And he did not know, and he is guilty, and he shall bear his iniquity. Rabbi Yose the Galilean says: Scripture punishes one who did not know, all the more so one who did know. Rabbi Yose says: If you wish to know the reward for commandments, go and learn from Adam the first man, etc… One who refrains from eating forbidden foods [pigulim], and from leftovers [notarot], and one who fasts on Yom Kippur, etc. (Torat Kohanim, Leviticus 363). One must contemplate why specifically these three were mentioned. It appears that since Adam the first man stumbled by eating something forbidden, therefore Rabbi Yose mentioned the opposite — one who is careful regarding forbidden food has three levels: First, “One who refrains from forbidden foods [pigulim]” is an all-encompassing term for abstaining from any forbidden food, for it is pigul. And not only does such a person refrain from eating forbidden food like Adam the first man did, but second, even from what is permitted, they only eat what is necessary and distance themselves from leftovers [notar], not consuming any luxury [motarot] beyond what is necessary. For the righteous person only eats to satisfy their soul for bodily sustenance alone. Third, not only does such a person refrain from luxuries, but even from necessities they distance themselves at times — referring to one who fasts on Yom Kippur in order to purify their material being in the crucible of affliction, how much more so will they be rewarded. And from eating, you can make comparisons to other human activities and needs. The reason Rabbi Yose connected his words to this passage, it seems to me, is to explain why the verse says he is guilty, he shall surely be guilty [asham hu, ashom asham] to the Lord — why these three mentions of guilt? It comes to teach that if one is guilty for eating forbidden food [pigul], all the more so would they be guilty for eating luxuries of permitted food, and all the more so will they not fast. From this, you can learn what reward awaits one who is careful in all three areas.

A soul if it sins and commits a trespass against the Lord Here, the sin precedes the trespass, while in the case of misappropriating sacred property (verse 15), the trespass precedes the sin. This is because this section speaks about one who denies their fellow’s money and then swears falsely. Thus, they have committed one sin against their fellow, but against Heaven their sin is doubled. For by the robbery, they transgressed God’s commandment, and then they swore falsely. This is what it means when it says, A soul if it sins, which refers to sinning against their fellow, and commits a trespass against the Lord — two trespasses as mentioned. The term “trespass” [me’ilah] is more appropriately used toward the Divine, as Rashi explains: “The term me’ilah always denotes change, etc.” For the Lord is good to all, yet the person does not return to Him according to His deeds, but changes and does not act as He has acted toward him. However, with respect to human beings, the term me’ilah is not applicable, for what good has one done for the other in the case of a deposit or robbery? But in the case of misappropriating sacred property, the text puts trespass first, because as soon as one eats and benefits from the sacred property, he has trespassed against the Lord by extending his hand to [take from] the Divine table. The term me’ilah is doubled to include one who derives benefit without actually eating, as Rashi explains. Only afterward does it say and sins, because he has also sinned against man by robbing the portion of the priests, since they take their share from the sacred offerings.

By way of allusion [the Torah] says When a person sins and acts treacherously against the Lord, and deceives his fellow regarding a deposit. For every night a person deposits his spirit in the hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, and even though the soul is indebted to the Holy One, blessed be He, because through sins it is pursued until it becomes liable, nevertheless, the Holy One, blessed be He, does not withhold His deposit and returns it to him as it was given to Him. And this person who denies his fellow’s deposit, even though he is not indebted to him, does not reciprocate to the Holy One, blessed be He, as He has done for him. And according to this, the soul that sins regarding his fellow’s deposit acts treacherously against a third party, namely the Lord, who commanded him to return the deposit.

And it shall be when he sins and acknowledges his guilt. Rashi explains: When he recognizes within himself to return in repentance, etc. For every sinner never places blame on himself, and a man’s way is right in his own eyes because he justifies himself in all his ways, saying that this person owes him from elsewhere according to his imagination, or it seems to him that he has done him some injustice, therefore he withholds his deposit. Consequently, on the day that he places guilt upon himself and recognizes his error, and that he has not done good among his people, this is what it means by and acknowledges his guilt — that he blames himself, and he too instructs himself about the prohibition by recognizing his sins, and then he will certainly take to heart to return in repentance. And he shall return the stolen item that he stole — not that he should pay the value of the stolen item, but rather the actual item that he stole. And he shall pay it in its principal, etc. — For the Holy One, blessed be He, gives up what is His and does not insist if one delays bringing his guilt offering to God. Therefore, He commanded him to prioritize payment to the person, to give him first all that is his, and afterward he shall bring his guilt offering for the oath, and he shall add its fifth part to it — because his money was idle with him.

The matter of the fifth part is, that the Holy One, blessed be He, gives to a person gold and many pearls so that they should distribute and give from their possessions for the sake of God to the poor of His people. And our Sages, of blessed memory, said (Ketubot 50) that one who wishes to splurge should not splurge [give away] more than a fifth, as it says (Genesis 28:22), I will surely tithe to You [aser easerenu], and the second tithe is like the first tithe. And this person, not only did they not splurge and give away a fifth of their money for the needs of the sacred or to support their fellow, but on the contrary, they stole from the sacred or from their fellow. Therefore, it is appropriate to punish them with the addition of a fifth, for the theft of the principal is atoned for by returning the stolen item, and the fact that they did not give the fifth will be atoned for by their adding a fifth.