Bamidbar (Numbers) Chapter 15

17God spoke to Moses, saying:   יזוַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־משֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר:
18“Speak to the Israelites and say to them, ‘Upon your arrival in the land to which I am bringing you,   יחדַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָֽמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם בְּבֹֽאֲכֶם֙ אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֛י מֵבִ֥יא אֶתְכֶ֖ם שָֽׁמָּה:
בְּבֹֽאֲכֶם אֶל־הָאָרֶץ - Upon your arrival in the land. This mention of arrival into the land is different from all other mentions of arrival in the land stated in the Torah. In all other cases, it says כִּי תָבֹא or כִּי תָבֹאוּ “when you arrive,” and therefore, inferences can be drawn from one another: Since Scripture specifies for one of them that it applies only after taking possession of the land and settling in it, the same applies for all the others. This one, however, says בְּבֹאֲכֶם, implying that immediately upon entering the land and eating of its bread, they are obligated to separate challah.   בְּבֹֽאֲכֶם אֶל־הָאָרֶץ.  מְשֻׁנָּה בִּיאָה זוֹ מִכָּל בִּיאוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה, שֶׁבְּכֻלָּן נֶאֱמַר כִּי תָבֹא, כִּי תָבֹאוּ, לְפִיכָךְ כֻּלָּן לְמֵדוֹת זוֹ מִזּוֹ, וְכֵיוָן שֶׁפֵּרֵט לְךָ הַכָּתוּב בְּאַחַת מֵהֶן שֶׁאֵינָהּ אֶלָּא לְאַחַר יְרֻשָּׁה וִישִׁיבָה, אַף כֻּלָּן כֵּן, אֲבָל זוֹ נֶאֱמַר בָּהּ "בְּבֹאֲכֶם" — מִשֶּׁנִּכְנְסוּ בָהּ וְאָכְלוּ מִלַּחְמָהּ נִתְחַיְּבוּ בְחַלָּה (ספרי):
19when you eat from the bread of the land, you must donate a raised-offering to God:   יטוְהָיָ֕ה בַּֽאֲכָלְכֶ֖ם מִלֶּ֣חֶם הָאָ֑רֶץ תָּרִ֥ימוּ תְרוּמָ֖ה לַֽיהֹוָֽה:
20Donate the first of your dough, a loaf as a raised-offering. You must donate it just like the raised-offering of the threshing floor.   כרֵאשִׁית֙ עֲרִסֹ֣תֵכֶ֔ם חַלָּ֖ה תָּרִ֣ימוּ תְרוּמָ֑ה כִּתְרוּמַ֣ת גֹּ֔רֶן כֵּ֖ן תָּרִ֥ימוּ אֹתָֽהּ:
רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם - The first of your dough - i.e., when you knead as much dough as you are accustomed to knead in the desert – and how much is that? This is indicated in the verses: “They measured it by the omer,” 30 “an omer per head” 31 – – you must donate from its “first portion,” i.e., before you eat of it, you must separate, as its first part, a loaf selected from it for the sake of God.   רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם.  כְּשֶׁתָּלוּשׁוּ כְדֵי עִסַּתְכֶם שֶׁאַתֶּם רְגִילִין לָלוּשׁ בַּמִּדְבָּר — וְכַמָּה הִיא? "וַיָּמֹדּוּ בָעֹמֶר" (שמות ט"ז), "עֹמֶר לַגֻּלְגֹּלֶת" (שם) — תָּרִימוּ מֵרֵאשִׁיתָהּ, כְּלוֹמַר קֹדֶם שֶׁתֹּאכְלוּ מִמֶּנָּה, רֵאשִׁית חֶלְקָהּ חלה אַחַת תרימו תרומה לְשֵׁם ה' (עירובין פ"ג):
חַלָּה - means “tortel” in Old French (“a cake; a loaf”).   חַלָּה.  טורטי"ל בְּלַעַז:
כִּתְרוּמַת גֹּרֶן - Just like the raised-offering of the threshing floor - about which no fixed minimum measure is stated, and not like the donation given from the tithe, about which a fixed amount is stated. 1 However, the term “loaf” implies that it must have some substance, and the sages defined this amount to be, for a private person, 1/24 of the dough, and for a baker, 1/48.   כִּתְרוּמַת גֹּרֶן.  שֶׁלֹּא נֶאֱמַר בָּהּ שִׁעוּר וְלֹא כִתְרוּמַת מַעֲשֵׂר, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בָּהּ שִׁעוּר (ספרי), אֲבָל חֲכָמִים נָתְנוּ שִׁעוּר — לְבַעַל הַבַּיִת אֶחָד מֵעֶשְׂרִים וְאַרְבָּעָה וּלְנַחְתּוֹם אֶחָד מֵאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה (חלה ב'):
21From the first portion of your dough you must give a gift to God, in all your generations.   כאמֵֽרֵאשִׁית֙ עֲרִסֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם תִּתְּנ֥וּ לַֽיהֹוָ֖ה תְּרוּמָ֑ה לְדֹרֹ֖תֵיכֶֽם:
מֵֽרֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵיכֶם - From the first portion of your dough. Why is this mentioned again? Since it was stated: “the first of your dough,” which is written in the plural, I may thus understand it to mean the entire first batch of several batches of dough kneaded at one time, thus exempting the rest. Scripture therefore states: מֵרֵאשִׁית “from the first portion” – some of each dough, but not an entire dough.   מֵֽרֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵיכֶם.  לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר? לְפִי שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם", שׁוֹמֵעַ אֲנִי רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁבָּעִסּוֹת, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמָר "מראשית" — מִקְצָתָהּ וְלֹא כֻלָּהּ (ספרי):
תִּתְּנוּ לה' תְּרוּמָה - You must give a gift to God. Since we have not heard what the measure for challah is, it says here: “you must give,” indicating that it must be enough to be considered a gift.   תִּתְּנוּ לה' תְּרוּמָה.  לְפִי שֶׁלֹּא שָׁמַעְנוּ שִׁעוּר לְחַלָּה נֶאֱמַר "תִּתְּנוּ" — שֶׁיְּהֵא בָהּ כְּדֵי נְתִינָה (שם):
22If you should err and not fulfill all these commandments that God spoke to Moses,   כבוְכִ֣י תִשְׁגּ֔וּ וְלֹ֣א תַֽעֲשׂ֔וּ אֵ֥ת כָּל־הַמִּצְוֹ֖ת הָאֵ֑לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־משֶֽׁה:
וְכִי תִשְׁגּוּ וְלֹא תַֽעֲשׂוּ - If you should err and not fulfill. Idolatry was included among all the commandments, for which it was stated 2 that the community must offer up a young bull as a sin-offering, but Scripture here makes it an exception to that category, in that it requires a young bull as an ascent-offering and a goat as a sin-offering.   וְכִי תִשְׁגּוּ וְלֹא תַֽעֲשׂוּ.  עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הָיְתָה בִּכְלַל כל המצוות שֶׁהַצִּבּוּר מְבִיאִין עָלֵיהָ פַר, וַהֲרֵי הַכָּתוּב מוֹצִיאָהּ כָּאן מִכְּלָלָן, לִדּוֹן בְּפַר לְעוֹלָה וְשָׂעִיר לְחַטָּאת (ספרי):
וְכִי תִשְׁגּוּ וגו' - If you should err. The verse is speaking of the sin of idolatry. Or perhaps it refers to transgressing any one of the commandments? In order top preclude this presumption, Scripture states: “all these commandments,” implying the one commandment whose transgression is tantamount to transgressing all the commandments: Just as one who transgresses all the commandments contravenes the foundations of their three basic categories: he denies God’s authority, betrays the historic covenant between God and the Jewish people, and flouts the rationale behind them, so too, by transgressing this commandment, one inherently denies God’s authority, betrays the covenant, and contradicts rational thinking. Which commandment is this? This is idolatry.   וְכִי תִשְׁגּוּ וגו'.  בְּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר, אוֹ אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא בְאַחַת מִכָּל הַמִּצְוֹת, תַּלְמוּד לוֹמָר "את כל המצות האלה" — מִצְוָה אַחַת שֶׁהִיא כְּכָל הַמִּצְוֹת, מַה הָעוֹבֵר עַל כָּל הַמִּצְוֹת פּוֹרֵק עֹל וּמֵפֵר בְּרִית וּמְגַלֶּה פָנִים, אַף מִצְוָה זוֹ פּוֹרֵק בָּהּ עֹל וּמֵפֵר בְּרִית וּמְגַלֶּה פָנִים, וְאֵיזוֹ? זוֹ עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה (שם):
אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר ה' אֶל־משֶֽׁה - That God spoke to Moses - i.e., the two commandments prohibiting idolatry: “I am God…” and “You must not possess any deities…,” 3 which we heard directly from the Almighty, as it says: “One thing did God speak, but I heard it as two (i.e., first He uttered all Ten Commandments simultaneously, and afterward pronounced the first two separately).” 4   אֲשֶׁר־דִּבֶּר ה' אֶל־משֶֽׁה.  אָנֹכִי וְלֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ מִפִּי הַגְּבוּרָה שְׁמַעְנוּם כְּדִכְתִיב (תהילים ס"ב) "אַחַת דִּבֶּר אֱלֹהִים שְׁתַּיִם זוּ שָׁמָעְנוּ" (הוריות ח'):
23all that God commanded you through Moses from the day on which God commanded you on Mount Sinai and from then on, for all generations,   כגאֵת֩ כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם בְּיַד־משֶׁ֑ה מִן־הַיּ֞וֹם אֲשֶׁ֨ר צִוָּ֧ה יְהֹוָ֛ה וָהָ֖לְאָה לְדֹרֹ֖תֵיכֶֽם:
אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה וגו' - All that [God] commanded… This tells us that any recognition of idolatry in essence constitutes a denial of the entire Torah given by God and everything pronounced by the prophets, as it says: “from the day on which God commanded and from then on.”   אֵת כָּל־אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה וגו'.  מַגִּיד שֶׁכָּל הַמּוֹדֶה בְּעֲבוֹדָה זָרָה כְּכוֹפֵר בְּכָל הַתּוֹרָה כֻּלָּהּ וּבְכָל מַה שֶּׁנִּתְנַבְּאוּ הַנְּבִיאִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "מן היום אשר צוה ה' והלאה":
24if it was done inadvertently because of the “eyes” of the community, the entire community must offer up a young bull as an ascent-offering, with the intention that it be pleasing to God, with its prescribed grain-offering and libation, and one young he-goat as a sin-offering.   כדוְהָיָ֗ה אִ֣ם מֵֽעֵינֵ֣י הָֽעֵדָה֘ נֶֽעֶשְׂתָ֣ה לִשְׁגָגָה֒ וְעָשׂ֣וּ כָל־הָֽעֵדָ֡ה פַּ֣ר בֶּן־בָּקָר֩ אֶחָ֨ד לְעֹלָ֜ה לְרֵ֤יחַ נִיחֹ֨חַ֙ לַֽיהֹוָ֔ה וּמִנְחָת֥וֹ וְנִסְכּ֖וֹ כַּמִּשְׁפָּ֑ט וּשְׂעִיר־עִזִּ֥ים אֶחָ֖ד לְחַטָּֽת:
אִם מֵֽעֵינֵי הָֽעֵדָה נֶֽעֶשְׂתָה לִשְׁגָגָה - means: If this transgression was done through “the eyes of the community” (the Sanhedrin) on account of a mistake, e.g., they mistakenly ruled that a certain mode of service may be used to serve idolatry.   אִם מֵֽעֵינֵי הָֽעֵדָה נֶֽעֶשְׂתָה לִשְׁגָגָה.  אִם מֵעֵינֵי הָעֵדָה נֶעֶשְׂתָה עֲבֵרָה זוֹ עַל יְדֵי שׁוֹגֵג — שֶׁשָּׁגוּ וְהוֹרוּ עַל אַחַת מִן הָעֲבוֹדוֹת שֶׁהִיא מֻתֶּרֶת לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה בְּכָךְ (שם ה'):
לְחַטָּֽת - As a sin-offering. This word is missing an א, to indicate that it is unlike other sin-offerings, for in the case of all sin-offerings stated in the Torah that are brought along with an ascent-offering, the sin-offering precedes the ascent-offering, as it says: “He must offer up the second one as an ascent-offering,” 5 but in this case, the ascent-offering precedes the sin-offering.   לְחַטָּֽת.  חָסֵר א', שֶׁאֵינוֹ כִשְׁאָר חַטָּאוֹת, שֶׁכָּל חַטָּאוֹת שֶׁבַּתּוֹרָה הַבָּאוֹת עִם עוֹלָה הַחַטָּאת קוֹדֶמֶת לָעוֹלָה, שֶׁנֶּא' (ויקרא ה'), "וְאֶת הַשֵּׁנִי יַעֲשֶׂה עֹלָה", וְזוֹ עוֹלָה קוֹדֶמֶת לְחַטָּאת (שם ט"ו):
25The priest must atone on behalf of the entire community of the Israelites and they will be forgiven, for it was an error, and because of their error they brought their ascent-offering as a fire-offering to God and their sin-offering before God.   כהוְכִפֶּ֣ר הַכֹּהֵ֗ן עַל־כָּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וְנִסְלַ֣ח לָהֶ֑ם כִּֽי־שְׁגָגָ֣ה הִ֔וא וְהֵם֩ הֵבִ֨יאוּ אֶת־קָרְבָּנָ֜ם אִשֶּׁ֣ה לַֽיהֹוָ֗ה וְחַטָּאתָ֛ם לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה עַל־שִׁגְגָתָֽם:
הֵבִיאוּ אֶת־קָרְבָּנָם אִשֶּׁה לה' - They brought their offering as a fire-offering to God - i.e., the one stated in this passage, which is the young bull of the ascent-offering, for it says here: “a fire-offering to God.”   הֵבִיאוּ אֶת־קָרְבָּנָם אִשֶּׁה לה'.  זֶה הָאָמוּר בַּפָּרָשָׁה, הוּא פַר הָעוֹלָה שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "אִשֶּׁה לַה'" (ספרי):
וְחַטָּאתָם - And their sin-offering. This refers to the goat.   וְחַטָּאתָם.  זֶה הַשָּׂעִיר:
26The entire community of the Israelites and the convert who resides among them will be forgiven, for all the people were in error.   כווְנִסְלַ֗ח לְכָל־עֲדַת֙ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלַגֵּ֖ר הַגָּ֣ר בְּתוֹכָ֑ם כִּ֥י לְכָל־הָעָ֖ם בִּשְׁגָגָֽה: