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Leviticus
ויקרא
The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
http://www.sefaria.org/shraga-silverstein

Leviticus



Chapter 1

	And He called (vayikra) [("kriyah" is an expression of endearment)] to Moses [(G-d's voice reached Moses' ears only)], and the L-rd spoke (vayedaber) [(There is "calling" only for (initial) "speaking" (dibbur), and not for pauses (subsections within the sections)] to him [and not to Aaron] from the tent of meeting [(the voice "cutting off" and not traveling beyond the tent of meeting)], "saying" [i.e., Speak to them (Israel) with "suasion"]
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: A man (adam) [(Just as Adam did not sacrifice what was stolen, so, you)], if he offer from you an offering to the L-rd, from the beasts [(but not all — to exclude participants, active or passive, in sodomy)], from the cattle [(to exclude objects of idolatry)] and from the sheep [(to exclude animals designated for idolatry) ("from the beasts" like cattle and sheep, but not undomesticated animals) ("and from the sheep" — to exclude animals which gored men to death)] shall you (plural) offer [(two may offer a burnt-offering in partnership)] your (plural) offering [(It may be a communal gift offering)].
	If his offering is a burnt-offering, from the cattle [("from") — to exclude a treifah (a "torn," ritually unfit, animal)], a male, [and not a female], without blemish, shall he offer it; to the door of the tent of meeting shall he bring it [(He must attend to getting it to the azarah (the Temple court)], of his own volition, before the L-rd [(There is no semichah (4) at a bamah (a temporary altar)].
	And he shall place (vesamach) his hand on the head of the [(excluding (from semichah) the burnt-offering of fowl)] burnt-offering [(including an obligatory burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of sheep)], and it shall be acceptable for him to make atonement for him [for transgressions of positive commandments or for negative commandments linked to positive commandments].
	And he shall slaughter [(It is permissible for a non-priest to slaughter)] the bullock before the L-rd [in the azarah], and the sons of Aaron, the priests [(they must be fit for the priesthood)] shall present [i.e., receive and bring] the blood, and they shall dash the blood [(including blood which intermingled with that of an offering of its kind or of another kind)] on the altar roundabout [(two "dashings" (from a vessel) on two (diagonally) opposite corners of the altar)], which is at the entrance of the tent of meeting [(but not when the tent of meeting is dismantled)].
	And he shall flay the burnt-offering [(all burnt-offerings are included)], and he shall cut it into its pieces [(but not its pieces into pieces)].
	And the sons of Aaron the priest [(in his "priesthood," If he officiated in the garments of an ordinary priest, his service is invalid)] shall put fire upon the altar [(Even though fire descends from heaven, it is a mitzvah to bring man-made fire)], and they shall arrange wood upon the fire.
	And the sons of Aaron, the priests [(in their "priesthood." If they officiate in the eight garments of the high-priest, their service is invalid)] shall arrange the pieces, the head [(which was cut off and not flayed)] and the suet [(which is brought up with the head to cover the shechitah site (a deferential act)] upon the wood upon the fire, which is upon the altar [(Pieces of wood should not stick out beyond the wood pile)].
	And its innards and its legs shall he wash with water, and the Cohein shall smoke the whole upon the altar, [specifically] as a burnt-offering, a fire-offering [(He must slaughter it to that end)], a sweet savor, ["gratifying," (in that His will was done)], to the L-rd.
	And, [(Whatever applies to "cattle" (3) applies to "flock" and vice versa)] if from the flock is his offering, of the sheep or of the goats, [(excluding the old, sick, or malodorous)], as a burnt-offering, a male [(and not one whose sex is in doubt or a hermaphrodite), without blemish shall he offer it.
	And he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before the L-rd [(There is no "northward" (requirement) at a bamah (a temporary altar)], and the sons of Aaron, the Cohanim, shall dash its blood on the altar roundabout.
	And he shall cut it into its pieces, and its head, and its suet; and the Cohein shall arrange them upon the wood upon the fire, which is upon the altar.
	And the innards and the legs he shall wash with water, and the Cohein shall offer the whole, and he shall smoke it upon the altar. It is a burnt-offering, a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And if from the fowl [(excluding a bird that is missing a limb)], a burnt-offering, is his offering to the L-rd, then shall he offer his offering from the turtle-doves [(grown ones and not small ones)] or from the young pigeons [(small ones and not grown ones)] [("from the turtle-doves or from the young pigeons") — excluding those whose plumage has just begun brightening].
	And the Cohein shall bring it [(even a single pigeon)] near to the altar, and he shall pinch off its head [(He cuts with his nail against the nape until he reaches the shechitah signs — gullet and windpipe — which he severs)], and he shall smoke it upon the altar; and its blood shall be wrung out [before smoking] against the wall of the altar [(He presses the shechitah site against it and the blood drains down)].
	And he shall remove its crop with its entrails, and he shall cast it beside the altar on the east [of the ramp], in the place of the ashes [removed from the altar and from the menorah].
	And he shall rend it with its feathers [(He need not pluck them out)]; he shall not divide it [completely (but he tears it along its back)]. And the Cohein shall smoke it on the altar, on the wood which is on the fire. It is a burnt-offering, a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.

Chapter 2

	And if a soul offer [(The Holy One Blessed be He says: "I shall account it to him as if he had offered his soul")] a meal-offering to the L-rd [and he does not specify which, of the five kinds of meal-offering], fine [wheat] flour (soleth) shall be his offering [(this one alone being called "soleth," because it is the only one of the five of which the fistful is taken before baking)]. And he [(even a non-priest)] shall pour oil upon it [(upon all of it)] and he shall put frankincense upon it [(upon part of it)].
	And he shall bring it to the sons of Aaron, the Cohanim, and he (the Cohein) shall take from there [(from wherever the donor is standing in the azarah)] his full fistful, [covering three fingers over the palm of his hand. (From the fistful on is the mitzvah of the kehunah)], of its fine flour and its oil, aside from all of its frankincense [i.e., the frankincense is not included in the fistful]. And the Cohein shall smoke [(the frankincense, too, is smoked)] its "remembrance" [(the fistful, the remembrance of the meal-offering, whereby its owner is remembered for good)] upon the altar, a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And what is left from the meal-offering shall be for Aaron [(i.e., for the high-priest) without apportionment] and for his sons [with apportionment]. It is holy of holies [to them] of the fire-offerings of the L-rd. [They have no portion in it until the fistful has been smoked.]
	And if you bring an offer of a meal-offering baked in an oven, [i.e., If one says: "I vow a meal-offering baked in an oven"], (it shall be) of fine flour: [ten] unleavened cakes mixed with oil, or [ten] unleavened wafers spread with oil. [It may be "second" or "third" oil (and does not require the first oil that comes out of the olive as the menorah does.)]
	And if a meal-offering (baked) on a griddle is your offering, of fine flour mixed with oil [(while it is yet flour)], unleavened bread shall it be.
	You shall break it [(i.e., all meal-offerings that are baked before the fistful is taken)] into pieces [before kemitzah (the taking of the fistful)], and you shall pour oil upon it [(but not upon a meal-offering baked in an oven)]; it is a meal-offering.
	And if a meal-offering of the stewing pan is your offering, of fine flour in oil shall it be made.
	And you shall bring the meal-offering that shall be made of [one of] these kinds to the L-rd; and he [the donor] shall present it to the Cohein, and he shall touch it to the [south-west corner of the] altar.
	And the Cohein shall lift from the meal-offering its remembrance [the fistful], and he shall smoke it upon the altar, a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And what is left from the meal-offering shall be for Aaron and his sons, holy of holies of the fire-offerings of the L-rd.
	All of the meal-offering that you offer up to the L-rd shall not be made with leaven; for all leaven and all "honey" [any sweet-fruit extract] you shall not smoke from it a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	As a first-offering [the two loaves of Atzereth (Shavuoth), which are of leaven, and the bikkurim, of fruit-honey (e.g., figs and dates)] you may offer them up to the L-rd; but they shall not come up to the altar for a sweet savor.
	And every offering of your meal-offering you shall salt with salt. And you shall not cut off the salt of the covenant of your G-d from your meal-offering. [G-d made a covenant for salt from the six days of creation, when the lower waters were "promised" that salt would be offered up on the altar and that water would be offered as a libation (on Succoth).] With all of your offerings [(With the burnt-offering of beast and bird and with the devoted portions (emurim) of all sacrifices)] shall you offer salt.
	And when you offer a meal-offering of first-fruits to the L-rd [the meal-offering of the omer], ripened grain [barley] in the ear parched with fire [to stiffen it for milling], groats of the fresh ear [i.e., ground while it is moist] shall you bring the meal-offering of your first-fruits.
	And you shall put oil upon it, and you shall put frankincense upon it; it is a meal-offering.
	And the Cohein shall smoke its remembrance of its groats and of its oil, with all its frankincense, a fire-offering to the L-rd.

Chapter 3

	And if a sacrifice of peace-offerings (shelamim) [(so called because they make peace (shalom) in the world)] is his offering — if he offers it from the herd — whether male or female — without blemish shall he offer it before the L-rd.
	And he shall place his hand upon the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it at the door of the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron, the Cohanim, shall dash the blood on the altar roundabout.
	And he shall present from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings a fire-offering to the L-rd: the fat that covers the innards and all the fat that is on the innards [According to R. Yishmael, to include the fat on the stomach; according to R. Akiva, to include the fat on the small intestines].
	And the two kidneys and the fat which is upon them, which is on the loins; and the lobe with [some of] the liver, aside from the kidneys, he shall remove it.
	And the sons of Aaron shall smoke it on the altar, aside from the burnt-offering [(the continual burnt-offering preceding every other sacrifice on the wood pile)], which is upon the wood, which is upon the fire, a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And if his offering is from the flock, for a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the L-rd, male or female, without blemish shall he offer it.
	If a lamb he offers for his offering, he shall offer it before the L-rd.
	And he shall place his hand upon the head of his offering, and he shall slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons shall dash its blood on the altar roundabout [see 1:5].
	And he shall offer of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings a fire-offering to the L-rd, its [choicest] fat — the fat-tail entire; above the kidneys, he shall remove it, and the fat that covers the innards and all the fat that is on the innards.
	And the two kidneys and the fat which is upon them, which is on the loins; and the lobe with [some of] the liver, aside from the kidneys, he shall remove it.
	And the Cohein shall smoke it upon the altar, the food of a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	And if a goat is his offering, he shall offer it before the L-rd.
	And he shall place his hand upon its head and he shall slaughter it before the tent of meeting, and Aaron's sons shall dash its blood on the altar roundabout.
	And he shall present from it his offering, a fire-offering to the L-rd, the fat that covers the innards and all the fat upon the innards.
	And the two kidneys and the fat which is upon them, which is on the loins, and the lobe with [some of] the liver, aside from the kidneys, he shall remove it.
	And the Cohein shall smoke them upon the altar, the food of a fire-offering for a sweet savor, all the fat for the L-rd.
	A perpetual statute for your generations in all your dwellings; all fat and all blood you shall not eat.

Chapter 4

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: A soul, if he sin unwittingly (by transgression) of all the mitzvoth of the L-rd [(of those negative commandments punishable by kareth ("cutting off") for willful transgression, and subject to a sin-offering for unwitting transgression)] which may not be done, and he do of [i.e., (even) part of] one of them [e.g., writing part of a name on Shabbath, like "Shem" from "Shemuel" or "Dan" from "Daniel"] —
	If the anointed Cohein shall sin to the guilt of the people [(If the high-priest sins, it is "to the guilt of the people," for they depend upon him to atone for them and to pray for them)], then he shall offer for his sin which he has sinned a young bullock [three years old], unblemished, to the L-rd, as a sin-offering.
	And he shall bring the bullock to the door of the tent of meeting before the L-rd, and he shall place his hand on the head of the bullock, and he shall slaughter the bullock before the L-rd.
	And the anointed Cohein shall take from the blood of the bullock and bring it to the tent of meeting [to the mishkan (and, in the Temple, to the heichal)].
	And the Cohein shall dip his finger into the blood, and he shall sprinkle from the blood seven times before the L-rd, before the parocheth of the holiness [i.e., in alignment between the staves of the ark. Though the high-priest has sinned, its holiness still inheres in it (see 17)].
	And the Cohein shall put of the blood on the horns of the altar of the smoking of the incense before the L-rd, which is in the tent of meeting; and all the [remaining] blood of the bullock he shall pour at the base of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting.
	And all the fat of the bullock [(The Yom Kippur bullock is hereby included)] of the sin-offering [(This includes the "idolatry goats" as subject to the burning of kidneys, fats, and lobe)] he shall take from it [(before dismembering it)]: the fat which covers the innards and all the fat which is on the innards.
	And the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, which is on the loins, and the lobe with [some of] the liver, aside from the kidneys — he shall remove it.
	As it is removed from the ox of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings [(Just as peace-offerings must be intended as such (lishmah), so this requires lishmah; and just as peace-offerings bring peace to the world, so does this)], and the Cohein shall smoke them on the altar of the burnt-offering.
	And the skin of the bullock and all its flesh, with its head and with its legs, and its innards and its dung.
	And he shall take the entire bullock outside the camp [outside the three camps (and, in the Temple, outside the city)] to a clean place, where the ashes [from the altar] are poured out; and he shall burn it on wood with fire. Where the ashes are poured out [(even if there are no ashes there)] shall it be burnt.
	And if the whole congregation of Israel [the Sanhedrin] err, and a thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly [(If they erroneously rule something punishable by kareth to be permitted)], and they [the people, on the strength of their ruling] do one of all the mitzvoth of the L-rd which are not to be done, and they are guilty —
	If the sin become known wherein they have sinned, then the assembly shall offer a young bullock for a sin-offering, and they shall bring it before the tent of meeting.
	And the elders of the congregation shall place their hands upon the head of the bullock before the L-rd, and he shall slaughter the bullock before the L-rd.
	And the anointed Cohein shall bring of the blood of the bullock to the tent of meeting.
	And the Cohein shall dip his finger from the blood, and he shall sprinkle seven times before the L-rd before the parocheth [(but not, as in (6) "the parocheth of the holiness") Once all have sinned, the holiness departs.)]
	And of the blood shall he put upon the horns of the altar which is before the L-rd, which is in the tent of meeting; and all of the [remaining] blood shall he pour at the [western] base of the altar of the burnt-offering, which is at the door of the tent of meeting.
	And all of its fat shall he take off from it, and he shall smoke it upon the altar.
	And he shall do with this bullock as he did with the bullock of the sin-offering [of the anointed Cohein]; so shall he do with this. And the Cohein shall make atonement for them and it shall be forgiven them.
	And he shall take the bullock outside the camp, and he shall burn it as he burned the first bullock; it is the sin-offering for the assembly.
	If (asher) a leader sin [("asher," similar to "ashrei" (fortunate). Fortunate is the generation whose leader takes it to heart to make atonement for his unwitting sin. (It goes without saying that he repents of his willful sins)], and he do one of all the mitzvoth of the L-rd his G-d, which are not to be done, unwittingly, and he be guilty —
	If his sin becomes known to him wherein he has sinned, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of goats, a male without blemish.
	And he shall place his hand on the head of the goat, and he shall slaughter it in the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered before the L-rd [i.e., northwards (1:11)]. It is a sin-offering [To be kasher, it must be offered as such (lishmah)]
	And the Cohein shall take of the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and he shall place it on the horns of the altar of the burnt-offering, and its [remaining] blood he shall pour at the base of the altar of the burnt-offering.
	And all of its fat shall he smoke upon the altar, as the fat of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings [of a goat]; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him for his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.
	And if a single soul sin unwittingly, of the people of the land, in doing it, one of the mitzvoth of the L-rd which are not to be done, and he be guilty —
	If his sin becomes known to him wherein he sinned, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of goats, a female without blemish, for his sin which he has sinned.
	And he shall place his hand on the head of the sin-offering, and he shall slaughter the sin-offering in the place of the burnt-offering.
	And the Cohein shall take of its blood with his finger and he shall place it on the horns of the altar of the burnt-offering, and all of its [remaining] blood he shall pour at the base of the altar.
	And all its fat shall he remove, as the fat was removed from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings [of a goat]. And the Cohein shall smoke it upon the altar as a sweet savor to the L-rd; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him, and it shall be forgiven him.
	And if a lamb he brings as his offering for a sin-offering, a female without blemish shall he bring it.
	And he shall place his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and he shall slaughter it [specifically] as a sin-offering in the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered.
	And the Cohein shall take from the blood of the sin-offering with his finger and put it on the horns of the altar of the burnt-offering; and he shall pour out all its blood at the base of the altar.
	And all its fat he shall remove, as the fat of the lamb is removed from the sacrifice of the peace-offerings [i.e., with the addition of the fat-tail]. And the Cohein shall smoke them upon the altar, upon the [fire made for the] fire-offerings of the L-rd. And the Cohein shall make atonement for him for the sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.

Chapter 5

	And if a soul sin and hear the voice of an oath [i.e., if he were besworn to give testimony if he knows it], and he were a witness, having seen or known — if he does not tell, then he shall bear his sin.
	Or if a soul touch any unclean thing [and, after becoming unclean, eat consecrated food or enter the sanctuary, willful violation being punishable by kareth] — whether it (the unclean thing) be the carcass of an unclean animal, or the carcass of an unclean beast, or the carcass of an unclean creeping thing — and it [the uncleanliness] were hidden from him, and he were unclean and he be guilty [in eating consecrated food or in entering the sanctuary] —
	Or if he touch the uncleanliness of man [(The allusion is to dead body uncleanliness)], for all his uncleanliness [including touching zavin or zavoth (men or women affected by a genital flux)] where he becomes unclean [(including touching one who cohabited with a niddah)] through it [(including swallowing the carcass of a (ritually) clean fowl)], and it were hidden from him, [i.e., he forgot that he had become unclean], and he (then) knew, and he be guilty [by eating consecrated food or entering the sanctuary],
	Or if a soul swore, pronouncing with his lips, [but not in his heart alone] to do ill or to do good [to himself], for all that a man will pronounce with an oath, [including an oath concerning the past], and it were hidden from him, [and he transgressed his oath], and he (then) knew, and he be guilty in one of these — [then he brings an oleh veyored ("sliding scale") offering (but for violation of an oath in denial of a money claim, the offering is a guilt-offering.)]
	Then it shall be, if he be guilty for one of these, then he shall confess wherein he has sinned.
	And he shall bring (the offering for) his guilt to the L-rd, for his sin which he has sinned, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat-kid, for a sin-offering; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him for his sin.
	And if his hand cannot attain enough for a lamb, then he shall bring (the offering of) his guilt wherein he has sinned, two turtle-doves or two young pigeons to the L-rd, one for a sin-offering and one for a burnt-offering.
	And he shall bring them to the Cohein, and he shall sacrifice the one for the sin-offering first [and then the burnt-offering. (First, pardon is secured; then the "gift" is presented.)] And he shall pinch its head alongside its oref (the back of the head sloping to the nape) [i.e., He pinches the nape], but he shall not sunder it (the head). [He pinches only one of the (shechitah) signs (gullet or windpipe)].
	And he shall sprinkle from the blood of the sin-offering on the wall of the altar [by grasping the oref and "squirting" the blood upon the altar], and what remains of the blood shall be drained out at the base of the altar. It is a sin-offering. [It must be specifically intended as such.]
	And the second one he shall make a burnt-offering as prescribed (1:14), and the Cohein shall make atonement for him for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him.
	And if his hand does not attain to two turtle-doves or to two young pigeons, then he shall bring his offering wherein he has sinned, a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a sin-offering; he shall not place oil upon it and he shall not put frankincense upon it, for it is a sin-offering, [which should not be ornate].
	And he shall bring it to the Cohein, and the Cohein shall take a fistful from it, his entire fistful, as its remembrance; and he shall smoke it upon the altar, upon the [fire made for the] fire-offerings of the L-rd. It is a sin-offering [and requires kemitzah (taking the fistful) and smoking lishmah].
	And the Cohein shall make atonement for him, for his sin (al chatatho) that he has sinned [If he sinned when rich and set aside money for a lamb or a goat, and then became poor, he may bring two turtle-doves from part of that money. If he set aside money for two turtle-doves and then became poorer, he may bring a tenth of an ephah from part of that money. If he set aside money for a tenth of an ephah and then became rich, (our instance) he adds to the money and brings the offering of a rich man. Hence, "al chatatho" — lit., "in addition to (what was set aside for) his sin," as opposed to "mechatatho" — lit., "from (what was set aside for) his sin," mentioned in the other instances (6 and 10)], with one of these [three atonements relative to the means of the donor], and it shall be forgiven him, and it [what is left over from the fistful] shall be to the Cohein, as [with] a meal-offering [in general].
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	A soul, if he change [something from sacred to profane] and sin unwittingly [by deriving benefit] from the holy things of the L-rd [i.e., those which are dedicated to His name (as opposed to lower order sanctities)], then he shall bring his guilt-offering to the L-rd, a [two-year-old] ram, without blemish, from the flock, by your valuation, silver shekalim [i.e., It must be worth at least two selaim], according to the shekel of the sanctuary, for a guilt-offering.
	And for what he has sinned in the holy thing [(the principal)] he shall pay, and its fifth he shall add to it, and he shall give it to the Cohein; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
	And if a soul sin and do one of all the mitzvoth of the L-rd which may not be done [(and which is punishable by kareth)], and he not know [that he has definitely sinned (as when one ate a piece of meat and was later informed that one of the two pieces before him was forbidden, so that he might have eaten the forbidden piece)], and he be guilty (in that respect), then he shall bear his sin.
	And he shall bring a ram without blemish, from the flock, by your valuation [see 15] for a guilt-offering to the Cohein; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him for his unwitting sin which he committed, for he did not know, and it shall be forgiven him. [But if he discovers later that he definitely sinned, he is not forgiven until he brings a sin-offering.]
	It [(to exclude the guilt-offering of a Nazirite (Numbers 6:12)] is a guilt-offering [which requires a ram worth two selaim]; he has been guilty (ashom asham) to the L-rd ["ashom asham" — to include (in the above) the guilt-offering (for violation) of a betrothed handmaid (19:20)]
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	If a soul sin and commit a profanation against the L-rd [(When he "denies," he "denies" the L-rd, who witnessed what was done)], and he deny to his neighbor a pledge, or a deposit [for business capital or as a loan] or a theft; or if he oppressed his neighbor [i.e., if he held back the wages of a hired laborer] —
	Or if he find a lost object and deny it, and swear falsely in one of all [these things] wherein a man sins [and swears falsely, denying a money claim] —
	And it shall be, when [he acknowledges, penitentially, that] he sinned and [that] he is guilty, then he shall return the theft that he has stolen, or the oppression wherein he has oppressed, or the pledge which was deposited with him, or the lost object which he found.
	Or of all that he swears upon falsely — and he shall pay it at its head [i.e., he shall return the principal], and its fifths shall he add to it [i.e., If he gave the claimant the principal and swore that he had given him the fifth (and subsequently admitted that he had sworn falsely, the fifth is accounted a principal and) he pays a fifth on the fifth (and so, progressively,) until the principal is less than the value of a perutah]. To whom it belongs shall he give it on the day of his (acknowledgement of his) guilt.
	And his guilt-offering shall he bring to the L-rd, a ram without blemish from the flock, by your valuation, for a guilt-offering to the Cohein.
	And the Cohein shall make atonement for him before the L-rd, and it shall be forgiven him for one of all (the transgressions) that he does to incur guilt thereby.

Chapter 6

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Command (tzav) Aaron and his sons ["tzav" connotes a prompting to zeal, for the immediate situation and for future generations. R. Shimon said: Scripture must prompt thus all the more where no profit is to be derived (the Cohanim not benefitting from the burnt-offering)]: This [(that it is permitted to smoke the fat and limbs the entire night, and that certain offerings must be taken down from the altar and others not)] is the law of the burnt-offering. It is the burnt-offering [(to exclude animals involved, actively or passively, in sodomy, and the like, which were invalidated before they entered the azarah (and which, if brought up on the altar must be taken down)] (It shall remain) on its fire-wood on the altar the entire night until the morning; and the fire of the altar shall be burning in it.
	And the Cohein shall put on his ["fit to size"] linen garment [the kutoneth], and linen breeches shall he put [directly] on his flesh [nothing intervening], and he shall lift [with a fire-pan] the ashes of the fire's consuming the burnt-offering on the altar [(If he finds unconsumed pieces he returns them to the altar)], and he shall put them beside the altar. [He takes a full fire-pan of the consumed inner pieces and puts them on the east of the ramp.]
	And he shall take off his garments and don other garments [(This is not obligatory but derech eretz (proper conduct), so that he not soil the garments in which he ministers)], and he shall take out the ashes [when they accumulate on the altar to the point where there is not enough room for the wood pile (This, unlike the removal of the ashes above (3), is not a daily requirement)] outside the camp to a clean place.
	And the fire of the altar shall be burning in it; it shall not go out. And the Cohein shall kindle wood on it every morning. And he shall arrange the burnt-offering upon it [The continual (daily) burnt-offering takes precedence], and he shall smoke upon it the fats of the peace-offerings.
	A perpetual fire [the fire called "perpetual" (Exodus 27:20), that by which the menorah is kindled] shall be burning on the [outer] altar; it shall not go out [One who extinguishes the altar fire transgresses two negative commandments.]
	And this is the law of the meal-offering, [that all of them require oil and frankincense]. The sons of Aaron shall bring it near [to the southwest corner of the altar], before the L-rd, [in the west, towards the tent of meeting], in front of the altar [the south, where the ramp is].
	And he shall take from it [from the combined mixture (of flour, oil, and frankincense), that there be a full issaron (a tenth) at the time of kemitzah], with his fistful, [that he not make a measure for the fistful], from the fine flour of the meal-offering [(it should not be mixed with another)] and its oil [(The fistful is taken from the place where the oil is thickest)], and all the frankincense which is on the meal-offering [(He collects the frankincense after taking the fistful and smokes it)], and he shall smoke it upon the altar, a sweet savor, its remembrance to the L-rd.
	And what is left of it shall be eaten by Aaron and his sons. It shall be eaten unleavened; in a holy place, in the court of the tent of meeting shall they eat it.
	It shall not be baked with leaven, their portion [(Even what is left over may not be baked with leaven)] (Their portion) have I given it of My fire-offerings; it is holy of holies. It [the meal-offering of the sinner] is like the sin-offering [in that if he did not take the fistful lishmah it is pasul] and [a gift meal-offering is] like the guilt-offering [in that if he did not take the fistful lishmah it is kasher].
	Every male [even one with a blemish] among the children of Aaron may eat it. It is a statute forever for your generations of the fire-offerings of the L-rd. All [mundane foods or foods of lower order sanctity] that touch them (the meal-offerings) [and absorb aught of them] shall be sanctified [like them. If the meal-offering is pasul, they become pasul; if it is kasher, they must be eaten with the stringencies of the meal-offering].
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	This is the offering of Aaron and his sons [(The ordinary Cohanim, too, offer the tenth of an ephah, but only on the day of their investiture, whereas the high-priest does so every day)], which they shall offer up to the L-rd on the day that he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour, a perpetual meal-offering — half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.
	On a griddle, with oil, shall it be made; soaked [scalded with hot (oil) to saturation] shall you bring it, baked many times [(After scalding it he bakes it in an oven and then he fries it on a griddle)]. A meal-offering of pieces shall you offer it, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And The Cohein that is anointed from his sons in his place shall offer it, a statute forever for the L-rd; it shall be entirely smoked. [No fistful is taken. The same applies to all gift meal-offerings of a Cohein.]
	And every meal-offering of a Cohein shall be entire, [exclusively for the L-rd]; it shall not be eaten.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: This is the law of the sin-offering. In the place where the burnt-offering is slaughtered, there shall the sin-offering be slaughtered, before the L-rd; it is holy of holies.
	The Cohein who offers it as a sin-offering [(to exclude one who is not clean at the time of the sprinkling of the blood)] shall eat it. In a holy place shall it be eaten, in the court of the tent of meeting.
	All that touches its flesh shall be sanctified [see 11]. And what shall be sprinkled of its blood upon a garment, that [place] which has been sprinkled upon, you shall wash in a holy place [the azarah].
	And an earthen vessel in which it is cooked shall be broken [(because what is absorbed becomes nothar ("leftover" holy food)]. And if it is cooked in a copper vessel, it shall be scoured and rinsed with water [to discharge what was absorbed.]
	Every male among the Cohanim may eat it; it is holy of holies.
	And every [(all kodshim are included)] sin-offering whereof any of its blood is brought to the tent of meeting to make atonement in the holy place shall not be eaten [(If he brings the blood of an "outer" sin-offering into the sanctuary, it becomes pasul)]; in fire shall it be burned.

Chapter 7

	And this is the law of the guilt-offering; it is holy of holies. [It is offered, but its substitute is not offered.]
	In the place where they slaughter the burnt-offering [(A communal burnt-offering is also slaughtered in the north)] shall they slaughter the guilt-offering, and its blood shall he dash on the altar roundabout.
	And all of its fat shall he offer of it: the fat-tail [(for only a ram or a lamb is brought as a guilt-offering)] and the fat that covers the innards.
	And the two kidneys and the fat which is upon them, which is on the loins, and the lobe with [some of] the liver, aside from the kidneys, he shall remove it.
	And the Cohein shall smoke them upon the altar, a fire-offering to the L-rd; it is a guilt-offering [(until, in certain circumstances, its name is removed from it by its being consigned to pasture until it sustains a blemish)]
	Every male among the Cohanim may eat it. In a holy place shall it be eaten; it is holy of holies.
	As is the sin-offering, so is the guilt-offering. There is one law for them: the Cohein who [may] make atonement therewith, to him shall it be [(to exclude from sharing in it one who has immersed in the daytime (and is not clean until the evening), one who lacks atonement (until he brings a sacrifice), and a mourner (before the burial of his kin)].
	And the Cohein who offers up the burnt-offering of a man, the hide of the burnt-offering which he offered up is the Cohein's; to him shall it be.
	And every meal-offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is made in the stewing-pan and on the griddle, to the Cohein who offers it up, to him [i.e., to the priestly family officiating that day] shall it be.
	And every meal-offering mixed with oil [(a gift meal-offering)] or dry [(the sinner's meal-offering and the meal-offering of jealousy (Numbers 5:15), which contain no oil)], to all the sons of Aaron shall it be, one man as well as another.
	And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace-offerings which one shall offer to the L-rd.
	If for thanksgiving [for a miracle wrought for him, e.g., recovering from an illness] he shall offer it, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers spread with oil, and [unleavened] cakes of soaked fine flour mixed with oil [(ten cakes of each of the four kinds)].
	With cakes of leavened bread shall he offer his offering, with the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace-offerings. [(The bread does not become consecrated until the sacrifice is slaughtered)].
	And he shall offer of it one [bread] of each offering [i.e., of each kind of the four breads], a gift-offering to the L-rd. To the Cohein who dashes (against the altar) the blood of the peace-offerings, to him shall it be.
	And the flesh of the sacrifice of his thanksgiving peace-offerings [(to include for being eaten on the same day and the succeeding night the sin-offering, guilt-offering, and ram of the Nazirite, and the festival offering of the fourteenth of Nissan)], on the day of his offering shall it [and its bread] be eaten. He shall not leave over of it until morning.
	And if a vow or a gift [(and not thanksgiving for a miracle)] is the sacrifice of his offering, [(then it does not require bread and it may be eaten for two days)], on the day that he offers his sacrifice shall it be eaten; and on the next day, that which remains of it [from the first day] shall be eaten.
	And what remains from the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day, with fire shall it be burned.
	And if there be [thought (by the offerer) to be] eaten of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace-offerings on the third day [i.e., If, when it is sacrificed he thinks to eat it on the third day], it shall not be accepted. He that offers it shall not bethink himself [to eat it on the third day]. It shall be piggul ("rejected"), and the soul that eats of it [even within the permitted time] shall bear its sin.
	And the flesh [of consecrated peace-offerings] that shall touch any unclean thing shall not be eaten; it shall be burned with fire. And the flesh [(to include as permitted what remains inside (the permitted eating bounds) of a limb that has projected outside)] — everyone that is clean [and not only the owner] may eat the flesh.
	And the soul that eats flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which is the L-rd's, and his uncleanliness is upon him [i.e., if he himself (as opposed to the offering) is unclean], that soul shall be cut off from its people [(but a clean person who eats an unclean offering does not incur kareth)].
	And if a soul touch any unclean thing, of the uncleanliness of a man or of an unclean beast, or of any unclean abomination, and he eat of the flesh of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings, which is the L-rd's, then that soul shall be cut off from its people.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: All fat (cheilev) of ox or sheep or goat you shall not eat.
	And the fat of (a beast that is) neveilah (carrion) or the fat of treifah ("torn") may be used for all service [(The fat of neveilah does not render one unclean)], and you shall not eat it. [(The interdict of eating neveilah and treifah "takes" upon that of eating cheilev, so that the eater transgresses two negative commandments)].
	For all who eat fat of the beast, of which one presents a fire-offering to the L-rd, the soul that eats shall be cut off from its people.
	And all blood you shall not eat, in all of your habitations [(the interdict being a function of the body and not of the land)], of bird and of beast [(to exclude the blood of fish and locusts)].
	Any soul that eats any blood, that soul shall be cut off from its people.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: He who presents the sacrifice of his peace-offerings to the L-rd shall bring his offering to the L-rd from the sacrifice of his peace-offerings.
	His hands shall bring the fire-offerings of the L-rd, [the hand of the owner above, with the fat and breasts in it, and the hand of the Cohein below, and he (the Cohein) lifts them]. The fat on the breast shall he (a Cohein) bring it [from the slaughtering site, so that when it is placed in the hand of the Cohein who waves it, the breast is above and the fat below; and, after the waving, it is placed — breast below and fat above — in the hand of a third Cohein who smokes it] — the breast, to wave it as a wave-offering before the L-rd [i.e., the breast is not part of the fire-offering, but part of the wave-offering].
	And the Cohein shall smoke the fat upon the altar, and [i.e., after which] the breast shall be for Aaron and for his sons.
	And the right shok (from knee to thigh) shall you give as an offering to the Cohein from the sacrifices of your peace-offerings.
	He who offers the blood of the peace-offerings and the fat, of the sons of Aaron [i.e., he who is fit to offer them (to exclude one who is unclean at the time of the sprinkling of the blood or the smoking of the fats)], to him shall be the right shok as a portion.
	For the breast of the waving [(forward and back)] and the thigh of the lifting [(up and down)] have I taken from the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, and I have given them to Aaron the Cohein and to his sons as an everlasting statute from the children of Israel.
	This is the (portion of the) anointment of Aaron and the anointment of his sons from the fire-offerings of the L-rd on the day He drew them near to minister to the L-rd.
	Which the L-rd commanded to give to them on the day He anointed them, from the children of Israel, a statute forever, throughout their generations.
	This is the law of the burnt-offering, of the meal-offering, and of the sin-offering, and of the guilt-offering, and of the offering of investiture [of the priesthood], and of the sacrifice of the peace-offerings.
	Which the L-rd commanded Moses in Mount Sinai on the day that He commanded the children of Israel to present their offerings to the L-rd in the desert of Sinai.

Chapter 8

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	[This section was stated seven days before the erection of the mishkan (there being no "before" and "after" in the Torah)] Take Aaron [("Take" him with words, predispose him)] and his sons with him, and the garments, and the oil of anointment, and the bullock of the sin-offering, and the two rams, and the basket of unleavened bread [(see Exodus 28), the instructions being reiterated as a prompting to zeal on the first day of the investiture].
	And assemble all of the congregation at the door of the tent of meeting [(this being one of the places where the "small" contained the "great")].
	And Moses did as the L-rd commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the door of the tent of meeting.
	And Moses said to the congregation: This [what you will see me doing] is [not for my honor nor for my brother's, but it is] the thing which the L-rd has commanded to do.
	And Moses drew near Aaron and his sons and he washed them with water.
	And he put upon him [(see Exodus 29)] the kutoneth, and he girded him with the avneit, and he clothed him with the me'il, and he put upon him the ephod, and he girded him with the cheishev of the ephod, and he bound it to him therewith.
	And he placed upon him the choshen, and he put in the choshen the urim and the tumim [(see Exodus 28:30)]
	And he put the mitznefeth upon his head; and he set upon the mitznefeth, upon its forefront, the golden tzitz, the holy crown, as the L-rd had commanded Moses [(see Exodus 28:37)]
	And Moses took the oil of anointment and he anointed the mishkan and all that was in it, and he sanctified them.
	And Moses sprinkled of it upon the altar seven times; and he anointed the altar and all of its vessels, and the laver and its base, to sanctify them.
	And he poured from the oil of anointment upon the head of Aaron, and he anointed him to sanctify him.
	And Moses drew near the sons of Aaron, and he clothed them with kutanoth, and he girded them with the avneit, and he bound migbaoth upon them, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And he presented the bullock of the sin-offering, and Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the head of the bullock of the sin-offering.
	And he slaughtered (it), and Moses took the blood, and he put it on the horns of the altar roundabout with his finger. And he purified the altar [(He cleaned and purified it from its state of profaneness to enter into that of holiness)], and the (remaining) blood he poured out at the base of the altar, and he sanctified it [by this service] to make atonement upon it [i.e., to effect upon it all the atonements thenceforward].
	And he took all the fat that was upon the innards, and the lobe with [some of] the liver, and the two kidneys, and their fat, and Moses smoked it on the altar.
	And the bullock, with its skin, and its flesh, and its dung, he burned with fire outside the camp, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And he presented the ram of the burnt-offering, and Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the head of the ram.
	And he slaughtered (it), and Moses dashed the blood upon the altar roundabout.
	And he cut the ram into its pieces, and Moses smoked the head, and the pieces, and the suet.
	And the innards and the legs he washed with water, and Moses smoked the whole ram upon the altar. It is a burnt-offering for a sweet savor, a fire-offering to the L-rd, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And he presented the second ram, the ram of investiture (miluim) [the ram of shelamim, which "fill and complete" (memalin umashlimin) the induction of the Cohanim]; and Aaron and his sons placed their hands on the head of the ram.
	And he slaughtered (it), and Moses took of its blood and placed it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the thumb of his right foot.
	And he brought forward Aaron's sons, and Moses put of the blood upon the tip of their right ear, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the thumb of their right foot; and Moses dashed the blood upon the altar roundabout.
	And he took the fat and the fat-tail and all the fat on the innards and the lobe with [some of] the liver and the two kidneys and their fat and the right shok.
	And from the basket of unleavened bread which was before the L-rd he took one unleavened cake and a cake of oiled bread [see 6:14] and one wafer, and he put them on the fats and on the right shok.
	And he placed the whole upon the hands of Aaron and upon the hands of his sons, and he waved them, a wave-offering before the L-rd.
	And Moses took them from their hands and smoked them on the altar after the burnt-offering. They are an investiture-offering for a sweet savor; it is a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	And Moses took the breast and waved it, a wave-offering before the L-rd from the ram of the investiture. To Moses was it for a portion, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And Moses took of the oil of anointment and of the blood which was upon the altar, and he sprinkled it upon Aaron, upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him. And he sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and the garments of his sons with him.
	And Moses said to Aaron and to his sons: Cook the flesh at the door of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of investiture, as I have commanded, saying: Aaron and his sons shall eat it.
	And what is left over of the flesh and of the bread you shall burn with fire.
	And from the door of the tent of meeting you shall not go out seven days, until the day of the fulfillment of the days of your investiture; for seven days shall He invest your hands.
	As He has done this day, so has the L-rd commanded to do [all seven days] to make atonement for you.
	And at the door of the tent of meeting shall you sit day and night seven days. And you shall keep the charge of the L-rd that you not die [(Failing to do so, you incur the penalty of death)]; for thus have I been commanded.
	And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the L-rd commanded by the hand of Moses, [not deviating to the right or to the left.]

Chapter 9

	And it was on the eighth day [of the investiture, the first of Nissan, the day of the erection of the mishkan] that Moses called to Aaron and to his sons and to the elders of Israel, [to impress upon them that Aaron and his sons entered into the high-priesthood by divine command and not of their own initiative].
	And he said to Aaron: Take for yourself a bull-calf for a sin-offering, [Aaron being apprised that this calf was his atonement for the golden calf which he had made], and a ram for a burnt-offering, without blemish, and offer them before the L-rd.
	And to the children of Israel shall you speak, saying: Take a he-goat for a sin-offering and a calf and a lamb of the first year, without blemish, for a burnt-offering.
	And an ox and a ram for peace-offerings to sacrifice before the L-rd, and a meal-offering mixed with oil; for today the L-rd will appear to you [to repose His shechinah in the work of your hands (for which reason these offerings are obligatory on this day)].
	And they brought what Moses had commanded in front of the tent of meeting, and all the congregation drew near and stood before the L-rd.
	And Moses said: This is the thing which the L-rd commanded that you should do so that there appear to you the glory of the L-rd.
	And Moses said to Aaron: Draw near to the altar [(Aaron was ashamed and afraid to draw near, whereupon Moses said to him: Why are you ashamed? For this were you chosen!)], and offer your sin-offering [the bull-calf] and your burnt-offering [the ram], and make atonement for yourself and for the people; and offer the offering of the people [the he-goat, the calf, and the lamb], and make atonement for them, as the L-rd has commanded.
	And Aaron drew near to the altar and slaughtered the calf of the sin-offering which was his.
	And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood, and he put it on the horns of the altar; and he poured out the blood at the foundation of the altar.
	And the fat and the kidneys and the lobe with [some of] of the liver of the sin-offering he caused to smoke upon the altar, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And the flesh and the skin he burned with fire outside the camp.
	And he slaughtered the burnt-offering, and Aaron's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it against the altar roundabout.
	And the burnt-offering they presented to him with its pieces and the head, and he smoked them upon the altar.
	And he washed the innards and the legs, and he smoked them upon the burnt-offering on the altar.
	And he presented the offering of the people, and he took the goat of the sin-offering which was the people's, and he slaughtered it, and he offered it as a sin-offering, like the first [i.e., like his calf].
	And he presented the burnt-offering, and he offered it according to the ordinance [see Chapter 1].
	And he presented the meal-offering and he filled his hand from it [viz., the kemitzah], and he smoked it upon the altar, aside from the burnt-offering of the morning. [He offered all of these after the continual burnt-offering.]
	And he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of the peace-offerings which was the people's, and Aaron's sons presented the blood to him, and he dashed it against the altar roundabout.
	And the fats of the ox and of the ram, the fat-tail, and [the fat] that covered [the innards], and the kidneys, and the lobe with [some of] the liver.
	And they put the fats on the breasts [(After the waving, the Cohein who had waved them (with the breast above and the fat below) put them into the hand of the Cohein who was to smoke them, breast below and fat above)], and he smoked the fats on the altar.
	And the breasts and the right thigh Aaron waved as a wave-offering before the L-rd, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
	And Aaron lifted his hands to the people and he blessed them [the priestly blessing], and he came down from offering the sin-offering and the burnt-offering and the peace-offerings.
	And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting [for Moses to teach Aaron the service of the incense (which is offered there)], and they went out and blessed the people. [They said (Psalms 90:17): "And let the pleasantness of the L-rd be upon us." Up to that point the Shechinah had not rested in the mishkan. Seeing their distress over this, Moses had said to them (9:6): "This (the sacrificial service that follows) is the thing that you should do so that there appear to you the glory of the L-rd"], and, [Aaron having performed that service], the glory of the L-rd appeared to all the people.
	And a fire came forth from before the L-rd, and it consumed upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fats. And all the people saw and they exalted (the L-rd), and they fell upon their faces.

Chapter 10

	And the sons of Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, took, each of them his coal-pan, and they put fire therein, and they laid incense thereon; and they offered before the L-rd a strange fire, which He had not commanded them.
	And a fire came out from before the L-rd and it consumed them, and they died before the L-rd.
	And Moses said to Aaron: This is what the L-rd spoke [(Exodus 29:43): "And I shall be appointed there (in the tent of meeting) for the children of Israel, venikdash bichvodi" — Read it "bimechubadai" (i.e., "and it will be sanctified by My honored ones")], saying: "With My near ones will I be sanctified, and before all the people will I be glorified." And Aaron kept his peace.
	And Moses called to Mishael and to Eltzafan, the sons of Uziel, the uncle of Aaron [Uziel was Amram's brother (6:18)]. And he said to them: Draw near; carry your brothers from before the sanctuary outside of the camp [(as one would say: Remove the body from before the bride so as not to spoil the occasion.)]
	And they drew near, and they carried them in their [the dead ones'] tunics [(Their garments were not burned. Two "threads" of fire entered their nostrils and killed them)] outside the camp, as Moses had spoken.
	And Moses said to Aaron and to Elazar and to Ithamar, his sons: Your hair do not grow long [(whence it is derived that a mourner may not cut his hair.) But you, do not "dampen the joy" of the Holy One Blessed be He], and your garments do not rend, that you not die and He be wroth with the entire congregation. And let your brethren, the entire house of Israel, mourn the burning that the L-rd has burned [(whence it is derived that it is incumbent upon all to mourn the suffering of sages.)]
	And from the door of the tent of meeting do not go out, lest you die; for the anointing oil of the L-rd is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses.
	And the L-rd spoke to Aaron, saying:
	Wine or strong drink do not drink, you and your sons with you, when you come to the tent of meeting, so that you not die, an everlasting statute throughout your generations.
	So that you distinguish between the holy and the profane [(If a Cohein ministers while inebriated, his service is invalid)], and between the unclean and the clean.
	And to teach the children of Israel all the statutes that the L-rd spoke to them by the hand of Moses.
	And Moses spoke to Aaron and to Elazar and to Ithamar, his remaining sons [("remaining" from death. They, too, were to have died because of the sin of the golden calf, but Moses' prayer (Deuteronomy 9:20) annulled half the decree)]: Take the meal-offering remaining from the fire-offerings of the L-rd [the meal-offering of the eighth day and the meal-offering of Nachshon] and eat it unleavened beside the altar, for it is holy of holies.
	And you shall eat it in a holy place, for it is your portion and the portion of your sons from the fire-offerings of the L-rd [(Daughters have no portion in kodshim (consecrated foods)]; for thus have I been commanded [that they shall eat it in a state of aninuth (before the burial of their kin, even though this is normally forbidden)].
	And the breast of the waving and the shok of the lifting shall you eat in a clean place [(These lower order offerings, as opposed to the preceding holy of holies, need not be eaten in a holy place (within the court), but it suffices that they be eaten in a place that is clean (of lepers, i.e., within the camp of Israel)], you and your sons [(having a portion)] and your daughters with you [(the daughters not having a portion, but permitted to eat it as a gift)]. For as your portion and the portion of your sons are they given from the sacrifices of the peace-offerings of the children of Israel.
	The shok of the lifting and the breast of the waving, upon the fire-offerings of the fats shall they bring [(the fats being below at the time of waving)], to wave a wave-offering before the L-rd. And it shall be for you and for your sons with you as a statute forever, as the L-rd has commanded.
	And for the goat of the sin-offering [the goat of the additional offerings of the New Moon] Moses inquired, inquired, and, behold, it was burned [(two inquiries: Why has this goat been burned, and why have the other goats (the he-goat [9:3] and that of Nachshon [Numbers 7:16] been eaten?)] And he was wroth with Elazar and Ithamar the remaining sons of Aaron [(Out of deference to Aaron he turned his face to the sons in anger)] to say [(He said to them: Answer my words)]:
	Why did you not eat the sin-offering in the holy place? [Is it possible that it was taken outside of the (court) curtains and (thereby) became pasul] because it is holy of holies? [They answered: No. — whereupon he said: Why, then, did you not eat it] when He has given it to you to forgive the sin of the congregation, to make atonement for them before the L-rd? ["the Cohanim eating and the offerers receiving atonement", (the Rosh Chodesh goat [as opposed to the two others, whose purpose was not atonement,) atoning for uncleanliness of the sanctuary and its holy things)]
	Behold, its blood was not brought within the sanctuary [in which instance you would have been obliged to burn it (see 6:23)]. You should then have eaten it in the holy place as I commanded you [in respect to the meal-offering (12), even though you are onenim!]
	And Aaron spoke ["with heart"] to Moses [(knowing that Moses' words were really meant for him and that his sons were maintaining a deferential silence)]: Now did they this day offer their sin-offering and their burnt-offering before the L-rd! [Moses had said to them: Is it possible that you sprinkled its blood being onenim! (the service of an onein being pasul) — to which Aaron replied: Is it they, ordinary priests, who offered the sacrifice? Is it not I who did so? (the high-priest sacrificing even when he is an onein)] Now if there had befallen me [even the death of other kin for whom I must become an onein (see Chapter 21)], such as these [my sons], and I had eaten the sin-offering this day [(an onein is permitted to eat at night)], would it be good in the eyes of the L-rd! [(If you have heard (from the L-rd) that this (such eating) is permitted with kodshim for a particular occasion (the investiture), this is no license for permitting it in "ongoing" kodshim (such as the Rosh Chodesh goat)].
	And Moses heard, and it was good in his eyes. [He admitted (that he had heard this from the L-rd but had forgotten) instead of "covering up" (by saying that he had not heard)].

Chapter 11

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron [(Moses to tell Aaron)] to say to them [(Aaron to tell Elazar and Ithamar)]:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying [(All of the above were made equal in this embassy for having remained silent and accepted G-d's decree (the death of Nadav and Avihu) with love)]: This [(Moses took hold of the animal and showed it to Israel)] is the animal (chayyah) [(connoting "chayyim" (life) — Because Israel cleaves to the L-rd and merits (eternal) life, it is (to that end) separated from what is unclean and given mitzvoth)] that you may eat, of every beast that is on the earth [("beast" is in the class of "animal")]:
	Whatever has parted hooves, and whose hooves are wholly cloven, and which chews its cud [lit., "which brings up its cud" (to chew again)] in the beast [(including an embryo found in the mother)] it shall you eat [(a positive commandment added to the negative (below) to make for "double" transgression in the instance of non-observance)]
	Only this shall you not eat of those that chew the cud and of those whose hooves are parted: the camel, because it chews the cud and its hoof is not parted, it is unclean to you.
	And the coney, because it chews the cud but has not parted hooves, it is unclean to you.
	And the hare, because it chews the cud but has not parted hooves, it is unclean to you.
	And the swine, because its hooves are parted and it is cloven-footed, but it does not chew the cud, it is unclean to you.
	Of their flesh you shall not eat [(The exhortation applies to flesh, but not to bones, sinews, horns, or hooves)], and their carcass you shall not touch [on a festival]; they are unclean to you [(Do not make yourself unclean through them and (thus) disqualify yourself from appearing in the Temple on the festival)].
	This may you eat of all that is in the waters: All that have fins and scales in the water, in the seas and in the rivers — those may you eat.
	And all that do not have fins and scales in the seas and in the rivers, of every sheretz of the waters [(sheretz) a low creature that creeps and moves along the ground], and of every living creature that is in the waters — they are detestable to you.
	And detestable shall they be to you [(This is to include mixtures where their taste is discernible)]. Of their flesh you shall not eat [(The exhortation does not apply to fins and bones)], and their carcass shall you hold in detestation [(to include midges filtered from their native element)].
	Whatever has no fins and scales in the water [(but not something that "sheds" them in being removed from the water)] is detestable to you.
	And these shall you hold in detestation of the fowl. They shall not be eaten [(One may not feed them to minors)]; they are detestable: the great vulture, and the bearded vulture, and the osprey.
	And the kite and the falcon after its kind. ["after its kind" denotes a class which, though containing some members which may differ in name or appearance, is, notwithstanding, one species.)]
	Every raven after its kind.
	And the ostrich, and the night-hawk, and the sea-mew, and the hawk after its kind.
	And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl.
	And the horned owl, and the pelican, and the carrion-vulture.
	And the [white] stork, and the heron after its kind, and the lapwing and the bat.
	All creeping things that fly, which walk on four [such as flies, hornets, gnats, and locusts,] are detestable to you.
	Only this may you eat of all creeping things that fly, which walk on four — that which has kera'aim [foot-like projections] above its feet [near its neck] with which to spring from the earth.
	These of them you may eat: the arbeh after its kind, and the salam after its kind, and the chargol after its kind, and the chagav after its kind.
	And every creeping thing that flies, which has four legs, it is detestable to you [(but if it has five, it is clean)].
	And by [touching] these [that follow] you shall become unclean; all who touch their carcass will be unclean until evening.
	And everyone that carries of their carcass shall wash his clothing, and he shall be unclean until the evening. [(Carrying-uncleanliness is more stringent than touching-uncleanliness in that it requires washing of clothing.)]
	By [touching (24)] every beast whose hoof is parted but is not cloven-footed, [like the camel, whose hoof is parted above but joined below] or does not chew the cud. They are unclean to you; everyone who touches them (i.e. their carcass) shall be unclean.
	And all that walk upon their soles [e.g., dog, bear, cat], among all animals which walk on four, they are unclean to you. All who touch their carcass will be unclean until the evening.
	And he that carries their carcass shall wash his clothes, and he shall be unclean until the evening; they are unclean to you.
	And this to you is what is unclean [i.e., which renders you unclean by touching them (vis-à-vis the eating of terumah and kodshim and entering the sanctuary)] among the creeping things that creep upon the earth: the weasel, and the mouse, and the great lizard after its kind.
	And the gecko, and the land-crocodile, and the lizard, and the sand-lizard, and the chameleon.
	These are what are unclean to you among all that creep. Everyone who touches them in their death will be unclean until the evening.
	And all (vessels) upon which there falls of them in their death shall be unclean: of all vessels of wood, or garment, or skin, or sack. Any vessel with which work is done shall be put into water, and it shall be unclean [even after immersion] until the evening [for purposes of terumah], and then, [with the setting of the sun] it shall be clean.
	And every earthen vessel where there shall fall of them into its midst [(an earthen vessel becomes unclean only through its interior)], whatever is in its midst shall [in turn] become unclean, and it shall you break [(It cannot be rendered clean in a mikveh.)]
	["whatever is in its midst shall be unclean"] of all the food [(but not vessels) that is in it] which may be eaten [in one swallow (the size of an egg)], upon which water [and all drink] comes [(after the fruit has been picked)]; and all drink that may be drunk in every (such) vessel shall be unclean.
	And all that there shall fall of their carcass upon it shall be unclean; whether oven or stove [(hollow, movable earthenware vessels with the opening on top)], it shall be torn down [(ritual immersion not availing for earthenware)]; they are unclean. And they shall be unclean to you [("to you":) If one wishes to preserve them in their state of uncleanliness he may do so.)]
	Only a spring or a pit where waters are gathered shall be clean [i.e., they are not susceptible to uncleanliness (or: he who immerses in them "shall be clean")]. But he who touches their carcass (the carcass of the animals mentioned above) shall be unclean, [even if he does so while immersed in the spring or the mikveh].
	And if there fall of their carcass on any variety of seed which is to be sown, it is clean [(Scripture apprises us (see 38) that it is not considered food susceptible of uncleanliness until water comes upon it)].
	And if water [or other liquids] be placed upon a(n) [uprooted] seed [or it fall into water], and aught of their carcass fall on it [(even after the water has dried)], it is unclean to you.
	And if there die of the beast which is yours to eat, he that touches its carcass [(but not its bones, sinews, horns, hooves, or skin)] shall be unclean until the evening.
	And he who eats of its carcass [i.e., one who carries or touches the amount of carcass to which the term "eating" can be applied (i.e., an olive-size)] shall wash his clothes and he shall be unclean until the evening. And he who carries its carcass shall wash his clothes and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth is detestable [(to exclude the insects in peas and beans, which do not creep upon the earth but within the food (Once they come out, however, and creep upon the earth, they are forbidden)]; it shall not be eaten [The feeder incurs punishment as the eater does.]
	All [(including worms and the like)] that go upon the belly [i.e., snakes] and all that go upon four [i.e., scorpions], until all [including beetles and the like] that are many-footed [i.e., centipedes], of all creeping things that creep upon the earth, you shall not eat them, for they are detestable.
	Do not make your souls detestable by [eating] every creeping thing that creeps, and do not make yourselves unclean by [eating] them, that you be rendered unclean by them. [(If you make yourselves unclean by them on earth, I shall render you unclean for the world to come and for the heavenly tribunal.)]
	[Just as I am holy,] for I am the L-rd your G-d, make yourselves holy, and you will be holy, [for I will sanctify you above and in the world to come.] For I am holy, and do not make your souls unclean, [transgressing many negative commandments, each punishable by stripes (e.g., "If one ate a putitha (a kind of reptile) he receives stripes four times, etc.")] with every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.
	For I am the L-rd, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt [so that you accept My mitzvoth], to be a G-d to you. And you shall be holy, for I am holy.
	This is the law of the beast and the bird and of every living creature that swarms in the water and of every creature that creeps on the earth.
	To distinguish [(It is not enough to "learn" about them; you must have perfect "recognition" of them.)] between the unclean [i.e., what is "unclean" to you (e.g., cutting half the windpipe)] and the clean [i.e., what is "clean" to you (e.g., cutting most of the windpipe)], and between the animal [(with certain treifah signs)] which may be eaten, and the animal [(with other treifah signs)] which may not be eaten.

Chapter 12

	And the L-rd said to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: If a woman give forth seed [(Just as man's creation followed that of beast and fowl, so his law follows that of beast and fowl)] ("If a woman give forth seed") [(Even if she bore something pulpy and semen-like, she becomes unclean with childbirth-uncleanliness.)] and she bear a male, she shall be unclean seven days. As the days of her menstrual flow [(even if her womb opened without blood)] shall she be unclean.
	And on the eighth day he shall circumcise the flesh of his foreskin.
	And thirty days and three days she shall abide in the blood of cleanliness. [(Even though she sees blood, she is clean.)] All that is holy [including terumah] she shall not touch [(an exhortation against eating terumah)] [for her immersion (vis-à-vis kodshim) does not "take" until sunset of the fortieth day, on the morrow of which she brings her atonement offering], and into the sanctuary she shall not come until the fulfillment of the days of her purification.
	And if a female she bear, then she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstrual state, and sixty days and six days shall she abide in the blood of cleanliness.
	And when the days of her purification are fulfilled, for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb in its first year for a burnt-offering, and a young pigeon or a turtle-dove for a sin-offering, to the door of the tent of meeting, to the Cohein.
	And he shall offer it [the sin-offering (Only the sin-offering is indispensable for her eating kodshim)] before the L-rd and make atonement for her, and she shall be cleansed [(whence it is seen that before this she is regarded as unclean)] from the source of her blood. This is the law for the woman who bears, whether a male or a female.
	And if she has not means enough for a lamb, then she shall take two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, one for a burnt-offering and one for a sin-offering [(Note: The sin-offering is offered first; "burnt-offering" is just read first.)], and the Cohein shall make atonement for her and she shall be clean.

Chapter 13

And the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
A man, if there be in the skin of his flesh se'eth (a rising) or sapachath or bahereth (a bright spot) [types of plague-spots, one brighter than the other], and it become in the skin of his flesh a plague-spot of leprosy, then he shall be brought to Aaron the Cohein or to one of his sons, the Cohanim [(It is a Scriptural decree that only a Cohein rules on the cleanliness or uncleanliness of plague-spots)].
And the Cohein shall see the plague-spot in the skin of the flesh. If hair [at least two hairs] in the plague-spot had turned [from black to] white, and the appearance of the plague-spot is deeper than the skin of his flesh [(as things in the sun seem deeper than those in the shadow)], it is a plague-spot of leprosy. And the Cohein shall see it and declare him unclean [(He shall say to him: "You are unclean.")]
And if it is a white bahereth in the skin of his flesh, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and its hair had not turned white, then the Cohein shall quarantine the plague-spot for seven days, [not to be looked at until the end of the week].
And the Cohein shall see it on the seventh day; and if the plague-spot appears as it did before [in appearance and size], if the plague-spot did not spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall quarantine it for a second seven days, [but if it spread in the first week, he is a confirmed leper].
And the Cohein shall see it on the seventh day again; and if the plague-spot is dim, and the plague-spot has not spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall declare him clean [(but if it remained the same or spread, he is unclean)]; it is a mispachath [a type of clean plague-spot], and he shall wash his clothes and be clean [(Since he required quarantine he is called "unclean" and requires immersion.)]
And if the mispachath spreads in the skin after he has shown himself to the Cohein for his cleansing, then he shall show himself a second time to the Cohein.
And the Cohein shall see: If the mispachath has spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall declare him unclean, [whereupon he is a confirmed leper, requiring birds, shaving, and the offering (see Chapter 14)]. It [this mispachath] is leprosy.
A plague-spot of leprosy, if it be in a man, then he shall be brought to the Cohein.
And the Cohein shall see, and behold, a white se'eth in the skin, and it has turned the hair white, and the healthiness of living flesh within the rising, [part of the whiteness within the se'eth having assumed the appearance of flesh, this, too, is a sign of uncleanliness — white hair (even) without healthy flesh, or healthy flesh (even) without white hair. (Note: Though "healthy flesh" is stated only in reference to se'eth, it is a sign of uncleanliness in all plague-spots.)]
It is old leprosy in the skin of his flesh [(There is an old wound, full of pus, beneath the healthy flesh, so that the healthy flesh is no reason to declare him clean]. And the Cohein shall declare him unclean; he shall not quarantine him, for he is unclean.
And if the leprosy blossom in the skin, and the leprosy cover all the skin of the plague-spot, from his head until his feet, to all the sight of the eyes of the Cohein [(to exclude a Cohein whose sight has dimmed)],
And the Cohein shall see, and behold, the leprosy has covered all of his flesh, then he shall declare the plague-spot clean; all of it has turned white — it is clean.
And on the day [(There is a "day" when plague-spots are inspected and a "day" when they are not inspected. A groom is given all seven days of his festivity — him, his garments, and his house (not to be inspected). Likewise, one is granted all the days of a festival.)] that there appear in it healthy flesh [(If a limb tip, which could not be rendered unclean by the appearance of healthy flesh (which normally does render a plague-spot unclean) because the entire limb, by virtue of its "slopes" could not be viewed at one time — If such a limb tip broadened and leveled, so that it could be viewed at one time, and healthy flesh appeared in it, then)] he shall be unclean.
And the Cohein shall see the healthy flesh, and he shall declare him unclean. The healthy flesh is unclean; it is leprosy.
Or if the healthy flesh recede and it return to white, then he shall come to the Cohein.
And the Cohein shall view it, and, behold, the plague-spot has turned to white, then the Cohein shall declare the plague-spot clean; he is clean.
And flesh, if there be in it, in its skin, a boil [a warming of the flesh due to a wound], and it [the boil] be healed,
And there be in the place of the boil a white se'eth or a reddish-white bahereth, then it shall be shown to the Cohein.
And the Cohein shall see, and, behold, its appearance is lower than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the Cohein shall declare him unclean. It is a plague-spot of leprosy; it has blossomed in the boil.
And if the Cohein see it, and, behold, there is no white hair in it, and it is not lower than the skin, and it is dim, then the Cohein shall quarantine him for seven days.
And if it spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall declare him unclean; it [the se'eth or the bahereth] is plague.
And if the bahereth remains in its place — if it has not spread — then it is the scar of the boil, and the Cohein shall declare him clean.
Or flesh, if there be in its skin a burn by fire, and the healing of the burn were [i.e., turned into] a bahereth, reddish-white or [plain] white [(Note: There is no difference between the (accompanying) signs of a boil and a burn. Scripture treats boil and burn separately by way of indicating that half-minimum sizes of each do not combine to render one unclean.)]
Then the Cohein shall see it, and, behold, if the hair has turned white in the bahereth, and its appearance is deeper than the skin, it is leprosy; it has blossomed in the burn. And the Cohein shall declare him unclean; it is a plague-spot of leprosy.
And if the Cohein see it, and, behold, there is not in the bahereth a white hair, and it is not lower than the skin, and it is dim, then the Cohein shall quarantine him for seven days.
And the Cohein shall see him on the seventh day. If it has spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall declare him unclean; it is a plague-spot of leprosy.
And if the bahereth remains in its place, not having spread in the skin, and it is dim, then it is the rising of the burn. And the Cohein shall declare him clean, for it is the scar of the burn.
And a man or a woman — if there be in him a plague-spot, in the head or in the beard [(Scripture comes to distinguish between a plague-spot in the hair (site) and one in the flesh, the former being characterized by yellow hair and the latter by white)],
Then the Cohein shall see the plague-spot; and if its appearance is deeper than the skin and there is in it thin yellow hair, [the black hair in it having turned to yellow], then the Cohein shall declare him unclean. It is a nethek (a scall); it is leprosy of the head or of the beard.
And if the Cohein see the nethek plague-spot, and, behold, its appearance is not deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the Cohein shall quarantine the nethek plague-spot for seven days [(But if there were black hair, he is clean and quarantine is not required, black hair being a sign of cleanliness in a nethek)].
And the Cohein shall see the plague-spot on the seventh day, and, behold, if the nethek has not spread, and there is no yellow hair in it [(but if it did spread or there were yellow hair, he is unclean)], and the appearance of the nethek is not deeper than the skin,
Then he shall be shaved [around the nethek], but the nethek he shall not shave. [(He leaves a border two hairs (thick) roundabout it, so that if it spreads, it will pass that border into the shaven area and be discernible (as having spread)]. And the Cohein shall quarantine the nethek a second seven days.
	And the Cohein shall see the nethek on the seventh day. And, behold, if the nethek has not spread in the skin, and its appearance is not deeper than the skin, then the Cohein shall declare him clean, and he shall wash his clothes and he shall be clean.
	And if the nethek has spread, spread in the skin after his cleaning [("spread, spread"): Not only after his quarantine, but also after the first week or after the second week)],
	Then the Cohein shall see him, and, behold, the nethek has spread in the skin, then the Cohein shall not seek out the yellow hair; he is unclean.
	And if in his eyes the nethek has remained as it was, and black hair [or hair of any color other than yellow] has sprouted in it, then the nethek has been healed; he is clean. And the Cohein shall declare him clean [(But if the Cohein declared clean one who is unclean, he does not become clean)].
	And a man or a woman, if there be in the skin of their flesh white spots,
	Then the Cohein shall see, and, behold, in the skin of their flesh there are dull white spots, it is a bohak (brightness) that has blossomed in the skin [(like the white that "shines out" between freckles)]; he is clean.
	And a man, if the hair of his head [from the slope of his head towards the nape (karachath)] fall out, he is kereach (bald); he is clean [of nethek uncleanliness, (and subject only to flesh uncleanliness)].
	And if from the front of his face [from the slope of his head towards the face, including the temples (gabachath)], his hair fall out, he is gibeach (bald); he is clean.
	And if there be on the karachath or on the gabachath a reddish-white plague-spot, it is blossoming leprosy on his karachath or on his gabachath.
	And the Cohein shall see him, and, behold, a rising of the plague-spot, reddish-white, is in his karachath or in his gabachath, as the appearance of the leprosy of the skin of the flesh, [all the laws of this type of leprosy applying here (as opposed to those of boil leprosy and burn leprosy)],
	He is a leprous man; he is unclean. The Cohein shall declare him unclean, unclean [i.e., all lepers (and not only one with head-related leprosy) is included in what follows (45, etc.)]; in his head is his plague [viz., nethek leprosy].
	And the leper in whom the plague-spot is found, his clothes shall be rent and his hair shall grow long, and the hair of his lips shall he cover, [like a mourner], and "Unclean! Unclean!" shall he cry, [so that people keep away from him].
	All the days that the plague-spot is in him he shall be unclean. He is unclean. Solitary shall he sit [Other unclean ones shall not sit with him. Because he, through his slander (for which leprosy is the punishment,) "separated" a husband from his wife and a man from his neighbor, he, too, shall be separated (from his fellow men)]; outside the camp [the three camps] is his dwelling.
	And the garment, if there be in it a plague-spot of leprosy, in a garment of wool or in a garment of linen,
	Or in the warp or in the woof, of linen or of wool, or in [unworked] skin or in all worked skin,
	And it shall be, if the plague-spot is deep green or deep red in the garment or in the skin, or in the warp or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is a plague-spot of leprosy, and it shall be shown to the Cohein.
	And the Cohein shall see the plague-spot, and he shall quarantine the plague-spot for seven days.
	And he shall see the plague-spot on the seventh day. If the plague-spot has spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in the skin, (whatever work the skin is made for), the plague-spot is "pricking" leprosy; it is unclean.
	And he shall burn the garment, or the warp, or the woof, of wool or of linen, or any article of skin in which the plague-spot will be; for it is "pricking" leprosy — it shall be burned in fire.
	And if the Cohein shall see, and, behold, the plague-spot has not spread in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any article of skin,
	Then the Cohein shall command, and they shall wash what contains the plague-spot [i.e., the plague spot along with some of the surrounding material], and he shall quarantine it a second seven days.
	And the Cohein shall see, after the plague-spot has been washed, and, behold, the plague-spot has not changed its appearance [i.e., it has not dimmed] and the plague-spot has not spread, it is unclean. [(It goes without saying that it is unclean if it did not change its appearance and did spread)]. In fire shall you burn it; it is p'cheteth [a "low-lying" plague-spot] in its oldness or in its newness.
	And if the Cohein saw, and, behold, the plague-spot became dim after it was washed, then he shall tear it [the plague-spot site] from the garment, or from the skin, or from the warp, or from the woof, [and he shall burn it.]
	And if it be seen again in the garment, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any article of skin, it is porachath [something whose "blossoming" recurs]. In fire shall you burn it [(the entire garment)], what contains the plague-spot.
	And the garment, or the warp, or the woof, or any article of skin which you shall wash [by directive of the Cohein], and the plague-spot depart [entirely] from them, then it shall be cleansed [i.e., immersed] a second time, and it shall be clean.
	This is the law of the plague-spot of leprosy, in a garment of wool or linen, or in the warp, or in the woof, or in any article of skin, to declare it clean or to declare it unclean.

Chapter 14

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	This shall be the law of the leper on the day of his cleansing [(whence it is derived that he is not cleansed at night)]; he shall be brought to the Cohein.
	And the Cohein shall go outside the camp [(outside the three camps, where the leper was sent in the days of his confirmed leprosy)], and the Cohein shall see, and, behold, if the plague-spot of leprosy is healed from the leper,
	Then the Cohein shall command that there be taken for the one to be cleansed two clean, living [(excluding treifah)] birds. ([Leprosy, coming upon one because of slander, birds ("chirpers") are brought)], and cedar-wood [(leprosy coming upon one (also) because of pride)], and [a tongue of] wool (dyed) scarlet (sh'ni tola'ath), and hyssop. [What is his "remedy"? Let him "lower" himself, like a worm (tola'ath) and like hyssop.]
	And the Cohein shall command and he shall slaughter one bird into an earthen vessel over living water [He places the water (a quarter of a log) in the vessel first so that the blood of the bird be discernible in it.]
	The living bird, he shall take it [by itself] and the cedar-wood, and the scarlet wool, and the hyssop [(all three bound together)], and he shall dip them and the living bird [together] in the blood of the slaughtered bird over the living water.
	And he shall sprinkle upon the one to be cleansed from the leprosy seven times, and he shall cleanse him, and he shall send the living bird over the face of the field.
	And the one to be cleansed shall wash his clothes, and he shall shave all of his hair, and he shall bathe in water, and he shall be clean; and he shall come into the camp. And he shall sit outside his tent [(i.e., he shall abstain from marital relations)] for seven days.
	And it shall be on the seventh day that he shall shave all of his hair. His head, his beard, and the brows of his eyes — all of his [visible, "gathered"] hair shall he shave. And he shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and he shall be clean.
	And on the eighth day he shall take two he-lambs without blemish, and one ewe-lamb of the first year, without blemish [for a sin-offering], and three tenth parts of (an ephah of) fine flour for a meal-offering, mixed with oil, [for the libations of these three lambs], and one log of oil [for the seven sprinklings and the applications on ear and thumbs].
	And the Cohein that cleanses shall stand the man who is to be cleansed and those (things) before the L-rd [(at the gate of Nikanor, not in the azarah itself, for he lacks atonement)], at the door of the tent of meeting.
	And the Cohein shall take one of the he-lambs, and he shall bring it near [into the azarah] as a guilt-offering [to be waved (live)], and the log of oil, and he shall wave them [the guilt-offering and the log] before the L-rd.
	And he shall slaughter the lamb in the place where he slaughters the sin-offering and the burnt-offering [(on the side of the altar in the north)], in the holy place. For as the sin-offering [i.e., as all sin-offerings], the guilt-offering [i.e., this guilt-offering] is the Cohein's [i.e., it is subject to all of the Cohein's services for a sin-offering. But (unlike a sin-offering, its blood is not applied on the altar above (but it is dashed roundabout the altar below, for)] it is holy of holies. [see 7:2].
	And the Cohein shall take from the blood of the guilt-offering, and the Cohein shall place it on the tnuch [the middle wall] of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
	And the Cohein shall take from the log of oil, and he shall pour onto the Cohein's left palm.
	And the Cohein shall dip his right finger from the oil on his left palm, and he shall sprinkle from the oil with his finger seven times before the L-rd [i.e., opposite the holy of holies].
	And from the rest of the oil which is on his palm, the Cohein shall place on the tnuch of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the guilt-offering.
	And what is left over of the oil which is on the palm of the Cohein, he shall place on the head of the one who is to be cleansed, and the Cohein shall atone for him before the L-rd.
	And the Cohein shall offer up the sin-offering, and he shall atone for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanliness, and then he shall slaughter the burnt-offering.
	And the Cohein shall offer up on the altar the burnt-offering and the [libation] meal-offering [which accompanies an animal sacrifice], and the Cohein shall make atonement for him, and he shall be clean.
	And if he is poor and his means do not suffice, then he shall take one he-lamb as a guilt-offering to be waved to make atonement for him, and one tenth-part of fine flour mixed with oil as a meal-offering, and a log of oil [for application on the thumbs].
	And two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, such as his means suffice for; and one shall be a sin-offering, and the other, a burnt-offering.
	And he shall bring them to the Cohein on the eighth day of his cleansing [i.e., the eighth day after the bringing of the birds and the sprinkling from the (dipping of the) cedar-wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet] to the door of the tent of meeting before the L-rd.
	And the Cohein shall take the lamb of the guilt-offering, and the log of oil, and the Cohein shall wave them, a wave-offering before the L-rd.
	And he shall slaughter the lamb of the guilt-offering, and the Cohein shall take from the blood of the guilt-offering and place it on the tnuch of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot.
	And of the oil, the Cohein shall pour onto the Cohein's left palm.
	And the Cohein shall sprinkle with his right finger from the oil that is on his left palm, seven times before the L-rd.
	And the Cohein shall place from the oil that is on his palm upon the tnuch of the right ear of the one to be cleansed, and on the thumb of his right hand, and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the guilt-offering [(even if the blood has been wiped off, the "place" being the crucial factor)].
	And what is left over of the oil which is on the palm of the Cohein, he shall place on the head of the one to be cleansed, to make atonement for him before the L-rd.
	And he shall offer one of the turtle-doves or of the young pigeons, from what his means suffice for.
	What his means suffice for, one for a sin-offering; the other, for a burnt-offering, with the meal-offering. And the Cohein shall make atonement for the one to be cleansed before the L-rd.
	This is the law for him with a plague-spot of leprosy whose means do not suffice in his cleansing.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
	When you come to the land of Canaan, which I give to you for a possession, and I put a plague-spot of leprosy in a house of the land of your possession [(a "glad tiding." All forty years that Israel was in the desert the Amorites stored treasure in the walls of their houses. The L-rd here apprises them that He will send plague upon these houses. When they raze the house (as per the halachah) they will find it.)] —
	Then he whose house it is shall come, and he shall tell the Cohein, saying: As a plague-spot [(Even if he is a sage, and knows it to be a plague-spot, he should say only "As a plague spot")] there has appeared to me in the house.
	And the Cohein shall command, and they shall empty out the house before the Cohein comes in to see the plague-spot, so that there not be made unclean all that is in the house [(Scripture being solicitous even of earthen vessels, which if unclean, cannot be cleansed in a mikveh (but must be broken)]; and then the Cohein shall come to see the house.
	And he shall see the plague-spot, and, behold, if the plague-spot is in the walls of the house, embedded, deep green or deep red, and their appearance is lower than the (level of the) wall,
	Then the Cohein shall go out of the house to the door of the house, and he shall shut up the house for seven days.
	And the Cohein shall return on the seventh day and he shall see: If the plague-spot is spread in the walls of the house,
	Then the Cohein shall command, and they shall remove the stones containing the plague-spot, and they shall cast them outside the city into an unclean place [i.e., a place not used for (ritually) clean things (Scripture apprising us that these stones render their place unclean while they are in it)].
	And the house he shall scrape from inside roundabout [the plague-spot (i.e., he shall scrape the plaster around the plague-spot stones)], and they shall spill the mortar scrapings outside the city into an unclean place.
	And they shall take other stones, and they shall bring them in place of the stones; and he shall take other mortar and plaster the house.
	And if the plague-spot returns and blossoms in the house [at the end of a week] after he removed the stones and after the house has been scraped and after it has been plastered, [This verse continues (45): "Then he shall break down the house," until (47): "and he shall wash his clothes."]
	[This verse is to be understood as following (verse 47)] And if the Cohein shall come and see [at the end of the second week (if it remained the same at the end of the first week)] and, behold, the plague-spot has spread in the house, it is "pricking" leprosy in the house; it is unclean [and he "removes, scrapes, plasters" and shuts it up another week. If it returns, he razes it; if it does not return, it requires birds (for cleansing — see 49). Verse 48 is to be understood as following at this point.]
	[See 43] Then he shall break down the house — its stones, its wood, and all the mortar of the house; and he shall take them outside the city to an unclean place.
	And he who comes into the house all the days [(in a "confirmed" house, even after scraping)] that he has shut it up [(but not while it is undergoing scraping)] shall be unclean until the evening. [The clothes of one who merely "enters," however, are not rendered unclean.]
	And he who lies in the house shall wash his clothes, and he who eats in the house shall wash his clothes [i.e., one who remains in the house the amount of time it takes to eat a p'ras (a half-loaf) shall wash his clothes].
	[See 44] And if the Cohein comes [at the end of the second week], and he sees, and, behold, the plague-spot has not spread in the house, [he removes, scrapes, and plasters], and after plastering the house, the Cohein shall declare the house clean [if the plague-spot has not reappeared at the end of the week], for the plague spot has been healed.
	And he shall take to cleanse the house two birds, and cedar-wood, and scarlet, and hyssop.
	And he shall slaughter one bird into a vessel over living water.
	And he shall take the cedar-wood, and the hyssop, and the scarlet, and the living bird, and he shall dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the living water, and he shall sprinkle upon the house seven times.
	And he shall cleanse the house with the blood of the bird and with the living water, and with the living bird, and with the cedar-wood, and with the hyssop, and with the scarlet.
	And he shall send the living bird outside the city over the face of the field, and he shall make atonement for the house, and it shall be clean.
	This is the law for all plague-spots of leprosy and for a nethek.
	And for the leprosy of a garment and of a house.
	And for a se'eth and for a sapachath and for a bahereth.
	To teach concerning the day it is declared unclean and the day it is declared clean. This is the law of leprosy.

Chapter 15

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: A man, if there be a flux (zov) from his flesh, [a genital discharge differing from semen in that semen is viscid, like the white of an egg, whereas zov is like barley-dough water, resembling the white of an addled egg], his flux is unclean.
	And this shall be his uncleanliness in his flux. Whether his flesh [i.e., his orifice] drip his zov, [the flux issuing clear], or his flesh be stopped up with his zov, [the flux issuing thick], it is his uncleanliness.
	Every bed on which the zav lies down [i.e., a bed which is made for "lying" and not for any other function] shall be unclean, and every object which he sits upon [i.e., an object which is made for "sitting"] shall be unclean.
	And a man who touches what he (a zav) lay upon shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, [(the uncleanliness of what he lies upon (mishkav) being more stringent than the uncleanliness of what he touches, the first rendering a man unclean, who, in turn, renders his garments unclean; the second, rendering only food and drink unclean], and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And one who sits upon an object which the zav sat upon, [even if ten objects intervened (The same applies to mishkav)] shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And one who touches the flesh of the zav shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And if the zav spit upon one who is clean, [and the spittle touched him or he carried it], he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And every saddle upon which a zav rides, [even a part of the saddle on which he does not sit] shall be unclean.
	And whoever touches anything that was beneath him [the zav] shall be unclean until the evening [Scripture here apprises us that one who touches the saddle of a zav does not render his clothing unclean (as opposed to one who touches his mishkav)]; and one who carries them [(his zov, his spittle, his semen, his urine, his mishkav, or his saddle)] shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And whoever the zav touches, if he (the zav) did not wash his hands [i.e., all of his visible body areas] with water [i.e., so long as he did not immerse, even after the flux ceased and he counted seven days] ("whoever the zav touches") shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And an earthen vessel which a zav touches [or moves without touching (heset)] shall be broken, and every wooden vessel shall be rinsed in water.
	And when the zav is cleansed of his flux [i.e., when his flux ceases], then he shall count for himself seven [consecutive] days for his cleansing [i.e., not experiencing a flux], and he shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in running water, and he shall be clean.
	And on the eighth day, he shall take for himself two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, and he shall come before the L-rd to the door of the tent of meeting, and he shall give them to the Cohein.
	And the Cohein shall offer them up, one as a sin-offering and the other as a burnt-offering; and the Cohein shall make atonement for him before the L-rd from his flux.
	And a man, if there issue from him semen, then he shall bathe all of his flesh in water and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And every garment and all skin upon which there shall be semen shall be washed in water and it shall be unclean until the evening.
	And a woman, if a man lie with her a lying of semen, then they shall bathe in water and they shall be unclean until the evening [(the woman being unclean by "the King's decree" (her semen contact being internal)].
	And a woman, if she has a flow, if blood shall be her flow in her flesh, seven days shall she be in her niddah [contact-forbidden] state [(even if she had only one "sighting")], and whoever touches her shall be unclean until the evening.
	And all that she lies upon in her niddah state shall be unclean, and all that she sits upon shall be unclean.
	And whoever touches what she lies upon shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And whoever touches any object that she sits upon shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And if [he lies or sits] on the (i.e., her) bed [or on her seat, even without directly touching it,] he, [too, requires washing of clothes]. Or, [if he sits] upon an object [including a saddle] that she sits upon — When he touches it [the saddle], he shall be unclean until the evening [but he need not wash his clothes].
	And if a man lie with her, then her niddah state shall be upon him [(Just as she renders men and earthenware vessels unclean, so does he)], and he shall be unclean seven days [(even though he may have lived with her only in the middle of her (seven-day) niddah state)], and every bed on which he lies shall be unclean.
	And a woman, if the flow of her blood flows many [i.e., three] days, not in the time of her [seven-day] niddah state, [but right after those days], or if she flows [these three days] above her niddah state [i.e., with one day intervening between the new flow and her (preceding) niddah state], then [she is a zavah, and] all the days of the flow of her uncleanliness, as the days of her niddah state shall she be; she is unclean.
	Every bed that she lies upon all the days of her [zavah] flow, as the bed of her niddah state shall be to her; and every object that she sits upon shall be unclean, as the uncleanliness of her niddah state.
	And whoever touches them shall be unclean. And he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening.
	And if she is cleansed of her flow, then she shall count for herself seven days, and then she shall be clean.
	And on the eighth day, she shall take for herself two turtle-doves or two young pigeons, and she shall bring them to the Cohein, to the door of the tent of meeting.
	And the Cohein shall offer up one as a sin-offering and the other as a burnt-offering, and the Cohein shall make atonement for her before the L-rd from the flow of her uncleanliness.
	And you shall separate the children of Israel from their uncleanliness, that they not die in their uncleanliness by defiling My sanctuary which is in their midst [(whence it is derived that the kareth ("cutting off") for defiling the sanctuary is called "death")].
	This is the law of the zav [of only one "sighting"] and of one [i.e., he is like one] from whom semen issues forth to be made unclean thereby [i.e., he is unclean until the evening].
	And ("this is the law") of her who flows in her niddah state, and of him who flows his flux [(two or three "sightings")], for male or female, and for a man who lies with a woman who is unclean.

Chapter 16

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron when they drew near before the L-rd and they died [(their death serving as "reinforcement" for the injunction that follows)]:
	And the L-rd said to Moses: Speak to Aaron your brother, and let him not come at all times to the holy place within the parocheth before the kaporeth which is on the ark that he not die [(If he comes he will die)]; for with the cloud I [always] appear on the kaporeth [(And since My shechinah manifests itself there, let him take care not to come there indiscriminately)].
	With this, [(and only on Yom Kippur (29)] shall Aaron come to the holy place: with a young bullock for a sin-offering and a ram for a burnt-offering.
	[The high-priest does not minister within, wearing the eight garments in which he normally officiates (for the latter have gold — and "the accuser" (the golden calf) cannot be the defender (on Yom Kippur), but he wears the four linen garments of the ordinary Cohein.] A linen kethoneth of kodesh [i.e., purchased with Temple funds] shall he wear, and linen michnasayim shall there be on his flesh, and with a linen avnet shall he gird himself, and a linen mitznefeth shall he place on his head; they are garments of kodesh. And he shall bathe his flesh in water and put them on. [He required five immersions and ablutions of hands and feet on that day for five changings (between inner and outer services)].
	And from the congregation of the children of Israel, he shall take two he-goats for a sin-offering and one ram for a burnt-offering.
	And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering, which is his [(It must come from his own funds and not from community funds)], and he shall make atonement for himself and for his household [(He confesses over it his sins and those of his household)].
	And he shall take the two he-goats and he shall stand them before the L-rd at the door of the tent of meeting.
	And Aaron shall place lots upon the two he-goats, one lot for the L-rd, and the other lot for Azazel [a flinty crag (from which the goat was precipitated). He would place the goats on either side of him and from an urn draw lots, on one of which was written "for the L-rd"; on the other, "for Azazel")]
	And Aaron shall present the he-goat on which the lot came up for the L-rd, and he shall make it a sin-offering [(When he places the lot upon it he says: "For the L-rd, a sin-offering.")]
	And the he-goat on which the lot came up for Azazel shall be stood living before the L-rd [(whence it is derived that it is sent away for death)] to make atonement over it [i.e., to confess, viz. 21] to send it to Azazel to the desert.
	And Aaron shall present the bullock of the sin-offering which is his, and he shall make atonement over it for himself and for his household [(a second confession for himself and for his fellow Cohanim to atone for defiling of the sanctuary and of its holy objects, viz. 16)], and he shall slaughter the bullock of the sin-offering which is his.
	And he shall take a full coal-pan of coals of fire from off the [outer] altar before the L-rd [i.e., from the side which faces the door (of the mishkan), the west], and his full handfuls of incense of spices ground [especially] small, and he shall bring them within the parocheth.
	And he shall put the incense upon the fire [in the coal-pan] before the L-rd and the cloud of incense shall cover the kaporeth which is on the testimony, and he shall not die [(but, being remiss in this service, he is liable to death)].
	And he shall take the blood of the bullock, and he shall sprinkle with his finger [one sprinkling] on the kaporeth, on the east, and before the kaporeth shall he sprinkle seven times of the blood with his finger. [Hence, "one above and seven below"].
	And he shall slaughter the he-goat of the sin-offering which is the people's [(What the bullock atones for for the Cohanim, the he-goat "for the L-rd" atones for, for Israel)], and he shall bring its blood inside the parocheth. And he shall do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bullock [i.e., "one above and seven below"]; he shall sprinkle it on the kaporeth and before the kaporeth.
	And he shall make atonement for the holy place from the uncleanlinesses of the children of Israel [for entering the sanctuary in a state of uncleanliness] and for their offenses [(willful entry in a state of uncleanliness)] for all of their transgressions [(unwitting entry in a state of uncleanliness without subsequent knowledge thereof)]. And so shall he do for the tent of meeting [(Just as he sprinkles of both within, one above and seven below, so he sprinkles of both on the parocheth outside, one above and seven below)], who dwells with them in the midst of their uncleanlinesses [(Though they be unclean, the Shechinah is with them)]
	And no man shall be in the tent of meeting when he comes to make atonement in the holy place until he goes out. And he shall make atonement for himself, and for his household, and for the entire congregation of Israel.
	And he shall go out to the [golden] altar which is before the L-rd [after having stood inwards of the altar to sprinkle on the parocheth], and he shall make atonement on it — he shall take from the blood of the bullock and from the blood of the he-goat [intermixed] and he shall place it on the horns of the altar roundabout [beginning with the northeast corner].
	And he shall sprinkle upon it [on its top] with his finger seven times, and he shall cleanse it [from past uncleanlinesses], and he shall hallow it [for the future] from the uncleanlinesses of the children of Israel.
	And when he has finished making atonement for the holy place, and the tent of meeting, and the altar, then he shall draw near the living he-goat.
	And Aaron shall place his two hands on the head of the living he-goat, and he shall confess over it all the transgressions of the children of Israel, and all their offenses of all their sins, and he shall place them on the head of the he-goat, and he shall send it by the hand of a readied man [readied from the day before] to the desert.
	And the he-goat shall bear upon itself all of their transgressions to an uninhabited land, and he shall send out the he-goat in the desert. [Verse 24 is understood as following at this point.]
	[This verse is understood as following after verse 28.] And Aaron shall come into the tent of meeting [to take out from the holy of holies the spoon and the coal pan in which he offered the incense], and he shall take off the linen garments which he put on when he went into the holy place, and he shall leave them there [(They require genizah (secreting) and are not used on another Yom Kippur.) And then he dons the golden garments for the daily afternoon burnt-offering. (Now, verse 29)]
	[This verse is understood as following verse 22.] And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place [(sanctified with the sanctity of the azarah. It, and the other four Yom Kippur immersions were on the roof of the beth haparvah. The first (daily immersion) was in an unsanctified area.)] And he shall put on his [eight regular] garments, and he shall go out [from the sanctuary to the court, where the burnt-offering altar was situated], and he shall offer up his burnt-offering [(3)] and the burnt-offering of the people [(5)], and he shall make atonement for himself and for the people.
	And the fat of the sin-offering [the eimurim of the bullock and the goat] he shall smoke on the [outer] altar.
	And he who sends the he-goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes and bathe his flesh in water, and then he may come to the camp.
	And the bullock of the sin-offering and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought [into the sanctuary and into the holy of holies] to make atonement in the holy place, he shall take outside the camp, and they shall burn in fire their skin, and their flesh, and their dung.
	And he who burns them shall wash his clothes and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and then he shall come to the camp. [Verse 23 is understood as following at this point.]
	[After verse 23] And it shall be to you an everlasting statute: In the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, you shall afflict your souls. And all work you shall not do, the citizen and the stranger that sojourns in your midst.
	For on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you of all of your sins; before the L-rd shall you be clean.
	It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and you shall afflict your soul; it is an everlasting statute.
	And the Cohein [(i.e., not only Aaron)] shall make atonement, who shall be anointed, and [(even if he is not anointed, as with the high-priests from Yoshiyahu on, after the anointing oil had been secreted)], who shall be invested [with the vestments of the high priest] to minister [if he is qualified] in place of his father; and he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments.
	And he shall make atonement for the sanctity of the holy place. And for the tent of meeting and for the altar shall he make atonement. And for the Cohanim and for all the people of the congregation shall he make atonement.
	And this shall be to you for an everlasting statute to atone for the children of Israel from all of their sins once in the year. And he [Aaron] did [when Yom Kippur arrived] as the L-rd commanded Moses, [and not for personal aggrandizement].

Chapter 17

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel and say to them: This is the thing that the L-rd commanded, saying:
	A man from the house of Israel who slaughters [(consecrated animals)] an ox or a lamb, or a goat, in the camp [outside of the azarah] or who slaughters outside the camp,
	And to the door of the tent of meeting he did not bring it to present it as an offering to the L-rd before the mishkan of the L-rd — blood shall it be reckoned to that man, [as if he had shed a man's blood (in which instance he is liable to death)]; he has spilled blood [(to include as thus liable one who sprinkles the blood outside)], and that man will be cut off from his people.
	So that the children of Israel bring their sacrifices, which they are wont to slaughter in the open field, and bring them to the L-rd, to the door of the tent of meeting, to the Cohein, and slaughter them as peace-offerings to the L-rd.
	And the Cohein shall dash the blood on the altar of the L-rd at the door of the tent of meeting, and he shall smoke the fat, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And they shall sacrifice no more their sacrifices to the satyrs [demons], after which they go astray. An everlasting statute shall this be to them throughout their generations.
	And to them shall you say: A man from the house of Israel, and from the stranger that dwells in their midst, who shall offer up a burnt-offering or a sacrifice [(to include for liability one who smokes the limbs outside just as one who slaughters outside)]
	and not bring it to the door of the tent of meeting to offer it to the L-rd, that man shall be cut off from his people [(His seed shall be cut off and his days shall be cut off)].
	And a man from the house of Israel and from the stranger that dwells in their midst that shall eat any blood [(not only that of kodshim)] — I shall direct My regard to that soul which eats the blood, and I shall cut it off from the midst of its people.
	For the life of [all] flesh is in the blood, wherefore I have given it to you upon the altar to atone for your lives; for it is the blood which atones for the life ["A life (the animal's) for a life"].
	Therefore, I have said to the children of Israel: All souls of you [(the elders being exhorted over the children)] shall not eat blood; and the stranger that sojourns in your midst shall not eat blood.
	And a man of the children of Israel and of the stranger that dwells in their midst, that shall hunt a hunting [(even if not actually "hunted")] of animal or bird that may be eaten [(unclean animals are excluded from what follows)], he shall pour out its blood and cover it with earth.
	For the life of all flesh — its blood is in [place of] its life [i.e., its life is dependent upon its blood]. And I have said to the children of Israel: The blood of all flesh you shall not eat; for the life of all flesh is its blood; whoever eats it shall be cut off.
	And every soul that eats neveilah (carcass) or treifah (what is "torn") [(Scripture speaks here of the neveilah of a clean fowl)], whether citizen or stranger, he shall wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he shall be unclean until the evening, and then he shall be clean.
	And if he does not wash (his clothes) and he does not bathe his flesh [and he eats kodshim or enters the sanctuary], he shall bear his sin [(kareth for not bathing his body; stripes for not washing his clothes)].

Chapter 18

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: I am the L-rd your G-d [I am He who said in Sinai: "I am the L-rd your G-d," and you accepted My kingdom upon you; now accept My decrees.]
	As the deeds of the land of Egypt in which you dwelt you shall not do; and as the deeds of the land of Canaan, [(the Egyptians and Canaanites being the most corrupt of the peoples, and the place where Israel dwelt being the most corrupt of all)], to which I bring you [(those peoples conquered by Israel being the most corrupt of all)], you shall not do, and in their statutes [(i.e., in their customs, things which have become like "statutes" for them, like frequenting theaters and stadia)], you shall not walk.
	My judgments shall you do [("judgments"): "just" things, which, even if they had not been stated, would have warranted observance)], and My statutes shall you keep to walk in them [("statutes"): decrees of the King, "questioned" by the evil inclination and by the nations of the world, such as (the interdictions against) the eating of pig and the wearing of sha'atnez (a mixture of wool and linen), and the purification effected by the waters of the red heifer. ("to walk in them"): Do not exempt yourself from them by saying: "I have learned the wisdom of Israel; I shall now go and learn the wisdom of the nations"]; I am the L-rd your G-d [My decree is upon you and you are not at liberty to exempt yourself from it.]
	And you shall keep My statutes and My judgments [(including what may be deduced, though not explicitly stated)], which a man shall do, and he shall live by them [in the world to come]; I am the L-rd [trusted to reward].
	A man, to all the kin of his flesh shall not draw near [(lo tikrevu, plural, women being exhorted as well as men)] to uncover nakedness (i.e., to cohabit); I am the L-rd [trusted to reward].
	The nakedness of your father [i.e., your father's wife] and the nakedness of your mother, [though she not be your father's wife], you shall not reveal. She is your mother; you shall not reveal her nakedness.
	The nakedness of the wife of your father, [even after his death], you shall not reveal; it is your father's nakedness.
	The nakedness of your sister, the daughter of your father, [even by a woman that he ravished], or the daughter of your mother, whether she be born [of a woman that he is permitted to keep] at home [as a wife], or born [of a woman that he is commanded to send] outside [such as a mamzereth or a nethinah] — you shall not uncover their nakedness.
	The nakedness of the daughter of your son [(even) by a woman that you ravished] or the daughter of your daughter [(even) by a woman that you ravished], you shall not reveal their nakedness; for they are your nakedness.
	The nakedness of the daughter of your father's wife, [one fit to be a "wife," not a bondswoman or a gentile], begotten of your father — she is your sister; you shall not reveal her nakedness.
	The nakedness of the sister of your father you shall not reveal; she is the kin of your father.
	The nakedness of the sister of your mother you shall not reveal; for she is the kin of your mother.
	The nakedness of the brother of your father you shall not reveal; to his wife do not come near; she is your aunt.
	The nakedness of your daughter-in-law you shall not reveal. She is the wife of your son [("wife"): to exclude one he has ravished, a bondswoman, or a gentile]; you shall not reveal her nakedness.
	The nakedness of the wife of your brother you shall not reveal; it is the nakedness of your brother.
	The nakedness of a [(halachically) married] woman and her daughter you shall not uncover [(But one is permitted to marry the daughter of a woman he ravished)]. The daughter of her son and the daughter of her daughter you shall not take to reveal her nakedness. They are kin; it is scheming.
	And a woman together with her sister you shall not take, to be rivals [i.e., to make one a rival to the other], to reveal her nakedness upon her in her lifetime [(If he divorced her, he may not marry her sister as long as she is alive.)]
	And to a woman in the niddah state of her uncleanliness, you shall not come near to reveal her nakedness.
	And to the wife of your neighbor do not give your lying for seed to become unclean to her.
	And from your seed you shall not give [to the priests of Molech (a kind of idolatry)] to pass [between two large pyres] to Molech. And you shall not desecrate the name of your G-d; I am the L-rd.
	And with a male you shall not lie the lyings of a woman; it is an abomination.
	And with every beast do not give your lying to become unclean with it. And a woman shall not stand before a beast to mount her; it is dissolute.
	You shall not become unclean with all of these. For with all of these the nations became unclean, which I am sending away before you.
	And the land became unclean, and I visited its sin upon it, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
	And you shall keep My statutes and My judgments, and you shall not do any of these abominations, the citizen and the stranger that sojourns among you.
	For all of these abominations were done by the people of the land which were before you, and the land became unclean.
	So that the land not vomit you out by your making it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you.
	For all who do any of these abominations, the souls [(male and female are implied)] that do so shall be cut off from the midst of their people.
	And you shall keep My keeping [(beth-din being exhorted thereto)], not to do in the manner of the abominations that were done before you, and you shall not become unclean in them; I am the L-rd your G-d [(But if you defile yourselves, then I am not your G-d, and how do you then avail Me?)]

Chapter 19

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, [(This section was stated in the presence of all, for most of the major tenets of Torah are inherent in it.)] and say to them: Holy shall you be. [Separate yourselves from illicit relations], for holy am I, the L-rd your G-d.
	A man, his mother and his father shall you fear, [("mother" is stated before "father" because a man normally fears his father more than he does his mother)], and My Sabbaths shall you keep [(If parents bid their children to transgress mitzvoth, they are not to be heeded)]: I am the L-rd your G-d [(Both you and your parents are obliged to honor Me.)] [What is "fear"? Not sitting in his place, not speaking in his stead, not contradicting his words.]
	Do not turn to the elilim [(lit., "non-entities") to serve them], and molten gods [(If you turn to them, you will make them gods)] do not make for yourselves [(neither you for others nor others for you)]; I am the L-rd your G-d.
	And when you slaughter a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the L-rd — so that you find favor [with it in the eyes of the L-rd] shall you slaughter it.
	[i.e., Slaughter it with the intent that] it will be eaten on the day that you sacrifice it and on the morrow, and (that) what remains of it [nothar] on the third day will be burned with fire [as indicated in 7:16-17].
	And if it is eaten on the third day [(exegetically, if it is eaten outside of its prescribed place)], it is piggul ["abhorrent"]; it shall not be accepted.
	And the eater of it [absolute nothar] shall bear his sin, for he has profaned the holy thing of the L-rd; and that soul shall be cut off from its people.
	And when you cut the harvest of your land, do not end off the corner (peah) of your field to cut it; and the gleaning (leket) of your harvest, [one or two ears (but not more) which fall to the ground during reaping] you shall not gather.
	And your vineyard you shall not glean [You shall not take the oleiloth (tendrils which have no grapes bunched together or hanging down from the end)]; and the fallen fruit (peret) of your vineyard [single grapes which fall to the ground at the time of reaping] you shall not gather. To the poor man and to the stranger you shall leave them; I am the L-rd your G-d [a Judge, exacting punishment (of those who steal from the poor)].
	You shall not steal [(an exhortation against stealing money)], and you shall not deny [(an exhortation towards the payment of the principal and the fifth in an instance of denial (5:22)], and you shall not lie one to another [(an exhortation towards the payment of the principal and the fifth in an instance of swearing falsely). If you steal, you will come to deny, to lie, and to swear falsely.]
	And you shall not swear in My name [(even by an epithet)] falsely and (thereby) profane the name of your G-d; I am the L-rd.
	You shall not oppress your neighbor [(This alludes to holding back the wages of a hired worker)], and you shall not rob. There shall  not abide with you the wages of a [day] laborer until [the next] morning.
	You shall not curse the deaf man [(i.e., any man who is alive)], and before the blind man [i.e., one who is "blind" in a certain matter], do not place a stumbling-block. And you shall fear your G-d, [who knows your intentions]; I am the L-rd.
	You shall not do wrong in judgment [(A judge who perverts justice is called "wrong," "hated," "revolting," "rejected," "abominable")]. You shall not lift up the face of the poor man [Do not say: He is poor and the rich man is obliged to sustain him; I shall vindicate him in judgment so that he can support himself honorably.], and you shall not favor the face of the great one [Do not say: He is a wealthy man, the son of great ones; how can I shame him and look on at his shame!] In righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.
	You shall not go spying out among your people [with an eye to slandering]. You shall not stand by the blood of your neighbor, [watching him die, when you can help him]; I am the L-rd, [trusted to reward and trusted to exact punishment].
	You shall not hate your brother in your heart. Reprove shall you reprove your neighbor, but do not bear sin because of him [(Do not shame him in public)].
	You shall not take revenge [e.g., "You did not lend me; I will not lend you!"], and you shall not bear a grudge against the children of your people [e.g.. "I am not like you who did not lend me; I shall lend you!"]. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. [(R. Akiva said: This is an all-embracing principle in Torah)]; I am the L-rd.
	My statutes (chukim), [which follow,] shall you keep [chukim are "decrees of the King," for which no reasons are given]: You shall not mate your beast with a diverse kind (kilayim); your field you shall not sow with diverse seeds (kilayim), and a mingled (kilayim, interwoven) garment (sha'atnez) shall not come upon you ["sha'atnez" — felt-stuff (of wool and linen) mingled. Acronymically, "shua" (hackled), "tavui" (spun), "nuz" (twined)].
	And a man, if he lie with a woman, a lying of seed, and she be a [Canaanite] maidservant [half bondswoman-half freewoman]; bound [i.e., betrothed] to a man [a Hebrew bondsman], and she has not been redeemed [with money], or freedom has not been given to her [by writ], she shall be inquired after [towards her (but not his) receiving stripes]. They shall not be put to death, for she was not freed [(But if she had been freed, the betrothal is bona fide, and the death penalty obtains)].
	And he (the man who lay with her) shall bring his guilt-offering to the L-rd, to the door of the tent of meeting, a ram for a guilt-offering.
	And the Cohein shall make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt-offering before the L-rd for his sin which he has sinned, and it shall be forgiven him for his sin which he has sinned [(deliberate as well as unwitting)].
	And when you come to the land and you plant every fruit tree, then you shall count its fruit as forbidden. Three years [beginning with the time of its planting] shall it be to you as forbidden [(Its fruit remains forbidden even if secreted until after three years)]; it shall not be eaten.
	And in the fourth year, all of its fruit shall be holy for praise to the L-rd [(like ma'aser sheini. Just as ma'aser sheini is not eaten outside the walls of Jerusalem unless redeemed, this too. And this is "praise to the L-rd." He carries it there to praise the L-rd.)]
	And in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, to increase for you its produce [(Your observance of the mitzvah for four years will lead to an increase of productivity)]. I am the L-rd your G-d, [who assures you thus, and I am trusted to fulfill My assurance].
	You shall not eat over the blood [(an exhortation against eating the flesh of kodshim before the sprinkling of the blood, an exhortation against eating (the flesh of) a non-consecrated beast before the life has gone out of it, etc.)]. You shall not practice divination, [in the manner of those who (attempt to) divine propitious times) from certain occurrences, viz.: "His bread fell from his mouth," "A deer crossed his path," etc.], and you shall not practice soothsaying (lo teoneinu) from onoth ("times"), e.g., "This day is auspicious for beginning work," etc.]
	You shall not round off the corners of your head [("rounding off" is aligning the hair of one's temples with that behind his ears and that of his forehead)], and you shall not destroy the corners of your beard [the end of the beard and its borders].
	And a cutting for a [dead] person you shall not make in your flesh, [as was the custom of the Emorites]; and writing that is engraved [in the skin so that it can never be removed] you shall not make upon yourselves — I am the L-rd.
	Do not profane your daughter to make her a harlot [(the allusion is to handing over one's unwedded daughter for intercourse not for the purpose of marriage)], lest the land fall into harlotry, [producing its fruits elsewhere, and not in your land], and the land be filled with lewdness.
	My Sabbaths shall you keep, and My sanctuary shall you fear [(One may not enter the sanctuary with his staff, or his shoes, or with his money belt, or with the dust on his feet) — but the construction of the Temple does not override the Sabbath]; I am the L-rd.
	Do not turn to the ovoth [a ba'al ov is a wizard who speaks from his armpits], and to the yidonim [a yidoni is one who places the bone of an animal called "yidoa" in his mouth, and the bone speaks]. Do not seek [to occupy yourselves with them] to be defiled by them [i.e., If you occupy yourselves with them you defile yourselves before Me, and I will abominate you.] I am the L-rd your G-d [Know whom you are exchanging for whom.]
	Before the hoary head you shall rise, and you shall honor the face of the elder, [(the "elder":) one who has acquired wisdom. (What is "honor"? One should not sit in his place or contradict his words)]. And you shall fear your G-d [Do not close your eyes (to the hoary head and the elder) as if you did not see him — your G-d knows your heart]; I am the L-rd.
	And if there dwell among you a stranger in your land, you shall not oppress him [(verbally viz.: "Yesterday you served idols, and today you come to study Torah, which issued from the mouth of the Almighty!")]
	As the home-born among you shall he be to you, the stranger that lives among you. And you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt [("Do not impute your own blemish to your fellow-man")]; I am the L-rd your G-d ["your" (plural) — your G-d and his].
	You shall not do wrong in judgment [measurement (the measurer being a "judge" and being accountable as a judge)] — in land-measure, in weight, and in liquid measure.
	Just balances, just stones [(against which things are weighed)], a just ephah [dry measure] and a just hin [liquid measure] shall you have. I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt [to this end].
	And you shall heed all of My statutes and all of My judgments, and you shall do them; I am the L-rd.

Chapter 20

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	And to the children of Israel shall you say [(the punishments attaching to the exhortations)]: A man of the children of Israel and of the stranger who sojourns in Israel, who gives of his seed to the Molech shall be put to death [by beth-din, and if beth-din lack the power], the people of the land shall [assist them and] stone him with stones. [("the people of the land":) the people for whom the land was created, the people who are destined to inherit the land through these mitzvoth]
	And I shall direct My regard to that man, and I will cut him off, [(but not an entire congregation who serve the Molech)] from the midst of his people, for of his seed [("of") including his grandson, etc.] he has given to the Molech to defile My holy ones [the congregation of Israel] and to profane My holy name.
	And if the people of the land avert, avert their eyes from that man [(If they avert their eyes in one thing, they are destined to avert them in many things; if the lesser sanhedrin averts its eyes, the Great Sanhedrin is destined to avert its eyes)] when he gives of his seed to the Molech, not to put him to death,
	Then I shall direct My regard to that man and to his family, [who "cover up" for him], and I will cut him off, [him with kareth; his family, with afflictions], and all who go astray after him to stray after the Molech [(Subsumed in this are other idols served in the manner of Molech though that not be their normal mode of worship)] (I will cut off) from the midst of their people.
	And the soul that turns to the ovoth and to the yidonim to stray after them — I shall set My face against that soul, and I shall cut him off from the midst of his people.
	And you shall sanctify yourselves [by separating from idolatry] and you shall be holy, for I am the L-rd your G-d.
	And you shall heed My statutes and do them; I am the L-rd who makes you holy.
	For a man who curses his father and his mother shall be put to death. His father and his mother has he cursed [(He is liable even if he curses them after their death)]; his blood is in him [i.e., on his own head].
	And a man, [and not a minor], who lives with the wife of a man, [and not with the wife of a minor], who lives with the wife of his neighbor, [and not with the wife of a gentile] — the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death [(by strangulation)].
	And a man who lies with his father's wife, he has revealed the nakedness of his father. Both of them shall be put to death; their blood is in them.
	And if a man lies with his daughter-in-law, both of them shall be put to death. They have wrought shamefully; their blood is in them.
	And if a man lies with a male the lyings of a woman ["as the reed is inserted into the tube"], an abomination has been wrought by both of them. They shall be put to death; their blood is in them.
	And if a man takes a woman [his mother-in-law] and her mother, it is lewdness. In fire shall they be burned, he and they, and there shall not be lewdness in your midst.
	And if a man gives his lying to a beast, he shall be put to death, and the beast shall you kill [(because the man went astray through it)].
	And if a woman draws close to any beast so that it mount her, you shall kill the woman and the beast. They shall be put to death; their blood is in them.
	And if a man takes his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother, and sees her nakedness, and she sees his nakedness, it is shameful. And they shall be cut off before the eyes of the children of their people. The nakedness of his sister he has revealed; he shall bear his sin.
	And if a man lies with a woman in her flow and reveals her nakedness — her fount has he bared [(peripheral intercourse is hereby connoted)], and she has revealed the fount of her blood, and both of them shall be cut off from the midst of their people.
	And the nakedness of your mother's sister [whether from her father or her mother] or your father's sister [whether from his father or his mother], you shall not reveal. Because he has bared his (close) flesh, they shall bear their sin.
	And a man who lies with the wife of his uncle [his father's brother from his father], the nakedness of his uncle has he revealed. They shall bear their sin; childless shall they die. [If they have children, they will die in their lifetimes. ("Cutting off," then, (kareth), in 18:29, refers to going childless)].
	And if a man takes the wife of his brother, it [this cohabitation] is niddah ["rejected," "repulsive"], the nakedness of his brother has he revealed; childless shall they be [(i.e., remain) if they have no children.]
	And you shall heed all of My statutes and all of My judgments, and you shall do them, so that the land not vomit you out, whither I bring you to dwell in it.
	And you shall not walk in the statutes of the nation which I am sending away before you. For all of these (abominations) they did, and I despised them.
	And I said to you: You shall inherit their land, and I will give it to you to inherit, a land flowing with milk and honey. I am the L-rd your G-d who separated you from the peoples.
	And you shall separate between the clean beast and the unclean [i.e., between that which is clean for you and that which is unclean, between the severing of the majority of the shechitah sign (in which instance the animal is kasher) and the severing of half (in which instance it is treifah)], and between the unclean fowl and the clean; and you shall not make yourselves despicable through the beast or the fowl, or through anything with which the ground swarms, which I have separated for you as unclean [i.e., as forbidden].
	And you shall be holy unto Me, for I, the L-rd, am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be Mine [If you are separate from them, you are Mine; if not, you are "Nevuchadnezzar's."]
	And a man or a woman if there be in them an ov or yidoni, they shall be put to death. With stones shall they stone them; their blood is in them. [Where there are witnesses and warning — stoning; wittingness, without warning — kareth; unwittingness — a sin-offering. The same applies to all transgressions punishable by death where "kareth" is stated.]

Chapter 21

	And the L-rd said to Moses: Speak to the Cohanim, [(excluding chalalim, those unfit to minister)], the sons of Aaron, [(even those with blemishes) (and not the daughters of Aaron)], and say to them [(adults being exhorted in respect to minors)]: For a dead body he (a Cohein) shall not become unclean among his people [i.e., when the dead one is "among his people," excluding a meth mitzvah (one who has no one else to bury him)].
	Only for his flesh [his wife] that is near to him, his mother and his father, his son and his daughter and his brother.
	And for his sister, the virgin, who is near to him [(including one who is betrothed)], who was not wed to a man [for cohabitation] — for her shall he make himself unclean.
	A husband (who is a Cohein) shall not defile himself [for his wife when she is] in [the midst of] his people [i.e., when there are others to bury her (in which instance she is not a meth mitzvah). (And the wife spoken of here is one)] through whom he is profaned [(made a chalal) by living with her].
	They shall not make a baldness upon their head [for one who dies], and the corner of their beard they shall not shave off [with a razor], and in their flesh they shall not make any cutting [(There is liability for each cutting.)]
	Holy shall they be, [perforce. Beth-din compels them to remain holy (i.e., not to make themselves unclean)] to their G-d, and they shall not profane the name of their G-d; for the fire-offerings of the L-rd, the bread of their G-d, they offer up — and they shall be holy.
	A woman who is a harlot or profaned (chalalah) [a woman born of those unfit for the priesthood, e.g., the daughter of a widow by a high-priest, or of a divorced woman by an ordinary priest, or a woman who cohabited with one unfit for the priesthood] they shall not take; for he is holy to his G-d.
	And you shall make him holy, [perforce. (If he refuses to divorce her, lash him and afflict him until he does so)], for he offers up the bread of your G-d; holy shall he be unto you [(Relate to him with holiness, having him initiate all things and giving him precedence in blessing at the meal)], for holy am I the L-rd, who sanctifies you.
	And the [betrothed or married] daughter of a man who is a Cohein, if she profane herself through fornication, she profanes her father [(They say about him: "Cursed be he who begot such as she! Cursed be he who raised such as she!")]; in fire shall she be burned.
	And the Cohein who is greater than his brothers (i.e., the high-priest), upon whose head the oil of anointment has been poured, and who has been invested to wear the garments — his hair he shall not grow long [for more than thirty days (in mourning)] and his clothes he shall not rend.
	And to any (kol) dead body [(kol) including a revi'ith of blood of a dead person, which causes uncleanliness in a tent)] he shall not come [(into the tent of the dead)]. For his father and for his mother he shall not become unclean, [but he may become unclean for a meth mitzvah].
	And from the sanctuary he shall not go out [He does not follow the litter, and he sacrifices even when he is an onein (before the burial)], and he does not profane the sanctuary of his G-d [thereby (But an ordinary Cohein who serves when he is an onein does)], for the crown of the anointing oil of his G-d is upon him; I am the L-rd.
	And he, a woman in her virginity he shall take.
	A widow, and a divorced woman, and a chalalah [a woman born of those unfit for the priesthood], (and) a harlot — these he shall not take; but only a virgin from his people shall he take as a wife.
	And he shall not profane his seed among his people [(If he does take one of them, his child is a chalal)]; for I am the L-rd who makes him holy.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to Aaron, saying: A man of your seed, through their generations, who will have in him a blemish, shall not come near to offer up the bread [i.e., "the food"] of his G-d.
	For any man who has in him a blemish, [by right] should not come near [to do so]: a man who is blind, or lame, or sunken-nosed, or asymmetrical [of limb or organ].
	Or a man who is broken-footed or broken-handed.
	Or gibein [having long, flattened eye-brows] or dak [having a membrane over the eyes] or tevalul [having a disorientation of the black-white arrangement] of his eye, or [having] garav or yalefeth [types of skin conditions] or meroach ashech [having crushed testicles].
	Every man who has a blemish [(Other blemishes are hereby included)] in him [(While it is in him he is pasul; if it leaves, he is kasher)] of the seed of Aaron the Cohein, shall not come near to offer up the fire-offerings of the L-rd. There is a blemish in him; the bread of his G-d he shall not come near to offer up.
	The bread of his G-d, of the holy of holies [(higher-order sanctities)], and of the holies [(lower-order sanctities)], he may eat.
	But to the parocheth [to sprinkle the seven sprinklings] and to the [outer] altar he shall not come near, for a blemish is in him; and he shall not profane My holy places [(If he does serve, the service is profaned and is pasul)]; for I am the L-rd who sanctifies them.
	And Moses spoke [(He related) this mitzvah] to Aaron and his sons and to all the children of Israel [(exhorting beth-din vis-à-vis the Cohanim)].

Chapter 22

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to Aaron and to his sons that they separate themselves [in the days of their uncleanliness] from the holy things of the children of Israel which they [(including the Cohanim themselves)] make holy unto Me, that they not profane My holy name; I am the L-rd.
	Say to them: Throughout your generations, every man who draws near of all of your seed to [eat] the holy things that the children of Israel make holy unto the L-rd, with his uncleanliness upon him, that soul will be cut off from before Me; I am the L-rd.
	A man of the seed of Aaron, if he is a leper or a zav, of the holy things he shall not eat until he is clean. And one who touches anyone who is unclean through the dead; or a man from whom semen issues,
	Or a man who touches any creeping thing (sheretz) [the (minimum) amount (a lentil-size)] which renders him unclean, or a [dead] man [the (minimum) amount (an olive-size)] which renders him unclean — whatever his uncleanliness [(including touching a zav, a zavah, a niddah, or a yoledeth (a woman who has just given birth)] —
	The soul who touches it [one of the above] shall be unclean until the evening; and he shall not eat of the holy things until he bathes his flesh in water.
	And when the sun sets he shall be clean, and then he may eat of the holy things [terumah], for it is his bread.
	Neveilah or treifah he shall not eat [see 17:15] to defile himself therewith [(If he does eat it, he is forbidden to eat kodshim)]; I am the L-rd.
	And they shall keep My charge [not to eat terumah in a state of bodily uncleanliness], that they not bear sin because of it. And they will die for it [(death by the hands of Heaven)] if they profane it; I am the L-rd who sanctifies them.
	And every non-priest (zar) shall not eat the holy thing [terumah]. A Cohein's toshav [a servant whose ear is bored, who serves until the Jubilee year] and (his) sachir [a hired servant, who leaves after six years] shall not eat the holy thing, [the Cohein not owning his body].
	And a Cohein, if he acquire a soul [a Canaanite bondsman, whose body he owns], the acquisition of his money [(the Cohein's wife is hereby included)], he may eat of it, and one that is born in his house [(the children of the bondswomen)] — they may eat of his bread.
	And the daughter of a Cohein, if she be wed to a man who is a zar [i.e., a Levite or an Israelite], she, of the terumah of the holy things shall not eat.
	And the daughter of a Cohein, if she be widowed or divorced [from the zar], and she have no seed [from him], then she may return to the house of her father as in her maidenhood (and) from the bread of her father may she eat. And no zar may eat of it, [but a Cohein who is an onein (a mourner) may].
	And a man, if he eat the holy thing [terumah] unwittingly, then he shall add its fifth part upon it and give the Cohein the holy thing [i.e., what can become holy. He does not give him money, but produce of chullin (non-terumah), which becomes terumah].
	And they shall not profane the holy things of the children of Israel [by feeding it to zarim], what they lift to the L-rd.
	And they (the Cohanim) will bear upon themselves the sin of guilt when they (the zarim) eat their holy things [things set aside to be terumah]; for I am the L-rd who sanctifies them.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to Aaron and to his sons and to all the children of Israel, and say to them: A man of the house of Israel and of the stranger in Israel, who brings his offering, of all of their vows ["I take it upon myself to bring, etc."] and of all of their gift offerings ["This (animal) shall be, etc."], which they will present to the L-rd as a burnt-offering —
	So that you find favor with it [(in My eyes) shall you bring it. And with what will you find favor?] A male without blemish in the cattle, in the sheep, and in the goats [(but a bird burnt-offering need not be male and unblemished. It becomes pasul only if it lacks a limb.)]
	Whatever has a blemish in it you shall not present, for it will not be acceptable for you.
	And if a man present a sacrifice of peace-offerings to the L-rd for an expressed vow or as a gift-offering, of the cattle or of the flock, perfect shall it be for acceptance; no blemish shall be in it.
	[It shall not be] blind or broken or charutz [having an eyelid or a lip that was split or injured], or having a wart or [having] garav or yalefeth [types of skin conditions]. You shall not present these to the L-rd. [("You shall not present") — three times (here, 24, 25): to exhort against their being dedicated, slaughtered, and their blood being sprinkled)] And a fire-offering you shall not make of them on the altar to the L-rd [(an exhortation against their being smoked)].
	And an ox or a lamb, asymmetrical [of limb] or "closed" [of hoof], a gift [for Temple maintenance] you may make it, but as a vow [for the altar] it shall not be acceptable.
	And [an animal whose membrum or testicles are] bruised [by hand] or crushed, or torn [by hand from their cords but still resting in the scrotum], or cut [by instrument but still resting in the scrotum] you shall not present to the L-rd. And in your land [i.e., to all the animals in your land, including unclean ones] you shall not do this [i.e., you shall not castrate them].
	And from the hand of a gentile [who brings an offering through a Cohein] you shall not present the bread of your G-d of all these [blemished animals], for their defect is in them. There is a blemish in them; they will not be acceptable [to atone] for you.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	An ox, or a sheep, or a goat, when it is born [(to exclude one delivered by Caesarean section)], it shall be seven days under its mother; and from the eighth day and on, it shall be acceptable as an offering of fire to the L-rd.
	And an ox or a lamb, it [the mother] and its son [or daughter] you shall not slaughter in one day.
	And when you slaughter a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the L-rd, that it be acceptable for you shall you slaughter it, [viz.,]
	[Slaughter it with the intention that] on that [same] day it will be eaten. You shall leave none of it over until the morning; I am the L-rd [Know who decreed this and let it not be light in your eyes.]
	And you shall heed [i.e., study] My mitzvoth and you shall do them; I am the L-rd.
	And you shall not profane My holy name [by wittingly transgressing My words], and I shall be sanctified [(Deliver yourself — even unto death — for sanctification of My name)] in the midst of the children of Israel [i.e., in public]; I am the L-rd who sanctifies you.
	Who took you out of the land of Egypt [to this end], to be a G-d unto you; I am the L-rd.

Chapter 23

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: The festivals of the L-rd, which you shall call (them) callings of holiness — these are My festivals. [Make Israel conversant in the times of the festivals, for the year is intercalated for (Jews of) the exile who leave their place for the festival pilgrimage and who have not yet arrived in Jerusalem (by the time of the festival.)]
	Six days shall work be done, and on the seventh day is a Sabbath of resting, a calling of holiness. All work you shall not do; it is Sabbath to the L-rd in all your dwellings. [One who desecrates the festivals is considered to have desecrated the Sabbath, and one who keeps the festivals is considered to have kept the Sabbath.]
	These are the festivals of the L-rd, callings of holiness which you shall call (them) in their proper times. [The verse here speaks of the proclamation of the New Moon.]
	In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, towards evening [i.e., from the sixth hour (of the day) onwards] is (the time for the sacrifice of) the Paschal offering to the L-rd.
	And on the fifteenth day of this month is the festival of matzoth to the L-rd. Seven days shall you eat matzoth.
	On the first day, a calling of holiness shall it be for you; all work of labor you shall not do.
	And you shall present a fire-offering [the additional (mussaf) offerings (Numbers 28:19)] to the L-rd for a seven day period [(in any event. They are not mutually indispensable. If bullocks are not available, offer the rams, etc.)] On the seventh day is a calling of holiness; all work of labor [i.e., even work which you consider (crucial) labor] you shall not do.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the land which I give to you and you reap its harvest, you shall bring the omer [one-tenth of an ephah], the first (grain) of your harvest [i.e., the first grain to be harvested (in your land)] to the Cohein.
	And he shall wave the omer [(back and forth to ward off harmful winds; up and down to ward off harmful dew)] before the L-rd for your favor [(if offered as prescribed)]. On the morrow of the Sabbath [i.e., on the morrow of the first day of Pesach] the Cohein shall wave it.
	And you shall offer, on the day that you wave the omer, an unblemished one-year-old lamb [(as adjunct to the omer)], as a burnt-offering to the L-rd.
	And its [libation] meal-offering, two-tenths [(double the normal amount)] of fine flour mixed with oil, a fire-offering to the L-rd, a sweet savor; and its drink-offering, wine, a fourth of a hin [(the normal amount)].
	And bread, and kali [flour made from karmel (tender ears) dried in an oven] and karmel [the ears themselves] you shall not eat until this self-same day, until you have brought the offering of your G-d; a statute for ever, throughout your generations, in all of your dwellings [("dwellings"): Some say, even outside Eretz Yisrael; others, in Eretz Yisrael, after inheritance and settlement)].
	And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Sabbath [see 11], from the day that you bring the omer of the waving; seven complete [(the counting starting from the evening)] Sabbaths, they shall be.
	Until [but not including] the morrow of the seventh week, the fiftieth day, shall you count [forty-nine days], and you shall offer a new meal-offering to the L-rd [("new"): the first (wheat) meal-offering brought from the new produce, (the omer meal-offering, unlike all others, being brought from barley)].
	From your habitations [(and not from outside Eretz Yisrael)] shall you bring two breads of lifting [i.e., "lifted" to the Most High (this being the "new meal-offering" 16)]. Two-tenths of fine flour shall they be. Leavened shall they be baked, first to the L-rd [of all the meal-offerings. Even the meal-offering of jealousy (Numbers 5:15), which comes from barley, is not to be offered of the new produce before the two breads.]
	And you shall present with the bread [i.e., as requisite for the bread] seven unblemished one-year-old lambs, and one young bullock, and two rams. They shall be a burnt-offering and their drink-offerings [as per the specifications for meal-offerings and drink-offerings (Numbers 28:12-14)], a fire-offering, a sweet savor to the L-rd.
	And you shall offer one kid of the goats as a sin-offering and two one-year-old lambs as a sacrifice of peace-offerings. [Note: The seven lambs (18) and the goat mentioned here are not the same as those mentioned in Numbers 28:27-30, these being brought as a requirement for the bread, and the others as mussafin (additional offerings)].
	And the Cohein shall lift them with the first-bread, a lifting before the L-rd. (He lifts the bread) with the two lambs [(and not with all of the animals mentioned)]. Holy [i.e., holy of holies] shall they [these communal peace-offerings] be [(unlike individual peace-offerings, which are of a lower order of holiness)] to the L-rd, to the Cohein.
	And you shall call out on this self-same day; a holy calling shall there be for you. All work of labor you shall not do, a statute forever, in all of your habitations, throughout your generations.
	And when you harvest the harvest of your land, do not end off the corner (peah) of your field in your reaping. [This is mentioned a second time (see 19:9) to posit liability for transgression of two negative commandments]; and the gleaning (leket) of your harvest you shall not gather. To the poor man and to the stranger shall you leave them [(Leave it for them and let them gather it; do not assist any particular one of them)]; I am the L-rd your G-d. [This is inserted in the midst of the festivals to teach that if one gives leket, shikchah, and peah to the poor as prescribed, it is accounted to him as if he had built the Temple and offered up his sacrifices therein.]
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be for you a resting, [verses of] remembrance (zichronoth) [and verses of (i.e., evocative of)] the shofar blast (shofroth), a holy calling.
	All work of labor you shall not do, and you shall present a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Only, on the tenth day of this seventh month it is the day of atonement [("Only") — Only those who repent are granted atonement.] A holy calling shall it be for you. And you shall afflict your souls and you shall present a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	And all work you shall not do on this self-same day; for it is a day of atonement to atone for you before the L-rd your G-d.
	For every soul which will not be afflicted on this self-same day will be cut off from its people.
	And every soul that shall do any work on this self-same day, I shall make that soul go lost from the midst of its people. [Thus, "cutting-off" (kareth), as in verse 29, is destruction.]
	All work you shall not do [(This posits transgression of numerous negative commandments, (or it is an exhortation against labor on the night as well as the day (of Yom Kippur)], an everlasting statute, throughout your generations, in all of your dwellings.
	A Sabbath of resting shall it be for you, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening, shall you rest your resting.
	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the festival of Succoth, seven days to the L-rd.
	On the first day is a holy calling [Sanctify it (Yom Kippur) with clean garments and with prayer, (and the other festivals with food and drink, clean garments and prayer)]; all work of labor you shall not do.
	Seven days shall you present a fire-offering to the L-rd. On the eighth day a holy calling shall there be for you, and you shall present a fire-offering to the L-rd. It is a "holding back" (atzereth) [the L-rd saying, as it were: "I have held you back with Me, it being difficult for Me to part with you")]; all work of labor [see 23:8] you shall not do. [("It is a holding back") — but on Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of the festival) "work of labor" is permitted.]
	These are the festivals of the L-rd, which you shall call holy callings to present a fire-offering to the L-rd, a burnt-offering and a meal-offering [(the libation meal-offering, which is offered up together with the burnt-offering)], sacrifice and drink-offerings, the thing of the day [(as prescribed in Numbers)] in its day [(but if the day passed, its sacrifice is forfeited)].
	Aside from the Sabbaths of the L-rd, and aside from your gifts, and aside from all your vows and aside from all your gift-offerings that you give to the L-rd.
	But [(since the festival peace-offering (chagigah) can be brought on any one of the seven days, it does not override the Sabbath)] on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land [(Intercalate the years so that this harvest festival does not fall out sometimes in the middle of the summer, sometimes in the middle of the winter)], you shall celebrate [with the chagigah] the festival of the L-rd seven days [(If you did not bring the chagigah on one of the seven, you may bring it on another)]; on the first day, a resting, and on the eighth day, a resting.
	And you shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a tree [(the fruit tasting like the tree)] which is hadar, [which lives (hadar, i.e., is produced) on its tree from year to year — an ethrog], a branch of date-palms, a branch of a plaited tree [(a tree the branches of which are plaited like ropes — a myrtle)], and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the L-rd your G-d seven days.
	And you shall celebrate it [("it"): The chagigah is brought on only one of the days)] as a festival to the L-rd seven days in the year, a statute forever throughout your generations; on the seventh month shall you celebrate it.
	In succoth shall you sit seven days; every citizen in Israel [including proselytes] shall sit in succoth.
	So that your generations know that in succoth [clouds of glory] did I cause the children of Israel to dwell when I took them out of the land of Egypt; I am the L-rd your G-d.
	And Moses proclaimed the festivals of the L-rd to the children of Israel.

Chapter 24

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Command the children of Israel that they bring to you clear olive oil [(the first of the three oils issuing from the olive)], (the olives), crushed for illumination, to raise a light continually [(from night to night, like the "continual" — from day to day — burnt-offering)]. [This is the section of the mitzvah of the lamps. Exodus 27:20 (in this connection) is to be understood as: "And you are destined to command, etc." (the actual command taking place here.) It is mentioned there, in connection with the account of the construction of the tabernacle, only to explain the function of the menorah.]
	Outside the parocheth, [which is before] the Testimony [i.e., the ark], in the tent of meeting, shall Aaron arrange it (the menorah) [so that it burn] from evening until morning before the L-rd continually, an eternal statute throughout your generations.
	On the pure [gold] menorah shall he arrange the lamps before the L-rd always.
	And you shall take fine flour and you shall bake it (into) twelve challoth; two-tenths (of an ephah) shall the one challah be.
	And you shall place them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure [gold] table before the L-rd.
	And you shall place upon the two [i.e., upon each of the two rows] pure frankincense [(On each of the two rows there were two cups of frankincense, a fistful in each)]. And it shall be a memorial for the bread [(For nothing of the bread was offered on high, but the incense was burned when they removed the bread each Sabbath. By the incense, then, the bread is "remembered" (in the same way that the fistful is a "memorial" for the meal-offering)], a fire-offering to the L-rd.
	On the day of Sabbath, on the day of Sabbath, he shall arrange it before the L-rd always; from the children of Israel, an everlasting covenant.
	And it [this meal-offering (everything coming from grain being in the category of "meal-offering")] shall be for Aaron and for his sons. And they shall eat it [the bread] in a holy place, for holy of holies is it to him, of the fire-offerings of the L-rd, an everlasting statute.
	And there went out the son of an Israelite woman, and he was the son of an Egyptian man, [the one slain by Moses (Exodus 2:11-12)], in the midst of the children of Israel [(He had become a proselyte)], and they strove in the camp [i.e., regarding matters of the camp], the son of the Israelite woman and the Israelite man [who opposed him].
	And the son of the Israelite woman indited the [ineffable] Name [the Tetragrammaton, that he had heard at Sinai], and he blasphemed, and they brought him to Moses. And the name of his mother was Shlomith [(She said "Shalom," promiscuously, to all)] the daughter of Divri [(She was a "prattler" (dabranith), speaking indiscriminately to all men)], of the tribe of Dan [(an encomium to Israel — she alone went astray)]
	And they placed him [alone] in confinement, that it be specified to them by the mouth of the L-rd [whether or not he was to be killed].
	And the L-rd said to Moses, saying:
	Take the curser outside the camp, and let all [(including the judges)], who heard [(These are the witnesses)] place their hands on his head [(They say to him: Your blood is on your own head, and not upon us; you brought it upon yourself)], and let all the congregation stone him [i.e., let him be stoned in the presence of the entire congregation (whence it is derived that one's emissary is like himself)].
	And to the children of Israel, you shall speak, saying: A man, if he curse his G-d, then he shall bear his sin [In the absence of warning, he incurs kareth.]
	And one who indites the Name of the L-rd [the Tetragrammaton (but not an epithet)] shall be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. Proselyte, like born-Jew — if he indites the Name he shall die.
	And a man, if he smite [i.e., kill] any soul of man [(including women and minors)] shall be put to death.
	And one that smites [i.e., kills] a beast shall make compensation for it, life for life.
	And a man, if he maims (lit., "gives an injury to") his neighbor — as he did, so shall it be done to him.
	A breaking for a breaking, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth — as he gives an injury to a man, so shall it [money] be given by him [in compensation for the injury. He (the injured one) is assessed as a slave (and he is given the difference between the value of a slave with this injury and one without it)].
	And one who strikes [i.e., wounds] a beast shall make compensation for it. And one who strikes [i.e., wounds] a man [i.e., his parent, (when he is alive, comparable to "beast")] shall be put to death.
	One judgment shall there be for you; for proselyte as for born-Jew shall it be, for I am the L-rd your G-d [— the G-d of all of you. Just as I unite My name with you, so do I unite it with the proselytes].
	And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and they took the curser outside the camp, and they stoned him with stones, and the children of Israel did as the L-rd commanded Moses [in respect to stoning (see Exodus 19:13 and Deuteronomy 21:22)].

Chapter 25

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai [(Just as the general rules and specific ordinances of shemitah (the sabbatical year) were given at Sinai, so, with all the mitzvoth)], saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: When you come to the land that I give to you, the land shall rest a Sabbath to the L-rd [i.e., in the name of the L-rd.]
	Six years shall you sow your field and six years shall you prune your vineyard, and you shall collect its produce.
	And in the seventh year, a Sabbath of resting shall there be for the land [i.e., for the fields and for the vineyards], a Sabbath to the L-rd; your field you shall not sow, and your vineyard you shall not prune.
	The after-growth of your harvest [i.e., what fell there at harvest time] you shall not reap [i.e., you shall not take possession of it], and the grapes of your guarded vine [i.e., your vine which you did not render hefker (ownerless)] you shall not gather; a year of rest shall there be for the land.
	And the resting of the land [i.e., your "non-guarded" (hefker) land] shall be for you to eat: for you, and your man-servant, and your maid-servant, and your hired man, and your sojourners who dwell with you.
	And for your beast and for the animal which is in your land shall be all its produce to eat. [So long as the animal eats from the field (i.e., so long as produce is found in the field), you may feed it to your beast from (what you have stored) in the house. If it has ended for the animal in the field, "end it" (i.e., remove it) for your beast from the house.]
	And you shall count for yourself seven Sabbaths [i.e., shemitoth] of years — seven [shemitah] years, seven [discrete] times [(and not seven consecutive shemitah years)] — and the seven Sabbaths of years will be for you forty-nine years.
	And you shall sound the shofar [in proclamation of the Jubilee] in the seventh month on the tenth day of the month. On the day of atonement shall you sound the shofar throughout the land.
	And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year [(At its advent it is sanctified in beth-din: "The year is sanctified!")], and you shall call out freedom [for all (Hebrew) bondsmen] in the land, to all its inhabitants. "Yovel" (Jubilee) [lit., "the shofar"] shall it [(the name of the year)] be for you. And you shall return a man to his holding [(Fields return to their original owners)]; and a man to his family [(including the bondsman whose ear has been bored)] shall you return.
	It is a Jubilee year; the fiftieth year shall be for you. You shall not sow, and you shall not reap its aftergrowth, and you shall not glean (the grapes of) its guarded vine. [What applies to shemitah applies to Yovel, so that there are two consecutive sanctities, the forty-ninth year — shemitah, and the fiftieth year — Yovel.]
	For it is a Jubilee year; holy shall it be for you [It (the "holiness" of the produce of that year) is transferred to its monies (those given in exchange for it) as is the case with (the redemption of) hekdesh (sacred property). I might think that it (the "redeemed" produce itself) becomes chullin (non-consecrated); it is, therefore, written "shall it be"; it remains in its state of holiness.] From the field [i.e., on the basis of what transpires in the field], you may eat its produce [that is stored in the house (see 25:7)].
	In the year of this Jubilee shall you return, each man, to his holding [(to include a field sold by a man and redeemed by his son as returning to the father on Yovel)].
	And if you sell a selling to your fellow, or acquire from the hand of your fellow, you shall not wrong [(money wronging)], one man, his brother.
	According to the number of years after the Jubilee year shall you buy from your fellow [i.e., Set the price according to the number of years remaining to the Yovel, when the field will return to the owner — a higher price for more years remaining; a proportionately lower price for less]; according to the number of years of crops shall he sell to you. [(It must be sold for at least two years of crops (and not blight)].
	According to the numerousness of years shall you increase its price, and according to the fewness of years shall you diminish its price; for a number of crops (until the Yovel) he sells to you (and not the field itself.)
	And you shall not wrong [(verbal wronging)] one man, his fellow [by taunting him or giving him improper advice.] And you shall fear your G-d, [who knows your intentions]. For I am the L-rd your G-d.
	And you shall observe My statutes, and My judgments shall you keep and do them, and you shall dwell on the land secure. [For non-observance of shemitah results in exile (see 26:34). (The seventy years of Babylonian exile were for seventy shemitoth that were not observed.)]
	And the land will give its fruit, and you will eat to satiety [(the food will be "blessed" in your innards)], and you will dwell securely thereon [without fear of drought].
	And if you say: What shall we eat in the seventh year if we cannot sow or gather [into the house] our produce [like wine and fruits and after-growth, which falls of itself (and is not "sown," see 5)],
	I shall command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it shall produce the crop for three years: [for Nissan (of the sixth year until Rosh HaShanah), for the seventh year, and for the eighth year until Nissan, (for in the eighth year, they will sow in Cheshvan and harvest in Nissan)].
	And you shall sow in the eighth year, and you shall eat of the old (sixth year) crop. Until the [Sukkoth of the] ninth year, until its [the eighth year's] produce comes [into the house, (the eighth year crop being stored in field granaries all summer and being brought into the house only in Tishrei)], you shall eat of the old crop.
	And the land shall not be sold in perpetuity [(a negative commandment directed to the buyer, against non-return of the field in Yovel)], for Mine is the land, [and not yours (so that you need not feel "put out" in returning it)]; for strangers and sojourners are you with Me.
	And in all the land of your holding, redemption shall you give to the land. [(This introduces what follows, that one who sells his holding may redeem it after two years and the buyer cannot refuse him)].
	If your brother grows poor and sells of his holding [(but not all of his holding — he should leave a field for himself) (It is derived from here that one should not sell his field unless he is sorely pressed by poverty)], then his redeemer who is near to him shall come and he shall redeem what his brother has sold [and the buyer cannot refuse him].
	And a man, if there be for him no redeemer [who is able to redeem what he has sold], and his hand attains, and he finds what suffices for its redemption,
	Then he shall reckon the years of its sale [i.e., the value of the yearly crops from the time of its sale], and he shall return the balance [the difference between the yearly crop values and the sales price] to the man to whom he sold it, and he shall return to his holding.
	And if his hand does not find what suffices to restore it to himself [(— whence it is derived that he may not redeem it by halves)], then his selling shall remain in the hand of its buyer until the Jubilee year, [the Jubilee year "releasing" it immediately upon its advent], and it shall go out in the Jubilee year, and he shall return to his holding.
	And a man, if he sells a house of dwelling in a city with a wall [from the time of Joshua the son of Nun], then its redemption shall be [only] until the end of the year of its sale [with no possibility of redemption thereafter]; [a year of] days shall be its redemption.
	And if it is not redeemed until there is filled for it a complete year, then the house which is in the city which had a wall [(in the time of Joshua, though it may not have one now)] shall stand in perpetuity to the one who bought it throughout his generations; it shall not go out in the Jubilee year [if the Jubilee year arrived in the midst of the year of sale.]
	And the houses of open cities, which have no wall roundabout, as the field of the land shall they be reckoned [i.e., they may be redeemed until Yovel, and (if not redeemed) Yovel releases them to their original owners.] Redemption shall there be for it, [immediately, if the seller so wishes], and in the Jubilee year shall it go out [gratis].
	And the cities of the Levites [the forty-eight cities which were given to them (Numbers 35:6-7)], the houses of the cities of their holding, a perpetual redemption shall there be for the Levites. [In the instance of a field, they may redeem immediately (and need not wait two years), and, in the instance of a house in a walled city they may redeem forever (and the house does not become irredeemable after a year)].
	And if a man purchase [a house or a city] of the Levites, then the selling of the house or of the city of his holding shall go out in the Jubilee year, [and not be irredeemable like the walled-city houses of Israelites]. For the houses of the cities of the Levites are their holding in the midst of the children of Israel. [The Levites did not have fields and vineyards as inheritances; therefore, their houses and open lots are their holdings in place of fields and are redeemable like fields, so that their inheritance not depart from them.]
	And the field of the open place around their cities may not be sold [by the Temple treasurer, i.e., If a Levite dedicated it to the Temple, and did not redeem it, and the treasurer sold it, it does not revert to the Cohanim in the Jubilee year (as it does in the case of an Israelite (see 27:16-20), but the Levite may always redeem it], for it is a perpetual holding for them.
	And if your brother grows poor and his hand falls with you, then you shall uphold him [from the time of the falling of his hand], [even if he be] proselyte or sojourner (toshav) [one who took it upon himself not to serve idolatry, but who eats neveiloth]; and he shall live with you.
	You shall not take from him interest (neshech) or increase (tarbith) [(Though neshech and tarbith are one and the same, they are stated as two to posit liability for transgression of two negative commandments)], and you shall fear your G-d, [who knows your thoughts, and do not resort to rationalizations for the taking of interest]. And your brother shall live with you.
	Your money you shall not give him on interest, and on increase you shall not give your food.
	I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt [(I discriminated between a first-born and a non first-born, and I can also discern and exact punishment from one who lends his money to a Jew on interest on the pretence that it is a gentile's)] to give you the land of Canaan [as reward for accepting My mitzvoth], to be a G-d to you [(For all who live in Eretz Yisrael are considered to have a G-d, and all who depart from it are as worshippers of idolatry.)]
	And if your brother grows poor with you, and he is sold to you, do not work with him the [demeaning] services of a bondsman, [like carrying your things after you to the bathhouse or putting on your shoes for you.]
	As a hired man and as a sojourner shall he be with you [Employ him for the tilling of the soil and for craft work, like other hired laborers.] Until the Jubilee year shall he work with you [(If the Jubilee year intervenes before the expiration of his six years, it releases him.)]
	And he shall go out from you, he and his children with him [ — whence it is derived (since his children had not actually been sold with him) that his master is responsible for the feeding of his children]. And he shall return to his family, and to the holding of his fathers shall he return. [He is to be restored to his former dignity and not demeaned for his prior servitude.]
	For they are My servants [(My "deeds" came first)], whom I took out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold [on the auction block, by proclamation: "Slave for sale!"]
	You shall not rule over him oppressively [(Do not impose on him services that you have no need of.)] And, [lest you say: No one knows that I am working him gratuitously —] you shall fear your G-d, [who knows your heart].
	And, [if you say: If so, who will serve me? I am forbidden to rule over my (Hebrew) bondsman, and I am commanded to destroy the seven nations!] — your bondsman and your bondswoman whom you may have — from the nations who are roundabout you, [and not those within your land], from them shall you buy a bondsman and a bondswoman.
	And also of the sons of the sojourners, who sojourn among you, [who came from roundabout you to take wives in your land, and who begot children (the children having the status of the father, so that they are not subsumed in (Deuteronomy 20:16): "You shall not allow any soul to live")] — from them (the sojourners) may you buy, and their families that are with you, that they begot in your land, and they shall be a holding for you.
	And you shall hold them as an inheritance for your sons after you to inherit as a holding. Forever shall you have them serve you. And in your brothers, the children of Israel, one man over his brother [including a leader over his people and a king over his ministers], you shall not rule over him oppressively.
	And if the hand of a stranger-sojourner attain (wealth) with you [(What caused him to attain wealth? His clinging "with you")], and your brother grow poor with him [(What caused him to become poor? His clinging "with him")], and he be sold to the stranger-sojourner with you, or to the uprooted [i.e., idolatry] of the family of a stranger [i.e., if he is sold to be a servant of idolatry — to hew wood, draw water, and the like],
	After he is sold, redemption shall there be for him [immediately. (Do not allow him to become assimilated with them)]; one of his brothers shall redeem him.
	Or his uncle, or his uncle's son shall redeem him; or those of his near of kin, of his family, shall redeem him; or, if his hand attain, he shall be redeemed (by himself).
	And he shall reckon with his buyer [(Even if the gentile who bought him be subservient to you, make a "straight reckoning" with him (to avoid desecration of the Name)], from the year that he was sold to him until the Jubilee year, [when he would, in any event, be released]. And the money of his selling will be according to the number of years [that he served him]. According to the days of a hired man shall he be with him [i.e., the buyer receives the difference between the purchase price and the wages of a hired man for the period that he serves him (that wage being determined proportionately, per year, by the purchase price divided by the number of years until the Jubilee year)].
	If there are yet many in the years [until the Jubilee year], according to them shall he return his redemption (money) from the money of his acquisition.
	And if few are left in the years until the Jubilee year, then he shall reckon with him; according to his years shall he return his redemption.
	As a hired man, year by year, shall he be with him; he shall not rule over him oppressively before your eyes.
	And if he is not redeemed with these [(He is redeemed only with "these," and not after six years)], then he shall go out in the Jubilee year, he and his children with him [see 25:41].
	For unto Me are the children of Israel servants. They are My servants, whom I took out of the land of Egypt. I am the L-rd your G-d.

Chapter 26

	[The following is addressed to a Jew who sold himself to a gentile, and who might come to say: Since my master serves idols, I, likewise, may do so, etc.] You shall not make for yourselves idols, and a graven image or a pillar you shall not upraise for yourselves, and a covering stone [(a stone pavement covering the ground)] shall you not make in your land to prostrate (yourselves) upon it [even unto Heaven (this being permitted only in the Temple)], for I am the L-rd your G-d.
	My Sabbaths shall you keep, and My sanctuary shall you fear; I am the L-rd [trusted to reward].
	If in My statutes you walk [i.e., If in My Torah you toil], and My mitzvoth you keep [that is, if you toil in My Torah in order to keep My mitzvoth and to fulfill them], and you do them,
	Then I shall give your rains in their [proper] times [i.e., when people are not generally found out of doors], and the earth will yield its produce and the tree of the field [i.e., the normally barren tree] will yield its fruit.
	And your threshing [will be so abundant that it] will reach for you [until] the [time of the] vintage [harvest] and the vintage will reach the sowing, and you will eat your bread to satiety [i.e., you will eat but little, and the food will be "blessed" in your innards], and you will dwell secure in your land.
	And [(lest you say: Food and drink without peace is nothing)], I will put peace, [which is over and against all,] in the land, and you will lie down and not tremble; and I will eliminate evil beasts from the land, and a sword shall not pass through your land, [even a sword of "peace" (i.e., an army passing through Eretz Yisrael to attack a different land)].
	And you will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before you by the sword, [one by the sword of the other].
	And there will pursue of you [(even of the weakest)] — five, one hundred; and one hundred of you will pursue ten thousand [(and not "five hundred, ten thousand," as expected proportionately, there being no comparing a small number of Torah observers to a large one)], and your enemies will fall before you [an unnatural falling] by the sword.
	And I will turn [My regard exclusively] to you [to reward you], and I will make you fruitful [in childbearing], and I will give you an upright stature, and I will establish My covenant with you, [not like the first covenant which you broke, but a new covenant, which will not be broken.]
	And you will eat the old [crop] grown old [The produce will be so well preserved that a three-year-old crop will be better to eat than last year's], and you will remove the old [from the overflowing granaries] to make place for the new.
	And I will place My mishkan [the Temple] in your midst, and My soul will not repel you.
	And I will walk [in Gan Eden] in your midst [as one of you, and you will not be in terror of Me] and [lest you think you will not fear Me], I will be to you as a G-d, and you will be to Me as a people.
	I am the L-rd your G-d, who took you out of the land of Egypt [You may well believe Me capable of doing all these things, for I took you out of the land of Egypt with great wonders] that you not be slaves to them, and I broke the bars of your yoke, and I made you walk upright.
	And if you do not hearken [(to toil in Torah to know the exegeses of the sages)] to Me, [i.e., rebelling "to My face" (knowing your Creator and willing to rebel against Him)], and, [as a result of not hearkening,] you will not do all of these mitzvoth [(thus far, two transgressions)],
	And if [as a result of not doing], you despise [the doers of] My statutes, and if [as a result] your souls repel [(the exemplifiers of)] My ordinances, [the sages], so that [as a result] there not be done [i.e., you prevent others from doing] all of My mitzvoth [i.e., As a result, you deny that they are My mitzvoth], to break My covenant [i.e., as a result, you deny Me! — in all, seven transgressions],
	I, too, will do this to you, and I will command panic upon you — consumption, and burning fever, making the eyes languish [in vain hope of recovery] and grieving the soul [of your family in your death], and you will sow your seed in vain, [for it will not sprout], and, [if it does sprout], your foes will eat it.
	And I will turn My regard against you, and you will be smitten before your foes, and your haters shall rule over you, and you will flee [in fear] when none pursue you, [being powerless (to threaten them)].
	And if while these [are yet upon you] you do not hearken to Me, then I will chastise you even more — seven-fold, for your [seven] sins [see 15].
	And I shall break the pride of your strength [the Temple], and I shall make your skies as iron and your earth as brass.
	And your strength [in plowing, sowing, etc.] shall be spent in vain, and your land will not yield [even] what is brought to it [at sowing time], and the tree of the land will not yield [(It will be smitten in point of the land, the land not fructifying at blooming time)] its fruit [(It will also be smitten in point of its fruit, any fruit that is produced, falling — two curses; all together, seven punishments)].
	And if you walk with Me in obduracy, and you will not wish to hearken to Me, then I shall smite you even more — seven, according to your [seven] sins [i.e., seven other punishments for your seven sins].
	And I will incite against you the animal of the field [(two more punishments, viz. (Deuteronomy 32:24): "and the teeth of (domestic) beasts will I send against them," and (Ibid.): "with the venom of crawling things of the dust" (i.e., death by biting)], and it will bereave you (of your children), and it will cut off your cattle [outside (the city)] and it will reduce you [inside], and your roads [both large and small] will be desolate [ — all together, seven punishments].
	And if with these you will not be chastised [to return] to Me, and you will walk with Me in obduracy,
	Then I, too, will walk with you in obduracy, and I, too, will smite you seven, for your [seven] sins.
	And I will bring upon you a sword [i.e., an army], avenging the vengeance of [i.e., foretold in] the Covenant [the Torah], and you will be gathered together [because of the siege] into your cities, and I will send pestilence in your midst, and, [as a result because they were not permitted to leave the dead in Jerusalem overnight and were constrained to take them outside for burial)], you will be delivered into the hand of the foe.
	When I break your staff of bread [i.e., When I bring famine upon you], ten women shall bake your bread in one oven [for lack of wood], and they shall [sit and] dole out your bread by weight [(for the wheat will be rotten and the loaf will crumble)]. And you will eat and not be sated, [the bread being "cursed" in your intestines — all together, seven punishments].
	And if with this you will not hearken to Me, but walk with Me in obduracy,
	Then I will walk with you in the fury of obduracy, and I, too, will chastise you, seven, for your sins.
	And you will eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters will you eat.
	And I will destroy your high places [your towers and castles], and I will cut down your [idolatrous] sun pillars [(which they set up on roofs)], and I will cast your carcasses upon the carcasses of your idols [(They would take their idols from their bosoms and kiss them, their hunger-swollen bellies would burst, and they would fall upon them)], and My soul will repel you.
	And I will make your cities waste [of passersby], and I will make desolate your sanctified ones [i.e., the (festival) pilgrims, who used to sanctify themselves to ascend there], and I will not smell your sweet savors [ — all together, seven punishments].
	And I will make desolate the land, and your foes who dwell therein will be awe-struck thereby [(a "goodly provision" for Israel — its foes will find no satisfaction in the land, it being desolate of its inhabitants)].
	And you, will I scatter among the nations [so that you lack even the consolation of togetherness], and I will draw out the sword after you, and your land will be desolate [(You will not quickly return there)], and [(as a result)] your cities will be waste [(You will perceive them as "ruined," not expecting to return there)].
	Then shall the land requite its Sabbaths [It will appease the wrath of the King over its unobserved shemitoth (sabbatical and Jubilee years)], all the days of its desolation — and you in the land of your foes! [see 25:18]. Then shall the land rest and it shall requite its Sabbaths.
	All the days of its desolation it shall rest — what it did not rest in your [seventy] sabbatical years when you dwelt upon it [(in sin) four hundred and thirty years].
	And those who are left of you — I will bring terror into their hearts in the lands of their foes, and they will be chased by the sound of a driven leaf, and they will flee as one flees the sword, and they will fall though none pursue.
	And they will stumble [in their panic] one man against the other, as if [they were fleeing] before the sword, though none pursue; and there will be no rising for you before your foes.
	And you will go lost [from each other by being scattered] among the nations, and the land of your foes will devour you [(The allusion is to those who die in exile)].
	And those that are left of you will melt away in their sins in the land of their enemies; and also with the sins of their fathers with them [i.e., which they continue to hold onto] will they melt away.
	And they will confess their sin and the sin of their fathers, their faithlessness wherein they betrayed Me, and also their having walked with Me in obduracy [see 21]
	I, too, will walk with them in obduracy, and I [Myself] will bring them into the land of their foes. [This is providential for Israel, viz.: I shall not allow them to become assimilated, though they see no other recourse, but I will raise up My prophets and bring them back under the wings of the Shechinah.] If then their uncircumcised heart be humbled, and then they requite their sin [i.e., if they atone for their sin through their afflictions],
	Then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember [(If Jacob, the "smallest" of the patriarchs is not worthy enough (to atone for them) then Isaac is with him, etc. ("remember" is not mentioned in respect to Isaac, for his ashes on the altar (of the akeidah) are always present to His sight)], and the land will I remember.
	And the land will be abandoned of them, and it will requite its Sabbaths in being desolate of them, and they will requite their sins — in retribution and in retribution — [because] they rejected My ordinances and because their souls repelled My statutes.
	And notwithstanding all this [i.e., that I shall bring this retribution upon them], while they are in the land of their foes, I will not reject them and I will not repel them to destroy them, to break My covenant with them, for I am the L-rd their G-d.
	And I will remember for them the covenant of the first ones [the tribes], whom I took out of the land of Egypt before the eyes of the nations to be a G-d unto them; I am the L-rd.
	These are the statutes and the ordinances and the Toroth [the written and the oral laws (both having been given to Moses at Sinai)], which the L-rd gave between Himself and the children of Israel on Mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.

Chapter 27

	And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
	Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: A man, if he utter a vow in valuation of lives to the L-rd [i.e., If he says: "I vow to give (to the Temple) the valuation of this and this organ" (on which life depends)],
	Then the (fixed) valuation shall be: For the male, from twenty to sixty years, the valuation shall be fifty shekels of silver in the shekel of the sanctuary.
	And if she is female, the valuation shall be thirty shekels.
	And if from five years [(i.e., If an adult said: I vow to give the valuation of this five-year-old)] until twenty years, then the valuation shall be, for a male, twenty shekels, and for a female, ten shekels.
	And if from one month until five years, then the valuation shall be: for a male, five shekels of silver; and for a female, the valuation, three shekels of silver.
	And if from sixty years and above: If a male, then the valuation shall be fifteen shekels; and if a female, ten shekels.
	And if he (the vower) be too poor for the [fixed] valuation, then he [the one to be valuated] shall be stood before the Cohein, and the Cohein shall valuate him. According to the means of the vower shall the Cohein valuate him [and leave enough for subsistence: bed, mattress, pillows, tools, and the like].
	And if it be a beast, of which men present an offering to the L-rd, all that he gives of it to the L-rd shall be holy. [If he said: "The foot of this animal for a burnt-offering," he sells it to be offered as a burnt-offering, and the money he receives, excluding the value of that limb, is chullin (non-consecrated)].
	He shall not exchange it and he shall not substitute for it, good [an unblemished animal] for bad [a blemished animal] or bad for good [(and certainly not good for good or bad for bad)]. And if he substitutes beast for beast, then it and its substitute shall be holy.
	And if any unclean beast [a blemished beast, which is "unclean" for offering (whence it is seen that unblemished consecrated animals are not redeemable unless they sustain a blemish)], which they may not present of it as an offering to the L-rd, then he shall stand the beast before the Cohein.
	And the Cohein shall valuate it, whether good or bad; as the Cohein valuates it, so shall it be [(for others who come to buy it from the Temple)].
	And if he [the owner] would redeem it, then he shall add its fifth to the valuation.
	And if a man consecrate his house, holy to the L-rd, then the Cohein shall valuate it, whether good or bad; as the Cohein shall valuate it, so shall it stand [for others].
	And if the consecrator [himself] would redeem his house, then he shall add a fifth of the valuation upon it, and it shall be his.
	And if from the field of his holding a man shall consecrate to the L-rd, then the valuation shall be according to its sowing; the sowing of a chomer of barley, for fifty silver shekels.
	If from [i.e., immediately after] the Jubilee year he shall consecrate [and immediately come to redeem] his field, according to the [above] valuation [a chomer of barley for fifty silver shekels] shall it stand.
	And if after the Jubilee year he shall consecrate his field, [and it remain with the Temple treasurer, and he comes to redeem it (some time) after the Jubilee year], the Cohein shall reckon for him the money (to be returned to the Temple) according to the years remaining until the Jubilee year, and it [the (value of the) number of years from the (preceding) Jubilee year until the year of redemption] shall be deducted from the (original total) valuation.
	And if the consecrator (himself) would redeem the field, then he shall add a fifth of the money of the valuation upon it, and it shall be his.
	And if he [the consecrator] does not redeem the field, and he [the Temple treasurer] sells the field to another man, it shall not be redeemed again [i.e., It does not return to the consecrator (as a field of holding)].
	But the field shall be, when it goes out on the Jubilee year [from the one who bought it from the treasurer], holy to the L-rd, as a devoted field. To the Cohein shall be his holding [i.e., to the Cohanim of that watch on which the Yom Kippur of the Jubilee falls out.]
	And if the field of his acquisition (from another), which is not of the field of his (family) holding, he shall consecrate to the L-rd, [and he comes to redeem it],
	Then the Cohein shall reckon for him the worth of the valuation until the Jubilee year, and he shall give the valuation on that day, holy to the L-rd.
	[And if he does not redeem it and the treasurer sells it to another, or if he himself redeemed it, then] in the year of the Jubilee the field shall return to the one from whom he [the consecrator] bought it, to the one who has the holding of the land.
	And all valuations [concerning which it is written "shekalim"] shall be according to the shekel of the sanctuary; twenty gerah shall the shekel be. [(Thus they were in the beginning; afterwards they added a sixth.)]
	But a first-born, which is a firstling to the L-rd among the beasts, a man shall not consecrate it [as a different offering, for it is not his (see Numbers 18:17)]; whether ox or lamb, it is the L-rd's.
	And if (he wishes to redeem) an unclean beast [that he dedicated to bedek habayith (Temple maintenance)], then he shall redeem it according to the valuation [i.e., according to the Cohein's assessment], and he shall add its fifth upon it. And if it is not redeemed [by the owner], then it shall be sold by the valuation [to others].
	[There are two possible readings for this verse, one, (28a) according to those who hold that unspecified devotions (stam charamim) go to the Cohanim; the other, (28b) according to those who hold that they go to hekdesh (Temple maintenance)]
	Any cherem that is devoted from a man [i.e., from a man going out to be executed (an observer saying: "I vow to give the valuation of that man")] shall not be redeemed, [for] he is going to be put to death [(and has no valuation)].
	And all the tithe of the land [second-tithe (ma'aser sheni)], of the seed of the land [i.e., grain], of the fruit of the tree [wine and oil], belong to the L-rd [and He has commanded you (Deuteronomy 14:23) to go up and eat it "from His table" in Jerusalem]; it is holy to the L-rd.
	And if a man would redeem of his tithe [to permit him to eat it anywhere, (and with the redemption money he buys food in Jerusalem, which he eats there)], then he shall add its fifth upon it [(but if he redeems his neighbor's tithe, he need not add a fifth)].
	And all the tithe of herd or flock, whatever passes under the staff [(He would strike every tenth animal (passing in a row) with a staff painted red)], the tenth shall be holy to the L-rd [(The blood and eimurin are offered on the altar, and the flesh is eaten by the owner)].
	He shall not discriminate (in tithing) between good [unblemished] or bad [blemished. (Not that he sacrifices a blemished animal, but that he eats it in the status of ma'aser, and it is forbidden to shear it or work it)]; nor shall he substitute (another animal) for it — and if he did substitute for it, then it and its substitute shall be holy; it shall not be redeemed.
	These are the mitzvoth which the L-rd charged Moses to (command to) the children of Israel on Mount Sinai.