(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יי אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּ֨ר אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֜ן וְאֶל־בָּנָ֗יו וְיִנָּֽזְרוּ֙ מִקׇּדְשֵׁ֣י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלֹ֥א יְחַלְּל֖וּ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם קׇדְשִׁ֑י אֲשֶׁ֨ר הֵ֧ם מַקְדִּשִׁ֛ים לִ֖י אֲנִ֥י יי׃ (ג) אֱמֹ֣ר אֲלֵהֶ֗ם לְדֹרֹ֨תֵיכֶ֜ם כׇּל־אִ֣ישׁ ׀ אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרַ֣ב מִכׇּל־זַרְעֲכֶ֗ם אֶל־הַקֳּדָשִׁים֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יַקְדִּ֤ישׁוּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לַֽיי וְטֻמְאָת֖וֹ עָלָ֑יו וְנִכְרְתָ֞ה הַנֶּ֧פֶשׁ הַהִ֛וא מִלְּפָנַ֖י אֲנִ֥י יי׃
(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Instruct Aaron and his sons to separate from the sacred donations that the Israelite people consecrate to Me, lest they profane My holy name, Mine, the LORD's. (3) Say to them: Throughout the ages, if any man among your offspring, while in a state of impurity, partakes of any sacred donation that the Israelite people may consecrate to the LORD, that person shall be cut off from before Me: I am the LORD.
(א) בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקִים, זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: יי בְּחָכְמָה יָסַד אָרֶץ (משלי ג, יט). וּכְשֶׁבָּרָא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת עוֹלָמוֹ נִתְיָעֵץ בַּתּוֹרָה וּבָרָא אֶת הָעוֹלָם, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: לִי עֵצָה וְתוּשִׁיָּה אֲנִי בִינָה לִי גְבוּרָה (משלי ח, יד). וְהַתּוֹרָה בַּמֶּה הָיְתָה כְתוּבָה? עַל גַּבֵּי אֵשׁ לְבָנָה בְּאֵשׁ שְׁחוֹרָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים שְׁחוֹרוֹת כָּעוֹרֵב (שה״ש ה, יא). מַהוּ קְוֻצּוֹתָיו תַּלְתַּלִּים? עַל כָּל קוֹץ וָקוֹץ. תִּלֵּי תִלִּים שֶׁל הֲלָכוֹת. כֵּיצַד? כָּתוּב בָּהּ, וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי (ויקרא כב, לב), אִם אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה חֵי״ת הֵ״א, אַתָּה מַחֲרִיב אֶת הָעוֹלָם. כֹּל הַנְּשָׁמָה תְּהַלֵּל יָהּ (תהלים קנ, ו), אִם אַתָּה עוֹשֶׂה הֵ״א חֵי״ת, אַתָּה מַחֲרִיב אֶת הָעוֹלָם.
(1) With the beginning (Gen. 1:1). This is what Scripture means when it says: The Lord with wisdom founded the earth (Prov. 3:19). That is, when the Holy One, blessed be He, was about to create this world, He consulted the Torah before embarking upon the work of creation, as it is said: Counsel is mine and sound wisdom; I am understanding, power is mine (Prov. 8:14).
How was the Torah written? It was written with letters of black fire on a surface of white fire, as is said: His locks are curled and black as a raven (Song 5:11). What is meant by His locks are curled? It means that each crowned stroke on the letters of the Torah contains heaps and heaps of law. For example, it is written in the Torah: Profane not My Holy Name (Lev. 22:2); but if you should change the het in the word yehallelu (“profane”) into a heh, the word would read “praise,” and you would thereby destroy the world. Conversely, where it is written Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord (Ps. 150:6), if you should alter the heh in the word tehallel (“praise”) into a het, the word would read “profane,” and you would thereby destroy the world.
Rabba raised an objection. Which people are referred to in the phrase “say to them”? It is referring to those standing at Mount Sinai. Which people are referred to in the phrase “throughout your generations”? These are the coming generations. If the halakha is stated to the fathers, why is it stated to the sons; and if the halakha is stated to the sons, why is it stated to the fathers? This is because there are mitzvot for the fathers that are not for the sons, and there are mitzvot for the sons that are not for the fathers. For the fathers, the verse states: “And every daughter who possesses an inheritance from the tribes of the children of Israel, shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father” (Numbers 36:8). This mitzva, that the woman should marry a member of her own tribe, applied only to the first generation that received tribal portions of Eretz Yisrael. And many mitzvot, which the sons were commanded to fulfill but which the fathers were not commanded to fulfill. Because there are mitzvot for the fathers that are not for the sons, and there are mitzvot for the sons that are not for the fathers, the verse needed to state the fathers, and it needed to state the sons.
(1) וינזרו THAT THEY KEEP AWAY [FROM THE HOLY THINGS etc.] — The term נזר always denotes “keeping aloof". Similarly it is said (Ezekiel 14:7) "and he separates himself (וינזר) from following Me”; (Isaiah 1:4) "They are gone away (נזורו) backward”. The meaning of this verse therefore is: they (the priests) shall keep aloof from the holy things during the time of their uncleanness.
(7) For everyone of the house of Yisra᾽el, and of the stranger that sojourns in Yisra᾽el, who separates himself from me, and sets up his idols in his heart, and puts the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself.
(4) Ah sinful nation,
A people laden with iniquity,
A seed of evildoers,
Children that deal corruptly:
They have forsaken the Lord,
they have provoked the Holy One of Yisra᾽el to anger,
They are separated backward.
(26) The blessings of your father surpass the blessings of my ancestors to the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Yosef, and on the crown of the head of him that was separated from his brothers.
(5) מישראל [THAT SOUL SHALL BE CUT OFF] FROM ISRAEL — I might understand from this that he shall be cut off from Israel and that he will be able to betake himself to another nation! Scripture therefore states in another passage, (Leviticus 22:3) “[that soul shall be cut off] from my presence” — in every place that is My territory.
(א) וטעם מלפני אני ה׳ כי אחר שיכרת מלפני השם לא יעמוד:
(1) [FROM BEFORE ME: I AM THE LORD.] This means since he is cut off from God, he will cease to exist.