Commentary for Numbers 5:6

למעל מעל בה׳ [WHEN A MAN OR WOMAN SHALL DO ANY OF THE SINS AGAINST MAN,] TO ACT DECEITFULLY AGAINST THE LORD — Here, you see, Scripture writes down again the section dealing with a person who robs by violence from another, and swears falsely regarding it, — it is the same section that has already been stated in the Sedrah ויקרא (Lev 5:21), “[If a soul sin], and commits a trespass against the Lord, and deny unto his neighbour etc.” The reason why it is repeated here is because of two new points which are contained in it. The one is that it (Scripture) writes here, “and if they confess” which teaches that one is not liable to payment of the fifth (in addition to the capital; cf. Leviticus 5:24), nor to bring a guilt offering (cf. Leviticus 5:25) if he is convicted by the evidence of witnesses, but only when he himself confesses the matter (his guilt). The second new point is about something stolen from a proselyte (cf. Rashi on v. 8) — that it has to be handed over to the priests (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 2).

WHEN A MAN OR WOMAN SHALL DO ANY OF THE SINS OF MAN. [The sense of the verse] is as follows: “If a man does any of the sins by which one can transgress, of any sin which man commits against another man, and he deals falsely with his neighbor³⁷See Leviticus 5: 24. A fifth must be paid in addition to repaying the capital. [—that soul shall be guilty].” He states [here] to commit a trespass against the Eternal, which means that he swears by His Name falsely and is thus guilty before Him [as well]. Now because this sin has already been mentioned,³⁵Leviticus 5:21-26. See Vol. III, pp. 56-57. and here it only comes to introduce the new point concerning robbing a proselyte,³⁶Further, Verse 8. He deals with it briefly. He stated here a man or woman because since it is not usual for a woman to rob, [we might think that] perhaps Scripture does not make her liable to pay the additional fifth³⁷See Leviticus 5: 24. A fifth must be paid in addition to repaying the capital. or to bring a guilt-offering [when she confesses the sin]³⁸Ibid., Verse 25. like a man, [therefore He stated here a man or woman, teaching that her liability is in all respects the same as that of a man]. He mentioned [here], And every heave-offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they present unto the priest, shall be his,³⁹Verse 9. meaning to say that once they have given the heave-offering to the priest it becomes his [personal property], and he who robs it from him is to be dealt with in accordance with the law of the guilt-offering for robberies.³⁵Leviticus 5:21-26. See Vol. III, pp. 56-57. That is the reason why He mentioned it here. Or it may be that [this verse] comes to complete the laws of the priests regarding the heave-offering, since till now He only mentioned them by way of allusion, [stating] Thou shalt not delay to offer of the fulness of thy harvest, and of the outflow of thy presses,⁴⁰Exodus 22:28. See Ramban ibid., (Vol. II, pp. 398-400). and so also, they may eat of his bread,⁴¹Leviticus 22:11. but He did not explain the law of the heave-offering at all, that it is to be given to the priest; and as for the tithe, He [only] mentioned at the end of Torath Kohanim [i.e., the Book of Leviticus] that it is holy unto the Eternal.⁴²Ibid., 27:30. Now, therefore, He came to command that the heave-offering and the holy gifts should belong to the priests by the grant of the owners, who may give them to them as they please, meaning to say that the benefit of satisfaction [of choosing to whom to give it] belongs to the owner [and the priest may not come and take it by force, since the owner may have the pleasure of giving it to any priest he chooses].
The meal-offering of the sotah⁴³A sotah is a woman suspected of adultery, and is subject to the laws explained further on in Verses 11-31. The law concerning her meal-offering is found in Verse 15, where it is called a meal-offering of jealousy. is not mentioned together with the other meal-offerings in Torath Kohanim [i.e., Leviticus Chapter 2] because it is a meal-offering of jealousy⁴³A sotah is a woman suspected of adultery, and is subject to the laws explained further on in Verses 11-31. The law concerning her meal-offering is found in Verse 15, where it is called a meal-offering of jealousy. and does not come for atonement, therefore He completed the law thereof here [in the Book of Numbers]. Besides, since He traced the genealogy of the people by their fathers’ houses, He now gave them a law and judgment to ascertain who are the mamzerim⁴⁴The word mamzer, according to the final decision of the law, refers to a child born of a union which is prohibited, with the penalty of excision. It thus covers a child of any incestuous or adulterous relationship. who are not the children of their mothers’ husbands, when there arises a suspicion in a man’s heart concerning his wife.
Similarly He completed here [the laws of] the offerings with the law of the Nazirite, for [only] after the Tabernacle was put up and the impure people separated from the camp, He took of their young men for Nazirites,⁴⁵Amos 2:11. who crowded at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting,⁴⁶Exodus 38:8. to stand before the Eternal to minister unto Him, and to bless in His name.⁴⁷Deuteronomy 10:8. Furthermore, a woman who makes the Nazirite vow is the opposite of the sotah,⁴³A sotah is a woman suspected of adultery, and is subject to the laws explained further on in Verses 11-31. The law concerning her meal-offering is found in Verse 15, where it is called a meal-offering of jealousy. [and for this reason the law of the Nazirite follows that of the sotah]. Therefore He stated in the section [of the Nazirite], when either man ‘or woman’ utter a vow, the vow of a Nazirite.⁴⁸Further, 6:2. Since the law of vows applies equally to men and women, why did Scripture mention here or woman? It is to hint that this woman who takes upon herself the Nazirite vow, is the opposite of the sotah whose law has just been stated in the preceding section. Our Rabbis have furthermore said:⁴⁹Sotah 2 a. “Why is the section dealing with the Nazirite placed next to the section dealing with the sotah?⁴³A sotah is a woman suspected of adultery, and is subject to the laws explained further on in Verses 11-31. The law concerning her meal-offering is found in Verse 15, where it is called a meal-offering of jealousy. [It is to tell us] that whoever sees a sotah in her disgrace should abstain [by means of a vow] from wine,” the reason being that harlotry, wine, and new wine, take away the heart.⁵⁰Hosea 4:11. And [the commandment that] the Nazirite should let his hair grow loose is because this is the opposite of [the habit of] young men who curl their hair in order to beautify themselves, for allowing the hair to grow loose causes anxiety in man’s heart,⁵¹Proverbs 12:25. and therefore the Nazirite is holy⁵²Further, 6:8. and must guard himself from impurity,⁵³Ibid., Verse 7. for he is like the priest who ministers before his G-d [who likewise must be pure for service at the Sanctuary].

'למעול מעל בה, our traditional sources already told us that the subject is robbery from a proselyte who dies intestate before the robber confessed and made restitution. The robber had committed an act of desecrating the name of G’d in the eyes of the proselyte who must be appalled that a natural born Jew could be guilty of such a deed. This is why the sin of the robber in this verse is described as a “transgression against something sacred.”