“Like the practice of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt, etc.” The Torah mentioned, in which you dwelt and where I am bringing you, to add something. Presumably, Joseph selected for his brothers and his father’s household an area that was not so morally corrupt, so that future generations would not learn from their [the Egyptians’] practices. Similarly, presumably the Holy One, Blessed be He, selected for Israel a place that was not so corrupt, so they would not learn from them [the Canaanites], as it is said Little by little I will drive them out from before you (Exodus 23:30). Before He would drive them all out, there was concern that the Israelites might learn from their practices. Therefore, He said that even like the practices [of the Egyptians in that area] you shall not do, and all the more so regarding the other abominations of Egypt where you did not dwell, and all the more so regarding other nations. But according to Rashi’s interpretation, which explains exactly the opposite, it is difficult: Would it make sense to say that specifically like the practices of those among whom they dwelt and where I am bringing you — the most corrupt of all — they should not do, but like the practices of those not so corrupt, they may do? God forbid to say such a thing! Rather, the Torah mentions this to add something, so that Israel would not have room to err and say: Since we were settled in the land of Goshen, surely the reason was because their practices were not corrupt at all; and since the Holy One, Blessed be He, is bringing us to this land, surely their practices are not corrupt. And as for why they [the Canaanites] were expelled from their land, it was because they dwelt in a land that wasn’t theirs, as the Canaanites had conquered the land from the descendants of Shem. Therefore, the Holy One, Blessed be He, needed to inform that also their practices were corrupt, and even if not as much as others, nevertheless, their practices contained enough disgrace and anger [to warrant punishment], and all the more so regarding the others.

And from the fact that they are not combined, and “you shall not do” is stated twice. We can say that each sin is itemized by itself, and Scripture criticizes Israel for seeking to establish permanent settlement in Egypt, as I explained above at the end of Parshat Vayigash (47:27) on the verse And Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen. It speaks of Israel’s guilt, and God blamed them for seeking to establish permanent settlement in a place where God had told them they would be sojourners and not residents. They did all this because they were attached to the idols of Egypt, as it says in Ezekiel (20:5-8), And I made Myself known to them in the land of Egypt, etc., but they rebelled against Me, etc., and they did not forsake the idols of Egypt, etc. Similarly, Rashi explained in Parshat Bo (10:23) that there were wicked people in that generation who did not want to leave Egypt and they died during the three days of darkness. Regarding this, it is stated here, You shall not do according to the practices of the land of Egypt — like those practices that you did in the land of Egypt. And what was the evil practice that you did? In which you dwelt — that you sought permanent settlement there because your souls desired their idols and their abominations. You shall not do such things again — do not seek permanent settlement among a rebellious people who walk in a way that is not good, lest you learn from their deeds, as happened to you in Egypt.

“And like the practice of the land of Canaan” — This means that He is accusing Israel of rejecting the Holy Land, which was beloved by the patriarchs, but they rejected it to the extent that the Holy One, blessed be He, had to bring them there against their will, not with their consent. This is the meaning of like the practice of the land of Canaan — like that deed that you did in the land of Canaan. And what is this deed? Which I am bringing you there — for your eyes see that I am bringing you there against your will. For in Elim they said, If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt (Exodus 16:3), and the spies said, Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt (Numbers 14:4). And so our Sages said (Bamidbar Rabbah 21:10), “The women cherished the Land, but the men hated it.” And so the Holy One, blessed be He, had to lead them by way of the wilderness at the Sea of Reeds so that they would not return to Egypt. From all this, there is proof that they rejected the Holy Land, which was chosen from the days of the patriarchs as a place of holiness and purity, and where most of the Torah’s commandments are dependent on the land. Yet Israel rejected all these things, until the Holy One, blessed be He, had to bring them there against their will and carry them on eagles’ wings, as a nurse carries an infant, to this place, and through the circuitous route of the wilderness so that they would have no opportunity to return. Do not do so anymore, but go willingly to the place that God has spoken of, for this is the place prepared for keeping all God’s judgments and statutes. He gives a reason for the first statement, why He said they should not seek permanent settlement in the impure land of Egypt, so that they would not learn to do their abominations. Regarding this, He said, And in their statutes you shall not walk. And for the latter statement, where He urged them to go to the Holy Land in order to fulfill the commandments that are dependent on the land, He said, My judgments you shall do, etc., for these are the judgments of the God of the land.

You shall perform My judgments and observe My ordinances. Here, the statutes [mishpatim] are mentioned before the ordinances [chukim], but later the order is reversed when it says and you shall observe My ordinances and My judgments. This is because the first verse speaks about reward in this world, as it says to walk in them, for in this world a person is called a “walker,” as he moves from one level to another, as it is written: I will give you pathways among these who stand (Zechariah 3:7), for angels are called “standers” since they remain at one level, but humans are called “walkers.” Similarly, in the World to Come, humans are also called “sitters,” as our Sages of blessed memory said (Berakhot 17a): “The righteous sit with their crowns on their heads.” “Sitting” is analogous to “standing” because one sits in rest, having already acquired all his perfection. Regarding the reward in this world, the judgments — which are intellectually understandable — are mentioned before the ordinances — whose reasons are not revealed — to tell you that not only will you merit to walk before God in the lands of the living by virtue of the judgments [mishpatim], for your eyes see their benefit, as without their fear [of punishment society could not function], but even more so, by fulfilling the ordinances [chukim], even though their reasons are not revealed, you will nonetheless merit through them to walk before God.

However, regarding the verse “and live by them,” which Rashi interprets as referring to life in the World to Come, he reversed the order in a manner of “not only this but also that.” For in fulfilling the ordinances, it is obvious that you will merit life in the World to Come. Since you do not perceive their benefit, it is clear that all your actions are for the sake of Heaven, to fulfill the commandments of your Creator. But even in fulfilling the judgments, for which you have already received your reward in this world, and there might be reason to say that you fulfill them for your own benefit since the world’s existence depends on them, nevertheless, you will also merit life in the World to Come through them. And why? Because I am the Lord — for you fulfill them because I, the Lord, have commanded you, as our Sages said (Torat Kohanim, Kedoshim 128): “One should not say, ‘I do not desire to eat pork and my soul abhors it,’ but rather, ‘I desire to eat it, but the Holy One, blessed be He, has decreed against it, etc.’” And therefore we find that He mentions the great reward stored away for the righteous especially in relation to the ordinances, as it is written: Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your ordinances, and I will keep it to the end (Psalms 119:33). I have inclined my heart to perform Your ordinances forever, to the end (Psalms 119:112). And it concludes in Yalkut Parashat Eikev (Remez 446): How great is Your goodness that You have stored up for those who fear You — this refers to the reward for the “light” commandments. And how do he know this? Because people tend to tread on the “light” commandments with their heels, and Satan and the nations mock them, saying, “What is this commandment to you?” And this is found especially with the ordinances whose reasons are not revealed and which conflict with human understanding, as the nations mock them. Therefore it says: How great is Your goodness that You have stored up for those who fear You, that You have wrought for those who take refuge in You against mankind (Psalms 31:20) — meaning, regarding matters that conflict with human understanding, which are the “light” commandments.

And [the Torah] always mentions the language of “guarding” [shemirah] in relation to ordinances [chukkot], because anything that has those who would destroy it requires extra protection, as explained above in Parshat Bo on the verse and you shall guard this service (Exodus 12:25), which refers to the wicked son who seeks to destroy the service. Similarly, this “guarding” mentioned regarding the ordinances is against people who question the ordinances.

A man, any man, shall not approach any kin of his flesh, etc. This refers to proximity that leads to sexual immorality, namely seclusion, as it leads to sexual misconduct. Therefore, it says a man, any man specifically when each individual man is alone with the woman, since two men are permitted to be secluded with one woman. A man, any man means each man by himself. Yet it says do not approach in the plural form to warn the woman as well, as Rashi explains. Regarding the reason for the prohibition of forbidden sexual relationships, Maimonides explained that it is to reduce sexual relations, because these women are near to him and constantly available to him. Nachmanides refuted this view because we see that Scripture permitted thousands of wives to him. Therefore, he explained that this commandment is a secret. And it seems that this is why it states I am the Lord in this context, meaning: I am the One who knows the reason for this matter, and for you it is an ordinance [without explanation].

Do not defile yourselves with all of these. This implies that they should not reach the extreme end of evil where the land becomes defiled until they defile themselves with all these things. And afterward it says, and do not commit any of the abominations, implying that even with some of them the land becomes defiled. It seems appropriate to explain that this is why He mentioned two types of punishments, namely the land vomiting them out, and the cutting off of the souls that commit these acts. At first, He warned them not to defile themselves with all these things by doing all of them, because with all these things the nations defiled themselves and reached the extreme end where the land became defiled and its iniquity was visited upon it. It became like a sick person who vomits, and it vomited out its inhabitants because its measure was filled, and the way of a full measure is to spill over and vomit because it cannot contain any more. Therefore, be careful that this does not happen to you as well, because then chaos comes and kills both the good and the bad, just as the craftsmen and the gatekeepers were exiled along with Jeremiah and his group. And afterward He warns them, You shall keep… and do not commit any of the abominations, meaning not even some of them should you do. For all the abominations were done by the people of the land, and they received the punishment of the land vomiting them out. But as for you, if you do some of them, the land will not vomit you out — you will not be included in the punishment of vomiting out. Nevertheless, there is another punishment, which is that whoever does any of these abominations, even some of them, although justice does not dictate destroying both good and bad together, nevertheless the souls that do them shall be cut off at the very least. Therefore, you shall keep My charge not to commit any of the abominable customs, not even some of them. And close to this interpretation I have seen in a new book.

The land became unclean, and I visited its iniquity upon it, etc. If its inhabitants sinned, why was the land punished that it says I visited its iniquity upon it? It appears that all this stems from the primordial sin. For God said, Let the earth bring forth fruit trees, meaning the taste of the tree should be like the taste of the fruit, but the earth did not do so. Therefore, when Adam sinned, the earth was also punished for its iniquity and was cursed. One might ask why it wasn’t cursed immediately. This is because the main deviation was that God wanted the earth to provide pure and refined matter for all creatures, which affects all beings whose origin is from the earth. But the earth did not do so; rather, it provided coarse and thick matter for all of them. This caused the tree not to taste like its fruit because the matter was coarse and turbid, which in turn caused man to have a stronger desire for physical pleasures. If man’s material composition had been pure and clean, he would not have come to sin. Therefore, the earth was not cursed until man sinned, for then the damage became more evident, whereas with the fruit-bearing tree, the damage was not so great.

And the Ramban wrote in Parashat Genesis (2:9) that the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge would generate sexual desire, and therefore they covered their nakedness after eating from it. Therefore, we find that in every place where the sin of sexual immorality is prevalent, the Holy One, blessed be He, visits the iniquity upon the land, because it caused Adam to sin with the Tree of Knowledge, and through this he had a great inclination toward forbidden relationships. For in the generation of the Flood, where promiscuity was prevalent, it states, Behold, I will destroy them et the earth (Genesis 6:13). [Et means] like “with the earth,” because even the three handbreadths of plowing depth were ruined, and this was a punishment for the land to purify it with boiling water. For this reason, the Land of Israel is called “a land not cleansed,” because it was not rained upon on the day of wrath, as is found in Ezekiel (22:24). And it is written, And I will make the land desolate (Leviticus 26:32). From here is proof that at the time of anger, sin causes the land to be ruined, as it is written, And they will see the afflictions of that land and the sicknesses with which the Lord has made it ill: sulfur and salt, a burning throughout its land (Deuteronomy 29:21-22). For with hot waters it was ruined, and with hot waters it was judged, with burning throughout its land. And similarly, regarding the generation of the Flood, it is written, And the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth (Genesis 6:5), for the earth was affected by the wickedness of its inhabitants.

And regarding what it says, “and its diseases which the Lord made it sick with.” This can be explained by way of a metaphor: Every sick person naturally vomits what is inside him. Similarly, it is stated here in the section on forbidden sexual relations, and the land will vomit out its inhabitants — for it will be like a sick person who vomits the food within him. And regarding this it says, And the land became defiled, and I visited its iniquity upon it. This is a precious interpretation.