שמיני, רביעי

הנותרים. מִן הַמִּיתָה, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁאַף עֲלֵיהֶן נִקְנְסָה מִיתָה עַל עֲוֹן הָעֵגֶל, הוּא שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ט'), וּבְאַהֲרֹן הִתְאַנַּף ה' מְאֹד לְהַשְׁמִידוֹ, וְאֵין הַשְׁמָדָה אֶלָּא כִלּוּי בָּנִים, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (עמוס ב'), וָאַשְׁמִיד פִּרְיוֹ מִמַּעַל, וּתְפִלָּתוֹ שֶׁל מֹשֶׁה בִּטְּלָה מֶחֱצָה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (דברים ט'), וָאֶתְפַּלֵּל גַּם בְּעַד אַהֲרֹן בָּעֵת הַהִיא:

הנותרים WHO WERE LEFT from death. This teaches us that upon them, also, death had been pronounced in punishment for the sin of the golden calf. This is what is meant by the words (Deuteronomy 9:20) “And with Aaron the Lord was very angry to destroy him”, for the expression “destruction” means the extirpation of offspring, as it is said (Amos 2:9) “And I destroyed its fruit above”. Moses’ prayer, however, made half the sentence of none effect, (so that only two of Aaron’s four sons died) as it is said (Deuteronomy 9:20) “And I prayed also on behalf of Aaron at that time” (cf. Rashi on that passage).

קחו את המנחה. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁאַתֶּם אוֹנְנִין וְקָדָשִׁים אֲסוּרִים לְאוֹנֵן:

קחו את המנחה TAKE THE MEAL OFFERING, although ye are אוננים and the holy things are forbidden to an אונן (Zevachim 101a).

את המנחה. זוֹ מִנְחַת שְׁמִינִי וּמִנְחַת נַחְשׁוֹן (ספרא):

את המנחה THE MEAL-OFFERING — This was the meal-offering prescribed for the eighth day of the installation ceremony and the meal-offering of Nachshon (Numbers 7:13; cf. Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 3).

ואכלוה מצות. מַה תַּ"ל? לְפִי שֶׁהִיא מִנְחַת צִבּוּר וּמִנְחַת שָׁעָה וְאֵין כַּיּוֹצֵא בָהּ לְדּוֹרוֹת, הֻצְרַךְ לְפָרֵשׁ בָּהּ דִּין שְׁאָר מְנָחוֹת (שם):

ואכלהו מצות AND EAT IT AS UNLEAVENED CAKES — Why is this stated at all, since this regulation regarding the meal-offering has been previously laid down (cf. Leviticus 6:9)? Since, however, this (the meal-offering prescribed for the installation ceremony) was a communal meal-offering (cf. Leviticus 9:3—4) and an occasional meal-offering and nothing similar to it had been commanded for future generations and it was therefore possible that the regulations relating to meal-offerings in general did not apply, it was necessary expressly to set forth in respect of it the law already laid down for other meal-offerings (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 4).

וחק בניך. אֵין לַבָּנוֹת חֹק בַּקֳּדָשִׁים (שם):

וחק בניך AND THY SONS’ PORTION — Daughters are not mentioned as is the case in v. 14 because daughters have no portion in these holy things (meal-offerings; cf. Leviticus 6:10— 11) (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 7).

כי כן צויתי. בַּאֲנִינוּת יֹאכְלוּהָ (שם; זבחים ק"א):

כי כן צויתי FOR SO AM I COMMANDED — that they must eat it even when they have the status of אוננים (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 8; Zevachim 101a).

ואת חזה התנופה. שֶׁל שַׁלְמֵי צִבּוּר.

ואת חזה התנופה AND THE WAVE BREAST of the communal) peace-offerings,

תאכלו במקום טהור. וְכִי אֶת הָרִאשׁוֹנִים אָכְלוּ בְּמָקוֹם טָמֵא? אֶלָּא הָרִאשׁוֹנִים שֶׁהֵם קָדְשֵׁי קֳדָשִׁים הֻזְקְקָה אֲכִילָתָם בְּמָקוֹם קָדוֹשׁ, אֲבָל אֵלּוּ אֵין צְרִיכִים תּוֹךְ הַקְּלָעִים אֲבָל צְרִיכִים הֵם לֵאָכֵל תּוֹךְ מַחֲנֵה יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁהוּא טָהוֹר מִלִּכָּנֵס שָׁם מְצֹרָעִים; מִכָּאן שֶׁקָּדָשִׁים קַלִּים נֶאֱכָלִין בְּכָל הָעִיר (שם נ"ה):

תאכלו במקום טהור YE SHALL EAT IN A CLEAN PLACE —But had they eaten those that preceded this (the sin-offering and the meal-offering) in an unclean place? But he said this because the preceding ones being holy in the highest degree the eating of them had necessarily to take place in a holy spot (in the court of the Tabernacle), but these,however, were not required to be eaten “within the hangings” (i. e. in the court which was enclosed by hangings), but they were, however, required to be eaten in the camp of Israel (and not beyond the confines of that camp), that being a clean place in so far as lepers were precluded from entering it. From this we infer that sacrifices holy in a lower degree, being similar to the peace-offerings mentioned here, may be eaten anywhere within the city of Jerusalem, this area corresponding to “the camp of Israel” in the wilderness (see Rashi on 4:12; Zevachim 55a).

אתה ובניך ובנתיך. אַתָּה וּבָנֶיךָ בְּחֵלֶק אֲבָל בְּנוֹתֶיךָ לֹא בְחֵלֶק, אֶלָּא אִם תִּתְּנוּ לָהֶם מַתָּנוֹת רַשָּׁאוֹת הֵן לֶאֱכֹל בְּחָזֶה וְשׁוֹק, אוֹ אֵינוֹ אֶלָּא אַף הַבָּנוֹת בְּחֵלֶק? תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר כִּי חָקְךָ וְחָק בָּנֶיךָ נִתְּנוּ — חֹק לַבָּנִים וְאֵין חֹק לַבָּנוֹת (ספרא):

אתה ובניך ובנתיך THOU AND THY SONS AND THY DAUGHTERS — You and your sons have a claim to a portion, but your daughters have no claim to a portion; if, however, you give them part of these sacrifices as a gift they are permitted to eat of the breast and the shoulder. Or perhaps this is not the meaning, but if means that the daughters have also a claim to a portion? It, however, states immediately afterwards: “for as thy due and thy sons’ due are they given” there is a due to sons but there is no due to daughters (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 10).

על אשי החלבים. מִכָּאן שֶׁהַחֲלָבִים לְמַטָּה בִּשְׁעַת תְּנוּפָה, וְיִשּׁוּב הַמִּקְרָאוֹת שֶׁלֹּא יַכְחִישׁוּ זֶה אֶת זֶה כְּבָר פֵּרַשְׁתִּי אֶת שְׁלָשְׁתָּן בְּצַו אֶת אַהֲרֹן:

על אשי החלבים WITH THE FIRE OFFERINGS OF THE FAT — From this we may learn that the fat-portions were beneath the others at the time of waving (Sifra, Shemini, Chapter 1 11). And as for the exposition of the texts in such a manner that they shall not contradict each other I have already explained the three of them in the section צו את אהרן (Leviticus 7:30; see Rashi thereon).