Numbers · Chapter 15

And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

Speak with the children of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land of your settlements that I am giving to you,

כי תבאו WHEN YE ARE COME [INTO THE LAND] — He brought them the good tidings that they would enter the land.

WHEN YE ARE COME INTO THE LAND OF YOUR HABITATIONS. After He had assured the children [of those who had left Egypt] that they would come into the Land, He completed [telling] them the laws of the offerings, and that they should bring the drink-offerings when they enter the Land. Perhaps this [section] was [told to them] now in order to console them and give them an assurance [that they would indeed take possession of the Land], for they began to give up hope, saying: “Who knows what will happen in such a long time — after forty years — for may be the children will also sin?” Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, saw fit to comfort them, for by commanding them precepts which are applicable [only] in the Land, He thereby was assuring them that it is clearly destined by Him that they will come into and inherit the Land. Now He commanded them concerning the drink-offerings [that they were to bring] in the Land when making burnt-offerings and peace-offerings, since in the wilderness they had no duty to bring drink-offerings except with the continual [daily] burnt-offering, concerning which it is said, and the fourth part of a hin of wine for a drink-offering for the one sheep; for there it is said [that it be brought continually every day] at the door of the Tent of Meeting before the Eternal, where I will meet with you, to speak there unto thee. Similarly the princes when bringing their dedication-offerings did not include amongst them drink-offerings. Now our Rabbis differed on this matter. Some of them said in the Sifre that Scripture here teaches us that they only became obliged to bring drink-offerings from the time that they came into the Land onwards etc.; but some of them said that it is [only] the individual who was not obliged to bring drink-offerings [together with his offering] until they entered the Land [but public offerings were always accompanied by drink-offerings].He also completed [here] the laws relating to the priests by commanding the [duty of the] dough-offering, which was not applicable in the wilderness, for it was already known that the heave-offering and the tithes do not apply there, since such produce was winnowed by non-Jews and [grown] outside the Land of Israel. There is also a difference in the opinion of the Rabbis concerning the [law of the] dough-offering [which is different from that of tithes etc.], namely that they became subject to the law of the dough-offering as soon as they entered the Land, but were not liable to [separate] tithes and the heave-offering until after [the fourteen years of] the conquest and settlement [of the Land].

"When you come into the land of your dwellings" — This parashah was placed in proximity [to the preceding one] because [Israel] had grown despondent and was mourning, [and it comes] to console the children by informing them that they will indeed enter the Land. But the more correct reason is because the entire congregation lifted their voice and sinned, yet were forgiven through Moses's prayer — [the Torah] therefore says, "if you err" (v. 22), and the proof is that they were forgiven. It was then necessary to mention the laws of the meal-offerings for every burnt-offering and sacrifice. And at the end, [the passage about] "the person who acts with a high hand" (v. 30) alludes to their deed [of the spies]. The mention of the wood-gatherer follows, for he acted with a high hand. And from Hashem's great compassion for Israel, He placed the commandment of tzitzit as a reminder, so that a person would not act with a high hand, or would not forget.

כי תבואו אל ארץ מושבותיכם, "when you will come to the land of your habitations, etc." When G'd saw the despondency of the Jewish people over the decree that He had issued against them to wander aimlessly in the desert for forty years, He provided some encouragement for their hearts by instructing them in commandments which would apply only once they lived in the land of Canaan. G'd wanted to keep this prospect before their eyes in order to make their lives more meaningful. If one knows that at the end of a certain period of time one will experience fulfilment of one's hopes then the time lag until then becomes less onerous. G'd made sure to write אשר אני נותן לכם, "which I am about to give to you," although the generation He addressed had already been described as carcasses. He taught the people that the accomplishments of the children reflect credit also on their parents seeing the children are meant to be the extension of their parents. Another reason why the Torah wrote here נותן לכם, "am about to give you," may be based on Sanhedrin 90 where the Talmud raises the question "where it is written in the Torah that there will be a resurrection?" The Talmud quotes Exodus 6,4: "and I will also keep My covenant with them (the patriarchs) to give the land of Canaan to them." The fact that the Torah did not write "to you," seeing the living Israelites were being addressed, proves that the patriarchs will be resurrected. In our verse the Torah addresses "carcasses." The verse makes sense only if it presumes that these "carcasses" will be resurrected and will take possession of their land.

דבר אל בני ישראל, “speak to the Children of Israel!” When G-d saw that finally they had acknowledged their wrongdoing and had repented, and had mourned appropriately, He informed them that their sons would settle in the Land and He spoke to them on the subject of sacrificial offerings to be offered. אל ארץ מושבותיכם, “to the land wherein you will settle;” but while in the desert, these sacrifices are not welcome. These sacrifices are effective only for sins committed inadvertently; you however, have committed the sins fully aware of what you had done.

כי תבואו אל ארץ מושבותיכם....ועשיתם אשה לה', “when you arrive in the land of your permanent residence....and you prepare a fire-offering for the Lord, etc.” This paragraph was attached to that of the failure of the mission of the spies in order to reinforce the confidence of the children who were already mourning the upcoming premature deaths of their parents that they would indeed come to the land and offer sacrifices there. A Midrashic approach (based on Tanchuma Shelach 14): just as a father is obligated to train his son in five aspects of successful living, i.e. to circumcise him, to teach him Torah, to redeem him from a priest if he is a firstborn, to teach him an honest trade, and to arrange for him to marry a suitable woman, so G’d provided similarly for the Jewish people (His firstborn son). He circumcised them employing Joshua as the Mohel performing the ritual as recorded in Joshua 5,2. G’d “redeemed” Israel as we know from Samuel II 7,23: “and who is like Your people Israel, a unique nation on earth whom G’d went and redeemed as His people, etc.” He taught the Israelites the Torah as He said: “you shall teach them (the words of the Torah) to your children,” [employing the fathers as the teachers. Ed.]. It is also written that G’d personally taught the Torah, as stated in Isaiah 48,17: ”I the Lord am your G’d, instructing you for your own benefit.” G'd taught the people a useful trade by teaching them the commandments, as we know from Leviticus 27,34 “These are the commandments which G’d instructed, etc.” Finally, He arranged for the people to have suitable marriage partners when he blessed them saying: “Be fruitful and multiply.” Just like a father feeds his family, anoints them with oil and washes them (arranges for all this) so G’d does the same for Israel as we know from Ezekiel 16,9-10: “I bathed you in water, and washed the blood off you, and anointed you with oil. (verse 19) and the food which I had given you, the choice flour, the oil and the honey, which I had provided for you to eat, etc.” In Numbers 21,11 we find the Israelites addressing the well of water provided for them by G’d with the words: “spring up O well-sing to it,” Just as when the father gives properties to his children the children offer gifts to the father as symbols of their gratitude, so G’d here told the Israelites to offer certain libations to express their gratitude when they would arrive in the land of Israel.

כי תבואו אל ארץ מושבותיכם, “When you will come to the Land of your dwelling, etc.” Nachmanides writes that after Hashem had reassured the children of the generation who had experienced the Exodus that they, at any rate would inherit the Promised Land, the Torah completes the legislation about both the public and private offerings. The Torah specifically introduces the subject of חלה, the setting aside of a small portion of any dough for the priest, Hashem’s representative on earth, as symbolic recognition that even basic foodstuffs such as bread that man toiled to produce are, in the final analysis, a gift from the Creator. [I elaborated on the theme with my own words. Ed.] Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why these paragraphs were appended at this juncture was to cheer up the younger generation who had to face the premature death of their parents as a result of the debacle with the spies. The Torah reassured them that they, at any rate, would come to the Holy Land, and legislation at this time applicable only in the Holy Land, would lift their spirits. I believe (Ibn Ezra continuing) that more is involved here. On the one hand, this sin -as opposed to the golden calf where only a small percentage of Jews actually took active part, -had involved the entire people, and they had been saved from immediate death only by Moses prayer. It was appropriate therefore to write legislation dealing with both inadvertent sin, (compare verse 22) and to provide a mechanism for obtaining forgiveness. (Verse 25) At the same time, the Torah added technical details about offering gift-offerings, מנחות which henceforth were to be added to all burnt offerings and meat-offerings. In addition the Torah spelled out what would happen if the sin were to be committed deliberately. Furthermore, the legislation about ציצית, fringes, was introduced as an act of G’d’s mercy, as these fringes were to remind the wearer when he looked at them that he must not commit sins against his Creator. Finally, we have a report about an Israelite who deliberately violated the Sabbath legislation and who was executed as a result after the method of execution had been spelled out by G’d. (Verse 32-36)

כי תבואו אל ארץ מושבותיכם,”when you come to the land of your permanent settlement, etc.;” what is the reason that this paragraph has been inserted at this point in the Torah? If anything, the legislation added here would not be applicable for at least another forty years! The people at this stage were so frustrated that they did not believe they would ever get to the Land of Canaan and settle there, as they might become guilty of so many more sins, looking back at the less than two years they had been out of Egypt, and what had befallen them during that short period. The wording of the paragraph, i.e. G–d’s promise to Moses at this point, was meant to reassure them that unless the settlement of the people in their ancestral homeland would become a fact, what would be the point in introducing legislation that is capable of being applied only after they were settled in that land? Moses relayed this legislation to the present generation in order to convince them that their children would definitely become residents of the Holy Land.

and you make an offering before Hashem — a burnt offering or a peace offering, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering, or at your appointed times — to make it accepted with favor before Hashem, from the cattle or from the flock:

ועשיתם אשה — This is not a command: when you come into the land you shall make a fire-offering — but the meaning is: When you will come there and it enters your mind to make a fire-offering unto the Lord. לפלא נדר או בנדבה וגו׳ TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELVES BY A VOW OR A FREE-WILL OFFERING [OR ON YOUR FESTIVALS] — i.e. or that you would make the fire-offering on account of the obligatory festival sacrifice which I have obligated you to offer on a festival. ... ריח ניחח [TO MAKE] A PLEASING ODOR — i.e. to cause satisfaction to Me.

"Le-faleh" — [this means] to specify/designate, and similarly [the word] "ve-hifla Hashem" (Ex. 9:4). If it is spelled with a heh [rather than alef], [that is not a problem,] for the letters alef, heh, vav, and yod interchange with one another.

לעשות ריח ניחוח.....והקריב המקריב, until the advent of the sin of the golden calf, the expression ריח ניחוח had not surfaced as no libations plus gift offerings had been needed in order to make the offerings truly pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. This is why we do not find such an expression in connection with the offering of Hevel (Genesis 4,4, of Noach Genesis 8,21, and of Avraham in Genesis 12,7) Neither do we find it in Exodus 24,5 where the burnt offerings and meat offerings offered by the firstborns (before they had been exchanged for the tribe of Levi) were described. As of the sin of the golden calf gift offerings and libations were required to make public offerings pleasing to the Lord, i.e. לריח ניחוח. After the sin of the spies even offerings by private individuals had to be accompanied by such libations and gift offerings, מנחה ונסכים, in order to qualify for the expression ריח ניחוח as proving that the offering had pleased the Lord.

the one who brings his offering before Hashem shall present a meal offering of fine flour, one tenth-measure mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil.

והקריב המקריב THEN SHALL HE THAT OFFERETH [HIS OFFERING BRING A MEAL OFFERING etc.] — i.e. you shall offer a drink-offering and a meal-offering for each and every animal: the meal-offering to be entirely burnt, and the oil be mingled with it, and the wine to be put into the basins from which it was poured upon the altar (but see Tosafot on Sukkah 48a), as we have learnt in Treatise Sukkah 48a.

והקריב המקריב קרבנו, When the person offering his sacrifice is about to do so, etc. An examination of the relative amounts of oil which are to be part of the meal-offerings appears at first glance to be proportional to the amounts of solids used in those offerings, i.e. the amount of flour. Similarly, the amount of wine which accompanies an animal sacrifice as a drink-offering is also proportional to the size of the animal being offered as a sacrifice. Why does the Torah make an exception to these proportions (compare verse 6) in our verse when the amount of flour used in the meal-offering is one tenth of an eyphah, i.e. a quarter hin which is equivalent to three lugin? [this is a proportionally much larger amount of oil than with other sacrifices. Ed.] Please refer to the Mishnah in Menachot 107. Maimonides writes in chapter 17 of his treatise on Maaseh Hakorbanot that "someone may voluntarily donate, or promise by means of a vow, a drink-offering to consist only out of wine, provided the minimum quantity is two lugin. He is not allowed to donate an offering consisting entirely out of oil even if the quantity is 2 lugin oil, as we do not find meal-offerings containing such a small amount of oil. One may also not donate one log or two lugin wine, however, as the drink-offerings accompanying animal offerings require larger amounts of wine than that." Thus far Maimonides on the subject. This may be the reason why in our verse the Torah is not satisfied with the person offering the meal-offering donating two lugin oil to be mixed with the tenth of the eyphah of flour although when the amount of flour in the meal-offering consists of two tenths eyphah of flour, the Torah had stated that 4 lugin oil are required. This is to teach you that a drink-offering of wine must not consist of less than two lugin of wine. One may be tempted to argue that this reasoning is only correct concerning the amount of wine in the respective drink-offerings, seeing that according to Rabbi Tarfon (Zevachim 91) an offering consisting of oil only is acceptable even in a relatively small amount. We find a difference of opinion in the Talmud Menachot we have quoted, one sage holding that one may donate as little as one log of oil as a separate offering. According to the reasoning presented in the Talmud for this latter opinion, why did the Torah not remain consistent in its presentation of the relative amounts of oil and flour? We may have to conclude that the Torah was anxious to equalise the respective amounts of oil and wine to be used in these drink or meal-offerings respectively which accompany the animal offerings.

והקריב המקריב, “the one presenting the offering shall present it;” Rabbi Natan understands this verse as an introductory formula applicable to all such situations, something known in Talmudic parlance as binyan av. It teaches that no one offering a gift offering may use less than the quantities and ingredients listed in this verse. (Sifri)

סולת עשרון בלול ברביעית ההין, “a tenth eyfah fine flour mixed with a quarter hin of oil.” It is peculiar that our verse gives us a relationship between the amount of oil needed to mix with the amount of flour that does not correspond to standard relationships we find elsewhere. If the example described here were a standard example, why would we find that in the case of the libations accompanying offerings consisting of varying sizes of four-legged animals the libations brought with an offering consisting of a ram where two tenths of an eyfah of flour are used instead of half a hin of oil only a third of a hin is required; similarly when the libation of an offering consisting of a bull is described the Torah decrees three tenths of an eyfah of flour to be mixed with only half a hin of oil? Perhaps, although in order to mix the flour thoroughly with oil, in the example mentioned in our verse a quarter of a hin of oil is required, when the quantity of flour is greater, the need to increase the proportionate amount of oil decreases gradually.

And wine for the libation — a quarter of a hin — you shall prepare, with the burnt offering or for the peace offering, for each lamb.

לכבש האחד FOR EACH LAMB — It (this phrase) refers to all that is mentioned above — to the meal-offering, and the oil and the wine (not only to the wine last mentioned; the prescribed measures of flour, oil, and wine are to accompany each lamb).

על העולה או לזבח, “on either a burnt offering or an offering part of the meat of which could be consumed;” why did this have to be spelled out here? We had read in verse 3: ועשיתם אשה עולה או זבח, “you are to make a fire offering or a burnt offering for the Lord;” from that line we heard that if someone declares: ”I undertake to present a burnt offering, I am going to present a meat offering,” he declares: “I am going to present a gift offering, and “I am going to present a peace offering,” [in other words, all these types of offerings. Ed] that he did not have to add more that a single libation offering with all of these offerings; this is why the Torah here had to spell out that these libation offerings must accompany each of the above mentions animal or meal offerings. (Sifri)

Or for a ram, you shall prepare a meal offering of fine flour, two tenth-measures mixed with a third of a hin of oil.

או לאיל OR FOR A RAM [THOU SHALT PREPARE etc.] — This means: and if it be a ram [thou shalt prepare, etc.]”. Our Rabbis, however, have interpreted the word "או," “or”, as being intended to bring also the פלגס (a lamb beyond the age of a כבש and below that of an איל) under the law of the drink-offerings prescribed for a ram (i.e. that the animal in its intermediate age is regarded as full grown as regards the נסכים) (Chullin 23a; Menachot 91b).

And wine for the libation — a third of a hin — you shall present, to be accepted with favor before Hashem.

And when you prepare a young bull as a burnt offering or a peace offering, to fulfill a vow, or a peace offering before Hashem,

he shall present with the young bull a meal offering of fine flour, three tenth-measures mixed with a half hin of oil.

"A meal-offering of fine flour" — one tenth [of an ephah] for each one from the flock.

והקריב על בן הבקר, “he will present it with the bullock;” the word על means “with,” in this instance.

And wine you shall present for the libation — a half hin — an offering accepted with favor before Hashem.

אשה ריח FOR A FIRE OFFERING OF [PLEASING] ODOUR — This refers only to the meal-offering and the oil mentioned in v. 9, but the wine is not a fire-offering, since it is not put on the fire.

Thus shall it be done for each bull, or for each ram, or for each of the lambs or the goats.

או לשה גו׳ [THUS SHALL IT BE DONE FOR ONE OX …] OR FOR A YOUNG SHEEP שה בכבשים או בעזים — i.e. whether it (the שה) be of the lambs or whether it be of the goats. כֶּבֶשׂ and שֶׂה are the names given to sheep or goats within their first year., אַיִל is [the name given] from the age of thirteen months and one day (Mishnah Parah 1:3).

"A sheep from the flock" — or from the goats, as it explains at the end: "for the one lamb" (v. 12) — or if one brings a ram, its meal-offering shall be double, since the lamb is the smaller [animal]. The text does not mention a freewill-offering with a bull of the herd, yet it does mention peace-offerings, because they had not been mentioned at the outset. The rule for all of them is the same.

ככה יעשה לשור האחד, “so it shall be done for each bullock;” we learn from here that the Torah did not distinguish between the amounts used for libation offerings of young animals such as a calf, and the amounts used to accompany animals that had fully matured. (Sifri) או לאיל האחד, “or for each ram.” Why did this detail have to be spelled out? I might have thought that seeing that the Torah had distinguished between the size of libations for one year old animals and two year old animals, and the size of the libations for three year old animals, it would similarly distinguish between the sizes of the libations for three year old animals of one type and another type, and between the males of the species or the females, therefore it equates sheep and goats i.e. the biggest of the categories known as בהמה דקה, the smaller categories of domestic beasts acceptable as sacrifices and the larger ones, known as בהמה גסה. The amounts of fine flour used in the libation offerings accompanying either animal, are identical in volume, i.e. three logs of fine flour.

According to the number that you prepare, so shall you do for each, according to their number.

כמספר אשר תעשו ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER THAT YE SHALL PREPARE — This means: according to the number of animals that you will offer as sacrifices, ככה תעשו SO SHALL YE OFFER drink-offerings for each of them, כמספרם ACCORDING TO THEIR NUMBER — i.e. as is the number of animals so shall be the number of drink-offerings.

The meaning of "according to their number" — [it refers] to the meal-offering, the oil, and the wine.

לאחד כמספרם, “for everyone according to their number.” The letter ל in the word לאחד, has the vowel kametz under it.

Every native-born shall do thus with these, to present an offering accepted with favor before Hashem.

כל האזרח יעשה ככה, “Every citizen shall shall do so.“ why is this said? Because it says “and battered, and crushed, etc.“ These, you do not accept, but you accept from them unblemished ones. Would it be possible that just as Israel brings libations, so too would the Canaanite bring libations? The verse teaches us, “Every citizen shall do so, etc.“ Israel brings libations, and the Canaanite does not bring libations. From here it was said that if a non-Jew sent his burnt offerings from overseas, and did not send libations with them, they would be offered from the public funds.

All who are native born in Israel, and not of the sons of the Gentiles, shall so make these libations in offering an oblation to be received with acceptance before the Lord.

And if a proselyte sojourns with you, or one who is among you throughout your generations, and he makes an offering accepted with favor before Hashem — as you do, so shall he do.

"Or who is among you" — at the present time.

וכי יגור אתכם גר או אשר בתוככם, “and if amongst you there sojourns a stranger, or whoever there may be amongst you throughout your generations, etc,” this verse appears in a truncated form; it should be understood as if the Torah had written it as follows: “if a stranger who lives amongst you at the present, or at some time in the future, etc.;” from this verse we learn that this paragraph has been written in the Torah twice, and been repeated in order to add to it two details that had not previously been revealed to the people. (B’chor shor)

One statute for the congregation shall there be for you and for the proselyte who becomes a proselyte — an everlasting statute throughout your generations: as you are, so shall the proselyte be before Hashem.

ככם כגר means, AS YOU ARE SO IS THE STRANGER (“you and the stranger shall be alike”). Thus (the use of the prefix כ with each of two things or persons stated to be exactly alike) is the Hebrew idiom to express complete similarity. Examples are: (Genesis 13:10) “As (כ) the garden of the Lord so (כ) is the land of Egypt”; (1 Kings 22:4) “As (כ) I am so (כ) art thou; as (כ) my people is so (כ) is thy people”.

"Ha-qahal" — some say that the heh here is a heh of [vocative] address. In my view, however, there is no particle of address in the holy tongue; the proof is [the four instances of repeated names], one of which is "Moses, Moses!" — [yet that direct address uses no heh at all]. This heh [in 'ha-qahal'] is simply the heh of the definite article, and it is not a sign of direct address. "As you, so the stranger" — I have already explained the rule of the doubled kaph [prefix] when they are joined [to form a comparison].

One Torah and one law shall there be for you and for the proselyte who becomes a proselyte among you.

The meaning of "one law" — this refers to [the additional grain-offerings], apart from the burnt-offerings, which are obligatory by statute. Hashem further said: just as when you bring a meal-offering of fine flour upon the burnt-offering, so too you shall give from your first dough (v. 20) — and there is no need to mention what our early Sages, of blessed memory, received [by tradition], namely that these are two things — challah and terumah — and what their measures are, for all their words are truth, and without them [all is] vanity. Here is an additional rule: [it covers] both one who inadvertently does what he was commanded not to do, and one who inadvertently fails to do what he was commanded to do.

And Hashem spoke with Moses, saying:

Speak with the children of Israel and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am bringing you,

בבאכם אל הארץ WHEN YE COME (more lit., on your coming) INTO THE LAND — This statement about their “entering” into the land is expressed differently from all other statements about their “entering” made in the Torah, for in all other cases it is said, “When you come”, or “when ye come”, — and consequently in all these latter cases each may learn some particular from the other by way of a ג”ש. Therefore, since Scripture distinctly states in one instance of these (Deuteronomy 26:1) that the law there enjoined is applicable only after the full possession (ירושה) of, and definite settlement (ישיבה) in it, (“When thou comest to the land … and thou dost possess it (וירשת) and thou dwellest (וישבת) therein”, then thou shalt take of the first of all thy fruits etc.), all other cases where the phrase כי תבא or כי תבאו introduce a law are similar (i.e. the laws laid down in such instances were also to come in force only after ירושה and ישיבה). — In this case, however, it is stated בבאכם “on your coming”, implying that as soon as they had entered it (the Land) and ate of its bread they became subject to the law about “Challah” (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:1).

it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall set apart a separation before Hashem.

והיה באכלכם, “it shall be when you eat of, etc.” the letter ב at the beginning of the word באכלכם, has the vowel chatof patach under it.

The first of your kneading you shall set apart a challah as a separation; as one sets apart from the threshing floor, so shall you set it apart.

ראשית ערסתכם OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH [YE SHALL HEAVE A CAKE] — This means: when you knead as much as is now your dough (ערסתכם), i.e. the quantity which you are accustomed to knead in the wilderness — and how much is this? You may learn it from the statements (Exodus 16:18) “And they measured with the Omer” and (Exodus 16:16) “An Omer a head”, — you shall set apart at its very beginning (ראשית), meaning, before you eat from it its first portion, one cake (חלה) shall you set apart, as a heave-offering in honour of the Lord (תרימו תרומה לה׳) (Eruvin 83a). חלה is tourteau in O. F., (Engl = cake). כתרומת גרן EVEN AS THE HEAVE OFFERING OF THE THRESHING FLOOR for which no minimum quantity is stated in the Torah, so shall ye heave it, and not as the “Heave-offering of the Tithe (תרומת מעשר, the priest’s share in the Levite’s tithe) for which a minimum quantity is stated (cf. Numbers 18:26) (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:1). — The Sages, however have stipulated a minimum quantity for it (the portion set aside) — for a private person (lit., the owner of a house) one twenty-fourth, and for the baker one forty-eighth of the dough (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:1; Mishnah Challah 2:7).

חלה תרימו תרומה; after the sin of the spies also the tithe (heaving) known as challah became a necessity in order for the individual homes of the Israelites to enjoy G’d’s blessing. The prophet Ezekiel spells this out (Ezekiel 44,30) when speaking about the temple etc. in the future, when he writes: עריסותיכם תתנו לכהן להניח ברכה אל ביתך, “you are to give from your kneading bowl to the priest so that a blessing will rest on your house.” This practice had already been displayed when Elijah, assisting the impoverished widow, commanded her to first give to him a small cake of the little flour she had left, as G’d had said that in such a case the jar of flour in her house would not become empty during the remainder of the famine. (Kings I 17,13-14)

כתרומת גרן, “as that which is set aside from the threshing ground;” this is equivalent to what is known elsewhere as ראשית עריסותיכם, “the first product of your kneading bowls.”

ראשית עריסותיכם חלה תרימו תרומה, “As the first of your kneading you shall set aside a loaf, a portion for the Lord.” The commandment of setting aside this loaf was not applicable in the desert (seeing the bread had not grown on our soil) but this commandment became applicable as soon as the Israelites set foot on the West Bank of the Jordan and ate from its produce. (Sifri 110). The reason the Torah had to use the words מלחם הארץ, “from the bread of the land,” is that it had to be contrasted with the “bread” the Israelites had been eating before entering the Holy Land, i.e. heavenly “bread.” The Biblical injunction described here is applicable in the full sense of the word only for people resident in ארץ ישראל, this is why the Torah writes בבואכם, “when you come (plural)” i.e. when all of you come. When only part of the Jewish nation resides in the Holy Land the commandment applies only as a Rabbinic decree. The commandment consists of setting aside this loaf from the dough before it has been baked, this is why the Torah uses the word ראשית, “the first of your kneading.” The person setting this part of the dough aside, generally a woman, recites a benediction mentioning that we have been commanded to perform this commandment. Even in the diaspora the dough is set aside although the benediction is not recited there. The reason this ritual is being observed also in the diaspora is so as not to cause the entire commandment being forgotten during the many years of our exile. There is no specific quantity for the size of either the dough from which the loaf has to be set aside or for the minimum size of that loaf. However, the Rabbis have made certain rules about this. They consider the minimum acceptable size of that loaf as being 1/60th of the dough whereas a generous person is expected to set aside 1/40th of the size of that dough. The minimum quantity of dough qualifying for this commandment to become mandatory is an amount equivalent to 423 eggs in volume. Anything less would not qualify under the heading of “a gift for the Lord,” i.e. the priest, His representative on earth. Anything less than the amount mentioned would be an insult rather than a symbol of gratitude, a gift (compare Maimonides Hilchot Bikkurim chapter 5). Nowadays, seeing the whole commandment in the diaspora is of rabbinic origin, eating this is forbidden only to such priests as are ritually unclean through a discharge from their bodies. Other lesser degrees of ritual impurity, even such impurity as contact with the dead do not disqualify the priest from eating such חלה. The wording of Maimonides concerning who may eat it nowadays is subject to argument, Raavad certainly has a different version regarding parts of it. At any rate, seeing that these types of ritual impurity once contracted cannot easily be removed, and furthermore the חלה if containing water or certain other liquids is almost certainly unclean to start with, only a priest under the age of nine, before he is subject to seminal discharge may be permitted to actually eat it under strictly supervised conditions. There is therefore no absolute need to burn the חלה taken in the diaspora. A kabbalistic approach: The commandment to set aside חלה, which is the only commandment applicable to the dough, is an allusion to the כנסת ישראל, the spiritual concept “Israel.” Of this spiritualized version of the Jewish people Solomon wrote in Song of Songs 6,9: “unique is she My constant dove.” Israel, i.e. the spiritual concept known as כנסת ישראל, represents the world’s tithe and heave-offering to the Lord. We know this as Israel is described as תרומה, “heave-offering” חלה תרימו תרומה. [The words תרימו תרומה already appeared at the end of the previous verse so that in our verse it must refer to a different subject, not the dough, but the people of Israel. Ed.] The כסת ישראל itself is “distilled” from the emanation חכמה which is also known as ראשית, as it is the “first” of the emanations [below כתר which is in a different category completely being the connecting link to the עולם האצילות, Ed.]. We had explained already in Genesis that the words בראשית ברא אלוקים are to be understood as “using the emanation ראשית (חכמה), G’d created etc.” When you reflect on his concept you will realize why this commandment could not apply (as a Biblical commandment) except in the Holy Land, the residence of the Shechinah in the Holy Temple. This was something that could occur only when the whole Jewish people had come to that land (compare Ketuvot 25). Perhaps the fact that the verse in question comprises 10 words is a further allusion to the ten emanations.

כתרומת גורן, which is the first tithe of the grain harvest as we know from Deuteronomy 18,4. When converting the harvest to something edible, preparing the dough, the Priest is also to receive his share from the first part of the dough. (Ediyot 1,2 as well as Shabbat 15)

From the first of your kneading you shall give before Hashem a separation throughout your generations.

מראשית ערסתיכם OF THE FIRST OF YOUR DOUGH [YE SHALL GIVE UNTO THE LORD A HEAVE OFFERING] — Why is this stated at all? (What does it add to the command in v. 20)? Because it states there ראשית ערסתכם, I might understand this to mean that only the first amongst several doughs which you are kneading at the same time shall you set aside entirely as a heave-offering and all the other doughs are exempt! It therefore states here מראשית “of (some of) the first of the dough”, implying part of it but not all of it (not an entire dough) (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:2). תתנו לה׳ תרומה YE SHALL GIVE UNTO THE LORD A HEAVE OFFERING — Because we have not heard any mention of a definite minimum quantity for the Challah it is stated here “ye shall give”, implying that it shall contain sufficient to constitute a “gift” (Sifrei Bamidbar 110:2).

מראשית עריסותיכם, this includes the parts of the harvest to be left for the poor, such as the field’s corner, gleanings, and areas the reaper forgot to cut, all of which are subject to the laws of challah, i.e. before the proceeds are baked, a small portion had to be set aside for the priest. לדורותיכם, “throughout your generations.” According to the Sifri on this verse this includes any dough baked during the sh’mittah year as well as any dough that qualifies for the laws of challah.

And if you err and do not perform all these commandments that Hashem spoke with Moses —

וכי תשגו ולא תעשו AND IF YE HAVE ERRED, AND NOT DONE [ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS WHICH THE LORD HATH SPOKEN UNTO MOSES] — Idolatry (which is the transgression referred to here; cf. Rashi on next passage) is naturally comprehended under the general term “all the commandments” (see Leviticus 4:13) for which the whole community brings a bullock as a sin-offering if it infringes one of them, but, you see, Scripture here excepts it (the sin of idolatry) from the general law about them, to bring it under the law of a bullock as a burnt-offering, and a he-goat for a sin-offering (whilst the rule in Leviticus 4:13 is a bullock for sin-offering, and no he-goat is prescribed) (Sifrei Bamidbar 111:1). וכי תשגו וגו׳ AND IF YE HAVE ERRED etc. — Scripture is speaking of the sin of idolatry. Or perhaps not, but of the transgression of any of all the commandments? It, however, states, “[And if ye have erred, and not done] all these commandments” which implies “one command that is the same as (the equivalent of) all the commands”. What is the case of one who transgresses all the commandments? He throws off the yoke of the Law, breaks the covenant and bids defiance to the Torah (more lit., exposes his face, acts bare-facedly). So, too, must this single commandment referred to here be of such a nature that by transgressing it one throws off the yoke, breaks the covenant and bids defiance to the Torah. And which is this? It is idolatry (Sifrei Bamidbar 111:1). אשר דבר ה’ אל משה WHICH THE LORD HATH SPOKEN UNTO MOSES — [This refers to the two commandments prohibiting idolatry:] “I am the Lord, thy God”, and “Thou shalt have no other gods, etc.”, which we heard from the mouth of the Almighty (and which God also commanded us by Moses (v. 23) in many other passages where idolatry is forbidden), as it is written (Psalms 62:12): “Once did God speak these commandments to us but we heard them twice” (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 111:1; Horayot 8a).

AND WHEN YE SHALL ERR, AND NOT OBSERVE ALL THESE COMMANDMENTS. This section is obscure in meaning, and the commentators of the plain meaning of Scripture have mistakenly explained it as referring to an offering which must be brought by one who has unwittingly failed to observe what G-d has commanded him to do. But these words are words of wind! For if so, there would be an obligation to bring an offering for any of the positive commandments of the Torah, if a person did not fulfill them all and unwittingly [neglected to do] any one of them, and there would [also] be the punishment of excision for anyone who does not fulfill them all, that is, who neglected knowingly to do [any] one of them, since Scripture states, even all that the Eternal hath commanded him unto you! Moreover, He stated here, And it shall be if it be ‘done’ in error by the congregation, [clearly indicating] that the error consists of a [positive] act which they did, and not of sitting back and failing to act! Similarly, But the soul that ‘doeth’ ought with a high hand [which also indicates that the sin consisted of doing something which the Torah prohibited]. But the meaning [of the verse before us] is: “When ye shall err and not observe what G-d has commanded [you to do], but you do the opposite.” Or it [may be that the verse] is stating that [if] “ye shall err and not observe His commandments, namely those things that He has commanded you not to do,” since matters prohibited by a negative commandment are also called “commandments,” just as He said, If any one shall sin through error against any of ‘the commandments’ of the Eternal concerning things which ought not to be done. Now this offering [mentioned here] which the congregation has to bring when sinning in error is different from the offering mentioned in the section of Vayikra, for there He commanded [the congregation] to bring a bullock for a sin-offering, and here He commanded them to bring a bullock for a burnt-offering and a he-goat for a sin-offering. Therefore our Rabbis had to say that this offering [mentioned here] applies only to worshipping idols in error [and hence has a stricter form of atonement].The language of the verses [here] without being taken out of its simple meaning and implication is [to be understood as if] He were saying: “And when ye shall err in all the commandments, and transgress all that G-d has commanded you by the hand of Moses, inasmuch as you will not do anything of that which He has commanded you, then you shall bring this offering.” Therefore He does not mention here, as He does with reference to those offerings [brought] for [committing a particular] sin, ‘any of all the commandments’ of the Eternal [since the reference here is to transgressing all the commandments, and not just one of them, as is explained further on]. Thus this section according to its plain meaning refers to [the duty of] one who is unwittingly an “apostate” with regard to the entire Torah, [to bring] an offerin...

וכי תשגו, this verse has already been explained by Sifri as speaking of inadvertent commission of the sin of idolatry. Seeing that eventual exile had already been decreed for the descendants of this generation, it would be practically impossible for the exiled Jews not to become guilty of such acts in their host countries from time to time even if they did not intend thereby to violate Torah laws. They would become guilty of such acts even after their return to their homeland, having acquired idolatrous habits while under duress in exile. ולא תעשו את כל המצות האלה אשר דבר ה' אל משה. Seeing that you had inadvertently become guilty of idolatrous acts even if you would meticulously observe all the other commandments in the Torah this would not count for much as the commandments not to become guilty of any kind of idolatry had preceded all the other commandments, and by being guilty of that sin you had broken the covenant. Our sages (in Sifri 111) have stated flatly that anyone acknowledging that any idolatrous cult is of substance, is useful, is considered as having denied the validity of the entire Torah.

וכי תשגו ולא תעשו, If you err and do not observe, etc. We are taught in Horiot 8 that this verse speaks about someone who commits the sin of idolatry. We find that the Torah repeats itself here, first writing "all the commandments," and then, in verse 23, "all that G'd has commanded you." The Torah appears to speak of someone who denies the validity of the Ten Commandments [commandments the people heard from G'd directly, Ed.] as well as all of the other commandments recorded in the written Torah but relayed to the people only through Moses. The message of the verse is that if someone worships idols he effectively rejects all the positive as well as all the negative commandments which make up Judaism. The words לא תעשו refer to the positive commandments, whereas the words את כל אשר צוה ה׳ אליכם refer to the negative commandments. The Torah informs us of a new concept, i.e. that there are individual positive commandments whose performance is equated with performance of all the positive commandments. Nonetheless, if someone worships idols he is considered as if he had also denied the validity of all the positive commandments. Similarly, there are some negative commandments the violation of which is considered as equivalent to rejection of all the negative commandments and the punishment in store for the person guilty of this is that which would be visited upon a person who had physically violated all the negative commandments.

וכי תשגו ולא תעשו את כל מצות האלה, “if you err and do not fulfill all of these commandments, etc.” Nachmanides refers to an error by numerous commentators who mistakenly believed that the offerings described here apply to people who failed to perform positive commandments they were bidden to do. The true meaning of the words is that they apply to negative commandments, and disobedience whether deliberate or inadvertent consists in doing the opposite of what one is supposed to do, i.e. ignoring a negative commandment by acting in opposition to it. It is clear beyond doubt from verse 24 that the error consisted of the people doing something that the Torah had forbidden. The offering described here is one that must be brought when the entire people acted in error but in good faith. This is not the same offering as has been legislated in Leviticus In that instance the offering required was a bull as a sin offering. The bull that is discussed here is one that is offered as a burnt offering, עולה, not as a חטאת, a sin offering. The accompanying sin offering in our instance is a male goat. The sin the people became inadvertently guilty of is the sin of idolatry, a sin which is equated with violation of all of G’d’s commandments, i.e. את כל המצות האלה. According to the plain meaning of the text, (as opposed to the Rabbinic interpretation) the scenario of which the Torah speaks here is, in the case of an individual, someone who was raised amongst gentiles, unaware of the Torah and its laws. When he becomes aware of his error, he is obliged to offer one single such sacrifice in respect of all the previous violations. In the case of the whole people having erred, the scenario would be that they considered that the laws of the Torah are not applicable for all times, and they had believed that the applicability of the law in question had already expired. According to our sages, the subject is violation of the laws of idolatry and it is written here as the Torah (the Book of numbers) concludes the legislation of different kinds of offerings for different reasons. The fact that it has been written specifically here is due to the people now having committed acts of rebellion against G’d as described when they wanted to appoint alternate leaders who would lead them back to Egypt.

וכי תשגו, by mistakenly committing an act considered forbidden under the rules of idolatry. What is written here also applies to inadvertent sins of a different nature which carry the karet penalty if committed deliberately.

all that Hashem commanded you through Moses, from the day that Hashem commanded and onward, throughout your generations —

את כל אשר צוה וגו׳ EVEN ALL THAT [THE LORD] HATH COMMANDED [YOU] etc. — This tells us that he who acknowledges the divinity of an idol is like one who denies the Torah in its entirety and all that the prophets prophesied, because it states, “[and if yo have erred and not done … all that the Lord hath commanded by Moses] from the day that the Lord commanded (Moses), and hence forth [throughout all your generations]” (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 111:1).

את כל אשר צוה ה' אליכם ביד משה. All the sins referred to were committed inadvertently. The Torah simply means that the transgression of the single commandment not to commit idolatry is equivalent of the sinner having transgressed all the commandments G’d had commanded. מן היום אשר צוה ה' והלאה, All the commandments in the Torah were commanded after the first 2 of the 10 Commandments.

it shall be, if it was done in error, beyond the awareness of the congregation, that the entire congregation shall offer one young bull as a burnt offering, to be accepted with favor before Hashem, along with its meal offering and its libation as is fitting, and one goat as a sin offering.

ואם מעיני העדה נעשתה בשגגה — This means: If it is by the eyes (the leaders) of the community that this sin has been committed in error, i.e., that they have mistakenly taught of a certain one of the rites associated with the worship of God that it is permissible to worship an idol in that manner, [then it shall be that all the congregation shall offer, etc.] (cf. Horayot 5b). לחטת — This lacks the א usually found in it, to indicate that it is not like other חטאות, sin-offerings; for in the case of all sin offerings mentioned in the Torah that are to be brought together with a burnt offering, the sin-offering precedes the burnt offering (i.e. is offered first), since it is said, (Leviticus 5:10) “And the second animal shall he make as a burnt offering,” whilst in this case the burnt offering precedes the sin-offering (Horayot 13a).

Here a he-goat is added — covering both the case of one who inadvertently does what he was commanded not to do, and the case of one who inadvertently fails to do what he was commanded to do.

And one male goat for a sin offering. Sin offering is written without an aleph [as חטת instead of חטאת], and there is another change here because in every place where a sin offering and a burnt offering are brought, the sin offering comes before the burnt offering, but here the burnt offering comes before the sin offering. This is surely significant. I say that since this sin refers to idolatry, as it is said, if you err and do not observe all these commandments — this refers to idolatry, for one who acknowledges it denies the entire Torah. In every transgression, a person sins both in thought and in deed, because every action is preceded by thought — for if one acts without any intention at all, this is not called unintentional [shogeg] but rather accidental [ones]. Therefore, every sinner needs to bring two atonements: the burnt offering for the thoughts of the heart, and the sin offering for the sin of action. Although every thought precedes action, nevertheless the action is more severe than the thought. For the Holy One, blessed be He, never punishes for thought unless the thought was actualized, as it is written, Had I seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have heard (Psalms 66:18). Even though He also does not punish for an action when it is done without any thought or intention at all, nevertheless the action is the primary sin. Therefore, one first brings a sin offering to remove the greater sin first, and afterward a burnt offering to remove the sin of thought. The exception is idolatry, of which it is said, in order to seize the house of Israel by their heart (Ezekiel 14:5). This is because the thought in idolatry is the primary sin, for this is a matter dependent on the belief of the heart, and all the actions such as burning incense, slaughtering, pouring libations, and bowing down are all secondary to the thought. And so at the beginning of the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol [SeMaG], [it states] “not to entertain the thought that there is another god, etc.” Therefore, it places the burnt offering before the sin offering in order to remove the greater sin first, which is the thought for which the burnt offering comes, as it is said, And what comes up upon Your spirit (Ezekiel 20:32), and afterward [to remove] the lesser [sin], which is the action. Therefore, sin offering [חטת] is written without an aleph, because the aleph, being the first letter and its numerical value being one, indicates in every place the oneness of the First of all created things, blessed be He. And this person who sins through idolatry denies His oneness, blessed be He, and “there is no God in all his thoughts.” Therefore, the aleph is missing in חטת to indicate that the lack of the aleph constitutes his sin, for it speaks of idolatry. And in this matter, the Lord is distinguished from all His creations, for they all [operate] in two [stages], in thought and in deed, but of the Holy One, blessed be He, it is said, But He is one, and who can turn Him? And what His soul desires, He does (Job 23:13). For as soon as the Lord considers doing something, it is immediately done as His soul desired and as He thought to do it.

And the priest shall make atonement for the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it was an error, and they have brought their offering — an offering before Hashem — and their sin offering before Hashem, for their error.

הביאו את קרבנם אשה לה׳ [AND] THEY HAVE BROUGHT THEIR OFFERING, A FIRE OFFERING UNTO THE LORD — This is that offering mentioned previously in this chapter (v. 24), viz., the bullock for a burnt offering, since it says here, “a fire offering to the Lord” (which is a description of a burnt offering) (Sifrei Bamidbar 111:3). וחטאתם AND THEIR SIN OFFERING — This is the he-goat (mentioned in v. 24).

AND THEY HAVE BROUGHT THEIR OFFERING, AN OFFERING MADE BY FIRE UNTO THE ETERNAL. This refers to the bullock as a burnt-offering mentioned [in the preceding verse]. AND THEIR SIN-OFFERING, which refers to the he-goat for a sin-offering [mentioned there]. Scripture states this on account of the greatness of the sin, involving as it does all the commandments of G-d, and is thereby saying that although the sin was exceedingly grave, since it was in error and they have brought their offerings for it, the burnt-offering and the sin-offering, they are worthy of atonement. And in the Sifre the Rabbis interpreted this verse on the basis of its [apparent] redundancy: “Rabbi Yashiyah says: If the whole of one tribe [unwittingly] acted [committed idolatry] on the basis of a [mistaken] decision of the [chief] court of that tribe, and the other tribes did so [too, on their word], whence do we know that they [the other tribes] must also bring [these prescribed offerings] on account of them [i.e., the people of the particular tribe who acted according to the decision of its chief court]? Scripture therefore states, ‘and they’ have brought their offering, an offering made by fire unto the Eternal. Rabbi Yonathan says etc.”And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala], I have already informed you that wherever the Tetragrammaton is mentioned it refers to the attribute of mercy, and the expression ‘liphnei Hashem’ [before the Eternal — as here in the phrase: and their sin-offering ‘before the Eternal’] is like ‘al panai’ (before Me), and this is similar to what the Rabbis of blessed memory have said: “He and His Celestial Court.” Thus the verse is stating that “they have brought their offering to the Proper Name of G-d [i.e., the Tetragrammaton], and their sin-offering ‘l’phanai’ (before Me),” and thus the sin is atoned for in the attribute of mercy and in the attribute of judgment. He mentioned this in the case of idolatry [due to the gravity of the sin, because of which they need to be forgiven in both attributes], but in Seder Vayikra where [the sin-offering for violation of] the other commandments is commanded, He mentioned many times ‘liphnei Hashem’ (before the Eternal). and the reason for this is clear.

"Their sin-offering" — that is the goat. And because it is in the construct state with [the word for] goats, it is a young [small] goat; and the future [verbal form] is the opposite [of what one might expect, being used here in a past/completed sense].

והם הביאו את קרבנם אשה לה' וחטאתם לפני ה', “and they have brought their offering to the Lord, and their sin-offering before the Lord.” Nachmanides writes that the words: “before the Lord,” refer to the celestial court, as these words had not really been necessary. The fact is that sins are expiated both by the attribute of Mercy, i.e. Hashem, as well as by the attribute of Justice. This has been spelled out in greater detail in connection with the sin of idolatry, i.e. that the forgiveness of both attributes is required to wipe out this sin. The word ונסלח appears both in verse 25 as well as in verse 26 although the subject is the same sin. This proves that forgiveness is required both from the attribute of Mercy and the attribute of Justice. The reason that in verse 28 the Torah makes special mention of G’d forgiving the proselyte is that proselytes, who used to be idol-worshipers, are more prone to commit an act which in Jewish law is considered as idol worship, than are natural born Jews. The repeated emphasis that the sin had been an unintentional one, i.e. שגגה, is the Torah’s way of justifying that forgiveness for this cardinal sin is indeed appropriate after the sinner or sinners have brought the appropriate offerings as outlined in our passage.

והם הביאו את קרבנם אשה לה', “and they have brought their offering, a fire offering for Hashem.” These words refer to the burnt offering. וחטאתם לפני ה', “as well as their sin offering for Hashem.” These words refer to the male goat serving as the sin offering. According to Nachmanides the Torah writes both offerings separately so as to stress the enormity of the sin, and to teach that in spite of the sin itself being of a colossal nature, the fact that it was not committed knowingly qualifies it for forgiveness by the Creator.

And it shall be forgiven the entire congregation of the children of Israel and to the proselyte who sojourns among them, for all the people acted in error.

AND THE STRANGER THAT SOJOURNETH AMONG THEM. He mentioned “the stranger” because they are always more liable to stumble in this sin [of idolatry] and thereby to cause Israel to stumble [with them].

The Torah also mentions the גר, the stranger, (proselyte) separately, as due to their only recently having converted they are more likely to commit sins erroneously. 15,31 עונה בה, “his sin is upon him.” According to the plain meaning of the text the meaning of this expression is similar to such an expression as דמיהם בם. (Leviticus 20,11, at al) their “blood-guilt” will remain upon them (as long as they have not repented). Another similar expression is ערירים ימותו עונם ישאו, “they will die childless while bearing the burden of their guilt.” (Compare Leviticus 20,20)

And if a single person sins in error, he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.

תחטא בשגגה [AND IF ANY SOUL (i.e. any individual)] SIN THROUGH ERROR, by committing idolatry, עז בת שנתה [HE SHALL BRING] A SHE GOAT OF ONE YEAR [FOR A SIN OFFERING] — For other sins committed in error an individual may bring either a she-lamb or a she-goat as a sin-offering, whilst in the case of this (the sin of idolatry) Scripture has appointed a she-goat for it (Sifrei Bamidbar 112:1).

"A she-goat in its first year" — this is the meaning of "she-goat" [se'irat]. And this sin is the case of one who failed to do what was commanded — and he acted unwittingly. Behold, this is treated like the law of one who inadvertently does what he was commanded not to do.

.ואם נפש אחת תחטא בשגגה, “and if one person sin through error, etc.;” idolatry is one of the sins which can be atoned for by an offering of the appropriate animal sacrifice by the guilty party, either through presenting a female sheep female or goat, as specified. It depends on the social status of the sinner. If a national leader had become guilty of that sin through error, he has to bring a male goat, if it was the High Priest, a bullock; also if the president of the Supreme Court had become guilty of that sin, he has to present a mature bullock. [One of the reasons that a female goat is referred to as שעירה, and not as עז, is that the practice of offering goats called satyrs to their deities was so widespread amongst the idolaters. (Compare Leviticus 17,7) Ed.] This is the reason why this paragraph had to be written especially. עז בת שנתה, “a female goat during the first year of its life.” Every time the term עז appears in the Torah, it refers to a female goat of less than one year. (Sifri)

אם נפש אחת תחטא בשגגה, “if a person (soul) will commit a sin through an error, etc;” the author draws the reader’s attention to the fact that on Leviticus 4,2 he had already explained that the effect on the soul of a person committing a sin through error, i.e. psychological effect is more profound than the effect on his body. This is why the Torah used the term נפש, “soul,” rather than איש or אדם which we might have expected.

And the priest shall make atonement for the person who erred by sinning in error before Hashem — to make atonement for him — and it shall be forgiven him.

For the native-born among the children of Israel and for the proselyte who sojourns among them — one Torah shall there be for you regarding one who acts in error.

"One law" — [meaning:] such is the law of the sin-offering.

But a person who acts presumptuously, whether of the native-born or of the proselytes, acts provocatively before Hashem — that person shall be cut off from among his people.

ביד רמה [BUT A PERSON THAT DOETH OUGHT] WITH A HIGH HAND — i.e. with premeditation. מגדף is synonymous with מחרף HE REVILETH, as in (Ezekiel 5:15) “it shall be a reproach (חרפה) and a reviling (גדופה) (Isaiah 37:6) “the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled (גדפו)”. Further, our Rabbis derived from here the law that he who blasphemes the name of the Lord is liable to excision (Keritot 7b).

"With a high hand" — to show everyone that he has no fear of Hashem. "He blasphemes" — [this is expressed] in the manner of human speech.

את ה' הוא מגדף, there is never any atonement for this even if there is complete remorse which is due to the fear of the punishment in store. Only the death of the guilty person can lead to his atonement. This was also the reason why the repentance of the Israelites for the sin of the spies could not be atoned for during their lifetime, although the repentance itself has been documented by the Torah in Deuteronomy 1,45.

והנפש אשר תעשה ביד רמה, But the person who acts defiantly, etc. This means that if someone deliberately worships idols, G'd considers it as if he had blasphemed against Him. This is why his punishment is that he will be cut off from amongst his people. The Torah adds: כי דבר ה׳ בזה, "for he has despised the word of G'd." This means that inasmuch as the sin of idolatry is equivalent to rejection of the entire Torah, such a person has despised every word of G'd. The Torah adds that ואת מצותו הפר, "and he has violated His commandment," i.e. by worshiping idols he has in effect violated all the negative commandments. As a result, הכרת תכרת הנפש ההיא. The word הכרת refers to the tendons of the soul, the word תכרת to the limbs of the soul. The soul is perceived as being made up of parallel parts to those of the body. Just as the body consists of 365 tendons and 248 limbs, so is the soul a composite of 613 parts. Once a person is treated as if he had violated all the 613 commandments no vestige of his soul remains. Such a soul can never be repaired. This is the deeper meaning of the words עונה בה, "its sin remains an ongoing fact." Our sages in Sanhedrin 90 explain this differently. We know that the written Torah can be explained in many different ways.

ונכרתה הנפש ההיא, “that soul will be cut off;” whenever the root כרת is used it refers to a separation, ending of a previous relationship.” (Sifri)

ביד רמה מגדף, a reference to the commission of acts of idolatry, according to the plain meaning of the verse.

For the Word of Hashem he has despised, and His commandments he has transgressed — that person shall utterly be cut off; his guilt is upon him.

דבר ה׳ [BECAUSE HE HATH SCORNED] THE WORD OF THE LORD — The prohibition of idolatry (אנכי and לא יהיה לך) the people heard from the mouth of the Lord but all the other commandments from the mouth of Moses (therefore the prohibition of idolatry is called דבר ה׳ “the utterance of the Lord”) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 112:2; Sanhedrin 99a). עונה בה [THAT PERSON SHALL UTTERLY BE CUT OFF] HIS INIQUITY IS UPON HIM — only at the time when (under the circumstances that) his iniquity is upon him shall he be cut off, i.e., in the case that he has not repented (Sanhedrin 90b).

HIS INIQUITY SHALL BE UPON HIM. “This means only as long as his iniquity is upon him, but not after he has repented.” This is Rashi’s language, from the words of our Rabbis. According to the plain meaning of Scripture, this expression [his iniquity shall be upon him] is like: their blood shall be upon them; they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless; he hath uncovered his sister’s nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity, [the meaning of all these verses being that the guilty have brought the punishment upon themselves]. Now I have seen in the Pirkei Derech Eretz [the following text]: “What is [the meaning of the expression], his iniquity shall be upon him? It teaches us that the soul is cut off, and [yet] its iniquity is upon it.” That is to say, the sin attaches to it [the soul] even after it is cut off, and it is punished in suffering forever, similar to [the verse], for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched.

"Because he has despised the word of Hashem" — that is [what it means to act] with a high hand. "And has violated His commandment" — for He commanded him not to act with a high hand. Some say [this also applies] if one violates His commandment in secret. "That person" — this does not refer to the rational soul in isolation, as some erring thinkers claim, but rather to the union of the soul with the body. "Its iniquity shall be upon it" — like [the phrase] "his blood is on his head."

עונה, “her guilt;” the letter ה in the word עונה does not have a dot. [although we would have expected it as it is a pronoun ending. Ed.]

כי דבר ה' בזה, “for he scorned the word of the Lord.” The entire Torah is included in the description “the word of the Lord.” When someone deliberately commits an act of idolatry he has therefore shown contempt for the entire Torah. It is also possible to interpret the words את דבר ה' בזה as a reference to the first of the Ten Commandments. The idolater violates the concept of the divinity of the Lord, shows his contempt by what he did. The words ואת מצותו הפר, “and he violated His commandment,” refer to the second of the Ten Commandments, the warning not to have or to serve any other deities besides the Lord. A Midrashic approach: the words “he has shown contempt for the word of the Lord” refer to the heretics who deliberately pervert the meaning of parts of the written Torah (Sifri 112). The sages taught as as a corollary of this verse that the scholar who teaches Torah is considered as “the word of the Lord,” seeing he is the instrument by means of which the word of the Lord becomes known amongst the public (Compare Daniel 12,3: ”and the knowledgeable will be radiant like the bright expanse of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will be like stars forever and ever”). Psalms 103,20 has a similar meaning when the psalmist says: “mighty creatures do His bidding.” The person who perverts the words of Torah, on the other hand, is the educated heretic, generally known as “Apikores.”

עונה בה, “his sin is upon him.” According to the plain meaning of the text the meaning of this expression is similar to such an expression as דמיהם בם. (Leviticus 20,11, at al) their “blood-guilt” will remain upon them (as long as they have not repented). Another similar expression is ערירים ימותו עונם ישאו, “they will die childless while bearing the burden of their guilt.” (Compare Leviticus 20,20)

And the children of Israel were in the wilderness, and they found a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day.

ויהיו ... במדבר וימצאו AND [WHEN THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL] WERE IN THE DESERT, THEY FOUND [A MAN THAT PICKED UP WOOD ON THE SABBATH DAY] — (This must mean when they first came into the wilderness, and) Scripture is speaking here to the disparagement of the Israelites viz., that they kept the first Sabbath only, for on the second this man came and desecrated it (Sifrei Bamidbar 113).

He placed next to this section the subject of the man who gathered sticks [on the Sabbath day] because it happened at this time, after the incident of the spies — this in accordance with the plain meaning of Scripture. And this is the meaning of [the phrase], and while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, for it was because the people tarried there on account of the above-mentioned decree, that this event happened. Afterwards He commanded the precept of Tzitzith (Fringes) in order that they would remember through it all the commandments, and not forget the Sabbath [as did the man who gathered the sticks], or any of the other Commandments. Now the reason why Tzitzith have this [power of] reminding one of all the commandments is, as Rashi wrote, because the total numerical value of the letters of the [Scriptural] word tzitzith is six hundred, and together with the eighth threads and five knots, you have six hundred and thirteen [corresponding to taryag, the six hundred and thirteen commandments]. But I have not understood this, for the word tzitzith in the Torah is written without a [second] yod, so the total numerical value is only five hundred and ninety! Moreover, the number of threads [to be used for each of the Fringes] in the opinion of the school of Hillel is only three [which, when passed through the hole at the corner form six threads — not eight, as Rashi mentioned], and the knots by law of the Torah [need only] be two; as the Rabbis have said: “You must deduce from this that the upper knots in the Fringes are required by Scriptural law. For if you should think that they are not obligatory by Scriptural law, why then did the Torah have to state a [special] permission to use mingled stuff [of wool and linen] in Fringes! Do we not accept as the established law that if one joins two pieces together with only one stitch, it is not considered joined?”Rather, the remembrance [of the commandments] is through the blue thread, which alludes to the all-inclusive attribute, which is bakol and which is the aim of All. Therefore He said, that ye may look upon it, and remember ‘kol’ (all), which is the commandments of the Eternal. This is why the Rabbis said: “[Why was blue chosen rather than any other color?] Because blue resembles the sea, the sea resembles heaven, and heaven resembles the Throne of Glory, etc.” The likeness is in the name, as also in the shade of the color which is the termination of all colors [and which leads one from the blue in the Fringes to the blue of the sea etc., and finally to think of Him Who is on high], for in the distance all colors appear to be that shade. That is why it is called t’cheileth [which is also suggestive of the word tachlith (termination) since this is the end of all colors].

"In the wilderness" — in my view, this is the wilderness of Sinai, and I have already explained why this parashah was placed here. It is also possible that the wood-gatherer acted with a high hand — he was warned but it did him no good. Some say that "they brought him" on the first night.

ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, While the children of Israel were in the desert, etc. Why did the Torah have to let us know that the children of Israel were in the desert? This may be understood in conjunction with what we learned in Shabbat 96. Rav Yehudah is quoted as saying that the sin of the person collecting the firewood consisted of his carrying it a distance of 4 cubits in the public domain. We have aslo learned in Shabbat 6 that a Seratya or a Platyah i.e. a camp or a busy highway, constitute a public domain. The Talmud asks there why the Baraitha which mentioned the examples of a camp or busy highway did not include a desert as a further example of a public domain? Abbaye answered that this was not really an appropriate question as the desert constituted a public domain only while the Israelites (600,000 plus) marched through the desert, whereas the Baraitha was concerned with conditions at the time. Rashi comments on this as follows: "In those days the desert was considered a public domain whereas in our time it is not considered an area traversed by many people. When a Baraitha did mention that a desert may also be a public domain this is based on the assumption that the desert once more became a route used by multitudes of people on a regular basis." This is basically what the words "while the Israelites were in the desert" wanted to convey to us. The reason that the מקשש עצים, the person gathering firewood, was guilty of violating the Sabbath, was because at that time the desert was a proper public domain and carrying in it for a distance of four cubits or more was forbidden on pain of death. If the Israelites had not at that time travelled through the desert, the act of the מקשש would not have been punishable. According to the opinion of Maimonides in Hilchot Shabbat chapter 14 there does not seem to be a difference between the status of the desert in the days of the Israelites' trek through the desert and nowadays. I explained this in a volume called Chefetz Hashem which I composed during my youth. Maimonides understood the words of Abbaye to mean that the scholar who included the desert as an example of the public domain spoke of a period when the Israelites travelled through the desert. The other scholar who did not list the desert as a public domain was only concerned with conditions prevailing during his lifetime. Seeing that during his lifetime the desert was not travelled by many people he did not bother to define its status. In actual fact, however, the desert must be regarded as a public domain even in our own times. If this is the correct interpretation of what Abbaye had in mind we are back to square one, i.e. why did the Torah have to tell us that the Israelites were in the desert when this incident took place? We may be able to explain our verse with the help of another statement in Shabbat 96 where a Baraitha is quoted which defines the sin of the מקשש as lopping the wood off the tree rather than carrying it a distance of 4...

ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, “While the Children of Israel were in the desert, etc.;” they remained there as G-d had decreed that they could not enter the Land of Israel. The commandments that have been listed immediately preceding this paragraph were all commandments that could not be fulfilled outside that land. This is why they had been introduced with the words: וכי תבאו אל הארץ, “when you will come to the land.” The only one discussed here that was not only applicable in the Holy Land were the laws of the Sabbath which apply universally, wherever Jews happen to be, even when they are in the desert. This is why the fact that the man who collected kindling on the Sabbath was in the desert was written, as we would have known that he was in the desert, where else could he have been? (B’chor shor on verse 34.) וימצאו איש מקושש עצים, “they found a man collecting kindling.” According to Rashi, this line is written as a critique of the Israelites, seeing that at least one of them did not even observe the second Sabbath already. [Actually, some Israelites who went out of the camp with containers to collect manna on the first Sabbath also violated the Sabbath legislation, although this was before the Torah had been given. Ed.] From Rashi’s comment we must assume that this incident occurred already during the first year of the Israelites’ wanderings. On the other hand, the incident of the blasphemer recorded in Leviticus chapter 24, took place in the second year, as in the first year the Israelites had not yet arranged their tribal positions around the Tabernacle according to their tribal flags. And some commentators suggest that even though the incident of the blasphemer also occurred in the first year, nevertheless he was guilty as explained in Lev.24.12-16. מקושש עצים ביום השבת, “collecting kindling on the Sabbath day.” According to one opinion, the violation consisted of his carrying the kindling a distance greater than four cubits in the public domain. According to another opinion the sin consisted of his having cut the kindling from the tree’s trunk on the Sabbath. A third opinion holds that he was guilty of the sin of bundling these kindling together as in making sheaves. (Talmud tractate Shabbat folio 96.) וימצאו, “they found;” this teaches that Moses must have appointed men especially appointed to look for lawbreakers on the Sabbath. One or more of these guards found the culprit, and then cautioned him. (Sifrei)

ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, “while the children of Israel were in the desert, etc.” we already know that the episode of the spies, as well as the uprising of Korach and the incident of the person who gathered kindling on the Sabbath occurred in the desert. Why then did the Torah have to preface this paragraph with he words: “the children of Israel were in the desert?” According to the plain meaning of the text these words could be meant to underline the seriousness of the sin of the person who had gathered this kindling. While the people were in the desert they experienced miracles daily, such as the descent of the manna, the protective layer of cloud, etc., miracles which testified to the fact that G’d had preceded the world in time and therefore was able to ignore the laws of nature. This man, in defiance of such knowledge violated the Sabbath which is meant to testify to our belief in G’d’s being eternal, predating the existence of any physical universe. Another way of explaining the words: “the children of Israel were in the desert,” could be that seeing that G’d had decreed that the people would remain in the desert for a long time and there they would die and perish, the Torah came to inform us that amongst the people (even the elite, i.e. “Children of Israel”) there were some who violated such basic commandments as the Sabbath, Tzitzit, etc., so that even without the sin of the spies G’d might have decreed death in the desert for many of them. The reason such paragraphs are recorded in the Torah one after the other is to draw our attention to the reciprocal responsibility one Israelite has for the observance of G’d’s commandments by his fellow Israelite (compare Sanhedrin 27). If, nonetheless, Israelites committed such sins publicly this points to a failure of the principle of reciprocal responsibility at that time. It is also possible to explain that in view of the Torah having written earlier (14,25) that the Canaanite and the Amalekite dwelled in the “valley,” ready to set an ambush against the Israelites should they attempt to invade their lands, that this had prompted G’d to decree: “tomorrow you will turn and travel in the direction of the desert direction see of Reeds,” that the Israelites obeyed this instruction and remained in the desert. While engaged in obeying the command of the Lord the incident with the person collecting kindling on the Sabbath occurred. This was an illustration of one sin leading to another, i.e. if they had not had to remain in the desert due to the sin of the spies, this sin would not have occurred. Still another possibility of explaining the words ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, a paragraph which is attached to the sin of committing idolatry, is that seeing that sin is first described as having occurred unwittingly, בשגגה, by the public at large, עדת ישראל, the next example was the same sin committed intentionally, i.e. ביד רמה. These were abstract examples of the very real examples of the sin of the golden calf and the sin of the spies. One starts committing idoltary unintentionally only to later on commit the same sin knowingly. The wording of the Torah in this connection is somewhat strange. When the Israelites made the golden calf they set out by simply wanting to replace the absent leader Moses, i.e. “make for us an authority to walk before us seeing that the man Moses we do not know what happened to him” (Exodus 32,1). After the calf emerged, suddenly they said: ‘these are your gods O Israel who have taken you out of Egypt,” and they prostrated themselves before the golden calf and offered sacrifices to it (Exodus 32,8), i.e. now the sin had become a knowing form of idol worship. In spite of this their sin was forgiven as they repented. The penalty prescribed for idolatry, i.e. extermination of that person from his people applies when no remorse has been demonstrated, etc. In our instance the Torah describes that as a result of lack of remorse the people had been required to remain in the desert, a fact which was immediately followed by at least one individual demonstrably violating the laws of the Sabbath thus demonstrating the truth of the saying that once one sin has been committed it is not a big step to commit another sin, in this instance a sin by an individual. The Torah may have used to teach us by means of this example that if one travels in the desert far from civilization (and does not know the day of the week) one is still obligated to observe the Sabbath. The way to do this is to count six days for himself and to observe the seventh day as Sabbath (Shabbat 69). The underlying reason for this is that during the six days of creation each of the respective emanations which were involved in assisting in the creation of the specific phenomena created on that day observed a rest at the end of their respective activity. When the Sabbath came and contributed its specific activity, i.e. מנוחה, this contributed a sense of pleasure and contentment to all the emanations and they all desisted from their respective activities. Even though the Israelites in the desert certainly kept track of the calendar and the days of the week, and there could not be a question of any error in their calculations, the Torah hints that if someone who does not know the day of the week because he is in the desert and he deliberately fails to set aside the seventh day in his personal calendar as the Sabbath, he is guilty of the death penalty no less than if he had been aware of the correct date. A Midrashic approach based in Shabbat 96: the man in question was Tzelofchod son of Chefer. The sages derive this from the fact that both the word: “in the desert” here and the word “in the desert” which we find as describing the location of Tzelofchod’s sin in Numbers 27,3 were really superfluous. The Torah wrote them to let us know who the מקשש עצים was.

ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, “The Children of Israel were in the wilderness.” This verse that apparently does not tell us anything we did not know, appears here as explaining how what will be described here could have happened. It was all due to the decree that the people had to keep wandering in the desert. This is followed by the legislation about Tzitzit, the fringes to be appended to four cornered garments, a device designed to remind the wearer of all of the Torah’s commandments whenever he looks at these fringes. Nachmanides comments on the commentary of Rashi in which he refers to the numerical of the word amounting to 600 (ציצית) When we add the 8 strings involved and the 5 knots used in tying them we arrive at 613, i.e. the umber of laws in the Torah. He questions this whole explanation, pointing out that the spelling in the Torah of the word ציצת [without the letter י in front of the letter ת leaves us with only 590.] He adds further, that according to the school of Hillel, the number of strings is three and not eight. The Torah also requires only 2 knots, not 5. [Nachmanides’ query has already been raised by Tossaphot in Menachot, 39 and is not directed at Rashi who did not originate the explanation, but at any rate the answer given there is that the letter ל in the word לציצת in our paragraph makes up (30) for the three letters י missing in the three words spelled ציצת in the text of the Torah in our paragraph. Ed.] At any rate, according to Nachmanides, the “remembering” of the Torah’s commandments mentioned in our paragraph is due to the colour of the thread of תכלת, ocean-blue wool, and not to any numerical values of any of the letters in the paragraph. Ocean-blue reminds us of the blue sky, which in turn makes us think of the Creator presiding over His universe on His throne in heaven.

ויהיו בני ישראל במדבר, “While the Children of Israel were in the desert, etc.;” our sages say that if the Israelites had (all of them) observed a second Sabbath in a row, no nation could ever have achieve mastery over them. (Talmud, tractate Shabbat, folio 118). Whence do we know that the Sabbath on which they found the man gathering sticks was that second Sabbath? This is clear from the sequence of the words: ויהיו וימצאו, which means that as soon as they had been commanded all the rules of Sabbath observance, they found this man violating it. How do we know that this man was Tzelofchod? The letters in the sequence עצים ביום have the same numerical value as the letters in the name צלפחד. [The Israelites desecrated already the first Sabbath, when some of them went out to gather manna, compare Exodus 16,27. Ed.] Why has the paragraph about Tzelofchod been inserted in the Torah at this point? At the time when this man desecrated the Sabbath Moses had been saying to Hashem “Lord of the universe, it is written in the phylacteries that wearing them is in order to remind the wearer to talk about the Commandments, (Exodus 13,9) and You have forbidden the phylacteries being worn on the Sabbath.” (Talmud, tractate Menachot folio 36) If only Tzelofchod had worn his phylacteries on that Sabbath, he would have reminded himself of the prohibition of gathering sticks on the Sabbath.” Hashem answered him that He had already commanded the people a commandment to remind them of the laws of the Sabbath, and that is the wearing of the tzitzit on their prayer shawls. (four cornered garment requiring these fringes).

And those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and to Aaron and to the entire congregation.

המצאים אתו מקשש THEY THAT FOUND HIM PICKING UP WOOD — [The redundancy of the phrase המצאים אתו מקשש עצים intimates that] they warned him not to do this and yet he did not refrain from picking them up even after they had found him and warned him (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 113; Sanhedrin 41a).

ויקריבו אותו וגו, “and the men who had found him brought him to Moses;” why did this have to be repeated once more? We had already heard what this man had been found doing on the Sabbath? It was repeated to let us know that the men who found him had warned him of the consequences in store for him if he did not desist.

ויקריבו אותו, “they brought him (to Moses).” As soon as the Sabbath had ended. המוצאים אותו, “the people who had found him (collecting the kindling).” By rights the Torah should have written: אשר מצאו אותו, the ones who had found him (past tense) seeing that they did not find him now. The Torah chose the present tense to inform us that this man had continued to collect the kindling in spite of having been warned of the impending penalty if he would not stop (compare Sifri 113). It is worth noting that the word אותו, “him,” occurs no fewer than six times in this short paragraph. This appears unnecessary as the Torah could have appended the suffix הו in most of these instances saving several letters. When you compare the Torah’s report about the blasphemer at the end of Parshat Emor (Leviticus 24,11-23) you will note that the Torah did make use of the suffix after the first time the man was mentioned. Another unusual feature of this paragraph is the description of the sinner as מקושש עצים, when we would have expected to read מלקט עצים בשבת, “someone collecting wood on the Sabbath.” The expression מקושש is reserved for matters connected with hay and straw. Examples are Exodus 5,7 and 5,12. On the other hand, the expression לקט is appropriate for the collecting of wood as we know from Jeremiah 7,18. There is, however, a reason why the Torah chose the expression מקושש. It is well known that the earth has six extremities. They were created with the power of G’d which resides within six seals, each seal being applied to a different one of these extremities [Boundaries, i.e. terrestrial earth is not an expanding part of the universe. Ed.] This is alluded to in Exodus 31,13 כי אות היא ביני וביניכם, “for it is a “sign,” i.e. ”seal” between Me and you” (part of the mystique of the Sabbath). The person gathering the kindling denied the validity of this covenant by what he did. This is why the letters שש (six) are part of the description the Torah chose to report his sin. He had turned something sacred into something profane by denying the significance of sealing the six extremities of the earth. The word could be read as מקו ששה, “from the sixth line”. By violating the concept of the six lines (leading to the six extremities), he made it impossible to perceive of the Sabbath as the seventh line specifically aimed at the Jewish people. This seventh “line” may be perceived as the Holy Sanctuary, something over and beyond the limitation of terrestrial space.

And they placed him in custody, for it had not been made clear to them what should be done to him.

כי לא פרש מה יעשה לו [AND, THEY PLACED HIM IN WARD] BECAUSE IT WAS NOT EXPLAINED WHAT SHOULD BE DONE WITH HIM — i.e. what kind of death penalty he was to die had not yet been explained, but they were fully aware that one who desecrates the Sabbath is punishable by some death penalty (Sifrei Bamidbar 114; Sanhedrin 78b; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 24:12).

"In custody" — with a patah under the bet — it was a known [designated] place. "What shall be done to him" — what manner of death he should die.

כי לא פורש מה יעשה לו, “for it had not been specified what should be done to him.” Rashi explains that whereas it was known that the man had to be executed, which of the four methods to be used in this case had not yet been spelled out. If you were to ask why this man should not be executed by strangulation seeing that it had not been stated that he has to be stoned, and strangulation is the standard method of execution for most capital sins, the answer is that Moses was in doubt what precisely was the sin that called for execution here, if desecration was equivalent to desecrating the name of the Lord by worshipping an idol, in which case execution was to be by means of the sword. This is why he was kept locked up until Moses received an answer from G-d. If you were to say, that in accordance with the view of Rabbi Yehudah that if the sinner had not been warned of what kind of death penalty he could expect, no conviction could be obtained from a court, you would have to answer that the witnesses advised him that he would be liable to one of the four kinds of executions provided for by the Torah.

כי לו פורש מה יעשה לו, “because it had not been made clear what should be done to him.” This refers to which of the four types of death penalties was applicable to someone committing this type of Sabbath violation. All that was known so far was that deliberate violation of the Sabbath is subject to the death penalty as written in Exodus 31,14. Now G’d clarified: “the man shall be put to death the entire assembly shall pelt him with stones outside the camp” (verse 35).

כי לא פורש, the type of death penalty had not yet been stated clearly.

And Hashem said to Moses: The man shall surely be put to death — the entire congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.

רגום expresses the idea of “doing” something (that is, it is an infinitive or verbal noun); in O. F. faisant; (English = doing). Similarly הלוך allant, “going“, and so, too, זכור “remembering”, שמור “keeping”.

And the entire congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died, as Hashem had commanded Moses.

ויציאו אתו AND [ALL THE CONGREGATION] BROUGHT HIM OUTSIDE [THE CAMP] — From here we learn that the place of stoning was outside and distant from the seat of the Beth Din (Sifrei Bamidbar 114).

"As Hashem commanded" — [that is,] death by stoning.

And Hashem said to Moses, saying:

And the LORD said to Moses: the reason that this passage deviates from the norm in that it says, 'And HE said' whereas in all of scripture it says 'And HE spoke' can be explained by the teaching pf the Sages (Yalkut): When Moses saw the event of the Sabbath woodcutter he said to the LORD, "On the weekdays the Israelites don phylacteries (tefillin) and thereby remember the commandments. On Sabbath, (when it is forbidden to don phylacteries) how are they to remember?" The Holy Blessed ONE responded, "I am hereby giving them the commandment to tie fringes, through which they will remember, etc." This is why "And HE Said" is appropriate. It implies soft words that satisfy the heart of a questioner.

Speak with the children of Israel and say to them: They shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and they shall place on the fringe of each corner a thread of blue wool.

ועשו להם ציצת THAT THEY MAKE THEM A FRINGE — It is called צצית, because of the threads that hang down from it. Similar is, (Ezekiel 8:3) “and he caught me by the curls (ציצת) of my head’’. (The word denotes something twisted as threads or curls). — Another explanation is: it is called ציצת because of the command associated with it (v. 39) “and ye shall look at it”. Similar is, “looking (מציץ) from the lattice” (Song 2:9). (The word therefore denotes “something looked at”) (Sifrei Bamidbar 115). תכלת BLUE PURPLE — It is the blue dye of (obtained from) the blood of the Chilazon (a kind of shell-fish).

"And they shall make for themselves tzitzit" — this admits of two interpretations. The first: that they make tzitzit, as in "by the tzitzit of my head" (Ezek. 8:3), meaning the threads that extend and are not woven. "On the corners of their garments" — on every garment, whether a tunic or trousers, for if you divide it [the garment at its edge] it takes the shape of a wing [kanaf]. "A cord of blue" — [attached] to the tzitzit. The reason for blue: because it resembles the color of the heavens.

Speak etc. and you shall say: Since there is an element of commandment as well as advantage, and honor which come from the commandment, therefore it said both Speaking (in a commanding form) and saying (in a gentle and respectful form). And the shall make for themselves: The reason this passage is connected via the connecting "Vov-and" is as the sages taught, which I wrote about the previous verse, that Moses said to G-d, "During the week your people don phylacteries (tefillin) and thus remember etc. Thus when G-d comes to instruct him that they make fringes (tzitzit), one might mistakenly think that this commandment will take the place of phylacteries (tefillin), that when you wish you may don phylacteries (tefillin) and when you wish you may don fringes (tzitzit) without the phylacteries, even on the week days, implying that either one of these commandments suffices as the reminder about the commandments. Therefore it said, "And they shall make..." implying that the commandment of phylacteries remains and the commandment of fringes is added. לדרתם ונתנו…פתיל תכלת. "throughout the generations and they shall put…a thread of blue." There is a good reason for writing the word לדרתם. Inasmuch as the Torah describes the function of the fringes as a means to remind the Israelites of their duties, I could have thought that when there would arise a generation which did not need to be reminded of its duties the people of that generation could dispense with the need to observe this commandment. The Torah therefore had to write: "throughout their generations," in order to remind us that this commandment would remain in force at all times. Another reason why the Torah wrote the word לדרתם in the middle of the verse describing the commandment is that the commandment consists of two parts. We have the white threads and the blue thread. The former form part of the commandment throughout the generations. The latter is mandatory only at a time when the proper colour is available. G'd was careful to write the word "throughout their generations" before mentioning the blue thread, to make it plain that the first half of the commandment, i.e. the white threads applies always whereas the instructions to make one of the threads of blue wool applied only when the colour was at hand. Menachot 38 rules that the availability or non-availability of either kind of thread is no impediment to fulfilling the commandment with the kinds of threads which are available.

ועשו להם ציצית, “that they make for themselves fringes;” When G-d created the universe (our globe) He did not create anything that could not lend itself to perform a commandment with. If a farmer goes out to plough his field, he must take care not to use an ox and a donkey to pull the plough. If he goes out to sow seeds, he must be sure not to violate the commandment of mixing two species of seeds to grow in the same row. If he goes out to harvest, he must take care not to harvest every last bit of the field. If his wife bakes bread, or better, makes a dough for bread, she must take care to set aside something for the priest. The list could be continued ad infinitum. [This editor has contented himself with part of the list spelled out by our author. What is a rule for agricultural activities and domestic activities in the kitchen, also applies to the clothing we wear. G-d has provided us with an opportunity to perform a commandment even in that area of our lives, though we are not obligated to wear four cornered garments nor to mix wool and linen, otherwise forbidden, when doing so. Ed.] על ציצית הכנף, “on the fringes of each corner,” i.e. “together with the fringes on each corner of that garment.” An example of a similar construction is found in Leviticus 25,31: על שדה הארץ, which does not mean: “on the field of the country,” but “with the field of the country.” Three of the fringes are white in colour, whereas the fourth is blue. This is what our sages said in the Sifri.

דבר אל בני ישראל, “speak to the Children of Israel, etc.” The commandment to make fringes at the corners of four-cornered (almost all) garments was first mentioned in general terms, and then spelled out in detail. This is why the Torah adds: ואמרת אלהם, “and say to them.” Every single commandment consists of the general commandment plus its details. I have elaborated on this subject at the beginning of the Book of Leviticus (page 1473 our translation). ועשו להם ציצית, “they shall make fringes for themselves.” The word ציצית alludes to the four cords, threads, which are to be attached to each corner of the garment and which are suspended from it. We find that Ezekiel speaks of a vision (8,3) in which he was taken hold of by an angel בציצת ראשי, “by the lock of my head,” i.e. a fringe of his hair. The words: “they shall make for themselves cords,” means that they must not use threads which are already part of the garment, talit, and then make the fringes out of these threads (Menachot 41). Maimonides Hilchot Titzit 1,6-18 explains the procedure and appearance of making and attaching the fringes. One takes four cords, introduces them into a small hole near each of the corners of the garment and bends them double in the middle so that eight cords appear to hang down from that hole. The hole has to be no further than three fingers’ breadth from the edge of the garment. The place where the fringes are attached must be at least far enough from the edge of the garment to enable a knot to be made there the size of the thickness of a thumb. If subsequently, through wear and tear, the width is reduced so that the fringes appear literally at the edge of the garment this does not disqualify them from performing their function. The same holds true if the angles of the garments, the corners, shrink. Initially, the length of the threads used to make the fringes should not be shorter than four finger-widths with the thumb. If, subsequently, enough length remains exposed so that one can construct a loop this is sufficient. If, one of the four threads of the four tzitziyot is totally torn off, however, this renders the garment to which it was attached unfit to wear. In the process of attaching the fringes to the respective corner of the garment to which it is being attached the wearer takes one of the four (respectively eight) cords and winds same around the others so that approximately one third of its total length will be so wound. This “wound” part is known as the גדיל. The remaining two thirds of the length of the fringes are left to dangle by themselves, unwound. The part wound around the other threads by one thread three times is known as a חוליא, “vertebra,” and there should not be fewer than seven such vertebrae wound around part of the threads before they are interrupted by a double-knot. When winding more than seven such vertebrae around the other four threads one should not exceed the number 13 per section. The whole procedure symbolizes the seven layers of the heavens which are separated by six layers of space between them (Menachot 39), seeing that the color blue of the one thread resembles the color of the sea, and the sea in turn resembles and therefore recalls the color of the sky (heaven) and what this symbolizes. (Menachot 43). The idea behind all this is to be remembered favorably in heaven. Nachmanides writes that of the number of threads, i.e. 8, seven are white whereas one is techelet, sky-blue, seeing the Torah speaks about פתיל תכלת, a (single) sky-blue thread. The colour itself is a dye derived from the snail known as חלזון, a marine creature whose essential colour is similar to the appearance of the sea and whose blood is black; it is found in the Dead Sea and the wool must be soaked first in lime, in order to bleach it; after that the wool is washed thoroughly until it is absolutely clean. Then it is placed in a pot of boiling water into which the blood of the חלזון has first been poured. Subsequently one adds the wool of which the thread in question is to be dyed in the customary manner of applying dye so that the wool will look like the colour of that snail called חלזון (Maimonides Hilchot Tzizit 1,6). A second view holds that two of the eight threads are blue (techelet) and six are white. According to the view cited first, one takes one of the white threads and winds them around the other threads once, close to the garment itself, leaves it and then takes the blue thread and winds it around the other threads twice. These three “rings” are called aחוליא , vertebra. He leaves a little space by making two knots and repeats the procedure this time winding two rings of blue thread around the other white threads making a knot. The three rings together are called “a vertebra”. The first knot is known as the “upper knot;” the procedure is repeated after allowing for a little space beneath the knot. The second vertebra consists of only blue rings. This procedure is again repeated so that the final vertebra consists of two rings of blue wool and one ring of white wool. The reason for this sequence is that seeing he started with white rings he also concludes the procedure with a white ring. There is an allusion to his procedure in the text when the Torah writes ונתנו על כנף פתיל תכלת, “they shall attach to the edge a blue thread.” Concerning this our sages in Menachot 39 have said the word כנף is not to be understood literally but refers to something resembling the edge, i.e. the first “ring” should be of the same colour as the garment itself. The first part of the visible פתיל should appear as if it were a continuation of the talit, the garment to which it is attached. It follows that only after a ring of white wool has been wound around the eight threads is a ring of blue wool to be wound around it. The reason why the final ring should also be white is the principle of מעלין בקודש, that when engaged in creating levels of sanctity one always proceeds from a lesser degree of sanctity to a higher degree. Seeing that the Torah had intended that that which is attached immediately to the corner of the garment should be white, it follows that the color white is holier than the color blue. The Geonim have written in this vein in their various comments about this subject. Nowadays, seeing we do not have the blue thread, all the threads are made of white wool seeing the principle had already been established that in the absence of blue wool [of the required color derived from the halachically approved source, Ed.] the absence of this blue thread does not make the whole commandment of tzitzit redundant (compare Menachot 38 and Maimonides Hilchot tzitzit 1,4). We also have a rule that the absence of white threads when blue threads are available does not invalidate the application of the commandment either. This means in practice that if the visible part of the white threads had torn so that only the color blue remains visible the garment may still be worn in such a condition (Menachot 38). The reason why the fringes are called tzitzit we already explained, is based on the verse from Ezekiel as the appearance of the fringes is similar to the appearance of the locks of hair on the head. The reason this part is called “white” is simply because we have not been commanded to dye it. Even though we have been taught that the presence of either blue or white is not of the essence, i.e. that the commandment is effective anyway, this does not mean that we are dealing here with two separate commandments [as in the case of the phylacteries where we recite separate benedictions over each phylactery, Ed.] The reason the “branch” i.e. the fringes are referred to as “white,” is because there is no instruction to dye them. If someone dons a garment which contains either white, blue or both of these colors he has fulfilled a single commandment seeing the Torah wrote: “they shall put on (each) fringe of the corner a blue thread whereupon these will become for you fringes” (verses 38,39). This teaches that both colors combine to make one commandment. We have a Baraitha (Menachot 43) in which Rabbi Meir is quoted as saying that if someone fails to incorporate white threads in the tzitzit he is subject to a harsher punishment than if he merely fails to incorporate the colour techelet, sky-blue. The matter can best be explained by a parable. A king told his servants to bring him two seals, seeing that in those days every slave had two stamps on him to show who he belonged to in the event he would be sold. He told one of his servants to bring him a seal made of gold whereas he told the other to bring him a seal made of clay. Both servants failed to carry out their respective tasks. Whom would the king punish more harshly? Obviously, the servant who had failed to produce a seal made of clay would be in line for harsher punishment as it is easy to find or produce a seal made of clay whereas it is much more difficult and expensive to produce a seal made of gold. For the same reason, if someone fails to incorporate white threads in the fringes this is a greater degree of negligence than if he fails to incorporate the blue thread seeing that white threads are in abundant supply. Nowadays, when we use only white threads for making the fringes one takes one of the eight threads and winds them around the others for a total length of approximately the first third of the protruding length. The remaining two thirds of the length are left to hang freely. If he wants to perform the system of making the vertebrae we described earlier this is perfectly admissible. If he does not want to make these vertebrae he is at liberty to merely wind the one thread around the others without making this division by making knots after each vertebra. The main thing is that the upper third of the fringes should have the eighth thread wound around it (Maimonides Hilchot Tzitzit 1,9). A similar principle is applied when affixing the מזוזה to the door post of our houses and rooms, i.e. the mezuzah is to be attached within the top third of the door post. The reason that we make five knots when attaching the tzitzit to the talit is that we have been taught that the fulfillment of this commandment is equivalent to all the 613 commandments of the Torah. The word ציצית has a numerical value of 600. When you add the eight threads and the five knots you have the number 613, an allusion to all the commandments of the Torah. This is the mystical dimension of (15,39) “when you see it (the fringe) you will remember all the commandments of the Torah and remember to perform them, etc. Do not object that the word ציצת appears three times in this passage spelled without the letter י before the letter ת, so that the numerical value of the word is only 590 and not 600. The letter ל in the word לציצת in verse 38 makes up for the missing thirty through the absence of three times the letter י, so that the combined numerical value of each word ציצת, לציצת, ציצת is 1800, which divided by three still amounts to 600. The reason the word has been mentioned three times in our paragraph is to serve as an allusion that the statement that a single commandment is equivalent to all the 613 commandments is applicable to a total of three such commandments, i.e. he commandment of tzitzit, the commandment of observing the Sabbath, and the commandment not to engage in idolatry (Compare Chulin 5). Rashi (end of verse 41) writes that the eight threads of the tzitzit are an allusion to the eight days which elapsed between the day of the Exodus and the singing of the song of thanksgiving after the Israelites had crossed the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptians had been drowned in it. We all know that this song is read from the Torah on the seventh day of Passover, not on the eighth day. How then are we to understand Rashi’s comment? The correct interpretation of Rashi’s words i.e. משיצאו ממצרים, when the departed from Egypt, is from the time that He (G’d) gave them permission to leave the country, i.e. on the evening of the fourteenth (see Rashi Berachot 9). The 14th day of Nissan, the day on which the Passover was slaughtered was part of the eight days Rashi refers to seeing that the Passover was קדשים, “sacrificial meat, and we have a rule that when it comes to anything connected with the sacrificial meat the night follows the day, i.e. the night from the 14th of Nissan to the fifteenth is still considered a part of the preceding day, i.e. the 14th of Nissan. This is based on Leviticus 7,15: “on the (same) day he shall consume it, he shall not leave over from it until the morning,” i.e. until the following morning is part of the same day. If the Israelites crossed the Sea of Reeds on the 21st of Nissan his was the eighth’s day after the Passover. A Midrashic approach to our verse: the word ציצית is related to “seeing.” The root appears in that sense in Song of Songs 3,9 מציץ מן החרכים, “looking through the shutters.” When someone wears tzitzit he must take care not to commit any sins as he is under observation by G’d from the celestial throne of glory, a throne which resembles the colour of the blue thread on the tzitzit. The sages call a garment fitted with tzitzit a טלית, talit, a word denoting something superior, exalted; we find the word used in that sense in Daniel 7,4 ונטילת מן ארעא, “and it was removed (elevated) from earth,” This is an allusion to G’d who is exalted above all, and we have been commanded to drape ourselves in a talit based on an interpretation of Exodus 34,6, “the Lord passed in front of him (Moses).” If we did not have a specific verse in scripture to this effect it would have been presumptuous for any human being even to write such a line. At any rate, the meaning of the verse is that G’d wrapped Himself in a talit, just like the cantor in the synagogue, and showed Moses what He wanted to show him at Mount Sinai, telling him that whenever Israel is guilty of a sin, he should drape the talit over himself as he had seen G’d do, and then his prayers would result in G’d forgiving them. The entire thrust of the passage in Exodus 34 is to teach the Israelites how to pray and entreat G’d in order for their entreaties to be effective. They are to drape the talit (with the tzitzit) around themselves and invoke the attributes of the Lord relevant to the sin committed for which they seek forgiveness. When the sages spoke about draping the talit over oneself they referred to a white talit, seeing that white is the symbol of forgiveness. This is why the prophet Isaiah 1,18 said: “if your sins are as red as certain types of red wool, they will become white as snow (as a result of your repentance). Just as the color red is a symbol of sin so white is a symbol of forgiveness. When man drapes the white talit over himself this is a pointer to G’d that He should cover His creatures in the white of His pardon and forgiveness. The first time G’d did this is recorded in Genesis 3,21: “The Lord made tunics made of leather for Adam and his wife and clothed them in it.” It is also a reminder that in the future G’d will resurrect the dead and dress them in garments appropriate for them. This is the mystical dimension of Job 38,14: “it changes like clay under the seal till its hues are fixed like those of a garment.” Seeing that this commandment is an allusion to the resurrection of our bodies, it is one which envelopes our body seeing the tzitzit are threads hanging from a talit similar to the locks of hair hanging from the head. This is the meaning of Ezekiel 8,3 which we discussed before. The holes made near the corners of the talit through which the threads of the tzizit are introduced symbolize the eyes, whereas the five knots symbolise the five senses man possesses. The eight strings represent the eight days which elapse until the male baby is circumcised. This is why the sages (Tanchuma Lech Lecha 20) have said that anyone who has not been circumcised will not take part in the resurrection of the dead. You will find five knots at each of the corners of the talit making a total of 20 such knots. This number corresponds to the combined number of fingers and toes, i.e. all these details symbolise man’s entire body. The reason that the upper third of each bundle of tzitzit is wound whereas the lower two thirds remain hanging freely is to hint that although at the present time the Jewish people are scattered throughout the surface of the globe, i.e. are in exile, (the principal nations harbouring our exiles being Ishmael and Edom (Esau), and therefore the Israelites are at the bottom of the totem pole (nowadays), when the redemption comes we will occupy our true place at the top of the totem pole, i.e. the upper third of the tzizit, bound together), fulfilling the promise of Deut. 26,19: “and to place you at the top among the nations of the earth.” This idea has been spelled out by Zecharyah 13,8: “throughout the land, declares the Lord, two thirds shall perish, shall die, and one third of it shall survive.” Elaborating on this verse Bamidbar Rabbah 15,11 states that the third which will survive the events described by the prophet are the Jewish people. The Midrash bases this on Isaiah 19,24: “In that day, Israel shall be a third (partner with Egypt and Assyria) as a blessing on earth. Another observation by the sages of the Midrash (Shabbat 32): anyone who observes the commandment of wearing tzitzit will merit to be attended to by 2800 servants. They derive this from Zecharyah 8,23: “In those days ten men from nations of every tongue (70 nations) will take hold- they will take hold of every Jew by a corner of his cloak and say: ‘let us go with you, for we have heard that G’d is with you.’” (Seeing that each talit has four corners this means that 2800 men will beg an individual Jew to be his servant.) Anyone who treats the commandment of tzitit with contempt is described in Job 38,13 as subject to the curse: “and seizes the corners of the earth and shakes the wicked out of it.” A kabbalistic approach to the verse: “they shall make tzitzit for themselves.” This commandment applies to the 32 threads which are an allusion to the כלה, bride, in Song of Songs which is adorned and surrounded by 32 paths of wonderful wisdom. Concerning this “bride” Solomon said in Song of Songs 4,11: “and the fragrance of your robes is like the scent of Lebanon.” It is common knowledge that the word שלמה in that text is not to be taken at face value but represents a simile for the superior wisdom the wearer was “garbed” in. We have an example of this in Bereshit Rabbah 21,5 where the author explains the words in Daniel 10,5 describing Daniel’s vision of איש לבוש הבדים, “a man dressed in white linen” as a reference to the angel Gavriel. Clearly, the angel wears neither linen [nor gold as mentioned in the latter half of that verse. Ed.] The “clothing” described as worn by the angel is the “wisdom” surrounding his essence. According to the Midrash the function of this covering is similar to the horn-like protective shield worn by certain kinds of locusts which cover their entire bodies. Man needs such protective cover when exposed to radiation, revelation, from celestial sources. The thirty-two threads of the talit’s fringes synbolise this. [The oldest kabbalistic text, the Sefer Yetzirah, attributed to Avraham, already commences with a reference to these thirty-two paths of wisdom. Ed.] Wrapping oneself in a garment equipped with thirty-two tzitziyot symbolises that we wish to possess these thirty-two paths of wonderful wisdom. They are what G’d wraps Himself in and we have been commanded to והלכת בדרכיו, to “walk in His ways,” i.e. to emulate Him to the extent possible (Deut. 28,9). The reason this commandment is one which is equivalent to the entire 613 mitzvah-complex is that it is the “headstone” consisting of 613 precious stones (the mitzvot) and every one of the 32 paths of wisdom is divided into 2, i.e. negative and positive aspects of the mitzvah making a total of 64 each of which consists of elements of the ten emanations making a total of 640. When you deduct the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, i.e. 27, you are left with the number 613. This is the mystical dimension of what the Talmud Menachot 43 says that the words וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את מצות ה', “when you see it,” the mitzvah of tzitzit , you will remember all the commandments of the Lord and perform them as a result.” Reflecting on this commandment and its details calls to mind all other commandments. This is what the sage Rabbi Ezriel wrote in the introduction to his commentary on Song of Songs. There is an additional reference to a mystical element of this commandment wherein the Jewish people (when wearing tzitzit) are compared to the chayot supporting the Divine entourage מרכבה, in the celestial regions. You are already aware that all the commandments have been divided into two major groups. One group is purely traditional, no specific purpose or reason having been revealed concerning it The other group consists of commandments which recommend themselves to our intelligence as soon as we examine them and think about them. The former are known as מקובלות, the latter as מושכלות. The Kabbalists who have composed the wording of the prayers did so only regarding the commandments known as the מקובלות not regarding the commandments which we defined as מושכלות. The reason is that the former group of commandments constitute the essence of sanctity. We, the Jewish people, are referred to as a “holy people” because we perform the commandments known as מקובלות, not because of our observing the group of mitzvot known as מושכלות, appealing to our reason. This is also why all the benedictions recited prior to the performance of the מצות מקובלות, are prefaced with the formula “who has sanctified us by means of His commandments, and commanded us to perform such and such a commandment.” Intelligent people realize that the performance of those commandments which we understand (or believe we understand) employing physical instruments in order to perform them, all relate to matters of the mind and they symbolize matters subject to our intellect. The sages compared a person when he stands before the Lord offering his prayers as similar to the holy chayot. This is one of the reasons the sages insisted that when intoning the principal prayer, the עמידה, a person has to first align his feet so that they are parallel and close together in order for him to appear similar to the holy chayot described in Ezekiel’s vision Ezekiel 1,7 as ורגליהם רגל ישרה, understood by Rashi in Berachot 10 as “their feet appeared to be a single foot.” Let us now discuss this mitzvah during the performance of which the Jew is considered as comparable to the holy chayot. First of all, you should know that there are four such “chayot” who are carriers of the Divine entourage, מרכבה. Actually, the four are in reality one; they looked like four because of the clouds, darkness, and other phenomena surrounding this vision which covered part of them making it appear in the vision as if Ezekiel was confronted with four separate phenomena. The vision was similar to the vision of a tree all of which is a single phenomenon though it appears to be divided into trunk, branches, twigs, leaves, etc. The entire tree, however, has a common root. This is the reason that we read in Ezekiel 1,22: “above the head (singular) of the chayah was an expanse with an awe-inspiring gleam of crystal, etc.” You will note that after the prophet had earlier spoken of four separate chayot, he now refers to them as a single unit. Each one of these “four” chayot had four wings, making a total of 16 wings for the four chayot. Each one of these four chayot also had four faces as described in Ezekiel 1,6: “each had four faces.” This makes a total of 16 faces and 16 wings for the four chayot. When you add the total number of faces and the total number of wings of that vision you have a total of 32 phenomena. Each of these had profound “roots” representing weighty subject matters. According to the opinion of Targum Yonathan the number of faces of the chayot were 64 and the combined number of wings were 256. In that case the meaning of the verse is: “each had four faces, i.e. each chayah had four faces and each face had four sides,” i.e. facing in each direction. The “four wings” of which the prophet speaks belonged to each of these 64 facets making a total of 256 wings. An easy way of remembering this are the words of Daniel 7,9 גלגלוהי נור דליק, “its wheels blazing flames.” When the Temple was destroyed the number of wings of these chayot were reduced. This resolves an apparent contradiction discussed in Chagigah 13 where it is pointed out that one verse (Isaiah 6,2) describes each of the chayot as having six wings whereas a similar verse in Ezekiel 1,6 describes the chayot as having four wings each. The answer given is that Isaiah prophesied and had visions at a time when the Temple was still standing. This is why the chayot had more wings than when Ezekiel prophesied at a time when the Temple had already been destroyed. The Talmud discusses whose wings were reduced in number, and Rav Chananel quoting Rav said that the ones who used to recite the songs of praise before the Almighty were the ones who had the number of their wings reduced. This is why the prophet writes in Ezekiel 1,6: “their legs were a straight leg,” suggesting that what had been several had been reduced to one.” In other words, the wings which in Isaiah’s vision had concealed the legs now were absent so that the legs were exposed. This is why in Isaiah 6,1 the prophet reports that with two of the wings the chayah (seraph) would fly whereas one chayah would call to the other: “Holy, Holy Holy, the Lord of Hosts, His presence fills the whole earth,” i.e. the text of the song. We read in Proverbs 23,5: “as soon as you focus on it is gone, riches grow wings, fly away heavenward like an angel.” The latter verse in Proverbs was understood by Rabbi Chananel as an allusion to the disappearance of the other two wings. The other sages, on the other hand, argue: “how would the prophet have known that in Isaiah’s vision these chayot had six wings? At that time their feet were not exposed due to the lower two of the six wings having covered them.” Thus far the Talmud. The total number of wings which the chayot were deprived of was eight, i.e. two were taken from each. According to the view of the other sages these eight wings were the ones which covered the feet of the chayot. This was sufficient to remind G’d of the sin of the golden calf, i.e. the chayot remained with 248 wings instead of the original 256, to intone the song corresponding to their 248 wings. We humans [counterparts of the angels] use the remaining 248 organs [our equivalent to the angels’ wings] to serve the Lord with each one to perform one of the 248 positive commandments. We compensate for the missing eight “organs” (wings) by circumcising our males on the eighth day after birth. It is this mitzvah which protects us throughout the generations. In order to appreciate all this you have to remember that when G’d created Man He intended for our species to fulfill the role on earth which the chayot fulfill in heaven. Man is basically a single body, having branches, i.e. arms and legs, fingers and toes like the tree we described earlier. When one separates from this unit four specific organs which are to serve as the carrier of G’d’s entourage, מרכבה, so that as a result he becomes similar in function to the chayot in the celestial spheres, the presence of the Shechinah will come to rest on these four organs. They are: “the brain, the heart, covenant with the tongue [verbal promise to obey the commandments when the Israelites said: “we will do and learn” Ed.] and the organ on which the covenant Brit Milah has been performed. This is the reason that when we drape the talit around ourselves the four corners of the talit envelop the part of us corresponding to that of the chayah. This is the mystical dimension of Deut. 22,12: “you shall make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.” This also explains the deeper meaning of the word כנף, כנפים, “wing or wings” which the Torah uses to describe the corners [instead of the usual word קרן, קרנות which is used to describe the corners of the Altar. Ed.] In order to remind us of the four faces and four wings of the chayot whose function in the heaven we are to duplicate on earth, our tradition (halachah) decided on the number of these tassels, i.e. eight for each corner to make a total of 32. Just as the “body” of the chayah was divided in the prophet’s vision into four separate parts, “faces,” whose task it is to conceal certain parts of the Shechinah, the attribute of כבוד, so the relevant part of the talit has to have white tassels to symbolise the chayot and a blue tassel to remind us of our counterparts in the celestial region which is perceived as blue. Nonetheless, the white fringes (tassels) are the more important ones as our sages taught in Menachot 39: “one begins with the white threads and one concludes the making of the tzitzit with the white threads” (the rings we wind around the upper third). The mystical dimension of this procedure parallels that of the blowing of the sound of the teruah, the broken sound of the shofar, which is also introduced by our first blowing an unbroken sound tekiah as well as our concluding with the same unbroken sound tekiah. The relationship of the white tassels and the blue tassel are somewhat similar to the relationship of the Lulav, palm frond, to that of the Etrog, citron. Just as the absence of the Etrog or the Lulav invalidates the performance of the mitzvah, the whole procedure of the “four species,” so (when it is available) the absence of the blue thread or the white threads invalidates the whole commandment of tzitzit, i.e. one cannot pronounce a benediction over the parts of the mitzvah which is being put to use. Nowadays, when we do not have or do not know the correct color of the techelet, the blue to be used, this does not invalidate the performance of the mitzvah of tzitzit and we recite the appropriate benediction as long as white tassels are available as these are the principal part of the commandment. The “blue thread” of the tassels is to the commandment of ציצית what the אתרג which is known as הדר, beautiful, represents for the mitzvah of the four species, generally known as לולב. There is an interesting comment by Midrash Tehillim on Psalms 90,16 on the words והדרך על בניהם, “and Your glory by their children.” [normally, the Midrash understands this verse as G’d showing the patriarchs that we, their children, observe His commandments something for which they are entitled to feel some satisfaction. Ed.] The Midrash in question understands the word והדרך, “and Your glory (beauty)” as a reference to the blue thread of the tzitzit we, His “children” are to wrap ourselves in order to emulate Him. Furthermore, the sages taught in Menachot 42 that whereas there is no maximum length for these tassels there is a minimum length. The same applies for the Lulav for which the sages did not set a maximum size (as opposed to the Etrog) although they stipulated a minimum size. When our sages in Berachot 12 interpreted the words ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם in our passage as meaning: “you shall not follow the inclination of your hearts resulting in heresy,” they understood this as a danger inherent in the distinction between the white and the blue threads of the tzitziyot which could lead a person to believe that the two colours represent two separate divine domains, a division of power between two deities. The manner in which the white and the blue threads of the tzitzit are to be joined together is meant to forestall such thinking. I would add to this that if you will look closely at Proverbs 24,21: “fear the Lord my son and the king,” Solomon made it plain that he referred to different attributes of one and the same G’d. We can understand the white tzitzit as symbolising the attribute of Hashem, the attribute of Mercy, whereas the blue thread symbolises the attribute of G’d as “king,” i.e. as the attribute of Justice. This latter attribute is the function of the emanations. In order for it to be clear that we are to emphasise the basic unity of these attributes, Solomon concludes the verse we quoted with ”do not associate with those who keep changing,” in other words: “do not think in your hearts that there is a divided authority, but be certain that there is total unity even though G’d may manifest Himself with different facets.” This is the message in our verse: “do not follow the urges of your heart.” Following the urges of your heart is nothing but a form of heresy. When we approach the verses from this vantage point we can understand the word אותו in וראיתם אותו, as derived from the word אות, “a sign, a symbol,” [not a pronoun but a noun, Ed.] It is as if the Torah had written that when you look at the tzitzit you are looking at G’d’s “seal,” the symbol of His existence . You will find this thought spelled out in the Sefer Habahir item 93, where the author writes: “what is the reason for the blue-coloured thread on the tzitzit?” A king and his daughter had a number of servants and they (the servants) wanted to make a trip abroad. Seeing they were afraid the king would be angry at them, the king gave them his seal indicating his approval of their plans. They were still afraid that the king’s daughter would disapprove of their plans; the daughter gave them a seal of approval of her own to put their minds at ease. Having obtained seals of approval by both their masters the servants were at ease when they began their journey. The seals in question were the phylacteries and the tzitzit. Between them the person equipped with them announces that he is under G’d’s protection. Midrash Tanchuma Shelach 15 makes the following comment on the words: “they shall make tzitzit for themselves.” This is a practical demonstration of what is written in Isaiah 42,21: “the Lord desires His servant’s vindication that he may magnify and glorify His teaching.” G’d gave the Torah to the Jewish people in order to secure for them a permanent place in the hereafter. This is why He made sure that no part of an Israelite’s daily activities is not inextricably involved with performing His commandments. When the farmer goes out to plough his field, G’d had already commanded him not to use two mismatched animals in drawing the ploughshare (Deut. 22,10). As soon as this farmer proceeds to scatter his seed he encounters the injunction not to mix alien seed when planting a vineyard (Deut. 22,9). When it is time to harvest some of his crop, the Torah preceded this activity by warning the farmer not to go back to pick up certain minor parts of the harvest he had left behind but to leave them for the poor (Deut. 24,19). When it comes to winnowing the grain harvest, the Torah first reminds the farmer to allocate the respective tithes before doing this. Before kneading the dough in preparation for baking bread, the woman doing so must set aside the first part of the dough for making loaves for G’d, i.e. to give them to the priest (Numbers 15,20). Before and after eating the bread, or any food for that matter, the Jew is to recite benedictions reminding him of G’d’s largesse which made it possible for him to have the food (Deut. 8,10). Before shearing the wool of one’s sheep, the Torah directed that the first shearing be given to the priest. When the animal gives birth the firstborn belongs to he priest. When the animal is slaughtered certain parts of it are given to the priest (Deut. 18,3). When one encounters a nest of chicks the mother bird must be sent off before one may take the chicks or eggs (Deut. 22,7 and 9). When one slaughters birds or free-roaming animals their blood must be covered (buried) before the meat may be consumed (Leviticus 17,13). Before making or donning garments to wear one must ensure they do not contain a mixture of wool and linen (Deut. 22,11). When a son is born to a father he must circumcise him and observe a certain period of continence when he cannot cohabit with his wife (Leviticus chapter 12). When planting an orchard, the fruit which has grown during the first three years must neither be eaten nor used by the owner in another manner beneficial to him (Leviticus 19,23). There are restrictions pertaining to burial, construction of the roof on one’s house, prohibitions governing the manner in which one expresses one’s grief over the loss of family members, (no tattoos) etc., etc. The door posts of one’s house must have a parchment with sections of the Torah (called mezuzah) attached to it. In short, there is no facet of our daily lives in which the performance of the commandments does not figure prominently. The wearing of the talit with fringes may also be perceived as similar to a man who has fallen overboard and who flounders in the water. What does the captain of the ship do? He throws him a rope or life belt to keep him afloat until he can be brought back to the ship. The talit with its tzitzit attached fulfills a similar role in our lives in which we constantly flounder were it not for the help extended by the Torah, i.e. G’d’s commandments. This is the true meaning of Deut. 4,11 “and you who have cleaved to the Lord your G’d are all of you alive this day.” Thus far Tanchuma.

And they should make for themselves tzitzit etc. The entire content of this section requires explanation, because how will one remember all of God’s commandments by looking at a thread of blue? It seems to me that this matter can be explained in two ways. The first way is according to what they said in the Sifri, as quoted in the Yalkut Parashat Ha’azinu (32:942): The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites to look at the heavens that I created to serve you — have they ever changed their ways? Has the sun ever risen from the west? Moreover, it rejoices to fulfill its task, etc.” And similarly it says regarding the sea Will you not fear Me… who has placed sand as a boundary for the sea (Jeremiah 5:22). Has it ever changed its ways? Not only that, but it struggles to do so but cannot, as it says They toss but cannot prevail (Jeremiah 5:22). From here we have proof that the sea does not change its ways out of fear, for it struggles to do so but is not permitted, whereas the heavens do not change their ways out of love, as it says, “Moreover, it rejoices to fulfill its task.”Now regarding the tekhelet [blue thread], our Sages said (Menachot 43b), “Tekhelet resembles the sea, and the sea resembles the sky, and the sky resembles the Throne of Glory.” And certainly the explanation is that these colors are similar to each other, for tekhelet does not directly resemble the sky, but rather each one’s color tends toward what resembles it, with each one deeper than its counterpart. And with this statement they concluded the entire matter, to explain what is the connection between looking at a blue thread and remembering through it all of God’s commandments, and not deviating from the measure even by a hair’s breadth? Rather, since tekhelet resembles the sea, by looking at this thread one will remember the sea that resembles it in color, and it will be as if the sea is constantly before one’s eyes. Then one will contemplate the ways of the sea, which does not deviate from its measure even by a hair’s breadth, and from it one will see and do likewise, through the a fortiori [kal vachomer] reasoning mentioned by the author of the Midrash, who says to “look at the sea.” For “look” is the language of tzitzit, which is derived from the phrase peering [metzitz] through the lattices (Song of Songs 2:9), meaning that one should peer at and look at the sea that does not change its ways, and so too should one not change, all the more so. And if one transgresses even one of all of God’s commandments, one is deviating from the measure that God has measured for him, saying “until here you shall come and no further,” this is permitted and this is forbidden. However, from the sea one can only learn to serve God out of fear, for it was said regarding the sea “and not only that, but it is distressed to do [its work],” and as it is written: Do you not fear Me? declares the Lord, who has set the sand as the boundary for the sea (Jeremiah 5:22). This implies that from the sea one can only learn fear, which is a small matter for Moses and those like him, but this is not the ultimate perfection. For one who acts out of love and serves God with great joy is greater than one who fears God. This is like one who enjoys the labor of his hands in Torah, as our Sages said (Berakhot 8a), because one who acts with joy out of love enjoys the very process of labor, but one who fears does not enjoy the act itself. Therefore, he said that the sea resembles the sky, because by always remembering the works of the sea, it will be as if the sea is constantly before his eyes. Afterward, it will also be as if he is constantly gazing at the sky, because the sea resembles the sky, and from it he will see and act accordingly. Just as the sky does not change its measure, and moreover rejoices to serve, so should he serve God with joy out of love. And if the servant of God should ask, “What advantage does one who acts out of love have over one who acts out of fear?” To this he replied: “And the sky resembles the Throne of Glory,” because through this he will remember that through love he will achieve attachment to the Divine Presence, the source from which the soul is hewn. For everyone who fears distances themselves from what they fear, while the lover always strives to cleave to the beloved. Therefore, he will receive his reward, as love is the ultimate success, since through it one merits to cleave to the Throne of Glory. And by gazing and looking at the sky, one will be reminded of the Throne of Glory through the similarity of colors. And since there is a hint here to the revealed reward of this world that comes through fear, and to the hidden reward that comes through love, as it is said (Berakhot 8a) concerning one who enjoys the labor of his hands: Happy shall you be in this world, and it shall be well with you in the world to come (Psalms 128:2). Therefore, this passage They shall make for themselves tzitzit is stated in the concealed third-person form, and afterwards and it shall be for you as tzitzit in the revealed second-person form. This is a precious interpretation, and this is the reason for the eight threads and five knots, which together total 13, the numerical value of ahavah [love]. The second approach is: All commandments are compared to a garment, as it is said Let your garments be white at all times (Ecclesiastes 9:8). However, there is a distinction between them, because a regular garment is specifically woven from many threads, as a single thread is not enough to cover oneself. But the garment of the soul is not like this; rather, even with a single thread there is enough to cover it, as Rabbi Yochanan expounded (in Sanhedrin 111a) Without statute — for one who did not observe even a single statute. But if one observed even a single statute, they are saved from Gehenna. The reason for this is that there is a covenant that “one mitzvah leads to another mitzvah” (Avot 4:2). Therefore, as soon as one performs just one commandment, all the commandments were potentially within their power to do, even though they did not transition from potential to actual action. Nevertheless, something that exists in potential is considered as if one had done it. This is the secret of the thread of tekhelet which reminds one of all God’s commandments, because through it a complete garment is made for the soul, and one is not buried naked, unlike Adam who had only one commandment in his possession and was stripped of it. There is also another commandment that reminds one of all commandments, which is Love your neighbor as yourself (Leviticus 19:18). Thus, a single thread can bring a person to the ultimate purpose [takhlit], as indicated by the term tekhelet, and this is one of the secrets of the Torah.

ציצית, similar to Ezekiel 8,3בציצת ראשי , a bunch of fringes suspended like the hair of one’s head.

על ציצית הכנף פתיל תכלת, “fringes in the corners of their garments with the fringe of each corners containing a thread of blue wool.” This thread had to be interwoven with the white ones. Our sages also said that the length of one third of these fringes had to be twisted, whereas the other two thirds were to be free hanging each. (Talmud tractate Menachot folio 39) The reason for this has been explained in the Midrash, i.e. the eight threads (after being doubled over) are symbolic of eight attributes, emotions that are present in the heart. (I did not find the origin of this Midrash, Ed.) Alternately, what the Midrash means is that the “heart” is known by eight different names. Its location in the body commences in the top third of the torso, and this is why the fringes extend to the bottom of the second third of the torso. (מהר'ם) (Chapter 6 section 34 shaar kedushah, reyshit chochmah)

And they shall be fringes for you, and you shall look upon them and remember all the commandments of Hashem and perform them, and you shall not stray after the imaginings of your heart nor after the sight of your eyes, after which you go astray.

וזכרתם את כל מצות ה׳ AND YE SHALL REMEMBER ALL THE COMMANDMENTS OF THE LORD — The ציצית will remind one of all the commandments because the numerical value of the letters of the word ציצית is six hundred, and there are eight threads and five knots in the fringes, so that you have six hundred and thirteen, which is also the number of the commandments of the Torah. ולא תתרו אחרי לבבכם — The verb has the same meaning as in (Numbers 13:25), “and they returned from searching (מתור) the land”. (The translation therefore is: AND YE SHALL NOT SEARCH AFTER YOUR OWN HEART). The heart and the eyes are the “spies” of the body — they act as its agents for sinning: the eye sees, the heart covets and the body commits the sin (Midrash Tanchuma, Sh'lach 15; cf. Talmud Yerushalmi Berakhot 1:8).

Scripture states, and that ye go not after your own heart, in order that one should take care concerning it and not err through it. It is for this reason that our Rabbis have interpreted: “After your own heart. This refers to scepticism. After which ye use to go astray. This refers to idolatry.” That is to say, through the t’cheileth he should not think [in his heart] of any scepticism or idolatry, but it shall all be unto you for ‘tzitzith’ — that ye may look upon it, and remember. The Rabbis have also said: “After your own eyes. This refers to immorality,” similar to that which is written, I am He that knoweth, and am witness, saith the Eternal. The student learned [in the mysteries of the Cabala] will understand. In the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya the son of Hakanah it is stated with reference to the verse, and the profit of ‘eretz’ (earth) is ‘bakol’ (in all): “And what is the eretz? It is that from which the heavens were hewn, and it is the Throne of the Holy One, blessed be He, and it is ‘the precious stone,’ and ‘the sea of wisdom,’ and corresponding to it is the blue thread in a garment of Fringes, for Rabbi Meir has said: ‘Why was blue chosen? etc.’” [as quoted above].

"And it shall be for you as tzitzit" — the cord will then return to serve as an edge [fringe] like the tzitzit itself. The second interpretation is as our Sages, of blessed memory, transmitted it. And because there are reliable witnesses for the second interpretation, the first is nullified. They transmitted that this commandment applies to a garment that has four corners, and that the tzitzit are the twisted threads [gedilim], and I shall explain this further. The commandment is therefore incumbent upon every person who has a four-cornered garment: he should wear it daily, continuously, and not remove it from himself, so that he may remember. As for those who pray wearing a tallit only during the time of prayer — they do this because they will recite in Shema: "And it shall be for you as tzitzit" and "they shall make for themselves tzitzit." But in my opinion, one is more obligated to wrap oneself in tzitzit during the rest of the day than during the time of prayer, so that one may remember at all times and not err and transgress — for during the time of prayer one does not transgress. "And you shall see it" — it is a commandment that [the tzitzit] be visible. "After your own heart" — the [heart] that desires; for the eye sees, the heart covets, and the tzitzit shall therefore be a sign and symbol that a person should not pursue the thoughts of his heart or whatever his eyes desire. "Which you go astray after" — for one who follows his desires is like a harlot straying from the service of his God.

'וראיתם אותו וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, you will be reminded that you are G’d’s servants whose commandments you have accepted reinforced by oaths known as אלה and שבועה. This reminder will be due to your looking at the “fringes” that may be viewed as if their king had placed a stamp on your bodies confirming that the wearer is one of his subjects. This in turn will lead to your ceasing to follow the inclination of your hearts and eyes to indulge your diverse urges, originating in your bodies. Without these fringes as a constant reminder of your purpose on earth, you would be likely to fall prey to these urges inspired by the evil urge. This would eventually diminish the influence of your mind over your body to such an extent that it would lead to your premature death both in this world and in the hereafter.

והיה לכם לציצית, "And it shall be unto you as a fringe, etc." It is not quite clear what the words "it shall be a fringe" is meant to convey. Menachot 43, where the view of Rabbi Meir that the penalty for not fulfilling the commandment with the white fringes is greater than the penalty for not fulfilling the commandment with the blue thread is discussed, illustrates this as follows: "Imagine a king who commanded two servants to bring him a golden seal or a clay seal, respectively. Both of them failed to bring him either kind of seal. Which one of the servants will be punished more severely? Clearly, the one who received the instruction to bring a seal of clay will be punished more severely because that command was easy to fulfil. Tossaphot comment that the reason Rabbi Meir chose this parable as illustration for the commandment of ציצית is that one places one's' seal on slaves as a mark of ownership. When the Israelites wear fringes this is evidence that they are servants of the Lord. We have further proof of this in Shabbat 57 where a slave's chain is not permitted to be carried from one domain to another domain on the Sabbath. Thus far Tossaphot. The words והיה לכם לציצית mean that wearing the ציצית will be proof that you are the Lord's servants just as wearing a slave's chain would be proof of whose slaves you are. וראיתם אתו, "and when you look at it, etc." When you look at the ציציות the symbol of your servitude to the Lord, you will remind yourselves that you are not totally free to do as you please in matters of food, clothing, etc., but you will remember all your duties, i.e. the commandments of the Torah. ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם, "and you will not deviate to follow the desires of your heart, etc." Normally, man employs his eyes to activate his desires. G'd's commandments frequently require us to do precisely the opposite of what we would like to do. This leads to an inner conflict in man. When we wear the fringes and are reminded to whom we owe obeisance, this makes it easier to comply with G'd's laws. If it were not for the commandment of ציצית we would often find it too hard to deny what our eyes have found alluring. למען תזכרו ועשיתם, "so that you will remember to do, etc." This is best understood by means of the example given in Menachot 44 of how the fringes kept its wearer from demeaning himself with a harlot. The Torah promises that the fringes themselves will protect you against committing all kinds of transgressions. In this instance the word ועשיתם "you will do," is to be understood as in Kidushin 39 where we were told that when a person is tempted to commit a sin and he resists it, i.e. he does nothing, it is accounted for him as if he had fulfilled one of the positive commandments. Our verse continues with והייתם קדושים, "you will be holy, etc." This may be understood in line with the statement in Vayikra Rabbah 24, that one is not awarded the title "holy" unless one had separated oneself from all matters of sexual licentious...

וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, “so that you will remember all the commandments of the Lord;” Rashi explains this line by pointing out that the numerical value of the word ציצית is 600; when you add the eight fringes and the five knots required to attach them in the traditional manner you have 613, the number of the commandments of the Torah. Seeing that the three times the word ציצ(י)ת appears in this paragraph the letter י is missing, one must take the ל of לציצת (which has a value of 30) and add 10 to each time that word appears remind us of the number 613. ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, “and you must not go about after your hearts and after your eyes;” whenever you look at one of My commandments you are to remember that you are My servants and are not free to follow your inclinations when they deviate from My commandments.

וראיתם אותו, “when you see it (the tassel).” The Torah refers to the visual impact of the commandment. This line is the source for the halachah that this commandment does not apply at night (as there is then no visual impact). Seeing that the application of this positive commandment is tied to a specific time frame, women are absolved from observing it (Menachot 43). וזכרתם את כל מצוות ה' ועשיתם אותם, “you shall remember all of the Lord’s commandments and carry them out.” The visual impact produces memory and the memory triggers the performance of the commandments (Menachot 43). ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, “and you are not to follow your hearts or your eyes.” The heart and the eye act as “brokers” for the commission of sins. The eye sees, the heart desires, and the body commits the sin. By wearing the talit with its tzitziyot, man becomes as if he had seen the throne of G’d’s glory with his own eyes. The tzitziyot are the symbol reminding him not to chase after pleasures in the terrestrial universe and all that his eyes ask for. The reason that the Torah mentions the heart first although the eye contact with the forbidden object occurs first, is that the heart acts as guide and “leader” for the entire body. The other organs follow the lead of the heart.

והיה לכם לציצית, the string known as tzitzit serves to attract your visual attention. The word is used in a similar sense to Song of Songs 2,9 מציץ מן החרכים, “peering” through the lattices. I have found that Sifri on our verse explains the word in similar fashion, quoting above verse from Song of Songs. פתיל תכלת, our sages explained the reason for the blue colour as designed to remind the viewer of the blueness of the ocean, which in turn resembles the blueness of the sky reminding man of the throne of G’d’s glory situated in the celestial spheres.(compare Sifri on our verse).

וראיתם אותו, “when you see it, etc.;” since being able to look at the tzitzit when you wear them is of the essence, garments worn only at night are not required to have such fringes attached to them. This is also why a blind person is not required to attach fringes to his garments. In other words, the commandment to look at the fringes is meant for people able to see them. (Menachot folio 43). If you look at the fringes with the proper concentration it is considered as if you looked at the throne of G–d, which is supposed to look like wool dyed blue. Rabbi Meir, in describing the difference between that tint of blue from all other colours, said it is because it is closest to the blue of the horizon, which by definition is a reminder of the heaven beyond it. He bases this on Exodus 24,10 as interpreted in the Talmud, tractate Menachot, folio 10, where the elders are described of having looked at a Divine apparition which they described as looking like bricks made of sapphire. The colour of a sapphire is supposed to be just like the colour of the horizon. The sequence of three verbs in our verse, i.e. “you will see,” “you will remember,” and “you will do, i.e. perform,” explains the importance of this commandment and how fulfilling it will stimulate our heart and eyes to be loyal to G–d. 'וזכרתם את כל מצות ה, “you will remember all of the Lord’s commandments;” Rashi points out that the numerical value of the letters in the word ציצית is 600, (he is aware that the word is spelled defective, with one letter י missing, so that it is really only 590.) The word appears three times in the paragraph, once with the prefix ל, the numerical value of which is 30, so that we may consider these three words as all having been spelled perfectly. I have also heard that the manner in which some people arrange the fringes are separated from one section to another with knots and ringlets around each section, each of a different number of ringlets amount to a total of 613, so that the wearer is constantly aware that he is clothed symbolically in the 613 commandments. The Talmud in Menachot folio 39 goes into all the details. ולא תתורו אחרי לבבכם ואחרי עיניכם, “do not follow your heart and your eyes in a lustful urge.” The Jersualem Talmud, tractate B’rachot chapter 1, halachah 5 describes the heart and the eyes as the principal agents of the evil urge within us.

So that you may remember and perform all My commandments, and be holy before your God.

The meaning of "so that you may remember" — [it] has already said, "and you shall remember all the commandments of Hashem" (v. 39): for if you remember, you will be holy and will not defile yourselves with the desires of the heart that soil the rational spirit.

למען תזכרו, so that you would be free from thoughts of vain matters; once you are no longer concerned with the pursuit of the transient material allusions n this life, you will be receptive to the marvelous ways of the Torah, through the study of which you will come to recognise the greatness of the Creator and His amazing love for His creatures. ועשיתם את כל מצותיו, as a result you will perform all His commandments from both love and reverence for Him. והייתם קדושים לאלוקיכם, as a corollary you will be holy unto your G’d, deserving eternal life as He had meant for you to qualify for when He had said in Exodus 19,6 that “you should become for Him a nation of priests and a holy people.”

, למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי, “so that you will remember and carry out all My commandments, and not violate them.” This paragraph has been inserted next to the paragraph that dealt with the person collecting kindling on the Sabbath, so that you will remember what happened to that person for violating My commandment. After having witnessed this, the people might have thought: “how can we ever observe the laws of the Sabbath after having witnessed that this man was executed for a minor infraction?” At least when it comes to the observance of the festivals there are symbols on that day that remind us of the nature of it, but what distinguishes the Sabbath from the weekdays so that it could serve as a reminder? Therefore the Torah gave us the commandment of fringes as a symbol of clothing that would be worn on the Sabbath, although it would be inconvenient to wear such garment on weekdays when we have to go about our work. Our sages have formulated it thus: “anyone who does not wear a Tallit with fringes on the Sabbath is comparable to the person who collected kindling on the Sabbath. [This is a quote from Tossaphot, sages who were contemporaries of our author. Ed.] והייתם קדושים לאלוקיכם, “and then you will be holy for your G-d.” And who is this G-d of yours?

למען תזכרו ועשיתם את כל מצותי, “in order that you will remember and carry out all My commandments.” The Jerusalem Talmud Berachot 2,4, discussing the requirement to recite the קריאת שמע both mornings and evenings, explains that when reciting this verse the letter ז in the word תזכרו has to be drawn out somewhat when enunciated. The reason is to avoid that the word sounds like תשכרו, i.e. “you will secure compensation,” as one should not perform the commandments only in order to receive the reward promised (Avot,1,3). In this connection we may add that dwelling on that letter ז may also bring to mind the Torah which consists of 7 books (when we include the verses in Numbers 10,35-36 which were introduced by the inverted letters נ to show that the Book of Numbers are actually three books, giving us a total of seven Books of Moses). Seeing that the commandment of tzitzit is equal in moral weight to that of all the other commandments combined, such a thought when drawing out the letter ז is quite near at hand. Another thought that may surface when we pronounce the letter ז in the word תזכרו as urged to do by the Jerusalem Talmud Berachot is that it conjures up thoughts of the שבת הגדול, the “great” Sabbath. The subject matter of the whole verse then is: “I have commanded you to perform this commandment involving the blue thread here on earth in order that corresponding to your activity on earth you will also remember that in the celestial regions there is an emanation which is part of the emanation הכל which is also known as the שבת הגדול. The words which follow, i.e. ועשיתם אותם, “and you will perform them,” mean that when you concentrate on these various meanings of the letter ז in the word תזכרו you will in effect be thinking of all the commandments.

I am Hashem your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God — I am Hashem your God.

אני ה׳ I AM THE LORD Who am faithful to give reward. אלהיכם YOUR GOD Who am certain to exact punishment (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 115:1). אשר הוצאתי אתכם [I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD] WHO BROUGHT YOU OUT [OF THE LAND OF EGYPT TO BE YOUR GOD] — On this condition I delivered you — that you should take upon yourselves My decrees (i.e. that I should be your God) (Sifrei Bamidbar 115:1). אני ה׳ אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD — Why is this stated again? In order that the Israelites should not say, “Why has the Omnipresent said it ('אני ה)? Is it not in order that we should perform the commandments and receive reward (cf. Rashi on previous verse)!? We will not perform them and we shall not receive (we shall not expect) any reward!” Therefore it states again in general terms and without reference to the Exodus from Egypt, “I will be the Lord your God: in spite of yourselves I will be your King (I will exercise My sovereignty upon you). — In a similar sense it states, (Ezekiel 20:23) “Surely with a strong hand … will I reign over you” (Sifrei Bamidbar 115:1). — Another explanation: Why is the exodus from Egypt mentioned in connection with the fringes? In order to intimate: It was I who distinguished in Egypt between one who was a firstborn and one who was not (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 19:36); I shall also find out and exact punishment from him who attaches indigo-dyed wool (which resembles תכלת in colour) on his garments and pretends that it is תכלת (Bava Metzia 61b). From the work of Rabbi Moses the Preacher I copy the following: Why is the section speaking of the stick-gatherer placed in juxtaposition with the section (vv. 22—31) dealing with idolatry? In order to tell you that whoever desecrates the Sabbath is regarded as having worshipped idols, for it (the law of the Sabbath) also is alone of equal importance with the entire sum of the commandments (just as is the law of idolatry; cf. Rashi on v. 22). And so, too, it is said in the Book of Ezra, (Nehemia 9:13—14) “And Thou camest down upon Mount Sinai and gavest to Thy people … the Torah and commandments and Thou madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath”. And the section dealing with the “Zizith” is also for the same reason placed in juxtaposition with these two sections, because it, too, is of equal importance with the sum total of the commandments, as it is said, (v. 40) “[That ye may remember] and do all My commandments". על כנפי בגדיהם ON THE BORDERS (lit., wings) OF THEIR GARMENTS — an allusion to God having delivered them from Egypt, as it states, (Exodus 19:4) “And I bore you on eagles’ wings” (cf. Rashi on this verse). The Zizith are to be placed on a garment having four corners but not on one that has three or on one that has five corners (cf. Zevachim 18b), thereby alluding to the four different terms used by God in describing the deliverance from Egypt, for it states, (Exodus 6:6—7) “And I will bring forth”, “and I shall deliver”, “and I shall redeem”, “and I shall take out”. פתיל תכלת A THREAD OF BL...

"I am Hashem your God" — I am the One who brought you out to be your God; therefore I said to you, "I am Hashem your God."

'אני ה' אלוקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם וגו...אני ה, the reason why I orchestrated your redemption from slavery in Egypt was so that I would be your exclusive G’d, that your existence and well being on earth should be based on a reciprocal relationship not requiring an intermediary. The parameters of this existence should be enduring, not subject to change throughout history. You will be like other parts of the universe which endure eternally

אני ה' אלוקיכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצריפ , “I amthe Lord you G-d. Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.” Quoting from the writings of Rabbi Moshe Hadarshon, one of his favourite sources, Rashi comments the eight (folded over 4) strings making up the fringes at each corner of a fourcornered garment symbolize the eight days it took the Jewish people after leaving Egypt to finally being free from pursuit. That was when they broke out in the song of thanksgiving. If you were to say that they descended into the sea on the evening of the seventh day according to Exodus 14,5, and the recited the song of thanksgiving on the following morning, (which as till the seventh day), we have to assume that the day on which they had moved from Goshen to Ramses, was included in the count of eight. The report in Exodus commences only after they had all miraculously assembled in Ramses, from where they proceeded to Sukkot.

אני ה' אלו-היכם אשר הוצאתי אתכם מארץ מצרים להיות לכם לאלו-הים, אני ה' אלו-היכם, “I am the Lord your G’d who has taken you out of the land of Egypt in order to become your G’d, I am the Lord your G’d.” Here the Torah reveals that the purpose of the Exodus was in order for Hashem to become our G’d. If that is so, we can look at the Exodus as something which did not only benefit the Jewish people but as something which bestowed similar benefits on G’d Himself. This is what Joshua had in mind when he said (Joshua 7,9) “if they will destroy our name from earth what are You going to do for Your great name?” If G’d does not have a people how could the fact of His kingdom become manifest on earth? Our verse commenced with the words: “I am the Lord your G’d,” and it concludes with the very same words. The reason this has been repeated is to remind us that G’d’s status vis-a-vis us in the hereafter will remain the same as it is in our terrestrial world. Another approach to the meaning of these words: “I will remain the same G’d and have the same relationship with you which I had after the first Exodus as I will have in the future after the final redemption.” Our verse would then be an assurance of the future redemption at which time the full extent of G’d’s Shechinah would once again become manifest in Jerusalem. This is in contrast to the presence of G’d’s Shechinah during the period of the second Temple when only a very ”weak” form of the Shechinah was manifest as we know from Yuma 21. The evidence of this “weak” Shechinah were the five important ingredients of the Temple which were absent during the entire existence of the second Temple. We have previously pointed to the letter ה in the words וארצה בו ואכבדה, as a clear allusion to the recurrence of these five manifestations of the Shechinah, seeing the prophet Chagai 1,8 did not need to write ואכבדה but could simply have written ואכבד, “I will be glorified.” By writing what he did, the prophet compared the first redemption to the final redemption. This thought is also expressed by Isaiah 11,11 when he writes: “in that day G’d will again apply His hand to redeeming the other part.” The prophet Micah elaborates when he said (Micah 7,15) “as in the days when you sallied forth from the land of Egypt I will show wondrous deeds.”