לא תשא שמע שוא, “do not spread false rumours;” the expression תשא from the root נשא, ”to carry,” is used here as “carrying by mouth;” another example of the same expression being used in a similar context is found in Psalms 16,4: ובל אשא את שמותם על שפתי, “so that their names will not pass my lips.” In other words: “let me not utter a lie.”

אל תשת ידך עם רשע, “do not join hands with a wicked person.” It follows automatically that you must not join him in giving false testimony.

ולא תענה על ריב, “and do not ignore the majority view seeing you consider yourself as smarter than your colleagues, when this would result in perverting justice;”

אחרי רבים להטות, “but make certain that the verdict is based on a majority of the judges’ opinions.”

ודל לא תהדר, “and do not favour the poor (because he is poor). This verse follows closely on the heels of not testifying falsely, in order that you do not think that it is your duty to assist a poor man in his dispute with a rich man.

השב תשיבנו לו, “make sure to restore it to him;” the Torah repeats this instruction to remind you that it may require that you perform this act for your enemy’s ox even repeatedly. (Compare Talmud, Baba Metzia folio 32.)

וחדלת מעזוב לו, “and you feel like refraining from raising it;” you are warned not to remain inactive when faced with the animal’s distress, even if its owner is your enemy. This is also the way the Onkelos understands the word לו, seeing that he describes the Torah’s reflecting the first reaction of the finder here being that he is not called upon to do for his enemy’s property what he himself has failed to do, but that he at least has to assist him. This interpretation is also hinted at in Rashi’s commentary on Deuteronomy 13,9, where he emphasizes that one’s enemy is exempt from the commandment: “to love your fellow man as yourself.” He quotes Sifrey as his source for his interpretation of the words; .לא תאבה לו

תעזוב עמו, these words have been interpreted in the Talmud Baba Metzia folio 32 as meaning that the Torah does not instruct the owner of that donkey to sit down while you alone attend to his donkey’s problem, but that you are called upon only not to abandon the animal but to assist the owner in relieving his donkey’s discomfort. If his owner has abandoned his beast, the enemy of his owner need not do the work by himself. [Torah legislation addresses human beings, not angels. Ed.]

עמו, “with him;” it is impossible for one person alone to unload the burden carried by this animal while it is in a state of collapse. Two men have to work, one on each side of the animal.

לא תטה משפט אביונך בריבו; “do not subvert the rights of your destitute people in their disputes.” The Torah means not to rule in his favour when in fact he is in the wrong. This warning of the Torah is addressed to the judge or judges of the court dealing with his dispute, even though the Torah did not spell this out specifically. We find another example of such implied meanings in Deuteronomy 15,20, where the Torah writes: לפני ה' אלוקיך תאכלנו “you are to eat it in the presence of the Lord your G-d,” (i.e. on the sacred precincts of the Temple compound) an instruction that can only be fulfilled by a firstborn who is also a priest at the same time, seeing that non priests are forbidden in that compound. The Torah has warned earlier in verse 3 of our chapter that the judges must not rule in favour of the poor out of sympathy for them. Here it warns that the judges must also not rule against the poor (for fear of angering the rich).

ונקי וצדיק, “and the ones free from sin, and the “just,” i.e. the ones who have been acquitted by the court;” according to the translation it is hard to see the difference between the נקי and the צדיק in this commandment. Our author understands the word נקי as applying to someone who had been free from sin, as opposed to the צדיק, someone who had committed the sin but could not be convicted through lack of witnesses acceptable by the Torah, or who had not been legally warned before committing the sin he had been accused of.

ושחד לא תקח, “and you must not accept a bribe;” the reason why this has been repeated here is that even if the judge would accept a bribe in order to rule justly, he must not accept such a bribe. His decisions must not be influenced by a bribe. Although judges in Jewish jurisprudence did not receive salaries in order to make them independent, they were allowed to accept from the two disputants payment for the wages lost while sitting in court, each according to his respective vocation. [Three judges might receive three vastly different amounts of compensation according to the salary scale payable of people of his profession. Ed.] The reason why this subject came up here again is that the wealthy litigants are likely to bribe the judges to rule in their favour.

ויסלף דברי צדיקים, “for bribes even blind the righteous judges.” changing their decision from innocent to guilty.

וגר לא תלחץ, “and do not oppress the stranger.” Here too the Torah speaks about the treatment strangers may have to endure at court. In the earlier reference to the stranger, (22,2), the Torah referred to how we are not to treat the stranger in every day life, not when he is involved in litigation. It is repeated here as he is also one of the sections of society that is likely to be taken advantage of as they have no one to stand up on their behalf. It is easy to get away with taking advantage of them.

ושש שנים, “and for six consecutive years, etc.” the reason why this legislation is repeated here is because the Torah allocates the produce of the seventh year to the poor, the underprivileged (verse 11).

ונטשתה, “you are to let it lie fallow;” in practice this means that you are not to collect the grain that has grown during that season in your field for your own use.

ואכלו אביוני עמך, “whereas the destitute people of your nation shall consume it.” In another verse the Torah writes in Leviticus 25,6: לך, ולעבדך ולאמתך ולשכירך ולתושבך, “for you, your male servant, your female servant, your hired hands and your residents.” How do we reconcile this? Answer: when there is an abundance of grain, etc., everyone is entitled to eat from it (so that it does not go to waste); when there is a scarcity only you and your household (servants male and female) (Mechilta on this verse.) An alternate interpretation: as long as the time for finally disposing of that crop has not arrived, both the poor and the rich may avail themselves of it. Once that time has expired, only the poor are allowed to avail themselves of it.

ששת ימים תעשה מעשיך, “during six days you may pursue your usual pursuits, etc.;” why is this verse inserted at this juncture? It is because of the commandment to allow also the son of your maidservant and the stranger to rest on the Sabbath, seeing that generally they are poor people.

וביום השביעי תשבת “and on the seventh day you shall rest” – since work is prohibited in the Sabbatical Year I might have thought that no additional weekly rest day is necessary – therefore the Torah commands to rest on the seventh day.

ובכל אשר אמרתי אליכם, “concerning all that I have told you.” All the regulations pertaining to the Sabbath days in normal years also apply in the seventh year.”An alternate explanation: “I am not warning you only concerning that your servants and domestic beasts have to observe a rest on the Sabbath, but these are only examples; all the other rules concerning work prohibitions on the Sabbath apply, regardless of the fact that you do not work the field a whole week during the seventh year. Your vessels, stoves, vats, etc., have to observe rest on the Sabbath.”A third explanation: All the details that I have commanded you ever since the revelation at Mount Sinai concerning the observance of the Sabbath remain in force indefinitely without interruption. The verse is a repetition of warnings the Torah had issued on previous occasions. We have other examples of this type in Deuteronomy 27,26: ארור אשר לא יקים את דברי התורה הזאת לעשות אותם, “cursed be he who fails to observe the words of this Torah;”Yet another explanation of our verse: this is a warning concerning the meticulous observance of all the positive commandments. According to Rashi, this was necessary as the vast majority of the Sabbath regulations concern what is forbidden, and do not require us to actually perform an activity, only to desist from performing it. The verse also is a hint at the rule that when a positive and a negative commandment appear to be in conflict, the performance of the positive commandment takes precedence. (Talmud Yevamot folio 3.) The logic behind this is that by performing the positive commandment one automatically fulfils the negative commandment attached to it. A different interpretation: the verse applies only to negative commandments as the grammar in the verse, i.e. the word: תשמורו, warns against violating something by a contrary activity. This is what the Rabbis had in mind when they said in Eyruvin 96: “wherever the expression השמר פן, or אל appears, it is always a warning not to do something that the Torah had forbidden. These expressions only occur when a negative commandment had already been the subject of discussion.

ושם אלוהים אחרים לא תזכירו, “and you must not (even) mention the name of other deities.” The reason why this warning appears next to the previous laws is to remind us that G-d had already warned us about this also. In other words, “you are to remember all the other commandments except this one which is in essence something that must not be remembered.”

שלש רגלים, “three times (a year);” you need not exert yourself by coming to Jerusalem and the Temple more than three times a year, i.e. to have to “lose” valuable time from your agricultural activities by having to travel long distances, etc; other religions are far more demanding of their worshippers.

תחוג לי, “you will celebrate for Me.” You will mention My name in connection with your joyful celebration. On Passover you will celebrate the anniversary of your redemption from Egypt; on Pentecost you will celebrate the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai; and on the festival of huts you will celebrate in thanks for a bountiful harvest.

את חג המצות, “The festival of the unleavened bread.” to remind you of your release from slavery and your leaving Egypt as a free people.

שבעת ימים תאכל מצות, “you will eat unleavened bread for seven days.” This line refers back to the words: חודש האביב, “the month of spring;” the reason for this is to remind you that regardless of the fact that the festival commences on the fifteenth day of the month of Nissan you must make sure that this date occurs after the spring equinox, i.e. that in certain years you will have to add an extra month of Adar to ensure that this will occur. If you were not to do that the firstling offering of the new barley harvest on the 16th of that month would not be acceptable as such. You would then have to appear before the Lord ריקם, “emptyhanded,” without fulfilling the specific commandment connected to that date.

ולא יראו פני ריקם, “they shall not appear before Me emptyhanded;” the “they,” are the males who have been commanded to make these three annual pilgrimages. They and their sons are viewed by Me as “My children.”

וחג הקציר, “and the festival of the harvest. (Wheat harvest around Shavuot)” The Torah spelled this festival out as especially intended as one of being joyful, (compare also Isaiah 9,2: כאשר יגילו בחלקם שלל, “as they exult when dividing spoil.”)

אשר תזרע, “which you will sow;” you are perceived by the Torah as sowing in G-d’s field; this is why He commanded you to donate the first ripe produce to Him, as a sort of tax.

וחג האסיף, "and the festival of ingathering (all the fruit of the orchards and vineyards)". When a person gathers in all his fruits, it makes him happy. When this happiness is directed toward My commandments, the entire festival becomes dedicated to My Name.

בצאת השנה, “at the conclusion of the year, which is the beginning of the following year.”

שלש פעמים בשנה, “three times during the year;” the reason this is repeated as it is part of the commandment for the males to make three pilgrimages to the Temple annually.

ולא ילין חלב חגי; “and the fat of My festival offering must not be allowed to be left lying until the morning.” This is applicable only to the Passover offering, the fat of which was destined for the altar.

עד בקר, “until morning;” it has the same rule as the meat of the Paschal lamb, concerning the edible parts of which, the Torah had already written in Exodus 12,10 that none must be left over until morning, and if for some reason some was left over it must be burned.

חגי, “My festival;” another word for “My offering,” the offering tendered to Me. This expression is not unique; we find it also in Psalms 118,27: אסרו חג בעבותים, “bind the festival offerings to the horns of the altar;” In chapter 12 the Torah had decreed this as applicable to the original Paschal lamb in Egypt. (Not allowing any to remain by morning) Here the Torah repeats the instruction as applicable to the annual Passover offering serving as a reminder of the original one.

ראשית בכורי אדמתך, “the first choice fruits of your soil, etc.;” why did this verse have to be written? Seeing that in Deuteronomy 26,2, the Torah had written: ולקחת מראשית כל פרי האדמה, “you are to take from the first fruit of the soil, etc.,” I might have thought that the word פרי refers only to the actual fruit; how would I know that the commandment also applies to the liquids squeezed from the fruit? The word: תביא, “you are to bring,” is the clue. What is the difference between the fruit itself and its liquids? When bringing the fruit itself the passage written in the paragraph referred to from Deuteronomy is to be recited by the farmer, whereas when presenting only their liquids this passage does not have to be recited. This legislation has been written after the Torah had written in verse 18 that the Passover sacrifice must not be offered when it is still permissible to eat leavened matters, to tell us that the earliest possible time for offering such first ripened fruit is after the Passover, i.e. the day after when the first of the barley harvest is offered. (Compare Leviticus 23,914).

לא תבשל גדי בחלב אמו, “Do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk.” The reason this verse has been inserted here is that generally speaking during the pilgrimage festivals a great amount of meat is consumed, the Torah reminds us that this law is not to be ignored. [It has been written on two other occasions also. Ed.],

הנה אנכי שולח מלאך לפניך, “I am about to send an angel ahead of you, etc.” This is a departure from what had been the case up until now. G-d announces that as long as all the Israelites remain loyal to Him, He personally will lead them on their journey to the Holy Land; when they are guilty of trespassing, instead of leading them personally, He will assign that task to an angel. An alternate explanation of this verse: The “angel” referred to is Joshua, who after the Israelites’ 40 year stay in the desert and Moses’ death will, take over from him. In other words, G-d does not continue with a celestial creature after Moses’ death, but with a human one. [It is a hint that the period of the Israelites’ lives being guided by supernatural forces only, to wit the manna from heaven, will come to an end at that time. Ed.] Actually, G-d had not spoken of sending an angel until after the episode with the golden calf. (Exodus 33,2) Moses, i.e. the people were not content with this even then. (Exodus 33,12)

כי לא ישא לפשעכם כי שמי בקרבו, “for he has no authority to forgive your deliberate sins, as My Name is within him.” G-d means that even though he (that angel) is a celestial creature, and therefore Divine, He cannot “forgive” any trespass against Him. Another place in the Bible where we encounter a similar thought is Psalms 25,11, למען שמך וסלחת לעוני כי רב הוא, “as befits Your name, o Lord, pardon my iniquity.” Other examples of “irregularities” in treatment, are Genesis 48,14, where Yaakov insisted in giving preferential treatment to Ephrayim although Menashe was the firstborn. Another example is found in Psalms 74,20-21: הבט לברית כי מלאו מחשכי ארץ נאום חמס וגו', “Look to the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of lawlessness. Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed, let the poor and needy praise Your name.” [Here the people ask to be promoted instead of being demoted. Ed.]

כי שמי בקרבו, seeing that My name is within him, he has the right to speak of himself by proclaiming: “'אני ה,” “I am the Lord,” meaning I am His general manager of the universe, known in kabbalistic parlance as Mattatron. That name can be understood as “chief of the angels,” or “G-d in miniature.” (Compare a book by Rabbi Reuben Margolies, in which all the names of the angels and their functions are listed, pages 73-108.)

כי אם שמוע תשמע, “for if you will carefully obey his instructions, I will be the enemy of your enemies, etc.” A king expects that his subjects will treat his representative as if he himself were present.

ואיבתי את אויבך, “I will be an enemy to your enemies;” G-d does not refer here to the Canaanite tribes of whom He says He will annihilate them, as He will give their land to the Israelites, but He speaks of enemies upon whom the Israelites have no designs at all. Elsewhere, the Torah has instructed the Israelites not to leave a single soul alive in the Canaanite cities of the seven tribes mentioned. (Deuteronomy 20,16).

כי ילך, for he will walk, etc.’”

והאביאך אל האמורי ואל החתי וגו, “and He will bring you to the Emorite, the Hittite, etc.;” the Torah did not bother to include the smallest of these tribes i.e. the Girgashite.

לא תשתחוה, “Do not prostrate yourself, etc.” in Exodus 20,5 the Torah had warned the Israelites not to prostrate themselves to their own deities, whereas now it warns them not to do so to the deities of these other nations.

וברך את לחמך ואת מימך, “He will bless your bread and your water.” A blessing of a general nature; the term לחם is a synonym for food of any kind, and the term מים for any drinkable liquids. Compare the use of these words in Hoseah 2,7: לחצי ומימי, “my food and drink.” In the same book in chapter 2,11, the prophet speaks of G-d retaliating by taking away from the sinful Israelites: ולקחתי בעתו את דגני ואת תירושי במועדי, “I will deprive them at the appropriate time of My grain (harvest) and My grape (harvest).” If only water had been meant, the prophet should have quoted G-d as saying: “My water.”

והסירותי מחלה מקרבך, “I will remove sickness from your midst.” In other words, “you will be healthy;” for what good is food to a sick person who cannot enjoy it?”

את מספר ימיך אמלא, “I will let you enjoy the full number of days of your lives.” You will die at a ripe old age, ready to do so as was described at the death of Avraham and Yitzchok [Genesis 25,8 and Genesis 35,29. Ed.] Concerning the lifetime of the wicked, Solomon quotes G-d as saying: ושנות רשעים תקצורנה, “but the years of the wicked will be shortened;” (Proverbs 10,27).

את אימתי, “the fear of Me;” this is G-d’s reply to Moses’ request in Exodus 15,16: תפול עליהם אימתה ופחד, “may fear and terror befall them!”כל העם אשר תבא בהם, “any nation that you will come upon;” even those nations that are not part of the seven Canaanite tribes. The end of this paragraph proves that this is the correct meaning, when the Torah writes about the nations other than the Canaanites (verse 33) “they must not live on your land lest they lead you into sin so that you would worship their deities”, while about the seven Canaanite tribes it writes “you shall not permit any person to live (Deuteronomy 20.16).”

ושלחתי את הצרעה, “I will dispatch the hornets, etc.; according to Rashi, this is a category of stinging wasp which never crossed the river Jordan. Concerning what is written in the Talmud Sotah folio 36, that we read here that G-d will drive out the hornets from the land of the Chivi and the Canaanite, who lives on the West bank of the Jordan, so that they must first have been there or how else could be driven out from there?, The Talmud suggests two different solutions to this apparent contradiction; one that there were two different types of hornets, one in Moses’ time, another in Joshua’s time; (Joshua 24,12). one scholar in the Talmud claims that when the Israelites were on the east bank of the river Jordan ready to cross, the Lord caused the hornets on the other side to become frightened and to leave. Alternately, the entire verse is a simile telling the Jewish people that they will not have to expel the local inhabitants by fighting them with the sword, but that G-d will see to it that they need not worry about sustaining casualties when trying to conquer these lands.

ושתי את גבולך מים סוף ועד ים פלשתים, “I will set your boundaries from the Sea of Reeds until the Sea of thePhilistines.” The “Sea of Reeds” is the eastern boundary and the “Sea of the Philistines, is the western boundary. This has also been expressed differently in Isaiah 9,11: as ארם מקדם ופלשתים מאחור “Aram in the front and the Philistines in the rear.”

וממדבר, “and from the desert;” this refers to the desert in the south which the Israelites were crossing for 40 years.

ועד הנהר, and as far north as the river Euphrates. Some commentators say that what is written from verse 10 in our chapter i.e. שש שנים תזרע until verse 33 כי יהיה לך למוקש, “for it will become a snare for you,” has been added after Moses had returned from the Mountain the third time when G-d had forgiven the Jewish people for the sin of the golden calf, whereas what has been written in Parshat Ki Tissa: “here My angel will walk ahead of you,” all the way until verse 26,in chapter 34: “do not boil a kid in its mother’s milk” had been written at the end of Moses’ stay on Mount Sinai during the first 40 days. Whereas what has been written here is because Moses wished to conclude the subject with the legislation of the sh’mittah year and the pilgrimage festivals, followed by the injunction not to boil a kid in its mother’s milk, followed by the passage about the angel and the arrival in the Holy land. This is parallel to what he had done at the end of the first 40 days. From here on the paragraphs follow a haphazard pattern.