Ki Seitzei - 7th Portion

Join me as we learnish for Shabas Paresis. The seventh Torah reading of Paris, chapter 24:E14. As mentioned previously, the Torah reading of Pariseti has in it 74 commandments and many different commandments. So, we're now going to continue with the different commandments and prohibitions that are mentioned in this week's Torah reading. Starting with making sure that the employees wages are paid properly and on time. Verse 14. You must not withhold the wages of the poor of the destitute employer employee of your brothers or of your converts that are in your land and in your cities. Why does it why does the Torah have to tell it if it already mentioned these prohibitions that one has to pay his wages on time in the book of Leviticus doesn't it say it already in the book of Leviticus chapter 19 about paying the employees on time to tell us that when it comes to a poor person and not paying him on time when desecrates two abrogations number one Number one, the one that's mentioned here, do not withhold the wages of a poor person. And number two, one that we already mentioned regarding any person whether poor or rich, which you already warned about that you should not withhold the wages of your friend. Why is he called a destitute person called an? The word comes from that he desires anything because he has nothing of his own. Me your convert. What kind of convert? A sadic. This is an absolute convert who is now considered like a regular Jewish in your cities. This has to do with av which is a not complete convert to Judaism but he accept upon himself the seven laws and not to follow idolatry. So therefore he was allowed to stay in the land of Israel. However he still eats non-cosher and so on in your land. So too, if a person rented and he's only using the animal of which he's taken, he has to make sure that he has to pay for the usage of the animal or the vessels that he's using. Verse 15. Rather, you must give the wages on that day that you promised you said you would give it. And do not let the sun set because he's a poor person. And he and he risks his and he risks his life in order to earn the necessary money. and he not cry out to God against you God because of you and this will be counted as a sin against you because of this payment that he hopes to get he risks his life in order to get it because many times the work that a person's involved with can be life-threatening climbing up big to mountain big ramps s or high places, climbing up ladders or to hanging from trees and putting his life in danger in order to make a few bucks. So therefore, you should make sure to pay him on time. In any case, this can be a sin. This is a sin regardless if the person calls or not. But a person who cries out to God, the punishment comes sooner to the one who's making him hurting him and causing to sin. Verse 16, legal laws of justice. Fathers must not be put to death by the virtue of their sons, nor must sons be put to death by the virtue of their fathers. An adult may be put to death for his own transgressions. Teaching us that the best in the rabbitical court will not put to death a father based on the testimony of their children. If you may say maybe over here the Torah is referring to the because of the sins of their children it already says right afterwards that a person dies because of own sins. However, a person who's not a man meaning a child can die because of the sins of their father. From here we learn that young children can die because of the sins of their foref of their fathers and that is not a death in the hands of humans but a death in the hand of God. Verse 17. This is now in making sure that legal justice one should not have consideration for somebody who may be disadvantaged. As it says here, one should not deviate or pervert the judgment of a convert or an orphan. And you must not take a widow's garment as collateral when it comes to a rich person already told us do not prefer to justice because of a rich person or a poor person and it was repeated again by a poor person that you should not prefer to justice and say well this person's poor this person's rich so therefore I'll make him lose or win this why does the Torah tell to me again laugh to tell me that there are two abrogations when a person does It is easier for one to be persuaded and say, "Well, I'll make the poor person win instead of the rich." Therefore, the Torah repeats it again here to let you know the stringency on one has to be careful about it to make sure that he does not pervert the justice and try to show that I'm going to care for the poor person by making him win in court. This means taking a collateral which is not in the time of loan even after the time of the payment came along making sure to try to force the person to pay up the loan. However, if the uh borrower gives the collateral at the time of the loan, therefore the person wishes to do it and therefore it's not considered something wrong. Verse 18 and you must remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt and God redeemed you from there. Therefore, I command you to do this thing. You'll remember this is the reason why I redeemed you from Egypt to watch my laws. Even if it means that there's a financial loss because of it. This is where it means and that's where it shows your commitment when you're ready to lose when you're ready to give up something that you earned for somebody else only because God said so. Verse 19, when you will harvest in your when you will harvest when you will reap and harvest your harvest your field and you will forget a sheath or a bundle in the field. do not return to go get it. Leave it for the comfort, the widow, the orphan or the widow should be for them. So that God should bless you in all that you do. It doesn't say an entire stash, but it means not a big bundle, but we're talking about from here we learn that what does this mean? What does we talk about the what's it mean? It has to be big enough that it has two saw in it and he left it in the field. That means if once it reaches a letter amount and a value of two saw then it's no longer considered. It's considered a godish which is considered a large amount of wheat or a large sheath. And at that point if a person leaves it in the field it's not considered forgotten. It's just a person didn't get it yet. And therefore that is not something that the poor people can get bas in the field. Why does it say twice if a person forgets his uh a sheath in the field? It says you're going to cut when you reap your harvest in the field. And then it says again and you forget something in the field. wanted to say it twice to tell us that also if a person forgot a standing stalk even if it wasn't cut that he forgot to cut it that he shouldn't go back to cut off that stalk and he should allow that chief to be able to be given to the um to the poor people from here we see that if he left it behind that means in the amount of time that he's able to go and get it it's considered forgotten But if he's still standing there and he still didn't take all the bundles and all the sheets inside the storage, then it's not considered forgotten. It's not part of the prohibition of going back to getting it because it's still in front of him. So it's not as if he forgot it. Even though it's not considered as if it's proper, proper charity because you did not intend to give that charity. It was something that happened on its own. How much more when a person intends to give charity, what do we see from here? That if if a person dropped a dollar and because of that, a poor person finds the dollar, you become blessed even though you don't even know that you helped another person. Verse 20. When you beat your olive tree, you must not totally remove its glory by picking all the fruit. Make sure to leave some for the convert, the orphan, and the widow. Rashi loaf. The top of the tree is considered like the crown of the tree. do not the the beauty of the tree is its fruit. So therefore he's saying don't take the entire beauty from here we know that we have to leave the same way and you have to leave the corner of a field for the poor people to take so by a tree have to leave a side or part of it that the poor people can get from as well after you meaning this is part of the mitzvah of when one forgets something that he leaves it for the poor people. Verse 21. When you pick your grapes in the vineyard, when you pick the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean behind you. You must leave it for the comfort orphan and the widow. If you find meaning clusters of grape, you should not take them. is what's considered clusters of grapes. How many do I have to leave that they don't have a shoulder or something dripping from it? Meaning that means if it still has a body to it, meaning that the Torah when it says that you have to give it to the poor person, it's talking about a cluster that doesn't have much to it. But if it's considered like it has if you would the way it's called like a shoulder that has broad that's big in its side and it has something hanging from it still belongs to the owner as he's going to see as he explains what it means a shoulder and I saw Rashi continues to say I saw in the Jerusalem a what does it mean that it has a shoulder that a cluster of grapes that has a shoulder that it has the one cluster, one vine is on one on top of the other. That's not like just a regular one vine of cluster of grapes hanging, but it's one on top of the other. And therefore, it's called like a shoulder because it's leaning one over the other. What does the word mean? On the bottom of the vine of the cluster, there's still grapes hanging from it. And there's still more. And this is when we talk about the cluster of grapes that a person's allowed to take when there's very few grapes on the vine. And that's what we're talking about. We should leave it for the poor people. You should remember all these mitzvah that I'm telling you to do is because you must remember that when you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore, I command you to do these things today. Chapter 25 verse one on how we resolve disputes. When there will be a hostile quarrel between people, they will then approach the judgment and he must judge them. They must acquit the innocent party and condemn the guilty party. What's it referring to over here? It says as follows. The Torah tells us to us that we talk about there's going to be a quarrel and this is because these individuals do not want to settle their places and therefore they decided to fight about it. Because they decided to fight about it, it's not going to be settled easily and the only way to do it is but they have to come now to judgment. From here we see no peace comes out of a quarrel. Like we see the story of light because there was a quarrel between the shepherds of a light that caused that light should have to separate himself from the sadic and that was the quarrel that brought it. So we see good things, peace, happiness does not come from a quarrel. I may think that any person who becomes guilty in any court case will be liable of lashes. Therefore, the Torah says, "If you're going to give lashes to the one that's guilty, there will be times that a person does get lashes and there are times that even though he's a guilty party, he will still not receive lashes. Who is the one that will receive which kind of prohibitions? What kind of prohibitions will a person receive lashes?" You learn it from the actual concept of we it's talking about the idea of lashes. What's the as we're going to see in the chapter in verse four? One should not muzzle an ax while it's on the threshing floor. to class A. The only time that a person would be receive the punishment of lashes is if it's a abrogation of a negative commandment which is not connected or related to a positive commandment. So you will only receive lashes on a negative commandment not on one that you are abrogating or not doing a positive commandment. Let's see as we're going to see in the next verse that tells us about the laws pertaining lashes. Verse two, if as a result of the court case, the guilty party has incurred a penalty of lashes, then the judge must bend him must have him bend over and he'll fogg him according to what befits his crime. That's the number of lashes that he will get. The maximum number of lashes as we'll see in verse three. What does it mean? It'll make him bend over teaches us that we don't give a person lashes. Not while he's standing, not while he's sitting, but he has to be bent over leaning onto the pole that they had there. That in front of him according to the amount of lashes that he deserves behind him meaning from the back he will be doing twice the amount. number from here we see and they give him lashes 2/3 of the amount two/3 from the back and one/3 in the front the amount of lashes that are given would be two/3s in the back one third in the front according to the number of 40 but not complete 40 as we'll see the next verse tells us how many It's a number that when I round it off, it'll come to 40, which is 39, which is not exactly 40. That's why it says notar. Verse three, how many will the person be receiving? 40 he will be administering him to him. As we mentioned, it's not exactly 40 because the word mispar tells me that it was close to 40. So that's 39. you should not add onto it before if he were to add more severe flogging than the 39 that he's supposed to get on these that he was supposed to get a uh a more severe flogging a more severe lashes and your brother will be belittled in your eyes. What does this mean? Rashi tells us here it tells us to any person who's giving the lashes and this not only to the but any person that hits somebody even if you believe that a person is deservant of it never do more than what he's deserving meaning throughout the entire Torah reading we see that he's called an evil person that this person who did who was guilty is considered bad That means until he gets the lashes, he's called evil, guilty, whatever it may be, which means evil. The moment the person gets the lashes, that means he has already done. Therefore, the Torah calls him now your brother. Verse four, you must not muzzle an when it's threshing grain. The Torah was talking about cases of actuality that were present at that time. And therefore, it says because an ax was usually the one that was threshing. But the same would apply and this would apply to any animal or bird or or the non-domemestic animal who is doing a work which is about food. Why does it say over here specifically in ax? This does not include a person. That means if a person is um working in any food industry, if he's working whatever may be in a restaurant, you're allowed to muzzle his mouth and say he's not allowed to eat from the food. However, even though you're not you're allowed to technically muzzle his mouth and you're not you don't have the abrogation of musling his mouth. However, previously we learned in verse uh chapter 23:22 about if a person comes into vineyard and he's allowed that he's allowed to collect the grapes while um he's allowed to eat the grapes while collecting the grapes. He can't put it in his pocket, but he's allowed to eat while he is working. So, it's two different prohibitions. One is a positive prohibition of telling a person that he's allowed to eat and allow your worker to eat while they're working. However, there's a negative prohibition of musling the animal that only applies by an animal. to put a muzzle on the outside. I would think that maybe I'll put it Okay, don't put it on the threshing floor. While he's outside, I'll put the the the muzzle on. So therefore, when he comes in, he'll already have a muzzle on him. Therefore, the Torah says, "Don't leave a muslim whatsoever." Then why does it say while threshing? Just like wheat that while it's being threshed, it's um it's something which is the is unique and um that it that it's unique and even though it's not finished still and all at that moment it is exempt from uh tithing or from giving because it's not considered something which is ready to be eaten and it comes from the ground to anything else that takes work. So even if it means that it's not ready to eat but you're still threshing it as well it will be included in the prohibition of musling an animal while working which would then exclude a case of which would be milk because at that point the milk is already ready made to eat these are different ways of making cheese and milk and yogurt number one they don't grow from the ground when somebody is kneading wheat needing dough or somebody that is uh collecting the you know preparing the dough for it to be baked that even though those things do grow from the ground but because it's already finished its job and now you are obligated to give kala from it that excludes dates or um or figs the person who is separating them you know when they get stuck together that being that in that case it's already finished. It's it's already ripened and therefore it's obligated to tithe. Therefore, the worker cannot eat from them and it is not part of this prohibition. Verse five. Now we learn about the leftight marriage. Two brothers reside together and one of them dies and he does not have a son. The one that dies does not have a son. The dead man's wife will not be automatically be an outsider. To be marry a stranger. That means her husband's brother must cohabitate with her taking her as a wife for himself and marrying her through love right marriage that means the brother the husband's brother will cohabitate with her and uh take her as a wife and marrying her and deliberate marriage. Let's see. Rashi meaning that they were both living together at the same time in this world proudly. This is does not include a brother who the who was not alive at the time. For example, he was born after his brother already died. What does it mean together? That means they're both brothers from the father that they will both inherit together. after brothers from the mother that they don't inherit the father together at the same time. So therefore the law of the left right marriage does not apply. The rabbis explained if you look at the word anal means he does not have that means check by him a son or a daughter meaning even if he doesn't have if he's talking about if he doesn't have any children it doesn't make a difference if it's a son or a daughter any children bane or benabas if there's a son of the son that's daughter of the son or son of the daughter or daughter of the daughter any of these as if there's any kin available or alive then the lever marriage doesn't apply because this is talking about the lever marriage would only apply when there's no ancestor when there's no children there's no next whatsoever verse six this way the eldest brother it means who is the one responsible for leite marriage will go to the leite to to the eldest mother if she can bear children then the brother who marries her he will succeed in his deceased brother's name the one that died Israel and his name will therefore not be obliterated from Israel one the oldest of the brothers is the one that's responsible to do the love right marriage that she's able to give birth meaning that the word love right marriage only applies to a woman who's able to give birth this excludes a woman who is not able to give birth that over there the law of love right marriage would not apply it doesn't mean that the child has to be named after his brother but this fellow by the never left marriage by marrying his this fellow's the brother's wife he will then take the inheritance of the one who passed together when he inherits from his father his name not be obliterated. This excludes the wife of a woman, the wife of a man who was not able to give birth that he himself was not able to give birth that his name is anyways obliterated because since he would not be able to give birth therefore on that individual there is no mitzvah of leftight marriage there. Verse seven, what happens if the fellow does not want what happens if the man does not wish to take his brother's wife? So therefore the brother's wife must go up to the gate skate him to the elders and she says my brother does not refuse to perpetuate his brother's name to repetuate his brother's name amongst the Jewish people he does not want to marry me gateway of the best verse 8 the elders of the city will then summon him the will speak with him the Omar and he will say I have no one interest I'm now I do not want to take her as a wife he has to stand while saying it she has to say it in Hebrew not in any other language and so she has to say the words in Hebrew in the holy tongue verse nik and then his brother's wife will then approach him a love to him before the elders and she will remove his shoe from his foot and she will spit on the ground in front of him and she will respond by saying if so should be done to the man who does not want to build up his brother's household on the ground not at him but in front of him. teaches us that a person who already did that means that they did this in case that he did not wish to marry the woman. He cannot go back and say okay I want to marry it doesn't say build will not build because he did not build in the past will never have the opportunity again verse 10 the name of this brother performing the ceremony of releasing must be called one time in a community of Israel in Israel meaning amongst the Jewish people representing by those present in the ceremony base kut hal the house. This is the house of he who is the had his shoe removed about all the people that are standing there have to pronounce and say this fellow is uh a one who had his shoe removed. Verse 11, the Torah now tells us about the laws about compensation concerning embarrassment. When people are fighting with one another, if a man and his brother are quarreling, And one of the one and the wife of one of the attacked one approaches to rescue her husband from his asalent and she stretches her hand forth and grabs a hold of his private parts. That means when people are fighting ultimately and eventually this is going to lead to people fighting hitting one another. That means when you have a quarrel that leads to using hands. It says later on the one that no peace comes out from quarrels and fighting. Verse 12. You must cut off her hand. Of course we're talking about figuratively. you not to take pity by reducing the fee. Let's see. Rashi says kappa doesn't mean literally cut off her hands. M she has to pay. Why does she have to pay? Because she embarrassed this fellow by grabbing his private parts. The very fact that she embarrassed him. How do you evaluate what has to be embarrassed? Everything goes according to the person who's the one embarrassing and the one who got embarrassed as well. How do I know that this doesn't mean that I cut her for hands literally? It says over here, "Do not have pity on her." And it says later on by the by the discussion of when you have witnesses who are proven falsely, do not care for do not have pity on them. Just like over there when we're talking about the story of the witnesses, it's referring to an obligatory case of money, money, a financial compensation, penalization. So two over here we're talking about a financial penalization and not literally cutting off their hands. Verse 13. Now over here we're talking about honesty in business. The Torah tells you don't even have in your pocket different weights, a heavy one or a light one. Rashi eval these were weights that was done that the way they used to have a scale on one side was the actual thing that weighed it down and then you put the item and therefore you were able to evaluate how much something weighs. If you put underneath you have a big one who says ah that means whatever's on the scale weighs it down so it weighs more. Or the opposite or he takes big and he uses a small one. He says, "Ah, this is much more." And he charges the person more for it. Verse 14. You should not have in your house different apha measures in your home. Not a large one or a small one for selling. That if you did it and you went over the prohibition of having different stones, meaning you're not going to have you're not going to be able to have anything in your house. You're not going to have anything in your pocket. If the Torah is telling you, don't have it in your pocket. meaning because if you would have these cheating items in your pocket, it's going to cause you that you won't have anything in your pocket at all. Verse 15, rather you should have a full correct measure, a stone a full correct stone as well. You should have an which is a fully correct one as well. You should be able to have long life on the land that God is going to give you. If you follow this, they have a proper stone, a proper then you'll have plenty of money and there's no need to cheat. And only that cheating, you're only causing your money to go away, not to get more. verse 16 because of whoever does such things as and then perpetrates these type of ways per uh such injustice God sees it as an abomination because it's an abomination toem to those people that do such things and people who are perpetrating this injustice is considered an abomination. Verse Now, the Torah tells us about remembering what Malik did, you must remember what Malik did to you while you were traveling out of Egypt. If you're going to cheat with me weights and measures, you got to now be worried about from the enemy coming at you like did against you. It says, "Those that lie and trick and wait are an abomination of God." And afterwards, it says, of the evil man comes with him come with evil and with injustice comes the bad comes the their atrocities. Verse 18, how on the way they attacked you by surprise and they cut off all of those weakened at your ear and you have been faint and were weary and did not fear of the retribution of God. What's he referring to here? Rashi explains the word. They surprised you. Another explanation comes from the impurity that theites were causing the um causing the Jewish people to sin with causing them to be with their own gender. Another explanation comes from the way of like hot and cold in which this is trying to use it in a metaphor type of terminology. They cooled you off from your excitement from all the other nations of the world. You call me because all the nations of the world were afraid to start war with you. And then comes along and he starts a war and show others nothing to be afraid of. You see, they like broke through the barrier and showed that they cooled off the uh the heat that was on the Jewish people. Meaning the very fact that the nations of the world were afraid of them and they cooled it off and said, "Look, we can fight them." He gives an example for an example for a uh for a bath house or for a a bath which is boiling hot. It's so hot. The tub the hot tub is so hot that nobody was able to go into it. One guy who couldn't care less came jumped into it even though he himself got burnt about he already called it off for others. The same thing is also even got beaten. But the very fact that they wage war that called it cooled it off. That means they hit from the back. The amalikites would cut the foreskin of the Jewish people and throw it up towards the heaven. Like telling God, look who you chose. What kind of people do you have over here? These are the people who didn't have any energy. Why didn't they have any energy? because they sinned Xan and Pilton the cloud of glory would throw them out and therefore they were not protected and the people of Amalik were able to get them and this is talking about the people of the tribe of Dun as it's described in the there were serving idolatry and because they were serving idolatry the cloud of glory uh spit them out and that was protecting the Jewish people because they were not following the rules accordingly they were not part of the protection of the clouds of glory These two terminologies that you were tired and uh weary, you were faint and weary. What are these two things? The word faint meaning you had nothing to drink that the Jewish people were thirsty there for water. So we see that they were literally thirsty. Therefore there was a faint I'm weary from walking so much. You do not fear God and did not fear God that therefore they felt that they can go ahead and try to harm you. Therefore, what does God tell us in verse 19? Therefore, when God your God grants you respit from your older enemies around you in the land that he's going to the land that God is possesses to you as inheritance, therefore your job must be done that you should do. You have to make sure to erase, to eradicate, to obliterate the remembrance of a Malikim from beneath the heaven. You must not forget. Get rid of them. Eradicate them men and women from the smallest to the great to the oldest. from the ox to the sheep every single one of them that there shouldn't even be the name of a malikite mentioned on an animal say oh this animal belongs to Malik and actually we see what happened at the time of king shaw where the people said why we're getting rid of the animals we want to bring the animals as sacrifices and what happened was that amalik the king of amalik a who cohabitated with an animal with different magic ways and he was able to survive and at the end we were stuck with So we see how we have to follow the rules exactly the way God tells us and therefore Moshe reminds him that this is the obligation of the Jewish people once they settle in the land of Israel to get rid of the nation of Amalik. This concludes the Torah reading of Pares Kiset.