Chumashחומש

וערלתם ערלתו. וַאֲטַמְתֶּם אֲטִימָתוֹ — יְהֵא אָטוּם וְנִסְתָּם מִלֵּהָנוֹת מִמֶּנּוּ:

וערלתם ערלתו את פריו meant lit., ye shall close its closing (regard it as enclosed): the meaning being that it shall be, as it were, closed up and barred so that no benefit may be derived from it.

שלש שנים יהיה לכם ערלים. מֵאֵימָתַי מוֹנֶה לוֹ? מִשְּׁעַת נְטִיעָתוֹ; יָכוֹל אִם הִצְנִיעוֹ, לְאַחַר שָׁלוֹשׁ שָׁנִים יְהֵא מֻתָּר, תַּ"ל יִהְיֶה — בַּהֲוָיָתוֹ יְהֵא (ספרא):

שלש שנים יהיה לכם ערלים THREE YEARS IT SHALL BE AS UNCIRCUMCISED UNTO YOU — From when does one count its three years? From the time of its (the tree's) being planted (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 3 3). One might think that if one has laid it (the fruit) by during these three years it shall become permitted for use after the three years, Scripture therefore states, יהיה which implies it shall remain in its former state of being (forbidden as it was during the entire three years).

יהיה כל פריו קדש. כְּמַעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי שֶׁכָּתוּב בּוֹ וְכָל מַעְשַׂר הָאָרֶץ וְגוֹ' קֹדֶשׁ לַה' (ויקרא כ"ז), מַה מַּעֲשֵׂר שֵׁנִי אֵינוֹ נֶאֱכָל חוּץ לְחוֹמוֹת יְרוּשָׁלַיִם אֶלָּא בְּפִדְיוֹן, אַף זֶה כֵּן, וְדָבָר זֶה הלולים לה' הוּא, שֶׁנּוֹשְׂאוֹ שָׁם לְשַׁבֵּחַ וּלְהַלֵּל לַשָּׁמַיִם (עי' ברכות ל"ה):

יהיה כל פריו קדש [BUT IN THE FOURTH YEAR] THE FRUIT THEREOF SHALL BE HOLY, in the same way as the "second tithe" with reference to which, too, it is stated (Leviticus 27:30) "And all the tithe of the land… [belongeth to the Lord]; it is holy (קדש) unto the Lord". Now what is the law regarding the “second tithe"? It must not be eaten outside the walls of Jerusalem except after redemption! The same is the case with this (the fruit in the fourth year). And this very thing הלולים לה׳, is A PRAISE OF THE LORD, for he takes it there (to Jerusalem) to praise and to laud God in Heaven, as he does with the second tithe (cf. Berakhot 35a).

להוסיף לכם תבואתו. הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת שֶׁתִּשְׁמְרוּ, תִּהְיֶה לְהוֹסִיף לָכֶם תְּבוּאָתוֹ, שֶׁבִּשְׂכָרָהּ אֲנִי מְבָרֵךְ לָכֶם פֵּרוֹת הַנְּטִיעָה; הָיָה רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא אוֹמֵר דִּבְּרָה תוֹרָה כְּנֶגֶד יֵצֶר הָרָע, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר אָדָם הֲרֵי אַרְבַּע שָׁנִים אֲנִי מִצְטַעֵר בּוֹ חִנָּם לְפִיכָךְ נֶאֱמַר לְהוֹסִיף לָכֶם תְּבוּאָתוֹ (ספרא):

להוסיף לכם תבואתה [AND IN THE FIFTH YEAR SHALL YE EAT THE FRUIT THEREOF] THAT IT MAY YIELD UNTO YOU ITS INCREASE — This command (of ערלה and נטע רבעי, fruit of the fourth year) which you observe will result in its giving you its produce in larger quantities. Because as a reward for it (for the fulfilment of My command) I shall bless for you the fruit of the plantation. R. Akiba used to say: “The Torah says this because it has man’s evil inclination in mind: that one should not say, "Behold, for four years I must take trouble with it for nothing!" Scripture therefore states that the result of your obedience will be that it will give you its produce in larger quantities (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 3 9).

אני ה'. אֲנִי ה' הַמַּבְטִיחַ עַל כָּךְ וְנֶאֱמָן לִשְׁמֹר הַבְטָחָתִי:

'אני ה‎‎‎ means, it is I, the Lord, Who gives you a promise about this (that your obedience to Me will bring a blessing on your harvest) and Who am faithful to keep My promise.

לא תאכלו על הדם. לְהַרְבֵּה פָנִים נִדְרָשׁ בְּסַנְהֶדְרִין (דף ס"ג): אַזְהָרָה שֶׁלֹּא יֹאכַל מִבְּשַֹר קָדָשִׁים לִפְנֵי זְרִיקַת דָּמִים, וְאַזְהָרָה לָאוֹכֵל מִבֶּהֱמַת חֻלִּין טֶרֶם שֶׁתֵּצֵא נַפְשָׁהּ, וְעוֹד הַרְבֵּה:

לא תאכלו על הדם YE SHALL NOT EAT ANYTHING על הדם — This text is interpreted in many different ways in Treatise Sanhedrin 63a: It is taken as a prohibition of eating the flesh of the sacrifices before their blood has been sprinkled; and as a prohibition addressed to him who eats of the flesh of a non-consecrated animal (חולין) before life has entirely left it; and many other interpretations are there given.

לא תנחשו. כְּגוֹן אֵלּוּ הַמְנַחֲשִׁין בְּחֻלְדָּה וּבְעוֹפוֹת, פִּתּוֹ נָפְלָה מִפִּיו, צְבִי הִפְסִיקוֹ בַדֶּרֶךְ (ספרא):

לא תנחשו YE SHALL NOT DIVINE — as do those who draw prognostications from the cry of a weasel or the twittering of birds (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 6 2; Sanhedrin 66a), or from the fact that the bread falls from his mouth or that a stag crosses his path (Sanhedrin 65b).

ולא תעוננו. לְשׁוֹן עוֹנוֹת וְשָׁעוֹת, שֶׁאוֹמֵר יוֹם פְּלוֹנִי יָפֶה לְהַתְחִיל מְלָאכָה, שָׁעָה פְלוֹנִית קָשָׁה לָצֵאת (סנהדרין ס"ה):

ולא תעוננו The verb is connected in meaning with “period" (עונה) and “hours"; thus a מעונן is one who says: “This or that day is auspicious for beginning a work, this or that hour is inauspicious for starting on a journey (Sanhedrin 66a).

לא תקפו פאת ראשכם. זֶה הַמַּשְׁוֶה צְדָעָיו לַאֲחוֹרֵי אָזְנוֹ וּלְפַדַּחְתּוֹ, וְנִמְצָא הֶקֵּף רֹאשׁוֹ עָגֹל סָבִיב, שֶׁעַל אֲחוֹרֵי אָזְנָיו עִקְּרֵי שְׂעָרוֹ לְמַעְלָה מִצְּדָעָיו הַרְבֵּה:

לא תקיפו פאת ראשכם YE SHALL NOT ROUND THE CORNERS OF YOUR HEAD — This refers to one who makes his temples exactly like (as hairless as) the back of his ears and his forehead (cf. Rashi on Makkot 20b, ד״ה המשוה צדעיו) by removing the hair on his temples, so that the lower edge of the hair that surrounds his head (i. e. his skull, because we are not concerned with ‎hair at the back of the neck) forms a complete circle, since above the back of his ears the roots of his hair are situated much higher than his temples (and it is thus only the temples which prevent an uninterrupted circular line going round his skull). (Cf. Makkot 20b).

פאת זקנך. סוֹף הַזָּקָן וּגְבוּלָיו (מכות כ'), וְהֵן חָמֵשׁ — שְׁתַּיִם בְּכָל לֶחִי וָלֶחִי, לְמַעְלָה אֵצֶל הָרֹאשׁ שֶׁהוּא רָחָב, וְיֵשׁ בּוֹ שְׁתֵּי פֵאוֹת, וְאַחַת לְמַטָּה בְּסַנְטֵרוֹ — מְקוֹם חִבּוּר שְׁנֵי הַלְּחָיַיִם יַחַד (שבועות נ'):

פאת זקנך [NEITHER SHALT THOU MAR] THE CORNERS OF THY BEARD — i. e. the tip of the beard and its sides, these making together five corners: two on each cheek, above near the head (the temples) — where it (the cheek) is broad and has therefore two corners (thus four on the two sides) and one at the bottom, on the chin, on that spot where is the junction of the two cheeks (Shevuot 3a; cf. also Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 6 3; Makkot 20a and Rashi on Shevuot 3a: ועל הזקן ‎‎‏ (ד"ה

ושרט לנפש. כֵּן דַּרְכָּן שֶׁל אֱמוֹרִיִּים לִהְיוֹת מְשָׂרְטִין בְּשָֹרָם כְּשֶׁמֵּת לָהֶם מֵת:

‎ ‎‎‎‎ושרט לנפש‏‎ ‎[YE SHALL NOT MAKE] ANY CUTTINGS [IN YOUR FLESH] FOR THE DEAD — This was the practice of the Amorites (a general term for heathens) to make cuttings in their flesh when someone belonging to them died.

וכתבת קעקע. כְּתָב מְחֻקֶּה וְשָׁקוּעַ שֶׁאֵינוֹ נִמְחָק לְעוֹלָם שֶׁמְּקַעְקְעוֹ בְּמַחַט וְהוּא מַשְׁחִיר לְעוֹלָם:

וכתבת קעקע [NOR SHALL YE IMPRESS] ANY WRITING BY ETCHING [UPON YOU] — i. e. a writing engraved (more lit., dug into) and sunk into the flesh and which can never be erased because it is pricked in with a needle and remains black forever.

קעקע. לְשׁוֹן וְהוֹקַע אוֹתָם (במדבר כ"ה), וְהוֹקַעְנוּם (שמואל ב כ"א), תּוֹחֲבִין עֵץ בָּאָרֶץ וְתוֹלִין אוֹתָם עֲלֵיהֶם, וְנִמְצְאוּ מְחֻקִּין וּתְחוּבִין בַּקַּרְקַע, פורפו"ינט בְּלַעַז:

קעקע (root יקע) is an expression connected in sense with והוקע in (Numbers 25:4) “and hang them (והוקע אותם)" and with (II Samuel 21:6) "and we will hang them (הוקענום)". They drove poles into the ground and hanged them upon these — consequently they themselves, as the poles, were, so to speak, dug in and inserted in the ground; pourpoint in O. F.

אל תחלל את בתך להזנותה. בְּמוֹסֵר בִּתּוֹ פְנוּיָה לְבִיאָה שֶׁלֹּא לְשֵׁם קִדּוּשִׁין (סנהדרין ע"ו):

אל תחלל את בתך להזנותה DO NOT PROSTITUTE THY DAUGHTER TO CAUSE HER TO BE A HARLOT — Scripture speaks of one who gives his unmarried daughter away for illegitimate concubinage (cf. Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 2; Sanhedrin 76a).

ולא תזנה הארץ. אִם אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה כֵּן, הָאָרֶץ מְזַנָּה אֶת פֵּרוֹתֶיהָ לַעֲשׂוֹתָן בְּמָקוֹם אַחֵר וְלֹא בְאַרְצְכֶם, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר (ירמיהו ג'), וַיִּמָּנְעוּ רְבִיבִים וְגוֹ' (תוספתא, קידושין א'):

ולא תזנה הארץ LEST THE EARTH BECOME DISLOYAL TO YOU — If you do this the soil will become faithless to you in regard to the distribution of its fruits, producing them in other places and not in your land. Scripture uses this simile also in (Jeremiah 3:2—3) "and thou hast polluted thy land with thy whoredom… Therefore the showers have been withholden etc.” (so that the land yielded no fruit) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 4; Tosefta Kiddushin 1).

ומקדשי תיראו. לֹא יִכָּנֵס בְּמַקְלוֹ וּבְמִנְעָלוֹ וּבַאֲפֻנְדָּתוֹ וּבְאָבָק שֶׁעַל רַגְלָיו (ברכות נ"ד); וְאַעַ"פִּי שֶׁאֲנִי מַזְהִירְכֶם עַל הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, אֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ — אֵין בִּנְיַן הַמִּקְדָּשׁ דּוֹחֶה שַׁבָּת (ספרא):

ומקדשי תיראו AND YE SHALL REVERE MY SANCTUARY — This implies that one should not enter it with his staff in hand or in his shoes, or with his money belt or with the dust on his feet (all signs of irreverence) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 9; Berakhot 54a; Yevamot 6b). But — says God — although I warn you with regard to the reverence due to the Sanctuary, yet — את שבתתי תשמרו YOU SHALL KEEP MY SABBATHS — not even the erection of the Sanctuary can set aside the Sabbath law (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 7; Yevamot 6a; cf. Rashi on Exodus 35:2).

אל תפנו. אַזְהָרָה לְבַעַל אוֹב וְיִדְּעוֹנִי; בַּעַל אוֹב זֶה פִּיתוֹם הַמְדַבֵּר מִשֶּׁחְיוֹ, וְיִדְּעוֹנִי הַמַּכְנִיס עֶצֶם חַיָּה שֶׁשְּׁמָה יַדּוּעַ לְתוֹךְ פִּיו וְהָעֶצֶם מְדַבֵּר (סנהדרין ס"ה):

אל תפנו DO NOT TURN [TO THE אבת NOR TO THE ידענים] — This is a warning addressed to the necromancers and the charmers themselves (not to the people who consult these tricksters). The בעל אוב, the controller of the spirit אוב, as the necromancer is called (cf. I Samuel 28:7), is identical with the פיתום (in Greek: πύξωυ); he is one who speaks out of his arm-pit; ידעני is one who puts a bone of an animal the name of which is ידוע into his mouth and the bone speaks (Sanhedrin 65b).

אל תבקשו. לִהְיוֹת עֲסוּקִים בָּם, שֶׁאִם תַּעַסְקוּ בָם, אַתֶּם מִטַּמְּאִין לְפָנַי וַאֲנִי מְתַעֵב אֶתְכֶם:

אל תבקשו means DO NOT SEEK to busy yourselves with them, for if you busy yourselves with them, you will become defiled in My sight and I shall abhor you.

אני ה' אלהיכם. דְּעוּ אֶת מִי אַתֶּם מַחֲלִיפִין בְּמִי (ספרא):

אני ה' אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — Just think Whom you are changing (by these practices which lead to idolatry) for whom! (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 11)

מפני שיבה תקום. יָכוֹל זָקֵן אַשְׁמַאי, תַּ"ל זָקֵן, אֵין זָקֵן אֶלָּא שֶׁקָּנָה חָכְמָה (קידושין ל"ב):

מפני שיבה תקום THOU SHALT RISE UP BEFORE A HOARY HEAD — One might think this reverence is also due to an ignorant old man! Scripture however says זקן — "thou shalt honour the face of the ״זקן — and זקן denotes only one who has acquired wisdom (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 12;Kiddushin 32b).

והדרת פני זקן. אֵיזֶהוּ הִדּוּר? לֹא יֵשֵׁב בִּמְקוֹמוֹ וְלֹא יִסְתֹּר אֶת דְּבָרָיו: יָכוֹל יַעֲצִים עֵינָיו כְּמִי שֶׁלֹּא רָאָהוּ? לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר ויראת מאלהיך, שֶׁהֲרֵי דָּבָר זֶה מָסוּר לְלִבּוֹ שֶׁל עוֹשֵׂהוּ, שֶׁאֵין מַכִּיר בּוֹ אֶלָּא הוּא, וְכָל דָּבָר הַמָּסוּר לַלֵּב נֶאֱמַר בוֹ וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ (שם):

AND THOU SHALT HONOR THE FACE OF THE OLD — What does the term "honoring” an old man imply? That one should not sit in his seat nor contradict his statements. One might think that one is allowed to close one’s eyes as though one does not see him (the old man)! Scripture however states "but be afraid of thy God”, because in this thing it is given to the heart of him only who does the action to know the motive that prompts him for no one has an insight into this except himself, and in reference to any thing where it is given only to the heart to know, Scripture states “and thou shalt be afraid of thy God Who knows thy secret thoughts״ (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 7 14; Kiddushin 32b).