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Sifrei Devarim Paragraph 70

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(דברים יב יג) הִשָּׁמֶר, בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה. פֶּן, בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה.

Sefaria Community Translation

(Devarim 12:13) "Take heed unto yourselves": a negative commandment.

פֶּן תַּעֲלֶה עֹלֹתֶיךָ, וְלֹא עוֹלוֹת גּוֹיִם, דִּבְרֵי רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: וְלֹא עוֹלוֹת גּוֹיִם שֶׁהֻקְדְּשׁוּ בְּחוּצָה לָאָרֶץ.

Sefaria Community Translation

"lest you offer up your burnt-offerings": and not the burnt-offerings of gentiles. These are the words of R. Shimon. R. Yehudah says: and not the burnt-offerings of gentiles that were dedicated outside of Eretz Yisrael.

בְּכָל מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה, אֲבָל מַעֲלֶה אַתָּה בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֹּאמַר לְךָ נָבִיא, כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁהֶעֱלָה אֵלִיָּהוּ בְּהַר הַכַּרְמֶל.

Sefaria Community Translation

"in every place that you see": but you may offer them up in every place that the prophet tells you as Eliyahu did on Mount Carmel.

(דברים יב יד) כִּי אִם בַּמָּקוֹם אֲשֶׁר יִבְחַר ה׳ בְּאַחַד שְׁבָטֶיךָ, כָּתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר: בְּאַחַד שְׁבָטֶיךָ, וְכָתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר (דברים יב ה): ״מִכָּל שִׁבְטֵיכֶם״! זוֹ הִיא שֶׁרַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: כֶּסֶף – מִכָּל שִׁבְטֵיכֶם; בֵּית הַבְּחִירָה – מִשֵּׁבֶט אֶחָד.

Sefaria Community Translation

One verse states (12:14) "in (the portion of) one of your tribes," and another (Ibid. 5) "of all your tribes." As R. Yehudah says: The payment (for the site) from "all of your tribes": the site of the Temple, in "one of your tribes" (i.e., Benjamin).

שָׁם תַּעֲלֶה עֹלֹתֶיךָ, אֵין לִי אֶלָּא עוֹלָה. שְׁאָר קָרְבָּנוֹת מִנַּיִן? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: וְשָׁם תַּעֲשֶׂה כֹּל אֲשֶׁר אָנֹכִי מְצַוֶּךָּ.

Sefaria Community Translation

"But in the place that the L-rd shall choose, in one of your tribes, there shall you offer up your burnt-offerings": This tells me only of burnt-offerings. Whence do I derive (the same for) other offerings? From (Ibid.) "and there shall you do all that I command you."

וַעֲדַיִן אֲנִי אוֹמֵר: עוֹלָה שֶׁהִיא בַּעֲשֵׂה וְלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה, שְׁאָר קָדָשִׁים לֹא יְהוּ אֶלָּא בַּעֲשֵׂה! תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר: שָׁם תַּעֲלֶה עֹלֹתֶיךָ; עוֹלָה בִּכְלָל הָיְתָה, וְלָמָּה יָצָאת? לְהַקִּישׁ אֵלֶיהָ: מָה עוֹלָה מְיֻחֶדֶת, שֶׁהִיא בַּעֲשֵׂה וְלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה – כָּךְ כָּל שֶׁהוּא בַּעֲשֵׂה הֲרֵי הוּא בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה!

Sefaria Community Translation

But I still would say that burnt-offerings are subject to a positive commandment and negative commandments, but other offerings are subject only to a positive commandment. Whence do I derive that they are also subject to a negative commandment? It is, therefore written "there shall you offer up your burnt-offerings." Burnt-offerings were included in all of the offerings. Why were they singled out (here)? To serve as the basis for a comparison, viz.: Just as burnt-offerings, which are characterized by being subject to a positive commandment, are subject to a negative commandment, so, all offerings that are so characterized are subject to a negative commandment.

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