וַיְצַ֥ו מֹשֶׁ֖ה אוֹתָ֣ם לֵאמֹ֑ר מִקֵּ֣ץ ׀ שֶׁ֣בַע שָׁנִ֗ים בְּמֹעֵ֛ד שְׁנַ֥ת הַשְּׁמִטָּ֖ה בְּחַ֥ג הַסֻּכּֽוֹת׃
Y mandóles Moisés, diciendo: Al cabo del séptimo año, en el año de la remisión, en la fiesta de las Cabañas,
Ramban
‘MIKEITZ’ OF SEVEN YEARS THOU SHALT MAKE ‘SH’MITAH.’ The correct interpretation appears to me that he is warning about the seventh year itself, that we make it a Sabbatical [refraining] from plowing, [sowing] and reaping, just as He said, But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie fallow,245Exodus 23:11. this being the meaning of thou shalt make ‘sh’mitah,’ that “you should rest,” similar to the expression, to keep the Sabbath-day.246Above, 5:15. He abridged the prohibitions of sowing and pruning because He expressly mentioned them already,247See Leviticus 25:4. but he supplemented [what was previously said] to explain that it is a ‘sh’mitah’ of the Eternal248Verse 2. also in regards to the release of moneys. This is the sense of the expression, because it is proclaimed ‘the remission’ of the Eternal,248Verse 2. which is similar to a Sabbath unto the Eternal,249Leviticus 25:2. and all works are to cease. I have already alluded to its secret.249Leviticus 25:2.
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented [that the meaning of the word mikeitz is] “at the beginning of the year.” And so say all grammarians250Including R’dak in his Sefer Hasharashim, under the root katzeh. that the beginning and end of something are each called katzeh, since there are two extremities to each thing, similar to what is written, from ‘hakatzeh’ (end) to ‘hakatzeh’ (end);251Exodus 26:28. of the two ends thereof;252Ibid., 25:19. in the four ends thereof.253Ibid., 27:4. But the words [of the grammarians and Ibn Ezra] do not seem correct to me. For “the beginning of seven years” denotes the first year [of the Sabbatical cycle], this being the katzeh which is called rosh (the beginning)! Now had Scripture said, “mikeitz of the seventh year” their interpretation would have been correct [for then the verse would mean “at the beginning of the seventh year you shall make sh’mitah.” Instead, however, Scripture says, “‘Mikeitz’ of seven years thou shalt make ‘sh’mitah’” which according to them means “at the beginning of seven years,” i.e., in the first year you shall make the sh’mitah, which cannot be correct]! And in the opinion of our Rabbis254Sifre, R’eih 111. mikeitz means “at the end of the seven years,” and Scripture speaks only of the release of money [i.e., the remission of debts], stating “at the end of all seven years counted by you [as a Sabbatical cycle] you shall make a release, that every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor, ”248Verse 2. and it is therefore that the Rabbis have said255Arakhin 28b. that the Seventh year cancels a loan only at the end. Similarly in their opinion254Sifre, R’eih 111. the verse ‘mikeitz’ seven years, at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles256Further, 31:10. means “at the end of the seventh year,” except that “the end” mentioned here [with reference to the release of debts] means immediately [i.e., in the last moment of the seventh year] and “the end” mentioned there [with reference to the Assembly at which the king was to read the Book of Deuteronomy] is “distant,” [during Tabernacles, somewhat “distant” from the end of the year], since he explained at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles.256Further, 31:10. Thus the sense [of mikeitz] in both cases is “the end,” stating here “at the end of seven years you shall make a release,” and there likewise it states “when the seven years end at the appointed season of the year of remission in the Festival of Tabernacles you shall make an Assembly.”
By way of the simple meaning of Scripture it appears to me that the language of Scripture in its plain sense is clear and correct. Keitz means “end,” and so is its translation [as rendered by Onkelos and Yonathan: “at the end”]. Numbers and every [other] thing have a beginning and an end, and their beginning and end are part of them. Thus when you speak of tens, “one” is the beginning of the number and “ten” its end. If so, “the end of seven years” is “the seventh year” which is the end of that number, and Scripture refers to the Sabbatical of the Land, as I have explained above. The meaning of the word mikeitz is then like one cherub (‘mikatzeh’) at the one ‘end’ and one cherub (‘mikatzeh’) at the other ‘end’.257Exodus 25:19. The purport of the verse here is thus as follows: “at the end of seven years [i.e., in the seventh year which is ‘the end’ of that period] you shall make a cessation of work on the Land.” Similarly, ‘Mikeitz’ of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee and hath served thee six years258Jeremiah 34:13. means “in the seventh year” which is the end of that number, this being similar to the verse written in the Torah, and in the seventh year he shall go out free for nothing.259Exodus 21:2. Thus the point is clear: In the seventh year — i.e., from its very beginning — we are to observe an entire year’s rest for the Land. Similarly, at the beginning of the seventh year of his service, the Hebrew servant is to go free, for, as Scripture stated, he shall serve thee six years, and at [the beginning of] the seventh year he goes free for nothing. So also, and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free;260Further, Verse 12. for having said, he shall serve thee six years,260Further, Verse 12. it was not necessary to explain [“mikeitz seven years you shall let him go”] but only to state that in the seventh year he goes free. In the same way it would appear that the meaning of the other verse — ‘mikeitz’ seven years, at the appointed season in the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles256Further, 31:10. — would be in a similar way: “in ‘the end’ year, in the Festival of Tabernacles, in the beginning of that year in which plowing and sowing have been forbidden, this being the Sabbatical year.” But we could not say so, since our Rabbis have received by tradition261Sotah 41a. and they provided that the Assembly [in which the king read the Book of Deuteronomy] should be held in the Festival of Tabernacles of the eighth year, this being the year after the Sabbatical year. Therefore, the commentators262Rashi (further, 31:10). said that at the appointed season in the year of remission256Further, 31:10. means “in the appointed season of the first year in the Sabbatical cycle.” This is not correct for the year of remission in Scripture refers only to the year of rest, to that year which is the remission of the Eternal248Verse 2. [and not as Rashi explained, “the first year of the Sabbatical cycle”], and so also, the year of the Jubilee263Leviticus 25:13. [means, “the year which is itself the Jubilee”]. Our Rabbis themselves made this point, for they said:264Arakhin 24b. “Is it written ‘in the year of the Jubilee?’ It states from the year of the Jubilee265Leviticus 27:17. which means ‘the year after the Jubilee.’”266This proves that only where Scripture uses the term “from” — “from the Jubilee” or “from the remission” — it means “the year after the Jubilee” or “after the remission,” but “the year of remission” means the year in which the rest of the Land takes place.
But I say thus: keitz and soph are used in Scripture to denote “the end” of any matter, but sometimes they are within that extremity and sometimes after it, outside of it. Thus: ‘umiktzei’ (and from among) his brethren;267Genesis 47:2. ‘mikatzeh’ (that is outmost) in the set;268Exodus 26:4. ‘umiktzatham’ (that at the end) they might stand before the king;269Daniel 1:5. ‘miktzoth’ (from the uttermost part) of the one wing unto ‘k’tzoth’ (the uttermost part) of the other270I Kings 6:24. — all these are expressions of an extremity which is attached to the thing itself and is contained within it. [But the following expressions:] ‘keitz’ (the end of) all flesh is come before Me;271Genesis 6:13. and he shall come to ‘kitzo’ (his end), and none shall help him;272Daniel 11:45. ‘hakeitz’ (the end) is come;273Ezekiel 7:2. ‘keitz’ (an end) is come274Ibid., Verse 6. — all signify “the end” of the matter mentioned but it signifies a later period, for it has been severed and separated. So it is regarding the term soph (end): It is better to go to the house of mourning etc. for that is ‘soph’ (the end of) all men,275Ecclesiastes 7:2. which means “after him,” for he has died; they are wholly ‘sophu’ (consumed) by terrors.276Psalms 73:19. The work that G-d hath done from the beginning even to ‘soph’ (the end)277Ecclesiastes 3:11. — here the term end is within the work itself. And in the language of the Rabbis we find [with reference to the writing of a Scroll of the Law:278Baba Bathra 13b. “The scribe is to leave blank] about a column at the beginning [of the Torah] and about [the width of] the circumference ‘b’sopho’ (at its end).” The meaning of the verse [regarding the Assembly] will then be as follows: “From the end of the seven years in the account of the year of release, in the Festival of Tabernacles which follows after the seven years, you shall make the Assembly.” And in order it should not appear to them that “the seven years” refer to some other counting, he mentioned that the seven years be [bizman ha’sh’mitah], at “the time of” the release. Similarly, when I take ‘mo’eid’279Psalms 75:3. means “the [appointed] time.” So do all mo’adim (festivals) signify “the [appointed] times.” Thus this term mikeitz [stated in connection with the Assembly] means “after the period [of seven years] is finished,” as he explained, in the Festival of Tabernacles.256Further, 31:10. But [in the verse stated here before us] ‘mikeitz’ seven years thou shalt make a release [the seventh year is] within that number. He did not need to dwell upon and explain this since He already explained that the seventh year is the year of the release.280Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:4. And the word keitz (end) here is then extensive, applying [to the release during] the whole [seventh] year as I have explained by way of the simple meaning of Scripture.
It is possible to say that Scripture counts the beginning of the year from the Festival of Tabernacles, as He said, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year,281Exodus 34:22. and He further said, and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year.282Ibid., 23:16. And if so, ‘mikeitz’ seven years [stated further on in connection with the Assembly]256Further, 31:10. means “at the end [of the seven years] and just beyond it.” And he states, at the appointed season of the year of remission256Further, 31:10. to indicate that the reckoning of seven years be according to the Sabbatical cycles, as I have explained, but not that the [legal obligations of] release extend up to this Festival [of Tabernacles].
Now, I have seen of one author283I have not identified this author. who wrote [with respect to the verse on the Assembly]: “This teaches that we are to add from the secular to the sacred, and the law of release [although officially ending at the New Year of the eighth year] still applied until the Festival of Tabernacles of the eighth year. But it is irrefutably shown in the Talmud284Rosh Hashanah 13a. See my Hebrew commentary p. 413. with clear proofs that it [the above interpretation] is untrue.
Now it is possible to say that what our Rabbis have said254Sifre, R’eih 111. with respect to ‘mikeitz’ seven years thou shalt make a release that the release of money [i.e., the remission of debts] takes effect only at the end of the year — that it is an interpretation [deduced from the text]. Because Scripture did not say “the seventh year you shall make a release” [but instead said ‘mikeitz’ seven years …], it is more suggestive that you effect the remission at the end of the seven [years] than at the beginning. And the intent of [the Rabbis in using here] this term “end” is “beyond it.” Thus a creditor can demand his debt on the last day of the year of the release, and it is not remitted until the night, for thus we find in the Tosephta285Tosephta Shevi’ith 8:10. On “Tosephta” see Vol. III, p. 179, Note 124. that they may write a prozbul286A declaration made before a court by a creditor and signed by witnesses to the effect that the loan in question would not be cancelled by the law of release of the Sabbatical year. The prozbul’s legal basis is the Torah’s prohibition that the creditor shall not exact the debt; by turning over his claims to the court, it is they, the officers of the court, who collect it and not the creditor (Rashi, Gittin 36a). It was Hillel who established this ordinance because people refused to lend money to the poor on the seventh year for fear that the debts would be remitted, thus transgressing the law of the Torah against being callous to the condition of the poor (ibid., 36a). See “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 149-150. on the day before the New Year of the outgoing seventh year.
Now Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented [that the meaning of the word mikeitz is] “at the beginning of the year.” And so say all grammarians250Including R’dak in his Sefer Hasharashim, under the root katzeh. that the beginning and end of something are each called katzeh, since there are two extremities to each thing, similar to what is written, from ‘hakatzeh’ (end) to ‘hakatzeh’ (end);251Exodus 26:28. of the two ends thereof;252Ibid., 25:19. in the four ends thereof.253Ibid., 27:4. But the words [of the grammarians and Ibn Ezra] do not seem correct to me. For “the beginning of seven years” denotes the first year [of the Sabbatical cycle], this being the katzeh which is called rosh (the beginning)! Now had Scripture said, “mikeitz of the seventh year” their interpretation would have been correct [for then the verse would mean “at the beginning of the seventh year you shall make sh’mitah.” Instead, however, Scripture says, “‘Mikeitz’ of seven years thou shalt make ‘sh’mitah’” which according to them means “at the beginning of seven years,” i.e., in the first year you shall make the sh’mitah, which cannot be correct]! And in the opinion of our Rabbis254Sifre, R’eih 111. mikeitz means “at the end of the seven years,” and Scripture speaks only of the release of money [i.e., the remission of debts], stating “at the end of all seven years counted by you [as a Sabbatical cycle] you shall make a release, that every creditor shall release that which he hath lent unto his neighbor, ”248Verse 2. and it is therefore that the Rabbis have said255Arakhin 28b. that the Seventh year cancels a loan only at the end. Similarly in their opinion254Sifre, R’eih 111. the verse ‘mikeitz’ seven years, at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles256Further, 31:10. means “at the end of the seventh year,” except that “the end” mentioned here [with reference to the release of debts] means immediately [i.e., in the last moment of the seventh year] and “the end” mentioned there [with reference to the Assembly at which the king was to read the Book of Deuteronomy] is “distant,” [during Tabernacles, somewhat “distant” from the end of the year], since he explained at the appointed season of the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles.256Further, 31:10. Thus the sense [of mikeitz] in both cases is “the end,” stating here “at the end of seven years you shall make a release,” and there likewise it states “when the seven years end at the appointed season of the year of remission in the Festival of Tabernacles you shall make an Assembly.”
By way of the simple meaning of Scripture it appears to me that the language of Scripture in its plain sense is clear and correct. Keitz means “end,” and so is its translation [as rendered by Onkelos and Yonathan: “at the end”]. Numbers and every [other] thing have a beginning and an end, and their beginning and end are part of them. Thus when you speak of tens, “one” is the beginning of the number and “ten” its end. If so, “the end of seven years” is “the seventh year” which is the end of that number, and Scripture refers to the Sabbatical of the Land, as I have explained above. The meaning of the word mikeitz is then like one cherub (‘mikatzeh’) at the one ‘end’ and one cherub (‘mikatzeh’) at the other ‘end’.257Exodus 25:19. The purport of the verse here is thus as follows: “at the end of seven years [i.e., in the seventh year which is ‘the end’ of that period] you shall make a cessation of work on the Land.” Similarly, ‘Mikeitz’ of seven years ye shall let go every man his brother that is a Hebrew, that hath been sold unto thee and hath served thee six years258Jeremiah 34:13. means “in the seventh year” which is the end of that number, this being similar to the verse written in the Torah, and in the seventh year he shall go out free for nothing.259Exodus 21:2. Thus the point is clear: In the seventh year — i.e., from its very beginning — we are to observe an entire year’s rest for the Land. Similarly, at the beginning of the seventh year of his service, the Hebrew servant is to go free, for, as Scripture stated, he shall serve thee six years, and at [the beginning of] the seventh year he goes free for nothing. So also, and in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free;260Further, Verse 12. for having said, he shall serve thee six years,260Further, Verse 12. it was not necessary to explain [“mikeitz seven years you shall let him go”] but only to state that in the seventh year he goes free. In the same way it would appear that the meaning of the other verse — ‘mikeitz’ seven years, at the appointed season in the year of remission, in the Festival of Tabernacles256Further, 31:10. — would be in a similar way: “in ‘the end’ year, in the Festival of Tabernacles, in the beginning of that year in which plowing and sowing have been forbidden, this being the Sabbatical year.” But we could not say so, since our Rabbis have received by tradition261Sotah 41a. and they provided that the Assembly [in which the king read the Book of Deuteronomy] should be held in the Festival of Tabernacles of the eighth year, this being the year after the Sabbatical year. Therefore, the commentators262Rashi (further, 31:10). said that at the appointed season in the year of remission256Further, 31:10. means “in the appointed season of the first year in the Sabbatical cycle.” This is not correct for the year of remission in Scripture refers only to the year of rest, to that year which is the remission of the Eternal248Verse 2. [and not as Rashi explained, “the first year of the Sabbatical cycle”], and so also, the year of the Jubilee263Leviticus 25:13. [means, “the year which is itself the Jubilee”]. Our Rabbis themselves made this point, for they said:264Arakhin 24b. “Is it written ‘in the year of the Jubilee?’ It states from the year of the Jubilee265Leviticus 27:17. which means ‘the year after the Jubilee.’”266This proves that only where Scripture uses the term “from” — “from the Jubilee” or “from the remission” — it means “the year after the Jubilee” or “after the remission,” but “the year of remission” means the year in which the rest of the Land takes place.
But I say thus: keitz and soph are used in Scripture to denote “the end” of any matter, but sometimes they are within that extremity and sometimes after it, outside of it. Thus: ‘umiktzei’ (and from among) his brethren;267Genesis 47:2. ‘mikatzeh’ (that is outmost) in the set;268Exodus 26:4. ‘umiktzatham’ (that at the end) they might stand before the king;269Daniel 1:5. ‘miktzoth’ (from the uttermost part) of the one wing unto ‘k’tzoth’ (the uttermost part) of the other270I Kings 6:24. — all these are expressions of an extremity which is attached to the thing itself and is contained within it. [But the following expressions:] ‘keitz’ (the end of) all flesh is come before Me;271Genesis 6:13. and he shall come to ‘kitzo’ (his end), and none shall help him;272Daniel 11:45. ‘hakeitz’ (the end) is come;273Ezekiel 7:2. ‘keitz’ (an end) is come274Ibid., Verse 6. — all signify “the end” of the matter mentioned but it signifies a later period, for it has been severed and separated. So it is regarding the term soph (end): It is better to go to the house of mourning etc. for that is ‘soph’ (the end of) all men,275Ecclesiastes 7:2. which means “after him,” for he has died; they are wholly ‘sophu’ (consumed) by terrors.276Psalms 73:19. The work that G-d hath done from the beginning even to ‘soph’ (the end)277Ecclesiastes 3:11. — here the term end is within the work itself. And in the language of the Rabbis we find [with reference to the writing of a Scroll of the Law:278Baba Bathra 13b. “The scribe is to leave blank] about a column at the beginning [of the Torah] and about [the width of] the circumference ‘b’sopho’ (at its end).” The meaning of the verse [regarding the Assembly] will then be as follows: “From the end of the seven years in the account of the year of release, in the Festival of Tabernacles which follows after the seven years, you shall make the Assembly.” And in order it should not appear to them that “the seven years” refer to some other counting, he mentioned that the seven years be [bizman ha’sh’mitah], at “the time of” the release. Similarly, when I take ‘mo’eid’279Psalms 75:3. means “the [appointed] time.” So do all mo’adim (festivals) signify “the [appointed] times.” Thus this term mikeitz [stated in connection with the Assembly] means “after the period [of seven years] is finished,” as he explained, in the Festival of Tabernacles.256Further, 31:10. But [in the verse stated here before us] ‘mikeitz’ seven years thou shalt make a release [the seventh year is] within that number. He did not need to dwell upon and explain this since He already explained that the seventh year is the year of the release.280Exodus 23:11; Leviticus 25:4. And the word keitz (end) here is then extensive, applying [to the release during] the whole [seventh] year as I have explained by way of the simple meaning of Scripture.
It is possible to say that Scripture counts the beginning of the year from the Festival of Tabernacles, as He said, and the feast of ingathering at the turn of the year,281Exodus 34:22. and He further said, and the feast of ingathering, at the end of the year.282Ibid., 23:16. And if so, ‘mikeitz’ seven years [stated further on in connection with the Assembly]256Further, 31:10. means “at the end [of the seven years] and just beyond it.” And he states, at the appointed season of the year of remission256Further, 31:10. to indicate that the reckoning of seven years be according to the Sabbatical cycles, as I have explained, but not that the [legal obligations of] release extend up to this Festival [of Tabernacles].
Now, I have seen of one author283I have not identified this author. who wrote [with respect to the verse on the Assembly]: “This teaches that we are to add from the secular to the sacred, and the law of release [although officially ending at the New Year of the eighth year] still applied until the Festival of Tabernacles of the eighth year. But it is irrefutably shown in the Talmud284Rosh Hashanah 13a. See my Hebrew commentary p. 413. with clear proofs that it [the above interpretation] is untrue.
Now it is possible to say that what our Rabbis have said254Sifre, R’eih 111. with respect to ‘mikeitz’ seven years thou shalt make a release that the release of money [i.e., the remission of debts] takes effect only at the end of the year — that it is an interpretation [deduced from the text]. Because Scripture did not say “the seventh year you shall make a release” [but instead said ‘mikeitz’ seven years …], it is more suggestive that you effect the remission at the end of the seven [years] than at the beginning. And the intent of [the Rabbis in using here] this term “end” is “beyond it.” Thus a creditor can demand his debt on the last day of the year of the release, and it is not remitted until the night, for thus we find in the Tosephta285Tosephta Shevi’ith 8:10. On “Tosephta” see Vol. III, p. 179, Note 124. that they may write a prozbul286A declaration made before a court by a creditor and signed by witnesses to the effect that the loan in question would not be cancelled by the law of release of the Sabbatical year. The prozbul’s legal basis is the Torah’s prohibition that the creditor shall not exact the debt; by turning over his claims to the court, it is they, the officers of the court, who collect it and not the creditor (Rashi, Gittin 36a). It was Hillel who established this ordinance because people refused to lend money to the poor on the seventh year for fear that the debts would be remitted, thus transgressing the law of the Torah against being callous to the condition of the poor (ibid., 36a). See “The Commandments,” Vol. I, pp. 149-150. on the day before the New Year of the outgoing seventh year.
Ibn Ezra
At the boundary of seven years you will arrange a release denotes the beginning of the year, as is corroborated by the passage of “assemble the people” [31: 12]. The passage is connected to the previous one because, having mentioned that the Pauper’s Tithe belongs to the Levite, and the alien, and the orphan, and the widow [cf. 14: 29], it is now logical to discuss the general release. release [Hebrew: shmiṭṭah] from “drop her” [Hebrew: shimṭuhah] [II Kings 9: 33]: i.e., they released her, and she fell.
Tur HaArokh
קדושים תהיו, ”you shall be holy;” Our sages in Torat Kohanim state that this was one of the portions of the Torah which was read out in public once every seven years on Sukkot on the occasion of “hakhel,” the public reading of the Torah by the King before the assembled nation, men women and children (compare Deuteronomy 31,10, the penultimate of the 613 commandments). The reason was that it contains so many of the basic laws of the Torah, such as the laws about offering personal voluntary peace-offerings, the penalty for disregarding the laws abut incest and sexual mores. We must understand that holiness can only develop as a result of abstaining from all the items that the Torah has described as an abomination in the eyes of Hashem. Nachmanides writes that he has examined the wording in his edition of the Torat Kohanim, and has not found anything spelled out there about being especially פרוש, i.e. keeping one’s distance from the subject covered by sexual mores, but that we are to be generally פרושים, discreet, and discriminating in our conduct, as a result of which holiness will develop. [My edition of the Torat Kohanim, printed in Torah Shleymah bears out what Nachmanides writes. Ed.] G’d is quoted as saying: “just as I keep apart (from contact with what is unbecoming, so shall you keep yourself apart from contact with matters that are unbecoming for you.” It follows that the subject of פרישות includes abstaining and keeping one’s distance from all the subject matter mentioned in the Talmud as subject to such warnings by our sages. Nachmanides uses as an example the fact that whereas on the one hand, the Torah has permitted sexual intercourse, it imposed limitations with whom such sexual intercourse may be indulged in, similarly, it has also permitted the eating of foods which are palatable and non poisonous, but has imposed limitations in forbidding Jews foods which gentiles clearly enjoy without apparent harmful effects. Holiness, if aspired to, is therefore possible by imposing upon oneself restrictions and not considering everything that has not been expressly forbidden as permitted, but to train oneself to be moderate in enjoying the material attractions the world has to offer. These attractions may be enjoyed when they are intended to make the performance of a commandment more meaningful both esthetically and artistically, for instance. A person intent on attaining a level of holiness would not seek out such attractions for their own sake. [When someone loves silver trinkets and collects them, this does not further his path to attaining holiness, although he did not do something forbidden. If, however, he indulges his whim by buying beautiful ethrog boxes, mezuzah housings, kiddush cups, etc., then he may at one and the same time indulge his sense of what is esthetically beautiful, and come closer to attaining degree of holiness. Our sages, in limiting the frequency of marital relations with one’s wife even, suggested that a Torah scholar limit himself to such marital intercourse once a week, while an ordinary uneducated worker is allowed to indulge in such activity more often. (Compare Chagigah 18, Berachot, 22 and other places in the Talmud) Nachmanides points out that it is possible not to violate a single one of the 613 commandments in the Torah and still not only to remain far from “holy,” but to continue to be a gross and uncouth individual, eating to excess, drinking to excess, indulging in legally permitted sex at every opportunity, etc. If the ideal of a Torah personality could be the result of merely not violating any of the 613 commandments, Moses would not have had to write in Deut. 6,18 ועשית הישר והטוב בעיני ה', “do what is fair and good in the eyes of Hashem.” In halachic parlance, our approach to life should be to act לפנים משורת הדין, “to stay well within what is allowable legally.” The meaning of the dictate in our verse therefore is: