קדושים תהיו, seeing that most commandments are designed to sanctify you and to be observed by you.

ואת שבתותי תשמורו, just as in the Ten Commandments the command to honour parents appeared next to the commandment to observe the Sabbath, honouring parents is almost on a par with honouring the Creator Himself, the Torah placed these two commandments next to one another here too. This is the plain meaning of the text.

לרצונכם, by ensuring the animal is unblemished and the procedure of semichah, placing one’s weight on it with one’s hands has been performed, as well as all the other details which have been spelled out in Leviticus 3,6.

ואם האכל יאכל, according to our sages (Torat Kohanim 1,4) this refers to someone planning to eat the remains outside the sacred precincts allocated for this.

לא תעולל, meaning something akin to the concept of peyah in cornfields, i.e. the farmer must not harvest the entire vineyard for his own use. The parallel verse appears in Jeremiah 6,9 עולל יעוללו כגפן, “let them glean over and over, as a vine.”

לא תגנובו, money.

לא תכחשו, denial that one had received a deposit for safekeeping from another Jew. Compare Leviticus 5,22.

לא תשקרו, denying that one had received a loan.

ולא תשבעו, even when this does not entail denying financial obligations one wants to escape.

לא תעשוק, withholding wages and suppressing just claims by converts.

לא תגזול, similar to Samuel II 23,21 ויגזול את החנית מידו, “he wrenched the spear out of his hand.”

לא תלין, withholding wages from night workers.

לא תקלל חרש, the Torah uses an example of everyday occurrences. The emphasis is on the penultimate syllable on account of the dagesh in the first ל. Similar constructions affecting the emphasis occur in ivver, or gibben, both of which also are emphasised on the first syllable as they have a dagesh in the vav or beyt respectively.

לא תלך רכיל, do not go around bearing tales (untrue ones). We find a similar verse in Daniel 3,8 “Chaldeans slandered the Jews.” Samuel II 22,14 ירעם משמים, G’d thundered forth from heaven, is also translated as אכלי, by Yonathan ben Uzziel, being the equivalent of the Hebrew רכיל in our verse, i.e. raising one’s voice.

לא תעמוד על דם רעך, do not stand by idly but go to his assistance.

לא תשנא את אחיך בלבבך, if he has done something evil to you, do not behave as if you continue to love him, all the time setting an ambush for him in your heart. (compare Jeremiah 9:7) Such an attitude is unhealthy, but

הוכח תוכיח, rebuke him for what he has done and as a result you will restore harmonious relations.

ולא תשא עליו חטא, in your heart.

לא תקם , repaying evil with evil.

ולא תטר; not even in your heart, but train yourself to resist your natural impulse to get even.

ואהבת לרעך כמוך, if he is truly your colleague, friend; however, if he is wicked you need not love him, as even G’d hates him as we know from Proverbs 8,13 יראת ה' שנאת רע, “to fear the Lord is to hate evil.” (compare Pessachim 113)

בהמתך לא תרביע כלאים, according to accepted norms and even the view of the heretics, just as the Torah commanded the earth and the creatures to reproduce only their own species (Genesis 1,11 and 1,21 as well as 1,24) so the Torah commands us when pursuing the task of tilling the earth to follow the same principles. This is also required regarding not mixing flax and wool, seeing the former is a product of the earth whereas the latter is a product of the animal kingdom, a higher form of creation. To the heretics who deny this principle, questioning that if true why are only lambs’ wool and flax prohibited to be mixed, whereas other forms of animal based wool are allowed to be mixed with flax, I say that the prohibition is due to mixing natural coloured materials such as white and dyed materials. The Torah considers mixing coloured fabrics with fabrics in their natural state as forbidden, quoting lamb’s wool and flax (linen) as the most popular example of such mixes. The heretics I spoke with accepted my argument.

נחרפת, exclusively assigned to a Hebrew servant, as we know from Exodus 21,4: “if his master will give him a wife.” An expression parallel to the wordנחרפת occurs in Judges 5,18 עם חרף נפשו למות, “a people that mocked at death.” It means there that Dan dedicated its life utterly. [a wife dedicates her life utterly to her husband. Ed.] Onkelos also understands the word as meaning that this woman is exclusive to the man mentioned in our verse.

לא נפדתה, on the one hand she has not been released from her vows, on the other hand she is not a true wife whose penalty would be death by strangulation.

בקורת תהיה, similar to Leviticus 13,36 לא יבקר הכהן, “the priest need not examine it.” In our verse the word there means “an indemnity,” (compensatory penalty payable,). according to Dugash) According to Menachem, the word refers to a legal examination to determine exactly what happened and to assess the guilt. If she had not been released from servitude the court will not condemn her as a wife who committed adultery.

וערלתם, you will treat it as totally out of bounds, keeping your distance from it. The word occurs in a similar sense both in Jeremiah 6,10 ערלה אזנם, referring to the people’s ears, and in Ezekiel 44,9 ערל לב, describing the heart as totally unapproachable. We also find it in a similar sense in Chabakuk 2,16 שתה גם אתה והערל, where it also denotes someone utterly disgraced.

קדש הלולים. Possessing a degree of sanctity similar to that of the second tithe which may only be consumed in Jerusalem. The objective of the legislation is to praise the Creator thanks to whose generosity the farmer enjoys the abundance of these fruit of the soil tilled by him. We are to learn to revere G’d by means of such commandments (Deut. 14,23).

להוסיף לכם תבואתו, this is what you will merit if you do what I have commanded you.

לא תאכלו על הדם, according to the plain meaning of the text this is something we can derive by merely reading the context in which it has been written, i.e. while the blood of the slaughtered animal has not yet been removed.

לא תנחשו ולא תעוננו, unless warned against these practices the Jews would also engage in such practices as eating on the grave of the slain for the sake of protecting themselves against the vengeance by the spirit of the murdered person (particularly murdered witches). The Talmud Sanhedrin 63 lists a number of possible scenarios described by our verse.

להזנותה, to make her into a harlot. The Torah speaks of an unmarried promiscuous woman [minor who is under her father’s legal control. Ed.]

במדה, measures of length used to measure fields.

משורה, a measure used to measure liquids. Our sages use this expression when speaking of measures of water in Avot 6,4.

הין, another measure used for measuring liquids.