1 You shall make you no idols nor graven image, neither rear you up a standing image, neither shall ye set up any image of stone in your land, to bow down unto it: for I am the Lord your God.
2 You shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
3 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them;
4 Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.
5 And your threshing shall reach unto the vintage, and the vintage shall reach unto the sowing time: and ye shall eat your bread to the full, and dwell in your land safely.
6 And I will give peace in the land, and ye shall lie down, and none shall make you afraid: and I will rid evil beasts out of the land, neither shall the sword go through your land.
7 And ye shall chase your enemies, and they shall fall before you by the sword.
8 And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword.
9 For I will have respect unto you, and make you fruitful, and multiply you, and establish my covenant with you.
10 And you shall eat old store, and bring forth the old because of the new.
11 And I set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
12 And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and ye shall be my people.
13 I am the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands of your yoke, and made you go upright.
14 But if you will not hearken unto me, and will not do all these commandments;
15 And if you shall despise my statutes, or if your soul abhor my judgments, so that ye will not do all my commandments, but that ye break my covenant:
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
17 And I will set my face against you, and ye shall be slain before your enemies: they that hate you shall reign over you; and ye shall flee when none pursueth you.
18 And if you will not yet for all this hearken unto me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
19 And I will break the pride of your power; and I will make your heaven as iron, and your earth as brass:
20 And your strength shall be spent in vain: for your land shall not yield her increase, neither shall the trees of the land yield their fruits.
21 And if you walk contrary unto me, and will not hearken unto me; I will bring seven times more plagues upon you according to your sins.
22 I will also send wild beasts among you, which shall rob you of your children, and destroy your cattle, and make you few in number; and your high ways shall be desolate.
23 And if ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me;
24 Then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins.
25 And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
26 And when I have broken the staff of your bread, ten women shall bake your bread in one oven, and they shall deliver you your bread again by weight: and ye shall eat, and not be satisfied.
27 And if you will not for all this hearken unto me, but walk contrary unto me;
28 Then I will walk contrary unto you also in fury; and I, even I, will chastise you seven times for your sins.
29 And you shall eat the flesh of your sons, and the flesh of your daughters shall ye eat.
30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
31 And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet odours.
32 And I will bring the land into desolation: and your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
33 And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a sword after you: and your land shall be desolate, and your cities waste.
34 Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth desolate, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest, and enjoy her sabbaths.
35 As long as it lieth desolate it shall rest; because it did not rest in your sabbaths, when ye dwelt upon it.
36 And upon them that are left alive of you I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies; and the sound of a shaken leaf shall chase them; and they shall flee, as fleeing from a sword; and they shall fall when none pursueth.
37 And they shall fall one upon another, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth: and ye shall have no power to stand before your enemies.
38 And you shall perish among the heathen, and the land of your enemies shall eat you up.
39 And they that are left of you shall pine away in their iniquity in your enemies' lands; and also in the iniquities of their fathers shall they pine away with them.
40 If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me;
41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity:
42 Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land.
43 The land also shall be left of them, and shall enjoy her sabbaths, while she lieth desolate without them: and they shall accept of the punishment of their iniquity: because, even because they despised my judgments, and because their soul abhorred my statutes.
44 And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them: for I am the Lord their God.
45 But I will for their sake remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the heathen, that I might be their God: I am the Lord.
46 These are the statutes and judgments and laws, which the Lord made between him and the children of Israel in mount Sinai by the hand of Moses.
Leviticus 26:14-46 is a passage to consider when countering the notion that God 'divorced' Israel or that there has been any abrogation or replacement theology. Also see Deuteronomy 28:15-68 which strongly mirrors this one. What we do not see is any kind of ultimate abrogation but rather a confirmation of the covenant as being eternal and an eventual return of Israel to God.
h.לא תעשו לכם אלילם YE SHALL MAKE YOU NO IDOLS This command is repeated here with reference to one who has sold himself as a slave to a non-Jew in order that he should not say “Since my master is a libertine I will be like him; since my master worships idols, I will be like him; since my master desecrates the Sabbath, I will be like hin”, on this account have these verses (v. 1 and v. 2) been stated. Indeed all these sections (these of the whole Sedrah) are stated in the sequence in which the incidents to which they refer actually occur. First Scripture warns the people about the seventh year's produce (not to do trade in them). If, however, one is covetous of money and brings himself under the constant suspicion of trading in the seventh-year fruits, he will at some time have to sell his movable property on account of his destitution. It is for this reason that Scripture put in juxtaposition to it (the“And when you make a sale [to your fellow-Jew]” (25:14) “or make a purchase from the hand…,” something that is transferred from hand to hand). If he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his inheritance (25:25). If he even then does not repent, he will eventually have to sell his home, and if even then, he does not repent, he will eventually have to borrow money with interest (verses 25:35-38). Now, the later the scenario in this passage, the more severe it is [i.e., first he sells his belongings, then his property, then his home and then even borrowing with interest which is more severe than selling one’s property; (Nachalath Ya’akov) thus, the passage continues accordingly, for] if he still does not repent, he will eventually have to sell himself [to his fellow Jew as a servant] (verses 25:39-46); and [finally,] if he has still not repented, not enough that he had to be sold to his fellow Jew - but he will [be forced to sell himself] even to a non-Jew! (Kiddushin 20a)
h.ואבן משכית (a kind of mosaic pavement) — The word משכית is an expression denoting “covering”, similar to the verb in (Exodus 33:22) “I will cover thee (ושכותי) with my hand”. Such a mosaic is so called because people cover the ground with a pavement of stones
h.להשתחות עליה TO PROSTRATE YOURSELVES UPON IT, not even to the Lord, since prostration involves stretching forth of hands and feet (the highest form of adoration) and Scripture forbids doing so outside the Temple (Megillah 22b)
h.'אני ה I AM THE LORD, Who am faithful to pay you your reward.
h.אם בחקתי תלכו IF YE WALK IN MY ORDINANCES — One might think that this denotes the fulfilment of the commandments; but when Scripture states “and ye shall keep My commandments and do them”, it is plain that in this passage there is mentioned the “fulfilment of the commands”. How then must I explain אם בחקתי תלכו? As an admonition that you should study the Torah laboriously (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 1 1-2)
h.ואת מצותי תשמרו AND TAKE HEED OF MY COMMANDMENTS — Study the Torah laboriously with the intention to take heed and to fulfil its teachings, as it is said, (Deuteronomy 5:1) “and ye shall learn them and take heed to do them“.
h.תקליטוניםבעתם [THEN I WILL GIVE YOU RAIN] IN ITS SEASON — i. e. at times when the rain is “seasonable”, at such moments when people do not usually go out on journeys, as, for instance, in the nights preceding the Sabbaths (Friday nights) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 1; cf. Taanit 23a).
h.ועץ השדה AND THE TREES OF THE FIELD [SHALL YIELD THEIR FRUIT] — This refers to the wild trees; and even these will bear fruits in future (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 6).
h.והשיג לכם דיש את בציר AND YOUR THRESHING SHALL REACH UNTO THE VINTAGE — This means that there will be plenty of threshing-work so that you will be busy with it till the vintage, and with the vintage you will be busy till the time of sowing (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 7).
h.ואכלתם לחמכם לשבע AND YE SHALL EAT YOUR BREAD TO THE FULL — This means, one will eat only a little and it will become blessed in his bowels (will fully satisfy him) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 7; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 25:19).
h.ונתתי שלום AND I WILL GIVE PEACE [IN THE [LAND— Perhaps you will say, “Well, there is food and there is drink; but if there is no peace, then all this is nothing!” Scripture therefore states after all these promises “I will give peace in the land”. Hence we may learn that peace counterbalances everything. In a similar sense it states: “Who makest peace and createst all things” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 1 8).
h.וחרב לא תעבור בארצכם NEITHER SHALL THE SWORD PASS THROUGH YOUR LAND — Surely it is unnecessary to say that they (enemies) will not enter your land to wage war (since this is implied in בארץ ונתתי שלום). But this means that they will not enter even to pass by way of your land [on their march from one country to another to wage war] (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 3).
h.לפניכם לחרב [AND YE SHALL PURSUE YOUR ENEMIES AND THEY SHALL FALL] BEFORE YOU BY THE SWORD — one by the sword of the other (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 3).
h.ורדפו מכם [AND FIVE] OF YOU SHALL PURSUE [A HUNDRED] — five of the weakest among you — and not alone of the most robust among you (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).
h.חמישה מאה ומאה מכם רבבה FIVE [OF YOU SHALL PURSUE] A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED… TEN THOUSAND — But is this the right proportion? Surely it should have stated only “and a hundred of you shall pursue two thousand (and not ten thousand)!? But the explanation is: a few who fulfill the commandments of the Torah cannot compare with the many who fulfill the commandments of the Torah (i. e. the greater the group of those loyal to the Torah, the greater is the morale and, under God’s blessing, the physical strength of each individual belonging to the group) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).
h.'ונפלו איביכם וגו AND YOUR ENEMIES SHALL FALL etc. — The repetition of this promise already expressed in v. 7 suggests that they will fall before you in a supernatural way (lit., not in the way of the world) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 4).
h.ופניתי אליכם AND I WILL TURN UNTO YOU — This means, I will turn away from all My business in order to pay you your reward. A parable! To what may this be compared? To a king who hired labourers etc., just as is explained in Torath Cohanim (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 5).
h.והפריתי אתכם AND I SHALL MAKE YOU FRUITFUL — This, of course, means:in פריה ורביה in reproductive power (i. e. in numbers), but —
h.והרביתי אתכם (which may denote: “I will make you large”) means in height (lit., erect stature) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 5).
h.והקמתי את בריתי אתכם AND I WILL ESTABLISH MY COVENANT WITH YOU — a new covenant; not like that covenant which you broke by worshipping the golden calf), as it said, (Jeremiah 31:31-32): “[Behold, the days come, saith the Lord that] I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant [that I made with their fathers,… which My covenant they broke, but… I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts]” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 2 5).
h.ואכלתם ישן נושן AND YE SHALL EAT STORE OF FORMER YEARS (lit., ye shall eat old that has become old) — This involves a promise that the fruits (grain) will be fit to keep the whole year and will even be of such good quality as to become old, so that the old grain that has grown old, that which is in its third year, will be better for food than that of the last year (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 1; cf. Bava Batra 91b).
h.וישן מפני חדש תוציאו AND YE SHALL CLEAR OUT THAT OF THE FORMER YEARS BECAUSE OF THE NEW — because the threshing floors in the fields will be full of new grain while the granaries are still full of the old, so that you will have to clear the granaries out into another place in order to place the new fruit in them (for this requires a dry place to preserve them, while the old fruit has already become dry and may therefore be removed from the granaries) (Bava Batra 91b)
h.ונתתי משכני AND I WILL SET MY DWELLING [AMONGST YOU] — This means the Temple at Jerusalem (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 2; Eruvin 2a).
h.ולא תגעל נפשי אתכם This means AND MY SPIRIT SHALL NOT LOATHE YOU. The root געל wherever it occurs denotes the casting out (as though spewing) or something that has been absorbed in another substance. In a similar sense the verb is used in (II Samuel 1:21) “For there the shield of the mighty was נגעל, [the shield of Saul, as though it had never been anointed with oil]”, i. e. it did not show itself receptive to being anointed, but ejected, as it were, the oily substance with which it had been smeared; for they used to smear leather shields with boiled fat in order to make the blow of the arrow or the spear glide off, so that it should not penetrate the leather. (Thus, when two things have been in the closest association, the term געל may be used of that which finally discards the other. It spews it out, as it were, it is sick of it, loathes it.)
h.והתהלכתי בתוככם AND I WILL WALK AMONG YOU — I will, as it were, walk with you in the Garden of Eden as though I were one of yourselves and you will not be frightened of Me. One might think that this implies: you will not fear (reverence) Me! Scripture however states, “but I will be your God” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 3-4).
h.אני ה׳ אלהיכם I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD [WHO BROUGHT YOU FORTH FROM THE LAND OF EGYPT] — I deserve that you should put your trust in Me that I am able to do all these things, for, behold, I brought you forth from the land of Egypt and have wrought great miracles for you (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 4).
h.מטות are a kind of peg inserted in both ends of the yoke which hold back the strap from slipping off the head of the ox whereby the knot might become undone. Similar is (Jeremiah 27:2). “Make thee strips and poles (מטות)”; cheville, in old French, English pins.
h.קוממיות means erect in stature (in contrast to the bent position of a person who is under a yoke) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 3 7).
h.ואם לא תשמעו לי BUT IF YE WILL NOT HEARKEN UNTO ME to study the Torah laboriously in order to fathom the textual interpretation of the Sages…, I also will do this unto you, etc. One might think that this refers to the fulfillment of the commandments! When, however, Scripture states immediately afterwards: “and ye will not do [all my commandments]”, it is evident that the fulfilment of the commandments is mentioned there! How, then, must I explain לא תשמעו לי? Obviously as meaning: “But if you will not hearken unto Me to study the Torah industriously” as I bid you do when I said אם בחקתי תלכו (cf. Rashi on v. 3). And what is the force of the word לי? (To express this idea would it not have sufficed to state: ואם לא תשמעו?) It implies that your disobedience is directed לי against Me. The word לי is used only in the case of such a one who knows his Master and yet of set purpose rebels against Him (i. e. the entire chapter containing these threats of punishment is addressed only to such a person, not to one who sins against God unwittingly). Similarly in reference to Nimrod: (Genesis 10:9) “a mighty hunter before (לפני) the Lord” which means that he knew Him and yet of set purpose rebelled against him. Similarly in reference to the men of Sodom: (Genesis 13:13) “[But the men of Sodom were] evil and sinful against the Lord ('לה) exceedingly” — they knew their Master and yet of set purpose rebelled against him (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 2 1-2; cf. Rashi on those two verses).
h.ולא תעשו AND YOU WILL NOT DO — Because you will not learn you will not practice the commandments: thus you have two separate sins mentioned here (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 2 3).
h.ואם בחקתי תמאסו AND IF YE WILL SCORN MY ORDINANCES — scorn those who practise them.
h.משפטי תגעל נפשם [IF] YOUR SOUL LOTH MY JUDGMENTS — This implies hating the Sages.
h.לבלתי עשות (lit., that my commandments should not be done) — this therefore implies that one prevents others from practising them. (That they themselves do not do them has already been stated in v. 14).
h.את כל מצותי ALL MY COMMANDMENTS — This refers to him who denies the Divine origin of the commandments, asserting that I have not commanded them. It is for this reason that Scripture states, “all My commands” and does not state, as in v. 14, “all these commands”.
h.להפרכם את בריתי TO MAKE VOID MY COVENANT — denying the great principle of the existence of God (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 2 3). — Thus you have here seven sins the first of which brings the second in its train and so on to the seventh. And these are: he has not studied and therefore has not practised the commandments; consequently he scorns others who do practise them, hates the Sages, prevents others from practising, denies the Divine origin of the commandments, and finally denies the existence of God.
h.והפקדתי עליכם means, I will order upon you the following calamities.
h.שחפת CONSUMPTION — A disease which swells the flesh, ampoules in old French; it resembles a thing that has been distended, the distension of which has become reduced — and the appearance of his (the sick man’s) face is thin and woebegone.
h.קדחת is a disease which inflames the body, makes it hot and burning (feverish). It is similar in meaning to the verb in, (Deuteronomy 32:22) “For a fire burns (קדחה) in My nostril”.
h.מכלות עינים ומדיבת נפש THAT THE EYES PINE AND CAUSE SORROW TO THE SOUL — The eyes look expectantly and pine to see that he (the sick) should be relieved and healed, and in the end it turns out that he is not healed, and the souls of his family grieve when he dies. Any desire that does not come to fulfilment and any hope deferred is termed כליון עינים, “pining of the eyes”.
h.וזרעתם לריק AND YE SHALL SOW [YOUR SEED] IN VAIN — ye shall sow your seed but it shall not grow — and if it does grow, ואכלוהו איביכם YOUR ENEMIES SHALL EAT IT.
h.ונתתי פני AND I WILL SET פני [AGAINST YOU] — i. e. פנאי שלי, My leisure, — I will turn away from all My other affairs in order to do you evil (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 17:20).
h.ורדו בכם שנאיכם — These words mean exactly what they imply: THEY THAT HATE YOU SHALL RULE OVER YOU. — The Agadic explanation of the Torat Cohanim (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 4 1-5) on this section is as follows:
h.אף אני אעשה זאת — I speak to you only with the expression אף. Similarly it states, (v. 41) “So, too, (אף) I will walk contrary unto them”.
h.והפקדתי עליכם I WILL ORDER UPON YOU denotes that the calamities will come upon you from one to another — while the first will still be on visit to you (will afflict you) I will bring another and add it to that.
h.בהלה is a plague that causes terror upon people. And what is that? It is an epidemic plague of pestilence.
h.את השחפת THE CONSUMPTION — You may have a person that is sick and even confined to his bed, but his flesh is in a well-preserved state; therefore Scripture states, “I will visit you with שחפת” — that he will waste away. Or there are times that he may be wasting away but is calm and without fever, Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you with… קדחת” — that he will be in a fever. Or there are times that he may be in a fever but still cherishes the belief that he will recover (and therefore is easy in mind), Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you… with fever that shall make the eyes pine”. Or there may be the last stage when he cherishes no belief that he will recover, but others (his relatives) cherish the belief that he will recover, Scripture therefore states, “I will visit you with… fever… that shall cause sorrow of soul (utter despair).
h.וזרעתם לריק זרעכם — One shall sow it (the soil) but it shall not grow grain. Well, then, what does it mean when it states that your enemies will come and eat?. How is this possible? But the explanation is: One shall sow it (the soil) the first year and it will not yield; the next year, however, it will yield, and then the enemies will come and will find grain for the time of siege, whilst those within the beleaguered city will die of famine because they will have gathered no grain the year before. Another explanation of וזרעתם לריק זרעכם is: Scripture is speaking in reference to your sons and daughters — you will rear them only after much toil but sin, the enemy, will come and destroy them, as it is said, (i. e. a similar thought is expressed in the text) (Lamentations 2:22) “those that I have swaddled and brought up mine enemy hath consumed”.
h.ונתתי פני בכם — Even as it is stated in the case of the promise of good (v. 9), “I will turn (ופניתי) unto you” so is it stated also with regard to the threat of evil “I will set My face (פני) against you”. They (the Sages) illustrated this by a parable: it may be compared to the case of a king who said to his subjects, “I will turn away from all My other affairs and will devote myself to you alone — for evil”.
h.ונגפתם לפני איביכם — (This may signify: and ye shall be plagued in the presence of your enemies) — it means that death (pestilence — נגף) will kill you within the city whilst your enemies are besieging you outside (cf. the first Agadic comment on וזרעתם לריק ).
h. ורדו בכם שנאיכם — (בכם is taken to signify: those who are amongst you) — this means that I will raise up haters of you only out of your own people and in your own midst. Internal enemies (שונאים) are a greater curse than external enemies (אויבים) for when the nations of the world rise against Israel they seek only what lies in the open, as it is said, (Judges 6:3, 4) “And so it was, when Israel had sown, that the Midianites came up, and the Amalekites, and the children of the east,… and they encamped against them, and destroyed the increase of the land”; but when I raise up against you those of your own people and in your own midst they search also after your hidden treasures. And thus it states, (Micah 3:1—3) “[Hear, O heads of Jacob, and ye princes of the house of Israel…] who also eat the flesh of my people and flay their skin from off them etc.”
h.ונסתם AND YE SHALL RUN AWAY — from sheer panic,
h.ואין רדף אתכם WHEN NONE PURSUETH YOU, since there is no strength in them to do so.
h.ואם עד אלה means AND IF, WHILE THESE ARE YET with you,לא תשמעו YOU WILL NOT HEARKEN,
h.ויספתי — This together with ליסרה means, THEN I WILL ADD still other afflictions,
h.שבע על חטאתיכם SEVEN punishments FOR THE seven SINS which were mentioned above (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 1).
h.ושברתי את גאון עזכם AND I WILL BREAK THE EXCELLENCY OF YOUR STRENGTH — This is a reference to the Temple; for thus does it state, (Ezekiel 24:21) “Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the excellency of your strength”.
h.ונתתי את שמיכם כברזל ואת ארצכם כנחשה AND I WILL MAKE YOUR HEAVEN AS IRON AND YOUR EARTH AS COPPER — This threat is even severer than that of Moses, because there it says, (Deuteronomy 28:23) “And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be copper, [and the earth that is under thee shall be iron]” which implies that the heaven will at least exude moisture (will give some humidity) just as the copper exudes moisture, whilst the earth will not exude just as iron docs not exude, and so it will keep its fruit in good condition, since it will not be too humid. Here, however, Scripture threatens that the heaven will not exude moisture, just as iron does not exude, and there will therefore be draught in the world, whilst the earth will exude (be too humid) just as copper sweats, and it will consequently make its fruits perish (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 3).
h.ותם לריק כחכם AND YOUR STRENGTH SHALL BE SPENT IN VAIN — Behold, if a man does not toil in his field — neither tills, nor sows, nor weeds it, nor clears away the thorns, nor hoes it, and then at harvest time blight comes and strikes it (the field, i. e. destroys that which sprung up of itself), surely it does not matter much (he does not take it to heart). But if a man has toiled — he has ploughed, sown, weeded, cleared away the thorns and hoed it, and then blight comes and strikes it, surely then the teeth of that man become blunt! (a figurative expression for becoming speechless, terror-stricken) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 4).
h.ולא תתן ארצכם את יבולה — This means, the earth shall not yield even as much as you brought to it at sowing-time (יבולה as passive participle with suffix of יבל “to bring”, may denote: that which is brought to it) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 4).
h.ועץ הארץ AND THE TREE OF THE GROUND [SHALL NOT YIELD] — This implies that even from the very earth a curse will rest upon it — that it will not bring its fruits to development at the time when they should develop (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 4).
h.לא יתן serves as the verb with what precedes and with what follows — with “tree” and with “fruit”. Thus we obtain a second sense —
h.לא יתן פריו IT WILL NOT GIVE ITS FRUIT — when it does produce fruit, it will cast its fruits (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 4). This gives two curses, and so you have here seven punishments in all.
h.ואם תלכו עמי קרי — Our Rabbis said (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 5): this word signifies “irregularly”, “by chance” (מקרה), which is a thing that happens only occasionally; thus this means: if you will follow the commandments irregularly. Menachem explains it as an expression for “refraining”. Similar is, (Proverbs 25:17) “Refrain (הוקר) thy foot [from thy neighbour’s house]”; (Proverbs 17:27) “of a refraining (יקר) spirit”. This meaning approximates to the translation given by Onkelos which is a term denoting “stubbornness” (קושי) — that they harden their hearts so as to refrain from coming near unto Me.
h.שבע כחטאתיכם SEVEN ACCORDING TO YOUR SINS — i. e. seven other punishments. These words mean: I will bring upon you more plagues (ויספתי עליכם מכה) in number, seven, corresponding to your sins (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 5).
h.והשלחתי is an expression for “inciting”.
h.ושכלה אתכם [I WILL INCITE THE WILD ANIMALS AGAINST YOU] WHICH WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR CHILDREN — I find here mention only of wild animals robbing them of their children, i. e. of animals whose nature consists in this (to attack human beings); whence do we know that cattle whose nature is not thus will also rob them of their children? Because it states in a similar series of threats (Deuteronomy 32:24) “I will also incite (אשלח) the teeth of cattle (בהמות) against them”. — Thus you have two of the seven calamities mentioned above (the attacks of wild beasts and of cattle). And whence do we know that it (the cattle) will kill by its bite? Because Scripture states immediately afterwards, “with the poison of serpents of the dust”. How is it in the case of these (the serpents)? They bite and kill by their bite! So, too, will those (the cattle) bite and thus kill. There were indeed such years in the Land of Israel when both a tame ass bit someone and caused his death and the wild ass bit and caused death (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 6).
h.ושכלה אתכם AND THEY WILL ROB YOU OF YOUR CHILDREN — This means your little children.
h.והכריתה את בהמתכם AND THEY WILL DESTROY YOUR CATTLE — those being outside in the fields (and so unable to escape the attacks of wild beasts),
h.והמעיטה אתכם AND REDUCE YOUR NUMBERS — you being inside in the houses (reduce your numbers and not destroy entirely, for some of you will be able to escape).
h.ונשמו דרכיכם AND YOUR ROADS SHALL BE DESOLATE — both the highways and the by-paths (דרכיכם plural!) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 5 7). — Here again you have seven punishments: 1) the teeth of domestic animals, 2) the teeth of wild animals, 3) the venom of the crawling things of the dust, 4) and they will bereave, 5) utterly destroy, 6) and diminish, 7) and [your roads] will become desolate.
h. לא תוסרו ליAND IF YOU WILL NOT BE CHASTISED — so that you should return unto Me.
h.נקם ברית [AND I WILL BRING UPON YOU A SWORD AVENGING] THE VENGEANCE OF THE COVENANT — Scripture speaks of “the vengeance of the covenant” because there is vengeance which is not mentioned in “The Covenant” (i. e. in this chapter of Scripture) being in the manner of other acts of vengeance (i. e. like the barbarous acts of revenge that are customary among other peoples, but which are not threatened in the Torah), and such a one was the blinding of the eyes of king Zedekiah (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 1; cf. 2 Kings 25:7). Another explanation of נקם ברית is that it means vengeance for My covenant which you have transgressed. Wherever “bringing of the sword” is mentioned in Scripture it signifies a war waged by the enemies’ armies.
h.ונאספתם AND YE SHALL GATHER YOURSELVES from outside (from the open country) WITHIN YOUR CITIES on account of the state of siege (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 1).
h.ושלחתי דבר בתוככם AND I WILL SEND THE PESTILENCE AMONG YOU, and through the pestilence it will happen, ונתתם ביד THAT YOU WILL BE GIVEN INTO THE HAND of the enemies who besiege you. This is because no corpse was permitted to remain in Jerusalem over night, and therefore when they would carry the corpse out of the city to bury it they would be given (they would fall) into the hands of their enemies (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 1).
h.מטה לחם THE STAFF OF YOUR BREAD: מַטֵּה — This expression denotes [a source of] “support”, similar to “staff (מַטֵּה) of strength” (Jeremiah 48:17).
h.בשברי לכם מטה לחם WHEN I BREAK THE STAFF OF YOUR BREAD — This implies: “I will break for you every support of food”. These are the “arrows of famine” alluded to by Ezekiel (5:16), for he continues with exactly the same words: “and I will break your staff of bread” (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 2).
h.בתנור אחד [TEN WOMEN SHALL BREAK YOUR BREAD] IN ONE OVEN — on account of scarcity of wood (fuel) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 2).
h.והשיבו לחמכם במשקל AND THEY SHALL DELIVER YOUR OWN BREAD AGAIN BY WEIGHT, because the grain will rot and the bread will become פת נפולת (crumbly bread) and break into pieces in the oven, so that they (the women) will deliberately weigh the pieces in order to divide them between themselves (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 2).
h.ואכלתם ולא תשבעו AND YE SHALL EAT AND NOT BE SATISFIED — This is a special curse that will take effect on the bread already in their stomach (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 2; cf. Rashi on v. 5). Thus you have seven punishments (alluded to in v. 24): (1) the attacking armies, (2) the siege, (3) the plague, (4) the destruction of food supply, (5) a lack of wood, (6) crumbly bread and (7) a curse in the intestines.
h.במתיכם YOUR HIGH PLACES — towers and castles.
h.חמניכם SUN IMAGES — a kind of idols which they used to set on their roofs; and because they were placed in the sun (חמה) they are called “sun images” (חמנים) (Sifra, Kedoshim, Section 1 11).
h.ונתתי את פגריכם AND I WILL CAST YOUR CARCASSES [UPON THE CARCASSES OF YOUR IDOLS] —[This actually happened, for it is related (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 4; Sanhedrin 63b) that] people were once swollen from starvation during a siege, and yet they took their idols from their bosom and kissed them, and whilst they were so doing each person’s belly burst open and he fell to the ground upon it (the idol).
h.וגעלה נפשי אתכם AND MY SOUL SHALL LOATHE YOU — This refers to the departure of the Shechinah from their midst (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 4).
h.ונתתי את עריכם חרבה AND I WILL MAKE YOUR CITIES WASTE — I might think that this means that they will be so waste that there will be no human being there (no inhabitants)! But when Scripture states (v. 32) “I will bring the land into desolation” its becoming desolate of human beings is expressed there. How, then, must I explain the words “[and I will make your cities] waste”? That there will not even be occasional passers to and fro — no occasional visitors (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 1 4).
h.והשמותי את מקדשיכם AND I WILL BRING YOUR SANCTUARIES UNTO DESOLATION — I might think that this means they will be desolate of sacrifices! But when Scripture states, “and I will not smell [your pleasing odors]”, their being desolate of sacrifices is expressed there! How then must I explain והשמותי את מקדשיכם? As referring to their being abandoned by the bands of pilgrims — by the caravans of Israelites which used to prepare and to band together in order to pilgrim there (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 1 4). Thus again you have seven punishments: the eating of the flesh of their sons and daughters, the destruction of the high places, these make two. — The cutting off of the sun-images, however, is not reckoned as a separate punishment, for that statement means that through the destruction of the high places the sun-images which were placed on the top of the roofs would fall and so be destroyed. — “I will cast your carcasses etc.”, three; the departure of the Shechinah, four; the laying waste of the cities, the desertion of the Sanctuary by the pilgrim bands and “I shall not smell the pleasing odor of the sacrifices” — make altogether seven.
h.והשמתי אני את הארץ AND I WILL BRING THE LAND INTO DESOLATION [AND YOUR ENEMIES WHO ABIDE IN IT SHALL BE DESOLATE UPON IT] — This was a kindly measure for Israel that the enemies would find no satisfaction in their (the Israelites') land and so it would become desolate of its inhabitants (of the enemies also, and Israel might again easily take possession of it) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 5).
h.ואתכם אזרה בגוים AND I WILL SCATTER YOU AMONG THE NATIONS — This again was a harsh measure; because when the inhabitants of a country go into exile in one and the same place they have the opportunity to see each other and so find consolation for their bad lot. Israel, however, was scattered as though by a winnowing fan — as when a man winnows barley with a fan — when not even one grain of them adheres to the other (not even two grains remain in the same place; cf. Jeremiah 25:7) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 6).
h.והריקתי — (lit., I shall empty out) — This term may be used for drawing the sword because when one draws the sword the scabbard becomes empty (cf. Rashi on Ex 15:9). A Midrashic explanation (referring the word והריקתי to the sword itself not to the scabbard) is the sword once drawn to pursue you will not soon return unto the scabbard — as a man pours out water and it can never return to the vessel that once contained it (i. e. I will, as it were, empty out the scabbard — pour forth the sword from it, and it shall never return, but always follow you) (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 6 7).
h.והיתה ארצכם שממה AND YOUR LAND WILL BE (REMAIN) DESOLATE — This implies that you will not soon return unto it, and on that account עריכם יהיו חריבה YOUR CITIES WILL BE WASTE, i. e. they will seem to you waste; for when a man is exiled from his house, or from his vineyard, or from his city, knowing that he is ultimately to return to it, it appears to him as though his vineyard or his house were not waste. —Thus is it explained in Torat Cohanim (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 7 1).
h.אז תרצה means: then the land shall appease the wrath of the Omnipresent who was angry because of the neglect of the Sabbatical years.
h.והרצת — means, it will give satisfaction to the King as regards its Sabbatical years.
h.כל ימי השמה — The word השמה expresses the idea of something being done (passive infinitive; here Hophal); and the מ has a Dagesh in place of doubling that letter in the root שמם.
h.את אשר לא שבתה BECAUSE IT DID NOT REST [IN YOUR SABBATHS] — The seventy years of the Babylonian exile exactly corresponded to the seventy Sabbatical and Jubilee years that were due in those years when Israel was provoking the anger of the Omnipresent whilststill in their land, i. e. in 430 years. Three hundred and ninety were their years of sin from the time they entered the Land until the Ten Tribes went into exile. The people of the Kingdom of Judah provoked Him still another forty years, — from the exile of the Ten Tribes until the destruction of Jerusalem (in the days of king Jehoiachin; cf. 2 Kings 24:10 ff.). It is this that is mentioned in the case of Ezekiel (4:4—6): “Moreover lie thou upon thy left, [and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it, thou shalt bear their iniquity. For I have appointed the years of their iniquity to be unto thee a number of days, even three hundred and ninety days…]. And again, when thou hast accomplished these, thou shalt lie on thy right side, and shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days [each day for a year have I appointed it unto thee]”. This prophecy was spoken to Ezekiel in the fifth year of king Jeoiachin’s captivity (cf. Ezekiel 1:2). They spent another six years in the Land until Zedekiah (the last king, who reigned eleven years) went into exile; thus you have altogether forty-six years. — And if you say “But this period must have covered more than forty-six years because the years of the reign of Manasseh (the son of Hezekiah during whose reign the Ten Tribes became exiled), were alone 55 years, and there followed other kings also until the destruction of the Temple!” Then I reply that Manasseh lived in a state of repentence 33 years of these and that the years of his wickedness with which alone we are concerned were only twenty-two, as it is said, (2 Kings 21:3) “For he (Manasseh)… made an Asherah, as did Ahab king of Israel”, and Ahab reigned 22 years, just as they (the Rabbis) stated (i. e. they stated that this comparison of Manasseh with Ahab shows that the latter was wicked for 22 years only) in the chapter Chelek (Sanhedrin 103a). Then we have the years of his successor, Amon, two; eleven of Jehoiakin, and a similar number of Zedekiah, the last king of Judah — altogether 46 years. Now, go and calculate for four hundred and thirty-six years the number of Sabbatical and Jubilee periods contained in them and you will find that they are sixteen for every hundred years, viz., fourteen Sabbatical periods and two Jubilee-periods; so for four hundred years there are sixty-four. For the remaining thirty-six there are five Sabbatical periods, making seventy less one. There is yet one year over (the thirty-sixth, since five Sabbatical periods give only thirty-five years) which entered into (began) the Sabbatical period and which completes seventy such periods, each terminating in a Sabbatical year. And because of them (i. e. because of the neglect of these seventy years) exactly seventy years of exile were decreed against them. Thus, too, it is said in Chronicles, (II Chronicles 36:21) “[and them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon…] until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths [for as long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbaths] to fulfill three score and ten years” (Seder Olam).
h.והבאתי מרך AND I WILL SEND A FAINTNESS [INTO THEIR HEART] — מרך means timidity and faint-heartedness. The מ is an essential letter of the noun, which, however, is omitted in the root; as is the case with the מ in the nouns מועד and ומוקש.
h.ונסו מנוסת חרב AND THEY SHALL RUN AWAY AS RUNNING AWAY FROM THE SWORD — as though pursuers were about to kill them.
h.עלה נדף A RUSTLING LEAF — i. e. a leaf which the wind pushes along and beats it against another leaf, so that, in tapping it, it produces a sound. This, too, is its translation in the Targum: the sound of a leaf דשקיף — a term that signifies beating. The words (Genesis 41:6): שדופות קדים are rendered in the Targum by שקיפן קידום, beaten by the east wind, the first word being of the same meaning as משקוף, a lintel, that being the place against which the door beats. Similarly the Targum translation of חבורה, a wound, (Exodus 21:25), is משקופי (a spot that has been beaten).
h.וכשלו איש באחיו AND THEY SHALL STUMBLE ONE UPON ANOTHER — When they are running in order to escape they will stumble one against the other because they will be in a hurry to run away.
h.מפני חרב AS IT WERE BEFORE THE SWORD — i. e. as though they were fleeing from before murderers. It means that in their heart there will be timidity, and at every moment they will think that somebody is pursuing them. A Midrashic explanation of וכשלו איש באחיו is: one will stumble by reason of the sin of the other (באחיו is taken in the sense of: on account of the other), for all Israelites are held responsible for one another (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 7 5; Sanhedrin 27b).
h.ואבדתם בגוים AND YE SHALL BE LOST AMONG THE NATIONS — when you are scattered about among the nations you will lose sight of each other (lit., “you will be lost from one another”) (cf. Rashi on v. 33; see also Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 1).
h.ואכלה אתכם [AND THE LAND OF YOUR ENEMIES] SHALL EAT YOU UP — This refers to those who will die in exile (cf. Targum Jonathan on).
h.בעונת אבתם אתם means if the iniquities of their fathers shall be with them, i. e. if they hold fast to (imitate) the doings of their fathers (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 2; Sanhedrin 27b).
h.ימקו — This is an expression denoting “melting away” and therefore means the same as ימסו, “they shall melt away”. Similar to it are (Zechariah 14:12) “[their eyes] shall melt away (תמקנה) in their holes”; (Psalms 38:6) “My wounds נמקו, melt” (i. e. run with pus).
h.והבאתי אתם AND I SHALL BRING THEM [INTO THE LAND OF THEIR ENEMIES] — I Myself shall bring them; this is a kindly measure for Israel in order that they should not say, “Since we are banished among the nations let us do like their doings”. “For”, says God “I will not suffer them to do this, but I will raise up My prophets and so bring them back under My wings, as it is said, (Ezekiel 20:30) “And that which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, — [that ye say, We will be as the heathens, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone]. As I live, saith the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand, and with an outstretched arm and with fury poured out, will “I” be king over you etc.” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 5).
h.או אז יכנע — The word או here has the same meaning as in (Exodus 21:36) או נודע כי שור נגח הוא (cf. Rashi on that verse and our Note thereon). The translation therefore is: “If then [their uncircumcised hearts] will be humbled”. Another explanation is that או means perhaps, — “perhaps then their uncircumcised hearts will be humbled”.
h.ואז ירצו את עונם means, and they will atone for their iniquities by the punishments they will have suffered.
h.וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב THEN I WILL REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB — In five places in Scripture it (the name יעקב) is written plene (יעקוב) and the name אליהו is written defectively in five places, to intimate that Jacob — as it were — took one letter of his (Elijah’s) name as a pledge that at some future time he should come and proclaim the good tidings of his descendants’ redemption (cf. Midrash חסירות ויתירות). וזכרתי את בריתי יעקוב THEN I WILL REMEMBER MY COVENANT WITH JACOB [AND ALSO MY COVENANT WITH ISAAC, AND ALSO MY COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM WILL I REMEMBER] — Why are they (the patriarchs) enumerated here in a reverse order (in contrast to e. g., Exodus 32:13, where it states: 'לאברהם ליצחק ולישראל וכוזכור )? It is to say: Jacob the youngest among the patriarchs is worthy of this that, through his merits, his children should be redeemed; if he be not sufficiently worthy, behold, the merit of Isaac is with him; if that does not suffice, behold, then there is Abraham with him who is surely worthy enough! And why does Scripture not use the word “remember” in connection with Isaac’s name? Because this is unnecessary, for — says God, as it were — the ashes of Isaac (who according to My command to Abraham was to become a burnt offering) are ever visible before Me as though they were heaped up lying upon the altar (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 6-7).
h.יען וביען BECAUSE AND BECAUSE [THEY REJECTED MY ORDINANCES] — i. e. it is a retribution — and a retribution, too, that they have rejected My ordinances.
h.ואף גם זאת AND YET FOR ALL THIS — i. e., but also (אף) even though (גם) I shall execute on them this (זאת) punishment which I have mentioned when they shall be in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them to make an end of them and to make void My covenant which has thus far been with them (viz., the covenant 'כי אני ה אלהיהם that I, the Lord, would be their God).
h.ברית ראשנים THE COVENANT OF THE ANCESTORS — i. e. of the twelve Tribes (cf. Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 10).
h.והתורת AND THE TORAHS… [WHICH GOD GAVE… IN MOUNT SINAI BY THE HAND OF MOSES] — (The plural is used because there are two Torahs:) one in writing and one by word of mouth (the Oral Law). This verse therefore tells us that all (both) of them were given by God to Moses on Sinai (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 8 10).