אחרי מות, שישי

לא תקרבו. לְהַזְהִיר הַנְּקֵבָה כַּזָּכָר, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר לְשׁוֹן רַבִּים:

לא תקרבו NONE OF YOU SHALL APPROACH TO [ANY THAT IS NEAR OF KIN TO HIM] — The intention is to admonish women as well as men (in respect to this general prohibition of unchastity); on this account the plural is used (Sifra, Acharei Mot, Chapter 13 1).

אני ה'. נֶאֱמָן לְשַׁלֵּם שָׂכָר:

'אני ה I AM THE LORD, who am faithful to pay you your reward (Sifra, Acharei Mot, Chapter 13 13.

ערות אביך. זוֹ אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ, אוֹ אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא כְמַשְׁמָעוֹ? נֶאֱמַר כָּאן עֶרְוַת אָבִיךָ וְנֶאֱמַר לְהַלָּן עֶרְוַת אָבִיו גִּלָּה, מַה לְּהַלָּן אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו אַף כָּאן אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו (סנהדרין נ"ד):

אביך‎ ערות‎ THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER, [AND THE NAKEDNESS OF THY MOTHER SHALT THOU NOT UNCOVER] — This refers to intercourse with thy father's wife (no matter whether she is thy own mother or thy stepmother). Or perhaps this is not so, but ערות אביך has to be taken literally (as sodomy)?! Scripture, however, uses the expression ערות אביך here, and it is said later on (Leviticus 20:11) “And the man that lieth with his father's wife hath uncovered his father's nakedness (״(ערות אביו גלה. Now what is the meaning of ערות אביו there? It refers to one's fathers wife! so does ערות אביך here also refer to one's father's wife (Sanhedrin 54a).

וערות אמך. לְהָבִיא אִמּוֹ שֶׁאֵינָהּ אֵשֶׁת אָבִיו (שם):

וערות אמך AND THE NAKEDNESS OF THY MOTHER [SHALT THOU NOT UNCOVER] — This is intended to include in the prohibition the marriage of one's own mother although she be not the wife of one's father (Sanhedrin 54a).

ערות אשת אביך. לְרַבּוֹת אַחַר מִיתָה (שם):

ערות אשת אביך THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER'S WIFE [SHALT THOU NOT UNCOVER] — This is intended to include in the prohibition of union with one's father's wife already mentioned v. 7. even the doing of this after his death (Sanhedrin 54a).

בת אביך. אַף בַּת אֲנוּסָה בְמַשְׁמָע:

בת אביך [THE NAKEDNESS OF THY SISTER] THE DAUGHTER OF THY FATHER [OR THE DAUGHTER OF THY MOTHER… THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] — Also the daughter of a woman raped by one's father is implied by the term מולדת בית או מולדת חוץ.

מולדת בית או מולדת חוץ. בֵּין שֶׁאוֹמְרִים לוֹ לְאָבִיךָ קַיֵּם אֶת אִמָּהּ, וּבֵין שֶׁאוֹמְרִים לוֹ הוֹצֵא אֶת אִמָּהּ, כְּגוֹן מַמְזֶרֶת אוֹ נְתִינָה (יבמות כ"ג):

.בת — WHETHER SHE BE BORN IN THE HOUSE OR WHETHER SHE BE BORN OUTSIDE THE HOUSE — This means, thy sister, thy father's daughter, whether according to the law we can say to thy father, "Keep her mother as your wife" or whether we have to say to him, "Divorce her mother", as, for instance, when she is a ממזרת (the issue of a union forbidden in the Torah under the penalty of כרת) or a נתינה (the daughter of a Gibeonite woman, cf. Joshua 9:27, forbidden under the penalty of מלקות) (Yevamot 23a).

ערות בת בנך וגו'. בְּבִתּוֹ מֵאֲנוּסָתוֹ הַכָּתוּב מְדַבֵּר, וּבִתּוֹ וּבַת בִּתּוֹ מֵאִשְׁתּוֹ אָנוּ לְמֵדִין מֵ"עֶרְוַת אִשָּׁה וּבִתָּהּ", שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר בָּהֶן "לֹא תְגַלֵּה", בֵּין שֶׁהִיא מִמֶּנּוּ וּבֵין שֶׁהִיא מֵאִישׁ אַחֵר (שם כב):

ערות בת בנך THE NAKEDNESS OF THE DAUGHTER OF THY SON [OR THE DAUGHTER OF THY DAUGHTER THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] — When it states "thy daughter״ Scripture is speaking of his daughter born of a woman whom he had outraged (similarly "the daughter of thy son" means, the son born of such a woman). This must be so, for that one is forbidden to marry one's daughter or the daughter of one's daughter who was born of one's wife we may learn from the prohibition (v. 17) in the verse beginning אשה ובתה ערות "the nakedness of a woman and her daughter" of whom it is stated "thou shalt not uncover" and which thus implies the prohibition to marry one's daughter (and forbids one's marriage with one's daughter's daughter; for Scripture continues there: “neither shalt thou take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter) whether she be begotten by him or by another man (cf. Yevamot 22b and Rashi von v. 17).

ערות בת בנך. קַל וָחֹמֶר לְבִתְּךָ, אֶלָּא לְפִי שֶׁאֵין מַזְהִירִין מִן הַדִּין, לְמָדוּהָ מִגְּזֵרָה שָׁוָה בְּמַסֶּכֶת יְבָמוֹת (דף ג'):

ערות בת בנך THE NAKEDNESS OF THY SON'S DAUGHTER [… THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] — Since even thy son's daughter (the former being born from an אנוסה) is forbidden, the prohibition concerning thy own daughter born of thy אנוסה could be derived by a conclusion a minori ad majus (ק״ו). But because there is a rule אין מזהירין מן הדין “no prohibition can be derived by a logical conclusion" they (the Rabbis) derived it in Treatise Yevamot 3a by an analogy (גזירה שוה) based on the similar expression הנה — הנה used here and in v. 17.

ערות בת אשת אביך. לִמֵּד שֶׁאֵינוֹ חַיָּב עַל אֲחוֹתוֹ מִשִּׁפְחָה וְנָכְרִית, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר "בַּת אֵשֶׁת אָבִיךָ" — בִּרְאוּיָה לְקִדּוּשִׁין (שם כ"ג):

ערות בת אשת אביך THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER'S WIFE'S DAUGHTER… [THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] — This teaches us that one is not liable to excision for a union with one's sister (on his father’s side) who was born of a maid-servant or a non-Jewess. It is for this reason that Scripture instead of simply saying "thy sister" uses the circumlocution "the daughter of thy father's wife" i. e. a woman who is fitted for Kiddushin (one with whom a marriage may be legitimately entered into, which is not the case with a שפחה ונכרית) (Yevamot 22b).

ערות אחי אביך לא תגלה. וּמַה הִיא עֶרְוָתוֹ? אל אשתו לא תקרב:

ערות אחי אביך לא תגלה THE NAKEDNESS OF THY FATHER'S BROTHER THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER — and what does this "uncovering of his nakedness" mean אל אשתו לא תקרב? THOU SHALT NOT APPROACH TO HIS WIFE.

אשת בנך. לֹא אָמַרְתִּי אֶלָּא בְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ לְבִנְךָ אִישׁוּת בָּהּ, פְּרָט לַאֲנוּסָה וְשִׁפְחָה וְנָכְרִית (עי' ספרא):

אשת בנך [THE NAKEDNESS OF THY DAUGHTER-IN-LAW THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER; SHE IS] THY SON'S WIFE — By using the apparently redundant words: “she is thy son's wife" Scripture says, as it were: I command this about such a woman only when thy son has a legal matrimonial relation (אישות) to her, thus excluding a woman who has been raped by him (אנוסה) or a Canaanitish maid-servant, or a non-Jewess (cf. Sifra, Kedoshim, Chapter 10 10)).

ערות אשה ובתה. לֹא אָסַר הַכָּתוּב אֶלָּא עַל יְדֵי נִשּׂוּאֵי הָרִאשׁוֹנָה, לְכָךְ נֶאֱמַר לֹא "תִקַּח" — לְשׁוֹן קִיחָה, וְכֵן לְעִנְיַן הָעֹנֶשׁ, אֲשֶׁר "יִקַּח" אֶת אִשָּׁה וְאֶת אִמָּה — לְשׁוֹן קִיחָה, אֲבָל אָנַס אִשָּׁה מֻתָּר לִשָּׂא בִּתָּהּ (יבמות צ"ז):

ערות אשה ובתה THE NAKEDNESS OF A WOMAN AND HER DAUGHTER [THOU SHALT NOT UNCOVER] — Scripture forbids this only if the union with the first of these (whether it be the woman or her daughter) came about through a legal marriage. That is why Scripture uses the term לא תקח, the expression employed for "taking to wife in a legal way". Similarly with reference to the punishment for such a union it states, (Leviticus 20:14) "And if a man take (יקח) a wife and her mother, [it is wickedness; they shall be burnt with fire]" — an expression for "taking" to wife in a legal way. But if one has raped a woman he is permitted to marry her daughter (Yevamot 97a).

שארה הנה. קְרוֹבוֹת זוֹ לָזוֹ:

שארה הנה means, they are closely related to one another.

זמה. עֵצָה, כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ עֲצַת חֶטְאִין, שֶׁיִּצְרְךָ יוֹעֶצְךָ לַחֲטֹא:

זמה means, an evil plan, as the Targum renders it‎ עצת חטאין , "a sinful plan"; the term is used because it is your evil inclination which counsels you to sin.

אל אחתה. שְׁתֵּיהֶן כְּאַחַת (קידושין נ'):

‎ אל אחתה ‎[NEITHER SHALT THOU TAKE A WIFE] TO HER SISTER — both at the same time.

לצרר. לְשׁוֹן צָרָה — לַעֲשׂוֹת אֶת זוֹ צָרָה לָזוֹ:

לצרר is connected with the word ,צרה — a rival (cf. I Samuel 1:6). Thus the verse signifies “thou shalt not take a wife to her sister", to make (i. e. making) the one the rival of the other.

בחייה. לִמֶּדְךָ שֶׁאִם גֵרְשָׁהּ לֹא יִשָּׂא אֶת אֲחוֹתָהּ כָּל זְמַן שֶׁהִיא בַחַיִּים (יבמות ח'):

בחייה DURING HER LIFE-TIME — This teaches you that if he divorced her (his wife) he is not allowed to marry her sister so long as she (the former) is still living (Yevamot 8b).

למלך. עֲ"זָ הִיא שֶׁשְּׁמָהּ מֹלֶךְ, וְזוֹ הִיא עֲבוֹדָתָהּ, שֶׁמּוֹסֵר בְּנוֹ לַכּוֹמְרִים וְעוֹשִׂין שְׁתֵּי מְדוּרוֹת גְּדוֹלוֹת וּמַעֲבִירִין אֶת הַבֵּן בְּרַגְלָיו בֵּין שְׁתֵּי מְדוּרוֹת הָאֵשׁ (סנהדרין ס"ד):

למלך [AND THOU SHALT NOT LET ANY OF THY SEED PASS THROUGH THE FIRE] TO MOLECH — This was an idol the name of which was "Molech", and this was the manner in which it was worshipped: that he (the father) handed his child (lit., his son, but it applies to his daughter also; cf. Deuteronomy 18:10) over to the priests of the idol. These lit two large pyres one opposite the other and made the child to pass on foot between the two pyres (Sanhedrin 64b).

לא תתן. זוֹ הִיא מְסִירָתוֹ לַכּוֹמְרִים:

לא תתן refers to “the handing over of the child” to the priests.

להעביר למלך. זוֹ הַעֲבָרַת הָאֵשׁ:

להעביר למלך — this refers to the “passing through the fire".