Tafsiran Imamat 5:21: Rashi, Kli Yakar, Or HaChaim & Rashbam

ונפש כי תחטא IF A SOUL SIN [AND COMMIT FAITHLESSNESS AGAINST THE LORD] — R. Akiba said, What is the force of ‎‎‎מעל בה׳‎‎ ומעלה here, where it does not speak of betraying “holy things of the Lord” as in v. 15, but of betraying one’s neighbour? Because whoever lends or borrows money or does business with another, does it as a rule only in the presence of witnesses or by a document, therefore when he repudiates the matter, he repudiates the witnesses or the document; but he who deposits something with his neighbour does not wish any living soul to know about it except the Third Being (God) who is between them; therefore when he repudiates the deposit, he is repudiating the Third Being who is between them (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Chovah, Chapter 22 4).

A soul if it sins and commits a trespass against the Lord Here, the sin precedes the trespass, while in the case of misappropriating sacred property (verse 15), the trespass precedes the sin. This is because this section speaks about one who denies their fellow’s money and then swears falsely. Thus, they have committed one sin against their fellow, but against Heaven their sin is doubled. For by the robbery, they transgressed God’s commandment, and then they swore falsely. This is what it means when it says, A soul if it sins, which refers to sinning against their fellow, and commits a trespass against the Lord — two trespasses as mentioned. The term “trespass” [me’ilah] is more appropriately used toward the Divine, as Rashi explains: “The term me’ilah always denotes change, etc.” For the Lord is good to all, yet the person does not return to Him according to His deeds, but changes and does not act as He has acted toward him. However, with respect to human beings, the term me’ilah is not applicable, for what good has one done for the other in the case of a deposit or robbery? But in the case of misappropriating sacred property, the text puts trespass first, because as soon as one eats and benefits from the sacred property, he has trespassed against the Lord by extending his hand to [take from] the Divine table. The term me’ilah is doubled to include one who derives benefit without actually eating, as Rashi explains. Only afterward does it say and sins, because he has also sinned against man by robbing the portion of the priests, since they take their share from the sacred offerings.

נפש כי תחטא, ומעלה מעל בשם, If someone sin and commit a trespass against the Lord, etc. Why did the Torah have to write the words כי תחטא here? It cannot mean that the sin referred to is a denial of the sin by the sinner seeing that the Torah already wrote וכחש בעמיתו, that the sinner denied having committed the trespass, i.e. having exploited his labourer by failing to pay him. Besides, why does the Torah in this instance describe the sinner as מעל בשם, "having committed a trespass against the Lord," words which have not appeared in any of the previous examples of sins committed? Why did the Torah have to add the word בעמיתו when writing וכחש בעמיתו? The meaning of the word is not clear.

בתשומת יד A CHARGE — He denies that he has put (שָׂם) money into his (the neighbour’s) hand (יד, i. e. that he has put money at his disposal) for the purpose of doing business in partnership or as a loan (cf. Onkelos and Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Chovah, Chapter 22 6).