When a man takes a wife, and marries her, then it comes to pass, if she find no favor in his eyes, because he has found some unseemly thing in her, that he writes her a bill of divorcement, and gives it in her hand, and sends her out of his house,
verse value 5930 — וְהָיָ֞ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 20 words, 82 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֞ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "in·her" (בָהּ֙, 2 letters) and the longest is "she·finds·favour" (תִמְצָא־חֵ֣ן, 6 letters). Words sharing gematria 148: if·he·takes, in·his·eyes. 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·he·married·her" (וּבְעָלָ֑הּ), "she·finds·favour" (תִמְצָא־חֵ֣ן), "because·he·found" (כִּי־מָ֤צָא). The root מצא appears 2 times in this verse. 19 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "if·not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "and·he·gives" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·married·her', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 16 words.
Onkelos
When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it comes to pass that she does not find favor in his eyes because he has found in her a transgression of a matter, he shall write her a bill of divorce and place it in her hand and send her away from his house.
Rashi
כי מצא בה ערות דבר [WHEN A MAN HATH TAKEN A WIFE, AND MARRIED HER, AND IT COMES TO PASS THAT SHE FINDS NO FAVOUR IN HIS EYES.] BECAUSE HE HATH FOUND SOME SCANDALOUS THING IN HER; [THEN LET HIM WRITE A BILL OF DIVORCEMENT … AND SEND HER AWAY …] — it is his duty to divorce her because she should not find favour in his eyes (cf. Gittin 90b).
Ibn Ezra
"When a man takes a wife" — this too is considered like a worthy woman [alt. reading: like a field]. "She finds favor in his eyes" — because she is the opposite of his nature. "And he finds in her" — but he cannot disclose it, for he has no witnesses. The meaning is either that he found something in her, or [the construction is] like [the verse] "one who strikes his father or mother."
Rabbeinu Bahya
כי יקח איש אשה ובעלה, When a man takes (marries) a woman and lives with her;” The Torah speaks of two methods of acquiring the woman; 1) money or equivalent. 2) marital intercourse. Whenever the Torah speaks of כי יקח, the meaning is not that someone simply “takes,” but that he acquires something with money (or equivalent). Examples of the relationship between קיחה and money are already found when Avraham wanted to purchase the cave of Machpelah (Genesis 23,13) נתתי כסף השדה קח ממני, “I have deposited the money for the field, take it from me.” There is yet a third way in which one can acquire a woman, i.e. by means of a document. The Torah alludes to this in the very next verse when a divorce is discussed. Just as a document is required to dissolve the husband-wife relationship, otherwise the woman cannot be remarried, so a marriage may be concluded by means of such a document. The words ויצאה והיתה, “she leaves and she remarries” next to one another are understood as comparing the process of leaving a marriage to that of entering a marriage (compare Kidushin 5). We therefore have three ways in which a woman can be acquired as pointed out at the beginning of Tractate Kidushin. The exegetical tool known as גזרה שוה, “identical expressions comparing different subject matter” is so strong that it enables the sages to treat as a capital crime violation of a law derived at only by a comparison of such wording. If a girl who has not been betrothed engages in sexual relations she is not sentenced to death by the court. If she had been betrothed only by receiving the equivalent of some money, she is considered as legally married for the purpose of being sentenced to death by stoning for adultery, even though she never lived with her betrothed. This shows that the גזרה שוה is an extremely powerful exegetical tool (compare Maimonides Hilchot Ishut 1,2 and the Talmud Kritut 5,1.) [In the Talmud there it is pointed out that although the subject of פגול, faulty intentions concerning the consumption of sacrifices, is a major part of the Torah, the penalty is arrived at only by means of a גזרה שוה. Ed.] All these ways of acquiring a woman have to be witnessed by two valid witnesses in order to be legal, although if the woman wants out of the marriage she may require a bill of divorce because her status had been in doubt (Maimonides Hilchot Ishut 4,6). [Witnesses to consummation of a marriage mean witnesses who testify that both parties had secreted themselves long enough for such consummation to be capable of having taken place. Ed.] ספר כריתות, “a book of dissolution.” According to the plain meaning of the text this “book” separates, divides, between the two parties that they will not have anything more in common with each other for all future time. A divorce cannot be limited to a certain time frame, must be absolute, not conditional. If the husband were to say to his wife: “this document of divorce is valid on condition that you will never drink any wine,” this is not a bill of divorce. Even if he said: “on condition that you will not drink wine for the rest of your life,“ this also is not a valid divorce. If her husband said that the bill of divorce would be valid if she would not drink wine during the remainder of his life, the divorce is valid, seeing it is entirely possible that he would die before her, so that the condition is capable of being fulfilled and she would then cease to be obligated by it (Maimonides Hilchot Gerushin 8,10). Similar rules apply to all the conditions attached to a bill of divorce as long as the condition is not part of the written bill of divorce but is oral or spelled out in a separate document (Hilchot Gerushin 8,3). A Midrashic approach based on Tosafot Gittin 2, (dibur hamatchil “המביא”). The word ספר כריתות includes that there must be (at least) twelve lines; just as in the Torah scroll (known as the Book of the Torah) one needs to leave 4 lines empty at the end of the Book of Genesis before commencing to write the Book of Exodus, and the same at the end of the “book” of Exodus, and again at the end of the “book” of Leviticus,” (making a total of twelve lines), so the Get, i.e. bill of divorce, has to correspond in appearance to such a “book” of the Torah. [At the end of the Book of Numbers there are no mandatory empty four lines as this “book” is considered the last “book” of the Torah, Deuteronomy being known as Mishneh Torah, a review of the Torah]. Onkelos translates the words ספר כריתות as גט פטורין, “a document of release.” Seeing that this document is called ספר by the Torah, it requires that it be written in a similar manner to the Torah. The word גט has a numerical value of 12, i.e. alludes to the requirement to have 12 lines. If you will analyse the divorce bill called ספר, you will understand the logic of why the dissolution of a marriage has to involve the writing of a “book.” When the Lord created His universe He employed 22 letters (the aleph bet), refining each letter both in the heavens and on earth, matching them to each other, weighing each, etc., etc. He gave them the kind of shapes which contained elements of all that exists in the universe. It is impossible to weigh something except by “matching” it to something else, i.e. comparing it to something else. G’d did not only “weigh”, i.e. “match” the letters but each creature in order to determine who would be a suitable partner for whom. This is what the sages in Sotah 2 had in mind when they said that 40 days prior to the formation of the fetus as a viable embryo a heavenly voice announces who the suitable marriage partner will be for that creature to be. Even if the two human beings live across the ocean from each other G’d will arrange for them to meet and marry. Seeing that the letters of the aleph bet had been instrumental in making the match in the first place, letters of the aleph bet, i.e. a “book” has to be the instrument to dissolve that union (compare Commentary of Raavad on Sefer Yetzirah 2,2). This is a reminder that pairing off potential marriage partners has its origin in prehistoric times, antedating the universe.
and she departs out of his house, and goes and becomes another man's wife,
verse value 1612
Insights
Verse structure: 5 words, 27 letters. Verse gematria: 1612 is divisible by 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "and·she·goes·out" (וְיָצְאָ֖ה, 5 letters) and the longest is "man·another" (לְאִישׁ־אַחֵֽר, 7 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "and·she·goes·out" (וְיָצְאָ֖ה), "and·she·goes" (וְהָלְכָ֖ה), "man·another" (לְאִישׁ־אַחֵֽר). 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·she·becomes" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "man·another" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy); "and·she·goes·out" (root יצא, 67x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·house', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְיָצְאָ֖ה [and·she·goes·out] (112) + מִבֵּית֑וֹ [from·house] (458) + וְהָלְכָ֖ה [and·she·goes] (66) + וְהָיְתָ֥ה [and·she·becomes] (426) + לְאִישׁ־אַחֵֽר [man·another] (550) = 1612.
Onkelos
And she shall go out from his house and go and become the wife of another man.
Rashi
לאיש אחר [AND WHEN SHE IS GONE OUT OF HIS HOUSE, AND HATH GONE AND BECOME] “ANOTHER” MAN’S WIFE — He is “another” (a different) man, not one of a pair with the first: he turned the wicked woman out of his house, whilst this man hath taken her into his house (Gittin 90b).
Ibn Ezra
"And she goes out" — so that she may not return there; and the matter becomes known that she has departed from being in his house. "And she becomes" — married to a man. "Another" — אַחֵר: and likewise אַחֵרוֹן is among the words of the attributive form.
Chizkuni
והלכה והיתה לאיש אחר, “and she goes and has become someone else’s wife;” the wording implies that even if she had only become betrothed to another man and had not yet consummated this bond, her former husband must on no account take her back as his wife. The sages derive this from the passive: והיתה, “she has become some other man’s.” If, after having been divorced, this woman had engaged in sexual relationships with another man without having a legal marriage with him, even if she had been paid as a harlot for such a relationship, her former husband is allowed to remarry her. If that woman had been divorced because she had been guilty of adultery, her husband cannot remarry her even if she had not remarried or had not been intimate with any other man.
and the latter husband hates her, and writes her a bill of divorcement, and gives it in her hand, and sends her out of his house; or if the latter husband die, who took her to be his wife;
verse value 6210 — ל֖וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "to" (ל֖וֹ) = 36, double chai. Verse gematria: 6210 is divisible by 18, the value of chai ('life'). The shortest word is "to·her" (לָ֜הּ, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·he·took·her" (אֲשֶׁר־לְקָחָ֥הּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 316: man, man. 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "that·he·took·her" (אֲשֶׁר־לְקָחָ֥הּ). The root איש appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "and·he·gives" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "or·if" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'from·house', dividing the verse into phrases of 11 and 8 words.
Onkelos
And the latter husband comes to despise her and writes her a bill of divorce and places it in her hand and sends her away from his house, or if the latter husband who took her as his wife dies —
Rashi
ושנאה האיש האחרון AND IF THE LATTER HUSBAND HATE HER — (these words lit. mean: and the other will hate her): Scripture tells you that in the end he will hate her and divorce her, and if not, she will bury him (be the cause of his death) as it states “or if the latter husband die” (Sifrei Devarim 270:4-5).
Ibn Ezra
"Of cutting off" [כְּרִיתוּת] — from when her conjugal bond to him is severed forever.
Targum Yonatan
But should they proclaim from the heavens about her that the latter husband shall dislike her, and write her a bill of divorce, and put it into her power to go from his house; or should they proclaim about him that lie the latter husband shall die:.
her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife, after that she is defiled; for that is abomination before Hashem; and you shall not cause the land to sin, which Hashem your God gives you for an inheritance.
verse value 7213 — ל֣וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 25 words, 108 letters. Notable word values: "to" (ל֣וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to" (ל֣וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "that·he·sent·her" (אֲשֶֽׁר־שִׁ֠לְּחָ֠הּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 501: that, that. 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "her·husband" (בַּעְלָ֣הּ), "that·he·sent·her" (אֲשֶֽׁר־שִׁ֠לְּחָ֠הּ), "she·has·been·defiled" (הֻטַּמָּ֔אָה). The root אשר appears 2 times in this verse. 22 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'Hashem', dividing the verse into phrases of 16 and 9 words.
Onkelos
her first husband who sent her away has no right to take her back again to marry her to be his wife, after she has been defiled, for she is an abomination before Hashem; and you shall not bring guilt upon the land that Hashem your God gives you as an inheritance.
Rashi
אחרי אשר הטמאה [HER FIRST HUSBAND … MAY NOT TAKE HER AGAIN TO BE HIS WIFE] AFTER THAT SHE IS DEFILED — these words are intended to include in the prohibition a faithless wife (סוטה) who had been in seclusion with another man (Sifrei Devarim 270:10; Yevamot 11b).
Ramban
[HER FORMER HUSBAND, WHO SENT HER AWAY, MAY NOT TAKE HER AGAIN TO BE HIS WIFE] AFTER THAT SHE IS DEFILED — “this includes a sotah (a suspected adulteress) who had been in seclusion [with a man against whom her husband had warned her not to seclude herself].” This is Rashi’s language. But the meaning thereof is that she had committed adultery while she was a married person, but in the case of a sotah who had merely been secluded and it is not known whether she was defiled — he [her husband] does not transgress this prohibition [if he continues to live with her]. It is so clearly explained in the first chapter of Tractate Yebamoth: “What is the meaning of v’nisterah? She committed adultery. And why does Scripture refer to it as v’nisterah [which means, ‘but she was secluded’]? It is a more seemly expression.” On this answer the Gemara asked: “If she committed adultery — that [aspect] is clearly stated, and she hid and she be defiled, [and therefore v’nisterah in the verse before us must have another meaning]! It is to declare that the husband [whose wife committed adultery and, as a result was divorced] transgresses a negative commandment [if he remarries her].” And if so, Scripture states here: “Her former husband, who sent her away, may not take her again to be his wife ‘and’ after that she is defiled [he may also not take her again].” Thus, these are two negative commandment: he warns against remarrying his own divorcee after she had married [someone else and was divorced or widowed], and he warns against remarrying his [former] wife who had been defiled by adultery [and divorced]. And in line with the plain meaning of Scripture the expression after that she is defiled refers to the first husband, the verse suggesting that because she “knew” [i.e., married] another man she is accounted to him [i.e., the first husband] as “defiled.”Now these are newly-declared commandments both with respect to divorce and remarriage. And the reason for this prohibition is so that people should not exchange their wives with one another: he would be able to write her a bill of divorce at night, and in the morning she will return to him. This is the sense of the expression, and thou shalt not cause the Land to sin, for this is a cause of great sins. And in the Sifre it is stated: “And thou shalt not cause the Land to sin — this is intended to admonish the court concerning this.”
Ibn Ezra
"She is defiled" [הַטְּמֵאָה] — with respect to the first husband; for its meaning is: she is defiled to him, because another man has known her. The dagesh in the tet is in place of the tav of the hitpa'el, and similarly [in] "look carefully at the mark" [הַכֵּבֵּד אֶת הַנֶּגַע]. "And you shall not cause sin" — a command directed to Israel.
Sforno
כי תועבה היא, because this is a sure recipe leading to legalised adultery, people marrying for short periods of time, and then legally swapping wives by going through phony but legally correct divorce procedures.
Chizkuni
אחרי אשר הטמאה, “she had been defiled.” This means that she had absorbed semen from her partner in sin. הטמאה , The letter מ in that word has the vowel kametz.
Rabbeinu Bahya
אחרי אשר הוטמאה, “after she has been defiled.” by her second husband. The Torah describes this woman as “defiled” to her former husband seeing she has in the meantime had carnal relations with her second husband. According to the opinion of our sages in Yevamot 11 the meaning of the words "אחרי אשר הוטמאה" is "ולא אשר הוטמאה", “and [in addition] he cannot [remain married] with his wife who has become defiled;” — there are two separate halachot here. 1) A divorcee who has remarried cannot marry her former husband again even if she did nothing of an adulterous nature in the interval. 2) If a woman while married to her husband committed adultery, her husband cannot keep her as a wife even if he wants to, seeing she has been defiled while she was his wife. From the moment her husband suspects her to the point that he initiates the proceedings against her known as Sotah, he must not sleep with her anymore seeing he considers her as an adulteress. This is the meaning of: “her first husband who dismissed her cannot take her back in marriage.” As soon as the husband had reason to believe she had become defiled while married to him, that marriage is at an end. The fact that she secreted herself with another male after having been warned not to, makes such conduct a prima facie case of adultery, even if she did not drink the waters, etc.
Tur HaArokh
אחרי אשר הוטמאה, “seeing she had already become defiled;” Rashi understands this verse as also applying to the Sotah, the wife suspected by her husband of marital infidelity. He means a woman whose infidelity had not been proven, but whose conduct by secluding herself with a man other than her husband, had led to such suspicions. As long as her infidelity had not been proven she would not be forbidden to her husband. The critical word here is הוטמאה, that her infidelity had been proven. Nachmanides writes that when looking at the text without seeking hidden meanings, what the verse tells us is that the original husband cannot remarry her, as she had become defiled (not legally) in his eyes, he being aware that she had in the interval been sleeping with another man. The rationale behind this legislation is to prevent legalized sleeping around by husbands, each divorcing their wives in order to enable “wife swapping” to become a legalized habit. The divorce would be written in the evening and in the morning the original husband would remarry his erstwhile wife, assuming that she had meanwhile been divorced by her latest “husband.” This is the meaning of the additional words ולא תחטיא את הארץ, “so that you do not bring sin upon the Land.” In the Sifri, these words are understood as having been addressed by Moses to the courts, which are warned not to tolerate such practices if they develop in parts of the society.
When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out in the host, neither shall he be charged with any business; he shall be free for his house one year, and shall cheer his wife whom he has taken.
verse value 5533
Insights
Verse structure: 18 words, 75 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֤א, 2 letters) and the longest is "not·he·shall·pass" (וְלֹא־יַעֲבֹ֥ר, 7 letters). 9 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "new" (חֲדָשָׁ֔ה), "he·shall·go·out" (יֵצֵא֙), "the·army" (בַּצָּבָ֔א). The root לקח appears 2 times in this verse. 16 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "any·matter" (root דבר, 170x in Deuteronomy); "he·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'any·matter', dividing the verse into phrases of 10 and 8 words.
Onkelos
When a man takes a new wife, he shall not go out with the army, nor shall any obligation be imposed upon him for any matter; he shall be free for his house for one year and shall bring joy to his wife whom he has taken.
Rashi
אשה חדשה [WHEN A MAN HATH TAKEN] A NEW WIFE [HE SHALL NOT GO OUT TO THE HOST] — i.e., one that is new to him, even though she be a widow; but it excludes the case of one who re-marries his divorced wife (Sifrei Devarim 271:1; Sotah 44a; cf., however, Targum Jonathan). ולא יעבר lit., NEITHER SHALL PASS UPON HIM (i.e., be obligatory upon him) any army matter, לכל דבר AS REGARDS ANYTHING that is a requirement of the army: not to supply water and food, nor to repair the roads, whilst those who returned from the battle array at the bidding of the priest, e.g., one who had built a new house and had not yet dedicated it, or one who had betrothed a woman and had not yet taken her to wife (Deuteronomy 20:5—7), are bound to supply water and food and to repair roads (Sifrei Devarim 271:2; Sotah 44a). יהיה לביתו [HE SHALL BE FREE] AT HOME (or, as it may be literally translated: [FREE] FOR HIS HOUSE) — i.e., also on account of his new house (not only on account of his recent marriage, as stated in the text): if he has built a new house and only just dedicated it (not lived in it a full year), and similarly, if he has planted a vineyard and has only just begun to eat of its fruits (not enjoyed its produce the full fourth year), he need not leave his house for the requirements of war. This Halacha is derived from the text as follows: יהיה HE SHALL BE — This is intended to include the vineyard (Sifrei Devarim 271:4), לביתו This is the mention of “his house” (Sifrei Devarim 271:3). ושמח means HE SHALL GLADDEN [HIS WIFE], its correct Targum rendering therefore is: וְיַחְדֵי יַת אִיתְּתֵהּ which expresses this; One who reads in the Targum וְיַחְדֵי עִם אִיתְּתֵהּ “he shall rejoice with his wife” is in error, for this is not the Targum equivalent of וְשִׂמַּח (Piel) but of וְשָׂמַח (Kal).
Ramban
[WHEN A MAN TAKETH A NEW WIFE, HE SHALL NOT GO OUT IN THE HOST] NEITHER SHALL HE BE CHARGED ‘ALAV L’CHOL DAVAR’ (FOR IT WITH ANY THING). “Davar (thing) refers to ‘the host’ [i.e., military service]. L’chol davar means ‘any thing that is a requirement of the army.’ [Thus he is not] to provide water and food, nor repair the roads. But those who return from the ranks of the army at the bidding of the priest, such as one who built a new house and had not yet dedicated it, or who betrothed a woman and did not take her yet to wife — they are bound to supply water and food and repair the roads.” This is Rashi’s language taken from the words of our Rabbis. And if so, the word alav [‘v’lo ya’avor alav’ — neither shall he be charged ‘for it’] refers to the aforementioned “host.” The verse is thus stating that this man [in the first year of his marriage] shall not be charged with going to the host; nor shall he be charged with any thing, neither to be a captain of the men of the host, nor to muster the people of the land for whatever is needed, such as the provision of water. He is to pay no attention to these matters but only to his rejoicing. This is a correct interpretation.
Ibn Ezra
"A new wife" — some say [she must be] a virgin, but according to most [interpreters], "new" is relative to him, for he may take back a divorced woman if she has not become defiled — hence [the emphasis on] "new." "He shall be free for his house" — so that no royal burden may rest upon him. "Free" [נָקִי] is like [the phrase] "not innocent" [אִי נָקִי]. The lamed in "for every matter" — it is an added lamed, as in "and the third [child was born] to Absalom."
Chizkuni
ולא יעבור עליו, “and no summons to explain himself in the court applies to him;” he fill not be fined. לכל דבר, “concerning serving in the army in any capacity;” the letter ל at the beginning of the word לכל, is superfluous. (Ibn Ezra) נקי יהיה לביתו, this refers to the person discussed already in Deut: 20,6 i.e. someone whose bride was betrothed to him but the last stage in the marriage ceremonies, i.e. the chuppah, and the bride receiving her ring and a declaration by her groom that he married her and that the ring was the token of this, had not yet taken place. If he had reported for military duty, he is sent back home with orders to complete the marriage ceremonies. Once these have been completed, he is to devote the whole first year of his marriage to make life pleasant for his bride. We needed several extra words in the Torah to make clear that he is not subject to auxiliary duties not connected with actual service at the front where he would not be exposed to danger. For instance, he might have been required to repair damage to roads, etc., or to help with bringing food and drink to the soldiers serving at the front. The rules applying to this newly wed are identical to the rules applying to someone who had not yet moved into his new house, or had not yet harvested the fourth-year crop from his new vineyard.
Rabbeinu Bahya
נקי יהיה לביתו, “he shall remain free for his home;” the final letters in the words נקי יהיה לביתו שנה, are an allusion to the Holy Name of the Lord, to the tetragrammaton. I already commented on this in Parshat Shoftim (20,9) concerning men who have either become betrothed, planted a vineyard, or built a house without consecrating it. We found that the relationship between G’d and the Jewish people after their “marriage” at Mount Sinai was also earmarked by a similar period of one year during which the Shechinah remained “at home” i.e. stationary at Mount Sinai seeing the people did not commence journeying until the 22nd of Iyar, i.e. of the second year.
Tur HaArokh
ולא יעבור עליו לכל דבר, “nor shall he be obligated to anything.” Ibn Ezra understands the letter ל in the word לכל as extraneous. Nachmanides reads together the line לא יצא בצבא ולא יעבור עליו, as meaning that “not only will he not be recruited for duty on the battlefield, but during that year he will not be drafted for auxiliary duties,” such as bringing up the supplies. During that year, the newly wed husband is to devote himself exclusively to making his bride happy.
Daat Zkenim
נקי יהיה לביתו, “he is to be free to attend to the affairs of his house hold;” Rashi interprets the line as “also for the affairs of his household.” The word יהיה is added, to mean that he is also to attend to his vineyard. It seems to me (the author) that this does not change the meaning of the line as tending to one’s source of income is included in tending to the affairs of one’s household. (Compare the Talmud, tractate Sotah folio 43 where the expression: נקי לביתו, is used more generally.) The person so described cannot even be called upon to perform work such as repairing roads etc, behind the front lines.
No man shall take the mill or the upper millstone to pledge; for he takes a life in pledge.
verse value 1079
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 25 letters. Verse gematria: 1079 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "it" (ה֥וּא, 3 letters) and the longest is "not·he·shall·take·in·pledge" (לֹא־יַחֲבֹ֥ל, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "not·he·shall·take·in·pledge" (לֹא־יַחֲבֹ֥ל), "handmills" (רֵחַ֖יִם), "for·a·life" (כִּי־נֶ֖פֶשׁ). The root חבל appears 2 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "it" (root הוא, 113x in Deuteronomy); "for·a·life" (root נפש, 35x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upper·millstone', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: לֹא־יַחֲבֹ֥ל [not·he·shall·take·in·pledge] (81) + רֵחַ֖יִם [handmills] (258) + וָרָ֑כֶב [upper·millstone] (228) + כִּי־נֶ֖פֶשׁ [for·a·life] (460) + ה֥וּא [it] (12) + חֹבֵֽל [takes·in·pledge] (40) = 1079.
Onkelos
One shall not take as a pledge a hand-mill and an upper millstone, for by them food is prepared for every living person.
Rashi
לא יחבל NO MAN SHALL TAKE [THE LOWER OR THE UPPER MILLSTONE] AS PLEDGE — i.e. if one comes to demand a pledge through the court for his debt he should not take as a pledge anything by which food is prepared (Bava Metzia 113b, 115a). רחים is the lower, ורכב is the upper millstone.
Ibn Ezra
"One shall not take a millstone or an upper millstone as a pledge" — the denialists have said that this passage is joined to "and he shall gladden his wife" as an allusion to marital intimacy, since it is forbidden to deprive [one's wife] of it, citing the proof-text "let another man grind my wife" [Job 31:10]. This is vanity and emptiness. I have already explained this [verse], and the truth is that [the prohibition] is to be understood literally: it is forbidden for a person to take a millstone as a pledge, and the word "taker" [חובל] is missing from the phrase — similar to "and he said to Joseph, she who bore him to Levi," and many [constructions are] like it, for their meaning is: he said to the one who said it to him — she who bore him, [i.e.] she who bore. "A millstone" [רֵחַיִם] — this is a name [denoting] two [stones], and it is not fitting that they be separated. "Upper millstone" [רֶכֶב] — is the one that operates in water; some say it is the wooden piece that rests on the millstones; others say the millstone [רֵחַיִם] is the lower stone and the upper millstone [רֶכֶב] is the upper one. "For it is a life he is pledging" — because by it souls are sustained. Those who rely on the juxtaposition of passages [to explain this section's placement] — that is no proof, for each commandment stands on its own, and the juxtaposition is merely homiletical. This section is indeed connected [to what precedes it], for [the Torah] mentioned: not taking grapes to put in one's vessel, and a sickle in another's standing grain, and taking a wife — [the wife] remains his and also [is potentially] another's, and she goes out from his domain; and the one who takes a wife should rejoice with her and should not be oppressed into going out to war. Taking a millstone as a pledge is oppression and is also akin to stealing a person. Similarly, the plague of tzara'at — that one not observe its laws harms those nearby. Similarly, "do not oppress the poor man with his pledge" [v. 14]; and the hired worker; and young children, who should not die for their father's sin; and the perversion of justice for a stranger and an orphan; and taking a widow's garment as a pledge; and the forgotten sheaf in the field, which belongs to the poor; and likewise "do not glean"; and likewise "he shall not add lashes, lest he be degraded"; and muzzling the ox is oppression, for it labors and does not eat; and the one who refuses to perform levirate marriage is a form of oppression; and the woman who seizes [a man] by his genitals is an oppressor; a stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah — this too is actual oppression; and Amalek too oppressed Israel.
Chizkuni
לא יחבול ריחים, “A creditor is not to take as a pledge for an overdue loan the upper millstone;” although the word: “creditor,” did not appear in this verse it is clear that the creditor is the subject in this legislation. An alternate interpretation: The verse addresses itself to the creditor, who normally is not even allowed into the house of the debtor, seeing that such pledges are taken by the court’s messenger in order to preserve the self respect of the debtor. In this instance, the creditor was allowed into the debtor’s house to look for a suitable pledge. The Torah warns him not to take something which is essential for the debtor to earn his livelihood. ריחים, this is one of a number of words (nouns) that always appear in the plural mode; some others are: ,שמים מים, חיים, פנים, מלקחים, מעים. (Seeing that the lower millstone is anchored to the ground, only the upper one could serve as a pledge. Ed.)
Rabbeinu Bahya
לא יחבול רחים ורכב, “he must not take as a pledge an upper or lower millstone.” The reason is that these are the very tools with which the debtor earns his livelihood. The Torah mentions these two items merely as examples of other tools which the debtor cannot do without. The precise meaning of the word לא יחבול is that the lender must not bring these tools into his own house as collateral as he is not allowed to do this even with utensils which are not essential to the borrower. The Torah has written specifically in verse 10: “you must not enter his house to take a pledge;” even the messenger of the court must not enter the house of the borrower, but the borrower (debtor) has to bring the pledge outside. (verse 11) Seeing that this is so, why did the Torah have to write our verse at all? Answer: so that he who violates the directions of the Torah in this respect will be guilty of violating two commandments simultaneously(Baba Metzia 113).
Tur HaArokh
לא יחבול רחים ורכב, “he must not take an upper or lower millstone as a pledge;” the Torah abbreviated, failing to tell us who the subject is. He is the creditor, who after the loan is overdue, wants to secure his loan with some collateral. If one wants to view this from an aggadic standpoint, the words as they are fit in with the Torah’s directive for the newly wed husband to devote himself to entertaining his bride; a warning to the groom when performing his marital duties not to behave to his wife as if he were grinding mustard seeds.
Rashbam
כי נפש הוא חובל, as per Onkelos, you would deprive the debtor of his source of legitimate income.
If a man be found stealing any of his brothers of the children of Israel, and he deal with him as a slave, and sell him; then that thief shall die; so shall you put away the evil from the midst of you.
verse value 4514
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 66 letters. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֗ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "and·he·dealt·violently·with·him" (וְהִתְעַמֶּר־בּ֖וֹ, 8 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "stealing" (גֹּנֵ֨ב), "and·he·dealt·violently·with·him" (וְהִתְעַמֶּר־בּ֖וֹ), "and·he·sold·him" (וּמְכָר֑וֹ). The root גנב appears 2 times in this verse. 14 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "from·sons·of" (root בן, 119x in Deuteronomy); "that" (root הוא, 113x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·sold·him', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Onkelos
If a man is found having stolen a person from his brethren, from the children of Israel, and he has dealt in him and sold him — that thief shall be put to death; and you shall remove one who does evil from your midst.
Rashi
כי ימצא IF [A MAN] BE FOUND [STEALING …] — Found when doing so by witnesses and after legal warning. This, too, is the meaning in all cases where a form of the verb מצא is used in the Torah, under similar circumstances (Mekhilta; Sifrei Devarim 273:1). והתעמר בו AND TREATS HIM AS A SLAVE — he is not liable to the death penalty until he uses him as a slave (cf. Sifrei Devarim 273:5; Sanhedrin 85b).
Ibn Ezra
"From his brothers" — and it adds "from the children of Israel" because Edom is called "brother." "And he enslaves him" [וְהִתְעַמֵּר] — like its cognate.
Chizkuni
כי ימצא איש גונב נפש, “when a man is found having kidnapped a person, etc.;” why has this verse been repeated seeing that it has been written already in Exodus 21,16? (In Exodus nothing is mentioned about the nationality of the kidnapped person. Here the circumstances are defined more clearly, i.e. from among his brethren, i.e. excluding gentiles and even Edomites, i.e. descendants of Yitzchok who elsewhere were addressed even by Moses as “brother.”(Numbers 20,14). An alternate interpretation: Ed.) if we had only heard about the first verse dealing with this subject, I might have thought that even an eight day old baby is included in the legislation, i.e. if such a young baby had been kidnapped. (Sifri, as elaborated on by Malbim) The Torah in our verse therefore adds the word מאחיו, “from among his brethren,” meaning that a baby under 30 days old is not included, as we are not sure yet that he is healthy enough to grow up to be a man. מאחיו מבני ישראל, “from among his brethren the Children of Israel.” The words: מבני ישראל, are intended to exclude a Jew kidnapping an Edomite (even though Moses addressed the Edomites (who descended from Isaac) as “brothers”. (Numbers 20,14.) The death penalty does not apply in that case. Where do we find the verse in which kidnapping is forbidden as a crime? See Exodus 20,13 in the Ten Commandments, לא תגנוב, “do not steal!”
Tur HaArokh
גונב גפש מאחיו, “kidnapping a person from among his brethren;” The reason why the Torah added the words מבני ישראל, is that Esau, and his descendants are also “brethren,” and would have been included in this legislation unless specifically excluded.
Take heed in the affliction of tzara'at, that you observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you, as I commanded them, so you shall observe to do.
verse value 7156
Insights
Verse structure: 14 words, 70 letters. The shortest word is "might" (מְאֹ֖ד, 3 letters) and the longest is "affliction·tzara'at" (בְּנֶֽגַע־הַצָּרַ֛עַת, 9 letters). 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "affliction·tzara'at" (בְּנֶֽגַע־הַצָּרַ֛עַת), "that·teach" (אֲשֶׁר־יוֹר֨וּ). The root שמר appears 3 times in this verse. 11 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "as·that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "to·do" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy); "all" (root כל, 121x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·do', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 9 words. Full calculation: הִשָּׁ֧מֶר [beware] (545) + בְּנֶֽגַע־הַצָּרַ֛עַת [affliction·tzara'at] (890) + לִשְׁמֹ֥ר [to·keep] (570) + מְאֹ֖ד [might] (45) + וְלַעֲשׂ֑וֹת [to·do] (812) + כְּכֹל֩ [all] (70) + אֲשֶׁר־יוֹר֨וּ [that·teach] (723) + אֶתְכֶ֜ם [you] (461) + הַכֹּהֲנִ֧ים [the·priests] (130) + הַלְוִיִּ֛ם [the·Levites] (91) + כַּאֲשֶׁ֥ר [as·that] (521) + צִוִּיתִ֖ם [I·commanded·them] (546) + תִּשְׁמְר֥וּ [you·shall·observe] (946) + לַעֲשֽׂוֹת [to·do] (806) = 7156.
Onkelos
Be careful with regard to the plague of leprosy, to be very watchful and to do according to all that the Levitical priests instruct you; as I have commanded them, so you shall be careful to do.
Rashi
השמר בנגע צרעת TAKE HEED IN THE AFFLICTION OF LEPROSY — take heed that you pluck not out the symptoms of uncleanness (cf. Leviticus ch. XIII.), nor cut out the leprous spot (Makkot 22a). ככל אשר יורו אתכם ACCORDING TO ALL THAT [THE PRIESTS …] SHALL TEACH YOU — whether to place the leper in quarantine, or to declare him definitely unclean or clean.
Ramban
TAKE HEED IN THE PLAGUE OF LEPROSY. This is an explanatory commandment, adding a prohibition against one who cuts out the leprous spot, and also one who avoids showing his plague to the priest. Now, concerning the law of the plagues themselves, he mentioned nothing here, except to state and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you, as I commanded them, because the priests are scrupulous, and whatever He commanded is sufficient for them, as I have already explained.
Ibn Ezra
"The Levitical priests" — those who are of the sons of Levi.
Or HaChaim
השמר בנגע הצרעת, "Take heed of the affliction known as Tzoraat, etc." According to Shabbat 132 on our verse the meaning is that a person afflicted with this plague must not remove the afflicted section of his skin in order to remove the evidence of his disease. The reason why the Torah added that we should remember what G'd had done to Miriam is intended to remind us of the true source of such an affliction and to remind those who think they can cure it by cutting off the skin where it appears that they are on the wrong track. The way to get rid of this affliction is to remove its cause, i.e. to rehabilitate a character fault which caused it in the first place.
Chizkuni
השמר בנגע הצרעת, “be most careful with the plague known as tzoraat;” Do not give honor to someone who is great to exempt him from being sent outside of the three camps. Remember what Hashem, your God, did to Miriam, who was the sister of the king and the sister of the Kohein Godol, and even so was quarantined outside the camp for seven days.
Rabbeinu Bahya
השמר בנגע הצרעת, “Beware of the affliction of tzoraat.” A person afflicted must be careful not to cut off the signs of his affliction from his skin. However, if the signs of the affliction were visible only on the foreskin, the area to be removed during circumcision, this is no reason to delay the circumcision and it may be removed as part of that procedure, as our Sages explain that the commandment of circumcision overrides the prohibition of removing tzoraat. (Shabbat 132).
Rashbam
השמר בנגע הצרעת לשמור מאד ולעשות, even if the person smitten with this disease is a king, as Uzziah, King of Yehudah, he will not be given preferential treatment and has to be ostracised and isolated just as any commoner afflicted with the same disease. ככל אשר יורו אתכם, for you are to remember what happened to Miriam, certainly a highly placed person, who, in spite of being a prophetess, and the leader of all the Israelite women, and Moses’ own sister, was not accorded preferential treatment in this regard. She was segregated for seven days, as we know from Numbers 12,14.
Daat Zkenim
השמר בנגע הצרעת, “be most careful in the matter of a skin affliction.” The reason why the Torah repeats the same warning twice is because this disease is apt to afflict anyone, kings not excepted. King Uzziyahu was afflicted by it, as we know from Chronicles II 26,21. Being afflicted by this disease is most shameful for the person concerned, so that even if he is a king he must remain in isolation and cannot function in his palace and must be obedient to what the priest tells him concerning the length of time of this disease. This is also the reason why the Torah adds that we must remember how Moses’ sister Miriam was afflicted by this disease because she had been guilty of badmouthing her brother Moses. Even though she was socially one of the most highly placed people, the priests had to put her in isolation just like an ordinary person struck by this disease.
Remember what Hashem your God did to Miriam, by the way as you came forth out of Egypt.
verse value 3121 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 42 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "remember!" (זָכ֕וֹר, 4 letters) and the longest is "what·he·did" (אֵ֧ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֛ה, 8 letters). 1 word in this verse appears nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "to·Miriam" (לְמִרְיָ֑ם). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "what·he·did" (root עשה, 163x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'to·Miriam', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 3 words. Full calculation: זָכ֕וֹר [remember!] (233) + אֵ֧ת אֲשֶׁר־עָשָׂ֛ה [what·he·did] (1277) + יְהֹוָ֥ה [Hashem] (26) + אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ [your·God] (66) + לְמִרְיָ֑ם [to·Miriam] (320) + בַּדֶּ֖רֶךְ [on·the·way] (226) + בְּצֵאתְכֶ֥ם [when·you·went·out] (553) + מִמִּצְרָֽיִם [from·Egypt] (420) = 3121.
Onkelos
Remember what Hashem your God did to Miriam on the road when you were going out of Egypt.
Rashi
זכור את אשר עשה ה' אלהיך למרים REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD THY GOD DID UNTO MIRIAM — if you wish to guard yourself against being stricken with leprosy, do not speak slander! Remember what was done unto Miriam who spoke slander against her brother and was stricken with a leprous plague! (cf. Sifrei Devarim 275:1).
Ramban
REMEMBER WHAT THE ETERNAL THY G-D DID UNTO MIRIAM. “If you wish to guard yourself against being stricken with leprosy, do not speak slander.” This is Rashi’s language. And in my opinion this actually is a positive commandment, like Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy; Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt; Remember what Amalek did unto thee — which are all commandments. If so, this verse, too, is like those, it being an admonition against speaking slander. He commanded by way of a positive precept that we remember the great punishment which G-d inflicted upon the righteous prophetess who spoke only about her brother upon whom she had bestowed her mercy and whom she loved as herself. And she spoke nothing wrong to his face, but only, in privacy, between herself and her holy brother [Aaron]. Yet all her good deeds were of no avail to her! You, too, if thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son you will not be saved!In the language of the Sifra: “When Scripture states, and ye will not do all these commandments, this refers to everything written in the Torah. If so, why does it say, And if ye will not hearken unto Me? It means to study the Torah laboriously. Similarly, He states Remember the Sabbath-day, to keep it holy. I might think that this means ‘in your heart.’ But Observe the Sabbath-day refers already to observance of the heart. How then can I fulfill the command Remember [if that also refers to the heart? I must conclude that Remember means] ‘verbal utterance.’ Similarly, it is said Remember, forget thou not, [how thou didst make the Eternal thy G-d wroth in the wilderness] etc. And so it is also said, Remember what the Eternal thy G-d did unto Miriam. I might think that this means ‘in your heart.’ But Take heed in the plague of leprosy, that thou observe diligently, and do refers already to forgetfulness of heart. How then can I fulfill the injunction Remember [if that also refers to the heart? I must conclude that it means] ‘verbal utterance.’ And so also he states, Remember what Amalek did unto thee. I might think that it means ‘in your heart.’ But thou shalt not forget refers already to forgetfulness of the heart. How then can I obey the injunction Remember? ‘By verbal utterance.’” The meaning thereof is as follows: To the Sages the verse Take heed ‘in’ the plague of leprosy means, “Beware ‘from’ the plague of leprosy, observing diligently that it should not come upon you, and do therein according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you,” and Remember what the Eternal thy G-d did unto Miriam, meaning that you mention it always in the utterance of words. It appears from here [i.e., from this Sifra] our Rabbis considered this a commandment, not as a narrative and advice on how to be saved from plagues [as Rashi had explained it]. And how is it possible that, concerning slander which is as weighty as bloodshed, there should not be a real negative commandment agains...
Ibn Ezra
"Regarding Miriam" — here is a proof for the homiletical reading: do not read מְצֹרָע ["leper"] but rather מוֹצִיא שֵׁם רָע ["one who spreads an evil name"].
Rabbeinu Bahya
זכור את אשר עשה ה' אלו-היך למרים, “keep remembering what the Lord your G’d did to Miriam.” This is a positive commandment related to the negative commandment not to speak evil about people (לשון הרע). We are not only to remember that Miriam badmouthed her brother Moses but the punishment that she endured on account of that. It is mentioned here as her punishment was to become afflicted with the skin disease tzoraat. Seeing that the previous verse had commenced with the word השמר, something which always introduces a negative command-ment, I might have thought that this too is a negative commandment. The Torah teaches that although this was a negative commandment which was a direct derivative of a positive commandment and is usually not viewed with the severity of an ordinary negative commandment, the reason that Miriam’s punishment is recalled here is to remind us how serious the sin of לשון הרע is considered in the eyes of the Torah. Consider that if righteous Miriam, the prophetess, who only spoke against her brother, who was older than he, and for whom she had put her life at risk and had said what she said without his ever hearing it was punished with the dread disease tzoraat, and all her accumulated merits did not protect her against this punishment, how much more reason do we normal mortals have to be circumspect and not become guilty of this sin. Consider further that Miriam had not really said something negative about Moses except that she had compared her and Aaron’s prophetic stature to that of her brother Moses. In view of all these considerations it is easy to understand why the Torah looks askance at any assembly of fools, loiterers, people engaged in pointless and unproductive conversation. Solomon makes this plain in Kohelet 8,2 when he said that foolishness is the result of too much talk. Such talk will easily degenerate into sinful talk, character-assassination of one’s peers and the like. Once one has begun to speak disparagingly about one’s peers it is only a short step away from criticizing Torah scholars as we know from Psalms 31,19: “let lying lips be stilled that speak haughtily against the righteous with arrogance and contempt.” Once one is not afraid to speak about the righteous, one will start putting down G’d’s prophets, and in the end one will speak out against G’d Himself. We have examples of all this in Chronicles II 36,15: “but they mocked the messengers of G’d and disdained His words and taunted His prophets until the wrath of G’d against His people grew beyond remedy.” Compare also Psalms 73,9: “they set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.” Who was the cause that they set their mouths against heaven? Their tongues which had begun by speaking about earthly matters.
Tur HaArokh
זכור את אשר עשה ה' אלוקיך למרים, “keep remembering what the Lord your G’d had done to Miriam, etc.” Rashi understands this as a veiled warning that if we do not want to be struck with the affliction of tzoraat, we must remember how Miriam was punished for badmouthing her brother Moses. Nachmanides writes that in his opinion this verse is a positive commandment ranking parallel to the fourth Commandment in the Ten Commandments זכור את יום השבת לקדשו, “keep remembering the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” There are other such verses, such as to remember the day we left Egypt as a free nation, (Exodus 13,3) or, at the end of this portion, ”remember what Amalek did to you, etc.” (Deut. 25,17) This is the Torah’s way of underlining the grave sin of badmouthing people by adding a positive commandment to the negative commandment. The positive commandment is to constantly remember how even the illustrious Miriam, Moses’ lifesaver in a certain manner, was punished for saying a few words criticizing him unjustly. She had not done so publicly, and yet all her numerous merits did not protect her against being punished, and that punishment being very public, the whole nation having to wait a whole week before they could move on. It is not enough to remember what happened to Miriam only in one’s heart, but we are required to read the relevant verses with our lips to impress the importance of the problem of badmouthing people. In the last verse the Torah warned us to be extremely careful in matters of the affliction called tzoraat, i.e. in that verse we were warned to remember what that affliction is for in our hearts and minds. Now the Torah reinforces this commandment by ordering us to voice the fact that we have committed this lesson to memory. Seeing that in the eyes of our sages the sin of לשון הרע, badmouthing people is equated with the spilling of innocent blood, (compare Erchin 15) it is not surprising therefore that the Torah reinforces it. It is quite inconceivable that such a grievous sin should not have been spelled out in the Torah. We therefore regard what is written in verse 8 and verse 9 as a severe warning not to become guilty of such a sin either in public or even in private. The sin is not lessened if the intent of the criticism was not to harm the good reputation of the party discussed. [Miriam’s criticism was in defense of her sister-in-law Tzipporah whom Moses had divorced for no good cause, as she had thought. Ed.] לשון הרע is part of the roster of the 613 commandments, no less so than not to violate the Sabbath.
Rashbam
בדרך בצאתכם ממצרים, even though segregating her at that time meant that the whole nation would have to remain in an inhospitable desert for an extra seven days, the people did not complain about this. Other, less distinguished people, will certainly not be treated better than was Miriam if they should become afflicted in a similar manner.
When you lend your neighbor any manner of loan, you shall not go into his house to fetch his pledge.
verse value 2941
Insights
Verse structure: 8 words, 37 letters. The shortest word is "your·neighbor" (בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖, 4 letters) and the longest is "to·his·house" (אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ, 6 letters). 5 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "when·you·lend" (כִּֽי־תַשֶּׁ֥ה), "loan" (מַשַּׁ֣את), "to·his·house" (אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ). 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "you·shall·not·enter" (root בוא, 106x in Deuteronomy); "to·his·house" (root בית, 48x in Deuteronomy); "your·neighbor" (root רע, 37x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root עבוט ("pledge") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'anything', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּֽי־תַשֶּׁ֥ה [when·you·lend] (735) + בְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ [your·neighbor] (292) + מַשַּׁ֣את [loan] (741) + מְא֑וּמָה [anything] (92) + לֹא־תָבֹ֥א [you·shall·not·enter] (434) + אֶל־בֵּית֖וֹ [to·his·house] (449) + לַעֲבֹ֥ט [to·take·a·pledge] (111) + עֲבֹטֽוֹ [pledge] (87) = 2941.
Onkelos
When you make your fellow any kind of loan, you shall not enter his house to take his pledge.
Rashi
כי תשה ברעך means, WHEN THOU EXACTEST A DEBT FROM THY FELLOW MAN; משאת מאומה means, A DEBT OF ANYTHING (whatever it may be).
Ibn Ezra
"You lend" [תַשֶּׁה] — derived from the root נשה. The heh of "anything" [מְאוּמָה] is added, like the heh in [the word] לַיְלָה ["night"]. "To take a pledge" [לַעֲבוֹט] — to take his security.
Sforno
משאת מאומה, even the slightest indebtedness such as portage, compensating someone for transporting something for a few steps.(as described by Baba Metzia 115)
Chizkuni
כי תשה ברעך, “when you lend your neighbour something;” what follows has also been written before in Exodus 22,24; the reason it has been repeated here is that Moses added the warning to the creditor that when requesting a pledge as security for this loan (which is overdue) he must not enter the home of the debtor; it also teaches that when the debtor is unable to repay the loan in cash and the debtor owns land of different qualities, the creditor may only demand repayment from the lowest grade of soil owned by the debtor. משאת מאומה, ”any kind of loan;” even the wages owed the debtor as day labourer, or his credit at the store where he buys his groceries. (Sifri) משאת, the letter א in this word is not heard when reading the Torah in public. לא תבא אל ביתו, “you, the creditor, must not enter his (the debtor’s) house when requesting the pledge or the payment. The reason may be that to preserve the sense of privacy, i.e. chastity of the people dwelling inside.
Rabbeinu Bahya
לא תבא אל ביתו לעבוט עבוטו, “do not enter his house to take his security for it.” It is forbidden to take the collateral (it must be offered). Neither the lender nor the court’s clerk is entitled to enter the debtor’s home for this purpose. This is an illustration of the Torah’s concern for the dignity of the borrower, and the efforts it makes not to embarrass him through allowing people to search his home for utensils to take as pledges. Another reason for this prohibition is to forestall heated arguments which might lead to murder. The lender is permitted, however, to enter the house of the guarantor of the loan, seeing he has nothing to be embarrassed about. Whereas the borrower is embarrassed about his poverty, the guarantor obviously has means, otherwise he would not have volunteered to guarantee the loan (Baba Metzia 115). This is what Solomon said in Proverbs 27,13: “seize his garment, (the guarantor’s) for he stood surety for another. Take it as a pledge for he stood surety for an unfamiliar woman” (Maimonides Hilchot Malveh veLoveh 3,7). The reason is simple. Although logic might have dictated that the pledge be taken from the borrower who otherwise may be tempted to live it up instead of trying to save and repay his loan seeing the lender will claim payment from the guarantor, the fact is that the guarantor has nothing to be embarrassed about whereas the borrower does. This is why the Torah does permit the lender to enter the house of the guarantor and take a pledge.
You shall stand without, and the man to whom you lend shall bring forth the pledge without to you.
verse value 2997
Insights
Verse structure: 11 words, 45 letters. The shortest word is "in" (ב֔וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·pledge" (אֶֽת־הַעֲב֖וֹט, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "the·outside" (בַּח֖וּץ), "you·shall·stand" (תַּעֲמֹ֑ד), "creditor" (נֹשֶׁ֣ה). The root חוץ appears 2 times in this verse. 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "to·you" (root אל, 98x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'you·shall·stand', dividing the verse into phrases of 2 and 9 words. Full calculation: בַּח֖וּץ [the·outside] (106) + תַּעֲמֹ֑ד [you·shall·stand] (514) + וְהָאִ֗ישׁ [man] (322) + אֲשֶׁ֤ר [that] (501) + אַתָּה֙ [you] (406) + נֹשֶׁ֣ה [creditor] (355) + ב֔וֹ [in] (8) + יוֹצִ֥יא [he·shall·bring·out] (117) + אֵלֶ֛יךָ [to·you] (61) + אֶֽת־הַעֲב֖וֹט [the·pledge] (493) + הַחֽוּצָה [outside] (114) = 2997.
Onkelos
You shall stand outside, and the man to whom you have extended the loan shall bring out the pledge to you outside.
Chizkuni
יוציא אליך “the debtor is to bring it to you while you are waiting outside.” From these words we learn that the debtor may bring inferior items as pledge, as unless forced, it is natural for him to tender his least valuable possession. (Talmud, tractate Gittin, folio 50) העבוט החוצה, “the pledge to the outside.” The pledge does not have to be something portable as suggested by these words.
Rabbeinu Bahya
יוציא אליך את העבוט החוצה, “he shall bring the pledge to you outside.” Our sages in Gittin 3 say that the borrower is likely to volunteer only the least valuable of his possessions as a pledge. Seeing this is so, the sages basically ruled that when repayment of debts has to be made, the debtor may satisfy the claim of the lender with זיבורית, the relatively least valuable part of his soil. They amended this rule to insist that the debtor use at least his average quality soil for making repayment as otherwise sources of loans would dry up, the lenders not wanting to have to take inferior land in payment of their loans. If the borrower refuses to bring the pledge outside, the court can compel him to perform this positive commandment listed here just as the court has the right to compel people to perform other positive commandments. [I have not found this listed as a positive commandment in the accepted list of such commandments. Ed.]. The court may seize lands belonging to the borrower and put them up for sale to ensure the lender gets paid out of the proceeds.
And if he be a poor man, you shall not sleep with his pledge;
verse value 1342
Insights
Verse structure: 6 words, 23 letters. The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֥א, 2 letters) and the longest is "if·man" (וְאִם־אִ֥ישׁ, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "if·man" (וְאִם־אִ֥ישׁ), "you·shall·lie·down" (תִשְׁכַּ֖ב), "in·his·pledge" (בַּעֲבֹטֽוֹ). 6 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "he" (root הוא, 113x in Deuteronomy); "if·man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'he', dividing the verse into phrases of 3 and 3 words. Full calculation: וְאִם־אִ֥ישׁ [if·man] (358) + עָנִ֖י [poor] (130) + ה֑וּא [he] (12) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תִשְׁכַּ֖ב [you·shall·lie·down] (722) + בַּעֲבֹטֽוֹ [in·his·pledge] (89) = 1342.
Onkelos
And if he is a poor man, you shall not lie down with his pledge in your possession.
Rashi
לא תשכב בעבטו THOU SHALT NOT SLEEP IN HIS PLEDGE — This means, thou shalt not go to sleep having his pledge with thee (Sifrei Devarim 277:2; Bava Metzia 111b).
Ramban
AND IF HE BE A POOR MAN, [THOU SHALT NOT SLEEP WITH HIS PLEDGE]. The term “poor” applies to him who has no alternative pledge similar to the item he gave him [the creditor]. If he had two utensils of the same kind [and both are required as security for the debt], he [the creditor] may take one and give [the other] one back [to the debtor] whether he is poor or rich with many properties [for, since the debtor has but two utensils and he is in need of one of them the creditor must return it to him].
Chizkuni
ואם איש עני הוא, “and if the debtor is a poor man;” what follows does not only apply to a poor man, but the Torah used this example as it applies mostly to poor people. The temptation of the creditor to take a pledge from the poor debtor before he will have nothing left to pledge, while he will wait for the rich debtor to repay the loan.
Tur HaArokh
ואם איש עני הוא, “but if he is a poor man, etc.” Moses calls that man poor, as he has no substitute for the item he had to give the creditor as security. If he had possessed two of the same kind of vessel, he would exchange them for the first one regardless of being poor or wealthy.
Rashbam
לא תשכב בעבוטו, you must no lie down to sleep while still retaining his indispensable (for him) pawn.
you shall surely restore to him the pledge when the sun goes down, that he may sleep in his garment, and bless you; and it shall be counted as merit for you before Hashem your God.
verse value 4513 — ל֤וֹ = 36 (double-Chai)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "to" (ל֤וֹ) = 36, double chai. The shortest word is "to" (ל֤וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "the·pledge" (אֶֽת־הַעֲבוֹט֙, 7 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·return" (תָּשִׁ֨יב), "garment" (בְּשַׂלְמָת֖וֹ), "and·to·you" (וּלְךָ֙). The root שוב appears 2 times in this verse. 13 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·he·shall·bless·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Onkelos
You shall surely return the pledge to him when the sun sets, and he shall lie down in his garment and bless you; and it shall be merit for you before Hashem your God.
Rashi
כבוא השמש [THOU SHALT RESTORE HIM THE PLEDGE] WHEN THE SUN GOETH DOWN — if it be a night garment; whilst if it be a garment worn during the day restore it to him in the morning. This, indeed, has already been written in the section beginning with the words ואלה המשפטים (Exodus 22:25) “Restore it unto him till the going down of the sun” which means: restore it unto him for the whole day and at nightfall you may take it again [till the daybreak of the next morning] (Bava Metzia 114b; cf. Rashi on Exodus 22.25.2 and Note thereon). וברכך AND HE WILL BLESS THEE — and even if he will not bless thee, in any case, ולך תהיה צדקה IT SHALL BE RIGHTEOUSNESS UNTO THEE [BEFORE THE LORD THY GOD] (Sifrei Devarim 277:4).
Ibn Ezra
"It shall be a righteousness [צְדָקָה] to you" — the meaning is that you weigh your fellow on the scales of justice with yourself, so that he may sleep under his pledge. According to the opinion of the translators, there is a distinction in various passages between צֶדֶק [tzedek] and צְדָקָה [tzedakah]. The matter of the pledge I have already explained in the portion of Elleh ha-Mishpatim, and there I explained it in connection with "his garment."
Chizkuni
ולך יהיה צדקה, ”and it shall be accounted as a righteous act for you;” if you restore the pledge to that debtor every evening or every morning. If after thirty days of your doing this the debtor still has not paid up, the court will sell it and give the proceeds to the creditor. If it was sold for more than what was owed, the surplus is given back to the debtor. (Talmud, tractate Baba Metzia, folio 114a).
Rabbeinu Bahya
השב תשיב לו את העבוט , “be sure to return the pledge to him.” Even if the lender already kept the pledge in his possession for many years (seeing he had not been repaid) if and when the borrower does repay the loan he must return the pledge to him (and not deduct it from the repayment). The procedure of returning the pledge in the evening and exchanging it in the morning, etc., also does not have a time limit and may have to be repeated hundreds of times (compare Temurah 6). The pledges meant here are garments worn either by day or by night which the borrower cannot afford to be without at the respective time of day, and which therefore are constantly being exchanged. This is why the Talmud says in Baba Metzia 114 concerning our verse 12 that the lender must not keep the pledge overnight. The same applies to kitchen utensils which must be put at the borrower’s disposal at the time when he prepares his meals. Other, less essential utensils, do not have to be returned and exchanged on a daily basis. You must understand the mystical dimension of the words כבא השמש, “at sunset.” This is an implied warning that if you, the lender, fail to return the pledge by the time the sun sets, (simile for the attribute of Mercy) you will expose yourself to night (domain of the attribute of Justice) and will be struck by it. ושכב בשלמתו וברכך, “he will sleep in his own garment and will bless you.” He will commend you to the attribute of Mercy. ולך תהיה צדקה, “and it will be accounted for you as an act of righteousness.” You will thereby add to your merits in the eyes of the Lord your G’d. ביומו תתן שכרו, “you are to pay him his wages on the day he performed the work.” In order that he can use the money forthwith. ולא תבא עליו השמש, “and the sun must not set on it;” i.e. for your benefit. The words: “on its day you shall pay his wages,” are part and parcel of the line “so that he will not call out against you to the Lord.” The whole verse must be understood thus: “you must pay him his wages on the same day for he is a poor man, his life depends on his getting his wages immediately; do not allow the sun to set before you pay him so that he will not appeal against you to G’d. If that were to happen you will be at risk by nightfall as at that time the attribute of Justice commences its reign and it will be poised against you.”
Kli Yakar
“You shall surely return the pledge to him when the sun sets, etc.” If it is a night garment, etc. (Bava Metzia 114b), but regarding a day garment, it is mentioned in Parashat Mishpatim (Exodus 22:25), as it says, until the sun sets you shall return it to him. By way of allusion, this is a warning to the wealthy who instruct their heirs that after their death they should return the pledges to the poor. For this, they receive no reward at all because at that point the property is no longer theirs. Furthermore, at that time they are exempt from commandments, as the dead are free from them. Therefore, He warns them until the sun sets — before your sun sets [before you die], you shall return it to him. And here it says “when” [kevoa] with the letter kaf, meaning shortly before your sun sets, and before that time, return it while you are still obligated and while the pledge is still yours. And in Parashat Mishpatim, we elaborated on this matter. The simple meaning of the repetition “return, you shall return” is to say that each and every day one should return [the pledge] to him. And if you ask, why do I need this bothersome routine if I return it to him every night and I am merely his custodian during the day? To this it says, and it shall be righteousness for you before the Lord your God, because it appears before the Lord your God as if each and every day you are giving him a new act of charity. This is evidence that a creditor acquires ownership of a pledge, for if not, from where is the act of charity derived? (Pesachim 31b) And according to the law, there is a practical difference in the matter, as the poor person does not bequeath the pledge to his children if they were wealthy. And when it says and it shall be righteousness for you, it excludes the heirs, meaning that if you only return it after the evening that extends in this world [i.e., after death], then the seed of righteousness will not be for you, but rather for your heir. But if you return it at the required time during your lifetime, then it will be for you, according to the hint that we have mentioned. According to its straightforward interpretation, this verse teaches a precious lesson, which is as King Monbaz said when he distributed his treasures, etc.: “My ancestors stored up for others, but I have stored up for myself, as it is said, and it shall be righteousness for you. My ancestors stored in a place where the hand can reach, but I have stored in a place where no hand can reach, as it is said, Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne (Psalms 89:15)” (Bava Batra 11a). One depends on the other, because since charity is placed before God as the foundation of His throne, therefore it is for you and not for strangers, as no human hand can control what is there. Thus it says, and it shall be righteousness for you and not for others. The reason given for this is that charity is placed before the Lord your God as the foundation of His throne, so who can ascend to heaven to take it from your hand?
You shall not oppress a hired servant that is poor and needy, whether he be of your brothers, or of your strangers that are in your land within your gates.
verse value 3401
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 44 letters. The shortest word is "or" (א֧וֹ, 2 letters) and the longest is "you·shall·not·oppress" (לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק, 6 letters). 3 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·not·oppress" (לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק), "and·needy" (וְאֶבְי֑וֹן), "sojourner" (מִגֵּרְךָ֛). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "that" (root אשר, 466x in Deuteronomy); "in·your·land" (root ארץ, 193x in Deuteronomy); "your·brother" (root אח, 44x in Deuteronomy). First appearance of the root עשק ("you·shall·not·oppress") in Deuteronomy. The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'and·needy', dividing the verse into phrases of 4 and 6 words. Full calculation: לֹא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק [you·shall·not·oppress] (901) + שָׂכִ֖יר [hired] (530) + עָנִ֣י [poor] (130) + וְאֶבְי֑וֹן [and·needy] (75) + מֵאַחֶ֕יךָ [your·brother] (79) + א֧וֹ [or] (7) + מִגֵּרְךָ֛ [sojourner] (263) + אֲשֶׁ֥ר [that] (501) + בְּאַרְצְךָ֖ [in·your·land] (313) + בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ [your·gates] (602) = 3401.
Onkelos
You shall not exploit a hired laborer who is poor and needy, whether he be of your brethren or of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.
Rashi
לא תעשק שכיר THOU SHALT NOT WRONG ANY HIRED SERVANT — But has not this already been stated in Leviticus 19:13? But it is repeated here to make one transgress in respect of the hired, servant who is poor (i.e., if he wrongs such a person) two negative commands, for the meaning of the text here is: thou shalt not suppress the wages of an hired servant who is poor and needy. (The meaning is not: thou shalt not wrong a hired servant, the poor and the needy). As to the well-to-do hired servant one has already been prohibited to wrong him (Leviticus 19:13): “thou shalt not wrong thy neighbour” (Bava Metzia 61a). אביון is one who longs for everything, (lacks all the necessities of life; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 15:4). מגרך [WHETHER HE BE OF THY BRETHREN, OR] OF ANY STRANGERS — this refers to a “proselyte of righteousness” (who embraces the entire Jewish Faith out of conviction) (Sifrei Devarim 278:4), בשערך [STRANGERS THAT ARE] WITHIN THY GATES — this refers to a stranger [who has undertaken not to worship idols] but eats carrion (who may reside in the land of Israel) (Sifrei Devarim 278:5), אשר בארצך [OF ANY STRANGERS] THAT ARE IN THY LAND — this is intended to include in the prohibition of withholding what is due to one’s neighbor the payment for using his animals or utensils (Sifrei Devarim 278:5; Bava Metzia 111b).
Ramban
THOU SHALT NOT WRONG A HIRED SERVANT THAT IS POOR AND NEEDY. Scripture is speaking of the common occurrence, for the poor, the needy, and strangers hire themselves out [for wages, but the law applies to all workers]. Similarly, If thou lend money to any of My people that is poor by thee and so also, it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, because they are generally poor. Likewise in many places Scripture speaks of common occurrence, such as, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn [which applies equally to all domestic and wild animals as well as birds]; Thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together [which also applies to any two different species]. And in the Sifre the Rabbis have said: “If so, why is it stated here poor and needy [when the law applies to all workers]? It is because I hasten to punish when the poor and needy are involved more than any other people.” They also interpreted: “Whether he be of thy strangers [in Verse 14 before us] — this refers to a righteous proselyte, so that he who wrongs him [in his hire] transgresses two prohibitions” [since he is also of thy brethren].
Chizkuni
לא תעשוק שכיר, “do not oppress a hired hand.” This has also been written already in Leviticus 19,13, but has been repeated here to include the resident stranger.”
Tur HaArokh
לא תעשוק שכר עני ואביון, “You must not oppress a poor or destitute hired hand by withholding his wages unduly;” the legislation, of course, also applies to labourers who are comfortably off, but the Torah chooses as its examples the ones most likely as being the victims of such practices. Poor men and proselytes are the ones most likely hiring themselves out. Rashi explains that when advantage is taken of a poor man, then the employer has transgressed two prohibitions, hence the words עני as well as אביון, different degrees of poverty and need.
In the same day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it; for he is poor and has staked his very life on it: lest he cry against you to Hashem and it be sin in you.
verse value 4673 — וְהָיָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 19 words, 78 letters. Notable word values: "and·it·shall·be" (וְהָיָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "for" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "and·you·shall·not·come·in" (וְֽלֹא־תָב֧וֹא, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 130: poor, upon. 7 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "day" (בְּיוֹמוֹ֩), "his·wages" (שְׂכָר֜וֹ), "and·you·shall·not·come·in" (וְֽלֹא־תָב֧וֹא). The root על appears 2 times in this verse. 17 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "to·Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "you·shall·give" (root נתן, 176x in Deuteronomy); "and·it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'soul', dividing the verse into phrases of 13 and 6 words.
Onkelos
On his day you shall give him his wages, and the sun shall not set over it, for he is poor and for it he has pledged his very life; lest he cry out against you before Hashem, and there be in you guilt.
Rashi
ואליו הוא נשא את נפשו means, for the sake of this hire he exposes his life even unto death: he climbs up a steep staircase or hangs on to a high tree to do his work (Sifrei Devarim 279:3; Bava Metzia 112a). והיה בך חטא [LEST HE CALL AGAINST THEE UNTO THE LORD,] AND IT BE SIN UNTO THEE — under any circumstances, even if he does not call against thee to the Lord, but greater haste is made to punish thee because of him who cries (Sifrei Devarim 279:4; cf. Rashi on Deuteronomy 15:9).
Ramban
IN THE SAME DAY THOU SHALT GIVE HIM HIS HIRE, NEITHER SHALT THE SUN GO DOWN UPON IT. The meaning thereof by way of the plain sense of Scripture is that this explains what is stated in the Torah, the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning, for it is the manner of verses to speak of the common occurrence, and the custom is to hire a laborer for one day and for him to leave toward evening before sunset. And so Scripture commands [the employer] to pay him during his day as soon as he finishes his work, and that the sun should not set upon him [before he is paid], in order that he should be able to purchase with his wages what he, his wife, and his children, need to eat at night, for he is poor as are most of those who hire themselves out for the day, he has staked his life upon this wage to buy with it food to sustain his life. Thus he teaches us here that the intent of what He said in the Torah, the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning is that you pay him during his day, for if you do not pay him when he leaves his work, he will go home and his wage will be left with you until morning and he may die of hunger at night. In a similar way is the verse, for that is his only covering, it is his garment for his skin; wherein shall he sleep? It states the reason for the commandment in most of these prohibitions. And our Rabbis have explained that the verse [the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night] until the morning applies to a day-worker [who departs from work at sundown; the time for paying him his wages is the entire night, and this law is not violated before daybreak]. Then he reverted to explain here the law of a man who is hired for night-work [whose departure from work is at daybreak and the time for paying his wages is the whole day and the law is not violated until sundown]. Thus for each one, there is a twelve hour deadline for payment. This is the truth as received by tradition and is appropriate with correct interpretation.
Ibn Ezra
"On his day you shall give his wages" — so that the sun not set upon him: this is a negative commandment, for reinforcement. "And to him" — to his wages. "He lifts his soul" — to sustain himself from it; therefore he hired himself out.
Or HaChaim
ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו, "and his life depends on it." The Torah tells us that although paying a labourer late is at worst only a sin comparable to robbery, the penalty the Torah has in mind for the employer is as if he had committed a capital crime. When the Torah writes יהיה בך חטא "for it shall remain a sin against you," this is similar to what we find in Kings I 1,21 "and I and my son will remain sinners." In this instance the Torah first gave the reason for the penalty of the employer when it wrote: ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו "for he is risking his life for it," i.e. the penalty too will be that applicable when one had taken someone else' life.
Chizkuni
ביומו תתן שכרו, “you are to pay him his wages on the day that he has worked.” The wages become due as soon as he has completed the required number of hours. If he was hired to perform his work during daylight hours, he must be paid no later than sunrise of the following day; if he was hired perform his work during the night , he must be paid no later than sunset of that day. This we have learned in the Talmud tractate Baba Metzia folio 111. This is based on the Torah writing here: ולא תבא עליו השמש כי עני הוא, “(on the same day you are to pay him;) before the sun sets.” We also have another verse spelling out that the night must not pass before the labourer receives his pay for the previous day’s work. (Leviticus 19,13) כי עני הוא. Especially if he is a poor person. ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו, “for he has depended on being paid on time with all his heart.” We find this expression used in the same sense in Psalms 25,1: אליך ה' נפשי אשא, “to You My Lord I hope with all my soul.”
Tur HaArokh
ביומו תתן שכרו, “you are to pay his wages on the day that he performed the labour.” Nachmanides explains that the wording suggests that a labourer who has worked at night must be paid during the following day, whereas a day labourer must be paid before the night is over. The plain meaning of the verse is that the wages of a labourer must not remain with the employer overnight, seeing that the Torah usually chooses the most common examples, and most labourers are hired to work by day. The thrust of the verse is to tell the employer to pay the laborer when he goes home in the evening to eat his supper, and not to require him to come back once more in order to collect his wages. If he were a poor man, what would he use to pay for his supper if he had not yet been paid? כי עני הוא, “for he is poor;” most people hiring themselves out for a day at a time are poor, and depend on every penny they have earned with their labour on that day. By trusting that particular employer to pay them on time, they are, metaphorically speaking, entrusting the employer with their lives, as they depend on that prompt payment to satisfy their most basic requirements. He might die from hunger during that night if he had not been paid and become able to buy food with that money.
Rashbam
ואליו הוא נושא את נפשו, for his very soul is in dire need of it (so that he can buy food to sustain himself). He had put himself at risk working (instead of begging) in order to receive his wages. We find a verse with a similar message in Hoseah 4,8 חטאת עמי יאכלו ואל עונם ישאו (נפשם). “The priests are dependent on the meat from the sin offerings, so that they actually hope for the people to sin so that they will be provided with such meat by being instrumental in obtaining expiation for the sinners.”
The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers; every man shall be put to death for his own sin.
verse value 3013 — בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 48 letters. Notable word values: "for·his·sin" (בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "man" (אִ֥ישׁ, 3 letters) and the longest is "they·shall·not·be·put·to·death" (לֹֽא־יוּמְת֤וּ, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 493: they·shall·not·be·put·to·death, they·shall·not·be·put·to·death. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "sons" (וּבָנִ֖ים), "upon·fathers" (עַל־אָב֑וֹת), "for·his·sin" (בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ). The root מות appears 3 times in this verse. 5 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "upon·sons" (root בן, 119x in Deuteronomy); "man" (root איש, 85x in Deuteronomy); "fathers" (root אב, 69x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'upon·fathers', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 3 words. Full calculation: לֹֽא־יוּמְת֤וּ [they·shall·not·be·put·to·death] (493) + אָבוֹת֙ [fathers] (409) + עַל־בָּנִ֔ים [upon·sons] (202) + וּבָנִ֖ים [sons] (108) + לֹא־יוּמְת֣וּ [they·shall·not·be·put·to·death] (493) + עַל־אָב֑וֹת [upon·fathers] (509) + אִ֥ישׁ [man] (311) + בְּחֶטְא֖וֹ [for·his·sin] (26) + יוּמָֽתוּ [they·shall·be·put·to·death] (462) = 3013.
Onkelos
Fathers shall not be put to death on the testimony of sons, nor shall sons be put to death on the testimony of fathers; each person shall be put to death for his own sin.
Rashi
לא יומתו אבות על בנים FATHERS SHALL NOT BE PUT TO DEATH על בנים — i.e. by the evidence of their children. But if you say it means “for the sin of their children”, then it would be redundant for it goes on to state “every man shall be put to death for his own sin” (Sifrei Devarim 280:1; Sanhedrin 27b). איש בחטאו יומתו EVERY MAN SHALL BE PUT TO DEATH FOR HIS OWN SIN — This suggests: but one who is not yet an איש, a man, does sometimes die on account of his father’s sins: little children sometimes die at the hands of Heaven because of their parents’ sins (Sifrei Devarim 280:3).
Ibn Ezra
"Those who err in spirit" have asked: how does Scripture say "fathers shall not be put to death because of sons," while elsewhere it says "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons"? Your question is vanity, for "fathers shall not be put to death because of sons" is a commandment to Israel, whereas "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the sons" refers to the One who visits. I have already explained this in its [proper] place.
Sforno
לא יומתו אבות על בנים, even if the crime involved was insurrection against the established authority, king, etc. It had been a widely accepted rule that kings would also execute the family members of rebels in order to ensure that the surviving relatives of such executed rebels would not form an active opposition to the king as a result of their grievance. Such matters are referred to in Isaiah 14,21 “prepare a slaughtering block for his sons because of the guilt of their father. Let them not arise to possess the earth! Then the world’s face shall be covered with towns.” The meaning of the word שונאים which I used earlier is to be understood as in Samuel I 28,17 ויהי ערך, “he became a foe.” In any event, the Torah prohibits Jewish kings from killing one person as a substitute for another; this is part of G’d’s pity for members of His people. Amatziah, King of Yehudah, abided by this legislation when he executed the servants who had killed his father but did not touch their children (Chronicles II 25, 3-4)
Chizkuni
ובנים לא יומתו על אבות, “and children must not be executed for the sins of the fathers.” The Torah addresses itself to the courts. We have an example of such a dilemma facing a court, in Kings II 14,6. King Amazzia was tempted to execute the children of the assassins of his father, but the Bible compliments him for resisting this temptation by obeying the warning in our verse not to do so. While human courts are not permitted to do this, the Lord, Who knows what is in our minds at all times, is permitted to do so as when He does so, He does so because it is in the best interest of those who are treated thus. (Compare Exodus 20,5) Basically, whenever G-d does so, He had waited for generations for the new generations to become better than their fathers and grandfathers. None of these children and grandchildren would ever have been born if G-d had punished their sinful parents and grandparents, instead of extending His mercy for two more generations. They are therefore being punished for their own sins, not for the sins of their parents. (Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 27.)
Rabbeinu Bahya
לא יומתו אבות על בנים, “fathers must not be executed on account of the children.” The Torah refers to testimony given by the children. The same applies to fathers testifying against their children (Sifri). The same is true of testimony of any blood relation being insufficient to base a death sentence on. It is a decree by the Torah that such testimony is inadmissible not only on behalf of relatives but also against them (Sanhedrin 27).
Rashbam
ובנים לא יומתו על אבות. By the courts. This was spelled out in Kings II 14,6 ואת בני המכים לא המית ככתוב לא יומתו וגו', ”But he did not put to death the children of the assassins, in accordance with what is written in Deuteronomy 24,16.” While it is forbidden for human authorities to kill children on account of the sins of their father, G’d reserves the right for Himself to do so, as we know from Exodus 20,4 פוקד אבות על בנים, He requites the sins of the fathers to the children, if they continue in the evil footsteps of their fathers whose punishment G’d had suspended while hoping for their children to redeem their fathers by their exemplary conduct. This principle has been spelled out even more clearly in Ezekiel 18,2 where the prophet had been challenged by the exiles with the question: ‘if the parents ate unripe grapes, why should their children suffer from the resulting diarrhoea?’ They meant that seeing they had been exiled, rejected by their master, G’d, the laws of the Jewish religion should no longer apply to them. The thrust of our verse here is that the court does not have the right to use an innocent child as hostage for the crimes of his father in absentia..
Cross-references: II Kings 14:6; II Chronicles 25:4
You shall not pervert the justice due to the stranger, or to the fatherless; nor take the widow's clothing to pledge.
verse value 2145
Insights
Verse structure: 9 words, 30 letters. Verse gematria: 2145 is divisible by 13, the value of echad ('one') and ahavah ('love'). The shortest word is "not" (לֹ֣א, 2 letters) and the longest is "widow" (אַלְמָנָֽה, 5 letters). 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·shall·pervert" (תַטֶּ֔ה), "you·shall·take·in·pledge" (תַחֲבֹ֔ל), "garment" (בֶּ֖גֶד). The root לא appears 2 times in this verse. 8 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "judgment" (root משפט, 37x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'an·orphan', dividing the verse into phrases of 5 and 4 words. Full calculation: לֹ֣א [not] (31) + תַטֶּ֔ה [you·shall·pervert] (414) + מִשְׁפַּ֖ט [judgment] (429) + גֵּ֣ר [sojourner] (203) + יָת֑וֹם [an·orphan] (456) + וְלֹ֣א [not] (37) + תַחֲבֹ֔ל [you·shall·take·in·pledge] (440) + בֶּ֖גֶד [garment] (9) + אַלְמָנָֽה [widow] (126) = 2145.
Onkelos
You shall not pervert the judgment of the sojourner or the orphan, and you shall not take the garment of a widow as a pledge.
Rashi
לא תטה משפט גר יתום THOU SHALT NOT PERVERT THE JUDGMENT OF THE STRANGER, OR OF THE FATHERLESS — and with regard to the well-to-do one has already been forbidden to do so (Deuteronomy 16:19): “Thou shalt not pervert judgment”, (which is a general prohibition including both poor and rich), but it (Scripture) repeats it regarding the poor in order to make one who perverts the judgment of the poor transgress two negative commands. Because it is easier to pervert the judgment of the defenseless poor than that of the rich, therefore Scripture lays down a prohibition regarding him a second time (Sifrei Devarim 281:1). ולא תחבל NOR TAKE [A WIDOW’S GARMENT] TO PLEDGE — The term חבל refers to taking a pledge not at the time when the loan is transacted (but when default is made in payment) (cf. Bava Metzia 115a; see also Rashi on Exodus 22:25).
Sforno
לא תטה משפט גר ויתום, during strife; be particularly on guard not to be unfair to orphans or proselytes who may be reluctant to speak up on their own behalf so as not to “make waves.” You should go out of your way to argue on their behalf so as to compensate for their feelings of insecurity in facing adversaries. [the verse is directed at the judges. Ed.]
Or HaChaim
לא תטה משפט גר יתום, "You must not pervert the judgment of a proselyte or an orphan, etc." You might be inclined to favour the proselyte in judgment seeing the Torah has commanded us so many times to love the proselyte. The Torah therefore saw fit to warn us not to pervert his judgment even in his favour. The Torah continues by writing: "do not take the garment of a widow as a pledge," in order to demonstrate that this is the only exception when the Torah does treat a widow differently in judgment compared to ordinary people. You must not take this pledge after the loan has been extended though you may take the garment as collateral at the time the loan is extended.
Chizkuni
ולא תחבול בגד אלמנה, “and you are not to take (as a pledge for an overdue loan) the garment of a widow.” You may not even take the garment of a wealthy widow as a pledge, even if you give it back to her, for she is single and this may lead to sexual impropriety.
Rabbeinu Bahya
ולא תחבול בגד אלמנה, “and you must not take the garment of a widow as a pledge.” The Torah had already warned the lender not to enter the house of a borrower in order to take a pledge; the same certainly applies if the borrower in question is a widow. The reason this is repeated is to tell us that if one does take such a pledge from a widow one has transgressed two negative commandments (Tossaphot Baba Metzia 115). A widow is more apt to break out in tears, and the Torah has legislated that she is to be treated with special sensitivity on numerous occasions. Our sages in the Sifri add that the reason this is repeated is to tell us that even the widow of a king (a wealthy widow) is included in this prohibition.
But you shall remember that you were a bondman in Egypt, and Hashem your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.
verse value 3980 — יְהֹוָ֥ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 15 words, 63 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֥ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "that" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "Egypt" (בְּמִצְרַ֔יִם, 6 letters). 15 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "you·were" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'there', dividing the verse into phrases of 9 and 6 words.
Onkelos
And you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and Hashem your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this thing.
Rashi
וזכרת BUT THOU SHALT REMEMBER [THAT THOU WAST A SERVANT IN EGYPT AND THE LORD THY GOD RELEASED THEE THENCE] — I released you only with this condition — that you should observe my statutes even though there be monetary loss in the matter.
Ramban
AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A BONDMAN IN EGYPT. “I have redeemed you on the condition that you observe My statutes even though it may involve monetary loss.” This is Rashi’s language. But the correct interpretation is that it refers back to the admonitions concerning the stranger. I have already explained the meaning thereof.
Ibn Ezra
"And you shall remember that you were a slave" — it is because of this that [the Torah] mentioned the stranger: so that you not pervert his justice. There are some of these laws that were already stated to the fathers, yet are stated a second time to the sons.
Sforno
ויפדך ה' אלוקיך משם, He took note of your desperate situation and dealt with you over and beyond the requirements of justice in order to be able to redeem you. This has all been documented in 26,7 וירא את ענינו ואת עמלנו ואת לחצנו, “He ‘saw’ our afflictions, our hard labour and our oppression.”
Chizkuni
וזכרת כי עבד היית, “you shall remember that you used to be a slave in Egypt.” The Lord liberated you from that sorry state by having mercy on you. You should have learned from this to have mercy on your less fortunate neighbours. Do not ever exploit their misfortune by treating them unfairly.
When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to fetch it; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow; that Hashem your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
verse value 6160 — יְהֹוָ֣ה = 26 (Hashem)
Insights
Verse structure: 21 words, 86 letters. Notable word values: "Hashem" (יְהֹוָ֣ה) = 26, the value of the divine name Hashem. The shortest word is "when" (כִּ֣י, 2 letters) and the longest is "widow" (וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: when, shall·be. 4 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·reap" (תִקְצֹר֩), "harvest" (קְצִֽירְךָ֨), "sheaf" (עֹ֣מֶר). The root שדה appears 2 times in this verse. 20 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "Hashem" (root יהוה, 541x in Deuteronomy); "your·God" (root אלהים, 368x in Deuteronomy); "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'shall·be', dividing the verse into phrases of 14 and 7 words.
Onkelos
When you reap your harvest in your field and you forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to take it; it shall be for the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow, so that Hashem your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.
Rashi
ושכחת עמר [WHEN THOU REAPEST THY HARVEST IN THY FIELD] AND HAST FORGOT A SHEAF … [THOU SHALT NOT RETURN TO TAKE IT] — a sheaf, but not a stack of corn (Sifrei Devarim 283:1). Hence they (the Rabbis) said, “A sheaf that contains two Seahs of grain which one has forgotten in the field, does not come under the term of שכחה (a forgotten sheaf)” (Mishnah Peah 6:6). בשדה [AND HAST FORGOT …] IN THE FIELD — This apparently redundant word (it has just stated בשדך) is intended to include under this law forgotten “standing corn” (קמה) — that one has forgotten to cut down part of it (Sifrei Devarim 283:2). לא תשוב לקחתו THOU SHALT NOT GO BACK TO TAKE IT — Hence they (the Rabbis) said: A sheaf that is behind him is considered as שכחה, that which is in front of him is not considered שכחה, for the expression “thou shalt not go back [to take it]” is not applicable to it (Mishnah Peah 6:4; Bava Metzia 11a). למען יברכך THAT [THE LORD THY GOD] BLESS THEE — although it came into his (the stranger’s or the orphan’s) hand without him (the owner) intending this; it follows logically that he will certainly receive a blessing if he does this intentionally! — You must therefore admit that if a Sela fell out of one’s hand and a poor man found it and supports himself by it, then he will surely be blessed on that account (Sifrei Devarim 283:6; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 5:17 end).
Ibn Ezra
"So that Hashem your God may bless you" — because what you gave you gave as though it were yours (in thought alone), while Hashem will give you of what is truly and actually His.
Chizkuni
לגר, ליתום, ולאלמנה יהיה, למען יברכך ה, “(these sheaves the owner appears to have forgotten) are rightfully the stranger’s, the orphan’s and the widow’s, in order that the Lord will bless you (also in the future).” You will not be deprived of anything by not going back to pick up what you left behind by mistake.
Rabbeinu Bahya
לא תשוב לקחתו...למען יברכך ה' אלו-היך, “you must not turn back in order to take it;.....in order that the Lord your G’d will bless you.” G’d assigned a blessing for people who have the right thoughts. Sifri 283 adds that even if the handout, i.e. forgotten sheaf, became the property of the poor without deliberate intent by the farmer who had forgotten it, he will be blessed. How much more will he be blessed when he had arranged for the poor to become the recipient of this sheaf (or coin, etc.)?
When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over the boughs again; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
verse value 2748
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 40 letters. The shortest word is "when" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "widow" (וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: when, it·shall·be. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·beat" (תַחְבֹּט֙), "you·shall·go·over·again" (תְפַאֵ֖ר). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "when" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'after·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [when] (30) + תַחְבֹּט֙ [you·beat] (419) + זֵֽיתְךָ֔ [your·olive·tree] (437) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תְפַאֵ֖ר [you·shall·go·over·again] (681) + אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ [after·you] (239) + לַגֵּ֛ר [sojourner] (233) + לַיָּת֥וֹם [an·orphan] (486) + וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖ה [widow] (162) + יִהְיֶֽה [it·shall·be] (30) = 2748.
Onkelos
When you beat your olive tree, you shall not go over it again afterward; it shall be for the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow.
Rashi
לא תפאר — This means: thou shalt not entirely remove its (the olive tree’s) glory (תפארת) from it, i.e., its fruit (Chullin 131b). Hence they (the Rabbis) derived the law that one must leave פאה (some quantity of fruit) also on fruit-trees for the poor (cf. Mishnah Peah 4:1). אחריך BEHIND THEE — This implies שכחה (forgotten fruit; that if he forgets to remove some fruit from the orchard, he must leave it for the poor).
Ibn Ezra
"When you beat" — like one who beats wheat; the verb תַּחְבֹּט is in the pa'al. [For the nif'al pattern of such roots, compare:] יְחֻבַּט קֶצַח ["is beaten," Isa. 28:27], which is in the nif'al. And so it is with all roots whose first letter is one of אחהער — when built in the nif'al [they follow this same pattern]. These are [examples]: "it shall not be stored nor hoarded," "he shall not be killed," "it shall be worked in it," "all your males shall appear" — for such is the rule. "You shall not take the splendid branches" [לֹא תְפָאֵר] — you shall not search for the ornamental boughs, which are the branches; similarly [the verse] "and she put out boughs and sent forth branches" [פָּארוֹת]. This [word] is also written with an alef, and if it is read with a vav — similarly [the word] "wineskins" [נֹאדוֹת הַיַּיִן].
Chizkuni
לא תפאר, “do not go over the boughs again,” (to look for something you had not noticed the first time.) (According to Ibn Ezra, we find the word פארות in Ezekiel 17,6: where it means “branches pointing upwards” which would eventually bear fruit. [If so, our verse would instruct the owner of the orchard not to harvest every last branch so that in the next year the tree would have difficulty in regenerating itself. Ed.]
Rabbeinu Bahya
לא תפאר אחריך, “do not go over them again;” according to the plain meaning of the text the meaning is: “do not search the branches.” The word occurs in this context in Ezekiel 17,6: “it produced branches.” A Midrashic approach: do not consider yourself a “beautiful” person because you have given them or deliberately left for them olives under your olive trees. The moral lesson is that one must not publicise kind acts one performs. We have a more specific verse concerning this in Proverbs 20,6: רב אדם יקרא איש חסדו ואיש אמונים מי ימצא, “most people proclaim their good deeds; who can find a truly discreet person?” The reason that Solomon refers to the latter category of person as איש אמונים is Proverbs 11,13: ונאמן רוח מכסה דבר, “and the truly sincere spirit keeps a confidence.” The sages also explained in Chulin 131 that the meaning of the words לא תפאר אחריך is: “do not take its beauty away from it.” Our sages derive from this verse that the regulation of leaving a “corner” of one’s field for the poor also applies to the orchards, i.e. the trees in it. The fruit is considered the beauty of the tree. The expression “beauty” has been applied only to the olive tree, just as the expression הוד, “splendor, majesty” is not applied to any other tree except the olive tree. Compare Hoseah 14,8: “its majesty was like that of the olive tree.” The reason for this is the light derived from the oil of the olive, an oil known as יצהר, a word related to אור, תפארת, הוד, all names used to describe light in the celestial regions.
Kli Yakar
(20-21) You shall not go over [tefaer] the boughs after you, you shall not glean after you. The Rabbis interpreted (Chullin 131b) after you refers to the forgotten [produce]. And according to the hint, it warns against robbing the poor by not leaving one’s wealth to their heirs after them, as I explained regarding Lot who was distressed about his wealth, and the angel said to him, Do not look after you (Genesis 19:17). Similarly, it says here, “Do not seek to glorify [tefaer] what will be after you,” for who can tell a person what will happen after them? And likewise, “Do not seek to leave the gleanings for those who will come after you,” but rather “it shall be for the stranger and the orphan,” and then you will see your [reward in the] world during your lifetime. And don’t worry saying, “If I don’t leave anything behind for my offspring, from where will they be sustained?” Regarding this it says, And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt lacking everything, for what a slave acquires belongs to their master, and nevertheless, you now merited [to own] fields and vineyards by the will of God, blessed be He. He will also send His angel before your offspring after you and give them whatever they lack. Therefore, it is better for you to act for your own needs in your eternal home, for a person is closer to themselves than to their children after them. Therefore, one should not seek and inquire about what will happen after them, as most of the wealthy people of our generation do — they acquire wealth unjustly, and they are hard-hearted, far from charity, claiming that they do so for their children. Yet they will carry nothing of their toil to the eternal world. Woe to such disgrace and shame!
When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you shall not glean it after you; it shall be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
verse value 2719
Insights
Verse structure: 10 words, 41 letters. The shortest word is "when" (כִּ֤י, 2 letters) and the longest is "widow" (וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖ה, 7 letters). Words sharing gematria 30: when, it·shall·be. 2 words in this verse appear nowhere else in Deuteronomy. Unique to this verse in Deuteronomy (hapax): "you·harvest" (תִבְצֹר֙), "you·shall·glean" (תְעוֹלֵ֖ל). 10 unique roots are used. Frequent roots: "not" (root לא, 214x in Deuteronomy); "it·shall·be" (root היה, 170x in Deuteronomy); "when" (root כי, 164x in Deuteronomy). The etnachta (major mid-verse pause) falls on 'after·you', dividing the verse into phrases of 6 and 4 words. Full calculation: כִּ֤י [when] (30) + תִבְצֹר֙ [you·harvest] (692) + כַּרְמְךָ֔ [vineyard] (280) + לֹ֥א [not] (31) + תְעוֹלֵ֖ל [you·shall·glean] (536) + אַחֲרֶ֑יךָ [after·you] (239) + לַגֵּ֛ר [sojourner] (233) + לַיָּת֥וֹם [an·orphan] (486) + וְלָאַלְמָנָ֖ה [widow] (162) + יִהְיֶֽה [it·shall·be] (30) = 2719.
Onkelos
When you gather the vintage of your vineyard, you shall not glean after yourself; it shall be for the sojourner, for the orphan, and for the widow.
Rashi
לא תעולל [WHEN THOU GATHEREST THE GRAPES OF THY VINEYARD] THOU SHALT NOT GLEAN IT — i.e., if you find tender grapes in it, thou shalt not take them away. And what are עוללות? Clusters which have neither כתף, “arms” nor נטף “drippings” If, however, they have one of these, then it belongs to the owner of the vineyard (not to the poor) (Mishnah Peah 7:4). (Cf. Rashi on Leviticus 19:10 and our translation and Note thereon). — I have seen the following in the Talmud Yerushalmi Peah 7:4: What is כתף? Where the branches lie one upon the other: whilst נטף are those which hang down directly from the central stem.
Chizkuni
כי תבצור כרמך, “when you gather the grapes of your vineyard, etc.;” why did this verse have to be written, seeing that we have a similar verse already in Leviticus 19,10? If you were to say that the word אחריך, “after you,” is new here, i.e. that the prohibition applies only to grapes the farmer has left behind him, this is not so, as we have learned in the Mishnah in Peah 7,4 that these types of grapes known as ollelot, prematurely fallen grapes, may not be picked up by the farmer even if they are in front of him. עוללות, Rashi explains that grapes known as ollelot have no shoulder and are not shaped like drops. [The Talmud goes into greater detail, explaining which kind of grapes the farmer must not keep for himself. Ed.]
Onkelos
Rashi
Ibn Ezra
Rabbeinu Bahya