וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
און גאָט האָט גערעדט צו משהן, אַזױ צו זאָגן:
Rashi
ויאמר משה אל בני ישראל AND MOSES TOLD THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL — This is stated to separate this subject (of sacrifies) from the following (vows). Such is the opinion of R. Ishmael. What it means is: since up to now we have the words of the Omnipresent to Moses (Numbers 28:1—2: “And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Command the children of Israel, etc.’ ”) and the chapter about vows that follows begins with an utterance of Moses (“And Moses spake”), it is necessary first to make a break by stating that Moses in turn told this section to Israel (“And Moses told etc.”), for if this were not done it would imply that he did not tell them this section about the sacrifices, but began his address with the chapter about vows (Sifrei Bamidbar 152).
Ramban
AND MOSES TOLD THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL [ACCORDING TO ALL THAT THE ETERNAL COMMANDED MOSES]. “‘This is [stated] in order to separate the subject [of the offerings from that of the following chapter, dealing with vows and oaths].’ These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael. [The meaning thereof is as follows:] Since up till this point [we have] the words of G-d [to Moses],219See above, 28:1: And the Eternal spoke unto Moses, saying … and the [following] section of vows begins with the statement of Moses,220Further, Verse 2: And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes … it was necessary to separate the subject [of the offerings] by stating that Moses repeated it and told this section to Israel; for if this were not stated, one might have thought that he did not tell them this [section dealing with the offerings], but began his words with the section of vows.” These are the words of Rashi. But I do not understand them, for [we find] similarly that it says — at the end of the section [dealing with] blemishes [in priests], And Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel;221Leviticus 21:24. and it says at the end of the section of the festivals, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal222Ibid., 23:44. [and in both these cases the subsequent chapters also begin with G-d’s utterance to Moses; so why was it necessary, according to Rashi, to separate here the sections by saying that Moses declared those laws to the children of Israel]!
But according to its plain meaning, the verse here comes to say that although this section deals with the laws of the offerings, G-d did not single out Aaron and his sons in connection with it, as in the sections of [the book] “the Law of the Priests” [i.e. the Book of Leviticus]. Instead Moses said it to all the children of Israel together, according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, including the laws of refraining from work on the festivals,223Above, 28:18, 26. etc. and [the laws of] the Daily Whole-offerings, the Additional Offerings, the vow-offerings and the freewill offerings, for thus it was told to Moses, Command the children of Israel.224Ibid., Verse 2. And the reason [for this] is because this commandment applies after they enter the Land, and it is a commandment to all Israel to observe [the laws of] the Daily Whole-offerings and the Additional Offerings [of the Sabbath and festivals] in their appointed times, and to bring their vow-offerings and freewill offerings. Furthermore, the main intention of the commandment [to offer up offerings] is that these days should be remembered and kept,225Esther 9:28. and to refrain on them from all servile work [and therefore it was told to all the children of Israel]. Now this section is like the section of the festivals in “the Law of the Priests” [i.e. the Book of Leviticus]. For it says there at the beginning, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,226Leviticus 23:2. and at the end it says, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. and here likewise at the beginning [of the section it says], Command the children of Israel, and say unto them224Ibid., Verse 2. and at the end [in the verse before us] it says, And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the Eternal commanded. It did not mention [here in this verse that Moses told] “the appointed seasons of the Eternal,” because in this section here other matters are mentioned [as well] which do not apply to “the appointed seasons of the Eternal,” such as the Daily Whole-offerings of weekdays, and the Additional Offerings of the Sabbath and the New Moons.
The interpretation given by Rabbi Yishmael [quoted above by Rashi] is because Scripture never has to say of Moses that he told the children of Israel all that G-d commanded him, [because it is self-understood that he always did so], and it is not usual for the Torah to say so at each and every section. Therefore the Rabbis [similarly] explained227Torath Kohanim, Emor 3:12. the verse, “And Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel221Leviticus 21:24. — [as implying that] he warned Aaron about his sons [i.e., that Aaron as High Priest should preserve the sanctity of the Sanctuary, and prevent priests with a bodily blemish from performing the Divine Service], and [he warned] the sons concerning the Israelites [that they should prevent the Israelites from entering those parts of the Sanctuary which are forbidden to them], and [he warned] the Israelites about each other” [that they should each prevent the other from violating the sanctity of the Sanctuary]. And in the section of the festivals they explained [the verse, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal]222Ibid., 23:44. in many ways. [Thus they said]:228Ibid., 17:12-13. “This teaches us that Moses used to tell Israel the laws of the Passover on Passover, the laws of Shavuoth [the Festival of Weeks] on Shavuoth, and the laws of Tabernacles on Tabernacles. [It further teaches us that] in the very language that he heard it [from G-d], he told it to Israel. And all the sections [mentioned here] are subject to the same law.229This means, as explained further, that just as fixing the days of the festivals [through the sanctification of the New Moon] can only be performed by a qualified court (see Vol. II, p. 116) so the adjudication of vows [mentioned in the following section] requires a court of qualified experts. Hence the statement: “All sections [mentioned here — namely the preceding one dealing with the festivals, and the following one treating of vows], are subject to the same law.” Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: It states [and Moses declared unto the children of Israel] the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the Sabbath of Creation [i.e., the weekly Sabbath] was not said together with them.230This means that the Sabbath, unlike the festivals, does not require “sanctification” by the court, since its sanctity is permanent and endures forever, being based on its original sanctification by G-d at the creation of the world (Genesis 2:3). Ben Azai says: It is said, [And Moses declared unto the children of Israel] the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the section of vows was not said together with them [as will be explained further on]. Rabbi231This is Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishnah. Because of his great status, he is known simply as “Rabbi.” See also Vol. II, p. 349, Note 64. says: What does this verse — And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal222Ibid., 23:44. — come to tell us? Since [hitherto] we have only learnt that the Paschal-lamb and the Daily Whole-offering override the Sabbath [i.e., are brought on the Sabbath although they entail doing work which is normally forbidden], because it says about them in its appointed season232Above, 9:2 (Paschal-lamb). Ibid., 28:2 (Daily Whole-offering). [which includes even the Sabbath]; but we have not [yet] been taught that [the same applies to] the other public offerings. Therefore Scripture says: These ye shall offer unto the Eternal ‘in your appointed seasons’233Above, 29:39. thus indicating that all public offerings mentioned in this section of the Additional Offerings of the festivals, override the Sabbath. But we still do not know that the sheaf [of new barley brought on the second day of Passover], and the offerings brought with it,234Leviticus 23:12-13. and the two loaves [brought on the Festival of Shavuoth] and the offerings that come with them235Ibid., Verses 17-18. override the Sabbath, since they are not mentioned in this section of the offerings, and hence are not included in the phrase in your appointed seasons.233Above, 29:39. But when Scripture says [there], And Moses declared unto the children of Israel ‘the appointed seasons of the Eternal,’222Ibid., 23:44. it established ‘an appointed season’ for all [public offerings, so that they all override the Sabbath].” Thus far is the text of the Torath Kohanim.228Ibid., 17:12-13.
Now it is possible to say that the interpretation of Rabbi Yishmael who said that [the verse before us: And Moses told the children of Israel … is said] in order to separate the subject [of the offerings from that of the vows, as Rashi mentioned], is identical with that of Ben Azai, who said: “It says the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the section of vows was not said together with them,” meaning that the law of the festivals is not like the law of the section of vows, which was told to the heads of the tribes236Further, 30:2. in order to say that a single person who is expert [in the laws] can release a vow, and so can three ordinary people, for the festivals require the sanctification [of the New Moon] by a court of [at least] three experts, as is explained in [Tractate] Baba Bathra.237Baba Bathra 121a. Ben Azai thus derived this distinction between them [the festivals and vows] from the limiting phrase: [And Moses declared] the appointed seasons of the Eternal, and Rabbi Yishmael derived this [same] principle from the [apparent] redundancy of this verse [before us], and [hence he explained] that it only comes to separate the subject of the festivals from that of the vows. Thus both of them [Ben Azai and Rabbi Yishmael] are saying the same thing, differing only as to the text from which this law is derived.
The correct interpretation [of the words of Rabbi Yishmael who said that our verse comes only to separate the subjects] appears to me to be that he only intended to say [as follows]: Had He finished the section [here] of the festivals with [the verse]: These ye shall offer unto the Eternal in your appointed seasons,233Above, 29:39. and begun [immediately with the verse] And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing which the Eternal hath commanded,236Further, 30:2. it would have been possible [to explain] that the verse refers to the previous [subject], meaning that Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes: “This is the thing which G-d commanded concerning the Daily Whole-offerings and the Additional Offerings” mentioned [previously], and the phrase unto the heads of the tribes would not be interpreted as referring to the following section of the vows. Therefore He divided [the subjects] and finished the section of the festivals [with the verse before us], And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, and then began the section of vows [with the statement] that Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes, This is the thing that the Eternal hath commanded.236Further, 30:2. This is the truth, for such is the explanation of [the expression] “to separate the subject” in many places in the Sifra and Sifre. And Rashi himself has already mentioned238Further, 31:17. what the Rabbis have said in the Sifre:239Sifre, Matoth 157. “[Now therefore kill every male among the little ones,] ‘and kill’ [every woman that hath known man by lying with him].238Further, 31:17. Why is [the expression]and kill used [since it has already been said once at the beginning of the verse]? It is to separate the subject. These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael. For if I were to read [the verse without the repetition of the expression ‘and kill,’ namely]: ‘Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and every woman that hath known man by lying with him. And all the women-children … [keep alive], I would not know what the verse is saying [about the women who have known man by lying with him — whether they are to be killed together with every male mentioned in the beginning of the verse, or to be kept alive together with all the women-children mentioned in the following verse]. Therefore it says [again], and kill, in order to separate the subject [from the following verse].’ These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael.” Similarly we find [such a usage of the expression “to separate the subject”] in other places in the Torath Kohanim [i.e., the Sifra].
Matoth
But according to its plain meaning, the verse here comes to say that although this section deals with the laws of the offerings, G-d did not single out Aaron and his sons in connection with it, as in the sections of [the book] “the Law of the Priests” [i.e. the Book of Leviticus]. Instead Moses said it to all the children of Israel together, according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, including the laws of refraining from work on the festivals,223Above, 28:18, 26. etc. and [the laws of] the Daily Whole-offerings, the Additional Offerings, the vow-offerings and the freewill offerings, for thus it was told to Moses, Command the children of Israel.224Ibid., Verse 2. And the reason [for this] is because this commandment applies after they enter the Land, and it is a commandment to all Israel to observe [the laws of] the Daily Whole-offerings and the Additional Offerings [of the Sabbath and festivals] in their appointed times, and to bring their vow-offerings and freewill offerings. Furthermore, the main intention of the commandment [to offer up offerings] is that these days should be remembered and kept,225Esther 9:28. and to refrain on them from all servile work [and therefore it was told to all the children of Israel]. Now this section is like the section of the festivals in “the Law of the Priests” [i.e. the Book of Leviticus]. For it says there at the beginning, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them,226Leviticus 23:2. and at the end it says, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. and here likewise at the beginning [of the section it says], Command the children of Israel, and say unto them224Ibid., Verse 2. and at the end [in the verse before us] it says, And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the Eternal commanded. It did not mention [here in this verse that Moses told] “the appointed seasons of the Eternal,” because in this section here other matters are mentioned [as well] which do not apply to “the appointed seasons of the Eternal,” such as the Daily Whole-offerings of weekdays, and the Additional Offerings of the Sabbath and the New Moons.
The interpretation given by Rabbi Yishmael [quoted above by Rashi] is because Scripture never has to say of Moses that he told the children of Israel all that G-d commanded him, [because it is self-understood that he always did so], and it is not usual for the Torah to say so at each and every section. Therefore the Rabbis [similarly] explained227Torath Kohanim, Emor 3:12. the verse, “And Moses spoke unto Aaron, and to his sons, and unto all the children of Israel221Leviticus 21:24. — [as implying that] he warned Aaron about his sons [i.e., that Aaron as High Priest should preserve the sanctity of the Sanctuary, and prevent priests with a bodily blemish from performing the Divine Service], and [he warned] the sons concerning the Israelites [that they should prevent the Israelites from entering those parts of the Sanctuary which are forbidden to them], and [he warned] the Israelites about each other” [that they should each prevent the other from violating the sanctity of the Sanctuary]. And in the section of the festivals they explained [the verse, And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal]222Ibid., 23:44. in many ways. [Thus they said]:228Ibid., 17:12-13. “This teaches us that Moses used to tell Israel the laws of the Passover on Passover, the laws of Shavuoth [the Festival of Weeks] on Shavuoth, and the laws of Tabernacles on Tabernacles. [It further teaches us that] in the very language that he heard it [from G-d], he told it to Israel. And all the sections [mentioned here] are subject to the same law.229This means, as explained further, that just as fixing the days of the festivals [through the sanctification of the New Moon] can only be performed by a qualified court (see Vol. II, p. 116) so the adjudication of vows [mentioned in the following section] requires a court of qualified experts. Hence the statement: “All sections [mentioned here — namely the preceding one dealing with the festivals, and the following one treating of vows], are subject to the same law.” Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: It states [and Moses declared unto the children of Israel] the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the Sabbath of Creation [i.e., the weekly Sabbath] was not said together with them.230This means that the Sabbath, unlike the festivals, does not require “sanctification” by the court, since its sanctity is permanent and endures forever, being based on its original sanctification by G-d at the creation of the world (Genesis 2:3). Ben Azai says: It is said, [And Moses declared unto the children of Israel] the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the section of vows was not said together with them [as will be explained further on]. Rabbi231This is Rabbi Yehudah Hanasi, the redactor of the Mishnah. Because of his great status, he is known simply as “Rabbi.” See also Vol. II, p. 349, Note 64. says: What does this verse — And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of the Eternal222Ibid., 23:44. — come to tell us? Since [hitherto] we have only learnt that the Paschal-lamb and the Daily Whole-offering override the Sabbath [i.e., are brought on the Sabbath although they entail doing work which is normally forbidden], because it says about them in its appointed season232Above, 9:2 (Paschal-lamb). Ibid., 28:2 (Daily Whole-offering). [which includes even the Sabbath]; but we have not [yet] been taught that [the same applies to] the other public offerings. Therefore Scripture says: These ye shall offer unto the Eternal ‘in your appointed seasons’233Above, 29:39. thus indicating that all public offerings mentioned in this section of the Additional Offerings of the festivals, override the Sabbath. But we still do not know that the sheaf [of new barley brought on the second day of Passover], and the offerings brought with it,234Leviticus 23:12-13. and the two loaves [brought on the Festival of Shavuoth] and the offerings that come with them235Ibid., Verses 17-18. override the Sabbath, since they are not mentioned in this section of the offerings, and hence are not included in the phrase in your appointed seasons.233Above, 29:39. But when Scripture says [there], And Moses declared unto the children of Israel ‘the appointed seasons of the Eternal,’222Ibid., 23:44. it established ‘an appointed season’ for all [public offerings, so that they all override the Sabbath].” Thus far is the text of the Torath Kohanim.228Ibid., 17:12-13.
Now it is possible to say that the interpretation of Rabbi Yishmael who said that [the verse before us: And Moses told the children of Israel … is said] in order to separate the subject [of the offerings from that of the vows, as Rashi mentioned], is identical with that of Ben Azai, who said: “It says the appointed seasons of the Eternal,222Ibid., 23:44. but the section of vows was not said together with them,” meaning that the law of the festivals is not like the law of the section of vows, which was told to the heads of the tribes236Further, 30:2. in order to say that a single person who is expert [in the laws] can release a vow, and so can three ordinary people, for the festivals require the sanctification [of the New Moon] by a court of [at least] three experts, as is explained in [Tractate] Baba Bathra.237Baba Bathra 121a. Ben Azai thus derived this distinction between them [the festivals and vows] from the limiting phrase: [And Moses declared] the appointed seasons of the Eternal, and Rabbi Yishmael derived this [same] principle from the [apparent] redundancy of this verse [before us], and [hence he explained] that it only comes to separate the subject of the festivals from that of the vows. Thus both of them [Ben Azai and Rabbi Yishmael] are saying the same thing, differing only as to the text from which this law is derived.
The correct interpretation [of the words of Rabbi Yishmael who said that our verse comes only to separate the subjects] appears to me to be that he only intended to say [as follows]: Had He finished the section [here] of the festivals with [the verse]: These ye shall offer unto the Eternal in your appointed seasons,233Above, 29:39. and begun [immediately with the verse] And Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing which the Eternal hath commanded,236Further, 30:2. it would have been possible [to explain] that the verse refers to the previous [subject], meaning that Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes: “This is the thing which G-d commanded concerning the Daily Whole-offerings and the Additional Offerings” mentioned [previously], and the phrase unto the heads of the tribes would not be interpreted as referring to the following section of the vows. Therefore He divided [the subjects] and finished the section of the festivals [with the verse before us], And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the Eternal commanded Moses, and then began the section of vows [with the statement] that Moses spoke unto the heads of the tribes, This is the thing that the Eternal hath commanded.236Further, 30:2. This is the truth, for such is the explanation of [the expression] “to separate the subject” in many places in the Sifra and Sifre. And Rashi himself has already mentioned238Further, 31:17. what the Rabbis have said in the Sifre:239Sifre, Matoth 157. “[Now therefore kill every male among the little ones,] ‘and kill’ [every woman that hath known man by lying with him].238Further, 31:17. Why is [the expression]and kill used [since it has already been said once at the beginning of the verse]? It is to separate the subject. These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael. For if I were to read [the verse without the repetition of the expression ‘and kill,’ namely]: ‘Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and every woman that hath known man by lying with him. And all the women-children … [keep alive], I would not know what the verse is saying [about the women who have known man by lying with him — whether they are to be killed together with every male mentioned in the beginning of the verse, or to be kept alive together with all the women-children mentioned in the following verse]. Therefore it says [again], and kill, in order to separate the subject [from the following verse].’ These are the words of Rabbi Yishmael.” Similarly we find [such a usage of the expression “to separate the subject”] in other places in the Torath Kohanim [i.e., the Sifra].
Matoth
English Explanation of Mishnah Zevachim
Tractate Zevahim is the first tractate in Seder Kodashim, most of which deals with sacrificial laws and other various laws governing the Temple. Zevahim deals with animal and bird sacrifices, with what disqualifies them and what happens when they are sacrificed outside of the Temple. There are seven types of sacrifices which I shall list here. Some offerings are mandatory and some are voluntary, some are communal and some are individual, and both of these distinctions are critical. Below I will list them by their Hebrew name and by an attempt at translating that name into English. However, throughout my translation and commentary I will refer to them mostly by their Hebrew name, in order to encourage the reader to learn them in a version closer to the original. 1. Olah, the wholly burnt offering. This is also sometimes called a “holocaust” but for obvious reasons, I won’t be using that translation. The olah can either be a mandatory offering, such as the tamid, the daily sacrifices (Numbers 28:1-8) or the musaf, additional offering (Numbers 28: 9ff) or a voluntary offering (Leviticus 1). There are many other mandatory types of the olah. The olah is sometimes a beast and sometimes a bird. 2. Hatat, the sin offering, also sometimes translated as a cleansing offering. The main type of hatat is one that is brought to atone for an unintentional sin (Leviticus 4:1-5). There are also hataot (the plural of hatat) brought on the festivals (Numbers 28: 15ff). There are several other types of hataot as well. The hatat is sometimes a beast and sometimes a bird. 3. Asham, guilt offering. This is brought by robbers, people who made illicit use of Temple property, and by several others (Leviticus 5:14-26; 19:20-22). The asham, the hatat and the olah are all considered “holy of holies” which means that they are eaten entirely by priests within the Temple confines. 4. Shelamim, well-being or peace offering. This is generally an individual offering, either voluntary or mandated, with the exception of the two lambs brought on Shavuot (Leviticus 23:19) which are a communal offering. The todah, or thanksgiving offering, is considered a type of shelamim (Leviticus 7:11ff). 5. Bechor, the first-born animal. There is an entire tractate devoted to the bechor, so we will deal with it there. 6. Maaser behemah, the animal tithe (Leviticus 27:32). This subject is also covered in Tractate Bechorot. 7. Pesah, the passover lamb. This sacrifice is covered in Tractate Pesahim.