Comentario citado sobre Deuteronómio 19:14

This book is called Mishneh Torah. And at the beginning to tractate Gittin, Tosafos writes that Mishneh Torah denotes that [this Book] “only recapitulates and repeats what was stated previously [in the other four Books].” ¹Gittin 2a; Tosafos, s.v. Ha’meivi Get. Thus Mishneh Torah is to be translated as “Repetition of the Torah.” The Ramban of blessed memory is so convinced of this understanding [of Mishneh Torah] that when he addresses the mitzvos listed in the parashios of Shoftim²`For example, in Deut. 16:18, “You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities” is explanatory of the implied directive of requiring judges as stated in Ex. 22:8, “The word of both parties shall come before the judges” and Ibid. 21:22, “he shall pay as the judges determine.” An additional example is Deut. 19:14, “You shall not remove your neighbor’s landmark,” which he considers to be part of [i.e. explanatory] of Num. 26:56, “According to the lot shall one’s inheritance be divided between the numerous and the few.” and [Ki] Seitzei,³An additional example to what is cited immediately below is that Deut. 22:8, “you shall make a guard rail for your roof” is deemed explanatory of Lev. 19:16, “You shall not stand idly by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood.” he explains some of them as being part and parcel of mitzvos written earlier. [And he applies this understanding] to the extreme by considering the mitzvah of shi’luach ha’kein (sending away the mother bird),⁴See Deut.: 22:6-7, “If a bird's nest chances before you on the road, on any tree, or on the ground, and [it contains] fledglings or eggs, if the mother is sitting upon the fledglings or upon the eggs, you shall not take the mother upon the young. You shall send away the mother, and [then] you may take the young for yourself, in order that it should be good for you, and you should lengthen your days.” to be part of the mitzvah of oso v’es b’no, (the prohibition of slaughtering the mother and her calf in the same day).⁵Lev. 22:28 states, “An ox or sheep you shall not slaughter it and its offspring in one day.” The Ramban on Deut. 22:6 writes, “[The sending away of the mother bird] is also an explanatory commandment of oso v’es b’no because the reason for both [commandments] is that we should not have a cruel heart and be discompassionate, or it may be that Scripture does not permit us to destroy a species altogether, although it permits slaughter [for food] within that group. Now, he who kills the mother animal and the young in one day or takes them when they are free to fly [is regarded] as though he cut off that species.” And in my opinion, this is astonishing, for these two mitzvos are entirely different. Moreover, we also find a duplication of the mitzvos in the Book of Exodus: In the parasha of Ki Sissa beginning with the verse, “Beware of what I command you today,” ⁶Ex. 34: 11. until “Do not cook a kid in its mother’s milk,”⁷Ibid. Verse 26. The following directives and mitzvos listed in these verses are also found in the Torah reading of Mishpatim: Not to make a covenant with the seven nations that are to be driven from the Land of Israel; to destroy their altars and places of worship; not to make idols nor to worship them; to work for six days and rest on the Sabbath; the celebration of the three festivals; the redeeming of the first sons; the redeeming of the firstborn of kosher animals and of the donkey; appearing three times a year at the Temple (including how God will protect their land when it is abandoned, in order to appear in the Temple three times a year); not to offer the Passover sacrifice while possessing leaven, and not to cook a kid in its mother’s milk. it is a repetition of what was already written in the parasha of Mishpatim.⁸See Ibid. 23:12-33. We explained there with God’s assistance how none [of those words] are superfluous – Heaven forbid [that one should say so].⁹According to the Ramban, following the sin of the Golden Calf, Israel is warned of the importance of fulfilling the commandments to safeguard their spiritual greatness; and to achieve this end, these prohibitions and commandments were repeated in particular. To quote the Ramban to Ibid. 34:14: “Observe the commandments which I command you today, and do not treat them as you have treated those which I commanded you at first, when you violated everything by worshiping the idols.” Thus, due to the significance of certain events (i.e. the making of the Golden Calf and the impending possession of the Land of Israel), mitzvos of particular importance may be repeated in the Torah to communicate a special exhortation and message. The Netziv strongly disagrees with this approach and argues that the primary purpose of the repetition of any mitzvah is to provide an additional halachic insight. And accordingly in the Book of Devarim one does not find that many duplicated mitzvos and whatever [seem to be] repeated are not considered – Heaven forbid – to be superfluous.

However, one can argue [against this interpretation], as we see many Aggadic statements where our Sages of blessed memory seem to convey the opposite [point of view]. Tractate Shabbos 83b states, “The words of Torah are retained only by one who memis [kills himself] over them, as it states, ‘This is the Torah [law] concerning a person when yamus, he dies in a tent’ (Deut. 19:14).” One cannot retort that memis is not be taken literally as “kills himself,” but [as “deadening” one’s sensitivity to pride]. This would accord with Tractate Tamid 32a: “What should a person do so that he may live [spiritually]? He should kill himself.” The Mefaresh²²The term Mefaresh refers to a Rishon of unclear identity. explains that the phrase “kill himself” means that he should lower himself [make himself modest], implying that he should eliminate his sensitivity to not receiving [sufficient] honor or [being unable to exercise his own] desires,²³See Avos 2:4, “Treat His Will as if it were your own will, so that He will treat your will as if it were His Will. Nullify your will before His will, so that He will nullify the will of others before your will.” for those sensitivities can nullify or disturb the power of the Torah. Tractate Eruvin 54a states, “R. Mattena said: ‘What is the meaning of “From the wilderness is Mattanah?”²⁴Num. 21:18. If a man allows himself to be treated as a wilderness on which everybody treads, his study will be retained by him. Otherwise it will not.’”²⁵The word matanah can also be translated as “gift.” If a person allows himself to be treated as a wilderness, he will receive the Torah as a gift. There are many other similar [Aggadic] statements. Therefore, [one could strongly argue] that the previously cited statement from Tractate Shabbos, “one who kills himself over them,” refers to one who makes himself similar to the dead by [deadening his sensitivities and] ignoring these vanities.

And if you prefer to explain mishneh as “duplication” – as understood by the Gemara in Sanhedrin 21b¹³The Talmud ad loc. understands, “he shall write for himself Mishneh Torah,” as “he shall write for himself the duplicate of the Torah,” meaning the king is to write for himself two Torah scrolls. – it refers to how specifically in this Book, the plain meaning of the verses is to be understood. For this Book contains numerous verses for which one is unable to provide a convincing, distinct plain understanding; as these verses have two different connotations,¹⁴Many of the verses are written in an inexact manner as they are intended to be read in two different ways. (As noted previously in the Introduction to Vayikra, the plain meaning of a verse relates to its context, and may require much analysis to reveal its true and layered meaning – something akin to how one analyzes a poem.) In the following notes we will be citing verses that have been noted by the Netziv as having a layered meaning and represent the distinctive feature of Mishneh Torah. as we will explain several times in parashios Shoftim,¹⁵15.See Deut. 19:14, “You shall not pull back your neighbor's landmark, which the earlier ones have set as borders in your inheritance, which you will inherit in the land that the Lord, your God gives you, to possess.” The common understanding of this verse is that one is prohibited to relocate a marker of division of land into his fellow’s land in order to expand his own field (see Rashi ad loc.). However, if the “landmark” is referring to the border between his land and his neighbor’s, the words “the earlier ones have set” appear to be unnecessary and out of place. Thus the Sifrei provides a second understanding of this verse: stating a negative commandment for one who uproots the boundaries of the tribes that were set by the “earlier ones”; i.e. Joshua and the princes of the tribes. Ki Sei’tzei,¹⁶Pertaining to the penalty for embarrassing another, Deut. 25:11-12 states, “ If [two] men, a man and his brother, are fighting together, and the wife of one of them approaches to rescue her husband from his assailant, and she stretches forth her hand and strongly grabs hold of his private parts. You shall cut off her hand; you shall not have pity.” The standard interpretation of this verse is that “cut off her hand” is not to be understood literally but “rather, it means: She must pay monetary damages to compensate the victim for the embarrassment he suffered through her action,” (see Rashi ad loc.). However, if the verse is merely discussing the penalty of embarrassment, why does the verse state, “she strongly grabs” (he’chezikah), rather than just “grabs (achazah) his private parts?” Further, if “cut off her hand” is not to be understood literally, then why is it stated? Thus the Netziv explains that these verses are written to be understood in a second manner: How one is permitted to stop one who is a rodef (assailant), one who is pursuing another to inflict serious harm (such as strongly grabbing one’s private parts). As stated by the Rambam: There is no difference whether she grabs "his private parts" or any other organ that imperils his life… The intent of the verse is that whenever a person intends to strike a colleague with a blow that could kill him, the pursued should be saved by “cutting off the hand” of the rodef. If this cannot be done, the victim should be saved by taking the rodef's life, as the verse continues, “you may not show pity" (Laws of Rotzeach uShmiras Nefesh, 1:8). Ki Savo,¹⁷See Deut. 26:13, “Then you shall say before the Lord, your God, "I have removed the holy from the house, and I have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, according to all Your commandment that You commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, nor have I forgotten [them].”This verse, describing the confessions of the tithes, is explained by Rashi (based on the Sifrei) as primarily stating the obligation to transfer all the tithes in one’s possession to their designated recipients. Terumah is included by applying exegesis to the words “I have also given it.” The Netziv explains that by use of the words of the cognate biur which denotes destruction (translated here as “removed”) and “holy” the verse is written to be read as to be referring to Terumah as well. The Torah refers to Terumah as “holy” (see Lev. 22:10) and a non-Kohen who eats it, is punishable with a heavenly death penalty (see Sanhedrin 83a). Thus the Torah is stating that to avoid a heavenly death penalty one should destroy the Terumah as soon as possible, though it is preferable to give it to a scholarly Kohen who is described in the verse as “the Levite,” i.e. one who is notable of the tribe of Levi. Thus biur in this verse has a double connotation of “removal” and “destruction.” Similarly in the earlier parashios [we find many verses written with two connotations, as for example] shemirah¹⁸Words of the cognate shemirah are typically translated as “guard” or “keep.” and ase’yah¹⁹Words of the cognate ase’yah are commonly translated as “do” or “make.” An alternate understanding of aseyah is “to enhance,” which can include causing one or a task to actualize its intended purpose. is written numerous times in the context of mitzvos,²⁰Mitzvos is generally translated as “commandments.” chukim²¹Chukim, commonly translated as “statutes,” refers to Torah laws that seem to lack a logical rationale. However, in this context the Netziv understands chukim as the fixed rules of derivation, i.e. the thirteen hermeneutical principles of R. Yishmael, involving halachic derivations unrelated to the context. and mishpatim²²Here mishpatim is understood to be laws that have been derived through the use of the chukim (the hermeneutical principles). He is not referring to the common explanation of mishpatim as being laws that have an apparent logical basis and could have been derived by man independently, e.g. not to murder or steal.– yet shemirah and ase’yah have a different connotation with mitzvos than they do with chukim and mishpatim.²³When chukim is written together with mishpatim (especially in that order), it always refers to the analysis and application of the rules of derivation to the Torah (chukim) resulting in the mishpatim, i.e. the laws that have been derived through the chukim. For as I wrote on Lev. 18:5,²⁴It is on this verse that the Netziv elaborates most extensively on the sources and proofs for the dual understandings of chukim, mishpatim, shemirah and asiyah (see both Ha’amek Davar and Harchev Davar ad loc.). relative to mitzvos they refer to the performance of the mitzvos.²⁵Asiyah and shemirah in the context of mitzvos, is understood as an exhortation to perform and observe the commandments. Whereas in relation to chukim and mishpatim,²⁶In the context of chukim and mishpatim, asiyah refers to enhancing the Torah by applying the chukim to derive the mishpatim. Shemirah in this same context means to “guard,” i.e., to study the Torah diligently to the extent one understands the previously derived laws (mishpatim) and their rationale (i.e. how they were derived through the chukim). they denote the enhancement of halacha.²⁷For an example of shemirah and asiyah having a double connotation see Deut. 7:11, “You shall observe (shamarta) the commandments (mitzvah), the statutes (chukim), and the ordinances (mishpatim), which I command you this day to do (la’asosam).” The Children of Israel are exhorted to observe the mitzvah (i.e. be constantly involved in their performance) and “to do” those mitzvos in their proper time or as dictated by circumstance. Pertaining to chukim and mishpatim they are directed to “guard” the Torah by studying the Torah diligently and to “enhance” the Torah by applying the chukim to derive mishpatim. Thus this book is designated, Mishneh Torah. These two explanations for this title can be found pertaining to [the usage of] mishneh in II Kings 22:14.²⁸The verse ad loc. states, “And she (Chuldah the Prophetess) was sitting in Jerusalem in the Mishneh.” Targum Yonasan translates mishneh as “study hall”²⁹Mishneh relates to diligent study, as she would teach the oral law in the study hall. and there is a second interpretation translating it as, “between the double walls.”³⁰See Rashi ad loc. These are the two meanings of Mishneh Torah. Similarly see the Aruch, under the entry, mishneh, who includes these two meanings.