Deuteronomy · Chapter 15

At the end of seven years you shall perform the remission.

מקץ שבע שנים AT THE END OF SEVEN YEARS [THOU SHALT MAKE A REMISSION] — One might think that this means seven years after each individual loan! Scripture, however, states, (v. 9) “[Take heed unto thyself lest there be in thy heart a word of worthlessness, saying], The seventh year … approacheth [and thine eye be evil against thy brother and thou givest him nought]”! Now, if you say that the seven years spoken of here mean seven years after each individual loan, i.e., after the granting of the loan to each individual person, how can one say, at the time the request for a loan is being made, “it (the seventh year) is coming near?” Consequently you must learn from this that Scripture means seven years according to the reckoning of the Sh’mitta-period (Sifrei Devarim 111:8).

MIKEITZ’ OF SEVEN YEARS THOU SHALT MAKE ‘SH’MITAH.’ The correct interpretation appears to me that he is warning about the seventh year itself, that we make it a Sabbatical [refraining] from plowing, [sowing] and reaping, just as He said, But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow, this being the meaning of thou shalt make ‘sh’mitah,’ that “you should rest,” similar to the expression, to keep the Sabbath-day. He abridged the prohibitions of sowing and pruning because He expressly mentioned them already, but he supplemented [what was previously said] to explain that it is a ‘sh’mitah’ of the Eternal also in regards to the release of moneys. This is the sense of the expression, because it is proclaimed ‘the remission’ of the Eternal, which is similar to a Sabbath unto the Eternal, and all works are to cease. I have already alluded to its secret. Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented [that the meaning of the word mikeitz is] “at the beginning of the year.” And so say all grammarians that the beginning and end of something are each called katzeh, since there are two extremities to each thing, similar to what is written, from ‘hakatzeh’ (end) to ‘hakatzeh’ (end); of the two ends thereof; in the four ends thereof. But the words [of the grammarians and Ibn Ezra] do not seem correct to me. For “the beginning of seven years” denotes the first year [of the Sabbatical cycle], this being the katzeh which is called rosh (the beginning)! Now had Scripture said, “mikeitz of the seventh year” their interpretation would have been correct [for then the verse would mean “at the beginning of the seventh year you shall make sh’mitah.” Instead, however, Scripture says, “‘Mikeitz’ of seven years thou shalt make ‘sh’mitah’ which according to them means “at the beginning of seven years,” i.e., in the first year you shall make the sh’mitah, which cannot be correct]! And in the opinion of our Rabbis mikeitz means “at the end of the seven years,” and Scripture speaks only of the release of money [i.e., the remission of debts], stating “at the end of all seven years counted by you [as a Sabbatical cycle] you shall make a release, that every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor, ” and it is therefore that the Rabbis have said that the Seventh year cancels a loan only at the end. Similarly in their opinion the verse ‘mikeitz’ seven years, at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles means “at the end of the seventh year,” except that “the end” mentioned here [with reference to the release of debts] means immediately [i.e., in the last moment of the seventh year] and “the end” mentioned there [with reference to the Assembly at which the king was to read the Book of Deuteronomy] is “distant,” [during Tabernacles, somewhat “distant” from the end of the year], since he explained at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles. Thus the sense [of mikeitz] in both cases ...

"At the end of seven years you shall enact the release" — at the beginning of the year, as I have explained. The proof is: "Assemble the people" (Deut. 31:12). This passage is juxtaposed [to the previous one] because the Torah had stated that the tithe of the poor belongs to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow; it then states likewise the matter of the release. The sense of "shemitah" is as if it said: abandon it and leave it, and it will lapse.

מקץ שבע שנים, “at the conclusion of seven years;” the rules governing the sh’mittah year do not commence until the end of the seventh year. The reason why this paragraph is appended here is that in 14,29, we have read that we have to care for the poor, the orphans, the widows, and the stranger, and this is what basically the sh’mittah legislation is also about.

מקץ שבע שנים תעשה שמיטה, “At the end of seven years you will institute a remission.” Several commentators including Kimchi and Ibn Ezra understand the word מקץ as “at the beginning of a seven year cycle.” They base themselves on the fact that everything has two extremities, i.e. קצוות. They cite as proof for such a meaning of the word Exodus 26,28 מן הקצה אל הקצה, “from one extremity to the other extremity.” This proves that the word קץ is applicable both to “beginning” and to “end.” Our sages in Sifri Re'ey 111 do not agree with their view and claim that the verse means “at the end of a seven year cycle.” Had the Torah written מקץ השנה השביעית, we could have understood our verse as speaking of the beginning of a cycle, i.e. at the first extremity. The wording being what it is, however, it is clear that the last extremity, i.e. the end of the cycle is meant. This is also what our sages in Erchin 28 said when they ruled that the remission of debts occurs only at the end of the seventh year. This is also how Onkelos renders our verse when he translates the word as מסוף. Our sages in Erchin 11 have a tradition that the destruction of the (1st) Temple occurred at the conclusion of the last year of the Shemittah cycle. They invoke the principle of מגלגלין זכות ליום זכאי וחובה ליום חייב, “if a day has a tradition of being a harbinger of evil tidings one arranges disasters to occur on such a day, whereas when a day has a tradition of being a day well remembered for fortuitous events, such a day is chosen to be the day on which other fortuitous events will occur. The destruction occurred on the eve of the ninth of Av. About the destruction of the second Temple we learned in Avodah Zarah 9 that this occurred 172 years before the end of the fourth millennium, seeing that the first Temple was destroyed in 3421 after the creation. (The second Temple stood 420 years.) This is the opinion of Rabbeinu Tam whose view is best supported. Even though the greater part of the year was spent in building the Temple we count the year as belonging to the period when the Temple was destroyed seeing that this was the cataclysmic event during that year. [The author now switches to the time he lived in. Ed.]. Today we are in the 52nd year of the sixth millennium. If we add these 52 years to the 172 prior to the conclusion of the fourth millennium, we have 1223 years that have elapsed since the destruction of the second Temple. If you deduct 24 Yovel years from that total, i.e. 2 years per century, seeing that this year is counted double, i.e. as belonging both to the just concluded cycle and as the first year of the new cycle, the number 23 will be expanded to 47 years resulting in the fact that 2 years from the time of writing will be a Shemittah year i.e. in the year 5053. According to the view held by Rashi that the Temple was destroyed in the year 420 (of its existence) the next Shemittah year will be in the year 5052. The expression תעשה שמטה, “make a remission,” refers to the soil which should be permitted to have a rest. The concept of Shemittah is the same whether applied to years or to the Sabbath day. The Sabbath day is a “shemittah” of days, whereas the seventh year is a Shemittah of years. I have already explained this on Leviticus 25,2

מקץ שבע שנים תעשה שמיטה, “At the conclusion of seven years you shall institute a remission.” Nachmanides writes that in his view the Torah here refers to the whole year being made into a “remission,” i.e. no pursuit of agriculture either at planting time or at harvest time, precisely as implied by the words (Exodus 23,11)—והשביעית, תשמטנה ונטשתה “and in the seventh year, leave it untended and abandon it.” The words תעשה שמטה in our verse are a variation of the words quoted from Exodus. You are to relate to your agricultural duties in the seventh year just as you relate to your business or vocational concerns on the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. What Moses adds here is that in addition to being a year of “vacation,” from hard labour in exchange for devoting that time to spiritual matters, i.e. devoting your time directly to matters of G’d, is that you are also to take a “vacation” from collecting bad debts, overdue loans. In Jewish law this is known as שמטת כספים, a year of remitting, i.e. forgiving, of outstanding debts. Any outstanding debts that you could not collect by the end of that year, the Torah asks you to forgive. Ibn Ezra understands the word מקץ as meaning “at the beginning.” He argues that the beginning and the end of something are called מקץ, i.e. every line has two ends, or two beginnings, both extremities at either end are called קץ. Nachmanides disagrees, seeing that the beginning of a cycle of seven years is known as השנה הראשונה, with the emphasis in the cardinal number “the first.” Had the Torah spoken of מקץ השנה השביעית , Ibn Ezra’s commentary would have been acceptable. According to the plain meaning of the text, the פשט, it seems obvious that the word מקץ here means “at the end,” as everything has a beginning and an end. Similarly, any string of numbers has a beginning and an end, Number 1 is considered the ראש, head, beginning of the sequence, and number 10 is deemed to be the end, סוף of such a sequence of 10 numbers. Seeing that, as I explained, the verse speaks about the remission of work on the land, the description מקץ clearly denotes the end of the year, harvest time. The meaning of מקץ is the same as the word בקץ, or בסוף, both meaning “at the end.” We encounter the word in connection with the lid of the Holy Ark upon which were mounted two cherubs, described as כרוב אחד מקצה מזה וכרוב אחד מקצה מזה, “one cherub at the one end, and another cherub at the other end.” (Exodus 25,22) Nachmanides continues at length, but I have decided to condense his commentary. It follows that the words מקץ שבע שנים refer to the beginning of the eighth year, seeing that the end of the seven years had just occurred.

And this is the matter of the remission: every man who holds a claim against his fellow shall remit it; he shall not press his fellow or his brother, for remission has been proclaimed before Hashem.

שמוט כל בעל משה ידו means as much as שמוט את ידו של כל בעל משה THERE SHALL BE A RELAXING OF THE HAND OF EVERY CREDITOR.

"The creditor" (mashsheh) — in the pattern of matteh, and it is a noun in my view. In the opinion of many, it is a verb-form, and ba'al [owner] functions similarly, as in "wisdom preserves the life of its owner" (Eccl. 7:12) and "the soul of its owner he takes" (Prov. 1:19) — meaning: the one in whose domain the matter rests. "Shall release" (yishsheh) — a transitive verb; the one who takes [a loan] is called the creditor's debtor (nosheh bo). "Shall press" (yagosh) — shall press hard, as in "and all your workers you press" (Isa. 58:3). In this future-tense form, the nun of roots with nun appears [in the root]. "A release for Hashem" — in honor of Hashem who gave him the wealth. The sense of attaching the King's name to it is because it is a Sabbath unto Hashem.

וזה דבר השמטה, when G’d said והשביעית תשמטנה, (Exodus 23,11) the meaning was that you should also have a concept of sh’mittat kessaphim, releasing overdue debts by your debtor at the end of that year. The words משה ידו, “what is owed him as a creditor” in our verse make this pretty clear. [Furthermore, if the word מקץ means “at the end,” it is clear that this verse does not refer to the produce grown during that year. Ed.]

וזה דבר השמיטה, “and this is the manner of the sh’mittah, release;” this year even releases a person from fulfilling an undertaking confirmed by an oath. If a person had undertaken to do something for his fellow and confirmed it by an oath, the advent of the end of the last day of the sh’mittah year releases him from it if he had not made good on his promise until then. (B’chor shor) שמוט כל בעל משה ידו, “every creditor shall release that which he has lent;” only loans are released, not proceeds from a robbery or something given to keep in trust. (Sifri) לא יגוש, “he (the creditor) shall not exact it.” Why does this have to be added? The Torah has already asked the creditor to release the debtor from his indebtedness, if he had been unable to repay him. Imagine the following scenario: a debtor, who owns a field, has dutifully released the seventh year’s crop to fulfill G-d’s commandment, as a result of which has no crop of his own to sell and to use the proceeds to repay his loan to his creditor. During normal years he would not have had a problem to repay his loan. If the creditor now presses the debtor to repay him what he owes him, but adds that he will gladly wait until after next year’s crop has ripened for the debtor to repay him, this is forbidden. The Torah forbids the creditor to extend the terms of the loan. This would not be fulfilling the Torah’s law of: “release it!” This is the meaning of the term: מקרא קודש in Leviticus 23,7 and elsewhere. כי קרא שמטה, “Time is of the essence in this legislation.”

וזה דבר השמטה, “and this is the matter of the remission;” our sages in Sheviit 10,8 explain that the lender tells the borrower who comes to him after the Shemittah year has elapsed (and he had failed to repay his loan on time), “I am releasing you from your debt.” If the borrower wants to voluntarily repay the sum he owes, the lender may accept it, seeing that the Torah did not forbid the borrower to repay his debt as opposed to loans with interest where the Torah specifically forbade both the payment of and the accepting of interest on loans between Jews (Deut. 23,8). In the case of the Shemittah, the Torah imposed restrictions only on the lender, i.e. he must not harass the borrower to pay him. The concept is that during that year we must not act as if we owned the earth but must demonstrate our awareness and agreement that the earth is the Lord’s by our behavior in practice. This is the meaning of כי קרא שמטה לה', “for he proclaimed it a Shemittah for the Lord.” Our sages in Sheviit 10,9 have said that when someone (a borrower) repays the lender what he owes him even though the Shemiitah year has elapsed, the Rabbis will relate very positively to such a person. On the other hand, if the borrower does not repay his debts even though he is legally in the clear, he risks that the lender will shame him by spreading the word that this borrower took advantage of the good nature of the lender and simply ate up his money. There is a halachic provision whereby the borrower makes a declaration (entirely voluntarily) prior to receiving a loan that he waives his right not to repay the loan if for some reason he is unable to repay it before the Shemittah year ends. We have a general rule that all mutually agreed conditions involving money matters can override what the Torah wrote. Moreover, the lender is allowed to demand repayment during any time of the Shemittah year provided the year has not come to a close. This is why the Torah writes מקץ, “at the end.” If someone who is owed money which should have been repaid prior to the Shemittah year hands over the I.O.U he is holding to a court of law asking the court to act as his collector, he cannot subsequently release the debtor from his debt seeing that the debtor is already considered as having been harassed, נגוש, so that the Torah’s warning not to harass the borrower can no longer be fulfilled. In such a situation the lender foregoes the right to ask for repayment (personally) as soon as the Shemittah year ends. (unless he had made an agreement with the borrower concerning this eventuality). Orphans who are of age (by the end of the Shemittah) and who are in possession of I.O.U.’s left to them by their father do not need to prove that the borrower had waived his right of non repayment of the debt at the end of the Shemittah year (Choshen Mishpat 67,29). These orphans are considered as if they actually had the requisite documents in their possession (Shevuot 45). The laws pertaining to the release of overdue debts in the Shemittah year apply world-wide, as opposed to the laws pertaining to the earth and orchards, etc., which apply only in the land of Israel. The Rabbis decreed this in order that the whole concept of the Shemittah legislation not be forgotten during the long years of exile of the Jewish people. The reason that the sheviit, seventh year, is capable of overriding certain oaths, is because the Torah writes here וזה דבר השמטה, using the word דבר, word, i.e. something uttered by the mouth. If someone swore to his creditor that he would pay him back the loan even though the Shemittah year would occur prior to the date of his repayment, even if he confirmed it in writing, etc., he need not keep his oath (Choshen Mishpat 67,6). There is a conceptual linkage between the shemittah of lands, etc., and shemitat kesafim (monetary debts) seeing the Torah writes the word תשמטנה; in Exodus 23,11 the Torah had already spoken of releasing land, i.e. agricultural harvests, from the claims of ownership. It is fairly clear that in our portion another kind of shemittah, i.e. monetary debts, are referred to. Seeing that the applicability of this rule in the Diaspora is only rabbinic the Rabbis permitted the פרוזבול, the writing over of the debt to the Bet Hadin, court of law, as otherwise there would not be any people ready to extend interest-free loans which would prove uncollectable also. If someone borrows a sum of money for ten years the lender does not need to forgive the loan in the first shemittah year seeing it had not become due yet; you cannot release something to which you did not have a claim yet. If the loan is unpaid when the second shemittah year comes around, its laws apply to that loan.

'כי קרא שמיטה לה, in other words: the time has come which we know as sh’mittah from Leviticus 23,2. Proclaiming this period as such is similar to proclaiming all the festivals in advance, hence the expression קרא, as in מקראי קודש. Even fast days are proclaimed in advance as we know from Lamentations 1,15, or Jeremiah 36,9.

וזה דבר השמטה, “this shall be the nature of the remission;” our sages in tractate Gittin, folio 37 state that this wording is the source of the rule that if a borrower comes to the lender in the sh’mittah year offering to pay back what he had borrowed, the lender has to decline by saying: “I remit the debt.” A similar rule applies to when a person guilty of having killed someone unintentionally comes to the gates of a city of refuge asking for entry he has to say: I have killed someone.” This too is derived from the wording: וזה דבר הרוצח, “this is the nature of the law concerning an unintentional killer;” (Compare Deuteronomy 19,4). The Jerusalem Talmud in tractate Makkot, chapter 2, halachah 6, adds that if someone had shown that he has complete mastery of one tract of the Talmud, and he is praised as if he had mastered two tractates, he is obliged to respond that he has mastered only a single tractate.

From a foreigner you may collect, but whatever you have with your brother, your hand shall remit.

את הנכרי תגוש OF ANY ALIEN THOU MAYEST EXACT IT AGAIN — This implies a positive command (Sifrei Devarim 113:1).

OF AN ALIEN ‘TIGOS’ (THOU MAYEST EXACT IT). “This constitutes a positive commandment.” Thus is Rashi’s language quoting the Sifre. The meaning thereof is that there is a positive commandment with respect to your brother [that you are not to exact the debt from him after it was cancelled by the Sabbatical year, the reasoning being as follows]: of an ‘alien’ thou mayest exact it, but not from your brother, and a negative commandment derived from a positive commandment carries the force of a positive commandment. And because we have been taught there [in the Sifre]: “He shall not exact it [of his neighbor and his brother] — it is a negative commandment upon him,” therefore the Rabbis again taught: “Of an alien thou shalt exact it — this is a positive commandment,” [not to exact the debt from a brother] meaning to say that he who exacts the debt from his brother violates both a positive commandment and a negative commandment. In the same way the Rabbis have said there: “Unto an alien ‘thashich’ (mayest thou lend upon interest) — it is a positive commandment. But unto thy brother thou shalt not lend upon interest — this is a negative commandment.” This, too, is as we have explained [that the meaning of the Sifre is] that there is a positive commandment with respect to your brother not to lend him on interest, and so did Rashi explain there, but not that there is any commandment to lend an alien on interest. It is so indicated from the Gemara of the Chapter “What is usury?”Now Harav Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon made both of them actual commandments — to exact debts from an alien and to lend him upon interest. He erred regarding these texts taught in the Sifre. Such expressions are common there [in the Sifre] in many places, as for example; “Of all clean fowls ye may eat — it is a positive commandment. And all winged swarming things are unclean; they shall not be eaten — this is a negative commandment.” Similarly the Rabbis mentioned in the Sifra and in the Sifre: “These are the beasts which ye may eat — it is a positive commandment.” But the matter is clear [as I have explained it].

"The foreigner you may press" — this is permitted [not obligatory].

את הנכרי, “the gentile debtor, who is allowed to grow crops during that year and sell them, and is therefore able to repay his debts, him you may exact repayment from during that year. את אחיך תשמוט ידך, “what is your brother’s you must not exact from him.”There is an exception to this rule when the creditor in question has deposited the loan agreement with a Jewish court, and he charges the court with collecting the debt from the debtor, as if the debt were owed to the court. In this way a debtor who is able to repay but hides behind this legislation to procrastinate repayment until the end of this year will not benefit by his insincerity. He will prefer to repay the creditor and not ruin his reputation as a potential borrower. This system known as prusbol, was introduced by Hillel, as otherwise lenders would simply not extend loans to indigent borrowers who did not either put up a security or pay interest, which it is forbidden for a Jew to charge a fellow Jew.

ואשר יהיה לך את אחיך תשמט ידך, “whatever you have a claim on, if it is in the possession of your brother, remit it.” Sifri Re'ey 113 infers from the wording “if it is in the possession of your brother” that when your brother has a claim on something which is in your possession, i.e. you have a pawn belonging to the borrower in your control, this law does not apply, i.e. you do not have to release it to him as part of the shemittah legislation.

את הנכרי תגוש, “You may “dun” the gentile (who owes you money) for repayment.” According to Rashi, based on Sifri 113 this is a positive commandment, i. e this positive commandment applies only in your dealing with the gentiles, not in your dealings with fellow Jews who are considered as your brothers. This is an example [i.e. not to dun fellow Jews, Ed.] of a negative commandment not spelled out but arrived at by deductive reasoning from a positive commandment that has been spelled out. It means that if you “dun” a fellow Jew you have violated both a positive and a negative commandment simultaneously. According to Maimonides (positive commandment #142) both commandments are viewed as positive commandments, i.e. remitting loans that are past due to fellow Jews, and insisting on repayment on loans made to gentiles, just as it is a positive commandment to charge a gentile interest on loans extended to him.

However, there shall be no poor among you, for Hashem will surely bless you in the land that Hashem your God gives you as an inheritance to possess.

אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון HOWBEIT THERE SHALL BE NO NEEDY AMONG YOU — But further on (v. 11) it states, “For the needy shall never cease out of the land”! But the explanation is: When you do the will of the Omnipresent the needy will be amongst the others and not amongst you, if, however, you do not the will of the Omnipresent, the needy will be amongst you (Sifrei Devarim 114:1). אביון denotes a person who is more destitute than an עני. The term אביון (from the root אבה “to long for”, “to desire”; cf. Rashi on Exodus 23:6) denotes one who longs for everything (because he lacks everything) (Leviticus Rabbah 34:6).

"However" (efes) — the meaning is: know that this which I commanded you — not to press your brother — there is no need for it if all Israel, or most of them, were obeying the voice of Hashem. For then there would be no needy person among you who would require you to lend to him; rather, all of you would lend to many nations. The sense of "you shall lend" (ta'avitu) is: you take his pledge, which is collateral, in exchange for money you give him because he needs it for trade.

אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון, even though I have said that you must forgive overdue debts, the fact is that there will be no need for this commandment to apply in practice as there will not be anyone in that kind of need. There can hardly be a question that during all the years when Joshua was the leader of the people this promise applied and no one was in need of having past due debts forgiven. We have it on irrefutable authority that as long as Joshua and the elders of his generation were alive the Jewish people kept the Torah in an exemplary fashion. (Joshua 24,31)

אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון, “there will be no destitute among you;” this is the Torah’s promise if the people of Israel will meticulously observe the sh’mittah and yovel year legislation. [The latter occurs only once in 50 years. Ed.] The reason that is so is that the poor who had felt forced to sell themselves or their daughters, will automatically regain their status as free men in the next sh’mittah year, and if they still owe money, that debt will have been scrapped at the end of the most recent sh’mittah cycle. With the advent of the yovel year, they or their heirs will automatically regain their title to the ancestral heritage they might have had to sell earlier. No one will therefore be permanently destitute. (b’chor shor) כי ברך יברכך, G-d will bless both the lender and the borrower (hence the repeat of the verb ברך in this verse). We have already explained how the borrower will become blessed. As a result of the lender having foregone a claim he had on the borrower, G-d promises him that he will not become poorer as a result of having done so. In practice, G-d will see to it that he has the opportunity to extend loans to gentiles who will pay him generous interest for having received such loans. (Verse 6) If you were to argue that you do not even have contact with such gentiles, the Torah promises that they, of themselves, will make contact with you for such purpose, as you will dominate their countries politically, i.e. ומשלת בגויים רבים, “you will rule over many nations,” (end of verse 6).

אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון, “However, may there be no destitute person among you.” When the Torah commanded you not to demand repayment from the borrower at the end of the Shemittah year, this will be of relevance only if you do not observe G’d’s commandments. If you do, there will not be anyone unable to repay his debts so that you would have to forego that money. Everybody will be wealthy and no one will have to borrow any money. והעבטת גוים רבים, “you will lend to many people.” The literal meaning is: “you will take pledges from them to protect your loans;” כי לא יחדל אביון, “but the destitutes will not cease from your land, “if you fail to keep the laws of the Torah.” כי ברך יברכך ה' אלו-היך בארץ אשר ה' אלו-היך נותן לך, “for the Lord your G’d will bless you in the land which the Lord your G’d is about to give to you.” The mystical dimension of this verse is quite clear, and is based on the fact that you are a holy nation to the Lord your G’d Who has chosen you to be His special nation. It is always this attribute of G’d, the Essence, that dispenses this blessing.

“There shall be no poor among you.” And below it says, For the poor shall never cease out of the land, and our Sages said (Sifrei Re’eh 132): “This [first verse refers to] when they do the will of the Omnipresent, and this [second verse refers to] when they do not do His will.” The proof of this is what is said, There shall be no poor among you, etc., only if you listen to the voice of the Lord. Meaning, only and exclusively on this condition if you listen. But what they said regarding the verse For the poor shall never cease out of the land requires explanation. What indicates that this verse speaks of a time when they do not do His will? Furthermore, what is the reason given [here] when it says therefore I command you, you shall surely open [your hand]? What is it teaching us? It is obvious that if there are no poor people, to whom would one give? Additionally, why does the passage begin with If there be among you a needy person… in your land, when charity is a personal obligation and applies even outside the Land [of Israel]? Similarly, it concludes the passage with and to your needy in your land, while in the verse For the poor shall never cease it says out of the land and not “out of your land.” But certainly this is the meaning, that all the poor of your land should be prioritized over the poor outside the land [of Israel]. And the entire passage speaks of a time when they are doing God’s will, as understood from the language only if you surely listen, etc. And when it says if there is a needy person among you, from one of your brothers, in one of your gates, in your land, all these “ones” point with a finger that in a time when Israel is doing the will of the Omnipresent, blessed be He, then no needy person will be found there except for one from a city and one from a family, and it is not common at all. And when it says for the needy will not cease from the midst of the land, it speaks of outside the land [of Israel], and this is in a time when they are not doing His will, since they did not go up to the land of Israel with their brothers, as happened in the days of Ezra when most of them did not go up from Babylon. And there, the needy will not cease from the midst of the land, meaning from the entirety of the land, and therefore it does not say “your land.”And the entire verse for the needy will not cease is an explanation of the first verse that says if there is a needy person among you, etc., in your land. Why does it specify in your land, when this commandment applies also outside the land [of Israel]? To this it says, as if explaining, for the needy will not cease from the midst of the land, meaning outside the land [of Israel]. And you might err and say that since the poor from outside the land come to you from a distant land, it is not right to reject them, and they should take precedence over the poor of your land. Therefore, I command you to surely open your hand to your poor and to your needy in your land. That is to say, this is why I said above in your land to decree that the verdict is with the poor of your land, that they take precedence over the poor from outside the land who are from the midst of the land. And regarding what is written “therefore I command you saying.” Because the saying is the essence and is better than the giving, for one who gives a coin to a poor person is blessed with six blessings, but one who comforts him with words is blessed with eleven blessings (Bava Batra 9b). This is saying to him words of appeasement and comfort. And some interpret it as, saying, you shall surely open. That he should also encourage others regarding charity and say to them you shall surely open, etc.

אפס כי לא יהיה בך אביון, if you observe the sh’mittah regulations meticulously, G’d will recompense you.

Only if you truly hearken to the Word of Hashem your God, to be careful to do all this commandment that I am commanding you today.

רק אם שמוע תשמע ONLY IF THOU WILT CAREFULLY HEARKEN [UNTO THE VOICE OF THE LORD THY GOD] — then לא יהיה בך אביון THERE SHALL BE NO NEEDY AMONGST YOU. שמוע תשמע [IF] THOU WILT CAREFULLY HEARKEN — The repetition of the verbal form suggests: If one listens a little (if one shows the determination to obey) he is caused to listen to many things (he gradually becomes obedient to every divine command) (Sifrei Devarim 115:1; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 11:13).

רק אם שמוע תשמע, "only if you will surely hearken, etc." The reason this paragraph is positioned next to the paragraph following promising that there will not be any poor amongst you is that we have learned in Moed Katan 28 that the wealth or poverty of a person is not related to his piety but to his mazzal The Torah therefore tells us that if all the Israelites will observe all the commandments, both positive and negative, then Moses could promise that there would indeed be no one that would be poor amongst the Jewish people. In such circumstances the passage in Moed Katan 28 would not be applicable. What the Talmud referred to there were only situations in which the person in question while having more merits than debits to his credit questions why he is poor. To such a person the Talmud said that the matter was due to his mazzal.

אם שמוע תשמע...והעבטת, you will collect pawns as collaterals for the loans you extend to the gentile nations.

For Hashem your God will bless you as He spoke to you, and you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow; and you will rule over many nations, but they will not rule over you.

כאשר דבר לך [FOR THE LORD GOD BLESSETH THEE] AS HE PROMISED THEE — and where did He promise you this? In the statement, (Deuteronomy 28:3—12) “Blessed shalt thou be in the city, etc.” (Sifrei Devarim 116:1). והעבטת AND THOU SHALT LEND ON PLEDGE — In the case of every term that denotes transacting a loan when it refers to the lender, the Hiphil form is appropriate to it (to cause a person to do something: here, “you will make many people to be borrowers” i.e. you will lend to them), as for instance, והעבטת, והלוית; while if it stated וְעָבַטְתָּ (in the Kal), it would apply to the borrower, meaning “thou wilt borrow on pledge”, the same as ולוית (“and thou will borrow”, which in Kal refers to the borrower). והעבטת גוים AND THOU SHALT LEND ON PLEDGE UNTO [MANY] NATIONS — One might think that you might do this in that you will borrow from one nation and lend to another! Scripture, however, states, “but you shall not borrow” (Sifrei Devarim 116:2). ומשלת בגוים רבים AND THOU SHALT RULE OVER MANY NATIONS — One might think that at the very same time other nations will be ruling over you! Scripture, however, states, “but they shall not rule over you (Sifrei Devarim 116:3).

"And you shall rule" — when you are upright, you will furthermore rule over the nations. But [the Torah addresses] the commandment [for the case] when there is a needy person among you; therefore it says "For the needy shall never cease" — because it is known that a generation will come in which the majority will not be righteous.

ברכך כאשר דבר לך, “He will bless you as He has promised you.” Where has this blessing been spelled out? Look at Deuteronomy 7,4.

If there is among you a poor person, from one of your brothers in any of your cities in your land that Hashem your God gives you, you shall not harden your heart nor close your hand against your poor brother.

כי יהיה בך אביון IF THERE BE AMONG YOU A NEEDY MAN — The most needy has preference (Sifrei Devarim 116:4); מאחד אחיך ONE OF THY BRETHREN — thy brother on thy fathers side has preference over thy brother on thy mother’s side (Sifrei Devarim 116:5); שעריך [WITHIN ANY OF] THY GATES — this implies that the poor of thine own city have preference over the poor of another city (Sifrei Devarim 116:6; cf. Rashi on Exodus 22:24). לא תאמץ THOU SHALT NOT MAKE [THY HEART] OBSTINATE — There are people who painfully deliberate whether they should give or not, therefore Scripture states, “thou shalt not make thy heart obstinate”; there again are people who stretch their hand forth (show readiness to give) but then close it, therefore it is written, “thou shalt not close thine hand” (Sifrei Devarim 116:10-11). מאחיך מאביון [NOR CLOSE THINE HAND] FROM THY NEEDY BROTHER — If you will not give him you will become in the end a brother of the needy (become as needy as himself) (cf. Sifrei Devarim 116:12).

"You shall not harden your heart" — meaning: you shall not fail to speak kind and comforting words to him.

כי יהיה בך אביון, "If there will be a destitute person amongst you, etc." Why does the Torah have to write בך, "amongst you," when it already wrote "amongst one of your brethren?" Perhaps Moses alluded to something we have learned in Baba Batra 10 where the Talmud said that the reason G'd chooses to afflict some people with economic hardship in this life is to afford their wealthier fellow Jews the opportunity to assist such a destitute person to support himself in dignity. The words בך אביון may be read together meaning: "on your account, i.e. for your sake," there will be a destitute person." The Torah writes מאחד אחיך, "amongst one of your brethren" to remind you not to evaluate people on the basis of their economic prosperity. The fact that he is destitute does not make him a lesser person, He is still your brother. This is quite independent of the explanation of our sages (Baba Metzia 71) that the reason the Torah mentions different levels of poverty is to teach you to attend first to the local poor before tending to those elsewhere. One may also see in these various levels of poverty described as עני, אביון in verse 12, different degrees of G'd's decrees against the poor. We have dealt with this subject on Exodus 22,24 where the Torah told us to extend loans to the poor. We explained there that sometimes the portion which is the due of the poor has been entrusted by G'd to the rich instead and that all his riches are in truth a collection of what originally had been allocated to the poor. When the rich man keeps this in mind he will never begrudge any support he extends to the poor as he is only giving to the poor what was his in the first place. Sometimes the poor finds someone physically close to him who will support him; other times he may have to travel to find someone who helps him sufficiently. This is what the Torah means when it speaks of מאחד אחיך, amongst one of your brethren. Alternatively, the benefactor may not even qualify for the description "your brother" but must be described as באחד שעריך, "someone in one of your cities." He may not even be found in one of your cities but merely בארצך, in your land but not in a Jewish city. Alternatively, the word מארצך means that though there is general prosperity in your country this does not preclude the fact that some Jew will be destitute. A moral/ethical approach to the whole paragraph sees in the words מאחד אחיך, "one of your brethren," an allusion to the one who is special amongst your brethren, the one to whose coming we all look forward to with longing, i.e. the Messiah. The Messiah has been portrayed as a poor man when the prophet Zachariah 9,9 describes him as riding on a donkey. The Torah also hints at the cause of his poverty when it says בך, "because of you," meaning that if the redemption would be orchestrated by G'd because the Israelites had attained spiritual maturity the Messiah would arrive in advance of G'd's final date for the redemption and he would be able to ri...

ולא תקפץ, “and do not shut (your hand).” This expression occurs in the same meaning in Psalms 107,42 as well as in Job 5,16.

לא תאמץ את לבבך, “do not make your heart hard;” do not fail to also try and speak soothingly to those less fortunate than you. Our sages in Baba Batra 9 said that comforting someone with words is the greatest gift of all. ולא תקפוץ את ידך, “and do not close your hand into a fist.” For he is your brother, he is destitute, and in need of everything.

Rather, you shall surely open your hand to him, and you shall surely lend him sufficient for whatever he lacks.

פתח תפתח [BUT] THOU SHALT SURELY OPEN [THINE HAND] — even many times (Sifrei Devarim 116:13). כי פתח תפתח BUT THOU SHALT SURELY OPEN [THINE HAND] — Here, you see, the word כי has the meaning of “but” (whilst e.g.. in v. 7 it means “if”, in v. 10 “because”). והעבט תעביטנו AND THOU SHALT LEND HIM ON PLEDGE — If he does not want a gift, give it to him as a loan (cf. Sifrei Devarim 116:14; Ketubot 67b). די מחסרו [LEND HIM ON PLEDGE] SUFFICIENT FOR HIS NEED — but you are not commanded to make him rich. אשר יחסר לו [SUFFICIENT FOR HIS NEED] IN THAT WHICH HE LACKETH — This implies: you must provide him even with a horse to ride on and a slave to run before him (if he was accustomed to such and now feels the lack of them) (Sifrei Devarim 116:16; Ketubot 67b). לו — implies that you must help him even to get a wife; for so it states. אעשה לו עזר כנגדו “I will make a helpmate for him (לו)” (Sifrei Devarim 116:17; Ketubot 67b).

"You shall surely open" (pato'ah tiftah) — the first word is the verbal noun (shem ha-po'al), and wherever [the doubled form] is not written out [in full], it is an abbreviated form; yet the homiletical interpretation is also fine. "Your hand to him" — to one who has nothing at all. "You shall surely lend him" (ha'avet ta'avitenu) — you shall give him from your own [funds] against his pledge; thus ta'avitenu means: you take his pledge.

כי פתח תפתח, "for you shall surely open, etc." What made Moses think that such a reason would open the hearts of insensitive people? Perhaps Moses referred to something we read in Proverbs 11,24 that "one man gives generously and winds up with more;" being charitable does not diminish one's wealth but increases it. When the Israelite "opens his hand," G'd "opens the gates of heavenly bounty for him." This is why Moses said כי פתח "in order that G'd will open His hidden treasures, etc." He continues with והעבט תעביטנו, "you shall lend him whatever he lacks, etc." The Torah means that when you open your hand for the poor all you are doing is giving him a loan seeing that G'd will repay you with interest. This is certainly sufficient reason for Moses telling you to open your hand again and again.

העבט תעביטנו, “take his security pawn as a guarantee that he will repay you the loan.”

כי פתוח תפתח את ידך, “you shall keep on opening your hand for him,” even a hundred times (Sifri Re'ey 116). והעבט תעביטנו If he does not want to accept handouts, give to him in the form of a loan so as to preserve his self respect. די מחסורו, “enough to cover his requirements.” You are not obligated to make him rich. אשר יחסר לו, “in accordance with what he lacks.” Even if he needs a horse to ride on or a servant to run in front of him (to maintain his standard of living). לו, even if you have to get him a wife (based on the wife of Adam being described as אעשה לו עזר כנגדו in Genesis 2,18.)

כי פתוח תפתח את ידך, but

Guard yourself lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying: 'The seventh year, the year of remission, is approaching,' and your eye be evil toward your poor brother and you give him nothing; and he cry out against you before Hashem, and there be sin upon you.

וקרא עליך AND HE CRY [UNTO THE LORD] AGAINST THEE — One might think this is a command (“he shall call against thee”). Scripture, however, states, (Deuteronomy 24:15) “[At his day thou shalt give him his hire … he is poor], so that he may not call against thee [unto the Lord]” (Sifrei Devarim 117:5). והיה בך חטא AND IT BE SIN UNTO THEE — under any circumstances, even if he does not cry against thee. But if this be so, to what end is it written “and he cry against thee”? It suggests that I will make greater haste to punish thee because of him who cries, than because of one who does not cry (Sifrei Devarim 117:5).

"Belial" — it is a noun. Some say it is a compound word, like tefilah: that [the thing] shall not ascend (lo ya'al), nor be redeemed (lo yiga'el), nor live (lo yihyeh). "And your eye be evil" — like "and she returned to her father's house" (Lev. 22:13); the word belongs to the class of double-ayin roots.

קרבה שנת השבע, “the seventh year of the sh’mittah is approaching; “I might not get paid back because of the law to remit outstanding debts.” Moreover, in the coming year this lender will not even be allowed to seed his field and harvest a crop from which to sustain himself. As a result of such considerations he does not wish to extend a loan to the needy.

השמר לך פן יהיה עם לבבך דבר בליעל, meaning something evil, unworthy. We encounter this word also in Psalms 41,9 דבר בליעל יצוק בו “something baneful has settled in him,” there the meaning is similar to here, i.e. a good deed reluctantly performed, the donor not really believing that the recipient of his tithes is entitled to handouts.

You shall surely give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, for because of this matter Hashem your God will bless you in all your deeds and in all the extending of your hand.

נתן תתן לו THOU SHALT SURELY GIVE HIM — even hundred times (Sifrei Devarim 117:6). לו implies between him and you (privately) (Sifrei Devarim 117:7.) כי בגלל הדבר הזה BECAUSE THAT FOR THIS THING [THE LORD THY GOD SHALL BLESS THEE] — (the word is taken in its literal sense of “word”, for it would have sufficed to state כי בגלל זה suggesting): even if you only say (intend) to give but are later unable to do so you will receive a reward for the mere saying (intention) together with the reward for the action (Sifrei Devarim 117:8).

"Because of" (biglal) — meaning: on account of, for the sake of; [glal derives from] savav (to revolve), for everything moves in portions — in the portions of the whole, which is the body. "You shall surely give" (naton titen) — the meaning is: if you give to him, Hashem will increase your wealth.

ולא ירע לבבך בתתך לו, “not only are you not to refuse a loan but you must not extend a loan reluctantly;” the Torah warns you not to think that you will suffer economic hardship for having been goodhearted. G-d promises that He will bless you for your good heartedness.

נתון תתן לו, “You shall surely give him, etc.” The reason the Torah repeats the word נתן is to tell you that if you will give the poor in adequate measure, the Lord in turn will give you in adequate measure. Our sages interpreted the words to mean that even if you are called upon 100 times to support the same individual, do not refuse. The latter demand is based on your not having given the poor enough support the first time. Concerning this subject Solomon said in Proverbs 21,26: “while the righteous man gives without stint.” Solomon means that the righteous does not allow any considerations to deflect him from giving charity. Another nuance included in the wording of the Torah נתון תתן is that one should give charity in a pleasant manner, not grudgingly. Neither should one do so in an arrogant manner. By following all these implications contained in the Torah’s wording, one may merit that one’s own wealth will endure. Concerning this Solomon said in Proverbs 13,8: “the poor never heard a reproof.” When does a man retain his own wealth? When he does not make the poor believe that his misfortune may be of his own doing, and one gives charity with a pleasant countenance. This is reflected in the story told by our sages about Rabbi Yannai who said to a wealthy man who publicly gave an alms to a poor man: “it would have been better if you had not given to this man at all instead of publicly embarrassing him” (Chagigah 5). כי בגלל הדבר הזה “for on account of this matter, etc.” Our sages in Shabbat 151 said that the reason the Torah did not use the word למען but בגלל is an allusion to the גלגל, “the wheel of fortune,” i.e. horoscopic influences which govern the way money travels from one person to another. G’d is threatening here that “if you do not share your wealth with the poor by giving charity generously, I will give the wheel of fortune a spin so that the wealth which devolved upon you up until now will devolve upon someone else. We have a verse in Scripture on this subject in Psalms 75,8: “for G’d it is Who gives judgment, He brings down one man and He lifts up another.” Our sages on the above mentioned folio of Shabbat say that a man should pray especially concerning this attribute of G’d, [that he should not be made to suffer from it. Ed.] for even if he himself may not suffer from it his son or grandson may be made to suffer from it. יברכך ה' אלו-היך, “the Lord your G’d will bless you;” the Torah set aside a special blessing for people who perform the commandment of being charitable. Solomon went so far as to say (Proverbs 11,24) “some people, though they appear to be wasteful with their money actually increase their wealth.” I want to urge you to appreciate another important principle concerning this most important and noble commandment which we have inherited already from our patriarch Avraham. He provided the foundation for the organized giving of charity and its mystical dimension. We must appreciate that poor people, by reason of their dissatisfaction “spread around” the presence of the attribute of Justice so that it is poised over Israel ready to strike. This is what the psalm 102,1 תפלה לעני, “prayer of the poor,” is all about. The very word תפלה [as opposed to תחנה, בקשה and similar words, Ed.] represents a struggle, a wrangling. It has a negative connotation, is used when two litigants strive against one another. This is what prompted the sages to say that a poor man is considered like a dead man (Nedarim 64). The wealthy man, by contrast, spreads around the attribute of Mercy seeing wherever he goes he reflects blessings received. He may be compared to the sun which enables the moon to at least shine with reflected light. He who dispenses charity is as if illuminating the eyes of the poor when the latter receives his blessing through the rich man. This is why the Torah warns that all the paths of Torah should be paths of loveliness and peace, that people who claim to be Torah-oriented should practice the virtues associated with Torah, and by giving charity in the manner prescribed enable the attribute of Mercy to abound on earth. By doing so he will ensure that the attribute of Mercy at least becomes an integral part of the attribute of Justice which is already poised. This is what ensures the continued existence of the universe. The world cannot exist unless both these attributes are working side by side (Bereshit Rabbah 12,15). You are aware (of the kabbalistic concept) that the performance of acts of charity on earth will have impact on the attribute tzedek in the celestial regions. According to Zohar Bechukotai 113 the tree of knowledge represents death whereas the tree of life represents life. Giving charity (for the right reasons) saves from the clutches of death and results in the opposing forces of צדק and מלכות being able to function together in harmony for the benefit of all of mankind. Isaiah 1,21 speaks of צדק ילין בה the attribute צדק which once resided in Jerusalem being replaced through the murders committed in that city. The prophet tells the people how to rectify this situation where the Shechinah cannot feel at home anymore in Jerusalem, saying בצדק תכנני “you can be rehabilitated through charity.” (Isaiah 54,14). This attribute צדק is mystically identified with the כנסת ישראל, the spiritual concept of “Israel.” It is also the “mate” of the “Sabbath” (compare Bereshit Rabbah 11,9). All of the above explains Moses’ concern with warning the people to be concerned with fulfilling this מצוה very meticulously. If someone gives charity on earth he influences the relative position of the emanation צדק=מלכות, bringing it closer to the emanation צדקה=רחמים or vice versa. Concerning this phenomenon we must understand the statement by the Kabbalists that גדולה צדקה לשמה, “that charity when performed for the appropriate reasons is a great thing.” They meant that the emanation חסד also known as גדולה will pour out blessing on the terrestrial part of the universe, i.e. the emanation מלכות. In Psalms 119,48 David phrased this as ואשא כפי אל מצותיך אשר אהבתי, “I stretch out my palms to fulfill Your commandments (charity) which I love.” You also find a statement in Midrash Tehillim which is an allusion to this (Midrash Tehillim 17,14) on the verse אני בצדק אחזה פניך, “I will be able to behold Your ‘face’ by means of charity (performed).” The author writes: “observe the power of charity; a person donates a copper coin to a poor person and as a result he merits a vision of Shechinah,” whereas according to the norms prevailing in our world when a lady of great social standing wishes to welcome the king in her home, she makes elaborate and expensive preparations to demonstrate her regard for the honored guest. Only after such elaborate preparations will she be able to entertain the king. Jews, by comparison, only have to make a minor contribution to charity or a person in need of charity, and already they are admitted to the king’s presence. The author of the Midrash proceeds to quote verse 14 in that chapter as proof. The reason this paragraph began with the words: “in one of your gates in your land,” and the paragraph also concludes with the words “in your land,” teaches that the Torah places the major emphasis on charity performed in Eretz Yisrael. Chapter 12 already started with the words: “these are the statutes and social laws which you are to observe and carry out in the land which the Lord your G’d gave to your ancestors.” Performance of the commandments of the Torah in the Diaspora basically only serves as a preservative measure, i.e. to ensure that during the long years of exile we do not forget the Torah and its commandments. This is the way Sifri explains Deut. 11,18: “put these My words on your heart;” The Torah refers to times when G’d’s words are incapable of being carried out except with our hearts, periods when we are exiled from Eretz Yisrael. We are to continue to lay Tefillin, put a mezuzah on our houses, etc., etc., in the Diaspora to ensure that we do not forget these laws. An alternative way of understanding the words: “in your land” is: even when you are in your land. “ Even in your land where you already demonstrated that you believe that the earth is the Lord’s through releasing debtor from debts, allowing all and sundry to pick the harvest of “your” field every seventh year, the Torah still commands you to perform deeds of charity as outlined in our paragraph. If you have to perform charity even in an environment where you demonstrated the virtue which charity symbolises, then when you are in the Diaspora and you cannot demonstrate this virtue in any other way you are most certainly obliged to practice charity even more meticulously. The commandment of charity is one that is called מצות הגוף, a commandment to be performed with one’s body, i.e. personally; as such its application is world-wide regardless of whether the Temple is standing or not.” The meaning of the subordinate clause introduced by the words (verse 9) “be on guard against yourself, etc.” i.e. that the Torah has to warn that we are urged to be meticulous with this commandment even in Eretz Yisrael, is to head off certain thoughts that might occur in your head. You might reason to yourself that seeing you have to release debtors from their debt to you, have to relinquish your field for a whole year, how could you be expected to fulfill the commandment to give charity according to the standards demanded by the Torah? Surely this will cause you to end up in the poor house yourself! In order to head off such thoughts the Torah promises that on the contrary, G’d will extend His blessing to you precisely because you have meticulously performed these commandments, not in spite of it. If you were to allow the needy to appeal to G’d (instead of to you who has denied him) then, and only then will you be guilty of a sin. The Torah concludes by saying בארצך, “in your land,” meaning “even in your land,” where you have already given up so much of what you would normally consider yours, you are not to withhold your generous contributions to the poor. It follows that your duty to be generous to the poor while you are in the Diaspora is even greater as you have fewer means to demonstrate this good virtue. In other words, the word בארצך here is not to be understood as something restrictive, applying only in Eretz Yisrael. Had the intention of the Torah been to use the word בארצך restrictively, the paragraph should have commenced with the words והיה כי תבואו אל הארץ, “it will be when you come to the land, etc.”

“Because of this thing, God will bless you.” The Sages (Shabbat 151b) derived from the word “biglal” [because] that it refers to a wheel [galgal] that turns in the world. Many have wondered about this language, because “biglal” is not the same as the word for wheel, as it is missing one letter gimel. I say that our Sages’ intention was to interpret “biglal” as related to and they rolled the stone (Genesis 29:3), meaning when poverty rolls among people from one to another as is its way, then God will bless you and cause it not to roll onto you when it falls upon others. From this we learn that things roll around in the world like a wheel, so that everyone who gives eventually becomes a receiver. For this is the nature of all existence in all three worlds, that every giver returns to being a receiver, as we explained above in Parashat Bereishit on the verse the sixth day. In all created things, matters proceed in causes like a wheel, where each one gives and receives — except for God alone, who is the Giver without receiving. The reason for this appears to be that God did not want a person to have a permanent hold on the land, neither he nor his descendants forever, as it says The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine (Leviticus 25:23). If a person never came to this state [of poverty], neither he nor his descendants, he would maintain a permanent hold on the land and would forget that the land belongs to God. Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, arranges that every person comes to this state [of poverty], either he or his descendants, to know and make known that all are like strangers on the earth and to God belongs the world and its fullness. This is why after the verse [the Torah] gives a reason for why He brings this upon people: For the poor will never cease from the midst of the land. For the midst of the land necessitates this matter, as mentioned. Therefore, I command you saying: You shall surely open your hand to your poor, so that they will also give to you or to your descendants, but not to both, as it says I have not seen a righteous person abandoned, nor his children begging for bread (Psalms 37:25). This means not both him and his children, but either him or his children. With this, this verse does not contradict what our Sages said (Shabbat 151b) “Either he or his descendants will come to this state.” Some say the absence of a [second] letter gimel in the word “biglal” [בגלל — because of] indicates that this follows from the sin of withholding acts of kindness, as our Sages interpreted (Shabbat 104a) “gimmel dalet” [ג“ד] to mean ”bestow upon [gemol] the poor [dalim].“ And the absence of the gimel [representing gemilut chasadim — acts of kindness] toward the poor makes the wheel — galgal [of fortune] turn.

For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I am commanding you, saying: You shall surely open your hand to your brother, to your afflicted and to your poor, in your land.

על כן means מפני כן BECAUSE OF THIS. לאמר suggests: I give you good advice for your own benefit (Sifrei Devarim 118:2). לאחיך לעניך [THOU SHALT SURELY OPEN THINE HAND] UNTO THY BROTHER, TO THY POOR — open thine hand to thy brother, to which brother? To the poor one. לעניך written with one Jod denotes one poor man, but ענייך with two Jods denotes two (or many) poor, i.e. it is a plural form.

FOR THE POOR SHALL NEVER CEASE OUT OF THE LAND. Commentators have said that the meaning thereof is that the poor shall never cease out of the Land at any of all times, for there will always be poor in the Land, for it was apparent before Him that they will not do [to make possible] what he said to them, But there shall be no needy among you, if only thou diligently hearken unto the voice of the Eternal thy G-d to observe to do all this commandment. But it is not correct in my opinion, for the Torah may allude to what will be but it would not explicitly prophesy about them [the Israelites] that they will not fulfill the Torah, nor would he have commanded them [to observe the commandments while foretelling] that they would always transgress them. Forbid it! It is only by way of warning that he mentions [their transgressions].The correct interpretation is that he says that it is impossible for the poor to cease so that none should ever exist. He [Moses] mentioned this because, having assured them that there would be no needy if they observe all the commandments he said: “But I know that not all generations forever will observe all the commandments in which case there would be no need to charge you concerning the poor, for perhaps, at some time, there will exist poor and so I command you about him if he will be found.” He states out of the Land [for the poor shall never cease ‘out of the Land’] in order to allude to the entire habitation [anywhere on earth], for the promise that there would not be needy among us applies in the Land which the Eternal our G-d giveth us for an inheritance if we will fulfill there all the commandments. And now he said that it is possible that, at some period or at some place where you will have settled, there be found a poor man among you. For the meaning of the expression in thy Land [If there be among you a needy man … ‘in thy Land’] is like in all your habitations — within the Land of Israel and outside of the Land. UNTO THY BROTHER, UNTO THY POOR, AND UNTO THY NEEDY IN THY LAND. The meaning thereof is as if he said: “to your poor brother, and to all the needy in your Land.” For because the commandment is addressed to Israel he mentions thy brother, and he joins in explanation “your brother and all the needy in your Land,” to command concerning the whole of Israel. And its homiletic interpretation is as follows: “This teaches that [in giving charity] precedence be given to those nearer” [to you so that the poor of your own city or land have priority over the poor of distant places].He mentions that there is also a release for a [Hebrew] servant in his seventh year, for that release [of a servant] is also like the release [of loans in the Sabbatical year] mentioned [and hence the proximity of the subjects], all of them being to remember the days of old, as I have hinted in its place. There it is alluded that the expression and he shall be thy bondman forever is to be taken in its plain sense. Now he repeated this co...

"For the needy shall never cease from the land" — as I have explained. "To your brother" — the one nearest to you, first. "And to your poor" — to the poor of your own family; the poor of your own land takes precedence over the poor of another place. The connection of this verse is to what follows: "if your Hebrew brother is sold to you" — on account of [the command] "you shall surely provide him" (v. 14).

כי לא יחדל אביון, “for there will not cease to be destitute people.” This sounds like a contradiction to what the Torah had promised in verse 4, where it stated that there would not be destitute people in our land. The promise in verse 4 had been linked to a condition. i.e. that the entire population observes the sh’mittah and yovel legislation. The critical word there had been the word כי. In our verse here this word occurs again but here it means: “maybe, possibly.” In our paragraph the word כי occurs no fewer than four times. It has a different meaning each time. We have a conditional word כי in כי יהיה בך אביון, “if there should be among you a destitute person;” we have a word כי meaning “but,” in כי פתוח תפתח, “but you shall definitively open your hand;” we have the word כי meaning “because of” in בגלל הדבר הזה, “for the sake of this matter G-d will bless you;” and we have the word כי meaning “so that not,” in כי לא יחדל אביון “if perchance your actions were not charitable enough to prevent the existence of destitute people among you.” לאחיך, “to your brother, who takes precedence over your unrelated neighbour. לענייך, “to the poor,” in your family who take precedence over the other poor of your towns. לאביוניך בארצך, “to the destitute in your country (city),” who take precedence over the destitute people in other cities. (Ibn Ezra)

כי לא יחדל אביון מקרב הארץ, “for destitute people will not cease to exist within the land.” Nachmanides writes that some commentators (notably Ibn Ezra, whom he does not name in this context) write that Moses means that there never will be a time when no one is destitute in the land of Israel, seeing that Moses in his prophetic vision foresaw that the Jewish people would never observe Torah law in their entirety, without exception, so that the presence of a destitute person would be unimaginable. The law not to dun creditors at the end of the seventh year of the shemittah cycle therefore envisages such situations. Nachmanides finds this approach difficult, as it is not the custom of the Torah to engage in the kind of prophesy that accuses the Jewish people ahead of time of disloyalty to G’d without qualifying such a prophesy with a conditional phrase such as “if in the course of time, etc.” introducing such a prophecy. It is uncharacteristic for the Torah to legislate one of the basic commandments as something to be applicable to people who have been labeled beforehand by the Torah as deliberate sinners. He therefore prefers to explain our verse as follows: seeing that in spite of the blessings that accrue to you when you do observe the laws of the Torah, and the resultant affluence in the land it is practically impossible that sometime in the future there will be not be an instance of a destitute person, unable to repay his loan on time, one must not dun such a fellow Jew at the end of the shemittah year to repay his loan, but must forgive it. The reason Moses adds the words: בקרב הארץ, is to include not only the narrowly defined borders of the seven Canaanite tribes, but to include other regions in which the Jews are settled at the time in question. This somehow expands what Moses had defined in verse 7 as specifically “your land that Hashem gives you.” Now he envisages the possibility of exile and wants us to practice the law of remitting overdue debts even in exile, where the whole shemittah legislation does not apply, seeing we have no land to practice it on, and even if we did, the land is not a “holy land.” ולאביונך בארצך, “and to your destitute in your land.” The word בארצך, “in your land,” is problematic seeing that supporting the needy is not a commandment dependent on residence in the land of Israel. The same question can be raised against the phrasing of verse 7, where Moses mentions the law as applying “in one of your gates, in your land, etc.” Perhaps the intention in both instances is to teach that as long as the poor in the land of Israel and the poor in the Diaspora both appeal for help, the poor in the land of Israel are to be given precedence.

כי לא יחדל אביון מקרב הארץ, for it is basically unrealistic to assume that society is 100 per cent righteous, deserving, something which even Ecclesiastes 7,20 considered as an impossibility in this life.

If your brother — an Israelite man or an Israelite woman — is sold to you, and he serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall release him as a free person from your presence.

כי ימכר לך IF [THY BROTHER …] BE SOLD UNTO THEE by others (not one that sells himself as a servant on account of his destitution, of which case Scripture deals in Leviticus 25:46 ff); Scripture is speaking of one whom the court has sold for a theft that he has committed. But has it not already been stated. (Exodus 21:2) “If thou buyest an Hebrew servant” and there, too, Scripture speaks of one whom the court has sold (as proved by Rashi in his comment on that verse; Mekhilta)?!. But the repetition was necessary because of two new points that are stated here: the one is that it is here written “or an Hebrew woman”, that she, too, like a man-servant, goes free at the end of six years of servitude — it does not mean a woman whom the court had sold, for a woman cannot be sold by the court on account of a theft committed by her, since it states, (Exodus 22:2) that the thief shall be sold “for his theft” which implies: he for his theft, but not she for her theft (Sotah 23b); — but what Scripture is speaking of here is of a woman under age whom her father has sold as a handmaid, and it teaches you here that if six years of servitude terminate before the time that she shows signs of incipient puberty she goes free. And further it mentions a new point here, viz., “thou shalt furnish him (or her) liberally” (cf. Rashi on Exodus 30:4).

"Your Hebrew brother" — I have explained this. "Or the Hebrew woman" — this refers to the case where a man sells his daughter as a maidservant.

ועבדך, "and he will serve you, etc." The letter ו at the beginning of this word connects it to the previous commandment. This is analogous to what our sages have taught about the word לך in the sequence כי ימכר לך, that a Jewish court is not allowed to "sell" the labour of a Jew except to another Jew. The new addition to this restriction of the court's authority is that the length of time for which the labour of such a Jew may be sold is restricted to six years. ובשנה השביעית "and in the seventh year, etc." The words "he will leave" are noticeably missing here (compare Exodus 21,2). The Torah's intention here is that on occasion such a servant will also have to work during the seventh year, such as if he escaped during this period. Even if the original six years may have expired before he was recaptured he has to complete six years of service. This is the ruling of Maimonides in chapter two of his treatise Hilchot Avadim. The Talmud Kidushin 16 derives this from the words "six years he shall serve" in Exodus 21,2. Perhaps we could derive from that latter verse that in the event the servant falls sick for four years he remains obligated to complete six years of labour. The extra letter ו in the expression ובשנה השביעית teach that if the servant escaped he has to make up the time even if it amounts to a whole year.

כי ימכר לך, “if your brother (fellow Jew) will be sold to you;” the reason why this paragraph has been written here is because the paragraphs written immediately preceding this one dealt with situations in which Jews have become poor, and how to forestall wholesale poverty amongst Jews. ועבדך, “and he will serve you;” the emphasis is on the pronoun ending “you,” which precludes this Jewish servant from being passed on to the heir of his master, even if the period for which he had been indentured had not come to an end. (Sifri) תשלחנו חפשי מעמך “you have to release him unconditionally.” If he was released due to having fallen sick, and he recovered, and you felt that he should recompense you for the period that he was not working for you, the Torah writes: “in the seventh year he will go free, period,” regardless of whether he has rendered the required number of years of service. (Sifri on Exodus 21,2)

כי ימכר לך אחיך העברי או העבריה, “If your brother the Hebrew man or the Hebrew woman will be sold to you, etc.” Although the laws applying to Hebrew slaves (servants) have already been outlined in Exodus chapter 21,2-11, the Torah repeats the legislation here as it contains a new element telling us that a woman also leaves her employer by right at the conclusion of six years’ service. Also, the instruction to give the departing servant a stake to help him gain financial independence was not mentioned in Exodus.

אחיך העברי, on account of his inability to make restitution for what he had stolen. או העברייה, whose father had sold her as a maid while she was a minor, and after a maximum of six years when the sh’mittah year arrives before she had become pubescent. (when she would be freed if her master or his son had not married her).

And when you release him as a free person from your presence, you shall not release him empty-handed.

"Empty" (reiqam) — I have explained this [elsewhere].

You shall surely set apart for him from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress; as Hashem your God has blessed you, so shall you give to him.

הענק תעניק THOU SHALT FURNISH HIM LIBERALLY — The noun from the root ענק denotes an ornament worn high up on the body which thus easily comes within sight of the eye (i.e. is conspicuous), (cf. ענק, a giant, someone who towers on high) — i.e. you shall furnish him with something that will make it patent that you have been kind to him. There are some who explain the word הענק to mean loading on his (the servant’s) neck. מצאנך מגרנך ומיקבך [THOU SHALT FURNISH HIM LIBERALLY] OUT OF THY FLOCK, AND OUT OF THY FLOOR, AND OUT OF THY WINE PRESS — One might think I have this duty in respect to these things only! Scripture, however, states “that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee [shalt thou give him]” implying, of all with which thy Creator hath blessed thee. Why, then, are these alone specifically mentioned? To teach you the following: How is it with these things? They have the characteristic that they come under the term of “blessing”, (i.e. they possess the power of propagating) so, too, you are obliged to furnish him only with such things that come under the term “blessing”, thus excluding mules, (because they are sterile) (Sifrei Devarim 119:3; Kiddushin 17a). — Our Rabbis have derived in Treatise Kiddushin 17a by reasoning from the analogous expressions found in certain texts (גז"ש) what quantities one must give him of all the different kinds here mentioned.

"You shall surely provide him" (ha'aneiq ta'aniq lo) — the meaning is: adorn him generously, from the root of "necklaces for your throat" (Prov. 1:9); or the meaning of the word may be [simply] in accordance with the context, without [the connotation of] adornment.

מצאנך, מגרנך, ומיקבך, “from your flocks, your threshingfloor or your winepress.” These terms are short for “bread, wine, and meat.” The verse discusses a thief who has been sold by the court as he did not have the means to repay his victim for what he had stolen from him. Seeing that he is penniless, how could he establish an economic footing and not begin to steal again unless you provided him with these essentials? (B’chor shor)

הענק תעניק לו, ”make generous provisions for him, etc.” The word הענקה describes “something beautiful.” The idea is that the released servant’s new status should be visible to all so that he will enjoy a standing in the community. The word appears in the sense of jewelry in Proverbs 1,9. Alternatively, the word is related to ענקים, giants, and the meaning would be to give him great gifts.

And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and Hashem your God redeemed you; therefore I am commanding you this matter today.

וזכרת כי עבד היית AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A SERVANT [IN THE LAND OF EGYPT] — and I loaded thee with good things, and did so a second time — from the spoil of the land of Egypt and from the spoil at the Red Sea; so you, too, load him once, and do it again for him (Sifrei Devarim 120:1).

וזכרת כי עבד היית, not only did He take you out of bondage, but He saw to it that you were generously endowed with gold, silver, garments, etc.

וזכרת כי עבד היית, “You shall remember that you yourself used to be a slave;” G’d equipped you generously when you left Egypt, and when you gathered the loot at the sea.

כי עבד היית, and He took you out with great wealth.

And it shall be, if he says to you: 'I will not leave your presence,' because he loves you and the members of your household, for it is good for him with you —

But if he say to thee, I will not go out from thee, because I love thee and the men of thy house, and because it hath been good for him to be with thee,.

then you shall take the awl and place it in his ear and in the door, and he shall be for you a bondservant forever. And you shall do the same for your maidservant as well.

עבד עולם [AND HE SHALL BE THY] SERVANT עולם — One might think that עולם has here its usual meaning: for ever! Scripture, however, states, (Leviticus 25:10) “[And ye shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof] and ye shall return every man unto his family”. Consequently, you learn that it (what Scripture terms here עולם), can only mean the period until the termination of that Jubilee cycle (Mekhilta; cf. Rashi on that verse), ואף לאמתך תעשה כן AND ALSO UNTO THY MAID SERVANT THOU SHALT DO LIKEWISE — i.e. furnish her out of thy property. One might think, however, that Scripture puts her on the same level with the man-servant concerning the piercing of the ear too! It however, states, (Exodus 21:5) “And if the man-servant (העבד) shall plainly say, [I love my lord … then … his lord shall bore his ear through with an awl]” — so you see that a man-servant must have his ear pierced, but a maid-servant does not have it pierced (Sifrei Devarim 122:6).

"In his ear and in the door" — I have explained this. The reason this is mentioned here is: you are obligated to give to him [gifts] when he goes free; but if he does not wish to go free, you are to pierce his ear. "And likewise you shall do for your maidservant" — this is connected to "you shall surely provide him" (v. 14); and even though [the connection] is remote — like "he shall pay in full; if he has nothing" (Exod. 22:2) and "if he does not provide her with these three things" (Exod. 21:11), and there are many such cases — [it holds, because] a woman [slave] is not subjected to ear-piercing.

לך לעבד עולם, "for you as an eternal slave." Seeing that if the original master had died during the first six years of said servant's service he has to complete his term working for the master's son, the fact that he had his ear pierced לך, "for you," means that he will remain yours (the master's) forever but not your son's forever.

ונתת באזנו ובדלת, “and you will thrust it (the awl) through his ear into the door;” the door frame is presumed to be made of wood and therefore can be pierced easily, as opposed to a door frame made of stone. (B’chor shor)

ואף לאמתך תעשה כן, “and also to your servant maid you shall do likewise.” These words do not refer to the piercing of the ear-lobe of a female servant seeing there is no such procedure applicable to a woman. The words apply to the requirement to equip an outgoing female servant with a generous stake, not less than that of the male servant. Similarly, the words: “if he (the master) did not do either of these three things for her,” (Exodus 21,11) do not refer to the words כסות ועונה which appear next to it, but apply to the words אשר יעדה והפדה. A third example of the Torah writing words out of the immediate context is found in Exodus 22,2 אם זרחה השמש עליו, where the words שלם ישלם refer to the previous verse that four or five-fold payment has to be made, and not that payment depends on the deed having occurred in daylight.

ואף לאמתך תעשה כן, to grant her a financial stake to establish herself.

It shall not seem difficult in your eyes when you release him as a free person from your presence, for at double the wage of a hired laborer he has served you six years; and Hashem your God will bless you in all that you do.

כי משנה שכר שכיר [IT SHALL NOT SEEM HARD UNTO THEE WHEN THOU LETTEST HIM GO FREE …] FOR [HE HATH BEEN WORTH] A DOUBLE HIRED SERVANT [UNTO THEE] — From here they (the Rabbis) derived the law that a Hebrew servant has to do service both by day and by night, and that is double as much as the labor of a man hired for day work only. And what is his service during the night? That his master gives him a Canaanite maid-servant with the object of raising children, and the children belong to the master (Sifrei Devarim 123:1; Kiddushin 15a).

The meaning of "double" (mishneh) is: the equivalent of a hired laborer's term, as in "and it shall be double" (Exod. 16:5); there mishneh is a noun. And mishneh ha-melekh — "the viceroy of the king" (Esth. 10:3) — where mishneh is an epithet; as I have explained, it too derives from the root of shnatayim. Thus this verse explains that in the seventh year he shall go out free at no charge, at the beginning of the year. There is also proof from the sabbatical year and from the Sabbath day. "And He will bless you" — this is a future-tense verb, not past, for there is no difference between them except by the context of the passage.

לא יקשה בעיניך, to furnish him with some of your wealth upon his departure, seeing that he has served you faithfully and you will not become poor by doing so.

כי משנה שכר שכיר, "for twice as much as a hired hand, etc." Our initial reaction to these words would be that if the servant was sick for only three out of the six years he would not have to make up any time. Kidushin 15 derives from this verse that whereas a hired hand works only by day, a servant, i.e. עבד, works both by day and by night. Our verse alludes to this ruling.

לא יקשה בעיניך, “it shall not appear an unreasonably hard rule to you;” (that you have to give him so much for “free”) The Torah reminds the owner that he had obtained far more value in labour from this “slave” than he would have had from an ordinary hired labourer working for him as he had been at his disposal not only during the daylight hours, etc. Our author suggests a different comparison, one found in Isaiah 16,14, according to which fixed labour is hired only for three years and this man has served six years. [Different calculations are made by different commentators; the basic common denominator agreed is that the Torah reminds the employer/owner, that this servant/slave has done more for him than a hired hand would have done. Ed.] יברכך ה' אלוקיך, “the Lord your G-d will bless you.” Whenever the Torah asks members of the Jewish people to give up something they considered as belonging to them, we find a verse where G-d promises them that they will enjoy His blessing, i.e. that in the end instead of becoming poorer through sharing material blessings with the less fortunate members of society, they will become wealthier. They will experience beyond question that G-d will make all their undertakings successful.

כי משנה שכר שכיר עבדך שש שנים, “seeing that for six years he served you twice as much as a hired hand would have done.” Normally a person does not hire himself out for more than three years (compare Choshen Mishpat 333,14: it is forbidden to hire himself out for more than three years). We have an allusion to this in Isaiah 16,14: “in three years, fixed like the years of a hired laborer.” Our sages derive from our verse that the Hebrew servant serves his master both by day and by night, seeing the master is allowed to give him his gentile slave-woman for him to sire children by her [a form of service, seeing the children will not be his. Ed.]. This is why the Torah described him as having performed double duty (compare Sifri Re'ey 123).

לא יקשה בעיניך, when you dismiss her from your service having given him money, etc. משנה, double שכר שכיר, the wages paid to a hired hand, (the Torah knows that you paid him 6 years’ wages in advance, and with what you are giving when he leaves he has in effect received twice what a hired hand would have received.) In recognition of how you have treated him, G’d will bless you in all your undertakings. The meaning of this paragraph is similar to the admonition of the Torah in verse 10 and the use of the term רע בעיניך occurs also in such a sense in Deut. 28,56 when the reaction of even a mother and wife to the pressures of famine are described. רועת עין, describes envy and jealousy in matters financial. The same is true of the expression קשיות הלב, being hard-hearted. Both expressions refer to the feelings of a person when he has to give of his money to others who he does not feel have a claim on his money, on his generosity. Those commentators who understand our verse as speaking of the employer feeling put out at having to release their worker and the Torah telling the employer that he had no cause for the worker had worked diligently for six years are in error. The master knew in advance that after six years the contract was complete and the worker would be free to go. What possible reason could the employer have of being jealous of that arrangement? Furthermore, the Torah should not have written משנה שכר שכיר, but merely משנה שכיר. Some commentators take the view that the words משנה שכיר refer to the six years, seeing that the average period for which a labourer was hired used to be 3 years, so that the word משנה would refer to the fact that this labourer worked for twice that period. The idea that the standard period was three years is reflected in Isaiah 16,14 This is also senseless, seeing that in Isaiah 21,16 we are told that the average period of hire was precisely a year, no longer. It follows that the words כשני שכיר (as the years of a hired hand) mean precisely 3 years just as when he is hired for a year it means precisely a year. For the meaning of this verse is like (v.10), "have no regrets when you give to him," and (Deut. 28:55-56), "begrudge the husband of her bosom, and her son and her daughter" "from sharing with one of them," for grievousness in the eyes, and hardening of the mind, refer to the giving of money to others. And for those who are accustomed to explain "do not feel aggrieved" as referring to your setting him free after six [years] -- [do not feel aggrieved,] for he has worked a lot for you in six years, in other words, more than other hired laborers. this is foolishness. For why should the setting free make you aggrieved? Didn't you acquire him in the first place only for six years of service, as everyone knows that he will go free in the seventh? Further, [if this were correct,] it would not have said "double the wages of a hired laborer" [mishneh s'char sachir] but rather "double the service of a hired laborer" [mishneh sachir]. And some explain "double ... the hired laborer" as six years, because the normal hired laborer works for three years, as it is written (Isa. 16:14), "In three years, fixed like the years of a hired laborer, Moab’s population will shrink." This is also nonsense, for elsewhere (Isa. 21:16), it is written, "In another year, fixed like the years of a hired laborer." And the meaning of "like the years of a hired laborer" is "three years exactly, like the years of a hired laborer, where the year is calculated exactly."

כי משנה שכר שכיר עבדך, “for he has worked for you twice as long as the wages that he received,“ a hired hand usually hires himself out for a period of three years. We know this from Isaiah 16,14: בשלש שנים כשני שכיר ונקלה כבוד מואב, “in three years, fixed like the years of a hired labourer, the glory of Moav shall shrink;” it follows that someone who has served his master for six years has actually served twice the length of a hired hand. The reason they hired such labourers for a period of three years was that if they had hired such a person for a term of a year or two years, sometimes the years are longer and sometimes they are shorter, depending it had more than one month of Adar. By making the term three years there could not be a dispute about how many days of labour this included.

Every firstborn male that is born among your cattle and among your flock, you shall consecrate before Hashem your God; you shall not work with the firstborn of your ox, nor shear the firstborn of your flock.

כל הבכור ... תקדיש ALL THE FIRSTLING MALES … THOU SHALT SANCTIFY [UNTO THE LORD] — But in another passage (Leviticus 27:26) it states, “[Only the firstborn of the beasts …] one shall not sanctify it”? How can these be reconciled? The latter passage means: he must not dedicate it as a different sacrifice (i.e. offer it as an עולה or שלמים instead of as a בכור), whilst here it teaches that it is a duty to say: “Thou art holy as a firstborn!” Another comment is: It is impossible to say that “thou shalt sanctify” is to be taken literally, for it already states in another passage “one shall not sanctify it”; it is, on the other hand, also impossible to take “one shall not sanctify it” literally, since it states “thou shalt sanctify it”. How can these be reconciled? In the following manner: by taking תקדיש in our verse to imply: “thou mayest dedicate” so far as the dedication of its value (הקדש עלוי) is concerned, and then he must give a sum corresponding to the טובת הנאה in it to the Temple treasury, but you must not dedicate it as far as the altar is concerned (i.e. dedicate it as any sacrifice other than as a בכור) (Arakhin 29a: cf. Sifrei Devarim 124:4). לא תעבד בבכור שורך ולא תגז וגו׳ THOU SHALT NOT WORK WITH THE FIRSTLING OF THY HERD, NOR SHEAR [THE FIRSTLING OF THY FLOCK] — The converse case also (working with the firstborn sheep and using the hair of the firstborn calf) have our Rabbis derived to be forbidden, but Scripture merely speaks of what usually occurs (Sifrei Devarim 124:6; Bekhorot 25a).

"Every firstborn" — this is mentioned on account of [the prohibition] "you shall not work the firstborn of your ox".

כל הבכור, after the Torah has listed a number of acts of kindness you are to perform with parts of your harvest in the field and orchard, something called the “tithe for the poor,” as well as an equivalent at the end of the sh’mittah year in money, i.e. the waiving of past due debts, acts of charity, and acts of helping your former servant to establish an economic base for himself, Moses now explains in detail commandments which are acts of gratitude vis a vis G’d, i.e. the giving to G’d or His representative the firstborn males of your livestock, i.e. sheep, goats and cattle. It is incumbent upon the owner of such herds to thank the Lord, for it is He Who is the source of his wealth. This is followed by repetition of the commandments to observe Passover, the commemoration of our obtaining political freedom, as well as the annual date on which the early barley harvest is acknowledged with an appropriate offering, and of Shavuot, the obtaining of our spiritual freedom when we received the Torah in capsule form, i.e. the Ten Commandments. Shavuot also ranks as the primary harvest festival celebrating the cutting of the wheat harvest. Finally, we observe the Sukkot festival signaling that the last of the various harvests, particularly that of the trees has been successfully brought into the barns. On each of these festivals the farmer brings a gift for G’d with him when he makes the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Temple. This is spelled out in 16,16. Seeing that the occasion for this is one or all of these three festivals, there is no need for the Torah to mention a specific date as we all know the dates of these festivals. The Torah does mention the season during which these festivals occur, to remind us that they are connected with times of significance to each farmer.

כל הבכור, “all the firstling males, etc.;” this paragraph has been written here seeing that previously the Torah dealt with the rules governing the treatment of a Jewish “slave,” i.e. someone employed by a fellow Jew not of his free choice, and not free to leave such employment at will. Here, in verse 19, the Torah imposes restrictions on how the owner of an animal is not free to treat such an animal as if it did not possess any rights, i.e. לא תעבוד בבכור שורך, “you shall not make the firstborn of your ox perform menial labour.” Not only that, but the Torah has repeated this legislation in order to teach us that a blemished firstling animal must not even be offered as a sacrifice to G-d. אשר יולד "which is born": exclude a first-born who was born by a Caesarian birth (Ibn Ezra) הזכר תקדיש, if such a firstling animal is male, you must treat it as holy for the Lord your G-d. You must offer such an animal to the Lord your G-d as His, and consume the parts that are permitted in a location that is sacred, after having performed the rites pertaining to sacrificial animals. The rituals are fewer than normal sacrificial offerings, as there is no need to perform s’michah, etc. i.e. the symbolic acts raising this animal to the status of being holy as such, as it has been born holy. (Talmud tractate Menachot, folio 90)

.כל הבכור אשר יולד בבקרך ובצאנך הזכר תקדיש לה' אלו--היך, “every firstborn male animal which will be born among your cattle or sheep you shall sanctify for the Lord your G’d.” Although the firstborn animal already is holy from birth without need to be so designated, seeing the Torah makes its sanctity dependent on it being פטר רחם, “the opening of the womb,” the Torah wants the owner to also sanctify the animal by declaring it sacred with his mouth. (Erchin 29) The commandment includes use of the name of the Lord to Whom the animal is consecrated. If we find a verse (Leviticus 27,26) where the Torah writes: “a firstling which is the Lord’s cannot be consecrated by anybody,” this means that it cannot be consecrated to serve as a different kind of offering.

תקדיש לה' אלוקיך, this means that you are to treat it as if sacred, i.e. not to shear its wool, not to use it to perform labour, etc. I have already explained the meaning of the words לא יקדיש איש אותו in Leviticus 27,26 as meaning that it cannot be designated as an offering for the altar.

Before Hashem your God you shall eat it year by year, in the place that Hashem will choose — you and the members of your household.

לפני ה׳ אלהיך תאכלנה THOU SHALT EAT IT BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD — Scripture is speaking to the priest (not to the owner to whom תקדיש in the previous verse refers), for we find already stated that it (the בכור) is one of the dues of the priests whether it is unblemished (and its blood and fat portions are to be sacrificed on the altar and the flesh eaten by the priests), or whether it is blemished (when it must not be offered on the altar), for it states, (Numbers 18:18) “and the flesh of them (the firstborn animals, both the blemished and the unblemished) shall be thine” (the priest’s) (cf. Bekhorot 28a). שנה בשנה [THOU SHALT EAT IT BEFORE THE LORD …] YEAR BY YEAR — From here we derive the law that one should not defer it (i.e. sacrificing and eating it) beyond its first year (Bekhorot 28a). If so, one might think that it becomes invalid as a sacrifice as soon as its first year has passed! This is not the case, for it has been put in comparison with the second tithe, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 14:23; cf. Rashi on that verse): “and thou shalt eat before the Lord thy God the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds, and thy flocks”. How is it in the case of the second tithe? It does not become invalid if left over from one year to the other (cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 14:28 and 29), so, too, does the firstborn animal not become invalid under the same circumstances, only that it is a meritorious act to offer and consume it within its first year. שנה בשנה (may also be translated A YEAR WITH ANOTHER YEAR) — If one slaughtered it at the end of its first year (an the last day) he may eat it that day and the first day of the next year. This teaches us that it (a firstborn animal) may in all cases be eaten on two successive days and the intervening night (cf. Sifrei Devarim 125; Bekhorot 27b).

"You shall eat it" — whoever is fit to eat it, as I have explained. This is mentioned a second time in order to clarify the law regarding [a firstborn] with a blemish. "You and your household" — the household of the priest.

בשעריך) תאכלנו), “you may consume it in your cities.” The Torah refers to people who are authorized to eat it (priests). שנה בשנה, “year by year;” this does not mean that it is forbidden to eat it after it has attained its first birthday as it has been compared elsewhere to the second tithe (Deut. 14,23), but it means that preferably it is to be eaten before it has attained its first birthday. אתה וביתך, “you and your house,” i.e. the household of the priest.

But if there is a blemish in it — if it is lame or blind, or has any serious blemish — you shall not slaughter it before Hashem your God.

מום [AND IF THERE BE] ANY BLEMISH [THEREIN, IF IT BE LAME, OR BLIND, OR HAVE ANY ILL BLEMISH, THOU SHALT NOT SACRIFICE IT …] — any blemish is a general statement, פסח או עור LAME OR BLIND is a particularization, כל מום רע ANY ILL BLEMISH — it again comprises them in a general statement. How is it with the blemishes particularised? They have the characteristic that each is a visible (external) blemish and the animal never returns naturally to its original condition (i.e. never becomes free from the blemish). So, too, the general statement includes all such blemishes that are visible and incurable [while in the case of a transitory blemish the animal may be sacrificed when the blemish has disappeared] (Bekhorot 37a; cf. Sifrei Devarim 126:2).

"Any serious blemish" — [meaning] those enumerated [in the law].

כל מום רע, “any serious blemish;” for instance the offering to G-d as a sacrifice if it was born with a serious (permanent) blemish. (Sifri) לא תזבחנו, “you must not sacrifice it;” the reason is clear, seeing that G-d had already declared this animal as being “Mine,” so how could the owner of its mother bring it as “his offering” (compare Exodus 12,9) From that verse I would have inferred that both perfect and blemished firstborn animals could not be offered as a sacrifice. This is why the Torah repeats here that we speak about a blemished firstborn male animal only.

In your cities you shall eat it, the unclean and the clean alike, as the meat of a gazelle or a deer.

"In your gates you shall eat it" — some say: the priest may eat it outside the sanctuary; others say: since it has a blemish it belongs to [ordinary] Israelites — but this seems far-fetched to me. "The unclean and the clean" — this refers back to "you shall eat it," and the meaning is as though it were a direct address: you who are unclean, or you who are clean — meaning: whether one is unclean or clean, it is permitted to eat it. The reason is that sacred flesh incurs karet if eaten by an unclean person; but here [since it has a blemish] it is [treated as ordinary flesh]. And because [the Torah] mentioned [the pilgrimage] "year by year," it mentioned [the relevant laws] three times: once more because of the firstborn eaten at the sanctuary, and likewise the Passover offering is eaten at the sanctuary and not outside it.

בשעריך תאכלנו, ”you shall eat it within your gates (not on sacred grounds);” the Torah here addresses the priest, as a commoner is not allowed to eat it anywhere. הטמא והטהור, “the ritually impure as well as the ritually pure.” The author already explained this term in his commentary on Exodus 12,15.

בשעריך תאכלנו, “you may eat it inside your gates;” a reference to the priest who may eat it outside the Temple. הטמא והטהור. “the ritually impure together with the ritually pure,” an exclamation, referring to the word תאכלנו, “you may eat it,” telling the priest that even if he is in a state of ritual impurity he is allowed to consume this animal. If the meat of the animal is ritually impure however, eating it is forbidden on pain of the karet penalty (Ibn Ezra).

Only its blood you shall not eat; you shall pour it out on the ground like water.

רק את דמו לא תאכל ONLY THOU SHALT NOT EAT THE BLOOD THEREOF — This prohibition appears to be redundant, since the blood of no animal may be eaten, but it is mentioned, in order that you should not think: since it (the blemished firstborn animal) is something that in every respect is permitted originally it belonged to a forbidden class of animals — for, you see, it was holy and yet it may be slaughtered outside the Temple, and may be eaten without redemption — and consequently you might think that its blood is also permitted, Scripture therefore states, “However thou shalt not eat its blood”.

רק את דמו לא תאכל, “only its blood you may not eat.” The reason the Torah repeats this prohibition which was all inclusive anyway, is so that the priest should not think that seeing the whole subject is one dealing with something that had been originally forbidden [while the animal had been unblemished, Ed.]. becoming permitted, that this change in status included also the consumption of blood (compare Rashi).