## Chizkuni, Deuteronomy

###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:1:1)

**כי ימצא חלל**אחר שהזכיר המלחמה עם האויבים הזכיר אדם נלחם עם אחר.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי ימצא חלל, “if someone unidentifiable is found slain,” after the Torah discussed certain aspects of war between nations, it now turns to the result of individuals who had apparently fought one another and the victor had escaped as there had not been any witnesses.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:1:2)

**כי ימצא חלל**ולא טמון בגל.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי ימצא חלל, “he had been found dead, the killer not having buried him;”.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:1:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:1:3)

**נפל**ולא תלוי באילן דאין דרך רוצח לשהות ולטמון ולהתלות מפני שירא לנפשו. ד״‎א **נפל**שוכן דאין לומר שנפל כשראהו שהרי מצאו נהרג **בשדה**ולא הצף על פני המים דאין להבחין מאין הוא בא.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
נופל בשדה, “lying in the field;” he was not hung from a tree; it is not customary for a murderer to take the time to hang his victim as he is busy hiding his identity as quickly as he is able to. An alternate interpretation of the words: נופל בשדה: not floating on the surface of a body of water. There was no indication of where he might have come from.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:2:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:2:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:2:1)

**ומדדו**אפילו נמצא בעליל מצוה לעסוק במדידה שמתוך שהיו עסוקים בדבר יבואו מתוך הערים הנמדדות ומי שהלך מביתו ולא חזר באים בני משפחתו ומכירים הנרצח אם מכירין אותו מעידים עליו ולא תהיה אשתו עגונה ובניו יורדים לירושת אביהם ואין ב״‎ד ממחין בידם ומתוך כך יהא נודע מי הלך עמו ומי נתלוה עמו ופעמים נתפרסם ע״‎י כן.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ומדדו, ”they (the authorities) will measure;” even if it clear how far he is removed from the nearest habitation, the act of performing the measuring will draw the attention of the public to what has happened in their vicinity; the people of the neighbouring towns or villages will institute searches for any resident not accounted for so that the identity of the slain person may be established. If someone in the neighbouring towns has not been accounted for, the family members will come to inspect the carcass to determine if he was related to them. Through these searches it may be determined who might have kept company with the slain man, and if there was a woman in the vicinity whose husband had disappeared and who was therefore an agunah, an abandoned woman unable to remarry until proof would forthcoming that her husband had died, and who could be able to remarry once the identity of the slain main was determined as having been her husband.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:3:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:3:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:3:1)

**והיה העיר**והיה דבר זה לעיר שיקחו **עגלת בקר**דוגמת והיה הנערה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
והיה העיר, “and it shall be that the city, etc.;” it will be up to the elders or inhabitants of the site closest to where the slain person was found to take a female heifer of the herd, etc.;” the inverted use of the male pronoun for a female i.e. עבד “he was worked,” instead of: “she was worked,” is also found in Genesis 24,13, with the word: הנערה


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:3:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:3:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:3:2)

**[**לשון זכר נופל על לשון נקבה].


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:1)

**אל נחל איתן**אל נהר איתן כמו הובשת נהרות איתן וראיה לדבר ורחצו ידיהם.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אל נחל איתן, “to a virgin piece of land of ancient origin;” we find this same expression also in Psalms 74,15: אתה הובשת נהרות איתן, where the psalmist credits G-d with both drying up rivers, and with providing the driest parts of nature suddenly producing torrents of water. According to Ibn Ezra, איתן means: hard as rock. If we needed proof, perhaps it can be found in verse 6 where the elders suddenly wash their hands in that driest of regions. Where did they take the water from to do so ?.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:2)

**אשר לא יעבד**שלא היו בו גבים להשקות קרקע הסמוך לו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אשר לא עבד בה, “which has never been made to work;” there had never been water holes in that vicinity from which it could have been irrigated.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:3)

**ולא יזרע**אין זורעין קרקע הסמוכה לו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ולא יזרע, “it had never been sown;” nor had the adjoining soil ever been sown.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:4
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:4)

**ולא יזרע**דוגמא אל ארץ גזרה כי לשניהם פרוש אחד.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
We have read about similar pieces of land in Leviticus 16,22, ארץ גזרה, “a land completely cut off,” the final resting place of the scapegoat that carries the sins of the Jewish people on the Day of Atonement.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:5
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:5)

**וערפו**כשם שהנהרג נערף.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וערפו, “they shall break the neck;” this symbolises what had been the method by which the slain person had died.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:6
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:4:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:4:6)

**את העגלה**סימן ואות כשם שהעגלה תמה ונקיה שלא עשתה שום דבר והקרקע קרקע בתולה כך אנו נקיים מן הרציחה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
את העגלה, “the heifer;” the entire procedure symbolises that just as the slain person had been deprived of what a human being can accomplish in life, so the animal that takes its place is one that had never been allowed to fulfill its function in life. It had died in a state of virginity and had been consigned to virgin earth that also never fulfilled its function, the reason for its existence, to be the source of nourishment for man. The simile of “virginity,” also applies to the people who perform these rites and who profess to be totally innocent, (virginal) of any guilt in the death of the slain person


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:5:1)

**ונגשו הכהנים**וכל זקני העיר הן הם שנאמר למעלה ויצאו זקניך ושופטיך כי הכהנים שופטי ישראל המה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ונגשו הכהנים, “and the priests will approach;” they as well as all the elders of the town nearest the slain person; the Torah resumes the narrative interrupted in verse 2. The priests are often identified with the judges of Israel, and have been referred to as such in that verse as colleagues of the elders.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:5:2)

**בני לוי**אפילו הם בעלי מומין.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
בני לוי, the Levites, who are not subject to having to have unblemished bodies in order to fulfill their normal functions related to the Temple. (Sifri)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:5:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:5:3)

**ולברך בשם ה׳‎**מגיד שברכת כהנים כשירה אף בבעלי מומים.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ולברך בשם ה, ”and to pronounce the blessings using the name of The Lord;” we learn from here that the priests may pronounce the priestly blessings even if they have blemished bodies. [Although they may, of course, not perform service on consecrated ground. Ed.]


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:6:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:6:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:6:1)

**ירחצו את ידיהם**סימן כשם שידינו נקיות כך אנו נקיים מחלל זה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ירחצו את ידיהם, “they shall wash their hands;” a symbolic gesture, as if to say: “just as our hands are clean from dirt, so our bodies are free from sin.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:7:1)

**וענו ואמרו**אזקנים קאי דסליק מיניה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וענו ואמרו, “and they shall speak and say:” this verse addresses the elders who are taking leave from the ritual;.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:7:2)

**ידינו לא שפכה**כתיב בה״‎א ללמד שבעל הבית חייב לאורח שלו ה׳‎ דברים אכילה שתיה לויה לינה מתנה דבר גדול או דבר קטן. וכי עלתה על לבנו שזקני ישראל ב״‎ד שופכי דמים אלא לא בא לידנו ופטרנוהו בלא מזונות פרש״‎י והיינו **ידינו לא שפכה,**כלומר מזונות הוצרך ולא היו לו, וראה אחד נושא מזונות ובא לחטפן ממנו לאונס רעבונו ועמד זה עליו והרגו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ידינו לא שפכה את הדם הזה, “our hands have not spilled this blood;” it is unusual for the last letter in the word שפכה to be the letter ה instead of the appropriate letter ו, for the plural ending plural. According to our sages, a host is duty bound to provide his guest with five amenities: food, drink, accompany him a short distance when he leaves, provide with a bed for the night if he wishes to stay for the night, and to give him an ever so minimal gift on his departure. The letter ה would therefore be a veiled reference to that law. You may well ask if the Torah really thought that the priests and elders who lived many kilometers distant from where this murder occurred, had really been suspected of having had a hand in this foul deed; why should they need to have to declare that they were innocent of this crime? Rashi explains that the declaration by the elders and priests refers to the murdered person not having been seen by any of them and not having been denied anything he had asked for. The Rabbis felt also that possibly the murdered person, after having been denied his needs in the last city he visited, turned to the first person whom he encountered who had some food on him and snatched it, as a result of which a fight developed during which he was killed. He may even have acted in selfdefense, and have become a victim.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:7:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:7:3)

**ועינינו לא ראו**לא ראינוהו והנחנוהו בלא לויה פרש״‎י חבורה שילך עמו הכי מיתניא והכי פרש״‎י בסוטה. וד״‎א **ועינינו לא ראו**מכאן למלוה את חברו שצריך לעמוד במקומו עד שיתעלם מעיניו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ועינינו לא ראו, “and our eyes have not seen;” i.e. have not seen this individual while he was alive so that we could have become guilty of not performing our duty toward him. The duty hinted at, according to Rashi, is to give him safe conduct. An alternate interpretation; there is a saying in the Talmud, according to which when someone accompanies a person he has to remain where they parted until that person is no longer within his field of vision.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:8:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:8:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:8:1)

**כפר לעמך ישראל**ששגו ולא שמרו הדרכים מסוכנות.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כפר לעמך ישראל, “forgive Your people Israel!” They ask forgiveness for not having provided adequate security on the roads leading to their town so that this kind of murder could not have occurred and the perpetrator escaping with impunity. (Ibn Ezra)...


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:8:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:8:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:8:2)

**אשר פדית**כאשר פדיתם כבר כן פדם מעונש זה **ואל תתן**עונש **דם נקי בקרב עמך ישראל.**

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אשר פדית, “just as You have liberated the people of Israel from Egypt in spite of their shortcomings, exonerate us from any responsibility in the killing of this unknown individual.” Do not burden Your people with the guilt of shedding innocent blood.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:9:1)

**ואתה תבער**פרש״‎י מגיד שאם נמצא ההורג אחר שנתערפה וכו׳‎ וא״‎ת הא אמרינן בפרק אלו נערות ולארץ לא יכופר לדם, אשר שופך בה למה לי לומר שאם נמצא ההורג אחר שנתערפה העגלה שאין פוטרים אותו, ואתה תבער הדם הנקי למה לי לומר לך הוקשו כל שופכי דמים לעגלה ערופה לומר מה עגלה ערופה מן הצואר אף כל שופכי דמים מן הצואר, אלא י״‎ל סוגיא דכתובות אתיא כמאן דאמר חנק חמור ואי לאו דהוקשו שופכי דמים לעגלה ערופה לומר שהם מן הצואר הייתי אומר רוצח בחנק לפי שהוא חמור, ואינו כן אלא קים ליה לפרש״‎י כרבנן דסייף חמור ודין מיתת רוצח בסייף מק״‎ו דעבד, השתא קטל עבדא דינו בסייף דהוא חמור כדכתיב נקום ינקם ואין נקמה אלא חרב כדכתיב חרב נוקמת נקם ברית, קטל בן חורין לא כ״‎ש, ואתה תבער אתא למה שפרש״‎י הכא שאם נמצא ההורג אחר שנתערפה וכו'. וא״‎ת לפירוש רש״‎י דואתה תבער אתא לאם נמצא ההורג לאחר שנתערפה האי ולארץ לא יכופר לדם אשר שופך בה במאי מוקים ליה אלא י״‎ל דמוקים ליה כדאיתא בכריתות דאם נמצא ההורג לאחר יום הכפורים שממיתין אותו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואתה תבער, “So You shall remove, etc;” Rashi explains here that the reference here is that in the event that the murderer is found after the eglah arufah, the heifer that was supposed to atone for the deed, had already been put to death, the people who had killed that beast should not be held responsible for wasting its life, and the murderer will be dealt with judicially. Although Rashi says that he will be executed, seeing that there were neither witnesses nor warning how can that be? [Rashi, of course quoted the Talmud, Sotah folio 47 to that effect. Ed.] If you were to ask that we have learned in the Talmud in tractate Ketuvot, folio 37, that the meaning of the verse in Numbers 35,33: ולארץ לא יכופר לדם אשר שופך בה, “but no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein (of innocent people)”, so why was this verse necessary at all? The answer is in order to give us guidance for the scenario described by Rashi, as quoted in the Talmud Sotah 47. Why do we need the request that G-d should remove the innocent blood? It is to teach that all murderers are basically compared to the paragraph dealing with the heifer discussed in our chapter. Just as that heifer’s death is caused by breaking its neck, the neck of all murderers is broken as part of the execution, [Cutting off his neck with a sword. Ed.] On the other hand, that leaves the problem with the sage who holds that the death penalty for murder is strangulation. That death penalty is rated as harsher than the death penalty by cutting off one’s head with the sword. [The reader must remember that whereas the two death penalties by stoning or burning have been spelled out in the Torah, the other two types of death penalties have not been spelled out. Ed.] If not for the verse in the Talmud in tractate Ketuvot folio 37, we would have thought that the sin of murder warrants a more severe penalty that cutting off the head. Our author pursues these details; I have decided that they are not of great interest to either a potential victim or an innocent bystander. Ed.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:9:2)

**[ואתה תבער**לשון בעור וכליון].


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:9:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:9:3)

**כי תעשה הישר**אם תעשה הישר והמצוה כהלכתה אתה תבער עונש הדם שמתוך הרגש המדידה יהא נודע מי הכהו. **שלימא סדרא דפרשת שופטים ושוטרים**

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי תעשה הישר, “when you will do what is right in the eyes of the Lord.” The word כי in this verse is to be understood as if the Torah had written: אם, ”if.” or “when.” In practice the essential part in carrying out this commandment is the measuring of which is the nearest inhabited location to the site where the body of the slain person was discovered. Without determining this, the whole procedure leading to atonement cannot even commence. As mentioned previously, the “measuring” is far more than a mere technicality. The publicity connected to the taking of these measurements sets in motion a search for the killer.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:10:1)

**כי תצא**נסמכה כאן לומר שאין דין פרשה זו של חוצה לארץ כדין פרשיות דלעיל שנוהגות בארץ.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי תצא, “when you go forth;” the introductory words of this paragraph are intended to teach that what follows are rules that apply only outside the boundaries of the Holy Land, and that they are not comparable to those that apply in the Holy land. The paragraphs that we have read prior to this, generally applied to conduct of Israelites in the Land of Israel.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:10:2)

**כי תצא למלחמה**במלחמת הרשות הכתוב מדבר שבמלחמת ארץ ישראל אין לומר **ושבית שביו.**

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי תצא למלחמה, “when you go forth to do battle;” the Torah refers only to what are known in the Talmud as milchemet r’shut, wars that have been sanctioned by G-d after consultation with Him through the High Priest. The reason that this is clear beyond doubt is that the Torah permits you to take prisoners.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:10:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:10:3)

**ושבית שביו**לרבות כנענים שבתוכם ה״‎ג רש״‎י.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ושבית שביו, “and you carry away prisoners you have taken.” This includes Canaanites, who might have emigrated from their land during the wars conducted by Joshua. (Rashi, based on Sifri)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:11:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:11:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:11:1)

**אשת יפת תאר**פרש״‎י אפי׳‎ אשת איש וא״‎ת מנא לן למדרש הא אלא י״‎ל לא מצינו אשת שאינו דבוק וה״‎ל למכתב אשה יפת תואר והשתא דכתב **אשת**ש״‎מ למדרש אשת איש הוא דאתא סד״‎א כיון שהיא אשת איש תאסר עליך אפי׳‎ אחר כל המעשים המוטלים עליך לעשות לה משום דלבא נמשך אחר בעלה ומכרת היא בקריצותיו וברמיזותיו ואיכא למיחש קמ״‎ל דאפילו הכי מותרת.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
אשת יפת תואר, “an attractive looking woman.” The term includes women that are married.” If you were to ask where the Midrash making that statement had its source, the fact that the word אשת instead of אשה, is in a construct mode, strongly suggests this. If married prisoners were excluded from the legislation about to follow, the Torah should have written: אשה יפת תואר. If you would query further by quoting the Talmud in tractate Sanhedrin, Tossaphot folio 52, that the term “marriage” as understood in Jewish law does not exist among gentiles, the Torah uses the term here only because you might have thought that if this woman had been “married,” i.e. in an exclusive sexual relationship with one partner, she could not be married by a Jewish soldier, at least not unless divorced, the Torah makes clear that this is not so. It is certainly remarkable that the Torah permits a Jewish soldier to marry such a prisoner of war even after she had undergone all the procedures which follow.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:11:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:11:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:11:2)

**ולקחת**לפי פשוטו **וחשקת, ולקחת** אותה **לך לאשה**כמו שכתוב למעלה רק הנשים והטף תבוז לך.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ולקחת, “you will marry,” according to the plain meaning of the text this means that you, the captor, intend to marry her as soon as possible. We had been told already in Deut.20,14, that it is permissible to take women, children and livestock as loot in the expansionary war described in that paragraph.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:12:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:12:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:12:1)

**וגלחה את ראשה**כדין מצורע כדרך יוצאים מחול לקדש כמו שעשו הלוים.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וגלחה את ראשה, “she is to shave off the hair of her head.” This is parallel to the rites observed by a person afflicted with the skin disease known as tzoraat prior to that person regaining a status of ritual purity. (Leviticus 14,9) Even Levites, prior to their appointment to their new status, had to do this, as it is a symbolic way of advancing to a level of holiness from the level of profaneness. (Numbers 8,7) [Whatever can be removed from that prisoner while she was still a gentile must be removed before she can become a member of a holy nation. Hence both hair and nails have to be removed.]


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:12:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:12:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:12:2)

**ועשתה את צפרניה**תטול אותם ואין נופל בהם לשון גלוח אלא לשון עשייה ותקון ודומה לו לא עשה רגליו ולא עשה שפמו והיינו אליבא דרבי אליעזר.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ועשתה את צפרניה, “she must pare her nails.” When speaking of paring nails, the Torah does not use the term: “shave,” but uses a term which implies that the result will be an improvement in one’s appearance. We are familiar with a parallel to this from Samuel II 19,25: לא עשה את שפמו ולא עשה את רגליו, “he had not trimmed his mustache or pared his toe nails (as a sign of mourning or distress).” This is how Rabbi Eliezer in the Sifri interprets our verse.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:13:1)

**והסירה את שמלת שביה**לפי שעבדה בהם עבודת כוכבים דוגמא והחליפו שמלותיכם וכל מה שאפשר להעביר מעליה מכל מה שהיה עליה בעוד שהיתה כנענית תעביר כגון שערה וצפרניה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
והסירה את שמלת שביה, “and she is to remove the outer garment she wore when taken prisoner;” this was a garment she wore while worshipping her idols. We have examples in the Bible of such garments having to be scrapped in Genesis 35,2, where Yaakov commands his family members to scrap the captured garments they were wearing, which had originated in the city of Sh’chem. Anything that she was able to remove, which was a reminder of when she worshipped idols, had to be removed and destroyed.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:13:2)

**שמלת שביה**ואין צ״‎ל שתרחץ שהרי כבר נאמר אתם ושביכם.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
There was no need for the Torah to add that her body too must undergo an immersion in a ritual bath, Such a rule had already been made plain in Numbers 31,19 where the Jewish soldiers returning from the penal expedition against Midian had to undergo bodily purification for seven days as they had been in contact with dead bodies of Midianites.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:13:3)

**ובכתה**שהבכי מפכח ומשכח את הצער.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ובכתה את אביה ואת אמה, “and she is to observe a period of weeping (mourning) for her father and mother.” Weeping helps a person release feelings that had been suppressed. This will help her get over the loss of her parents.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:4
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:13:4)

**את אביה ואת אמה**כסבורה היא שמא נהרגו כאשר היא נשבית.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
She may have assumed that her parents had died during the fighting. (Ibn Ezra)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:5
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:13:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:13:5)

**ואחר כן תבוא אליה**אבל לא קודם לכן שאין דרך ארץ שהיא תבכה ואתה תשחק עמה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ואחר כן תבא אליה, “after all this, her captor may join her and marry her.” He is not allowed to have carnal relations with her before this. It would be in very bad taste to indulge in carnal relations with such a prisoner while she was weeping for her parents, and you were enjoying her body.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:14:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:14:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:14:1)

**לא תתעמר בה**גבי סחורת מכר אדם נופל בו לשון זה וכן והתעמר בו ומכרו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
לא תתעמר בה, [the Torah now addresses the soldier, Ed] “do not treat her as a slave;” this verb is used for treating merchandise. The Torah warns the husband, or ex husband, of this prisoner of war, not to treat that woman as if she were merely chattel to be sold; (verse 24)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:14:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:14:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:14:2)

**תחת אשר עניתה**לעיל קאי **ושלחתה לנפשה**ולרצונה מאחר שאין אתה רוצה לישאנה די לך ממה שעניתה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
תחת אשר עניתה, “seeing that you have already humbled her.” These words still refer to the line: ושלחתה לנפשה, “you shall let her go her own way;”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:15:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:15:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:15:1)

**כי תהיין לאיש שתי נשים**נסמכה כאן לפי שיש למעלה כיוצא בו וחשקת בה והיה אם לא חפצת בה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי תהיינה לאיש שתי נשים, “If a man has two wives;” this paragraph is appropriate here as we have just read of a union that is unsatisfactory to the husband, although it had commenced with mutual fondness of the parties. (verses 11 and 14)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:15:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:15:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:15:2)

**וילדו לו**מ״‎מ אפי׳‎ יוצא דופן.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וילדה לו, “and she gives birth for him;” by any means, even by caesarean section. (Sifri)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:16:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:16:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:16:1)

**את אשר יהיה לו**מלמד שהבן נוטל בראוי כבמוחזק.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
את אשר יהיה לו, “whatever he shall own.” From this formulation we learn that a son is entitled to inherit also what is owed to his father at the time of his death as well as what is on hand.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:16:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:16:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:16:2)

**על פני בן השנואה**במקום בן השנואה כמו לא יהיה לך אלהים אחרים על פני ויכהן אלעזר על פני אהרן אביו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
על פני בן השנואה, “in preference to the firstborn son of the wife he dislikes;” [if he had literally hated her, he would have had to divorce her. We find that our matriarch Leah also considered herself “hated” by her husband, clearly an exaggeration; otherwise Yaakov would have kicked her out after the wedding night. (Compare Genesis 29,33) Ed.] We find the expression: על פני, meaning “preferable to” also in Exodus 20,3: לא יהיה לך אלוהים אחרים על פני, “you must not have other deities that you prefer to Me.” Compare also: Numbers 3,4: ויכהן אלעזר ואיתמר על פני אהרן אביהם, “he appointed Eleazar and Ittamar as priests (even) while their father was still alive.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:17:1)

**בן השנואה יכיר**לפי שדרכו של אדם כשאינו רוצה לגמול חסד עם קרובו עושה עצמו כאילו אינו מכירו כדכתיב ויתנכר אליה, ואומר מדוע מצאתי חן בעיניך להכירני ואנכי נוכריה בא זה ולמד שלזה יעשה הכירא או יאמר בפני אנשים כי הוא הבכור אם הוא במקום שאין מכירים ועוד בא ולמד שנאמן אדם לומר בני זה בכור. **יכיר לתת לו**כדי לתת לו אחריו ללמד אם מת איש והניח נשיו מעוברות אין לו לנולד ראשון דין בכור שהרי לא הכירו אביו בחייו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
בן השנואה יכיר, “he must recognise the son of the “hated” wife as his firstborn. The reason why the Torah chose the expression “recognise” here is that usually when someone wishes to deny a relative some favour that the latter claims he is entitled to, he behaves as if he does not even ”know” such a person. We find an example of this expression in such a situation when Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt to buy grain and he pretended not to know who they were, i.e. ויתנכר, (Genesis 42,7). The Torah there had told us that he had recognised them immediately. On the other hand, when Boaz treated Ruth, whom he had never even met, with kindness and consideration, (Ruth 2,10) she is so astounded that she asked him what prompted him to treat her as if he had known her for a long time, מדוע מצאתי חן בעיניך, “what caused me to have found favour in your eyes, ואני נכריה, when I am a complete stranger?”The Torah demands of the father of his biological and chronological firstborn to introduce him as such to anyone who does not know him. Moreover, Jewish law decrees that when a father introduces his son in such a way he is trustworthy and does not have to provide independent proof for his claim. (Talmud, tractate Kidushin, folio 74.)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:17:2)

**פי שנים**כבר פי׳‎ בפרשת במדבר מפני מה בכור נוטל פי שנים.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
פי שנים, “a double portion,” (inheritance); I have already explained on Numbers 3,12 why this is so.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:17:3)

**ימצא לו**לאב תחת ידו בעת המיתה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
ימצא לו, “of all that he actually owns and has control over at the time of his death.” (excluding receivables)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:4
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:17:4)

**[כי הוא ראשית אונו**לשון שבח].


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:5
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:17:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:17:5)

**לו משפט הבכרה**ולא לבת.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
לו משפט הבכורה, “the rights of the firstborn are his.” (not a female firstborn.)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:18:1)

**כי יהיה לאיש**נסמכה כאן לומר שאם הוא סורר ומורה לא יבכרוהו אלא ימיתוהו.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי יהיה לאיש וגו, “if a man has, etc.” the reason why the paragraph dealing with a wayward son is appended here is that if such a son is a firstborn, his rights as such are null and void, and the parent must deliver him to the court in order that he will be executed, i.e. he will inherit nothing, not only no double portion.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:18:2)

**בן סורר ומורה**תנן התם מאימתי בן סורר ומורה חייב משיאכל תרטימר בשר וישתה חצי לוג יין האיטלקי ר׳‎ יוסי אומר מנה בשר ולוג יין א״‎ר זירא תרטימר איני יודע מהו אלא מתוך שכפל ר׳‎ יוסי ביין כפל נמי בבשר נמצא תרטימר חצי מנה. כאן פרש״‎י על שם סופו נהרג וכו׳‎ כלומר ילסטם את הבריות ויהרגם אף בשבת ויתחיב סקילה דוגמא הרודף אחר חברו להרגו שניתן רשות לכל אדם להציל את הנרדף בנפשו של רוצח ומצוה להרגו על שם העתיד שרוצה להרוג את חברו אם יניחוהו אע״‎ג שעדיין לא עשה שום דבר. ואל תשיבני מן ישמעאל שלא היה נדון אלא לפי מעשיו של אותה שעה שהרי ישמעאל כשר היה באותה שעה ממה שהיה עתיד להיות רשע בסופו כמו שפי׳‎ בפרשת וירא.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
בן סורר ומורה, “a son who is stubborn and rebellious.” We have learned concerning this in the Mishnah in Sanhedrin folio 70, that such a son does not become legally guilty of such treatment by his parents until he has consumed a certain amount of meat and drunk a certain amount of wine, both of which he had stolen from his parents. There is some discussion of what precisely is the amount of meat and wine described there. Either way, it is a relatively insignificant amount. Furthermore, according to the Talmud, this theft must occur while the son in question is between 13 years and three months, but before he has become thirteen and a half. Rashi explains that the law as it stands is not only not cruel, but is designed to preserve the afterlife for such a wayward son, for if, at such a tender age he were allowed to continue in this way, most likely he would become guilty of the kind of crime that would lead to his forfeiting his share in the world to come because he would have killed an innocent person. If you were to ask how it is that we punish someone for a sin never committed, or punishable merely by a fine, consider the law of the רודף, someone observed chasing a second person with clear intent to murder that person unless stopped in time. Jewish law not only permits, but expects us to kill this potential murderer before he can carry out his evil intention. Do not quote me Genesis 21,17 when Yishmael is about to perish from thirst and an angel is dispatched to save him, (against the protestations of other angels who predict the harm his descendants will do to the descendants of Avraham), and where G-d explains that He cannot allow him to die now as now is not guilty. [The comparison is very lopsided when examined closely and with reference to a period when no Torah had as yet been given. Ed.]


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:18:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:18:3)

**מורה**מקנתר כמו מורת רוח.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
מורה, “rebellious;” compare Genesis 26,35: מורת רוח, “of rebellious spirit.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:22:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:22:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:22:1)

**וכי יהיה באיש**סמכו כאן לפי שזה וזה בתלייה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
וכי יהיה באיש חטא משפט מות, “If someone had been guilty of a capital offense, (and had been duly executed);” this was added at this point as the corpse is going to be hung (for a few hours maximum)


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:22:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:22:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:22:2)

**על עץ**דבר תלוש דוגמא יעשו עץ גבוה חמשים.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
על עץ, not a tree that is still rooted in the earth, but on a wooden structure that had once been a tree. All the sinners guilty of death through stoning, including the rebellious son, will be hung afterwards as a deterrent, but must be buried before sunset. Compare Esther 5,14, where the gallows constructed by Haman to hang Mordechai from is called: עץ, “tree.”


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:1
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:23:1)

**לא תלין נבלתו על העץ**אלא **קבור תקברנו**בו ביום עצמו שנתלה שלא יאמרו הרואים דינו של מגדף בתליה ושמא זה מגדף היה וגנאי הוא למלך. ד״‎א **כי קללת אלקים תלוי**יאמרו אם הקל במצוות הקב״‎ה כבר נטל במיתה את שלו ודי לו במה שנתלה. ד״‎א לדיינים קאי אם יעמוד על העץ והעוברים שם יראוהו בעל פרצוף וקומה ופעמים יהיו סבורים שעל עבירה קלה נדון ויקללו את הדיינים שדנוהו לתליה.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
.לא תלין נבלתו על עץ , “you must not allow his corpse to remain hanging from a tree or gallows,” but bury him on the same day. The reason for this is so that people will not confuse this corpse with the one of a blasphemer whose body is to be displayed by hanging, and people might believe that the corpse they are looking at is that of a blasphemer. It would be considered as an insult to a mortal king if too much publicity would be given to someone who had mutinied against him even if he had already been punished for his crime. Similarly, it would be an insult to the immortal King, our Creator, if too much publicity were to be given to someone who had been audacious enough to insult the Creator through blasphemy. An alternate interpretation for the line: כי קללת אלוקים תלוי, people seeing the corpse of someone who had been executed for violating G-d’s commands would reason that the guilty party had already paid the price for what he had done; why subject him to indignities by displaying his body?A third interpretation for the above line: this line is addressed to the judges; people seeing the face of the corpse hanging, and knowing the judges who decreed the corpse’s execution might curse them for having executed him for a minor crime, or for not looking for a technicality to avoid having to convict that person of a capital crime.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:2
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:23:2)

**כי קבור תקברנו ביום ההוא**ואל יטמא בו נוגע או מאהיל.

**Chizkuni, translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk:**
כי קבור תקברנו ביום ההוא, “but you must inter him the day of his execution,” instead of becoming ritually contaminated by touching the corpse or by being with it under the same roof.


###### Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:3
[Chizkuni, Deuteronomy 21:23:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Chizkuni/s/Deuteronomy/r/21:23:3)

**נתן לך נחלה**דין זה אינו נוהג אלא בארץ שבעה עממים.