Division of the Book Part 2 (Auto Translated) – תמלול מתורגם

Sefer Kedusha – The Order of the Rambam’s Book

The Structure of Sefer Kedusha

Sefer Kedusha (Book of Holiness) includes all the laws of forbidden relations and forbidden foods. This is what sanctifies a Jew, this is what separates a Jew from a non-Jew.

These laws include three sections:

– Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah – with whom a Jew may not marry

– Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros – what one may not eat

– Hilchos Shechita – basically a part of forbidden foods, but it appears to be a halacha on its own, simply because there begin many laws about how a person wants to eat an animal, how one performs shechita

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Hilchos Issurei Bi’ah – 37 Mitzvos

One positive commandment and thirty-six negative commandments. These are more or less a group of forbidden relations (arayos).

The Arayos

The daughter of one’s father’s wife – what does this mean, a stepdaughter? No, the daughter of one’s father’s wife is a stepsister.

A daughter herself – it surprised me that this is not written explicitly in the Torah.

A woman and her daughter – a woman and her daughter together, meaning the daughter of your wife, or the mother of your wife.

The Wife of One’s Mother’s Brother

What about the wife of one’s mother’s brother? It’s not listed in the list of prohibitions.

Animals – Male and Female

A male with an animal, a female with an animal. A man should not lie with a male animal or a female. And a woman should not allow – it’s “do not bring” for one who doesn’t have “do not come,” because it doesn’t mean she does something active, but she brings, she performs the action of having the animal come upon her.

The Nakedness of One’s Father

“Do not uncover the nakedness of your father” – it’s not that the father himself is a prohibition as a male, the Gemara learns that it means the daughter with her father.

Ammonite and Moabite – They Shall Not Enter the Congregation

Ammonites and Moabites who may not enter the congregation – it’s not a prohibition of marriage or actual relations, entering the congregation has other distinctions.

Question: A woman who has relations with an Ammonite, does she transgress this? Or it’s a “he shall not enter” – we’ll learn what “he shall not enter” means. It’s a good question.

Third Generation – A Prohibition That Permits

A third generation should not be distanced, meaning he will indeed be permitted to enter the congregation. It’s a negative commandment that in its totality is positive – meaning he is indeed permitted. It’s one of the negative commandments that permits. Many negative commandments are prohibitions, but this negative commandment is a permission.

Castration

A prohibition to castrate a male, even an animal, wild beast, or bird.

A High Priest with a Widow

A prohibition for a High Priest to marry a widow. A separate prohibition for a High Priest to have relations with a widow even without kiddushin.

The Positive Commandment

You remember that there are thirty-six negative commandments that I’ve been saying the whole time – when will the positive commandment come? Here it has arrived: A High Priest with a virgin is a positive commandment. And if he married a widow, he transgresses the positive commandment.

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Hilchos Ma’achalos Asuros – 28 Mitzvos

Four positive commandments and 24 negative commandments.

The Four Positive Commandments – To Check Signs

Actually all four positive commandments are to check:

– Signs of domesticated and wild animals

– Signs of birds

– Signs of fish

– Signs of locusts

Question: Are you saying it’s actually a mitzvah to check, or do you mean that one shouldn’t eat without knowing that it’s kosher?

Answer: Very good. But he also says it’s simply four of the same mitzvah, just it applies to a different body – each type of animal separately.

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Hilchos Shechita – 5 Mitzvos

Three positive and two negative commandments.

To Slaughter and Then Eat

We’ve spoken many times – this is always the example of a mitzvah that is not an obligatory mitzvah. One is not obligated to slaughter, but if one wants to eat, then one must first slaughter.

It and Its Offspring

Interesting that this is included in Hilchos Shechita. It doesn’t mean you can’t eat it, it means you may not slaughter it.

Sending Away the Mother Bird – Why Does It Belong Here?

Very cute – this is included in Hilchos Shechita! This means how does one kill an animal in order to eat.

Question: How did you place shiluach hakein here?

Answer: It could be that these are all just things that before them one may not eat. But here with “it and its offspring” it doesn’t prevent the eating, but shiluach hakein does prevent – you may not take the eggs before you send away the mother.

Question: Tosafos says you may eat the meat before you slaughtered?

Answer: Yes, but the meat doesn’t become a neveilah through “it and its offspring.” It’s more like covering the blood.

The Ramban’s Reason for Shiluach Hakein

I would say that shechita appears to be interesting – meaning how does one kill the animal in general? How does one catch it? So there is:

– Shechita

– Covering the blood

– When you may not slaughter

– How to take the young

The Ramban connects shiluach hakein to “it and its offspring.” He says it’s a type of cruelty to exploit the mother’s compassion in order to catch her. Because the young are still weak, you can easily catch them, but the mother usually can fly away quickly. But now you have an opportunity to catch the mother, because she is there with the young.

Very beautiful, I really love this Ramban – it’s something I didn’t grasp before.

Summary of Hilchos Shechita

In other words one can say: how to deal with the animal so that one can eat its meat or its eggs. More like how one deals with the step of catching the animal.

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Summary of Sefer Kedusha

It comes out that there are seventy mitzvos in this book – eight positive and sixty-two negative. Most things are what one may not eat and may not have relations with.

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Sefer Hafla’ah

What Does “Hafla’ah” Mean?

“Hafla’ah” means things that a person adds prohibitions upon himself through his vows or oaths. “Afla’ah” means to separate – as if he takes things out of his domain through a word. It’s really laws of promises – all types of promises that a person makes with his speech.

The Four Sections

– Hilchos Shevuos (Oaths)

– Hilchos Nedarim (Vows)

– Hilchos Nezirus – when a person says “I am hereby a nazir” and he becomes a nazir regarding certain things

– Hilchos Arachin V’Charamim – when one consecrates certain things in the manner of arachin and charamim

Arachin V’Charamim – Does It Fit?

This isn’t really a prohibition, it doesn’t fit so well into the things that say it’s forbidden. More like he pledges something for hekdesh. But it is separating from himself – he gives it to hekdesh, it becomes sanctified.

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Hilchos Shevuos – 5 Mitzvos

One positive and four negative commandments.

The Difference Between Oaths and Vows

Shevuos (Oaths) – when one says about oneself “I will not” or “I will”

Nedarim (Vows) – one says the thing should be forbidden to me, the thing upon the thing, whichever way like “it is upon me” or “this is hereby”

The Negative Commandments

1. One should not swear and take God’s name falsely

2. And not only falsely, also in vain – meaning for an unimportant matter, or for something absurd, and the like

3. Not to deny a deposit – one should not deny with an oath about a deposit. Like when a person has a deposit and he makes an oath that he doesn’t have it

4. One should not swear about denying money that one doesn’t owe when it’s not true

The Positive Commandment – To Swear Truthfully

That one should indeed swear in God’s name truthfully.

It’s a very rare mitzvah – I’ve never heard of anyone fulfilling it, but it’s a great mitzvah.

“And By His Name You Shall Swear” in Rambam

There are those who say that the mitzvah of “and by His name you shall swear” truthfully, the Rambam didn’t bring into Sefer HaMitzvos, but there are places where he does mention it as a way of showing that we believe in God.

Hilchos Shevuos

The first negative commandment is that one should not swear in God’s name falsely, and not only falsely, but also in vain – meaning for an unimportant matter, or for something that is true and the like.

The third mitzvah is not to deny a deposit – one should not deny with an oath about a deposit. When a person has a deposit and he makes an oath that he doesn’t have it, he transgresses this prohibition. One should not swear about denying money, that one doesn’t owe when it’s not true.

The next one is a positive commandment – that one should indeed swear in God’s name truthfully. Aha, a very rare mitzvah, I’ve never heard of anyone fulfilling it, but it’s a great mitzvah.

There are those who say that the mitzvah of swearing by His name truthfully, the Rambam didn’t place in Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah, but there are places where he does mention it, as a way of showing that one believes in God. But it’s a law in Hilchos Shevuos. In a certain sense everything could be placed in Yesodei HaTorah, very many things, but this belongs to Hilchos Shevuos, it’s self-understood. I’m saying, the severity of it is desecrating His name through an oath, but it’s also indeed everything in oaths. The entire Hilchos Shevuos is in the Torah, it all has a connection.

Hilchos Nedarim

Hilchos Nedarim he says has three mitzvos, two positive commandments and one negative commandment.

The first mitzvah is that one should guard what comes out of his lips – if he pledged something and made a vow, he should follow it and do according to everything that comes out of his mouth. And the negative commandment of this is that he should not profane his word – he should not make his word mundane by saying that my words are worth nothing and it’s for naught.

Then there is a positive commandment that if one did make a vow or an oath, one should, in a manner where one should do annulment of vows, one should do it. How Jews do annulment of vows that is written in the Torah – how the father or the husband or the beis din annuls vows. Beis din is not written in the Torah, so I don’t understand exactly what he means to say “that the annulment of vows should be according to Torah law” – perhaps he only means the father and the husband. There is a mitzvah, this is a positive commandment, that there is a manner of annulling vows.

Hilchos Nezirus

Nezirus has ten mitzvos – two positive commandments and eight negative commandments.

The first of them is that the nazir should let his hair grow long. And the second mitzvah is he should not cut his hair – this is the opposite, the positive and the negative commandment.

Then there are several mitzvos of not drinking wine or anything that has to do with grapes: one negative commandment not to drink wine or a mixture of wine or even just the vinegar of wine. And then there are several ways of eating grapes – when it’s still fresh, grapes when they’re raisins, or the skins of grapes, or the seeds – the seeds of the grapes.

And there are two more prohibitions of impurity – he should not become impure by entering the tent of the dead, or any other way of becoming impure with a corpse.

And there is a mitzvah that the nazir should shave when he finishes his nezirus, or when his nezirus ends because he became impure which ends his nezirus – he must shave when he brings the sacrifices.

Hilchos Arachin V’Charamim

The next is Hilchos Arachin V’Charamim – which we learned with our order of Vayikra, we learned the mitzvos yesterday.

He says, there are seven mitzvos – five positive and two negative commandments, and these are they:

The first mitzvah is to adjudicate the valuations of a person – if a person says the valuation of a person, he consecrates the valuation of a person, this is a positive commandment that one should adjudicate the valuations of a person. And the same thing the valuation of an animal – a person consecrates the value of an animal. The next is if a person consecrates the value of a house. The fourth mitzvah is to adjudicate if someone consecrates the value of a field. The fifth mitzvah is if someone makes something cherem – it is cherem.

And then there are two negative commandments of what one should not do with a cherem: one should not sell a field or something that is cherem, and one should not redeem it.

It comes out that in Sefer Hafla’ah there are twenty-five mitzvos – ten positive and fifteen negative.

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Sefer Zera’im

Now we go to Sefer Zera’im – the laws that have to do with plants.

The Rambam takes here seven categories, seven tractates as it were: Hilchos Kilayim, Hilchos Matnos Aniyim – charity that one must give to the poor, Terumos that one must give to the Kohanim, Ma’asros that one must give to the Levi’im, Ma’aser Sheini and Neta Revai are two types of things that the person himself eats and he must only eat them in Jerusalem, Bikkurim and other gifts to Kohanim in the borders which is the guide for Jews also outside of Jerusalem that they must pay with the first growth of the field and so forth, or the first growth of their animals – yes, the first shearing and all those things – and then the laws of Shemitah and Yovel.

Hilchos Kilayim

In Hilchos Kilayim there are five negative commandments:

One, one should not plant mixed seeds. And the second is one should not plant grain or vegetables in a vineyard – one should not plant seeds in a vineyard. The third mitzvah is not to crossbreed animals of mixed species – one should not put together animals of different species. The fourth mitzvah is one should not do work with mixed species of animals together – one should not take two types of animals and make them work together. And the fifth is one should not wear garments that are a mixture of two species.

So basically you have here three types of kilayim: kilayim of seeds, kilayim of animals, and kilayim of garments. The seeds have two mitzvos – planting and vineyard. And the animals also have two mitzvos – which is not crossbreeding and not working together. You can say there are two types: there is when they become one, and there is when they don’t become one but you work with them at once. And the prohibition in a vineyard is similar to not doing work with kilayim – which doesn’t become one, but the prohibition is for keeping them together.

Hilchos Matnos Aniyim

These are the things that are gifts to the poor. We have here thirteen mitzvos – seven positive and six negative, and these are they:

The first is the positive commandment that one should leave pe’ah, and the negative commandment of this is that one should not take away the pe’ah – the corner of the field.

Then again a positive with a negative – yes leave leket, that which was left over when gathering, and one should not gather it, one should not take it home, one should indeed leave it.

And also olelot has two – one should leave over the olelot, the small clusters of grapes, and one should not cut them off and take them home.

So too peret has a positive with a negative – one should leave it and one should not take it home.

So too shikchah – one should leave it and one should not take it for oneself.

And the eleventh mitzvah is that one should give ma’aser for a poor person – ma’aser ani. This is the tithe that one must give for a poor person which has a measure, a tithe.

And there is an extra mitzvah without a measure – that when a poor person comes to you, you should give him as much as you can give him. And there is a negative commandment that you should not be cruel and hold yourself back from giving him.

It’s interesting – it’s true that all these are gifts to the poor, but it’s interesting that the Rambam captured the categories: pe’ah, leket, shikchah, regular tzedakah – this is all one group of mitzvos, one type of mitzvos, it has one nature so to speak.

Hilchos Terumos

In Hilchos Terumos there are eight mitzvos – two positive and six negative, and these are they:

The first mitzvah is to give terumah gedolah – the first terumah that one gives to the Kohen. And then that one should give the terumah that is called ma’aser – terumat ma’aser, that the Levi gives terumah to the Kohen from his ma’aser. Ah, the terumah from the ma’aser. So you could have placed it in Hilchos Ma’asros, but it’s terumah – it’s the Levi’s terumah. It goes to the Kohen.

The third mitzvah is that one should do it in order – one should not precede terumos and ma’asros one before the other. And one should do it according to the order, that first terumah and then ma’asros.

Further, that a non-Kohen should not eat terumah. Not only that, but even someone who has a connection to a Kohen – because he is a resident of a Kohen or a hired worker of a Kohen – also may not eat terumah. Also an uncircumcised person, even a Kohen, may not eat terumah. And also a Kohen who is impure may not eat terumah. And also a wife of a Kohen who is a chalalah – it was yesterday that a Kohen who is a chalal is no longer a Kohen – but even a chalalah Kohenes or a daughter of a Kohen who is a chalalah may not eat terumah and not the portion of the holy offerings that Kohanim eat.

Hilchos Ma’aser

The Laws of Maaser (Tithe) has one positive commandment – that one should separate maaser rishon (first tithe), every single year one should remove the tithe and give it to the Levites.

Laws of Maaser Sheni (Second Tithe) and Neta Revai (Fourth-Year Plantings)

And now comes the Laws of Maaser Sheni and Neta Revai, and this has nine mitzvot – three positive commandments and six negative commandments, and these are they:

One, to separate maaser sheni.

The second is that one should not use the money from maaser sheni for other needs, only for the needs of eating, drinking, and anointing – but not secondary to food, however yes. As the Rambam says, “for food” means what is not for the needs of sustaining life and not a part of bodily benefit.

The third, one should not eat the maaser sheni in a state of tumah (impurity). And one after that is a similar matter – one should not eat it when one is an onen (mourner), when one is mourning right before burial.

Now he has three mitzvot about not eating maaser sheni in other places besides Jerusalem, but it’s divided into three: maaser sheni from dagan – from grain, maaser sheni from wine, and maaser sheni from oil.

And afterward there is that what grows in the fourth year is holy. Regarding what is it holy? That it has a law like maaser sheni – that the owners eat it in Jerusalem.

And the ninth mitzvah is that when one brings maaser sheni to Jerusalem, there is a mitzvah to say vidui (confession). Vidui maasrot is the third year – when one says “bi’arti hakodesh min habayit” (I have removed the holy from the house), etc.

Laws of Bikkurim (First Fruits) and Other Priestly Gifts in the Borders

Now comes the Laws of Bikkurim with other priestly gifts that also apply in the borders.

The Rambam says that this has nine mitzvot – eight positive and one negative, and these are their details:

That one should separate bikkurim – the first grown items – and bring them up to the Temple, and the kohen (priest) should eat them only in Jerusalem.

Now comes the Laws of Bikkurim with other priestly gifts, which also applies in the borders. The Rambam says, this has nine mitzvot – eight positive commandments and one negative commandment.

The details: That one should separate bikkurim, the first grown items, bring them up to the Temple, and the kohen should eat them only in Jerusalem. And the prohibition is that one should not eat them outside of Jerusalem. One should recite oneself, one should call out beautifully bikkurim – apparently this means vidui bikkurim, the declaration that should be said.

Afterward, other priestly gifts were mentioned. What are the other priestly gifts? One should remove a piece from the dough, remove the first certain parts from the animal – the foreleg, cheeks, and stomach, and the first bit of the hair when one shears the wool, and the firstborn of the animal.

And one doesn’t necessarily have to give the animal itself, one can give the redemption. Is it a mitzvah to make the redemption, or can one make redemption? Both. He makes two mitzvot. Can one give the firstborn itself? You’re talking about a human firstborn. A human firstborn – a person one cannot give, the kohen doesn’t accept it. He indeed says “he brings two,” but he doesn’t accept when one says “take my son.”

Peter chamor (firstborn donkey) does have both options. Peter chamor one also gives the redemption to the kohen, or the kohen cannot – a donkey is an impure animal. If one doesn’t want to redeem it, one must kill it through arifah (breaking its neck).

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Laws of Shemitah (Sabbatical Year) and Yovel (Jubilee)

Laws of Shemitah and Yovel has 22 mitzvot: nine positive and thirteen negative.

Shemitah

The first is the positive commandment, that one should let the land rest, one should make Shabbat for the land, one should let the land rest in the seventh year. And afterward there are various negative commandments about not working: one is that one should not work on the land, on the earth, one should not work on the trees, improve the trees. One should not cut off the growth that grows by itself.

What does the other language say? The mitzvah was stated not to harvest in the way one harvests every year – it says “against the harvesters” and “against the grape gatherers.” This means that one should not do what the harvesters do and what the grape gatherers do. One may cut, that’s not the cutting – one just may not take it for oneself alone. The point is that one should not take against what other people do.

The sixth mitzvah of this category: what does grow, one should release it, meaning one should leave it for the poor and for the animals. And the same thing one should do with money – that one should release the loans. And afterward there is a prohibition on releasing the loans, that one should not go and demand from the borrower. And afterward there is a prohibition that even if a person knows that the money will become shemitah, he should not hold back from lending before the shemitah year.

Yovel

The tenth mitzvah is that one should count the years in order to arrive at yovel. And afterward the eleventh mitzvah is that when the yovel year comes, one should sanctify the year and declare it as yovel. And the next mitzvah is that on Yom Kippur of yovel one should blow the shofar and announce that slaves go out to freedom. And that in the yovel year one should not work on the field.

And just as it was stated regarding shemitah, there is also an extra mitzvah of not cutting off the aftergrowth, one should not cut off the grapes against the grape gatherers.

Redemption of Land

The positive commandment to take redemption for land – in the yovel year one should give redemption for land, meaning one should let the properties that were sold return to the original owners. This is called with the inherited field and purchased field.

Seventeen is the same thing in a negative form, that one should not sell the land permanently, but do it in a way that it returns at yovel.

The Tribe of Levi

And afterward there is the law of houses in walled cities. And this goes back to mitzvah nineteen that the tribe of Levi should not take any portions in the Land of Israel, but receive special gift cities.

It’s interesting, he puts it into this category which is also similar to this – that an inherited field is like a field that doesn’t belong to you, and also all of the Land of Israel doesn’t belong to the Levites.

The tribe of Levi also doesn’t take any portion in the spoils when one conquers the Land of Israel or when one goes out to wars and receives plunder. But besides what the Levites don’t receive, there is what they do receive – they receive cities to dwell in, they receive towns and the open areas near the towns. And the open areas one may not sell, but they can redeem it forever, “it shall not be sold permanently.”

There isn’t the law that usually with a city it goes back, it becomes permanent after a year or whatever the halachah is, but houses in walled cities – whereas the Levites have “eternal redemption shall be for the Levites.” Apparently this is the reason why this whole matter is included, because the cities of the Levites have a special law regarding the laws of redemption of yovel and such matters.

So this book has 76 mitzvot.

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Book of Service

Let’s go to the Book of Service. The Book of Service has nine categories, nine tractates:

– Laws of the Chosen House – the laws of the Temple

– Laws of the Temple Vessels and those who serve in the Temple – the kohanim who do the service in the Temple

– The laws of who may and how one may come into the Temple

– The laws of prohibitions of the altar – what one may not offer on the altar

– The laws of how one offers certain sacrifices

– The laws of tamidim and musafim – these are the communal sacrifices that are offered always

– Laws of things that are invalid that one may not bring for a sacrifice, something that becomes invalid through times that we will see

– Laws of the Yom Kippur service – the service of Yom Kippur

– And afterward laws of me’ilah – when someone has benefit from holy things

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Laws of the Chosen House

Laws of the Chosen House has six mitzvot – three positive and three negative.

The first mitzvah is that one should build a Temple, “and they shall make Me a sanctuary.” This is God’s matter, we must do it.

The second mitzvah is a prohibition, that one should not build the altar in a hewn manner, meaning cut stones. And one should not go up on the altar with steps, not make any stairs, but make a ramp.

The mitzvah to fear the Temple – one should conduct oneself with awe in the Temple.

And two mitzvot are derived from guarding the Temple: one, that one should guard the Temple, the kohanim should place guards, guards of the Temple. And that one should not refrain from guarding the Temple, “and they shall not cease My service,” that there should not be a cessation.

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Laws of the Temple Vessels and Those Who Serve in It

Laws of the Temple Vessels and Those Who Serve in It – the laws of the Temple vessels and the laws of the Temple servants. This has fourteen mitzvot – six positive and eight negative.

And these are their details:

Anointing Oil: To make the anointing oil – one should make an anointing oil, and with this one anoints the servants and the vessels. And the anointing oil one may only make for holy purposes, one should not make like it – the next prohibition is “not to make like it.” And a non-kohen should not anoint himself with it in an improper manner, that’s not the mitzvah.

Ketoret (Incense): The same thing is with ketoret, that one should not make like the ketoret. The next mitzvah is that one should not burn on the golden altar anything except the ketoret that one must burn there.

Ark: The next mitzvah is that the Ark when one carries it – interestingly, one carries it in the desert or other mitzvot, when one needs to carry it – when one needs to carry the Ark, one should always carry it on the shoulder, one must carry it in a respectful manner. And that the poles that are in the Ark, which were made so one could carry it, should always remain there, one should not remove them.

Service of the Levites: The next mitzvah is that the Levi should do service in the Temple. And the next negative commandment is that no one should enter into another’s territory in the Temple work, meaning that the kohen should not do the work of the Levi or vice versa.

Sanctifying Kohanim: And the tenth mitzvah is one should sanctify the kohanim for service, meaning apparently with the anointing oil.

Watches on Festivals: The eleventh mitzvah is that all the watches should be equal on festivals – meaning all year there are different watches that have the right for that day, but on festivals all have the same right.

Priestly Garments: And the next mitzvah is that the kohen should wear priestly garments during the service. The thirteenth mitzvah is one should make the robe in a way that it should not tear, one should not tear the robe. And the breastplate should not move from the ephod, and it should be attached one next to the other.

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Laws of Entering the Temple

And now, Laws of Entering the Temple. The laws of coming into the Temple has fifteen mitzvot – two positive and thirteen negative.

What are they? Inside, how the kohen should not enter the Temple:

– He should not enter intoxicated

– He should not enter with loose long hair

– He should not enter with torn clothes

– He should not enter just any time, only when he needs to enter

And now, the next mitzvah is that the kohen should not leave the Temple during the service.

Tumah (Impurity): Now there is a positive commandment that the impure ones should be sent away, and the negative commandment from this is that the impure one should not come into the Temple. And who else may not – one who is essentially pure, he has already purified himself, but he is not yet pure, because there hasn’t yet been a sunset, because the sun hasn’t yet gone down.

Sanctification of Hands and Feet: A servant, one who does the service in the Temple, must sanctify his hands and feet.

Blemished Ones: And the next mitzvah, three are about blemished ones: that the blemished one should not enter the area of the holy, by the Sanctuary and the altar, and the blemished one should not do the service, and even a temporarily blemished one who only has a minor blemish that passes, also may not do the service.

Non-Kohen: And the fifteenth mitzvah is that a non-kohen should not do the service.

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Laws of Altar Prohibitions

And now we go to learn Laws of Altar Prohibitions. And this has fourteen mitzvot – four positive and ten negative.

And these are their details: That all sacrifices should be offered unblemished, whole sacrifices. And the opposite prohibition from this is that one should not offer a blemished animal.

And a blemished animal one may not – what should one not do with a blemished animal? Not offer it, not slaughter it, not sprinkle, not burn its fat.

All sacrifices should be offered unblemished, whole sacrifices, and the opposite, the prohibition from this is that one should not offer blemished animals.

One should not offer an animal that has a blemish, a blemished animal one should not offer, even a sacrifice that a non-Jew sends. One should not make a blemish in holy things that were already sanctified. One should redeem holy things that became invalid, in other words, it received a blemish.

In animals that one sanctifies there is a certain time, which is from the eighth day, before that it’s called lacking time, one should not offer it.

Mitzvah eleven is that one should not offer the hire of a harlot and the price of a dog, and twelve is that one should not offer leaven and honey. And afterward there is a positive with a negative that one should salt the sacrifice, and that one should not offer without salt.

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Laws of Sacrifice Procedures

Laws of Sacrifice Procedures has twenty-three mitzvot, ten positive and thirteen negative. What are the details? How one does and how one makes each sacrifice. In other words, if someone doesn’t know how to make a burnt offering, he should look in Laws of Sacrifice Procedures. Not that one should make a burnt offering, but whoever needs to make one, needs to know how. And the same thing with sin offerings, etc.

Order of Sacrifices

The sacrifices go in order. The burnt offering has a mitzvah that exists to make in order, and not to eat the flesh of the burnt offering, this is one of the details of the burnt offering – one may not eat.

The same thing with the sin offering, the order of the sin offering, which apparently also means the same thing – to make the sin offering according to its procedure, and not to eat from an inner sin offering. Regular ordinary sin offerings one does eat, but there are inner sin offerings that one may not eat. A bird sin offering one may not separate.

Afterward there is a mitzvah of the guilt offering, and the third is the order of the guilt offering. Afterward there is a mitzvah that the order of most holy things, which means sin offering and guilt offering primarily, they should eat them in the Temple, and not eat outside the courtyard. This is until here most holy things.

Lesser Holy Things

Now one can learn about lesser holy things. Lesser holy things means a peace offering. There is an order of how to offer it, this is a mitzvah. There is a prohibition that one should not eat lesser holy things before the sprinkling of the blood, one must wait until one does the sprinkling.

Meal Offering

Now we go to a meal offering. A meal offering has an order of the meal offering. Details of the order of the meal offering: a sinner’s meal offering one doesn’t put any oil. By a sinner we already saw it, but now we’re talking about the sinner’s meal offering, a meal offering that comes for a sin, one doesn’t put any oil, and one doesn’t put any frankincense.

Afterward, when one brings a meal offering one doesn’t eat it, it becomes entirely leavened from the oven, baking the meal offering leavened. And kohanim, it’s a positive commandment for the kohanim to eat the remnants of the meal offerings. Afterward there is a positive commandment for the kohanim to eat – just as the kohanim should eat the most holy things, now there is a mitzvah that the meal offerings they should also eat.

Vows and Voluntary Offerings

The positive commandment is that whoever makes a vow or a voluntary offering should bring it immediately, a positive commandment on the first festival, and the prohibition is that one should not delay the vows and voluntary offerings or other things that one is obligated, whatever the measure of delay is.

Mitzvah twenty is that all sacrifices should be offered in the Chosen House, even sacrifices from outside the Land. And the prohibitions from this are not to slaughter outside the courtyard, not to offer outside the courtyard.

This is until here Laws of Sacrifice Procedures.

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Laws of Tamidim and Musafim

Now one can see Laws of Tamidim and Musafim, which are sacrifices that are offered every day, always every day, and musaf of Shabbat and holidays. There are nineteen mitzvot from this, eighteen positive and one negative.

One, give two lambs every day as burnt offerings, one in the morning and one at night. Two, make a fire on the altar every day. The prohibition is “do not extinguish,” one is engaged in maintaining it, extinguishing the fire, do not extinguish. Mitzvah four is the removal of the ashes, mitzvah five is the incense of spices every day, mitzvah six is the eternal fire of every day, mitzvah seven is the meal offering of the griddle cakes of every day.

Mitzvah eight is the musaf of Shabbat, two lambs. Mitzvah nine is the showbread that one makes on Shabbat. Mitzvah ten is the musaf of Rosh Chodesh. Eleven is the musaf of Pesach. Twelve is the wave offering of the omer that one does on the second day of Pesach.

Counting the Omer

Thirteen is counting the omer. This is one mitzvah that actually belongs in the Book of Seasons, which stands here. Whoever will see, this is interesting – one can learn the entire Book of Seasons and not know about counting the omer, one has to search in the Rambam where counting the omer is.

The Rambam places it in that it’s connected to the offering of the Omer, the counting from the offering of the Omer, it’s a branch of the mitzvah of offering the Omer. But in practice, the Rambam – we remember that the Rambam divided all things that are done in the Temple and things that are not done in the Temple, he divided them. And the Rambam holds the interpretation that there is a mitzvah even in our times, by way of allusion, to count Sefirat HaOmer, even though there is no Omer offering. And nevertheless, it stands right here, which seemingly is not the right place from his own view – one must seek a hidden reason.

Musaf Offerings (Continued)

Fourteen is the Musaf of Shavuot, fifteen is the Two Loaves (Shtei HaLechem) of Shavuot which comes with the offerings that accompany them, sixteen is the Musaf of Rosh Hashanah, seventeen is the Musaf of Sukkot, eighteen is the Musaf of Yom Kippur, nineteen is the Musaf of the Festival, and twenty is the Musaf of Shemini Atzeret, which is a festival in its own right.

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Laws of Disqualified Consecrated Animals

Now there are the Laws of Disqualified Consecrated Animals. Disqualified consecrated animals refers to what one does with certain consecrated items that became disqualified or developed a blemish. In this there are two positive commandments and six negative commandments.

One is not to eat consecrated items that became disqualified, also not to eat a blemished animal, three is not to make notar (leftover), four is not to eat notar, five is not to eat consecrated items that became impure – this is another way something can become disqualified, and six is that an impure person should not eat consecrated items. Seven is to burn notar, eight is to burn impure items.

The Rambam likes to say “a tamei” – a person who became impure, a person is a tamei. There’s no such thing as a person being tamei – what does it mean a person is tamei? There’s no such thing. A person is a pure entity, one makes oneself impure.

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The Yom Kippur Service

The Yom Kippur Service is one mitzvah – that one should perform the entire order as it is written – in eight garments, intentions, confession, the prayer leader, the entire service.

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Laws of Me’ilah (Misuse of Sacred Property)

Me’ilah has three mitzvot, one positive and two negative commandments. What is this? The positive commandment is that the one who committed me’ilah should pay a fifth plus the principal. If the one who committed me’ilah should add a fifth? He must pay what he damaged the sacred property, what he used, and besides that a fifth of the principal. This is the law of one who commits me’ilah, as one mitzvah. And the negative commandment is not to commit me’ilah, and not to use consecrated items.

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Summary of the Book of Service

It comes out to 103 mitzvot. A huge number! Now you understand why until now this is the most mitzvot we have found in this book – 37 positive and 66 negative commandments.

And this is what we Jews don’t learn and aren’t so clear in the subject of kodshim (sacred items), and we are tremendously ignorant, and a huge percentage of mitzvot are in this.

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The Book of Offerings

The Book of Offerings has six sections of laws: Laws of the Pesach Offering, Laws of Chagigah, Laws of Firstborn Animals, Laws of Unintentional Sins, Laws of Those Lacking Atonement, and Laws of Temurah (Substitution).

Laws of the Pesach Offering

The Laws of the Pesach Offering, says the Rambam, has sixteen mitzvot, four positive and twelve negative commandments. And these are the details:

One, the positive commandment that one should slaughter the Pesach offering at its proper time. One should not slaughter it when one still has chametz. One should not let the limbs become disqualified by being left overnight. One should slaughter a second Pesach offering if one missed the first.

One should eat the flesh of the Pesach, one should eat it on the night of the fifteenth with matzah and bitter herbs. One should also eat the second Pesach, one should do the same thing – that on the night of the fifteenth of the month of Iyar one should also eat it with matzah and bitter herbs.

There’s a prohibition that the Pesach offering should not be eaten raw or cooked. And a prohibition that one should not take out from the flesh of the Pesach outside of the group that eats the Pesach offering.

The ninth mitzvah is that an apostate should not eat from the Pesach offering. The next is that a resident alien or a hired worker who is not fully Jewish should not eat from the Pesach offering. And an uncircumcised person who is not circumcised should not eat from the Pesach offering.

Further, that one should not break a bone from the Pesach offering. The same thing with the second Pesach – one may not break a bone. And one may not leave over that the Pesach offering should become notar. And the same thing with the second Pesach – one may not leave it over until the next morning. And also from the Chagigat Arba’ah Asar, the offering that one brings besides the Pesach offering, the Chagigat Arba’ah Asar offering, one also may not leave it until the third day of Pesach.

Laws of Chagigah

And now comes the Laws of Chagigah, which has six mitzvot, four positive and two negative commandments, and these are they:

One, that one should go up to the Temple, one should see, to appear before Hashem. The second is that one should go up on the three pilgrimage festivals to celebrate, one should perform the mitzvah of chagigah. The third mitzvah is that one should rejoice on the holidays. And four, that when one goes up one should not go up empty-handed, one should not go up without offerings. Five, that also the Levite who has no land of his own, one should not hold back from making him happy, and one should give him the priestly gifts on the festivals.

Hakhel

The sixth mitzvah is that on Sukkot following the Sabbatical year, the king must assemble the people.

This is in the wrong place. I don’t know why they placed it there. I’m just asking a question, and with respect – I say should it go in the Laws of Kings? Perhaps in the Laws of Torah Reading? I don’t know.

The Rambam held that it’s a law pertaining to Sukkot. It’s more a law of Sukkot than a law in the Laws of Kings. Indeed, it’s connected to Sukkot, but it’s weird to think that it’s a law of Sukkot.

This is what one needs to learn inside the law, and one needs to think about it. The topic of the placement of each thing exists. But I say, when you learn the laws you have something to work with, you have tools with which to think.

Laws of Firstborn Animals – Why Animal Tithe is Included

The Rambam added tithe and firstborn together because they are one category, as the verse says – just as the verse says, that there is a blemish in both, in firstborn and in tithe, “according to all its statutes you shall do to it.” We already see that tithe and firstborn are one category. You see, he brings a proof.

This is the topic of the placement of each thing. But you see that the Rambam felt it wasn’t clear. One could have asked about Hakhel, and other questions, I don’t know. But this was the Rambam’s difficulty – it says here Laws of Firstborn Animals, suddenly you look inside, you see there’s tithe. You know what he should have done? He should have made a Laws of Tithes, he should have separated them. Or he should have called it Laws of Firstborn and Tithe. Says the Rambam: you should know, firstborn and tithe have the same actions, they have the same laws. Not only do they have the same laws, but the verse states their law in the same word – that we should understand that this means both firstborn and tithes, therefore it belongs in one section of laws.

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Laws of Unintentional Sins

Laws of Unintentional Sins has five positive commandments:

One – That an individual who committed a sin should bring a sin offering (chatat) that is fixed for his unintentional sin.

Two – When there’s a situation where he needs to bring a guilt offering (asham), where it was not known to him – he doesn’t know if he sinned until he becomes aware – he must bring a provisional guilt offering (asham talui) until it becomes known to him. An asham talui is only temporary. Later when he finds out, he must bring a chatat as well. It doesn’t exempt him, only until his doubt is clarified.

Three – Such a person who unintentionally committed me’ilah, or robbery, or relations with a designated maidservant, or denied a deposit, always brings a guilt offering – this is a definite guilt offering (asham vadai).

Four – Such a sinner who transgresses certain sins has an adjustable offering (korban oleh v’yored) – that a wealthy person brings an animal, and a poor person can bring a bird or a tenth of an ephah. This is the adjustable offering.

Five – The Sanhedrin that committed a sin of not knowing the law and ruled incorrectly must bring an offering, if it’s an error in one of the severe sins.

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Laws of Those Lacking Atonement

Laws of Those Lacking Atonement has five positive commandments. It touches on people who didn’t commit a sin or anything, but they lack atonement – this is their only problem, a type of offering. They didn’t commit any sin, but they lack atonement.

It’s interesting – there are people who sinned and lack atonement. But here, they didn’t sin, their only problem is they lack atonement. The context of lacking atonement is usually that we say there’s purification, there are seven clean days, there’s immersion, and afterward there’s that one level of becoming pure is through atonement as well. It’s a type of offering that one must bring as purification, not as atonement for a sin.

Very simply: that a zav when he becomes purified must bring an offering, the same thing a woman who gave birth when she becomes purified must bring an offering, the same thing a zavah when she becomes purified must bring an offering, the same thing a metzora when he becomes purified must bring an offering – and afterward they become pure.

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Laws of Temurah

Laws of Temurah has three mitzvot – one positive and two negative commandments:

One – That one should not make a temurah (substitution).

Two – If someone did make one, the temurah becomes sanctified.

Three – Another negative commandment, one should not exchange consecrated items from one sanctity to another.

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Summary of the Book of Offerings

He says, it comes out that this book, the Book of Offerings, has thirty-nine mitzvot – twenty positive and nineteen negative commandments.