Parshas Acharei Mot-Kedoshim

Full Parsha

First Aliya

The Yom Kippur Ceremony of the Kohen Gadol

This parsha deals with G-d giving instructions to Moshe which Moshe is to relay to Aaron regarding the sanctity of the Mishkan. It starts off with mentioning the death of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu who died for not adhering to the guidelines regarding the Mishan’s sanctity.

Rashi explains the reason for this reminder by giving a parable of two doctors who come to treat a patient. The first doctor tells the patient to avoid eating cold food and lying in a damp cold place. The second doctor tells the patient to avoid eating cold food and lying a damp cold place so that he won’t die like Mr. X died. It is obvious to see how the second doctor’s words will be more effective in making sure that the patient follows the instructions.

So G-d tells Moshe to warn Aaron that he is only to enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur with a cloud of incense, as G-d’s schina is revealed in that place. And if he enters into the Holy of Holies when he is not supposed to, he will die.

When Aaron does enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, he is to enter with a bull and a young male cattle for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.

Rather than wearing his usual eight high priestly garments which are laced with gold, he is to wear the more simple four garments of a regular priest, all made out of linen. This is because the gold in his regular garments is reminiscent of the sin of the golden calf, and a “prosecutor doesn’t become a defense attorney”, i.e. on Yom Kippur he is coming to ask for forgiveness for the Jewish people so it would not be befitting for him to wear something that would recall their sins.

The four linen garments are (see earlier in the chumash for more details on these): The Kutones (tunic), Michnasaim (pants), Avnet (belt) and Mitznefes (cap). These garments were not bought by Aaron but rather were purchased from money which had been donated to the Mishkan and set aside for this. Aaron was welcome to donate to this fund if he wanted to so more expensive garments could be made for him.

On Yom Kippur, the Kohen Gadol had to change his clothes five times, as there were some parts of the ceremony he performed outside of the Holy of Holies, and for those he donned his regular gold high priestly garments. Before each changing of clothing, he would immerse in a mikvah and would sanctify his hands and feet at the kiyor twice each time – once after removing whichever garments he had been wearing and then again after putting on the new ones.

Aaron is to take two he goats as a sin offering and one ram as a burnt offering from the Israelites. He should also bring his own bull that he had reserved for a sin offering (mentioned above) to offer for himself and his family as an atonement. This bull he did pay for out of his own funds.

Aaron is then to take the two he-goats and place them at the entrance of the Ohel Moed (“before G-d”), one to his right and one to his left. He is then to pick lots out of a box – one with his right hand and one with his left hand. One lot is to say “To G-d” and the other is to say “To Azazel”. Whichever lot came out with his right hand goes to the goat on his right and the other to the goat on his left.

When Aaron draws the lot that says “to G-d” on it, Aaron is to place the lot on the goat and declare that this goat is a sin offering “to G-d”.

Regarding the goat for which Aaron drew the lot “for Azazel”, it is to be taken standing and alive, and then sent off to Azazel in the wilderness to its death and thus serve as an atonement.

Aaron is then to bring his own personal bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and the other Kohanim (who are considered his family) and slaughter it. This atones the Kohanim of any time they might have entered the Beit Hamikdash property or eaten of an offering (i.e. something “holy”) while in a state of impurity.

Aaron is then to take a shovelful of fiery coals from on top of the outer altar as well as a cupped handful of the most finely ground spices (it would be reground on Erev Yom Kippur) for the incense and bring these behind the Curtain in the Holy of Holies.

He is then to place the incense on the coals in the fire pan which was on the altar so that the smoke would cover the ark cover that is on top of the Tablets. If he does not perform this ceremony in this fashion, he was liable for death.

He is then to take some of the blood from the bull and using his finger, sprinkle it once above the ark cover, and then seven times below the ark cover (so no blood actually touched the ark cover).

He is then to slaughter the nation’s sin offering (which was the he-goat which had come up with the lot saying “to G-d”) and bring its blood behind the Curtain and sprinkle it in the same way as he did with the bull. This goat brings atonement to the people for the same sins that the bull brought atonement to the kohanim, namely being in the Mishkan or eating food or offerings while in a state of impurity – weather this was willful or unintentional.

Aaron is then to do this same sprinkling of both the bull and the he-goat on the outside of the Paroches (the curtain separating the Holy of Holies and the rest of the Mishkan, i.e. on the side facing the Mishkan – not into the Holy of Holies) – one sprinkle above it and seven below it.

No one shall be in the Ohel Moed while the Kohen is doing this ceremony and atoning for himself, his “household” (i.e his family and the other Kohanim) and the nation as a whole.

Aaron is then to move eastward, in the direction of the entrance of the Mishkan, till he gets to the golden altar (which is still situated within the Mishkan, unlike the copper altar which was in the Courtyard outside of the Mishkan). Once there, he is to mix the blood of the bull and he-goat together, and place it on the horns of this altar all around, beginning with the north eastern corner of the altar.

He is then to sprinkle this blood with his finger seven times on top of it. This shall purify it from past impurities and sanctify it for the future.

After all of this, he is to bring the live he-goat (i.e the one for which he drew the lot “for Azazel”) and he is to lean his two hands on its head and confess all of the the Israelites faults and sins and place them on the head of the goat and the he-goat shall bear all of these sins and Aaron is to send the goat into the desert with a man who had been pre-designated for this task.

The chumash now describes how Aaron is then to enter the Ohel Moed and remove the linen garments he was wearing when he entered the Mishkan and store them away there forever, never to be used again even on future Yom Kippurs. This is not placed in the correct chronological order (though the rest of the ceremony was written as such).

It actually occurred after the Kohen Gadol preformed his ceremony and the people’s burnt offerings and after burning the sacrificial parts of the bull and he goat, all of which he did outside of the Holy of Holies while wearing the golden garments and which is described after this.

So before offering up his own and the people’s burnt offering, Aaron is to immerse in the mikvah*.

*Side note: The first time he immersed that day (i.e. for his first change of clothing) was not specific to Yom Kipper as he usually immersed daily. Thus it occurred in an unconsecrated area on the roof of the Gate of Water which was one of the gates of the Courtyard. The four subsequent immersions were done in a consecrated area called the House of the Parvah which was a building on the grounds of the Bies HaMikdash. The gemara (Yoma 35a) describes how this area was named after a Persian sorcerer named Parvah who had such a strong desire to observe the Kohen Gadol do his Yom Kippur ceremony that he dug a tunnel into the Beis Hamikdash. Upon discovering this, the Kohanim killed him, however they named the area after him in memory of his albeit misplaced spiritual desire.

The chronological sequence of events for the Kohen Gadol’s entire Yom Kipper ceremony was:

1. The morning Tamid sacrifice – in golden garments

2. Sprinkling the blood of the bull and he-goat inside of the Holy of Holies and the incense ceremony with the coals in the pan – in the linen garments

3. Offering his own ram, the Israelites’ ram and some other sacrifices of the day – in golden garments

4. Removal of the spoon and pan (which had caused the incense to go up) from the Holy of Holies – in the linen garments

5. The rest of the sacrifices of the day: the afternoon Tamid and the incense burning in the heichal on the inner altar – in golden garments.

Second Aliya

The Yom Kipper Service Cont’d and Where to Slaughter Animals for Sacrifice

The Rest of the Yom Kippur Service

The Kohen is then to burn the appropriate parts of the bull and he-goat which were brought as sin offerings (see yesterday’s post for more info) on the outer altar. Animal offerings* were not allowed to be sacrificed on the inner altar (although their blood was sprinkled on the inner altar – see yesterday’s post).

*Side note: This is according to Rashi’s interpretation who includes all animal offerings in what is called “burnt offerings” in Shmos 30:9, which forbids “burnt and meal offerings” from being sacrificed on the inner altar.

The person who was designated to send the other he-goat to Azazel (see yesterday’s post for more info) is to immerse himself and his clothing in the mikva and only then may he enter the camp.

Someone is then to take the two sin offerings (the bull and the he-goat) outside of the camp and burn their hides, flesh and waste.

The one who burns these should then immerse himself and his clothing in the mikvah and only after may he enter the camp.

G-d at this point in the chumash establishes the holiday of Yom Kippur. He descrees that from then on eternally, the 10th day of the seventh month (i.e the 10th of Tishrei) the Israelites should “afflict themselves” and not do work, a “Sabbath” of complete rest. As this will be the day that G-d will atone and cleanse them from all their sins.

This atonement is only complete so long as there as a Kohen Gadol to perform all of the duties which Aaron was given at that time. If appropriate, the succeeding Kohen Gadol should be the son of the previous Kohen Gadol.

And from that day forward, the Israelites commemorated this day as such, at that time with Aaron serving as Kohen Gadol, wearing the special garments not for his own glory but selflessly for the service of the day.

Where to Slaughter Animal Offerings

G-d now instructs Moshe regarding where animals for offerings must be slaughtered.

G-d says that any Israelite man who slaughters an ox, sheep or goat that was designated as an offering outside of the grounds of the Mishkan (or Beis HaMikdash) rather than having brought it to the entrance of the Ohel Moed, it is as if he shed the blood of a human, in so far as he becomes liable for death.

These offerings which the Israelites habitually had slaughtered outside of the Mishkan’s premises (and which the text refer to as “sacrifices to demons”) should from now on instead be brought to the entrance of the Ohel Moed and given to a Kohen. And the Kohen is then to throw the blood upon the altar at the entrance of the Ohel Moed.

Third Aliya

Sacrificial Laws. Sexual Prohibitions. Molech

Some Stipulations Regarding Sacrifices

G-d instructs Moshe to warn the Israelites* against offering up any sacrifices outside of the temple grounds. This prohibition includes valid sacrifices as well as offerings which have become disqualified for having been slaughtered outside of the temple grounds (see yesterday’s post).

*Side note: In this section, every time Israelites are mentioned, the text adds that converts to Judaism are included as well. For simplicity, I will omit this clause about converts in this summary.

Anyone who disobeys this, will be punished with dying prematurely and having his children die* as well.

*Side note: According to Tosfos (and most commentators hold that Rashi agreed with this view) this refers exclusively to young children, however the Be’er BaSadeh understands that it includes adult children.

Any Israelite who consumes any blood (not only blood from sacrifices – which is blood which brings atonement), will be cut off from the Israelite nation. This prohibition applies equally to minors as well as adults.

G-d explains that reason why it is forbidden to consume blood is because “the soul of the flesh is in the blood”, meaning to say that the life force of any living creature is dependent on its blood. It is for this reason that blood has been designated for the sacrifices so that the blood of the animal will atone for the person who is offering the sacrifice’s soul.

Any Israelite who traps* an animal or bird which is kosher to eat, must pour out its blood and cover it with earth.

*Side note: According to Toras Kohanim 11:2 and Chullin 84a, this wording of “trapped” is used, even though it includes domestic animals which don’t really need to be trapped like geese or chickens, to teach that meat should not be consumed too habitually/be too readily attainable. I.e. it must be “trapped”.

If a person eats meat which falls under the category of Neveila (a kosher animal* which died on its own – not through schita) or Treifa (which died from a mortal defect) becomes impure* and must immerse himself and his clothing and then that evening he shall become pure.

*Side note: The categories of Neveila and Treifa only apply to kosher animals. Non kosher animals are not categorized as such.

**Side note: This impurity is transferred through the throat while the animal is being eaten, not through touch or through the mouth or while in the stomach. This is why a person can purify themselves from it after it has been swallowed even if some of it still remains in his stomach.

If a person refrains from immersing himself and his clothing before eating from sacrificial meat (i.e that which is “holy”) or entering into the Temple while in this impure state, they are punished. For not immersing himself, he is punished with kares (excommunication) and for not immersing his clothes he is punished with lashes.

Prohibitions Against Sexual Immorality

G-d anticipates that abiding by the prohibitions against sexual immorality will not always be easy for the Israelites and He foresees that in the time of Ezra for example, the Jewish men will marry non Jewish women (Ezra 9:12, 10-:2-3, 11-2). Thus before outlining what these laws are, he tells Moshe to remind the Israelites that this G-d that is giving these laws is their G-d, the very same one that they agreed to obey at Mount Sinai.

G-d warns the Israelites against acting like the Egyptians* who they used to live amongst, or the Canaanites**, to whom they are going. He also warns them against following their “statutes”. Rashi quotes two commentaries regarding what is meant by these “statutes”. Rashi understands these “statutes” to mean the entertainment venues of the time (i.e theaters and stadiums) but he also quotes Rabbi Meir’s understanding that “statutes” in this instance means the “ways of the Amorites”, which includes different superstitious practices.

*Side note: The Egyptians were the most debased of all cultures at that time. And the Egyptians who lived near the Israelites (in Goshen) were the most debased of them all. These Egyptians immersed themselves in pagan cults in the hopes that these pagan deities would keep the Israelites enslaved.

**Side note: Once the Israelites conquered Canaan, it was this nation of Canaanites who were the most debased in this way of pagan practices. These Canaanites hoped that their practices would repel the Israelite invasion.

G-d says that the Israelites must obey both those laws which are common sense (משפּטים – literally “judgements”) and those which don’t make “sense” (חוקים – literally “decrees”) and thus the evil inclination might have more sway in getting a person to disregard them. Rashi gives the prohibitions against eating pork and wearing shatnez as examples of these. And just as a person is never free from keeping these commandments, one is never free from studying them – i.e. one cannot say, “OK great now I’ve learned about Judaism, I will now go learn about other types of wisdom from other nations.”

If a person observes and studies these judgements and decrees (including all of their details which are not written explicitly in scripture), he will merit eternal life in the World to Come.

A man is forbidden from having sexual relations with (AKA “uncovering their “nakedness”) with the following people (this prohibition applies to both men and women):

• One’s father’s wife

• One’s mother (even if she is not married to one’s father)

• A woman who was once married to one’s father but no longer is (i.e. she died or they got divorced)

• One’s sister born from one’s father and/or mother, even if not legitimate

• One’s daughter that was conceived from a woman one raped

• One’s granddaughter

• One’s stepdaughter

• (The prohibition involving one’s own daughter is not stated explicitly here but is derived from a Gzerah Shava in the gemara (Yevamot 3a)

• One’s sister (unless she was born from a Canaanite slave woman or non Jew*

• One’s aunt (both one’s father and mother’s sister)

• One’s paternal uncle’s wife**

• One’s daughter in law***

• One’s sister in law

• One may not marry a woman and then subsequently marry that woman’s daughter or granddaughter.****

• One may not marry two sisters so long as they are both alive*****

• One may not be intimate with a woman while she is in a state of menstrual impurity.

• Another man’s wife

*Side note: Sexual prohibitions only apply to people who Jews can marry (even if the person in question is forbidden from marrying them) Marriage can never apply to a Jewish man and a Canaanite slave woman or a non Jew.

**Side note: This is according to Rashi. Other opinions hold that this is a prohibition against a man being intimate with his paternal uncle.

***Side note: This does not include a woman one’s son raped, a woman who he had relations with without being married to her, or a Canaanite or non Jewish woman he had relations with.

****Side note: If however a man has non marital relations with a woman by raping her or otherwise, he is permitted to marry this woman’s daughter so long as it was not conceived through him.

*****Side note: Even if he marries one woman and then divorces her, he may still not marry her sister so long as the first woman is alive.

Prohibition Against Molech Worship

This aliya ends with G-d prohibiting against handing over one’s child to a priest of Molech to perform the ceremony of worshiping Molech. Molech was a pagan deity who was worshipped by setting up two bonfires and having one’s child walk between them. It is of Rashi’s opinion that the prohibition here is the giving of the child to the priest and not the actual passing through the fire ceremony.

Fourth Aliya

More Sexual Transgressions. Revering Parents and Keeping the Sabbath. Sacrifices. Pe’ah. Vineyards. Misc Prohibitions

Sexual Transgressions Cont’d and Their Consequences

The chumash lists two more forbidden sexual acts:

• A man may not be intimate with another man in a way that a man usually is with a woman. Scripture refers to this as an “abonimation”

• Neither a man nor a woman may be intimate with an animal. Scripture calls this a “perversion”.

G-d warns the Israelites not to become impure with any of these listed acts and says that this is how the other nations which G-d is sending away from the Israelites became impure. He elaborates that when the land of Israel became impure as such, it vomited out its inhabitants and warns the Israelites to not behave in such a way that the land would so vomit them out.

Rashi likens the land of Israel to a king’s son who has a delicate constitution and cannot digest anything repugnant.

G-d warns that anyone, both man and woman who transgres any of these prohibitions will be cut off from the nation. Scripture specifies that the punishment is equal for both man and woman since one might have thought that it wouldn’t be since the intimate act is physically different for men than women.

G-d says that the Israelites should see to it that their courts of justice enforce these laws.

He concludes this section by saying that He is only their G-d on condition that they abide by these laws.

G-d tells Moshe to relay the following section to the “entire assembly of the Israelite nation”. This wording of including the entire assembly indicates that this was the only portion whereby the entire nation had to be present when Moshe relayed G-d’s words. At other times, any individual had the option to not be present if they so wished. The reason this forthcoming portion had to be said to everyone is because it forms the basis for most of the essential aspects of Torah.

So G-d begins and says that the Israelites should be “holy” since G-d is “Holy”. Rashi deduces that this is a hint to abstaining from sins related to sexual immorality (including incest, adultery and being intimate with a woman who is in a state of menstrual impurity). Rashi comes to this conclusion based on the fact that wherever scripture warns against something to do with sexual immorality, this is juxtaposed with a mention of “holiness”. For examples, see Rashi to this section in our parsha (Vayikra 19:2).

Reverence for Parents and Keeping the Sabbath

G-d then says that everyone* must revere one’s mother and father** and keep the Sabbath.

*Side note: Scripture here uses the word איש (literally “man”) although this commandment applies to both men and women. Rashi explains that this is because men have a greater responsibility in this regard since women are not always under their own dominion. For example a woman might be married to a man whom her respect for must supersede that which she has for her parents.

**Side note: Mother is written before father here, in contrast to the commandment to honor one’s parents where father is written first (as part of the 10 commandments – see Shmos 20:12 and Dvarim 5:16). This is because reverence for a son towards his father is more natural than towards a mother and honor towards a mother is more natural (since she wins him over with sweet words (Kiddushin 30b-31a)) than towards a father.

The reason why keeping the Sabbath is juxtaposed here next to having reverence for one’s parents is to stipulate that the law to revere one’s father does not apply if he tells you to break the laws of the Sabbath or any other Torah laws.

Rashi lists a few examples of what reverence for parents is vs. honoring parents:

Reverence:

• Not sitting in a parent’s place

• If a parent is expected to speak, not to speak in their stead

• Not to contradict one’s parent

Honoring:

• Feeding and giving drink to a parent

• Dressing and putting shoes on parents

• Escorting a parent in and out

Idol Worship

G-d then warns the Israelites against worshiping false G-ds. Rashi points out the play on words with the word הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ם which is related to the word אל which simply translates to mean a “god”, i.e a false god, but also spells (albeit with different voweling) “not”, meaning that these deities are not real. Rashi then makes note that the progression in this verse is such that first they are called simply “gods” (אלילים) and then referred to as “molten gods”. Rashi explains that this is a warning that the Israelites should not worship these “nothing” gods, lest they turn them into “something” by virtue of their worship (i.e. into “molten” gods).

Not only are they not allowed to worship these idols and construct them for themselves, they may not construct these idols for anyone else, nor have someone construct an idol for them.

Sacrificial Offerings

Sacrifices must be offered with intention (i.e if a person performs an aspect of a sacrificial offering unintentionally (eg. he waves a knife and it happens to cut the throat of an animal designated as an offering), the offering is not valid.

Also, sacrifices must be eaten on the day that they are slaughtered, and one must have the intention to eat it on that day whilst slaughtering it. Whatever is left over the next day must be burnt on the altar. If a person has the intention while slaughtering the offering for some of it to be leftover after it’s fixed time, but then ends up eating it during the right time, it is called Pigul. If a person actually eats it outside of it’s fixed time, it is called Notar.

If while slaughtering this animal for the sacrifice he has the intention to eat it outside of the prescribed location, this is “abominable” (“pigul”) and this sacrifice will not be accepted.

The punishment for eating a sacrifice outside of its fixed time (Notar) is excommunication. While merely having the intention to eat it outside of its fixed time (Pigul) or outside of its designated area is also forbidden, doing so does not result in excommunication.

Peah

G-d then gives instructions regarding harvesting. He says that when reaping ones harvest, one must abstain from reaping the corners of the field. These corners should be left for poor people. One should not designate these corners as such ahead of time, but rather they should be left at the end of reaping. If one does designate these ahead of time, those designated areas must be left for the poor however one must leave aside additional corners as well.

If while harvesting one’s field one or two gleanings fall away, these must be left for poor people. If three gleanings fall away together however, these are not to be considered gleanings and the owner of the land may gather them.

Vinyards

If a person owns a vineyard, he is to leave alone any grapes which do not lean on ther clusters or hang down from other clusters as well as any grapes which fall off of the clusters while the grapes are being picked. These are to be left for poor people.

G-d warns that anyone who refrains from keeping these commandments with regards to poor people will pay with their life.

Other prohibitions

One is forbidden from stealing money*, one may not falsely deny a claim. one may not lie and one may not swear falsely in the name** of G-d.

*Side note: This prohibition differs from the “don’t steal” of the 10 commandments which refers to stealing people (i.e. kidnapping), which, like the other 10 commandments, is liable for the death penalty. This is not the penalty for stealing money.

Rashi explains that the reason why these three prohibitions are listed together is because transgressing one will lead to the other. I.e. if a person steals money, this will lead them to false denial of a claim, which will in tern lead them to lie and then to swear falsely.

**Side note: The 10 commandment already warned against saying G-d’s name in vain, however one might think that this would only apply to the Tetragrammaton, which is considered the “special” name of G-d. The warning here clarifies that one may not swear falsely by any name of G-d.

One may not withhold wages of a hired worker.

If a worker is hired to work during the day, an employer has the entire night to pay them. If he is hired to work during the night, the employer has the whole day after to pay them. Torah wanted to give the employer enough time to find money to pay his worker(s).

One may not curse any person who is alive*.

*Side note: Scripture specifies that one may not curse a “deaf person” person, however Rashi extrapolates this to mean anyone who is alive, as a deaf person has the redeeming quality of being alive.

One may not put a stumbling block in front of a “blind person”. Not someone who is literally blind, but meaning one may not give a person advice that is not advantageous to them but will be for you. Rashi brings down an example from Toras Kohaniom that one may not tell a person to sell their field and buy a donkey instead and then buy their field off of them.

A person’s inner intentions are not always apparent on the outside to others, so a person must keep fear of G-d in mind in regards to this commandment of not putting a stumbling block in front of someone since G-d sees a person’s inner thoughts.

Fifth Aliya

Miscellaneous Laws

This aliya contains more decrees from G-d:

A judge must judge justly. He may not show favoritism for a poor man, meaning he may not judge out of pity for him, thinking that if he rules in favor of the poor man the poor man will be able to get money without shame or resorting to dishonesty. A judge may also not know favoritism to a rich man, in being concerned over embarrassing him due to his prestige.

Rashi elaborates on the term “wrong” (עול) in reference to a judge in the text here and says that is is a short formed way for scripture to call such a person a wrongdoer, hateful, repulsive, banned and an abomination. He deduces this by referencing Dvarim 25:16 where עול is called תועבה (abomination), and Dvarim 7:26 which says that an abomination (תועבה) is called repulsive (שקץ) and banned (חרם).

It is forbidden to gossip. It is forbidden to neglect to save your fellow’s life if you are able to (for example if he’s drowning in a lake or being chased by an animal or robbers – you must try to save him).

Do not hold bad feelings against your fellow in your heart but rather confront him. But do not reprove him in public so as to embarrass him.

Do not take revenge – for example, if you ask to borrow something from someone and they say no, and then the following day that person asks you to borrow something, do not say no out of revenge.

Do not bear a grudge – for example, if you ask to borrow something from someone and they say no, and then the following day that person asks you to borrow something, do not say “sure I will lend it to you even though you didn’t lend me something yesterday.”.

You shall love your fellow as yourself. Rashi points out in his commentary here that Rabbi Akiva called this a “great principle in Torah”.

G-d then gives a few laws which do not have an obvious “reason” to them, otherwise known as חוקים:

• You must not mate animals of different species together.

• You must not crossbreed plants in your field (כלאים)

• You may not have any clothing made out of a mixture of wool and linen (שעטנז)

Having Relations with a Canaanite Slave Woman who has been 1/2 Freed and Designated for Someone Else

This next law deals with a Canaanite slave who was owned by two Jewish partners, one of whom gave up his share of ownership, thus deeming her 1/2 Canaanite slave and 1/2 Jew (since a freed Caananite slave took on the status of a Jew).

Such a woman is very limited in terms of whom she is permitted to marry or have relations with since: A Caananite slave is not permitted to have relations with her because of her 1/2 Jewish (freed) side, and a regular Jewish man may not have relations with her due to her 1/2 Canaanite side (regular Jewish men were forbidden from having relations with Caananite slave women, however Jewish slaves were permitted to).

So the only person whom she is permitted to marry and have relations with is a Jewish slave since such a slave marries the free (Jewish) part of her and has relations with the slave side of her (since Jewish slaves were allowed to have relations with Canaanite slave women). A slave owner might designate a Jewish slave to a particular Canaanite slave woman.

The text here refers to such a woman who has indeed been designated to a Jewish slave, and has not been redeemed through money or granted freedom with documentation.

If such a woman has relations with a man other than the one she was designated for, the court must investigate the matter and make sure that she does not get charged with the death penalty as a married woman who committed adultery would. This is because her marriage was not a complete one since she has not been freed. Instead, she (but not the man) is liable for lashes. The man must offer a ram as a guilt offering for atonement. While guilt offerings are usually only offered in the case of unintentional sins, in this instance a guilt offering is required whether or not he was aware of her status when he had relations with her.

If however such a woman had been freed, this would deem her marriage as complete and thus in having relations with another man this would constitute adultery and both parties would be liable for the death penalty.

Orlah

Once the Israelites get to the land of Israel, they must refrain from eaten any fruit from a fruit tree which they plant for three years. The counting of the three years begins once the tree has been planted. And even any fruit that is stored away during those three years from the tree – it is forbidden to get benefit from this fruit even after the three years have passed.

In the fourth year, the fruit shall be brought to Jerusalem to be sanctified. Rashi references Kiddusin 54b which states that its status is like that of Maaser Sheni (the second tithe) which may also not be eaten outside of Jerusalem until it has been redeemed.

And then in the fifth year the fruit must be eaten and G-d promises that if they keep these laws – known as Orlah (ערלה), He will increase their crop that year so as to subvert the Evil Inclination from worrying over the losses from the first four years.

More Laws

Regarding eating meat:

• One may not eat sacrificial meat before its blood has been sprinkled.

• One may not eat any animal which has been slaughtered properly but is still spasming (it is considered dead and thus it would not be “eating meat from a living animal”, however its life does not fully depart from it until it stops moving).

One may not practice divination. This refers to believing in omens for example relating to different animals or seeing different things as “signs” (for example if a deer crossed ones path. There are many more examples in gemara – see Sanhedrin 65b).

One may not believe that some times are more “lucky” or auspicious than others.

One may not “round off the edge of one’s scalp”. This is the law concerning having side locks (pe’os). A man may not remove the hair on his face in order to make his temples even with the area behind his ears and forehead.

One may not “destroy the edge of one’s beard”. There are five “edges” on a man’s face: 2 on each cheek (there are different opinions as to where exactly these edges on the cheek are) and one at his chin.

It is forbidden to scratch one’s flesh out of mourning someone’s death as this was an Amorite practice.

It is forbidden to get a tattoo. Rashi likens tattoos to poles upon which people were hung. He explains – just as these poles are embedded into the ground, tattoos are similarly embedded into a person’s flesh by having the image pierced into them with a needle.

Do not prostitute your unmarried daughter. If you do so, the land of Israel will “prostitute” its fruits, i.e. the fruits will come about elsewhere and not in Israel.

Observe the Sabbath and revere G-d’s Sanctuary. The Sanctuary (i.e. Temple) is revered by not entering into it with one’s staff or wearing shoes or with a money belt or with dirty feet. These two laws regarding the Sabbath and the Sanctuary are juxtaposed in the same verse as a reminder that although revering the Sanctuary is important, its construction does not override observing the Sabbath.

Do not consult the necromancers of Ov (who would raise the souls of the dead and have them speak through their armpit) or Yedoni (who would place a bone from an animal called “Yadua” (hence the name) and place it in their mouth and the bone would speak).

G-d emphasizes the gravity of this sin with ending this decree with “I am G-d your G-d”, meaning to say, if a person does involve themselves in these practices, it is as if they are replacing G-d with them.

One should rise in the presence of a wise old person and honor an elderly person. Rashi says that the way to honor such a person is by: Not sitting in their place, not speaking in their stead and not contradicting them. The text writes that one should have “fear of G-d” in regards to this decree. Anywhere in scripture where such a stipulation is added that one should have “fear of G-d”, it is because it is something which a person might be tempted to pretend that they were ignorant of the matter – for example a person with this, a person can claim that they didn’t see the old person and that’s why they didn’t rise for them – however one should remember that G-d knows a person’s innermost thoughts and intentions.

Sixth Aliya

Converts. Business Ethics. Idolatry

How to Treat Converts

Do not verbally harass a convert who lives in your midst, saying things like, “Just yesterday you were worshiping idols and now you are keeping Torah?”

You should treat and love converts just as you would someone who was born Jewish. You must remember that you, like this convert, were a foreigner in Egypt – and you must not criticize someone for a flaw that you yourself possess. Your G-d is the same as this covert’s G-d.

Business Ethics

When selling goods, do not cheat in your measurements or weighing, even the smallest bit (the text mentions a “mesurah” which was the smallest measure of volume that was widely used at the time. It measured 1/36 of a log or 1/6 of a beitzah, the equivalent of 2-3 tbsp). A person who measures or weighs things to sell is considered a judge, and one who judges unjustly as we’ve seen (see yesterday’s post) is called a “wrongdoer, hateful, repulsive and banned”.

Your weights* should be accurate when engaging in commerce. This section mentions G-d taking the Israelites out of Egypt. This is possibly to tell the Israelites that G-d took them out from Egypt on condition that they maintain accurate scales.

*Side note: This verse mentions two types of weights – an Ephah – which was used to measure dry goods and a Hin – which was used to measure liquid.

Another understanding of it which Rashi brings down involves causing a weight to be inaccurate due to being stored in salt. According to Rashi (in Bava Metzia 61b and Bava Basra 89b), some of the salt would get absorbed in the weight, making it heavier. According to Rabbeinu Tam however (in Tosfos to Bava Basra), the salt would rather cause the weight to erode, making it lighter. According to Rashi then, this verse is addressing the buyer, who’s weight becomes heavier from being stored in salt. According to Rabbein Tam, it’s addressing the seller, who’s salt stored weight becomes lighter.

Rashi writes that just as during the plague of the first born G-d was able to distinguish a tiny droplet which caused a firstborn to be conceived from other conceptions, so is he able to judge the accuracy of weights stored in salt.

Punishment for Engaging in Idolatry

G-d refers back to an earlier prohibition which He gave concerning giving one’s offspring* to a priest of Molech (see yesterday’s post).* G-d says that the punishment for this is death. Ideally by a court of justice but if that’s not possible than regular Israelites should perform the killing. . Such a persons should be killed through stoning.

*Side note: Offspring does not only mean child. It refers to grandchildren and even illegitimate offspring (see Rashi on 20:3 for more details).

*Side note, the wording at the beginning of the verse concerning this reads, “ואל בני ישראל תאמר (lit. “And to the children of Israel you should say”)”. This differs from the more common wording of “דבר אל בני ישראל (lit. “speak to the children of Israel”)” when G-d was telling Moshe something to relay to the Israelites. Starting off the verse with the word “and” is a hint that G-d will be referencing back to something He had issued a prohibition for earlier and will now detail the punishment for transgressing it.

G-d says that He will focus all of His attention on such at the expense of everything else and excommunicate him for giving over any of his offspring. G-d says that this offering to Molech defiles the congregation of Israel which is holy to Him.

G-d warns that if the Israelites neglect to put such a person to death, this is a sign that they will be negligent with many things. Neglecting to judge one sinner will lead to a breakdown of the entire judicial system.

If such a person is not brought to justice by men, then G-d will focus His attention upon him and his family and excommunicate him and bring troubles to his family. His family is liable for punishment even though they didn’t commit the crime, since family members who cover up for a criminal are unjust as well (Rashi gives the example of an unjust tax collector who’s family always covers for him).

While for the most part, worshipping idols is only punishable by kares (excommunication) if the idol is worshipped in its standard fashion. An exception is made for the way Molech is worshipped. If any idol is worshipped in such a manner, even if that is not the usual way, the worshipper is excommunicated.

If a person turns to the necromancy of the Ovos and Yidonim (see yesterday’s post for more details), G-d will focus His attention upon such a person and excommunicate them.

G-d says that just as He is holy, you must be holy and not worship idols.

Seventh Aliya

Adultery and Other Laws

G-d communicates more laws:

Anyone who curses their father or mother (whether the parent be alive or dead) will be put to death by stoning*. Such a person caused their own death.

*Side note: Any place in scripture where it says “his blood is upon him” or “their blood is upon them” (as it does in this verse) is an indication that their death penalty is to come by stoning. I’ve included the wording of “their blood is upon them” every time it comes up in this aliya as you’ll see.

If a man commits adultery with a married woman, they will both be put to death by strangulation*. This rule does not apply if either the man who committed adultery or the man to whom the woman was married to are minors. It similarly does not apply in a case where the woman in question is married to a non-Jew. We learn from here that there is no real marriage for a male minor or between a Jewish woman and a non-Jewish man.

*Side note: Any time scripture does not specify the way a death penalty is to be carried out (like here), this means that it is strangulation.

After giving this general warning concerning a man being intimate with a married woman, Chumash specifies a couple of cases of this prohibition and describes the severity of what is entailed:

In the case of a man who is intimate with his fathers wife, Chumash says that he “will have uncovered his father’s nakedness”. Here too are both parties to the affair to be put to death.

In the case of a man who is intimate with his sister in law, Chumash says that they have committed a “תבל”. This word literally means “perversion” however it is related to the word for “mixture”, alluding to the fact that they are mixing the father and son’s seeds.

If two men are intimate with one another, the way a man is usually intimate with a woman (Rashi clarifies what this means euphemistically as one who “inserts like an applicator into a tube of cosmetics”), they shall both be put to death and this is called an “abomination” and “their blood is upon them”.

If a man marries a woman and then marries her mother as well, both the man and the woman’s mother shall be put to death by fire. Chumash calls this a “depraved plot”. There is an interpretation that this verse is talking about a man who marries not only the woman’s mother but the mother’s mother as well, in which case he, the woman’s mother and the mother’s mother should all be put to death.

If a man has intimate relations with an animal, both he and the animal shall be put to death by stoning. Although the animal did not technically “sin”, he caused a man to sin, thus he is punished with death. Rashi writes that this teaches us how much more severe is it if a man, who is willful (unlike an animal), causes another man to sin.

If a woman approaches an animal to be intimate with it, she shall be killed, and the animal as well. “Their blood is upon them”.

If a man is intimate with his sister (both paternal or maternal), both are to be excommunicated. Chumash calls this a “disgrace”.*

*Side note: One might think that it is permitted to be intimate with one’s sister as Cain married his sister, however Rashi explains that this was an exception and an act of G-d’s kindness with which the world was built.

If a man is intimate with a woman during her menstrual cycle, they are both to be excommunicated. Rashi comments that there are different opinions in this regard as to if this must be a complete act of intimacy or it is even referring to contact (and not insertion) of the man’s organ.

One may not be intimate with one’s aunt (maternal or paternal – even if the aunt is a half sibling of the parent on either side (i.e. a parent’s maternal or paternal sister).

One may not be intimate with the wife of one’s uncle, however in this case, the prohibition only applies in regards to an uncle who is one’s father’s paternal brother.

For both of these cases (of a man being intimate with his aunt or with his uncle’s wife), their punishment is that they will die childless. If such a person already had children, his punishment is that they will die before him.

It is forbidden for a man to be intimate with his brother’s wife and the punishment for this is for them to be childless.

G-d says that if the Israelites obey all of his laws the Land of Israel will not expel them.

He then continues and warns them not to follow the ways of the other nations that the Land of Israel expels as He was “disgusted” with them.

G-d says that the Israelites will inherit this land, which flows with milk and honey. He says that He is their G-d who separated the Israelites from the other nations.

G-d says that they must be able to distinguish whether kosher animals and birds have been slaughtered properly or not.

G-d says that if the Israelites separate themselves from the other nations, they are called His, but if not, they belong to other nations (Rashi specifies that they belong to “Nevuchadnezzar and his colleagues”). Jews must not keep the laws because it suits them (i.e. a person must not say that he doesn’t eat pork because he doesn’t like it or that he doesn’t wear clothing made out of wool and linen because he doesn’t want to), but rather because we are His.

Anyone who is involved with the necromancy of Ov or Yidoni shall be put to death by stoning. “Their blood is upon them.”*

*Side note: In yesterday’s aliya, it was already stated that the punishment for consulting the sorcerers of Ov or Yidoni was excommunication. So is it excommunication or death by stoning? Rashi clarifies that it depends:

• If the sin was intentional and there were witnesses and they were warned, they are to be stoned to death.

• If the sin was intentional but there were no witnesses and they were not warned, their punishment is excommunication.

• If the sin was unintentional, they must bring a sin offering.

Rashi writes that this categorization applies to any sin for which both excommunication and death are given as punishments.