1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
3 And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
4 And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
5 Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.
6 And the soul that turneth after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.
7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.
8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.
9 For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him.
10 And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbour's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.
11 And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
12 And if a man lie with his daughter in law, both of them shall surely be put to death: they have wrought confusion; their blood shall be upon them.
13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
14 And if a man take a wife and her mother, it is wickedness: they shall be burnt with fire, both he and they; that there be no wickedness among you.
15 And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast.
16 And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.
17 And if a man shall take his sister, his father's daughter, or his mother's daughter, and see her nakedness, and she see his nakedness; it is a wicked thing; and they shall be cut off in the sight of their people: he hath uncovered his sister's nakedness; he shall bear his iniquity.
18 And if a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness, and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people.
19 And thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy mother's sister, nor of thy father's sister: for he uncovereth his near kin: they shall bear their iniquity.
20 And if a man shall lie with his uncle's wife, he hath uncovered his uncle's nakedness: they shall bear their sin; they shall die childless.
21 And if a man shall take his brother's wife, it is an unclean thing: he hath uncovered his brother's nakedness; they shall be childless.
22 Ye shall therefore keep all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do them: that the land, whither I bring you to dwell therein, spue you not out.
23 And ye shall not walk in the manners of the nation, which I cast out before you: for they committed all these things, and therefore I abhorred them.
24 But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the Lord your God, which have separated you from other people.
25 Ye shall therefore put difference between clean beasts and unclean, and between unclean fowls and clean: and ye shall not make your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or by any manner of living thing that creepeth on the ground, which I have separated from you as unclean.
26 And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.
h.ואל בני ישראל תאמר AGAIN THOU SHALT SAY TO THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL the punishments for the transgression of the prohibitions mentioned in the previous chapters.
h.מות יומת HE SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH by sentence of the court; and if the court has not sufficient authority to carry this out, then, 'וכו עם הארץ the people of the land shall assist them (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 4).
h.עם הארץ THE PEOPLE OF THE EARTH — that people for whose sake the earth was created: Israel (cf. Rashi on Genesis 1:1); or, that people which is destined to remain in possession of the Land (Canaan) through obedience to these commands (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 4).
h.אתן את פני is taken in the sense of, פנאי שלי, My leisure — I shall turn away from everything else that I am occupied with, and will busy Myself with him alone (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 13; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 17:10).
h.באיש AGAINST THAT MAN — but not against the whole congregation if they thus sin (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 13), for the community as a whole is never punished with excision.
h.כי מזרעו נתן למלך BECAUSE HE HATH GIVEN OF HIS SEED TO THE MOLECH — These words appear to be redundant since in v. 20 the nature of the sin is already mentioned, but because Scripture states (Deuteronomy 18:10) “[There shall not be found among you] any one that maketh his son or his daughter pass through the fire“, one might think that this law applies only to ones children; whence do we know that it applies also to one’s son's son and one's daughter’s son? Because Scripture states here, “because he hath given of his offspring to the Molech”. Whence do we know that illegitimate offspring are also included in this law? Because Scripture states again (v. 4) “when he giveth of his seed to the Molech” — whether legitimate or not (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 6-7; Sanhedrin 64b).
h.למען טמא את מקדשי TO DEFILE MY מקדש — This means the “Congregation of Israel“ which is sanctified to Me. The word מקדש does not imply the Sanctuary only but anything that is holy to God, as in the expression (Leviticus 21:23) “that he profane not my holy things (מקדשי).
h.ואם העלם יעלימו AND IF [THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND] DO ANY WAYS HIDE THEIR EYES [FROM THE MAN] — If they hide their eyes in one thing they will in the end hide their eyes also in many other matters (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 9); if the Small Sanhedrin (a judicial court of twenty-three) hide their eyes, in the end the Great Sanhedrin (the Supreme Court of seventy-one) will also hide their eyes (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 11).
h.ובמשפחתו [THEN I WILL SET MY EYES AGAINST THAT MAN], AND AGAINST HIS FAMILY — R. Simeon asked, “But how did his family sin that it should be punished?” But the family is mentioned to teach you that you may take it as a rule that there is no family in which there is one tax-collector (a calling held in great reprobation by Jews) which may not be regarded as consisting entirely of tax-collectors, for they all try to protect him (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 13; Shevuot 39a).
h.והכרתי אתו AND I WILL CUT HIM OFF — Why is this stated (it appears to be a mere repetition of the statement in v. 3)? Because since Scripture says here for the reason stated above, “[I will set My face…] against his family”, I might think that the whole family is also doomed to excision; Scripture therefore states “[I will cut] him [off]“— he alone is subject to excision, but the whole family is not subject to excision but to bodily sufferings (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 14; Shevuot 39a).
h.לזנות אחרי המלך TO COMMIT WHOREDOM WITH MOLECH — This is intended to include the worship also of any other idol which he worshipped in this way (by letting his children pass through the fire in honor of it) even though this is not the manner of worship peculiar to it (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 4 15; Sanhedrin 64a).
h.והתקדשתם SANCTIFY YOURSELVES — This implies keeping aloof from all idolatry (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 2).
h.אביו ואמו קלל HE HATH CURSED HIS FATHER OR HIS MOTHER — These apparently redundant words are intended to include as subject to the death penalty one who curses his parents after their death (Sanhedrin 85b). h.דמיו בו HIS BLOOD IS UPON HIM — This implies execution by stoning; similarly wherever the expressions דמיו בו or דמיהם בם occur. We learn this Halachic rule from the case of אוב and ידעוני of whom Scripture expressly states, (v. 27) [“they shall surely be put to death], they shall overwhelm them with stones, their blood is upon them (דמיהם בם)” (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 7; cf. Sanhedrin 54a; Keritot 5a). But according to the literal sense of the passage it means the same as the expression דמו בראשו (Joshua 2:19): “[whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street his blood shall be upon his own head] (דמו בראשו)” where the meaning is: No one deserves punishment on account of his death except himself, for he brought it upon himself that he should be killed (i. e. it was his own fault).
h.ואיש AND THE MAN [THAT COMMITTETH ADULERY SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH] — a man, thus excluding a minor (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 8).
h.אשר ינאף את אשת איש WHO COMMITTETH ADULTERY WITH ANOTHER MAN'S WIFE — a man's wife, thus excluding the wife of a minor from the death penalty. This teaches us that a minor cannot enter into a marriage contract. And in reference to what married woman do I make you liable to the death penalty?
h.אשר ינאף את אשת רעהו IF HE COMMITTETH ADULTERY WITH THE WIFE OF HIS FELLOW-MAN — his fellow-man, thus excluding the wife of a heathen; this teaches us that a heathen cannot enter into a marriage contract according to Jewish law (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 8; Sanhedrin 52b).
h.מות יומת הנאף והנאפת THE ADULTERER AND THE ADULTRESS SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH — Wherever a death penalty is mentioned in Scripture without being precisely defined, only strangulation is intended (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 8; Sanhedrin 55b).
h.תבל עשו THEY HAVE WROUGHT תבל — i. e. they have done a shameful deed. Another interpretation is that תבל is connected with בלל to “intermingle” and signifies that they mingle (בּלל) the seed of the father with the seed of the son.
h.משכבי אשה means he inserts as a brush into a tube [i.e. in the manner of marital intercourse].
h.ישרפו אתו ואתהן [AND IF A MAN TAKE A WIFE AND HER MOTHER, IT IS WICKEDNESS] THEY SHALL BE BURNT [WITH FIRE] BOTH HE AND THEY — You cannot say that this means that they shall burn also his first wife (i. e. her whom he married first), because you must admit that he married her legally for she was not forbidden to him as a wife. But the fact is that the case of “a woman and her mother”: mentioned here must be a case where both of them are forbidden to him on account of a previous relationship to him, — that, for instance, after having married a woman, he marries also his mother-in-law and her mother. It is these two that have to be burnt. There are, however, some of our Rabbis who say we have here a case of where, in addition to having married a woman, he marries only his mother-in-law (but not also the latter's mother). But what then could be the meaning of אתהן? It means one of them (“את “הן) and this is a Greek word, הן (ξυ) meaning “one” (Sanhedrin 76b; Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 12).
h.ואת הבהמה תהרגו AND YE SHALL SLAY THE BEAST — If the man has sinned, what sin has the beast committed? But because the man’s opportunity to stumble (to sin) was occasioned by it, therefore Scripture says, “let it be stoned“! How much the more does this principle apply to a human being who knows to distinguish between good and evil and yet brings evil upon his fellow-man by inducing him to commit a sin. In a similar way you should explain: (Deuteronomy 12:2) “Ye shall utterly destroy all the places [where the nations… served their gods… under every bushy tree]” Now is not the following a logical conclusion? How is it in the case of trees which can neither see nor hear? Merely because an opportunity to sin was occasioned by them Scripture says, “Destroy, burn, exterminate them!״ One who makes his fellow-man deviate from the path of lifeto the path of death, does it not follow all the more that he should be punished? (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 11 5; cf. Sanhedrin 54a, 55a.)
h.חסד הוא IT IS A WICKED THING — It is an Aramaic expression, the Hebrew חרפה (disgrace) being in that language חסודא (cf. Onkelos on Genesis 34:14). A Midrashic explanation of it (of חסד הוא) is; If you should say, “But Cain married his sister!” then I reply, Cain's case was an exceptional one; an act of kindness (חסד) was done by the Omnipresent in order that His world might be built up through him (i. e. He made the propagation of the human race possible through this union), as it is said (Psalms 89:3) “The world was built up through חסד, loving-kindness” (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 11 11; Sanhedrin 58b).
h.הערה means HE HATH UNCOVERED. Similarly the term ערוה everywhere denotes “uncovering”. The ו in the word ערוה nakedness, is inserted in the root ערה in order to form a noun of it, just as the noun זעוה, “trembling”, is of the same derivation as זע in the phrase (Esther 5:9) “and he stood not up and did not tremble (זע)”. Similarly, אחוה “brotherhood”, is of the same derivation as אח, brother. As for this term “uncovering” our Rabbis differ in the meaning they give to it (Yevamot 55b). Some say that it is the mere contact of the tip of the organ, while others say that it is the insertion of the tip.
h.'וערות אחות אמך וגו [AND THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] THE NAKEDNESS OF THY MOTHERS SISTER [NOR OF THY FATHER’S SISTER] — Scripture repeats the prohibition regarding these (although they had been mentioned already in Leviticus 18:12, 13) to tell us that one is prohibited in respect to them, both in regard to one's father's or mother's sister on their father's side, and in regard to their sisters on their mother's side. But as regards a marriage being forbidden with the wife of one's father’s brother (cf. Leviticus 18:14) the prohibition (i.e. the איסור ערוה מדאורייתא) applies only to the wife of the brother of one's father when he is the father’s brother on the father’s side (i. e. when both have one father) (cf. Yevamot 54b).
h.אשר ישכב את דדתו AND IF A MAN SHALL LIE WITH HIS AUNT… [THEY SHALL DIE CHILDLESS] — This verse is intended to teach that the “excision” mentioned above (18:29, where “all these abominations includes the union prohibited in v. 14 of that chapter) consists in their (the offenders’) passing from this world childless.
h.ערירים — Translate this as the Targum renders it: בלא ולד, childless. Similar is, (Genesis 15:2) “and I will pass away childless (ערירי)”. If he has children he will bury them (i. e. they will die during his life-time); if he has no children when this sin is committed he will die childless (he will beget no children afterwards). That is why Scripture varies the expression in these two verses (this and the following) here stating ערירים ימתו, “they shall die childless”, and there ערירים יהיו, “they shall be childless”. The expression ערירים ימתו implies: if he has any children at the time he commits the sin, he shall have none remaining when he dies because he will bury them during his lifetime; ערירים יהיו on the other hand, implies: if he has no children at the time when he commits the sin, he shall remain all his life just as he was then (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 12 7; Yevamot 55a).
h.נדה הוא means, this cohabitation ought to be kept at a distance (avoided) and is loathsome. Our Rabbis explained that these words prohibit the slightest approach to her [I.e. one is liable for superficial contact, as is defined in the commentary on verse 18] just as though she were a נדה in the case of whom such intimacy is expressly stated as forbidden, as it says, (v. 18) “he hath uncovered her fountain” (cf. Yevamot 54a).
h.קוץ — ואקץ signifies loathsomeness. Similar is: (Genesis 27:46) “I am sick (קצתי) of my life”, like a man who is disgusted with his food (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 12 16).
h.והבדלתם בין הבהמה הטהרה לטמאה YE SHALL THEREFORE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN CLEAN BEASTS AND UNCLEAN — It is needless for Scripture to say that one should distinguish between a cow and an ass for these are different and are therefore distinguishable. But it means: you shall distinguish between such an animal as is clean (permitted) to you and such as is unclean (forbidden) to you although it is a clean animal per se, i.e., make a distinction between an animal which has been killed by cutting at least the greater part of each organ (the gullet and the windpipe) or whether it has been killed by cutting exactly the half of each organ. And how much difference is there between the greater part and the exact half? A hair’s breadth only (and consequently the command is given: והבדלתם, “you shall very carefully distinguish”) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 12 20; cf. also Rashi on Leviticus 11:47 and Chullin 27a). h.אשר הבדלתי לכם לטמא WHICH I HAVE SEPARATED FOR YOU TO DECLARE THEM UNCLEAN — This means, to declare them as forbidden.
h.ואבדל אתכם מן העמים להיות לי AND I HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM THE PEOPLES THAT YOU SHOULD BE MINE — If you hold yourselves apart from them then you will be Mine, but if not, you belong to (become subject to) Nebuchadnezzar and others like him. Rabbi Eleazer ben Azariah said, “Whence do we know that one should not say, “My soul loathes swine’s flesh”, or, “I have no desire to wear clothes which are a mixture of wool and linen”, but one should say, “I would, indeed, like them, but what can I do since my Father in heaven has imposed these decrees upon me”? Because Scripture states: “I have separated you from the peoples to be for Me”, whichyour separation from them (from their doings) should be for My sake — that one should keep aloof from sin and take upon himself the yoke of the kingdom of Heaven (Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 12 23).
h.'כי יהיה בהם אוב וגו [A MAN ALSO, OR A WOMAN] THAT HATH THE SPIRIT אוב, [OR THAT IS A WIZARD SHALL SURELY BE PUT TO DEATH] — Here the penalty of death by stoning is mentioned for them, and above (Leviticus 20:6) it mentions excision! But the explanation is: If there were witnesses to the offence and the necessary warning had been given them, death by stoning is the punishment. If he acted wittingly but had not been warned, he is punishable with excision and if he breaks the law regarding them (the אוב or ידעוני) inadvertently, he has to bring a sin offering. And the same rules apply in the case of all persons who are subject to the death penalty, where excision is mentioned (i. e. in all such cases “stoning” or a sin offering is the punishment according to the circumstances).