This is a reading that contains much information. It is said that the majority of the Torah’s essential laws are contained within this parasha.
19-1-4] Holiness, parents, Shabbat, and Idols
It was G-d’s will to rest His Presence among the Jewish people so that it could rise to its calling to be a holy nation of His servants (Exodus 19:6). In order to make this possible, Israel was enjoined to avoid the spiritual contaminations that would result from the sexual and religious practices listed in the previous chapters. This Sidrah explains that the reason for these prohibitions is to make it possible for the nation to become holy by emulating its creator as much as possible. Furthermore, and the way to do this is by scrupulous adherence to the commandments found on the first table fo the Ten Commandments—but these commandments demand more than a minimal observance. For instance we are exhorted that the prohibition against idolatry includes not only acts of worship, but anything that shows the credence or respect, event when there could be some personal gain in doing so (Sforno).
n19:2] כּל־עְָרַת בני־ישׂראל—The entire assembly of the Children of Israel.
The majority of the Torah’s essential laws are contained here, either explicitly or by allusion (Rashi; Sifra). Maharzu explains that the essential laws are the Sabbath, reverence for parents, the prohibition against stealing, and taking revenge or bearing grudges, and the commandment to love one’s fellow. Question: Nothing about chastity and sexual purity?
Alshich explains that Moses called all the people together to impress upon them that the mitzvos are encumbent everyone equally. Judaism does not subscribe to the idea that “holy people” are obligated in commandments that do not apply to “ordinary” people, or that they have a greater responsibility than others to observe them scrupulously. Thus the command to be holy applies to everyone, and this being so, it is axiomatic that every Jew has the potential for holiness.
v19:2] קדֹשׁים תִהְִוּ—You shall be holy
The root קֹדֶשׁ, holy, is on a different spiritual plane from the secular. At the opposite end, an immoral person is called a קֹדֶשׁ, because his spiritual degradation sets him apart from moral people. The injunction to be holy calls upon us to avoid the illicit relationships described, because where there is separation from immorality, there is holiness (Rashi; Vayikaa Rabbah 24:6).
Ramban maintains that the concept of holiness is an admonition that one’s approach to all aspects of life be governed by moderation, particularly in the area of what is permitted. Someone who observes only the letter of the law can easily become נָבָל בִרְשׁוּת הַתּורה, a degenerate with the permission of the Torah, for such a person can observe the technical requirements of the commandments while surrendering to self-indulgence, gluttony and licentiousness. The commandment to be holy includes קַדַּשׁ עַצְמְךָ בְּמֻתָר לָךְ—Sanctify yourself in what is permitted to you (Yevamos 20a).
n19:3] אִמּוֹ וְאָביו תִּירָאוּ—Your mother and your father shall you revere.
Reverence or fear means that one should act towards his parents as he would toward a sovereign with the power to punish those who treat him disrespectfully (Rambam; Sefer HaMitzvos; Chinuch). Specifically, the commandment prohibits a child from sitting in his parents’ regular places, interrupting them, or contradicting them [in an abrupt or disrespectful manner]. Honour refers in general to serving one’s parents. (Rashi; Sifra).
n19:4] אַל־תִּפְנוּ אֶל הָאֵלִילִם—ֹ Do not turn to the idols.
Having exhorted all Jews to show regard for their three partners—G-d, father and mother—who brought them into being, the Torah forbids anyone to add false dieties to this partnership.
This verse prohibits the very thought of such worship (Rashi). It also prohibits the study or discussion of the rites and philosophies of idolatry (Rambam, Hil. Ovdei Kochavim 2:2). Human nature—and history—demonstrate that many people have thought they were strong enough to control their thoughts and desires, only to become ensnared by the very creed they railed against.
n19:4] חלֶּל—Has he desecrated
A person who disregards the laws that specify when an offering may be eaten implies that he considers the sacrificial meat to be nothing more than a means of gratifying his appetite (Haamek Davar).
Note: This, I believe, has been extended to the meals we eat.
n19:5-8] Piggul/Rejected offerings.
This teaches us that it is not enough to carry out the commandments mechanically; one must perform them with the right intentions as well (Sforno).
The more sacred something is, the more seriously the Torah regards the infraction. Thus, only an offering that was perfect in every other way can become piggul. Similarly, the better a person’s reputation and the more responsible his position, the more he must guard against even the slightest infraction (R’ Yaakov Kamenetsky).
n19:9-10] Gifts to the poor.
We have been commanded to emulate G-d’s holiness to whatever extent possible. G-d is merciful and charitable, so it stands to reason that He should command His people to display the same sort of kindness… Then it continues with laws of honest business dealings.
A Jew must discharge his responsibilities to others before his own.
n19:10 וּפֵרֶט—And the fallen fruit.
The poor are entitled to take one or two pieces of fruit—but not three—that fall during the harvest (Pe’eh 6:5, 7:3).
Question: How would it be possible to monitor this?
n19:11-15 Honest dealings with others.
Stealing, robbery, false oaths, and so on are never the norm in an entire nation; if they were, society would break down. But there are other, subtler manifestations of such sins,. It is not at all uncommon for a society to be lax in its ethics. People may look for ways to deceive others, to deny obligations that cannot be proven, to invoke G-d’s Name to convince others that lies are true, to underpay labourers, or to seek personal gain through unctuous flattery.
n19:11 לוֹ תִּגְנֹבו—You shall not steal.
The prohibition applies not only to the person actually committing the sin, but also to those who aid and abet it or make false accusations, such as: a witness who remains silent though he has seen a theft, or knows that someone is withholding property, and someone who falsely claims money that is not owed him, or unjustifiably demands an oath (Ibn Ezra).
n19:12 וְחִלַלְתָּ אֵת־שֶׁם—Thereby desecrating the name.
Someone who swears falsely demonstrates that he has no respect for G-d’s Name (Ibn Ezra).
n19:13 לֹא־תַעְַשׂק—You shall not cheat.
By depriving a worker of his earnings (Rashi; Sifra), or by deceitfully or forcibly withholding anything belonging to another person (Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos).
n19:14 וְלִפְנֶי עִוֶר—Before the blind.
In additional to its literal meaning, it means allegorically that one should not give bad advice to an unsuspecting person, especially if the adviser stands to benefit from the other’s error (Rashi; Sifra). It is also forbidden to cause some to sin (Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos). The message is we are responsible for the welfare of others and may not to anything to undermine it.
n19:15 לֹא־תַעְַשׂוּ עָוֶל—You shal not commit a perversion.
A person who judges falsely is guilty of a perversion of justice and what he has done is an abomination (Rashi).
n19:16 לֹא־תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל—You shall not be a gossipmonger.
It is forbidden to tell someone what others have said or done behind his back, if there is even the slightest possibility that it may cause ill will.
The word רָכִיל is related to [רוֹכַל], peddler, because a gossip goes from house to house “peddling” his slander and gossip (Rashi).
n19:17] לֹא־תִשְׂנַה…בִּלִבָבֶךָ—You shall not hate…in your heart.
Even though he has wronged you, think of him as your brother and do not fall prey to hatred (R’ Hirsch).
n19:18] לּא־תִקֹּם וְלֹא־תִטֹּר—You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge.
Revenge consists of retaliating against someone who has displeased you, by attempting to do him some harm, or by refusing to do him a favour that you would normally have done. Even if someone does not retaliate, it is forbidden to bear a grudge. G-d wants us to purge the insult or misdeed from our hearts (Rashi; Ramban).
Love your fellow.
וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרַעָךָ כּמוֹךָ—You shall love your fellow as yourself
This is the fundamental rule of the Torah (R’ Akiva; Rashi; Sifra). “What is hateful to you, do not do to others” (Hillel; Shabbos 31a). For instance, a husband may not put his wife into situations that might make her distateful to him (Kiddushin 41a; Niddah 17a).
Ramban explains that it is impossible for all but the saintliest people to feel the same love for others that they fell for themselves. The Torah does not demand that. Rather, G-d demands that we want others to have the same degree of success and prosperity that we want for ourselves and that we treat others with respect and consideration.
R’ Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Kopitchinitz used to say that the commandment to love your fellows does not mean to love saintly and righteous people—it is impossible not to love such people. G-d commands us to love even people whom it is hard to love.
How to love another
- Your affection for other should be real, not forged.
- Always treat others with respect.
- Always seek the best for them.
- Join in their pain.
- Greet them with friendliness.
- Give them the benefit of the doubt.
- Assist them physically, even in matters that are not very difficult.
- Be ready to assist with small or moderate loans and gifts.
- Do not consider yourself better than them.
n19:19] Kil’ayim/Forbidden mixtures.
God created the world with certain distinct species, and His wisdom decreed that these species remain intact and unadulterated. For man to take it upon himself to alter the order of Creation suggest a lack of faith in G-d’s plan. Moreover, each species on Earth is directed by a Heavenly force, so that the earthly species represent profound spiritual forces. To tamper with them is to cause harm that earth-bound man cannot fathom.
It should be noted that these laws of mixtures are limited to specific matters, and do not limit the infinite numbers of alloys and combinations that are so much a part of modern life. To the contrary, man is duty bound to improve the world and, in sense, “complete” the work of Creation.
n19:27] לֹא תַקפּוֹ—You shall not round off…. This refers to the removal of hair from the sideburns area—the edges—of the head. One is forbidden to remove this hair, thereby making a straight line from the hairline behind the ear to the hairline in front of the head. Were one to do so, the hair at the top of the head would look as if it were rounded off. [One transgresses by removing at least two hairs from this area] (Rashi).
וְלֹא תִשְׁחִית— And you shall not destroy
There are five edges of the beard, each of which is forbidden to shave (Rashi). But, since these areas are not clearly defined, it is forbidden to shave the entire beard.
It is forbidden to remove the sideburns even by means of plucking or with scissors. Regarding the beard, however, the Torah forbids one to destroy it and to shave it (21:5). This is interpreted by the Sages to mean the use of a razor, meaning an implement that both shaves גִּלּוּחַ and “destroys” by cutting to the level of the skin הַשְׁחָתָה (see Yoreh De’ah 181:3,10).
n19:28] וְשֶׂרֶט לְנֶפֶשׁ—A cut…for the dead. It was an ancient custom for people to cut their flesh in mourning for the dead. It is forbidden because You are children to HaShem (Deuteronomy 14:1), implying that it is a disgrace to G-d for His children to inflict wounds on their body as signs of mourning.
Question: Is this not a general rule as well—not to inflict wounds on our body, and for the same reason?
v19:29] Harlotry
n19:29] אַל־תְּחַלֵּל אֶת־בִּתְּךָ לְהַזְנוֹתָהּ—You shall not defile your daughter by making her a harlot. [This is speaking of] a person who hands over his unmarried daughter to have relations that are not for the purpose of marriage (Torath Kohanim 19:77; Sanhedrin 76a).
n19:29] אֶל־תְּחַלֵל—Do not profane. Rashi and Sifra comment that the outcome of such treacherous conduct—וְלֹא־תִזְנֶה הָאָרֶץ—lest the land become lewd—is that the earth itself will become guilty of harlotry, and it will be unfaithful to its people, causing its fruits to go astray (מְזַנֶּה), producing them elsewhere and not in your Land. As it says (Jeremiah 3:2-3)" “and you defiled the Land with your harlotries (בִּזְנוּתַיִ)…] Therefore, the rains were withheld” (Torath Kohanim 19:77).
n19:30] שַׁבְּתֹתַי—My Sabbaths… Both the Sabbath and idolatry are reckoned as equal to all the commandments in the Torah. Idol worship is a clear denial of G-d. Sabbath desecration, too, is a denial that G-d created for six days and rested on the seventh—the eternal reminder of G-d as the Creator (Rambam).
וּמִקְדָּשִׁי תִּירָאוּ—And revere My Sanctuary.
One may not enter [the Temple Mount] with his [walking] staff, his shoes, with his money belt, or with the dust on his feet (Yev. 6b).
v19:31] Sorcery
n19:31] אַל־תִּפְנ֤וּ אֶל־הָֽאֹבֹת֙ וְאֶל־הַיִּדְּעֹנִ֔ים—Do not turn to the Ovos and Yid’onim.
These are magical practices that purport to foretell the future.
And what are these forms of sorcery? One who practices the sorcery of Ov is “Pithom the sorcerer” (see Rashi Deut. 18:11); [he communes with the dead, as it were, by raising the spirit of the dead, which then] speaks from his armpit. [And one who practices the sorcery of] Yid’oni inserts the bone of a creature called Yido’a (see Bartenura, Mishnah Kilayim 8:5) into his mouth, and the bone speaks [from there] (Torath Kohanim 19:79; Sanh. 65b).
אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶֽם—I am the Lord, your G-d
Be aware Whom you are discarding in order to pursue knowledge of the future by turning to the prophets of Ov and Yid’oni.
n19:32] Old person
מִפְּנֵי שֵׂיבָה—In the presence of an old person
The halachah holds that one is to rise and honour anyone over the age of seventy, even if he is not learned, and to rise for and honour a sage, even if he is young (Yoreh De’ah 244).
n19:33] גֵּ֣ר_A proselyte_
It is forbidden to taunt a proselyte to by reminding him of his non-Jewish past, suggesting this makes him unfit to study G-d’s Torah (Sifra).
n19:34] כִּֽי־גֵרִים הֱיִיתֶם—for you were strangers.
Do not accuse your fellow man with your own defect (B.M. 59b).
n19:35-36] Weights and measures. The Torah likens a person doing business to a judge, and someone who falsifies weights and measures is like a judge who perverts judgement. It teaches that one who falsifies his weights and measures is considered as if he denies that there is a G-d Who sees all (Chofetz Chaim)
Chapter 20
Punishments
The Torah does not decree a physical punishment for a sin unless there is a negative commandment enjoining us not to commit that deed.
n20:2-5] מֹּלֶךְ—Molech. Scripture says, “There shall not be found among you] anyone who passes his son or daughter through fire” (Deut. 18:10).
n20:4] וְאִם הַעְלֵם יַעְלִימוּ—But if [the people of the land] ignore [that man]. [The double expression intimates that] if they ignore one matter [i.e., even one sin and avert their eyes], they will eventually ignore many matters. Only if the courts and the people are consistent can they function properly (Rashi; Or HaChaim).
v20:7]
n20:7-8 וְהִתְקַדִּשְׁתֶּם—You shall sanctify yourselves. One who refrains from idol worship sanctifies himself.
The sequence of verses alludes to the teaching that the very thought of idol worship —’ he merely turns to it (verse 6)—is regarded by G-d as if someone had actually worshipped idols (Kidushim 39b). But how can someone control his thoughts? Therefore the Torah teaches that it is incumbunt upon every Jew to attempt to sanctify himself by performing the commandments and by avoiding evil to the best of his abilty. G-d promises that in reward for his sincere efforts, והְיִיתֶם קְדוֹשִׁים, and you will be holy;; G-d will assist him in cleansing his thoughts(Be’er Yitzchok; Meshech Chochmah).
n20:9] דָּמָיו בּֽוֹ—His blood is upon himself.
This refers to [the death penalty by] stoning. Simply, it means that the violator brought the punishment upon himself, “his blood is upon his [own] head” (Josh. 2:19).
n20:10] מֽוֹת־ימות—Shall be put to death.
Wherever a death penalty is mentioned in the Torah without specification [as to the mode of death], it exclusively refers to strangulation (Torath Kohanim 20:106; Sanh. 52b).
n20:22-24] The Land and immorality.
The gift of the Holy Land is conditioned upon the people maintaining their high level of sanctity.
n20:25-26] Holiness and Kashrut The chapter concludes with an exhortation to avoid forbidden foods, as a prerequisite to holiness (see 11:44).
n20:26] וָֽאַבְדִּל אֶתְכֶם מִן־הָֽעַמִּים לִֽהְיוֹת לִי—And I have distinguished (separated) you from the peoples, to be Mine.
If you are separated from them [through your observance of Torah], you will be Mine, but if not, you will belong to Nebuchadnezzar and his ilk. R’ Eleazar ben Azariah taught: "Do not say, ‘I find pork disgusting.’ Rather you should say, 'I would like to savour pig meat, but what can I do—G-d forbade it, and commanded me to separate myself fro the nations in order to be His, and to accept His sovereignty upon myself. If we do not sanctify ourselves, then the nations will separate us from their midst—for persecution and expulsion, G-d forbid.
Note: Personally, I have no desire to savour pig meat, as it is forbidden, and, actually unnecessary—as there are many other forms of meat we can eat.
n20:27] א֛וֹב א֥וֹ יִדְּעֹנִ֖י—Ov or Yid’oni.
If Israel serves G-d properly, it will deserve to have prophets and will have no need for these magical ways of foretelling the future (Baal HaTruim).
Note: But prophets are just the Jewish form of sorcery…. a “different” form perhaps, as it might have a different perspective on the relationship with the spiritual realm than what we would call a sorcerer. But the difference is on practice and principles, not in the actual connection.
Perhaps an example of this is a computer network. You can communicate across the same channel using different protocols, some more effective than others.