Comentário sobre Deuteronômio 20:6

ולא חללו [AND WHAT MAN IS THERE THAT HATH PLANTED A VINEYARD] AND HATH YET NOT EATEN OF IT — לא חללו means, has not yet redeemed it in the fourth year of its growth, for the fruits had either to be eaten in Jerusalem or to be given a non-holy character (חולין), by exchanging them for money and the money’s worth to be consumed in Jerusalem (The phrase therefore means no more than: who hath not eaten of it).

V’LO CHIL’LO’ — the fourth year [since the vineyard was planted] had not yet arrived. For the custom regarding a vineyard used to be that when the produce was ripe they would dance there and walk in it with chalilim (flutes). Now, Scripture commanded that all the fruits thereof [of the fourth year] shall be holy, for giving praise unto the Eternal,³⁰⁴Leviticus 19:24. that they should praise the Glorious Name³⁰⁵Further, 28:58. at that celebration. It is possible that the meaning of v’lo chil’lo is “that he has not made it chulin (secular),” this referring to the “redemption” [i.e., exchanging the fruits for money in case he cannot transport them to Jerusalem] which our Rabbis have mentioned,³⁰⁶Maaser Sheini 5:2. it being similar to the expressions: for Judah ‘chileil’ (hath profaned) the holiness of the Eternal³⁰⁷Malachi 2:11. [which means Israel has exchanged Him for other gods]; and he shall not ‘yechaleil’ (profane) his seed³⁰⁸Leviticus 21:15. — Here too, by not being able to bring the fruits to Jerusalem, he exchanges their holiness for the redemption money. [which also means that he shall not exchange his holy seed by taking a woman forbidden to him].

ולא חללו, “and he has not yet redeemed it.” Nachmanides writes that this means that the fourth year of that vineyard has not yet reached harvest time. The word חלל is derived here from מחולות, dancing. When the harvest of the fourth year is completed, the people owning the vineyard are happy and express their gratitude to G’d by dancing, although that year’s harvest is still קודש הלולים, “sanctified to laud” (Leviticus 19,24) It is not secular yet, that is why it has to be consumed in Jerusalem. It is also possible to interpret the word לא חללו, to mean that the owner had not yet redeemed that crop so that it was not yet חולין, secular produce.

ולא חללו, “and has not been able to enjoy the fruit of it.” The word describes dancing of a kind. It was customary at the end of the fourth year after planting a vineyard for the owner to give a party seeing that up to then the fruit of that vineyard was not at his free disposal. (Compare Judges 21,21, about the daughters of Shiloh.)