Bechukotai, Aliyah 4 בחוקתי, רביעי

כי יפלא. יַפְרִישׁ בְּפִיו:

כי יפלא means, if he expressly states by an utterance of his mouth (cf. Rashi on Leviticus 22:21).

בערכך נפשת. לִתֵּן עֵרֶךְ נְפָשׁוֹת — לוֹמַר עֵרֶךְ דָּבָר שֶׁנַּפְשׁוֹ תְלוּיָה בוֹ עָלַי (עי' ספרא; ערכין ד'):

בערכך נפשות — he expressly states that he will give to the Sanctuary the valuation attached to a life by saying, “the payment of the valuation of such and such a thing — that, however, being something upon which its life depends — is incumbent upon me” (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 3 6; Arakhin 4a).

והיה ערכך וגו'. אֵין עֵרֶךְ זֶה לְשׁוֹן דָּמִים, אֶלָּא בֵּין שֶׁהוּא יָקָר בֵּין שֶׁהוּא זוֹל, כְּפִי שָׁנָיו הוּא הָעֵרֶךְ הַקָּצוּב עָלָיו בְּפָרָשָׁה זוֹ:

והיה ערכך THEN THY ערכך SHALL BE etc. — This word ערך used throughout this section has not the meaning of דמים, market-value (which varies according to the condition of the market or the condition of the person offered for sale, whilst ערך is a fixed value), but whether he be of high value or of low value, according to his age is the ערך fixed for him in this section.

ערכך. כְּמוֹ עֵרֶךְ, וְכֵפֶל הַכָּפִי"ן לֹא יָדַעְתִּי מֵאֵיזֶה לָשׁוֹן הוּא:

ערכך is the same as ערך (i. e. the second כ''ף is not the suffix of the second person masc. sing.). I do not know what grammatical form the doubling of the כ''ף represents.

ואם מבן חמש שנים. לֹא שֶׁיְּהֵא הַנּוֹדֵר קָטָן — שֶׁאֵין בְּדִבְרֵי קָטָן כְּלוּם — אֶלָּא גָּדוֹל שֶׁאָמַר עֵרֶךְ קָטָן זֶה שֶׁהוּא בֶן חָמֵשׁ שָׁנִים עָלַי (עי' ערכין ב'):

ואם מבן חמש שנים AND IF IT BE FROM FIVE YEARS OLD — Not that the person making the vow is a minor (from five to twenty years old), for there is no validity in the words of a minor, but it is speaking of an adult who said, “The payment of the valuation of this child” — who is five years old — “shall be incumbent upon me”.

ואם מבן ששים שנה וגו'. כְּשֶׁמַּגִּיעַ לִימֵי הַזִּקְנָה, הָאִשָּׁה קְרוֹבָה לְהֵחָשֵׁב כְּאִישׁ, לְפִיכָךְ הָאִישׁ פּוֹחֵת בְּהִזְדַּקְּנוֹ יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁלִישׁ בְּעֶרְכּוֹ, וְהָאִשָּׁה אֵינָהּ פוֹחֶתֶת אֶלָּא שְׁלִישׁ בְּעֶרְכָּהּ, דְּאָמְרֵי אִינְשֵׁי "סָבָא בְּבֵיתָא, פַּחָא בְּבֵיתָא, סָבְתָא בְּבֵיתָא סִימָא בְּבֵיתָא וְסִימָנָא טָבָא בְּבֵיתָא" (ערכין י"ט):

ואם מבן ששים שנה AND IF IT BE FROM SIXTY YEARS OLD [AND ABOVE; IF IT BE A MALE THEN THE VALUATION SHALL BE FIFTEEN SHEKELS, AND FOR THE FEMALE TEN SHEKELS] — When one approaches old age a woman is more likely to be of the same importance as a man therefore a man decreases to beyond a third of his valuation when he becomes old (his ערך being fifty shekels and after sixty only fifteen, which is less then 17, the approximate third of 50), whilst a woman decreases only to exactly a third of her valuation (which was previously thirty shekels, and after sixty becomes ten), because people say (i. e. there is a familiar saying): “An old man in the house is a snare (a nuisance) in the house, an old woman in the house is a treasure in the house and a good omen in the house” (Arakhin 19a).

ואם מך הוא. שֶׁאֵין יָדוֹ מַשֶּׂגֶת לִתֵּן הָעֵרֶךְ הַזֶּה.

ואם מך הוא BUT IF HE POOR so that his means are not sufficient to pay this valuation,

והעמידו. לַנֶּעֱרָךְ לִפְנֵי הַכֹּהֵן, וְיַעֲרִיכֶנּוּ לְפִי הַשָּׂגַת יָדוֹ שֶׁל מַעֲרִיךְ:

והעמידו THEN THEY SHALL PRESENT HIM — the person made the subject of a valuation, לפני הכהן BEFORE THE PRIEST, and the priest shall set a value on him according to the means of him who promised the valuation (Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 3 14).

על פי אשר תשיג. לְפִי מַה שֶּׁיֶּשׁ לוֹ יְסַדְּרֶנּוּ, וְיַשְׁאִיר לוֹ כְּדֵי חַיָּיו: מִטָּה, כַּר וְכֶסֶת, וּכְלֵי אֻמָּנוּת; אִם הָיָה חַמָּר מַשְׁאִיר לוֹ חֲמוֹרוֹ (בבא מציעא קי"ד; ערכין כ"ג):

על פי אשר תשיג ACCORDING TO HIS ABILITY — i. e. according to what he possesses shall he (the priest) assess him (the person who has promised the valuation), leaving him sufficient to live upon: a bed, mattress and cushion and tools necessary for his trade; thus, in respect to the latter, if he was an ass-driver (earning a living by carrying loads) he has to leave him his ass (Arakhin 23b).

כל אשר יתן ממנו. אָמַר רַגְלָהּ שֶׁל זוֹ עוֹלָה, דְּבָרָיו קַיָּמִין, וְתִמָּכֵר לְצָרְכֵי עוֹלָה, וְדָמֶיהָ חֻלִּין חוּץ מִדְּמֵי אוֹתוֹ הָאֵבֶר (ספרא; ערכין ה'):

כל אשר יתן ממנו EVERYTHING THAT A MAN GIVE implies even the case when he said, “the foot of this animal shall be a burnt offering” his words have binding force). It (the animal) is therefore sold for the purpose of a burnt-offering to one who has to bring such an offering and the monies realized by its sale are חולין (non-holy) and are returned to the owner with the exception of the value of that limb (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 9 1; Arakhin 5a; Temurah 11b; Chullin 69b).

טוב ברע. תָּם בְּבַעַל מוּם.

טוב ברע [HE SHALL NEITHER CHANGE IT NOR EXCHANGE IT] A GOOD FOR A BAD — i. e. he shall not give in exchange a perfect animal of a non-sacred character for one devoted to the Sanctuary but having some blemish (cf. Rashi on Temurah 9a on ‎‎‎מתני' טוב ברע),

או רע בטוב. וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן טוֹב בְּטוֹב וְרַע בְּרַע (עי' תמורה ט'):

‎‎‎או רע בטוב‎ OR A BAD FOR A GOOD — It follows à fortiori that he must not give in exchange a perfect animal for another perfect one, or one with a blemish for another with a blemish (Temurah 9a).

ואם כל בהמה טמאה. בְּבַעֲלַת מוּם הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר, שֶׁהִיא טְמֵאָה לְהַקְרָבָה, וְלִמֶּדְךָ הַכָּתוּב שֶׁאֵין קָדָשִׁים תְּמִימִים יוֹצְאִין לְחֻלִּין בְּפִדְיוֹן אֶלָּא אִם כֵּן הֻמְּמוּ (שם ל"ג):

ואם כל בהמה טמאה AND IF IT BE ANY בהמה טמאה — Scripture is really speaking here not of an “unclean" but of a blemished animal which ,is just on this account, unclean (i. e. unfit) for sacrificing, and Scripture is telling you that sacred animals which have no blemish cannot again become non-holy (more lit., go forth from the category of holy animals to that of non-holy animals) through redemption except if they become blemished (Temurah 32b; Sifra, Bechukotai, Section 4 1).

כערכך הכהן כן יהיה. לִשְׁאָר כָּל אָדָם הַבָּא לִקְנוֹתָהּ מִיַּד הֶקְדֵּשׁ:

כערכך הכהן כן יהיה AS THE PRIEST VALUES IT, SO SHALL IT BE for any other person who comes to buy it from the Temple treasury (in contrast to the owner himself who, if he redeems it, must add a fifth to the valuation, as stated in the next verse).

ואם גאל יגאלנה. בַּבְּעָלִים הֶחֱמִיר הַכָּתוּב לְהוֹסִיף חֹמֶשׁ, וְכֵן בְּמַקְדִּישׁ בַּיִת, וְכֵן בְּמַקְדִּישׁ אֶת הַשָּׂדֶה, וְכֵן בְּפִדְיוֹן מַעֲשֵֹר שֵׁנִי — הַבְּעָלִים מוֹסִיפִין חֹמֶשׁ וְלֹא שְׁאָר כָּל אָדָם (שם כ"ה):

ואם גאל יגאלנה BUT IF HE WILL AT ALL REDEEM IT [THEN HE SHALL ADD A FIFTH …] — In respect to the owner Scripture is more stringent by requiring him to pay an additional fifth. And similarly in the case of one who dedicates a house to the Sanctuary (vv. 14, 15) and so, too, in the case of one who dedicates his field (v. 19), and similarly in the case of redeeming מעשר שני, “the Second Tithe”, the owner must add a fifth to their real value when redeeming them; but no other person has to do this (Sifra, Bechukotai, Chapter 10 7; Arakhin 25a).