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Chatam Sofer on Torah
חתם סופר על התורה
Sefaria Community Translation
https://www.sefaria.org

Chatam Sofer on Torah

Introduction



Bereshit



Noach



Lech Lecha



Vayera



Chayei Sara



Toldot



Vayetzei



Vayishlach



Vayeshev



Miketz



Vayigash



Vayechi



Shemot



Vaera



Bo



Beshalach



Yitro



Mishpatim



Terumah



Tetzaveh



Ki Tisa



Vayakhel



Pekudei



Vayikra



Parashat Shekalim



Seventh of Adar



Parashat Zachor



Purim



Parashat Parah



Parashat HaChodesh



Tzav



Pesach



First Day of Pesach



Second Day of Pesach



Chol HaMoed Pesach



Seventh Day of Pesach



Eighth Day of Pesach



Shmini



Tazria



Metzora



Achrei Mot



Kedoshim



Emor



Behar



Bechukotai



Bamidbar



Shavuot



Nasso



Beha'alotcha



Sh'lach



Korach



Chukat



Balak



Pinchas



Matot



Masei





<b>"And they travelled from Charada, and they camped in Makhelot, and they travelled from Makhelot, and they camped in Tachat"</b> (Bamidbar 33:24-5). This is an allusion to a saying of Chaza"l regarding the verse <b>"Efrayim is joined to idols; let him be"</b> (Hoshea 4:17) - that if there is togetherness and peace to the Jews, even if they serve idolatry, no evil will rule them. And this is why the generation of the Flood was punished more than the generation of the Dispersal [i.e. tower of Babel], even though the sin of the generation of the Dispersal was great (for they denied the main principle) - since they were in togetherness until God mixed up their languages. This is <b>"they travelled from Charada [חרדה]"</b> - they had no need to be afraid [<i>lehachrid</i> להחריד], since <b>"they camped in Makhelot"</b> [can also mean "in communities"] - in togetherness. But after this, <b>"they travelled from Makhelot, and they camped in Tachat" [תחת]</b> - in the lowest [<i>tachtonah</i> תחתונה] floor, until they returned and camped - and after this, in <b>"Mitka" [מתקה]</b> (Bamidbar 33:28) and in <b>"Yotvata" [יטבתה]</b> (Bamidbar 33:34) - sweet [<i>matok</i> מתוק] and good [<i>tov</i> טוב]. And this is easy to understand. (From there it is told).








<b>"To be good in their eyes, they should be for wives. However, concerning the family..."</b> From the beginning, one should pay attention. It first says, "To be good in their eyes, they should be for wives," and afterwards it says, "However, concerning the family of their father's tribe..." This requires clarification. For the daughters of Zelophehad were not fit to give birth, as they married after forty years, as mentioned in Bava Batra 119a. Rather, a miracle occurred for them afterward. And if the inheritance of the husband is not from the Torah, they would be allowed to marry from any tribe they desired since they had no sons, and the husband does not inherit them. It was only because the Holy One, blessed be He, gave them good advice to marry from their own tribe so that a miracle could happen for them. Thus, the verse is meticulously clarified.

Devarim



Vaetchanan



Eikev



Re'eh



Shoftim
































“who is the man…” A house, a vineyard, and a woman. The Rambam (Hilchot De’ot 5:11) put (the verse about) a vineyard before (the verse about) a house (whereas the Torah put house first) because in the rebuke it is written “…a woman you will betroth, a house you will build, a vineyard…” (Deuteronomy 28:30) because in the curse everything is reversed, from which we learn it would have been appropriate to put the vineyard for his livelihood before the house, and the verse here presents a difficulty, see Rashi. (Rashi says that the verse refers to the fourth year’s produce - that is, he may well have planted it before building a house.) Behold, we rely on Rabbi Nehorai at the end of Kiddushin who said, “I set aside all the trades in the world, and I teach my son only Torah,” which is like Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Brachot 35b; and Rabbi Yishmael challenged this from the verse “you will gather your grain.” It seems to me that when Israel is settled on their Land, it is a mitzvah to gather your grain, not for the need of making a livelihood, because the words of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Nehorai are correct, but rather because of the mitzvah of developing the Land of Israel, and because of this Boaz winnowed barley in the threshing room and Elisha the prophet plowed with twelve yoke of oxen before him. And not only agricultural work, but study of all the professions because of (the mitzvah of) developing and honoring the Land of Israel, so that people will not say there is no shoemaker in all of the Land of Israel, or a builder, and the like, and bring them far distant lands. Therefore, study of all the professions is a mitzvah, and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and Rabbi Nehorai were referring to when we are dispersed amongst the nations who have many professionals and do not need us, and one who occupies himself with them - it is in order to find a livelihood; therefore, “I set aside all the trades in the world, and I teach my son only Torah.” And when they do the will of the Omnipresent, planting is not for making a livelihood, but rather is for the mitzvah; therefore,  a house precedes a vineyard, but in the rebuke, when they are not acting according to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, and the vineyard is for making a livelihood, it would be appropriate to place the vineyard before the house, but when acting from madness (see Deuteronomy 28:28) everything is turned upside down.

Ki Teitzei



Ki Tavo



Nitzavim



Vayeilech



Ha'Azinu



V'Zot HaBerachah