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Chamishi
- Justice: Do not tilt the judgment of a case against a destitute person.
- Lying: Distance yourself from lying.
- Murder: Do not kill the innocent.
- Bribery: Do not take a bribe.
- Ger: Do not oppress a convert.
- Shemita: Plant your field for six years and in the seventh year, leave your field for the destitute and animals to eat from.
- Shabbos: One shall work for six days and rest on Shabbos, you and your household.
- Deities: Do not mention other deities on your lips.
- Aliya Leregel: Celebrate with Me three times a year. Guard the festival of Matzos for seven days, eat Matzos, and do not come to see Me empty handed. By the festival of harvest and of the gathering [you are also to visit Me]. Three times a year, all your males are to come see the face of G-d.
- Karban Pesach: Do not slaughter My sacrifice over Chametz and do not let the fat of My festive offering remain overnight.
- Bikurim: The first fruits of your lands you shall bring to Me.
- Basar Bechalav: Do not cook a young animal in its mother’s milk.
Rashi Q&A — Shemot 23:6–19
23:6 — Justice for the Poor
Q1: What does “אֶבְיֹנְךָ” mean?
A: It means “your destitute one.” It comes from the root אבה (to desire), referring to someone who lacks everything and yearns for all good things.
23:7 — Avoiding Falsehood
Q2: What is learned from “וְנָקִי וְצַדִּיק אַל תַּהֲרֹג”?
A:
- If a guilty person leaves court but someone arrives with new evidence to acquit him → bring him back.
- If an innocent person leaves court and someone arrives with evidence against him → do NOT bring him back.
“Do not kill an innocent or a righteous person” refers to:
- Innocent: Someone not yet acquitted but now with possible grounds for acquittal.
- Righteous: Somene already acquitted.
Q3: What does “כִּי לֹא אַצְדִּיק רָשָׁע” mean?
A: Hashem says: You do not need to reconvict him — I have many ways to exact justice.
If a guilty man was freed by court error, God will punish him.
23:8 — Bribery
Q4: Why is taking a bribe forbidden even if the judge plans to judge truthfully?
A: Because bribes blind even the wisest person; eventually he will forget his learning and lose clarity.
Q5: What are “דִּבְרֵי צַדִּיקִים”?
A: The Torah’s proper, upright laws (“words of justice”), as translated by Onkelos: פִּתגָמִין תְּרִיצִין.
23:9 — Treatment of Converts
Q6: Why does the Torah warn repeatedly not to oppress a convert?
A: Converts are vulnerable and at risk of reverting to old ways if mistreated.
Q7: What does “אֶת נֶפֶשׁ הַגֵּר” mean?
A: “The feelings of the convert”—you know how painful it is to be treated as a stranger, because you were strangers in Egypt.
23:10–11 — Shemittah
Q8: What does “וְאָסַפְתָּ אֶת תְּבוּאָתָהּ” mean?
A: “Gather into your house”—bring the harvest indoors.
Q9: What do “תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ” mean?
A:
- תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה — refrain from full agricultural work.
- וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ — do not eat produce after the “time of removal” (bi’ur), when it’s no longer available to wild animals.
Alternate meaning:
- Do not plow or sow,
- Nor fertilize or hoe.
Q10: What is learned from “וְיִתְרָם תֹּאכַל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה”?
A: The needy eat like animals—just as animals do not tithe, so produce of Shemittah is untithed.
This is the source that tithes do not apply during the seventh year.
Q11: What does “כֵן תַּעֲשֶׂה לְכַרְמְךָ” mean?
A: The same Shemittah rules apply to the vineyard and olive grove as to grain fields.
23:12 — Shabbat
Q12: Why restate the command of Shabbos here?
A: To teach that even during the Sabbatical year, the weekly Shabbos must still be kept.
Q13: What does “לְמַעַן יָנוּחַ שׁוֹרְךָ וַחֲמֹרֶךָ” teach?
A: Animals must be allowed true rest, meaning they may graze freely. Locking them indoors is not considered “rest” but suffering.
Q14: Who is “בֶּן אֲמָתֶךָ”?
A: An uncircumcised non‑Jewish slave belonging to the household.
Q15: Who is “הַגֵּר”?
A: A resident visitor (non‑Jew) living in Eretz Yisrael with permission.
23:13 — Avoiding Idolatry
Q16: What does “תִּשָּׁמֵרוּ” teach here?
A: Anywhere the Torah says “guard,” it signals a negative prohibition — here, not violating any mitzvah previously mentioned.
Q17: What does “לֹא תַזְכִּירוּ” mean?
A: Do not mention the name of an idol, e.g., “Meet me next to such‑and‑such idol,” or reference its festival.
Q18: Why are these two ideas (guarding all mitzvos & not mentioning idols) placed together?
A: To teach that avoiding idolatry equals the weight of all mitzvos, and fulfilling it equals fulfilling all mitzvos.
Q19: What does “לֹא יִשָּׁמַע עַל פִּיךָ” mean?
A: Do not cause idols’ names to be spoken due to you—e.g., do not enter business partnerships with idolaters, who might swear by their gods.
23:14–17 — Pilgrimage Festivals
Q20: What are “רְגָלִים”?
A: “Times” or festivals, as seen in “you struck me these three times (רְגָלִים).”
Q21: What is “חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב”?
A: The month when produce begins to ripen in the ear — the first stage (אָבִיב means “early ripening”).
Q22: What does “לֹא יֵרָאוּ פָנַי רֵיקָם” teach?
A: One may not come to the Temple empty‑handed; bring an olah when appearing before Hashem.
Q23: What Festival is “חַג הַקָּצִיר”?
A: Shavuos.
Q24: What does “בִּכּוּרֵי מַעֲשֶׂיךָ” refer to?
A: Shavuos is the time to bring First Fruits and the two loaves, permitting the new year’s grain in the Temple.
Q25: What Festival is “חַג הָאָסִיף”?
A: Sukkos, when the produce is gathered from the fields before the rains.
Q26: Why repeat the command of pilgrimage (“three times a year”) here?
A: Because the surrounding topic is the Sabbatical year; this teaches that Shemittah does not cancel the mitzvah of pilgrimage.
23:18 — Pesach Laws
Q27: What does “לֹא תִזְבַּח עַל חָמֵץ” mean?
A: Do not slaughter the Korban Pesach until all chametz is removed from your possession.
Q28: What is “חֵלֶב חַגִּי לֹא יָלִין”?
A: The fat of festival offerings must not remain overnight unoffered.
Q29: Does the prohibition apply even if the fat is on the altar all night?
A: No — only if it hasn’t been placed on the altar before dawn.
23:19 — First Fruits & Meat/Milk
Q30: How are bikurim selected (“רֵאשִׁית בִּכּוּרֵי אַדְמָתֶךָ”)?
A: One enters the field, sees the first ripening fruit, ties it with a reed, and declares it bikurim. Only the seven species are eligible.
Q31: What does “לֹא תְבַשֵּׁל גְּדִי בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ” include?
A: “Gedi” includes young cattle, sheep, and goats—not only baby goats.
Q32: Why is this prohibition written three times in the Torah?
To prohibit:
- Cooking meat and milk together,
- Eating meat and milk cooked together,
- Deriving benefit from such mixtures.