בנים אתם, “you are the children, etc.;” this paragraph has been inserted here in order to warn you not to observe pagan methods of expressing mourning after the death of close relatives. Possibly, one of the inhabitants of the idolatrous city discussed in the previous paragraph was a close relative, and you might have had to observe mourning rites as he or she had been put to death as a result of that city’s destruction.

בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, “you are children of the Lord your G-d;” it is just because you are children of Mine that you shall not cut yourself because of what happened (the death of a family member) even if you do not understand why this happened to you but you must accept that all of G-d’s actions are for the best. Just as small children do not always understand what their father does, but appreciate that it is for their benefit, the same is true in your relationship to Me.

ולא תשימו קרחה בין עיניכם למת, “neither are you to make bald spots between your eyes for the dead.” Even if your father died, you are not as bereaved as would be one of the gentiles who lost his father, as you have a Father in heaven who will never die. Furthermore, you are a holy nation, and as such are not at liberty to desecrate your bodies.

לא תאכל כל תועבה, “you must not eat anything that is abominable.” This subject is linked here to that of forbidden rites of mourning, as it too is part of your being a holy nation, as repeated in the last verse. Holiness, i.e. apartness, means, among other things, that your food is different from that of the pagans, who eat all kinds of abominations. You are to eat only what is ritually pure.

איל, “the hart, etc;” [our author proceeds to translate the names of these seven species into medieval French, something of little use my readers. Ed.] In plain English, permitted species of mammals are: ox, sheep, goat; deer, gazelle, roebuck, wild goat, ibex, antelope and mountain sheep plus unnamed species (if there are such) displaying the identification marks listed by the Torah.

מפרסת פרסה ושסעת שסע שתי פרסות מעלת גרה “And every beast that parteth the hoof, and hath the hoof wholly cloven in two, and cheweth the cud.” Any mammal that displays some of these identifying marks but not others are forbidden. [The Torah proceeds to name the most popular mammals kept as domestic beats, such as pigs, dogs, camels, hares and rabbits must not be eaten. The latter, including cats, must not be eaten because they have no hooves at all.]

ובנבלתם לא תגעו "you are not to touch their carcasses" with a view to preparing them as food, just as the Torah forbade touching holy things in Leviticus 12,4 for people in a state of bodily ritual impurity. Touching such carcasses and eating them is considered part of the same prohibition. If touching these carcasses by itself were the prohibition, why would the Torah have to bother forbidding eating them?

טמא הוא לכם, “it is ritually impure for you.” The word טמא here is not to be understood in the ritual sense of impurity, the person having contacted such animals requiring to perform purification rites before handling matters that are holy, but is an expression for something detestable. The concept of ritual impurity does not exist concerning fish. The expression טמא as clearly meaning something detestable is found in Ezekiel 4,13: “shall the Israelites eat their bread unclean in a disgusting unappetizing manner (among the nations that banish them?)”

כל צפור טהורה, “any ritually pure bird;” whenever the Torah uses the term צפור instead of עוף for “bird,” it is automatically referring to a ritually pure species of birds. The latter term, however, is used on different occasions for either category of birds. Ritually impure birds are always described as עוף. (Sifri)

וזה אשר לא תאכלו, “and these are the ones of which you may not eat;” Rashi explains that the word זה is meant to include that the prohibition includes if these birds had been of the permitted kind, but were used in the procedure prescribed for the sin offering of a leper. They must not be eaten even though slaughtered in the appropriate manner. (Compare Leviticus 14,4)

.ראה, איה דיה, דאה “glede, falcon, buzzard and kite;” [none of these species can be indentified with certainty. This is why different translations use some of the names interchangeably. Ed.] According to our author, the four names mentioned here are really one. How is this to be understood? Seeing that we find the expression למינה, “according to its kind (species)”in the singular mode instead of in the plural mode at the end of this verse, they must have something important in common with each other. We find a similar verse in Leviticus 11,14, in connection with the bird called איה, this proves that איה and דיה are two names for the same species. Similarly, ראה and דיה are also the same species. [I have omitted the author’s somewhat convoluted method of proving this point. Ed.]

ואת בת היענה, “and the little owl;” the same is true of the יענה, the great owl. The Torah mentions the little owl as it is not fit to be eaten except as long as it is very young. Its flesh is hard as wood when it matures. (b’chor shor)

כל עוף טהור תאכלו, “you may eat every ritually pure bird.” According to the plain meaning of the text this includes certain species of locusts and grasshoppers not listed here by name.

לא תאכלו כל נבלה, “you must not eat the carcass of any animal that died of natural causes.” This includes carcasses of normally ritually pure mammals, free roaming beasts birds and ritually not pure fish. Ritually pure fish are permitted to be eaten whether they died from natural causes or were killed by man. The reason why this appears to have been repeated is so that no one would have an excuse to say that only the carcasses of mammals, free roaming beasts and pure birds are forbidden if they died from natural causes.

כל נבלה, “any type of carcass that died of natural causes.” The use of the word כל to mean “any,” and not “all,” we have seen already in verse 3 in our chapter “כל תועבה,” anything abominable, as well as in Exodus 20,10: לא תעשה כל מלאכה,”you must not perform any work.”

או מכור לנכרי, or to be sold to a gentile.” The letter ל in the word לנכרי has the semi vowel sh’va.

לא תבשל גדי, “do not boil a kid;” This was repeated here to teach that (its youth notwithstanding?) it is considered as meat. (Ibn Ezra)

עשר תעשר, “you must surely tithe, etc.;” the reason why this paragraph was added at this point is that earlier we had read about not eating anything that is ritually impure. Here we are told that it is forbidden to eat any sanctified meat or agricultural products except in certain holy locations.

עשר תעשר, “the command is repeated in order to also forbid trading in tithes, not only eating in the wrong location.” (Tanchuma, Reay section 18) An alternate interpretation: The words עשר תעשר, by themselves, could be understood as applying to anything that grows being subject to tithing. The fact that the Torah added the word: ואכלת, “and that you eat,” restricts the need to tithe to crops grown with the intent to serve as food. I might now have thought that such foods as honey and milk could be included also in the legislation to tithe; in order to tell us that this is not so, the Torah added the words: היוצא השדה, “which is the product of the field.” This excludes among other items plants that are grown in closed flower pots because they do not derive their nutrients from the moisture in the soil. Actually, the command about tithing has been written in three separate parts of the Torah, and each time it has been repeated a new element has been added to this commandment as Rashi has explained. At this stage the new element is that of not desecrating the second tithe, as indicated by the need to convert (redeem) it if it is not capable of being transported to Jerusalem.

למען תלמד ליראה, “in order that you may learn to revere, etc.” This expression is meant to refer to reverence for the Lord becoming something natural, a daily occurrence, part of your everyday life, not something restricted to when one visits the synagogue and prays intently. When people observe the laws of the second tithe that apply to the average farmer being observed by huge crowds coming to Jerusalem and being exposed to priests in great numbers, this will make a deep impression upon them and be an unforgettable experience. Seeing the Supreme Court in session in Jerusalem will also be an experience that will increase the degree of reverence for the Lord your G-d.

וצרת הכסף בידך, ”and bind up the money (silver coins);” the letter ד in the word of בידך, has the semi vowel sh’va.

והלוי אשר בשעריך, “and the Levite who is within your gates;” you are not to seek out Levites that do not live within your cities to give these tithes to. (Ibn Ezra)

לא תעזבנו, “do not abandon him.” The Torah had already stated the same instruction in a positive formulation, i.e. to look after the Levites. (Deut. 12,12) Now it adds the negative aspect, forbidding us to abandon the Levite. Do not think that you have fulfilled the tithing obligation merely by giving your First Tithe to the local Levi. The new angle here is that in the event that the tithes that the Levite in your town receives are not adequate, you must dig into your pocket to offer him additional support.

תוציא את כל מעשר, “you shall bring forth all the tithes;” there are three years in the seven year sh’mittah cycle that the tithe instead of being deposited in your towns (your homes) awaiting Levites to ask for it must be brought out and not kept anymore. How does all this work? In the first year of the cycle the first tithe goes to a Levite, whereas the second tithe is taken to Jerusalem by the owner to be eaten there with his family. The same is true of the second year of the cycle. In the third year of the cycle the first tithe goes to the Levite, whereas the second “tithe” is to be distributed locally or as near as possible to the poor. The verse that is relevant to this is chapter Deut. 26,12. The Torah calls that year: “the year of the tithe,” as only the first tithe is given to the Levite in that year. The gifts given to the poor amounting to the same amount as the second tithe, is not called tithe, as it is designated for the poor at the full discretion of the grower of that produce. The second three years of the cycle are a repeat of the first three years.

והנחת בשערך, “and deposit it in your gates.” Whereas the second tithe is to be taken to Jerusalem, the tithe for the poor is to he kept locally, so as to be available conveniently for the local poor.