레위기 19:5의 주석

'וכי תזבחו וגו‎‎ AND IF YE SACRIFICE [A SACRIFICE OF PEACE OFFERINGS UNTO THE LORD, YE SHALL SACRIFICE IT TO BE ACCEPTABLE TO YOU] — This section is said only for the purpose of teaching us that their (the peace offerings’) slaughtering must not take place except with the intention that they should be eaten within this time (the time prescribed v. 6); for if its purpose were to fix the time for eating them it would be redundant, since it is already said (Leviticus 7:16) “But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a free-will offering [it shall be eaten the same day… and on the morrow” (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 1 1).

He states, And when ye offer an offering of peace-offerings unto the Eternal etc.,⁴⁵Verse 5. for after He prohibited the slaughtering of sacrifices, and all manner of worship to idols and to molten gods, and ordered that all Services be devoted to the Proper Name [i.e., the Tetragrammaton] exclusively, He stated here that when you shall bring an offering to the Eternal, it shall be lirtzonchem [“of your desire”], in order that your worship should be acceptable to Him and that He should be pleased with you,⁴⁶See Malachi 1:8. even as a servant reconciles himself to his master⁴⁷See I Samuel 29:4. by doing all that he commands him to do, the expression [lirtzonchem] being similar to: ‘v’nirtzah’ (and it shall be accepted) for him to make atonement for him;⁴⁸Above, 1:4. but by the light of Thy countenance, because ‘retzitham’ (Thou wast favorable unto them).⁴⁹Psalms 44:4. For not by their own sword did they get the Land in possession … but by Thy right hand, and Thine arm, and the light of Thy countenance … And the meaning of the verse is to state that you are not to think that there is any benefit in idol worship, neither are you to do the service of the Glorious Name⁵⁰Deuteronomy 28:58. in order to receive a reward, but only to do His Will, for it is His simple Will⁵¹For just as the Creator is a perfect Unity and in no way a composite of many elements, so when the Creator wills something, the Will is also simple as is His essence. Hence Ramban’s expression “His simple Will.” that is proper and incumbent upon us [to do]. He states this with reference to the peace-offerings because they are of the lesser degree of holy offerings, which are eaten by the owners themselves [unlike the most holy offerings, such as the sin-offering, which may be eaten only by the priests, the verse thus saying] that the owners are to guard their thoughts, so that the offerings be brought with the proper intention, and this applies all the more so to the most holy offerings. Or it may be that [the verse here mentions peace-offerings] because peace-offerings are the [unique] attribute of Israel, just as our Rabbis have said:⁵²Zebachim 116 a. See in Vol. I, pp. 542-543. “Noachides did not offer peace-offerings.” The student learned [in the mysteries of the Cabala] will understand. And our Rabbis have said:⁵³Chullin 13 a. “Lirtzonchem [literally: ‘to your intent’] slaughter the offering, meaning that you are to have the intention to slaughter it,” for if he merely “handles” an offering [i.e., if he does the act of slaughtering without the intention of so doing], he invalidates [the offering].

וכי תזבחו, at this point the Torah explains that when G’d issued the very first of the Ten Commandments with the words: “I am the Lord your G’d, etc.,” (20,2) this meant that the Israelites must accept Him as the exclusive divine power in the universe. They are to do so without reservation, just as they did during the song of thanksgiving for their miraculous salvation after crossing the sea with dry feet, when they sang (Exodus 15,2) זה א-לי ואנוהו, אלוקי אבי וארוממנהו, “this is My G’d and I will enshrine Him, the G’d of my forefather and I will exalt Him.” Not only must the Jewish people accept G’d’s dictates and carry them out, but they must be concerned with preserving His great name and not even in their thoughts do anything which would desecrate this great name of His.

לרצונכם, by ensuring the animal is unblemished and the procedure of semichah, placing one’s weight on it with one’s hands has been performed, as well as all the other details which have been spelled out in Leviticus 3,6.

וכי תזבחו זבח שלמים, “when you set out to slaughter a peace-offering, etc.” After the Torah had forbidden slaughtering and any other aspect of idol worship, it now addresses our desire to offer gifts to the Deity by telling us that the proper address for such offerings if we want it to be welcome, is only the attribute of Hashem. More to the point, contrary to what the naïve human being thinks that such an offering is something the Deity needs or desires, the Torah reminds us that the sole purpose of such a peace-offering is to secure a condition of grace for ourselves; no offering impacts on the Deity in the least, seeing that Hashem is totally self-sufficient. What could man possibly give to the Creator who is the One who has given everything we have to us? The reason why the Torah makes this point in conjunction with the offerings known as שלמים, peace-offerings, is that most of the meat of these animals may be consumed by the owners of the offering rather than by the priests, and it need not be consumed on consecrated grounds but the entire city of Jerusalem is considered holy enough for eating what are known as קדשים קלים, sacrificial meats of a relatively low level of sanctity. Another reason may be that only Israelites are allowed to offer this type of sacrificial offering altogether. Gentiles who are allowed to offer burnt offerings are not allowed to offer peace offerings at all. [On the altar of the Tabernacle or Temple, Ed.] Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why in our chapter the demand to accord reverence for the mother precedes the demand to do the same for one’s father, is that a young child in his early years gets to know the mother intimately whereas it does not establish such a close relationship with its father as yet. The next major focus of a young child is the Sabbath, seeing that it is a duty to train even youngsters in the observance of the Sabbath. The same is not true of the other festivals. Having become familiar with the concept of the Sabbath, the youngster next becomes familiar with the concept of G’d, the Creator, the lawgiver, who rested on the seventh day. Having become familiar with these concepts the youngster is introduced to the need to be in awe of the Creator. The Torah does not repeat the word איש in front of each piece of legislation. It uses the plural mode תיראו when legislating the need to be in awe of parents as well as of the invisible G’d, to remind us that it is every Israelite’s duty to implant such feelings in a fellow Jew; it is not merely the parents’ business to do so. Deviants have to be forced to toe the line when in public. Public desecration of the Sabbath, for instance, is not to be tolerated in a Jewish state or even in exile that is self-governing. The reason why the Torah concludes verse four with the words אני ה' אלוקיכם, is to remind us that the reason why G’d wants us to rest on the Sabbath is because He Himself rested on the first Sabbath and interrupted His creative activities on account of the sanctity of that day. Still quoting Ibn Ezra, the reason for the words אל תפנו אל אלילים, “[something that sounds like a repetition of previous legislation on the subject, Ed.] is that we must not even briefly look at such displays of pagan deities. The reason the Torah repeats the injunction of אלוהי מסכה לא תעשה לך, not to make yourself a molten image, is simply to reassure you that you have no need for any additional celestial assist. By saying אני ה' אלוקיכם, Hashem tells us that He, and only He, will look after our needs. The reason that the Torah writes (verse 9) that we must not completely harvest every last stalk of our fields, immediately after speaking about the peace-offerings, is to draw a comparison between gifts we offer to Hashem such as the fat parts of the peace-offerings, and the gifts we leave for the poor. Giving to the poor is another way of honouring Hashem, who has also made the poor. After having dealt with the need to voluntarily leave gifts for the poor and the stranger (proselyte) who has not yet established an economic base for himself, the Torah enjoins us not to steal, as a corollary of voluntarily giving to the poor. If we even share with the poor what we are in the habit as considering as ours, how much less may we deprive anyone of what is rightfully his by stealing from him? The Torah phrases this legislation also in the plural mode to teach that anyone observing someone stealing and not protesting is as if he had aided and abetted the thief. The Torah continues by warning us not to lie actively or passively, nor to keep silent when we know that someone else lies or cheats. (Verse 12) The injunction not to swear a false oath, i.e. involving G’d Himself in one’s sin by using His name in vain when denying one’s transgression, is added as a warning that sinning leads to denying the sin, which in turn results in desecrating the name of the Lord publicly, one of the most serious sins possible. Here too, the plural mode is used to involve the party demanding that the second one confirm his claims by swearing in the name of Hashem.

This parashoh was said only to teach, etc. (Nachalas Yaakov) Explanation: Because all this is [already] written in parshas Tzav [including that one must have intention to eat it during the proper time]. Rashi answers: It is written here “to teach etc.” Because from [what is written] there, one might have thought that even if he had no intention at all the offering would also be accepted. Therefore, this parashoh is stated [to teach] that if he had no intention at all, even though it is not an abomination, nonetheless, the offering is not accepted.

לרצונכם תזבחוהו, “when you slaughter it demonstrate that you are bent of pleasing the Lord.” How does one do this? You do so by not being stingy when choosing the animal to be slaughtered. [Most of which will serve as meat for the person and family offering it. Ed.] Furthermore, there are people who when offering such sacrifices do not do so from the depth of their heart, but do so as to be seen to have done so by their fellow Jews. This too will not result in G-d welcoming such sacrifices as coming from the heart of the donor. An alternate explanation: How must such an offering be presented in order to qualify as man’s generosity vis a vis his Creator?Answer: “do something that is bound to please G-d.” What, for instance? “Consume the parts of the meat of that animal as soon as possible, i.e. within the first 36 hours.” This demonstrates that you love to eat sacrificial meat while it is still fresh.

לרצנכם תזבחהו YE SHALL SACRIFICE IT TO BE ACCEPTABLE FOR YOU — This means, from the very beginning the slaughtering shall be done with the intention to give Me satisfaction (i. e. to sacrifice it in a manner that is satisfactory to Me) so that it shall effect favour for you (לרצנכם). For if you have in connection with it (with the slaughtering) any intention which will invalidate it (the sacrifice) it shall effect no favour for you before Me.

If one handles holy offerings, etc. I.e., if one is involved with something (else) and he happened to slaughter. For example, he threw [a knife] at a wall to affix it [in the wall], and while throwing, the animal was slaughtered without intent.

תזבחוהו, “slaughter it.” You must not slaughter two heads of an animal in a single procedure, [with a long knife. Ed.]

לרצנכם thus means as much as apaisement in O. F., — “favourable acceptance”. This is the literal meaning of the verse. Our Rabbis, however, (taking the word in its primary sense of will, “intention”) learned from here as regards one who is handling (מתעסק) a sacrifice (קדשים) (when he does the act of Shechitah without the intention of doing this) that it becomes invalid, because it is required that he should intend to slaughter it (Zevachim 47a; Chullin 13a).