו ואת אמו. אין לי אל� לל את א� איש איש אשר יק�ביו קלל“, א� ואמו ביו ר ”א� למוד לומ ין? ת מנ ביו בלא אמו אמו בלא א�ד, ע שניהם כאח� שמ ן אומר: מ ת� בי יונ� ה. ר בי יאשי� קלל, אמו קלל, דברי רו“ (בבא מציעא צד:, חד� תוב ”י כ� ד שיפרוט לך� ה צמו, ע ד בפני ע ע אח� שמ ומ

סנהדרין סו., פה:, שבועות כז., חולין עח:):Our pasuk tells us that any man who will curse ביו את א�

literally, his father and his mother, shall be put to ,ואת אמוdeath, meaning that he is executed by the court. In the phrase ביו ואת אמו is used to connect (ו) the letter vav ,את א�ביו .his mother ,אמו his father, to ,א�

There are two opinions on how to translate this vav. One

understands it to mean and, not or. The pasuk would then seem to be saying that the person is put to death only if he curses both his father and his mother. However, we learn from the change of wording in the pasuk that this is not the case. The beginning of the pasuk says, any man who will curse his father and his mother, referring to a curse next to the word “father.” But the pasuk later mentions the word “curse” in connection to the mother — his father or his mother has he cursed. The Torah does this to show that even cursing just the father or just the mother makes a person liable to execution.

A second opinion holds that the connecting vav means both and and or. Thus, when the pasuk says ואת ביו את א� it refers to the son cursing both parents together and ,אמוalso cursing each one separately.

According to this opinion, the phrase, his father or his mother has he cursed, is not needed to tell us that he is liable for each parent. Instead, it teaches that a son is exe-cuted even if he cursed his parents after they died241 (Bava Metzia 94b; Sanhedrin 66a, 85b; Shevuos 27a; Chullin 78b).

� Not Just a Manר ”איש איש“? למוד לומ ה ת ן, ”איש“, מ נ� ב� נו ר לל. ת� איש איש אשר יק�

נדרוגינוס (סנהדרין סו., פה:): ת, טומטום, וא בות ב לרOur pasuk says, איש איש, literally, a man, a man, who

will curse his father or his mother shall be put to death. The Torah repeats a man to teach that a child of any gender is included in this law. Thus, a woman, and even a tum-tum (a person whose private parts are covered by a thick membrane), or androgynos (a person who has the physi-cal features of both a male and a female) who curses a parent is punished with execution (Sanhedrin 66a, 85b).242


First Opinion Second Opinion

ביו ואת אמו לל את א� � any man ,אשר יקwho will curse his father ואת his mother

Simply, it means he cursed his father and his mother.

It has 2 meanings:1. He cursed his father and mother.2. He cursed his father or his mother.

ביו ואמו קלל his father or his ,א�mother has he cursed

Combines with the phrase, any man who will curse his father, to teach that he is liable for cursing either his father or his mother.

It teaches that even cursing after the parents’ death is included.


ביו ואמו קלל .His father or his mother has he cursed — א�

� You Can’t Have One Without the OtherGenerally, a person who converts to Judaism is con-

sidered like a new person, and is no longer related to his parents or any other relative. An exception to this is where a woman converted while she was pregnant. In this case, since the unborn child becomes converted along with her, the child is considered related to her. However, the child is not considered related to his father.243

יב י� ביו ואמו קלל“, את שהוא ח ה אומר: ”א� בי עקיב� ביו ואמו קלל“. ר ”א�אמו ל יב ע י� אינו ח ביו ל א� יב ע י� שאינו ח ואת אמו, ל יב ע י� ביו ח ל א� ע

(ירושלמי יבמות יא, ב):Our pasuk tells us that any man who will curse his father

or his mother shall be put to death; his father or his mother has he cursed. The phrase, his father or his mother has he cursed, seems extra, because the pasuk already told us that it discusses a person who cursed his parents. Accord-ing to one opinion, it teaches that one is punished with ex-ecution for cursing one parent only where he would also be punished for cursing the other parent. But if, for example, he would not be punished for cursing his father, he is also not punished for cursing his mother.

This can happen where his mother converted while she was pregnant with him, in which case he is considered related to her, but not to his father. Since he is not related to his “father,” he would not be liable for cursing him, and, according to this opinion, he would therefore be exempt from cursing even his mother (Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:2).

יו בו מ� .His blood is upon himself — ד�

� Which Death?One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the


מיתות ל מכ� ת ח בא א אל� אינו או ה, בסקיל� אומר ה ת� א בו. יו מ� ד�ן (פסוק כז) ”דמיהם ל� ר לה יו בו“, ונאמ מ� אן ”ד� ר כ ה? נאמ תור� אמורות ב ה�

ה (סנהדרין סו.): אן בסקיל� ף כ� ה א ן בסקיל� ל� ה לה ם“, מ ב�Our pasuk tells us that any man who will curse his father

or his mother shall be put to death, but does not tell us how he is put to death.

The pasuk continues, “his blood is upon himself” (יו מ� ד�-A pasuk below244 tells us regarding people who prac .(בוtice the sorcery of Ov and Yid’oni, they shall pelt them with stones, “their blood is upon themselves” (ם .(דמיהם ב�A gezeirah shavah teaches that just as one who practices sorcery is punished with stoning (sekilah), someone who curses a parent also receives this punishment (Sanhedrin 66a).

ף את אשת רעהו .10 ף את אשת איש אשר ינא� A — ואיש אשר ינא�man who will commit adultery with a man’s wife, who

will commit adultery with his fellow’s wife.

� Only a Manף את אשת רעהו. ”איש“, ינא� ף את אשת איש אשר ינא� ואיש אשר ן, ”אשת רעהו“, ט� ט לאשת ק� ף את אשת איש“, פר� ן, ”אשר ינא ט� ט לק� פר�

ט לאשת אחרים (קידושין יט., סנהדרין נב:): פר�Our pasuk tells us that if a man commits adultery with a

woman, both he and the woman are executed.The pasuk begins, A “man” who will commit adultery.

The word “man” teaches that only a mature man is ex-ecuted, but a minor who commits adultery is not exe-cuted.

Similarly, when the pasuk refers to a man’s wife, it speaks about the wife of a mature man, not the wife of a minor. The pasuk is teaching that the marriage of a mi-nor is not a legally recognized marriage, and therefore if someone commits adultery with the minor’s “wife,” he is not executed.

The pasuk concludes, who will commit adultery with his “fellow’s” wife, referring to the wife of a Jew. But if a Jewish woman was married to a non-Jew and someone had relations with her, this is not considered adultery, since this, too, is not a legally valid marriage (Kiddushin 19a; Sanhedrin 52b).

243. See Schottenstein Edition, 62b note 20. 244. Pasuk 27.

בו. דמיו פה:): (סנהדרין מיתה ר ח� לא� בות לר� קלל. ואמו אביו (ט) ”דמיהם בו”], [”דמיו ר שנאמ� מקום כל וכן ז). שם כהנים (תורת סקילה זו בם“ דמיהם אתם ירגמו ”באבן בהם ר שנאמ� וידעוני מאוב דנו ולמ� בם“, כמו מקרא, של ופשוטו ה.). כריתות יב; ט, פרק כהנים תורת כז; פסוק (להלן ם גר� שהוא הוא, אלא מיתתו ל ע� נענש אין יט), ב, (יהושע בראשו“ ”דמו

נב:): סנהדרין ח; שם כהנים (תורת לקטן פרט ואיש. (י) שיהרג: צמו לע�שאין למדנו (שם). קטן לאשת פרט איש. אשת את ף ינא� אשר אשת את ף ינא� אשר לך, יבתי חי� איש אשת איזו ל וע� קידושין. לקטן יומת מות לגוי: קידושין שאין למדנו (שם). גוי לאשת פרט רעהו, (שם): חנק אלא אינה סתם תורה האמורה ב� מיתה כל נאפת. וה� נאף ה�

יש שת א eף את־א ר ינא� mיש אש יו בו: י וא מ. ל ד Oיו ואמו קל Iב אפת: נא/ וה� ף Oנא ת ה� מות־יומ_ הו Zרע שת eאת־א ף ינא4 ר אש�ה Mגל יו ב! א ת ערו_ יו ב א שת eאת־א ב ישכ� ר mאש יש יא וא

די ר י וגב ב: י� א ח ל� קט� ט ואמה ל אבוהי ברה ת ח ת את ר די יגוף י� ת גב ת את יגוף י�ר די א: יא וגב פת� י א וג פ� י� א יתקטל ג ל� אתקט�אבוהי גלי א ד ת אבוהי ערית� ישכוב עם את

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / י־יא 512 / ספר ויקרא


his father or his mother has he cursed, his blood is upon himself.

10 A man who will commit adultery with a man’s wife, who will commit adultery

with his fellow’s wife; the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death.

11 A man who shall lie with his father’s wife will have uncovered his father’s shame;

Penalties

for forbidden

relationships

245. 21:9. 246. Under Torah law, Jewish marriage takes place in two stages. In the first stage, called erusin or kiddushin [betrothal], the man gives the woman an object of value (like a ring). [There are other methods as well; see Mishnah, Kiddushin 2a.] At this point, they are legally married, even though they may not yet live together. They become fully married at the second stage, called nisuin. This is accomplished by the husband bringing his wife under a chuppah. At this point they are allowed to live together. 247. See next discus-sion. 248. See Devarim 22:23-24. 249. See Schottenstein Edition, 52b note 39. 250. Bereishis 38:10.

פת נא� נאף וה� ת ה� The adulterer and the — מות יומ�adulteress shall be put to death.

� Betrothed, Not Marriedת איש כהן כי תחל לזנות“ (לקמן כא, ט), פת. ”וב נא� נאף וה� ת ה� מות יומ�ה, ארוס� והיא ה ער� בנ אומר ה ת� בר. א מד תוב כ� ה ה ארוס� והיא ה ער� בנף. . . את אשת ר ”איש אשר ינא למוד לומ ה, ת א אפילו נשוא� או אינו אל�נואפת, וה נואף ה ל בכל� יו ה� כל ה פת“, נא� וה נאף ה ת יומ מות רעהו, ה כשהוציא ה, מ ת כהן בשריפ� ה, וב אל בסקיל� ת ישר� תוב ב כ� הוציא הכשהוציא ף א ה, נשוא� ולא ה ארוס� ה לסקיל� אל ישר� ת ב את תוב כ� ה

ה (סנהדרין נא:): ה ולא נשוא� ה, ארוס� ת כהן לשריפ� תוב ב כ� הThe punishment for adultery is generally execution

through strangulation (chenek). However, a pasuk be-low245 tells us that if the naarah (young daughter) of a Kohen commits adultery she is executed through burning (sereifah).

According to one opinion, this applies only if the daugh-ter of the Kohen was betrothed (erusin);246 but if she was fully married (nisuin), she is executed through stran-gling.247

This opinion is based on our pasuk, which tells us, the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death, mean-ing that they are executed through strangling. On a simple level, the pasuk is saying that all cases of adultery are subject to this punishment.

However, there are two exceptions to this rule. If a regu-lar, non-Kohen, naarah is betrothed to a man and commits adultery, she is punished with stoning rather than stran-gling.248 And if the daughter of a Kohen commits adultery, she is punished with burning rather than strangling. Since both these cases are exceptions to the rule, we apply the rules of one to the other. Just as a non-Kohen woman re-ceives her unique punishment — stoning — only while she is betrothed but not yet married, so too, the daughter of a Kohen receives her unique punishment — burning — only when she is betrothed and not yet married (Sanhedrin 51b).

� Which One of the Four?The court executes people in one of four ways: stoning,

burning, beheading, and strangling.ל מיתות ת מכ� ח א בא ה אומר בחנק או אינו אל� ת� ת“, בחנק. א ”מות יומ�אין ם, סת� ה תור� ב ה מית� ר שנאמ קום מ� ל כ� , רת� מ א� ה? תור� ב אמורות ה�ל ק [וחנק ליה� ע� קל לה� א אל� ליה� ע� חמיר לה ה למושכ� אי ש ר ה ת� אא ה, אל� ל� ן אומר: לא מפני שהיא ק ת� בי יונ� ה. ר בי יאשי� ם], דברי ר מכול�ה ר מית� בי אומר: נאמ א חנק. ר ה אל� ם אינ� ה סת� תור� ה ב אמור� ה ה� ל מית� כ�

ים מ ש� בידי ה אמור� ה� ה מית� ה מ ם, ד� א� בידי ה מית� ר ונאמ ים מ ש� בידי ה שאין ב� ה מית� ם ד� בידי א� ה אמור� ה ה� מית� ף ה רושם, א שאין ב� ה מית�

רושם (סנהדרין נב:, נד.):Our pasuk tells us that a person who commits adultery

shall be put to death (ת יומ Which one of the four .(מות methods of execution does the Torah refer to?

It refers to strangling, because the rule is that whenever the Torah does not specify the type of execution, it refers to strangling.

There are two opinions as to the source of this rule.One opinion is that when we are not told which method

of execution to use, we must use the most lenient one. This opinion holds that the most lenient method is strangling.249

The other opinion notes that the Torah uses the term ה death, in our pasuk, referring to execution by the ,מית�court, and also uses a form of the same word with regard to death by the hands of Heaven250 — and He caused him to die (מת י� also. This teaches that we compare the two (וtypes of death: Just as when Hashem kills someone there is no external mark on the body, so too, wherever the Torah speaks of death in the hands of man, it refers to executing through strangling, which also leaves no mark on the person being executed (Sanhedrin 52b, 54a).

ה .11 ביו גל� ת א� ביו ערו� ב את אשת א� A man — ואיש אשר ישכ�who shall lie with his father’s wife will have

uncovered his father’s shame.

� Of Mothers and StepmothersFor a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must

tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warn-ing” (ה ר� זה� azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,א.for violating the prohibition (onesh,עונש)

ן, ט� ט לק� ה. ”איש“, פר� ביו גל� ת א� ביו ערו� ב את אשת א� ואיש אשר ישכ�ובין אמו שהיא ביו א� אשת בין ע שמ מ ביו“, א� אשת את ב ישכ ”אשר ר לומ למוד ת יין? מנ ביו א� אשת ה שאינ� אמו אמו, שלא ביו א� אשת ענו, מ ה. . . עונש ש� ו� ה ש� דון ממנו גזר� קיש ול� ה“, מופנה, לה ביו גל� ת א� ”ערות לה“, ”ערו . . .לא תג ביך� ת א� ר (לעיל יח, ז) ”ערו למוד לומ יין? ת ה מנ ר� זה� אביך� ת א� א ערו ביך� או אינו אל� ה אומר אשת א� ת� , א ביך� “ זו אשת א� ביך� א�ביו ת א� ן ”ערו ל� ר לה לה“, ונאמ . . . לא תג ביך� ת א� אן ”ערו ר כ ש? נאמ מ� מבר. תוב מד כ� אן באישות ה ף כ� בר, א תוב מד כ� ן באישות ה ל� ה לה ה“, מ גל�ביו ת א� ”ערו ן ל� לה ר ונאמ לה“ תג לא . . . ביך� ת א� ”ערו (שם) אן ר כ� נאמכאמו שהיא ביו ה אשת א� תוב אמו שאינ� כ� ה ה ש� ה ע� ר� זה� ה בא ה“, מ גל�ביו כאמו שהיא ה אשת א� תוב אמו שאינ� כ� ה ה ש� ף בעונש ע� ביו, א אשת א�

ביו (סנהדרין נד.): אשת א�



Our pasuk tells us that the punishment of a son who has relations with his father’s wife is execution.

The wording of the pasuk is, A man who shall lie with his father’s wife will have uncovered his father’s shame; the two of them shall be put to death. The word “man” teaches that only an adult man receives this punishment for doing this act, not a minor.

The term “his father’s wife” includes both an ordinary mother, and a stepmother, who is his father’s wife but is not his mother.

The phrase, “will have uncovered his father’s shame” ה) ביו גל� ת א� teaches, through a gezeirah shavah,251 that ,(ערוour pasuk also includes a mother to whom he was born out of wedlock and who was never his father’s wife.

The gezeirah shavah is the following: A pasuk earlier252 says, the nakedness of your father and “your mother” you shall not uncover. Since the pasuk mentions only a mother without saying that she is his father’s wife, we see that even a mother not married to the father is included in the prohibition. The words, the nakedness of your father…you shall not uncover (לה . . .לא תג ביך� ת א� are similar to the ,(ערוphrase “will have uncovered his father’s shame” in our pa-suk. This links that pasuk to our pasuk, teaching that the punishment stated in our pasuk — execution — applies also to a person who lives with his mother who is not his father’s wife.

This gezeirah shavah also serves to teach the azharah for a father’s wife. The earlier pasuk told us, the nakedness of your father…you shall not uncover. On a simple level, the pasuk seems to be referring to the father himself, teaching a prohibition against having relations with one’s father.253 The gezeirah shavah teaches that just as our pasuk deals with the father’s wife, so too, that pasuk comes to forbid having relations with the father’s wife, not the father him-self (Sanhedrin 54a).

ם .Their blood is upon themselves — דמיהם ב�

� Stone Themשהרי , בעיניך� ה ל� ק ה ו� ש� ה גזיר� תהי ל א שי: א ב ר ר מ א� ם. ב� דמיהם א, ני� ה. דת ו� ה ש� א מגזיר� תוב אל� כ� ה ה ה, ולא לימד� לים הן הן גופי תור� נסק�

”דמיהם (לקמן פסוק כז) וידעוני באוב ר ונאמ ם“, ”דמיהם ב� אן ר כ� נאמה (סנהדרין נד., כריתות ה.): אן בסקיל� ף כ� ה א ן בסקיל� ל� ה לה ם“, מ ב�

Our pasuk says that if a man lives with his father’s wife, both he and the woman shall be put to death, “their blood is upon themselves” (ם A later pasuk254 uses the .(דמיהם ב�same expression when discussing people who practice Ov and Yid’oni sorcery: they shall pelt them with stones, “their blood is upon themselves” (ם A gezeirah shavah255 .(דמיהם ב�teaches that just as an Ov-sorcerer is executed through stoning (sekilah), a man who lives with his father’s wife is also executed through stoning.

A gezeirah shavah is so strong that the Torah relies on this method of teaching even to tell us about severe pun-ishments, like stoning256 (Sanhedrin 54a; Kereisos 5a).

תו מות יומתו .12 ל� ב את כ� A man who shall — ואיש אשר ישכ�lie with his daughter-in-law…shall be put to death.

� Source for the Punishmentיין?. . . תו מנ ל� ל כ א ע ה לב� ר� זה� תו מות יומתו. א ל� ב את כ� ואיש אשר ישכ�תו מות יומתו“ (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ו): ל� ב את כ יין? ”ואיש אשר ישכ עונש מנ

For a sin to be punishable by Beis Din, the Torah must tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” ה) ר� זה� ,עונש) azharah). It must also tell us the punishment ,א

onesh) for violating the prohibition.The punishment for having relations with one’s daugh-

ter-in-law is found in our pasuk, which tells us, A man who shall lie with his daughter-in-law…shall be put to death (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:6).

ה .13 ר משכבי אש� כ� ב את ז� A man who lies — ואיש אשר ישכ�with a man as one lies with a woman.

� Don’t Even Startא (יבמות ה“ כתיב� הו? בזכור, ”משכבי אש� רה בזכור מ מע� ה. ה משכבי אש�

נד:):Our pasuk tells us that a man who has relations with an-

other man is punished with execution. It describes the act as a man who lies with a man as one lies with a woman. Since the Torah compares the act of sodomy to lying with a woman, we apply those laws here.

251. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is gezeirah shavah: Where similar words (or, in some cases, words with similar meanings) appear in two (or more) places in the Torah, the reference links the pesukim, so that they shed light on one another. A gezeirah shavah must be based on a tradition handed down from Sinai. 252. 18:7. 253. In addition to the general prohibition against relations between two males. 254. Pasuk 27. 255. See above, note 251. 256. See Schottenstein Edition, note 17.

כניס כמכחול בשפופרת: בן: (יג) משכבי אשה. מ� ע ה� ע האב בזר� לבלין זר� חר, מב� אי. לשון א� (יב) תבל עשו. גנ�

ר mאש יש יב וא ם: ב/ ם דמיה� ם שניה- מות־יומתו שו ע בל ת� ם Aשניה יומתו מות תו ל את־כ� ב ישכ�י eמשכב כר את־ז ב ישכ� ר אש יש יג וא ם: ב/ ם דמיה�ם: ם ב/ דמיה� תו jיומ מות ם Aשניה שו ע ה תועב. ה אש

בין: י� ח א ל� קט� רויהון ת טלון יתק א ל� אתקט�טלון א יתק ל� לתה אתקט� ר די ישכוב עם כ יב וגב

די ר יג וגב בין: י� א ח ל� דו קט� א עב� רויהון תבל� תא תועבת� א אתת� משכבי א דכור� עם ישכוב בין: י� א ח ל� טלון קט� א יתק ל� רויהון אתקט� דו ת עב�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / יב־יג 514 / ספר ויקרא


the two of them shall be put to death, their blood is upon themselves.

12 A man who shall lie with his daughter-in-law, the two of them shall be put to

death; they have committed a perversion, their blood is upon themselves.

13 A man who lies with a man as one lies with a woman, they have both done an

abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon themselves.

257. See Schottenstein Edition, note 45. 258. Pasuk 27. 259. See above, note 251.

When having relations with a woman forbidden to him, a man may not even begin the act with her. The same is true of a man having relations with another man (Yevamos 54b).

� Divorce DilemmaWhen a husband divorces his wife, he must permit her

to any man. If he gives her a get (divorce document) and says, “You are permitted to marry any man besides for So-and so,” the divorce is completely invalid, and she may not marry anyone.

הו? ה, מ רכ� ם. . . חוץ משלא כד ד� ל א� ת מותרת לכ� ה. הרי א משכבי אש�ה“ כתיב (גיטין פה.): א ”משכבי אש� ייר, או דלמ� א לא ש ה ה� רכ� בכד

Our pasuk discusses a man who has relations with an-other man, describing the act as a man who lies with a man ה is משכבי as one lies with a woman. The word ,משכבי אש�plural, and literally means layings. The pasuk uses a word that references two ways to lie with a woman — “naturally” and “unnaturally” — to compare them.

If, when divorcing his wife, the husband permits the wife to marry any man but forbids her from having relations in an “unnatural” manner, it is unclear whether the divorce is valid. It is possible that the divorce is valid, since she is permitted to all men with regard to normal marital re-lations. But perhaps the divorce is invalid, because our pasuk compares “unnatural” relations to “natural” rela-tions. Therefore, just as forbidding one’s wife from having “natural” relations would invalidate the divorce, the same would be true if he forbids her from having “unnatural” relations (Gittin 85a).

� Acquiring a SlavewomanA kinyan is a specific act that makes an item halachical-

ly yours. When a person acquires a Canaanite slave, one type of kinyan that he can use is chazakah, an act that shows his ownership over the slave. This is done by the slave performing an act of service for the master, such as removing the master’s shoes or carrying his clothing to the bathhouse.

ה רכ� ה. . . שלא כד נה בביא� ענית תק� ה כנ ה שפח� ת� א מע ה. אל� משכבי אש�ה רכ� כד תוב כ� ה ה הקיש� כתיב, ה“ אש� ר?. . .“משכבי למימ א איכ� אי מ

ה (קידושין כב:): רכ� לשלא כדIn the case of a Canaanite slavewoman, if the master

has relations with the woman, this is certainly not con-sidered an act of chazakah. We learn from our pasuk that even having relations in an “unnatural” manner does not qualify as chazakah.

Our pasuk discusses a man who has relations with an-other man, describing the act as a man who lies with a man ה משכבי as one lies with a woman. The word ,משכבי אש�is plural, and literally means, layings. The pasuk uses a word that references two ways to lay with a woman — “naturally” and “unnaturally” — to compare them to each other. Therefore, any relations a man would have with a slavewoman would not acquire her (Kiddushin 22b).

� Is a Child Included?”אשר ן. ט� לק� ט פר� ”איש“, ה. אש� משכבי ר כ� ז� את ב ישכ� אשר ואיש תוב כ� ה לך� גיד מ ה“, אש� ”משכבי ן, ט� ק� בין דול ג� בין ר“, כ� ז� את ב ישכא ונמצ� מד לל א זה ב� הרי עאל: ישמ� בי ר ר מ ה. א� אש� בות ב� משכ� ששני

מד (סנהדרין נד.): ל�Our pasuk discusses a man who has relations with an-

other man. It tells us, A man who lies with a man (ר as (ז�כ�one lies with a woman (ה they shall be put to …(משכבי אש�death.

The beginning of the pasuk, A “man” who lies, etc., teaches that only a mature man is executed for such rela-tions, but a minor who commits this act is not executed.

The pasuk continues to say that the man lies with a “zachar” (ר literally, a male. This teaches that a man ,(ז�כ�who lies with any male — whether an adult or a child — is punished with execution.

The next phrase says that the man lay with a man משכבי ה literally, in the manner of the layings of women. The ,אש�word “layings,” in the plural, refers to the two ways one can lay with a woman — “naturally” and “unnaturally.” This teaches that both acts are considered marital rela-tions. Therefore, whenever the Torah prohibits a man from having relations with a woman, he is liable whether he did the act in the natural manner or the unnatural manner257 (Sanhedrin 54a).

ם .Their blood is upon themselves — דמיהם ב�

� How Are They Executed?א ה, או אינו אל� ה אומר בסקיל� ת� ה, א ם. ”מות יומתו“ בסקיל� דמיהם ב�ר ם“, ונאמ אן ”דמיהם ב� ר כ� ה? נאמ תור� אמורות ב ל מיתות ה� ת מכ� ח באאן ף כ� ה א ן בסקיל� ל� ה לה ם“, מ וידעוני (לקמן פסוק כז) ”דמיהם ב� באוב

ה (סנהדרין נד.): בסקיל�Our pasuk tells us that if a man has relations with an-

other man, they shall be put to death, “their blood is upon themselves” (ם ב� A pasuk later258 uses the same .(דמיהם expression when discussing those who practice Ov and Yid’oni sorcery: they shall pelt them with stones, “their blood is upon themselves” (ם A gezeirah shavah259 .(דמיהם ב�



teaches that just as an Ov-sorcerer is executed through stoning (sekilah), a man who has relations with another man is also executed through stoning (Sanhedrin 54a).

ה הוא .14 ה זמ� ה ואת אמ� ח את אש� A man who — איש אשר יק�shall take a woman and her mother, it is a depraved

plot.


ה יב שרפ� מצוה רסא: שישרפו מי שיתח�Mitzvah 261: The Obligation [Upon Beis Din] to Execute

by Sereifah One Who Is LiableIf a person commits certain severe transgressions that in-cur the punishment of sereifah (burning), Beis Din must

execute the person in this manner.

� One Gezeirah Shavah, Many Lessonsה ת אש� ה, ב ה ואמ� א אש� ה, אין לי אל� ה ואת אמ� ח את אש� איש אשר יק�יז) יח, (לעיל ן ל� לה ר ונאמ ה“ ”זמ� אן כ� ר נאמ ין? מנ ה בנ� ת וב ה בת� ת ובת ה וב ת בת� ה וב אן בת� ף כ� ה, א ת בנ� ה וב ת בת� ה וב ן בת� ל� ה לה ה“, מ ”זמ�ן (לעיל ל� ר לה ה“ ונאמ אן ”זמ� ר כ רים כנקבות? נאמ עשות זכ� ין ל ה. מנ בנ�ין מנ כנקבות. רים זכ� אן כ ף א כנקבות רים זכ� ן ל� לה ה מ ה“, ”זמ� יז) יח, ה“, ”זמ� (שם) ן ל� לה ר ונאמ ה“ ”זמ� אן ר כ נאמ ה? על� כלמ ה ט� למ עשות לה על� אן למ ה כ ה. ומ על� כלמ ה ט� אן למ ף כ ה א על� כלמ ה ט� ן למ ל� ה לה מ

ה (סנהדרין עה.): ט� ה כלמ על� ן למ ל� ף לה ה א ט� כלמOur pasuk tells us that if a man marries a woman and

has relations with her mother, both he and the mother are executed through burning (sereifah).

An earlier pasuk260 tells us, The nakedness of a woman and her daughter you shall not uncover; her son’s daughter or her daughter’s daughter you shall not take. The pasuk re-fers both to a person’s own daughter or granddaughter and his wife’s daughter and granddaughter from a different man.

Our pasuk teaches the punishment for someone who violated this prohibition. It says, A man who shall take a woman and her mother, it is “zimmah” (ה a depraved ,(זמ�plot. The earlier pasuk, which discussed a wife’s daughter and granddaughter, uses the same expression: The naked-ness of a woman and her daughter you shall not uncover… it is “zimmah” (ה -a depraved plot. We learn from a gezei ,(זמ�rah shavah261 that the punishment of burning mentioned in our pasuk applies to one who has relations with his or his wife’s daughter or granddaughter — the relatives of the earlier pasuk — as well.

The gezeirah shavah also teaches three more laws. H The earlier pasuk discussed the wife’s granddaughter,

who is the third generation from the wife herself. So our pasuk, which discusses a wife’s mother, also includes the third generation going up — the wife’s grandmother. This teaches that if a man lives with his wife’s grand-mother, he is punished with burning.

H For a sin to be punishable, the Torah must tell us that the act is forbidden; this is called “the warning” (ה ר� זה� ,אazharah). We have just learned that our pasuk teaches the punishment for living with a wife’s grandmother. The gezeirah shavah teaches the warning for this prohibition, since it links our pasuk, which discusses the punishment, to the earlier pasuk, which discusses the prohibition. Just as our pasuk includes a wife’s grandmother, that pasuk also included a wife’s grand-mother.

H A pasuk elsewhere262 teaches that a man may not have relations with his own illegitimate daughter. That pasuk is linked to the pasuk that discusses a wife’s daughter through a different gezeirah shavah.263 Therefore, our gezeirah shavah, which links our pasuk to the pasuk re-garding a wife’s daughter, applies also to an illegitimate daughter, teaching that the punishment for living with such a daughter is burning (Sanhedrin 75a).

The chart on the facing page is a summary of the vari-ous laws learned from the gezeirah shavah:

� “Taking” Means Marryingאן כתיב ה, וכ� ה, בכולהון כתיב שכיב� ה ואת אמ� ח את אש� איש אשר יק�ה ראשונ� ד שתהא ה� יה ע שני� ל ה ייב ע ם אינו מתח , לעול� מדך� ה. לל לקיח�

ה לו (ירושלמי יבמות יא, א; ירושלמי סנהדרין ט, א): זקוק�Our pasuk speaks of a man who shall “take” a woman

and her mother, and tells us that the man and the mother are punished with burning. The word “take” means that he married the woman, so the pasuk discusses specifically the mother of one’s wife.

If a person merely had relations with a woman and then had relations with her mother, he is not punished with burning. This is also true of other people who are forbid-den because of their relationship to one’s wife; they are not forbidden if they are relatives only of a woman with whom he had relations outside of marriage (Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 9:1).

260. Above, 18:17. 261. See above, note 251. 262. Above, 18:10. 263. Pasuk 18:10, which discusses an illegitimate daughter, says, for “they are” (ה ”your nakedness. Pasuk 18:17, which teaches the prohibition of a wife’s daughter, also uses this word — “they are (הנ�ה) .close relatives (הנ�

ישרפו, הראשונה אשתו ר יכול לומ� תה אי א� ואתהן. ישרפו אתו (יד) כתובות כאן שתיהן שהרי נשאה בהיתר ולא נאסרה עליו. אלא אשה ואמה ה�

אלא כאן אין שאומרים: בותינו מר� ויש ואמה. חמותו את שנשא לאיסור, ת מהן. ולשון יוני הוא, ”הן“ אחת (סנהדרין עו:): ח� הו ”אתהן”, את א� חמותו, ומ�

וא Rה ה זמ< ה jואת־אמ ה Yאת־אש ח יק� ר אש יש יד וא

ם: בתוככ9 ה jזמ ה הי� ולא־ת* ן ואתה אתו ישרפו ש א בה אמ ת וי� א אתת� ת י� ב יס די ר יד וגב

תה י� יוקדון א בנור� היא חטאין ת עצביניכון: חטאין ת עצ תהי א ול� תהן וי�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / יד 516 / ספר ויקרא


14 A man who shall take a woman and her mother, it is a depraved plot; they shall

burn him and them in fire, and there shall not be depravity among you.

264. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is im eino inyan legufo, teneihu inyan l’davar acheir (ן אם אינו עני�

אש ישרפו אתו ואתהן They shall burn him and them — ב�in fire.

� One of Them or Both of Them?עאל. ישמ� בי ר דברי מהן, ת ח א ואת אותו ואתהן, אתו ישרפו אש ב�עות שמ� יי: מ ב ר א מ ייהו? א� אי בינ א אומר: אותו ואת שתיהן. מ בי עקיב� רת ח ר: ”אתו ואתהן“, אותו ואת א ב עאל ס� בי ישמ� ייהו, ר א בינ דורשים איכ�א. תי� א א ש� מדר� חמותו ואם א, הינ� ת ח לא קורין ני יו� שון בל� שכן מהן, א כ� ה� חמותו ואם שתיהן, ואת אותו ואתהן“, ”אתו ר: ב ס� א עקיב� בי רעאל ישמ� בי ר ייהו, בינ א איכ� ה מית� ר ח לא חמותו ר: מ א� א ב� ר� א. כתיב�א למ� בע� א איסור� ר ב ס� א עקיב� בי ור ה בשרפ� ה מית� ר ח לא חמותו ר ב ס�

(יבמות צד:, סנהדרין עו:):Our pasuk says that if a man lives with his wife’s mother,

they shall burn him and “es-hen” (ואתהן), in fire. There is a disagreement among Tannaim on how to translate the word es-hen. One Tanna holds that the syllable hen is simi-lar to the Greek word heina, which means one. Thus, the word es-hen means one of them — one of the two women, the wife’s mother. The second Tanna translates es-hen as them, referring to both women, the wife and her mother.

However, this cannot mean that we execute both wom-en, because the wife had done nothing wrong!

There are two opinions on what exactly each of the above Tannaim means.

H The first opinion explains that the first Tanna holds that the pasuk means that we execute only one of the wom-en — the wife’s mother. We do not execute the wife, because she did nothing wrong.The second Tanna holds that when the pasuk speaks of a man who shall take a woman and her mother, the “woman” refers to his mother-in-law, and “her mother” then refers to the mother-in-law’s mother. The pasuk is saying that if a man has relations with both these women, we burn him and both of them, because both

the mother-in-law and her mother are forbidden to him. H The second opinion explains that according to the first

Tanna, the pasuk is teaching that the punishment ap-plies even if they violated the prohibition when only one of them — the mother-in-law — is still alive, after the wife died.The second Tanna, however, maintains that the pasuk is telling us that they are executed only if the viola-tion took place while both women are still alive. But if a man’s wife died and he then had relations with his mother-in-law, the act is forbidden but they are not punished with execution (Yevamos 94b; Sanhedrin 76b).

� Why the Wife Is Mentionedאי ובית מ ה לא נחלקו בית ש בי יהוד� ר ר מ אש ישרפו אתו ואתהן. א� ב�קיש ר ריש ל� מ מי א� בי א ר ר מ ל חמותו שפוסל את אשתו. . . א� א ע הלל בב�ל כ� וכי ואתהן“. אתו ישרפו אש ”ב� דכתיב ה? יהוד� בי דר א עמ� ט אי מא (יבמות ן לאיסור� ה תנהו עני� ן לשרפ� ה? אם אינו עני� ית כולו בשרפ� ב ה

צה., ירושלמי יבמות י, ו):Our pasuk tells us that if a husband has relations with his

wife’s mother, they shall burn him and “them” in fire. The simple translation of the word “them” would seem to refer to the wife and her mother. But this cannot be, since the wife did nothing wrong!

One opinion understands the pasuk to teach us a unique law about this prohibited relationship:

Generally, if a husband has relations with a woman for-bidden to him — his wife’s sister, for example — he may remain married to his wife. This opinion understands that the obligation to burn…“them” in fire compares the wife to her mother, and that just as her mother is forbidden to her husband, she too now becomes forbidden.264 There-fore, if a man has relations with his mother-in-law, he may not remain married to his wife (Yevamos 95a; Yerushalmi Yevamos 10:6).


Our pasuk, stating that one who has relations with his wife’s mother is pun-ished with burning:

Pasuk 18:17 above, forbidding relations with a daughter or granddaughter, or one’s wife’s daughter or granddaughter:

One law learned from the gezeirah shavah

Mentions the punishment of burning. Therefore One who violates these prohibitions is burned.

A second law learned from the gezeirah shavah

The third generation going back — a man’s wife’s grandmother — is included in the punishment.

Because The wife’s granddaughter is the third generation from the wife herself.

A third law learned from the gezeirah shavah

A wife’s grandmother is included in the punishment (see previous law).

Therefore a wife’s grandmother is included in the prohibition (azharah).

A fourth law learned from the gezeirah shavah

The punishment of burning applies even to an illegitimate daughter.

Because this pasuk is linked to pasuk 18:10, which discusses an illegitimate daughter.


ה .15 בתו בבהמ� A man who shall lie — ואיש אשר יתן שכ�with an animal.

� Both Are Stoned”איש“, ן, נ� ב� ר נו דת� ן? ל� א מנ� ה בהמ� ה. בבהמ� בתו שכ� יתן אשר ואיש ”מות ה. נ� קט בין ה גדול� בין ה“, בבהמ� בתו שכ� יתן ”אשר ן. ט� לק� ט פר�ל מכ� ת ח בא א אל� אינו או ה, בסקיל� אומר ה ת� א ה, בסקיל� ת“, יומ�(דברים ן ל� לה ר ונאמ הרגו“, ”ת אן כ ר נאמ ה? תור� ב אמורות ה� מיתות (סנהדרין ה בסקיל� אן כ� ף א ה בסקיל� ן ל� לה ה מ רגנו“, ה ת רג ה� ”כי י) יג,

נד:):Our pasuk teaches that if a man has relations with an

animal, he and the animal are executed.The wording of the pasuk is, A man who shall lie with an

animal shall be put to death. The word “man” teaches that only a mature man is punished for doing this act, not a mi-nor. The term “an animal” implies that the pasuk discusses any animal, even a very young one.

The pasuk then tells us, and the animal “taharogu” הרגו) you shall kill. A pasuk in Devarim265 teaches that ,(תif a person incites others to worship idols, ki harog “tahar-genu” (רגנו ה רג ת you shall surely kill him. The next ,(כי ה�pasuk there clarifies that he is stoned.

The words taharogu and tahargenu are forms of the same word, creating a gezeirah shavah266 between the two. Just as a person who incites people to idol worship is punished with stoning, if a person has relations with an animal, both he and the animal are stoned (Sanhedrin 54b).

הרגו ה ת� בהמ� .And you shall kill the animal — ואת ה�

� Judging the AnimalIn Jewish law, a court of twenty-three judges is need-

ed to judge cases that involve the death penalty. Most

other financial and criminal cases are judged by a court of three.

ה. . . ואומר ”ואת ע בעשרים ושלש� נרב� רובע וה הרגו. ה� ה ת� בהמ� ואת ה�הרגו“ (סנהדרין ב.): ה ת בהמ� ה

Our pasuk tells us that if a man has relations with an animal, the man shall be put to death; and you shall kill the

animal. Since the pasuk mentions the death sentence of the animal together with the death sentence of the person, we apply laws of one to the other. Just as the person must be judged by a court of twenty-three judges, the animal must also be judged by such a court (Sanhedrin 2a).

ה .16 בהמ� ה ואת ה� אש� גת� את ה� ר� You shall kill the — וה�woman and the animal.

� Not Just Any CaseIn Jewish law, a court of twenty-three judges is needed

to judge cases that involve the death penalty. Most other financial and criminal cases are judged by a court of three.

א רובע שנ� ולא ר כ� ז� א רובע שנ� ה. לא בהמ� ואת ה� ה אש� את ה� גת� ר� וה�ה“ בהמ� ואת ה ה אש� את ה� גת� ר ”וה� דכתיב ה, נקב� רובע א מ� בשל� ה. נקב�

(סנהדרין טו.):Our pasuk says, you shall kill the woman and the ani-

mal. The Torah puts the woman’s sentence together with the animal’s to teach that just as the woman herself must be judged by a court of twenty-three judges, the same is true for the animal (Sanhedrin 15a).

אמו .17 ת ביו או ב� ת א� אחתו ב� את ח יק� אשר A man — ואיש who shall take his sister, the daughter of his father or

the daughter of his mother.

� It Depends on the Contextבי אחותו ה, ג ת� א מע ת אמו. אל� ביו או ב� ת א� ח את אחתו ב� איש אשר יק�

חר ר א ב� ן לד� If a certain law cannot be applied exactly as written in the Torah (because, for example, other pesukim teach us .(לגופו תנהו עני�differently or because the Torah taught the law elsewhere), we apply the law to a similar case. 265. 13:10. 266. See note 251.

אלא חטאה, מה בהמה חטא אדם אם הרגו. ת� בהמה ה� ואת (טו) וחומר ל ק� תסקל, כתוב ה� ר אמ� לפיכך ידה, ל קלה ע� ת� לאדם שבאה מפני עבור עבירה (תורת חבירו ל� בחין בין טוב לרע, וגורם רעה ל� לאדם שיודע� לה�מקומות“ בדון את כל ה� בד תא� תה אומר ”א� דבר א� יוצא ב� כהנים פרק יא, ה). כ�ל וחומר: מה אילנות שאינן רואין ואינן שומעין, (דברים יב, ב), הרי דברים ק�

את טה מ� ה� לה, וכ� שרוף שחת ה� תורה: אמרה ידם ל ע� קלה ת� ת שבא� ל ע�ו; שם כהנים (תורת מה וכ� מה כ� ת ח� א� ל ע� מיתה, רכי לד� יים ח� מדרך חבירו מי ”חרפה” (בראשית לד, יד) ”חסודא“. סנהדרין נה.): (יז) חסד הוא. לשון אר�מקום לבנות עולמו ממנו, ין נשא אחותו, חסד עשה ה� ר ק� ומדרשו, אם תאמ�נח:): סנהדרין יא; שם כהנים תורת ג; פט, (תהלים יבנה“ חסד ”עולם ר שנאמ�

ואת־ ת Mיומ מות ה jבבהמ בתו שכ ן zית ר אש יש טו וא

ה ל־בהמ אל־כ ב תקר� ר אש ה טז ואש הרגו: Bת ה jבהמ ה�תו jה מות יומ Mבהמ ה ואת־ה� jאש גת. את־ה/ ר� ה וה/ ה את לרבע<או־ יו ב' ת־א ב� את־אחתו ח אשר־יק� יש יז וא' ם: ב/ ם דמיה�סד qתו ח ה את־ערו mיא־תרא ה וה* ת ה את־ערו א מו ור ת־א ב�א: ה עונו יש/ jת אחתו גל ם ערו� Mמ י ע� eי בנ Oכרתו לעינ הוא ונ

א בבעיר� בתה שכ� יתן די ר טו וגבא תקטלון: ת בעיר� א יתקטל וי� ל� אתקט�א בעיר� ל לכ� ב תקר די א טז ואתת�ת וי� א אתת� ת י� ותקטול ה ב ט למשלבין: י� א ח ל� טלון קט� א יתק ל� א אתקט� בעיר�ת אבוהי או תה ב ת אח� ב י� ר די יס יז וגבת ה והיא תחזי י� ת ערית ת אמה ויחזי י� בא הוא וישתיצון לעיני בני נ� עריתה קל�בל: יק גלי חובה תה ת אח� ערי מהון ע

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / טו־יז 518 / ספר ויקרא


15 A man who shall lie with an animal shall be put to death; and you shall kill the

animal. 16 And a woman who approaches any animal for it to mate with her, you shall

kill the woman and the animal; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them.

17 A man who shall take his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his

mother, and he shall see her nakedness and she shall see his nakedness, it is a disgrace

and they shall be cut off in the sight of the members of their people; he will have uncov-

ered the nakedness of his sister, he shall bear his iniquity.

267. A fuller discussion of kares can be found in the General Introduction to Tractate Kereisos in the Schottenstein Edition of Talmud Bavli. 268. See Schottenstein Edition, note 30. 269. See note 233.

מי דרך כי נ ת אמו“, ה� ביו או ב ת א� ח את אחתו ב דכתיב ”איש אשר יקר ליה: ליקוחין כתיבי מ רי? א� ה ש� סור דרך שכיב� ה [קידושין] הוא דא� קיח�

ה (יבמות צז.): ה שכיב� אוי לשכיב� ר� ה ה� ה קיח� אוי לקיח� ר� ם, ה� ה סת� תור� בOur pasuk says that if a man “takes” his sister, he will

be “cut off,” i.e., he will be punished with kares (premature death).267

The word “taking” can have two meanings: taking a woman in marriage, and “taking” a woman to have rela-tions with her. If the Torah speaks about “taking” in a case where marriage would be legally recognized, it refers to marriage; otherwise it refers to relations.

In our pasuk, “taking” cannot mean marrying, because “marriage” to one’s sister would not be legally recognized. Rather, it means that the person had relations with his sis-ter (Yevamos 97a).

� No Kal Vachomer for PunishmentsOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the

Torah’s intent is kal vachomer, literally, lenient and strict. This rule states that if we find that a stringent law applies in a more lenient case, it certainly applies in a more stringent case.

בינו שאין נו ר דת� ת אמו. לימ ביו או ב� ת א� ח את אחתו ב� איש אשר יק�ת אמו“, ביו או ב ת א� ח את אחתו ב א ”איש אשר יק ני� דין, דת עונשין מן הת אמו ביו. ב ת א� ת אמו שלא ב ת אמו וב ביו שלא ב ת א� א ב אין לי אל�ר יש לי ד שלא יאמ ה“. ע ת אחתו גל� ר ”ערו למוד לומ ין? ת ביו מנ ת א� ובת ביו, ב ת א� ת אמו שלא ב ת אמו וב ביו שלא ב ת א� ל ב ש ע נ בדין, אם ע�

דין (מכות ה:): דת� שאין עונשין מן ה מ א ל� ל שכן? ה� ת אמו לא כ� ביו וב א�Our pasuk tells us that a man who shall take his sister,

the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother…they shall be cut off (kares).

The daughter of his father means that he and the sister share the same father but not the same mother. Likewise, the daughter of his mother means that they share the same mother but not the same father. The pasuk ends, he will have uncovered the nakedness of his sister, he shall bear his iniquity. This seemingly extra phrase comes to teach that living with a full sister is also punished with kares.

But why does the Torah have to say this? We should make a kal vachomer that if a sister who is less related — a half sister — has the kares punishment, certainly a sister who is related more closely — a full sister — should have this punishment!

This teaches that a kal vachomer cannot be used to

apply punishments; if we find a punishment in a more-lenient case, we cannot apply that punishment to a more-stringent case through a kal vachomer268 (Makkos 5b).

ה ת� ה את ערו� א� .And he shall see her nakedness — ור�

� Advance Warningח ר ”ואיש אשר יק ה? שנאמ תור� ה מן ה א� תר� יין לה ה. מנ ת� ה את ערו� א� ור�א לי� יה ת טו בראי� ה“. א� ת� ה את ערו� א� ת אמו ור� ביו או ב ת א� את אחתו ברת תנהו ן לכ� ר. אם אינו עני� ב� עמו של ד� ראוהו ט ד שי א ע א? אל� מילת�

לקות (סנהדרין מ:־מא.): ן למ עני�Our pasuk says that if a man has relations with his sis-

ter and he shall see her nakedness, he is punished with kares.269

If he did the act in front of witnesses, he is punished with lashes (malkus), since he violated a negative command-ment.

What does the pasuk mean when it says that he “saw” her nakedness; his sin is that he had relations with her, not simply that he saw her?

The pasuk means that he is punished only if the wit-nesses help him “see” that the act is forbidden; they must warn him right before he does the act that this is forbidden.

The purpose of the warning is to ensure that the per-son knows that this act is forbidden. Therefore, a warning is not needed to make a person liable to kares, because Hashem gives this punishment, and He knows whether the person sinned on purpose or by mistake.

Rather, the pasuk means that a warning is needed to give the person lashes (Sanhedrin 40b-41a).

ת ערו� ונכרתו. . . אמו. . . ת ביו או ב� ת א� אחתו ב� את ח יק� אשר ואיש ה -A man who shall take his sister, the daugh — אחתו גל�ter of his father or the daughter of his mother… they shall be cut off…he will have uncovered the nakedness

of his sister.

� One Punishment or Two?רת את כ� צ� י� ה מ� ול� יו ל ה� בכל� כריתות יבי י� ק אומר: ח יצח� בי ונכרתו. רייבו ה לי? לח מ� אחותו ל� רת ב ן כ� נ� ב� לקות. ור רת ולא במ אחותו? לדונו בכ� בקין, א, הרי גופין מוחל� ל אחות אמו. פשיט� ביו וע ל אחות א� ל אחותו וע עביו שהיא ל אחותו שהיא אחות א� ייבו ע א לח קין? אל� הרי שמות מוחל�א ק ה� בי יצח� א. . . ור ר רשיע� א ב ה? ברשיע� ת ל� ח שכ אחות אמו, והיכי מה מ� א ל� דסיפ� ”אחתו“ ך ואיד� א. דסיפ� מ“אחתו“ ליה א פק� נ ליה?. . . א מנ�



דין. ר שאין עונשין מן ה ת אמו לומ ביו וב ת א� ל אחותו ב ייבו ע לי? לחטם רת למפ לק כ� עי ליה לח הוא מיב� ך ה א. ואיד� ך. . .מ“אחתו“ דריש� ואיד�

ך (מכות יד.־:): ולס�ה לדונ� אחותו ב רת כ� ה צא� י� ה מ� ול� יו, ה� ל כל� ב כריתות יבי י� ח ונכרתו. ושהיא ביו א� אחות שהיא אחותו ל ע לק לח לקות?. . . במ ולא רת בכ�

אחות אמו (כריתות ב:):Our pasuk tells us that if a man has relations with his

sister, he and the sister shall be cut off, i.e., they will be punished with kares.270

Earlier,271 the Torah lists all the forbidden relatives, in-cluding a sister, and then makes a general statement272 that they are all subject to kares. Since we already know that living with one’s sister is punished with kares, why does our pasuk need to say this again?

R’ Yitzchak says that the pasuk is teaching the follow-ing lesson: Normally, the punishment for a negative com-mandment is lashes (malkus). The pasuk here tells us that although living with a sister is a negative commandment, a person who does so is punished only with kares, and not lashes. R’ Yitzchak then applies this rule to all pro-hibitions that have the kares punishment: someone who violates such a prohibition is punished only with kares, not lashes.273

The Sages, however, disagree, and hold that such pro-hibitions have both punishments — kares and lashes. The Torah repeats the law of kares with regard to a sister to teach about a case where a person has a sister who is also his father’s sister and his mother’s sister.274 If he has rela-tions with her unintentionally, he is considered to have vio-lated three separate kares prohibitions (living with a sister, a father’s sister, and a mother’s sister). He must therefore bring three chatas offerings.275

R’ Yitzchak learns this law from the term “his sister” at the end of our pasuk — A man who shall take his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother…he will have uncovered the nakedness of “his sister.” The repetition

of “his sister” teaches that one is liable for three chatas offerings in the above case.

The Sages, on the other hand, hold that the repetition of the phrase “his sister” comes to include a full sister (a sister from both parents) in the kares punishment.276

R’ Yitzchak, however, learns this law from the phrase “his sister” found at the beginning of the pasuk. Instead of saying, A man who shall take “his sister,” the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, the pasuk could have simply said, A man who shall take the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother. The Torah mentions “his sister” to teach that a full sister is also included in the punishment of the pasuk.

The Sages, though, use the term “his sister” at the be-ginning of the pasuk to teach a law regarding the sacred anointing oil. There are two prohibitions that involve this oil: (1) It is forbidden to smear the oil on anyone who is not supposed to be anointed with it. (2) It is prohibited to make an oil using the same formula as the anointing oil. The Torah is teaching that these are considered separate prohibitions, and if one did both acts by mistake he must bring two chatas offerings. Although the pasuk does not discuss anointing oil, it is teaching us a law that is applied to the anointing oil (Makkos 14a-b; Kereisos 2b).277

The chart on the facing page explains how the opinions understand our pasuk.

.It is a disgrace — חסד הוא

� Hashem’s Chesedביו. . . חסד הוא“. ת א� ח את אחתו ב כתיב ”ואיש אשר יק חסד הוא. וה�א את אחותו, ש� א את אחותו, הבל נ� ש� ין נ� ר ק בין: שלא תאמ בי א� ר ר מ א�ם מהן, (תהלים פט, עול� נה ה� ראשונים שייב� שיתי עם ה� חסד הוא. חסד ע�נה“ (ירושלמי יבמות יא, א; ירושלמי סנהדרין ה, א): ם חסד יב� רתי עול� מ ג) ”א�

Our pasuk describes a person having relations with his sister as “chesed” (חסד), which literally means kindness.

270. See note 233. 271. Above, 18:6-23. 272. Above, v. 29. 273. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah is kol davar shehayah bichlal veyatza min hakelal lelameid, lo lelameid al atzmo yatza, ela lelameid al hakelal kulo yatza (ל ה בכל� י� ר שה� ב� ל ד� כ�א צ� ל כולו י� כל� ל ה מד ע א לל א אל� צ� צמו י� ל ע מד ע מד לא לל ל לל כל� א מן ה צ� This means that when the Torah gives a general category and then .(וי�mentions something from that category and applies a certain law to it, that law applies to the rest of the category as well. Here, the Torah included all types of relatives in the kares punishment, and then singled out the case of a sister to teach that she is punished only with kares, not lashes. Therefore, the same applies to any prohibition subject to kares. 274. This is possible in a case of a wicked person who is the son of a wicked person: A man (A) lived with his mother (B), and she gave birth to two daughters (C and D). He then had relations with one of these daughters (C) who then gave birth to a son (E). Then this son had relations with his mother’s sister (D). In addition to being his mother’s sister, she is also his father’s sister, since the father and sister share the same mother — B, and his own sister, since they share the same father — A. 275. Generally, a chatas offering is brought when a person unintentionally violates a kares-level prohibition.276. See above, “No Kal Vachomer for Punishments.” 277. See Schottenstein Edition, Makkos 14b note 2.

תיבה לשם וי‘‘ו יורדת ב� (יח) הערה. גלה, וכן כל לשון ערוה גלוי הוא, וה�ת ”ולא קם ולא זע“ (אסתר ה, ט), וכן דבר, כמו ”ז�עוה” (דברים כח, כה) מגזר�

ת בותינו, יש אומרים: זו נשיק� עראה זו נחלקו בה ר� ת אח. וה� חוה” מגזר� ”א�ת עטרה (יבמות נה:): כנס� מש, ויש אומרים: זו ה� ש�

ה ה את־מקר< ת ה את־ערו ה וגל� ה דו ב את־אש יש אשר־ישכ� א יח ו

ם: מ/ רב ע� ם מק� יה ונכרתו שניה- Aמ ה את־מקור ד jוא גלת ה וה ער ה9א אתת� עם ישכוב די ר יח וגב

ה נ ת קל� ה י� ת ערית לי י� א ויג אב� מס�א ה� ת דמ� ת סואב לי י� גלי והיא תגמהון: ע מגו רויהון ת וישתיצון

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / יח 520 / ספר ויקרא


18 A man who shall lie with a woman in her affliction and has uncovered her naked-

ness, he will have bared her source and she has bared the source of her blood; the two

of them will be cut off from the midst of their people.

278. See note 233. 279. See Gemara Yevamos 54b for how exactly this is derived.

How can this act be described as a “kindness”?The Torah is referring to the kindness Hashem did with

the world at the time of Creation.Adam’s two sons, Kayin and Hevel, were born with twin

sisters. Although Adam and his descendants were general-ly forbidden from marrying a sister, Hashem allowed Kayin and Hevel to marry their sisters. He did this because this was the only way they could have children and populate the world (Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1; Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 5:1).

ה .18 ת� ה את ערו� ה וגל� ו� ה ד� ב את אש� A man — ואיש אשר ישכ�who shall lie with a woman in her affliction and has

uncovered her nakedness.

� Only From the Regular Placeה אש� שאין ין מנ ה. ת� ערו� את ה וגל� ה ו� ד� ה אש� את ב ישכ� אשר ואיש את ב ישכ אשר ”ואיש ר שנאמ ה? ת� ערו� דרך דוה מ שיצא ד ע ה טמא�ה ה טמא� מד שאין אש� ה“, מל ה הער� ה את מקר� ת� ה את ערו� ה וגל� ו� ה ד� אש�

ה (נדה מא:): ת� דוה דרך ערו� ד שיצא מ עOur pasuk speaks about a man who has relations with

a niddah, a woman who experienced her monthly cycle. The words, and has uncovered her nakedness, seem extra. They teach that a woman becomes a niddah only when the blood is from the place of her nakedness, as in her normal cycle. She does not become a niddah by bleeding elsewhere (Niddah 41b).

ה ה הער� .He will have bared her source — את מקר�

� Even Just the Beginningה. ה הער� ה את מקר� ת� ה את ערו� ה וגל� ו� ה ד� ב את אש� ואיש אשר ישכ�ה ו� ד� ה אש� את ב ישכ אשר ”ואיש ר שנאמ ה? תור� ה מן ה א� ער� לה ין מנה (יבמות תור� ה מן ה א� ער� אן לה ה“, מכ� ה הער� ה את מקר� ת� ה את ערו� וגל�

נד.):

ה. ה הער� ה את מקר� ת� ה את ערו� ה וגל� ו� ה ד� ב את אש� ואיש אשר ישכ�ה ה את מקר� ת� ה את ערו� ה וגל� ו� ה ד� ב את אש� כתיב ”ואיש אשר ישכ וה�כגומר. שלא ערה מ ה את ה לידון ב� את, צ� לצורך י� ליה: ר ה“? אמ הער�עשה בו את ה, לא נ א משום טומא� ליה� אל� יבין ע� י� ר, הואיל ואין ח תאמ

ר (ירושלמי שבת ז, ב): ערה כגומר, לפום כן צריך מימ מ הOur pasuk tells us that if a man has relations with a nid-

dah, he is punished with kares.278 The pasuk describes the act as ה ה הער� literally, he will have bared her ,את מקר�source. The word ה he’erah, is similar to the word ,הער�ה א� ער� ha’araah, which refers to the beginning of the act ,הof relations. This teaches that a person is liable for living with a niddah even if he just began the act. Once we were told to apply this to a niddah, we know that it applies to all forbidden relations.279

According to another opinion, we know this general law from a different pasuk. Our pasuk is needed because one might have thought that the law regarding a niddah is more lenient since her prohibition is based on her being tamei (ritually impure) and not on being a relative. The pasuk therefore teaches that this rule applies to a niddah as well (Yevamos 54a; Yerushalmi Shabbos 7:2).

� Not So ObviousIf the Sanhedrin mistakenly rules that a kares-level pro-

hibition is permissible, and the community relies upon their ruling and violates the prohibition, they must bring a par he’eleim davar shel tzibbur (the bull for a communal-error) as a chatas (sin offering).The mistake must be in something that is not clearly spelled out in the Torah. But if the Sanhedrin ruled incorrectly regarding something that is written clearly in the Torah, we do not consider this a “mistake,” and a bull is not brought.

When a woman bleeds as part of her monthly cycle, she becomes a niddah and is tamei (ritually impure) for


R’ Yitzchak Sages

ת אמו: �ביו או ב ת א� �ח את אחתו ב � ,ואיש אשר יקA man who shall take his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother

A man who lives with his full sister is punished with kares.

If one smears anointing oil on a regular person and makes his own anointing oil, he must bring two chatas offerings.

and they will be cut off (kares) ,ונכרתו A man who lives with his sister is pun-ished only with kares, not lashes (and the same for any prohibition that has the kares punishment).

If a person lives with his sister who is also his father’s sister and his mother’s sister, he must bring three chatas offerings.

ה ת אחתו גל� � he will have uncovered ,ערוthe nakedness of his sister

If a person lives with his sister who is also his father’s sister and his mother’s sister, he must bring three chatas offerings.

A man who lives with his full sister is punished with kares.


a period of seven days. Bleeding during the eleven days following the seven of niddah is unusual, and a woman who bleeds during that eleven-day period is a zavah. If she has zivah bleeding on one or two days, she is a “shomeres yom,” tamei for one day.ל שומרת יום כנגד יום א ע ב� ל ה ה אב� תור� ה ב ה. יש נד� ה הער� את מקר�מד שסופרת ה“, מל ה ל� פר� א (לעיל טו, כח) ”וס� א כתיב� אי. . . ה� מ טור, וא פ�מי א נ א. ה� אסיר� ה הוא ד ר ביא� א גמ רי� ה ש א� ער� מרי ה ד? דא� ד לאח� אח�א ה הוא דכתיב� ו� ה ד� ה באש� א� ער� מרי ה ה“. . . ודא� ה הער� כתיב, ”את מקר�

(הוריות ד.):If the Sanhedrin rules that a niddah is prohibited but

not a shomeres yom, a par he’eleim davar is not brought, because the law of shomeres yom is written clearly in the Torah. But if they rule that one may begin the act of having relations with a shomeres yom, a bull is brought.

Our pasuk, which forbids this by saying ה ה הער� 280,את מקר�discusses a niddah. That this applies to a shomeres yom is not clearly stated in the Torah. Therefore, a par he’eleim davar is brought (Horayos 4a).

מיה .The source of her blood — את מקור ד�

� Two Plus Twoז) יב, (לעיל א קר� ר מ א� הו: ב� א בי ר ר מ א� לא? ותו דום א� א אימ� מיה. ד�בי ר ר מ א� ן? תנ ה חמש� ן אנ� א וה� ה. ע� רב� א אן כ� הרי “ מיה� ”ד� ,“ מיה� ”ד�

ה (נדה יט.): ק� א של� דום הוא, אל� חור א� א: ש� חנינ�Our pasuk teaches the punishment of one who lives with

a niddah, a woman experiencing her monthly cycle.We learn from our pasuk and an earlier pasuk that four

shades of red blood render the woman tamei (ritually im-pure) as a niddah.

Our pasuk describes the act of living with a niddah as, she has bared the source of “dameha” ( מיה� ,her bloods ,(ד�in the plural. An earlier pasuk,281 discussing a woman af-ter childbirth, tells us, and she becomes purified from the source of “dameha” ( מיה� -her bloods. Each plural indi ,(ד�cates two shades of red the Torah considers tamei, for a

total of four. Additionally, black blood is tamei, because it is actually red blood that has deteriorated to the point that it appears black (Niddah 19a).

לה .19 ביך� לא תג� אחות א� ת אחות אמך� ו> The nakedness — וערו�of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister shall you

not uncover.

� What Kind of Sister?לא ביך� א� אחות ת ”ערו לה. תג� לא ביך� א� אחות ו> אמך� אחות ת וערו�בין לה“ תג לא אמך� אחות ת ”ערו אם, ה� מן בין ב א� ה� מן בין לה“, תגא ה לי למכתב� מ� ב ל� אחות א� א ב ה לי למכתב� מ� אם. ל� ב בין מן ה� א� מן ה�ב, שכן אחות א� א ב נ� חמ� ב ר ת הו: צריכי, דאי כ� ב� בי א ר ר מ אחות אם? א� באחות אם א ב נ� חמ� ב ר ת ואי כ� א לא. ל אחות אם אימ� ייס, אב� ה ח� יש ל�

א (יבמות נד:): א לא, צריכ� ב אימ� ל אחות א� אית, אב� ד� שכן וOur pasuk forbids a person from having relations with

his father’s sister and his mother’s sister.The pasuk seems extra, because the Torah already for-

bade these relatives in a previous pasuk.282

The Torah repeats the prohibition of the father’s sister to teach that it applies even if the woman and the father share only the same father (a paternal sister) or only the same mother (a maternal sister). Similarly, the Torah repeats the prohibition of the mother’s sister to teach that the mother’s sister is also forbidden even if she and the mother share only the same father or the same mother.

Why does the Torah need to teach this lesson both in the case of a father’s sister and a mother’s sister?

If the Torah would say it only in the case of a father’s sister, I might say that we are stringent only with a father’s sister, since a person’s status — if he is a Kohen, for ex-ample — is based on his father. We would therefore say that he is more closely related to his father, and it is only the father’s maternal sister that is forbidden. The Torah therefore tells us that even a mother’s maternal sister is forbidden.

On the other hand, if the Torah would teach us this les-son only in the case of a mother’s sister, we might say that

280. See previous discussion. 281. Above, 12:7. 282. Above, 18:12-13.

ר זהרתן (לעיל יח, יב-יג), לומ� כתוב בא� ת אחות אמך וגו‘. שנה ה� (יט) וערו�חיותיהן מן האם. ל א� ל אחות אביו ואמו מן האב, בין ע� ר עליהן בין ע� שהוזה�ל אשת אחי אביו ר אלא ע� ת אשת אחי אביו (לעיל יח, יד), לא הוזה� אבל ערו�מד זה בא לל� מקרא ה� ב את דדתו. ה� מן האב (יבמות נד:): (כ) אשר ישכ�רגומו ערירי: ערירים. כת� ת הליכ� עלה שהוא בעונש האמור למ� כרת ל ע�”בלא ולד“. ודומה לו ”ואנכי הולך ערירי“ (בראשית טו, ב). יש לו בנים קוברן,

אין לו בנים מת בלא בנים (תורת כהנים פרק יב, ז), לכך שנה בשני מקראות ת אלו, ”ערירים ימתו”, ”ערירים יהיו”. ”ערירים ימותו”, אם יהיו לו בשע�ייו. ”ערירים יהיו”, שאם אין לו עבירה לא יהיו לו כשימות, לפי שקוברן בח�כשיו (עי‘ יבמות נה.): (כא) נדה ימיו כמו שהוא ע� יהיה כל ת עבירה בשע�עראה בה בותינו דרשו לאסור ה� זאת מנודה היא ומאוסה. ור� שכיבה ה� היא. ה�עראה מפורשת בה ”את מקורה הערה” (לעיל פסוק יח; יבמות נד.): כנדה, שה�

י את־שארו Iה כ Zל א תג� יך ל ב! אחות א Bת אחות אמך ו יט וערו�

ת תו ערו_ ב את־דד ר ישכ� mיש אש או: כ וא ם יש/ ה עונ. jער ה9ח ר יק� יש אש� תו: כא וא Dמ ים י bאו עריר jם יש ה חטא. Mדדו גלהיו: ים י* bה עריר jיו גל Tח ת א וא ערו_ Rה ה יו נד< ח! שת א �את־א

לי א תג בוך ל� ת א� אח ך ו ת אמ� ת אח יט וערי

ר בלון: כ וגב ריבה גלי חובהן יק ת ק� ארי י�ח ת א ח אבוהי ערי ת א ת את די ישכוב י�ד ימותון: א ול� בלון בל� אבוהי גלי חובהון יקא ק� ח� ת אחוהי מר� ת את ב י� ר די יס כא וגב

ד יהון: א ול� אחוהי גלי בל� א ד היא ערית�

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / יט־כא 522 / ספר ויקרא


19 The nakedness of your mother’s sister or your father’s sister shall you not uncover,

for that is baring one’s own flesh; they shall bear their iniquity. 20 And a man who shall

lie with his aunt will have uncovered the nakedness of his uncle; they shall bear their

sin, they shall die childless. 21 A man who shall take his brother’s wife, it is loathsome;

he will have uncovered his brother’s shame, they shall be childless.

283. See above, pasuk 18, “Even Just the Beginning.” 284. One of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the Torah’s intent is im eino inyan legufo, teneihu inyan l’davar acheir (חר ר א ב� ן לד� ן לגופו תנהו עני� This means that if a certain law cannot be applied .(אם אינו עני�exactly as written in the Torah (because, for example, other pesukim taught us differently or because the Torah taught the law elsewhere), we apply the law to a similar case. 285. See note 251. 286. See note 233.

applies only to the mother’s maternal sister, since we know for sure that she is his mother, but since we cannot be certain who the father is, the father’s maternal sister would not be forbidden (Yevamos 54b).

ה .For that is baring one’s own flesh — כי את שארו הער�

� Even an Animalן עני� אינו אם ליה ר מ א� הו? מ ה בבהמ� ערה מ ה ה. הער� שארו את כי א דה� א, צריכ� דלא אמו, אחות ו ביו א� אחות בי ג א דכתיב� ה א� ער� לה

ה (סנהדרין נה.): ה דבהמ� א� ער� ן לה ה, תניהו עני� ה דנד� א� ער� ש לה איתקOur pasuk discusses the prohibition to have relations

with a father’s sister or mother’s sister, and says about this act, for that is baring (he’erah, ה one’s own flesh. The (הער�word he’erah also refers to the beginning of the act of hav-ing relations.

However, there is no need tell us that this is prohibited with these relatives, since we already know this from other pesukim.283

Our pasuk is teaching that this law applies also to a per-son engaging in bestiality284 (Sanhedrin 55a).

ה .20 ת דדו גל� ערו� תו ב את דד� ישכ� אשר And a man — ואיש who shall lie with his aunt will have uncovered the

nakedness of his uncle.

� Only a Paternal Brotherאם, ה� מן ולא ב א� דמן ה� א נ� לת ליה א דפשיט� תו ודוד� ה. גל� דדו ת ערו�ה“, ת דדו גל� א ”ערו כ� א ”דדו“ ”דדו“, כתיב ה� תי� א: א ב� ר ר� מ א ליה? א� מנ�ב א� ן מן ה� ל� ה לה לנו“, מ ם (להלן כה, מט) ”או דדו או בן דדו יגא� ת� וכתיב ה�

אם (יבמות נד:): ב ולא מן ה� א� אן מן ה� ף כ� אם א ולא מן ה�Our pasuk prohibits a man from having relations with

the wife of his father’s brother. A gezeirah shavah285 teaches that this applies only to the wife of one’s father’s paternal brother (they share the same father), but not the wife of the father’s maternal brother (they share the same mother).

The pasuk says that one who lives with his aunt will have uncovered the nakedness of “dodo” (דדו), his uncle. A pasuk below tells us that if a Jew was sold as a servant to a non-Jew, either “dodo” (דדו) his uncle, or the son of his uncle, shall redeem him. The word “dodo” there refers specifically to the father’s paternal brother. The gezeirah shavah teaches that the word “dodo” in our pasuk also refers only to the father’s paternal brother (Yevamos 54b).

מתו .They shall die childless — ערירים י�

� Change in Terminologyמתו“, יהיו“, וכתיב ”ערירים י� מתו. כתיב (פסוק כא) ”ערירים ערירים י�

נים הולך ערירי (יבמות נה.): ן, אין לו ב� נים קובר� ד? יש לו ב� א כיצ ה�Our pasuk tells us that a man who lives with his aunt is

punished with kares.286 The wording of the pasuk is that he will die childless. This teaches that kares means that not only will the sinner himself die early, but that his children will die before him, and he will remain childless.

The next pasuk, which also discusses kares, says that he shall “be” childless, not that he will “die” childless. The Torah changes the terminology because it is dealing with two different situations:

Our pasuk speaks of a person who had no children at the time of his sin. The pasuk tells us that he will remain that way until he dies; even if he has children later on, they will die before him.

The next pasuk speaks of a case where the person had children before he sinned. It tells us that he will “be” child-less — he will become childless — and those children will die (Yevamos 55a).

ה הוא .21 חיו נד� ח את אשת א� A man who — ואיש אשר יק�shall take his brother’s wife, it is loathsome.

� Like a NiddahIf a man dies without descendants, there is a mitzvah

for his brother to marry the widow. This mitzvah is called yibum.

A niddah, a woman who is tamei (ritually impure) be-cause of her monthly cycle, may not have relations with her husband until she waits seven days and immerses in a mikveh.

היא? ה נד� חיו אשת א� וכי הוא. ה נד� חיו אשת א� את ח יק� אשר ואיש ת בשע אן, מכ� ר ח לא היתר ה ל� שיש פי ל ע ף א ה נד� ה מ ה, כנד� א אל�אן, ר מכ� ח ה היתר לא ל פי שיש ל� ף ע מי, א ח נ ף אשת א� רת, א א בכ� איסור�

רת (יבמות נד:): ה בכ� על� יי ב בחOur pasuk says, A man who shall take his brother’s wife,

ה הוא literally, she is a niddah. The pasuk continues to ,נד�say that the man is punished with kares.

What does the pasuk mean when it says that a brother’s wife is a niddah?

The pasuk means to compare a brother’s wife to a niddah.



A niddah becomes permitted to her husband after she waits the required time and immerses in a mikveh. As long as she is a niddah, however, she is forbidden to her husband, and if they live together they are punished with kares.

Similarly, a person may eventually become permitted to marry his brother’s wife under the law of yibum. But as long as yibum does not apply, he is completely forbidden to her, even if the brother divorced her; if he does lives with her, he is punished with kares (Yevamos 54b).

� No Pre-existing Prohibitionר ה מות� י� א להודיעך� שה� ה הוא,“ ב� חיו נד� ח את אשת א� ”ואיש אשר יק�

חיו (ירושלמי יבמות יא, א): ד שלא נישאת לא� עOur pasuk speaks of a man who shall take (ח his (יק

brother’s wife.The word ח take, indicates a marriage that is legally ,יק

recognized; but this is impossible! The wife of one’s brother is forbidden with a penalty of kares,287 and there can be no legally recognized marriage between them!

The pasuk is telling us that the prohibition of a brother’s wife applies only where he was allowed to marry her (“take” her) before she married his brother. But if she was forbidden to him at that time for a different reason,288 the prohibition of a brother’s wife does not take effect, and she remains forbidden only because of the prohibition that had previously been in effect289 (Yerushalmi Yevamos 11:1).

� What Kind of Brother?If a man dies without descendants, there is a mitzvah

for a paternal brother (a brother with whom he shares a

father) to marry the widow. This mitzvah is called yibum.A niddah, a woman who is tamei (ritually impure) be-

cause of her monthly cycle, may not have relations with her husband until she waits seven days and immerses in a mikveh.

חיו“, א� ”אשת אן כ� ר נאמ הוא. ה נד� חיו א� אשת את ח יק� אשר ואיש ה יש ה נד� ה הוא“, מ חיו נד� ח את אשת א� יק ”ואיש אשר ן ל� ר לה ונאמחיו ת אשת א� צא� ה היתר, י� חיו יש ל� ף אשת א� ה, א ר איסור� ח ה היתר לא ל�

ה (ירושלמי סנהדרין ז, ה): ר איסור� ח ה היתר לא מאמו, שאין ל�Our pasuk tells us that a man who lives with his broth-

er’s wife is punished with kares, and he will die without children. The wording of the pasuk is, A man who shall take his brother’s wife, ה הוא .literally, she is a niddah ,נד�

The pasuk compares a brother’s wife to a niddah: Just as a niddah becomes permitted once her niddah status ends, so too, the brother’s wife being discussed here is one who can become permitted through yibum, referring to the wife of a brother who shares the same father.

However, although the wife of a brother with whom he shares a mother is prohibited and is subject to kares, the added punishment mentioned in our pasuk — dying with-out children — does not apply (Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 7:5).

ה חיו גל� ת א� He will have uncovered his brother’s — ערו�shame.

� She’s Still His WifeIf a man dies without children, there is a mitzvah for his

brother to marry the widow. This mitzvah is called yibum.

ם, יש י�ב� א ל רי� א וש למ� ה לע� נים אסור� ה ב� א אין ל� ה. ודלמ� חיו גל� ת א� ערו�

287. See note 233. 288. If he was married to her sister, for example. 289. This is because of the rule that ל אסור ל ע one ,אין אסור ח�prohibition cannot take effect on another existing prohibition. See Schottenstein Edition, 61a note 13.

י�י“ (בראשית כז, מו), כאדם שהוא קץ צתי בח� (כג) ואקץ. לשון מיאוס, כמו ”ק�טהרה בהמה ה� לתם בין ה� במזונו (תורת כהנים פרק ט, ד): (כה) והבד�חמור שהרי מובדלין ונכרין הם, אלא ר בין פרה ל� טמאה. אין צריך לומ� ל�

מה ט חציו. וכ� ט רובו של סימן לנשח� בין טהורה לך לטמאה לך ח, בין שנשח�מא. לאסור לתי לכם לט� ערה (שם ז): אשר הבד� בין רובו לחציו, מלא ש�

(שם ח):

ם Mם את עשית- Bי ו ט� ל־משפ ל־חקתי ואת־כ ם את־כ mכב ושמרת

בת ש� ה ל מ jם ש Pיא אתכ bר אני מב רץ אש א יא אתכם ה aא־תק ולם Aח� מפניכ Oל י מש� bלכו בחקת הגוי אשר־אנ א ת3 ה: שביעי כג ול ב/ירשו תם ת* ם א� כ ר ל hאמ ם: כד ו/ ץ ב/ אק� שו ו/ לה ע ל־א י את־כ aכב jל ת ח רץ זב_ Pה א שת את qכם לר ה ל נ �אני אתנ Bם ו ת את־אדמים: מ* ע� ם מן־ה/ לתי אתכ- ם אשר־הבד_ היכ ש אני יהוה אל Mודבעוף ין־ה ה וב3 טמא ה ל� טהר ה ה� בהמ� ין־ה� ם ב3 לת מפטיר כה והבד�

עוף ה וב בהמ< ם ב� תיכ פש א־תשקצו את־נ� הר ול ט א ל� Oמ ט ה�א: מ3 לט� ם כ- ל לתי אשר־הבד_ ה מ אד ה/ תרמש ר qאש ובכל

י דינ ל כ� ת וי� י מ קי� ל כ� ת י� כב ותטרון

א רע� תכון א א תרוקן י� תהון ול� עבדון י� ותה: ב ב למת ן מ� תכון ת י� על מ� א אנ� די א א די אנ� י� ממ כון בנימוסי ע א תה� כג ול�

דו ל אלין עב� מיכון ארי כ� גלי מן קד� מרית לכון אמ� כד ו תהון: מימרי י� חיק ור�ה א אתננ אנ� רעהון ו ת א תון תירתון י� אב א חל� בד� א ע� רע� ה א ת ת י� לכון למירתכון פרשית י� הכון די א א יי� אל� ש אנ� ודב�א בעיר� בין פרשון כה ות א: י� ממ ע מן א ב� א� מס� א עופ� ובין א ב� א� למס� א כי� דתיכון פש� נ ת י� קצון תש א ול� לדכי רחש ת די ובכל א ובעופ� א בבעיר�א: ב� א� לס� לכון פרשית א די א רע� א

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / כב־כה 524 / ספר ויקרא


22 You shall observe all My decrees and all My ordinances and perform them; then

the Land to which I bring you to dwell will not disgorge you. 23 Do not follow the tra-

ditions of the nation that I expel from before you, for they did all of these and I was

disgusted with them. 24 So I said to you: You shall inherit their Land, and I will give it to

you to inherit it, a land flowing with milk and honey — I am HASHEM, your God, Who

has separated you from the peoples.

25 You shall distinguish between the clean animal and the unclean, and between the

unclean bird and the clean; and you shall not render your souls abominable through

such animals and birds, and through anything that creeps on the ground, which I

have set apart for you to render unclean.

The Land

and

immortality

Holiness and

kashrus

290. See note 233. 291. Above, 18:6-29. 292. See above, 11:29-30.

ה ה, יש ל� נים מצו� ה ב� מי, אין ל� ם? אי נ י�ב� א ל רי� א וש למ� א לע� רי� נים ש ה ב� ל�ל א מכל ב� או ה נים לא, ול ה ב� נים אין, יש ל� ה ב� מי אין ל� נים רשות? אי נ ב�

ה“ (יבמות נה.): חיו גל� ת א� א ”ערו חרינ� א א ב קר� ת עשה עשה? כ�Our pasuk says, A man who shall take his brother’s

wife, it is loathsome; “he will have uncovered his brother’s shame.” The phrase he will have uncovered his brother’s shame comes to include a case where the brother had chil-dren and then died.

In this case, there is no mitzvah of yibum, since the brother had children. The pasuk is teaching that although the brother is no longer alive, unless there is a mitzvah of yibum, his wife is still considered a “brother’s wife” and is forbidden (Yevamos 55a).

.They shall be childless — ערירים יהיו

� Another Part of Karesא מתו“, ה� ערירים יהיו. כתיב ”ערירים יהיו“, וכתיב (פסוק כ) ”ערירים י�

נים הולך ערירי (יבמות נה.): ן, אין לו ב� נים קובר� ד? יש לו ב� כיצר ה הוא“? אמ חיו נד� ח את אשת א� כתיב ”ואיש אשר יק ערירים יהיו. וה�ן דכתיב ערירים ה� ל ה� ן: כ� בי יוד� ר ר ערירי, דמ את, לידון ב צ� ליה: לצורך י�מתו, קוברין את בניהן (ירושלמי שבת ז, ב): נים, ערירים י� ין בלא ב� וי� יהיו ה�

Our pasuk teaches that a man who lives with his broth-er’s wife is punished with kares. 290 This seems extra, be-cause the Torah already told us this.291

The Torah here expresses the kares punishment as, they shall “be” childless. The Torah is telling is that kares includes being childless; meaning, that if the person had children before he sinned, he will “be” childless, and those children will die.

The previous pasuk also discusses kares, and says that he shall “die” childless. This refers to a person who did not have children when he sinned, telling us that even if he has children later, they will die before him.

According to another opinion, the meaning of these two phrases is reversed: He shall “be” childless means that if he did not have children up until now, he will never have chil-dren in the future. And he shall “die” childless means that if the person had children at the time of his sin, they will die in his lifetime (Yevamos 55a; Yerushalmi Shabbos 7:2).

לח� מפניכם .23 גוי אשר אני מש� Do not follow — ולא תלכו בחקת ה�the traditions of the nation that I expel from before you.


גוים לכת בחקות ה� מצוה רסב: של א ל�Mitzvah 262: The Prohibition to Adopt the Customs of

IdolatersWe are forbidden to follow the established social

traditions of idolaters.

תרמש .25 אשר ובכל עוף וב� ה בהמ� ב� פשתיכם נ� את קצו תש� ולא מא כם לט� לתי ל� ה אשר הבד� מ� אד� -And you shall not ren — ה�der your souls abominable through such animals and birds, and through anything that creeps on the ground,

which I have set apart for you to render unclean.

� Even the Size of a LentilGenerally, when the Torah forbids “eating,” a person is

liable only if eats at least a kezayis (an olive’s volume).ה מ� אד� עוף ובכל אשר תרמש ה� ה וב� בהמ� פשתיכם ב� קצו את נ� ולא תש�ה ה, מ ה וסיים בטומא� אכיל� תוב ב כ� ח ה ת מא, פ� כם לט� לתי ל� אשר הבד�

ה (מעילה טז:): ש� עד� ה בכ ף אכיל� ה א ש� עד� ה בכ טומא�א מא אל� הלא אין לך� מט עוף“, ו ה וב� בהמ� פשתיכם ב� קצו את נ� ”ולא תש�ן ת� ך היא שיעור אכיל� א כשיעור טומותיהן כ� ד? אל� צים לב ה שר� שמונ�

(ירושלמי נזיר ו, א):Our pasuk tells us, And you shall not “render your souls

abominable” through such [nonkosher] animals and birds, and through anything that creeps on the ground. The phrase “render your souls abominable” refers to eating, teaching that we may not eat nonkosher animals, birds, and sheratzim, “creeping” creatures.

The pasuk then says that these are creeping creatures which I have set apart for you to render “unclean.” The term “unclean” means tumah (ritual impurity). The pasuk is referring to the eight specific sheratzim that are tamei and make things that touch them tamei.292

Since the pasuk mentions the law of tumah together with the prohibition to eat, we apply the laws of one to the other. When it comes to tumah, the minimum size needed



for a sheretz to transmit tumah is the size of a lentil. The pasuk’s comparison teaches that this minimum also ap-plies to eating. Thus, someone who eats a lentil’s volume of a sheretz is punished, even though this is less than the size of an olive (Me’ilah 16b; Yerushalmi Nazir 6:1).

קצו .And you shall not render…abominable — ולא תש�

� Don’t Be Repulsive”לא משום עובר יו ב� נק� את שהה מ ה אי: ח א ב ר ר מ א� קצו. תש� ולא א א, ק� נ� א דאומ� רנ� תי בק אן דש� אי מ יי: ה ב ר א ב ביבי ב ר ר מ קצו“. א� תש

קצו“ (מכות טז:): ר משום ”לא תש ב ע�Our pasuk forbids a person from making himself “abom-

inable” by eating nonkosher food.The pasuk also hints to us that a person should not make

himself “abominable” — repulsive or disgusting — in other ways. For example, a person should not hold himself back from relieving himself. Also, one should not do things that others find disgusting, like using a bloodletter’s tube as a cup from which to drink293 (Makkos 16b).

אבן ירגמו .27 תו ב� הם אוב או ידעני מות יומ� ה כי יהיה ב� ואיש או אש�ם Any man or woman in whom there shall be the — את�sorcery of Ov or of Yid’oni, they shall be put to death;

they shall pelt them with stones.

� Not Just Ov and Yid’oniOne of the rules used in the Oral Law to understand the

Torah is kol davar shehayah bichlal veyatza min hakelal lelameid, lo lelameid al atzmo yatza, ela lelameid al hakelal kulo yatza (מד לל לא מד לל ל כל� מן ה א צ� וי� ל בכל� ה י� שה� ר ב� ל ד� כ�א צ� ל כולו י� כל� ל ה מד ע א לל א אל� צ� צמו י� ל ע This means that .(עwhen the Torah gives a general category and then men-tions something from that category and applies a certain law to it, that law applies to the rest of the category as well.ל כ� ל בכל וידעוני אוב ם. את� ירגמו אבן ב� תו יומ� מות ידעני או אוב וידעוני אוב ה מ� , לך� ר ולומ הן ל� קיש לה צאו? י� ה מ� ול� יו, ה� שפים מכ ה

ה (ברכות כא:): ה בסקיל� שפ� ף מכ ה א בסקיל�A pasuk in Shemos294 tells us, You shall not permit a sor-

ceress (or sorcerer) to live. The pasuk does not tell us how the sorcerer is put to death.

We learn from our pasuk that he is executed through stoning.

Our pasuk tells us that they (the Jews) shall pelt them — who practice the sorcery of Ov and Yid’oni — with stones. The general law of sorcerers discussed in the pasuk in Shemos included practitioners of Ov and Yid’oni. Our pa-suk now mentions these sorcerers and tells us that they are subject to execution by stoning (sekilah).

The rule of kol davar, etc., teaches that this law applies also to all other sorcerers; they too are executed by ston-ing (Berachos 21b).

293. See Schottenstein Edition, notes 25 and 26. 294. 22:17.

תם מובדלים מהם מים להיות לי. אם א� בדל אתכם מן הע� (כו) וא�בי אלעזר בן עז�ריה חביריו. ר� ר ו� דנצ� תם של נבוכ� תם שלי, ואם לאו א� הרי א�ר חזיר, אי אפשי ללבוש כלאים, פשי קצה בבש� ר אדם: נ� ין שלא יאמ� אומר: מנ�בדל ר ”וא� למוד לומ� י, ת� ים גז�ר על� שמ� ר אפשי, ומה אעשה ואבי שב� אבל יאמ�

תכם מהם לשמי, פורש מן העבירה בדל� מים להיות לי”, שתהא ה� אתכם מן הע�לכות שמים (שם י): (כז) כי יהיה בהם אוב וגו‘. כאן בל עליו עול מ� ומק�תראה בסקילה, מזיד בלא עלה (פסוק ו) כרת. עדים וה� ר בהם מיתה ולמ� נאמ�ר בהם כרת: ייבי מיתות שנאמ� טאת. וכן בכל ח� תראה בהכרת, ושגגתם ח� ה�

ם Pאתכ ל bבד א� ו/ יהוה י אנ' קדוש י bכ ים קדש לי יתם aהי כו ו*

ם אוב ה� היה ב ה כי־י* יש או־אש י: כז וא' היות ל* ים ל* מ! ע� מן־ה/ם: פ פ פ ם ב/ ם דמיה� jבן ירגמו את Pא תו ב Mי מות יומ או ידענ!

ס"ד פסוקים. ונג"ה סימן. מ"י זה"ב סימן.

א דיש אנ� דישין ארי ק י ק מ כו ותהון קד�למהוי א י� ממ תכון מן ע פרשית י� יי� ואא ארי יהי ר או אתת� י: כז וגב מ� לחין קד� פ�טלון א יתק ל� בהון בדין או דכורו אתקט�

בין: י� א ח ל� תהון קט� א ירגמון י� בנ� בא

רש“י

פרשת קדשים כ / כו־כז 526 / ספר ויקרא


26 You shall be holy for Me, for I HASHEM am holy; and I have separated you from the

peoples to be Mine. 27 Any man or woman in whom there shall be the sorcery of Ov or

of Yid’oni, they shall be put to death; they shall pelt them with stones, their blood is

upon themselves.


9 7A re you not to Me like the children of Ethiopians, O

Children of Israel? — the words of HASHEM — have

I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt, the Pelishtim

from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir? 8 Behold! — the eyes of

my Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM are upon the sinful monarchy,

and I will waste it from upon the face of the earth; but I will

not utterly destroy the House of Yaakov — the words of

HASHEM. 9 For behold I command! I shall shake the House of

Israel among all the nations as one shakes [grain] in a sieve,

and no pebble shall fall to the ground. 10 By the sword will all

the sinners of My people die, those who say, ‘‘The evil will not

approach and overtake us!’’

11 On that day I will erect David’s fallen booth; I will repair

their breaches and erect his ruins, and I will rebuild it as in

days of old. 12 So that they will conquer the remnant of Edom

and all the nations, for My Name is upon them — the words of

HASHEM Who brings this about.

13 Behold — days are coming — the words of HASHEM —

when the plower will encounter the reaper, and he who treads

upon the grapes will meet the one who brings the seeds; the

mountains will drip with wine and the hills will melt [with

fat]. 14 I shall bring back the captivity of My people Israel, and

they will rebuild desolate cities; they will return and plant

vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and

eat their fruit. 15 I shall implant them upon their Land; they

will not be uprooted again from upon their Land that I have

given them, says HASHEM, your God.

נאם־ ל Oא ישר� י Pבנ י Qל ם Rת שיים א Tכ כבני ט ז הלוא ים מצר רץ Xמא יתי על Zה ל א את־ישר� הלוא יהוה י י ׀ אדנ_ aה עינ יר: ח הנ cם מק dאר eפתור ו ים מכ gופלשתיל hמע ה את� י iדת והשמ ה א� ט� ח eה ה כ� מל� מ ב יהוה ית Pיד את־ב Qשמ יד א Pשמ י לא ה פס כ ה א kמ אד� lי ה aפני gעות cהנ eו וה מצ נכי lא ה mי־הנ cט כ נאם־יהוה: עקב eיה ר� כב� ב ינוע ר oאש eכ ל pא ישר� ית aאת־ב ם qגוי ל־ה בכ�י aא ט� ח כל מותו י� רב Xח י ב רץ: lא צרור א־יפול ולה: lע ר� lה ינו Oעד eב ים Qקד ות יש sג א־ת ל ים מר א ה� י tמ עי iרת ד lלת וג uנפ יד ה qו ת ד� vים את־סכ Qק הוא א� יום ה יא בם: lעול י Pכימ יה� qובנית ים ק א� יו סת� cהר eו ן את־פרציהגוים אשר־ ל־ה ית אדום וכ� wירשו את־שאר cן י ע יב למ

ים wמ את: יג הנה י� ם נאם־יהוה עשה ז uי עליה qא שמ dנקרים qב ענ� ך Pודר ר קצ ב חורש ש yונג נאם־יהוה אים ב�עות גב� ל־ה וכ� יס ס ע� רים ה� Zה יפו wוהט ע ר zז ה ך aבמשנו אל וב� י ישר� iמ בתי את־שבות ע ה: יד וש גנ� eתתמוגם kתו את־יינ ים וש� מ טעו כר� lבו ונ ש� מות וי� ים נש wר ע�ל־ ע ים qעת טו ונט ם: Zאת־פריה כלו lוא נות ג שו וע�תי ת{ ם אשר־נ� ת� דמ� ל א yתשו עוד מע lם ולא ינ kת דמ� א

: יך� Zר יהוה אלה hמ ם א� ה ל�

HAFTARAS ACHAREI-KEDOSHIM / הפטרת אחרי-קדושיםAccording to the Ashkenazic custom.

Amos 9:7-15 / עמוס ט:ז־טו

According to the Sephardic custom.

Yechezkel 20:2-20 / יחזקאל כ:ב־כ20 2 T hen the word of HASHEM came to me saying: 3 Ben

Adam, speak to the Elders of Israel and say to them:‘‘Thus spoke my Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM: Is it to seek of Me that you come? As I live, I will not make Myself acces-sible to you — the words of my Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM.’’ 4 Would you rebuke them, would you rebuke, Ben Adam? Inform them of the abominations of their fathers, 5 and say to them: ‘‘So said my Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM: On the day I chose Israel, when I swore to the seed of Yaakov’s family and made Myself known to them in Egypt, then I swore to them saying, ‘I am HASHEM your God.’ 6 On that day I swore to them to take them

out from the land of Egypt, to a land that I had sought

out for them, flowing with milk and honey, a splendor

ר את־ ב ם ד ד� ר: ג בן־א� י לאמ vר־יהוה אל י דב gיה כ ב ויהוה י אדנ_ ר מ א� כה ם אלה רת_ מ lוא אל ישר� י mזקנם כ ש ל� aר ני אם־אד� י־א� ים ח tא ם ב� Xת י א qהלדרש אתם kד ם התשפוט בן־א� ה: ד התשפט את� cי יהו dם אדנ נא�ם אליה רת_ מ lה וא ם: Fהודיע ם אבות� את־תועבת א אש_ lו ל א בישר� י iחר lב ביום יהוה י אדנ_ ר מ ה־א� כים kמצר רץ Xבא ם ה� ל� ע vד או� lו עקב eי ית aב ע לזר י ד י�יום ו ב ם: Zהיכ אל יהוה י qאנ לאמר הם י ל� wד י� א אש� lוים kמצר רץ Xמא ם להוציא� ם ה ל� די י� אתי ש� נ� הוא הי gצב ש ודב ב ל� ח� ת yב ז� ם ה ל� רתי אשר־ת{ רץ אל־א


for all the lands. 7 And I said to them: ‘Every man, cast away the detestable idols of his eyes and do not defile yourselves with the idols of Egypt, I am HASHEM, your God.’ 8 ‘‘But they rebelled against Me and did not want to listen to Me; not a man cast out the detestable idols of their eyes, and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt; so I intended to pour My fury upon them, to spend My anger upon them, in the midst of the land of Egypt. 9 But I acted for the sake of My Name, that it not be desecrated in the eyes of the nations amid which they are; and in whose sight I had made Myself known to them to remove them from the land of Egypt. 10 And I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them to the Wilderness; 11and I gave them My decrees and made known to them My ordinances through which a man will live if he performs them. 12 And also My Sabbaths have I given them to be a sign between Me and them; to know that I am HASHEM Who sanctifies them. 13 ‘‘But the House of Israel rebelled against Me in the Wil-derness; they did not walk in My decrees and they spurned My ordinances through which a man will live if he performs them, and they desecrated My Sabbaths exceedingly; so I intended to pour My fury upon them in the Wilderness — to make an end of them.

14 ‘‘But I acted for the sake of My Name, that it should not

be desecrated in the eyes of the nations, in whose sight I had

taken them out. 15 And also I swore to them in the Wilder-

ness not to bring them to the Land that I had given, flowing

with milk and honey; it is a splendor for all the lands. 16 For

they spurned My ordinances and did not walk in My decrees;

they desecrated My Sabbaths because their heart goes after

their idols. 17 Yet My eye pitied them rather than destroy them,

and I did not put an end to them in the Wilderness. 18 But I

said to their children in the Wilderness: Do not walk in the

decrees of your fathers, do not observe their ordinances,

and do not defile yourselves with their idols. 19 I am HASHEM

your God: Walk in My decrees, observe My ordinances and

perform them. 20 Sanctify My Sabbaths and they will be

a sign between Me and you, to know that I am HASHEM,

your God.’’

י mשקוצ יש iא ם אלה ר אמ{ lז ו צות: אר� lל־ה לכ� יא qהי יהוה qאו אנ kמ ל־תט ים א hי מצר Pיכו ובגלול של יו ה עינ�יש את־ iי א בו לשמע אל י ולא א� מרו־ב י ם: ח ו Zהיכ אלים לא hי מצר Pיכו ואת־גלול יניהם לא השל Fי ע mשקוצם ה פי ב� לות א ם לכ י עליה iת ר לשפך חמ� אמ lבו ו kז ע�ל י הח� gי לבלת ן שמ ע ש למ{ ע א ים: ט ו� lרץ מצר Rבתוך אעתי אליהם yר נוד ם אש kה בתוכ מ� aם אשר־ה qגוי י ה Pלעינרץ Xם מא Oאוציא ים: י ו� lרץ מצר Rם מא ם להוציא� יניה aלעי הם את־חקות ן ל� mאת lר: יא ו lמדב ם אל־ה Oאבא lים ו kמצרם ד� א� lם ה �ה אות Rעש eר י ם אש kעתי אות י הוד{ hט ואת־משפ�היות לאות cם ל ה תי ל� ת{ י נ� בתות ם את־ש yם: יב וג Zה י ב� vח ו�י מרו־ב י ם: יג ו lדש י יהוה מק gי אנ Qת כ ע ד ם ל� uיניה Fי וב qביני ט{ כו ואת־משפ� ל� א־ה� י ל ר בחקות מדב� ל ב א ית־ישר� Fבי hבתת ם ואת־ש ה י ב� ח{ ם ו� ד� א� lם ה ה את� עש eסו אשר י א� מ�ר מדב� ב ם עליה� י sת חמ� לשפך ר אמ lו מאד חללו י aלעינ י החל wי לבלת tן שמ ע ה למ{ עש� Zא ם: יד ו� lלות לכאתי ש� ם־אני נ� ם: טו וג Zיניה Fים לע qר הוצאת Rגוים אש הרץ א_ אל־ה� ם אות� יא ב ה� לבלתי ר kמדב ב ם ה� ל� י Qד י�צות: אר� lל־ה יא לכ� qי ה gש צב ב ודב ל� ת ח� yתי ז�ב ת אשר־נ�ם ה ב� לכו lלא־ה י ואת־חקות סו א� מ� י ט{ במשפ� ן ע טז יך: Fהל ם dלב ם גלוליה� י Pחר eא י Qכ לו pחל י hבתות ואת־שה ל� ם כ� �יתי אות sש א־ע� ם ול kחת eם מש י עליה� Qס עינ ח� ת� יז וי אבותיכם ר בחוק� מדב� ר אל־בניהם ב yאמ lר: יח ו lמדב בם ובגלוליה� ל־תשמרו א ם ואת־משפטיה� כו ל־תל אכו ואת־ pי ל hם בחקות היכ או: יט אני יהוה אל lמ ל־תט אשו pד ק י hבתות כ ואת־ש ם: lאות עשו eו שמרו י vט משפ�ם: Zהיכ י יהוה אל gי אנ Qת כ ע ד ם ל� יניכ Fי וב iיו לאות בינ וה�

528 / הפטרת אחרי-קדושים


הרות ישמוח השמח › 2020 › 04 › acharei-kedoshim-ta… · the punishment: “in...

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