Commentaire sur Le Lévitique 20:17

חסד הוא IT IS A WICKED THING — It is an Aramaic expression, the Hebrew חרפה (disgrace) being in that language חסודא (cf. Onkelos on Genesis 34:14). A Midrashic explanation of it (of חסד הוא) is; If you should say, "But Cain married his sister!" then I reply, Cain's case was an exceptional one; an act of kindness (חסד) was done by the Omnipresent in order that His world might be built up through him (i. e. He made the propagation of the human race possible through this union), as it is said (Psalms 89:3) "The world was built up through חסד, loving-kindness" (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 11 11; Sanhedrin 58b).

AND IF A MAN ‘YIKACH’ (SHALL TAKE) HIS SISTER. Scripture mentions the term kichah [“taking,” which generally denotes the taking of a woman as a wife] in the case of a sister, although betrothal to her is not valid, because a brother and sister sleep together in one house, and when his desire overpowers him, he takes her and draws her to himself, and he does not have to come to her as one does to a woman who is a harlot. Similarly it is the way of Scripture to use the term “taking” in the case of all those with whom one remains alone, for a wife and her mother,²⁴⁴Verse 14. [a wife] and her son’s daughter and her daughter’s daughter,²⁴⁵Above, 18:17. a wife and her sister,²⁵⁹Ibid., Verse 18. and a brother’s wife²⁶⁰Further, Verse 21. are all [found] with him in one house [hence Scripture uses the term “taking” in each of these cases]. For a similar reason Scripture uses this expression in the following verse, A man shall not ‘take’ his father’s wife.²⁶¹Deuteronomy 23:1. The expression and he see her nakedness is an euphemism, since Scripture modifies its expression in speaking of forbidden relationships. Sometimes it calls sexual intercourse “uncovering of nakedness,” as it says in the case of most of the forbidden women, thou shalt not uncover her nakedness, for it is the way of those who commit fornication to uncover her skirts, similar to that which is said, and I will uncover thy skirts upon thy face;²⁶²Nahum 3:5. and at times it calls it “entering,” thus: If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her;²⁶³Deuteronomy 22:13. to come in unto us;²⁶⁴Genesis 19:31. and he came in unto her, and she conceived by him.²⁶⁵Ibid., 38:18. Many times Scripture calls it “lying,” and here it refers to it as “seeing,” since brother and sister lodge together and there is no need for uncovering of skirts. Similarly Scripture uses the euphemism “knowing,” as in the following expressions: And the man knew Eve his wife;²⁶⁶Ibid., 4:1. and he knew her again no more;²⁶⁷Ibid., 38:26. a virgin, neither had any man known her.²⁶⁸Ibid., 24:16. And Scripture states [here in the verse before us] and she see his nakedness, meaning to say that she too desired his nakedness in her heart and consented thereto. Now it mentions these expressions only in the case of a sister, because in all forbidden relations when a man approaches a woman for the purpose of uncovering her nakedness, it is generally with her consent, and otherwise she can remove herself from him and cry for help, but in the case of a brother [and sister] who lodge together, it may be that it was done without her knowledge, and therefore Scripture mentioned that she too “saw his nakedness.”

חסד הוא, the word חסד here is to be understood in the same sense as the same word in Proverbs 25,10 פן יחסדך שומע, “lest the one who hears it puts you to shame.” We also find the word having such a meaning in Proverbs 14,34 וחסד לאומים חטאת, “even the kindness of nations is a form of sin.” This is also the way Rav Yoseph translates this word in his commentary on Proverbs.