Rashi on TanakhExodus 23

Do not accept a false report. As Onkelos translates it: “Do not accept a false report.” This is an admonition directed to one who accepts (i.e., believes) slanderous talk, and to a judge, that he not listen to the claims of one party until the other party arrives.

Do not join hands with a wicked man. One who makes a demand on his fellow man by means of a false claim, and you promise him that you will be a corrupt witness.

Do not follow the majority to do evil. Regarding this verse, there are various expositions by the Sages of Yisrael but they do not fit the arrangement of the verse: From here they derived that a guilty verdict should not be arrived at by a majority of one judge. And they explain the end of the verse as follows: “It must be decided by a majority,” [meaning] that if there are two more for conviction than there are for acquital, then decide the case according to them (the majority) for a guilty verdict. [According to this explanation] this verse is dealing with capital crimes. And they explained the middle of the verse as follows: וְלֹא תַעֲנֶה עַל רִיב [should be understood] [as if it were written] עַל רַב (against the elder), i.e., that one must not contradict a more eminent member of the court. It is for this reason that in capital cases we begin [hearing the opinions of the judges] from the side [benches], i.e., the youngest among them are the first ones asked to state their opinion. According to [the above] words of our Sages, the interpretation of the verse is as follows: Do not follow the majority to do evil — to sentence [a defendant] to death on account of the judge [whose vote] causes those favoring conviction to outnumber those who vote for acquital. Do not dispute an elder — by veering from his opinion. It is because [the word רִיב] is missing the letter yod that they explained it thus. It must be decided by the majority. There is a majority to whose view you may lean. When is this so? When the majority for conviction outnumber by two those who vote to acquit. From that which is implied by what is said: “Do not follow the majority [of one] to do evil” I may derive: But, you may be with them (i.e., rule like them) if it is for good (i.e., to acquit the defendant). It is from here that they (the Sages) said: In case of capital offenses, the decision to acquit may be based on a majority of one but to convict there must be a majority of two. Onkelos translates [לֹא תַעֲנֶה עַל רִיב לִנְטוֹת]: “Do not refrain from conveying your opinion when asked about anything pertaining to a court case.” The Hebrew, according to Onkelos, should be explained as follows: Do not respond in a dispute to lean. [I.e.] if your opinion is asked in a court case do not respond by leaning to one side in order to remove yourself from the dispute, but decide the matter based on the truth. [The above are the explanations of the Sages and Onkelos...] But I offer an explanation to fit the verse’s arrangement according to its plain meaning. And this is its interpretation:

Do not follow the majority to do evil. If you see wicked men distorting justice, do not say: “since they are the majority I may as well lean towards them.”

Do not respond, in dispute, to lean, etc. And if the defendant should ask you [your opinion] regarding that judgment, do not respond to him, about the dispute, with a statement that leans towards the majority opinion, thereby distorting the judgment from the truth. But rather render the decision as it really is and let the collar (i.e., the responsibility) hang from the necks of the majority.

Do not show favor. Do not show special regard for him by finding in his favor in a lawsuit, and say, “He is poor. I will find in his favor and show him regard.”

If you see the donkey of your enemy, etc. Here you have the word כִּי being used to mean: “perhaps” (or “possibly”), which is one of the four meanings that the word כִּי is used to express. This is, then, how [the verse] is to be interpreted: It is possible that you might see his donkey lying under its burden — and you might not want to help him? Incredulously, with amazement.

Make every effort to help him. This word עֲזִיבָה has the meaning of “helping.” Similarly: “aided and (עָזוּב) helped” Similarly: “(וַיַּעֲזְבוּ) They helped Jerusalem up to the wall,” [meaning:] they filled it with earth to help and support the strength of the wall. A similar [use of the word כִּי as “possibly”]: “כִּי you will say in your heart, ‘These nations are many more than I, etc.’” [meaning:] “Could you possibly say this?! incredulously, with amazement... [therefore] “Do not be afraid of them.” As for its midrashic explanation, this is the way our Sages expounded it: “If you will see ... you may refrain.” [This indicates that] there are times that you may refrain [from helping] and there are times that you must help. When does this apply? If he is an elderly man and it is beneath his dignity [then] וְחָדַלְתָּ — “you may refrain” [applies]. Or if it is the animal of a gentile and the load of a Jew [then] וְחָדַלְתָּ [applies].

You should make every effort to help him — to unload the burden, [as Onkelos translates the words מֵעֲזוֹב לוֹ]: “from removing a load from it.”

Your needy. [אֶבְיֹנְךָ is] from the root אבה — “longing,” for he is destitute and longs for anything good.

Do not kill an innocent righteous man. From where do we derive [that in a case] where one has left the court after having been convicted and a person says: “I have evidence to suggest his innocence!” that we bring him (the defendant) back? Because the Torah states (addressing the court): “Do not kill an innocent man.” And though he may not be a righteous man for he has not yet been acquitted in court, nevertheless he is (נָקִי) innocent from a death verdict for you must try to vindicate him. And from where do we derive [that in a case] where one has left the court after having been found innocent, and a person says: “I have evidence to suggest his guilt,” that we do not bring him back to court? Because the Torah states: “Do not kill a righteous person!” And this [defendant] is considered righteous for he has been acquitted by the court —

for I will not acquit a wicked person. There is no need for you to bring him back for I will not vindicate him when I judge him,” [because even] if he has left your hands acquitted, I have many agents to put him to death, with that death to which he is actually liable.

Do not accept bribery. Even if you intend to judge truthfully. And it is certainly [prohibited] [when you take the bribe] to pervert justice. For regarding the perversion of justice it has already been stated: “Do not distort justice!”

Blinds the clear-sighted. Even if he is wise in the Torah and takes a bribe, his mind will ultimately become muddled and he will forget his learning and the light of his eyes will dim.

And perverts. As Onkelos translates it: “ruins.”

The words of justice. [דִבְרֵי צַדִיקִים means:] words that are just, i.e., the judgments of truth (viz., the Torah). So, too, does Onkelos translate it: “words that are תְּרִיצִין — righteous.”

Do not oppress a stranger. In many places, the Torah issues warnings regarding the גֵר because סורו (his inclination) is bad.

The soul of the stranger. How hard it is for him when he is oppressed.

And gather its crops. [וְאָסַפְתָּ is] a term for “bringing into the house,” “You shall gather it into your house.”

You must let it rest — from working [the fields] —

and abandon it — from eating [its crops] after “the time of removal.” An alternate explanation [of תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ]: “You must let it rest” from real work, such as plowing and sowing; “and abandon it” from manuring and hoeing.

What they leave over, beasts of the field can eat. This is to compare the food of the poor to the food of the wild beast. Just as the wild beast eats without tithing so, too, do the poor eat without tithing. It is from here that they (the Sages) stated that there is no obligation to tithe during the seventh year.

Do the same with your vineyard. But the beginning of the verse [תִּשְׁמְטֶנָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּהּ] deals with a grainfield, as it says, preceding that: “You may sow your land.”

But on the seventh day you must cease. Even during the shemittah-year do not cancel the weekly Shabbos from its rightful place. Do not say that since the entire year is called Shabbos there is no need for you to observe the weekly Shabbos.

So that your ox and your donkey may rest. [Meaning:] allow it to relax, permitting it to tear up and eat the grass from the ground. Or perhaps this is not so, but rather he must tie it within the house. To this say: this is not relaxation but suffering.

The son of your female slave. The verse here deals with an uncircumcised slave.

And the stranger. This refers to a גֵר תּוֹשָׁב — “a settler.”

Preserve everything that I have said to you. This intends to make every positive precept [as stringent] as a negative precept. For wherever the Torah uses a form of שְׁמִירָה it is intended as an admonition for a negative precept.

Do not mention. [Meaning:] that one may not say [to another]: “Wait for me next to such and such an idol,” or: “Stay with me on the holiday of such and such an idol.” An alternate explanation: “Preserve everything that I have said to you,” [next to:] “Do not mention the name of other gods,” comes to teach you that idol-worship is equal [in severity] to all the precepts in their entirety. And that one who is scrupulous in not transgressing it is equal to one who observes them all.

You must not cause it to be heard — from the gentile. Through your mouth [responsibility]. Do not make a [business] partnership with the gentile, whereby he may [ultimately] swear to you in the name of his idol, for consequently you will have caused [the idol’s name] to be mentioned through your actions.

Times. [רְגָלִים means:] “times.” Similarly: “that you have struck me three (רְגָלִים) times.”

The month of aviv — when the grain ripens in its (אִבֶּיהָ) stalks. [An alternate explanation:] אָבִיב is from the word אַב i.e., “mature” and the first month to ripen its fruit.

Do not appear before My Presence empty handed. “When you come to appear before Me at the festivals, bring Me burnt-offerings.”

The Festival of Harvest. This refers to the holiday of Shavuos...

The first fruits of your Labor — which is the time for bringing the first fruits because the offering of the “two loaves” which are brought on Shavuos, permit the new crop [to be used] for meal offerings and to bring bikkurim to the Beis Hamikdosh, as it is said: “On the Day of Bikkurim, etc....”

The Festival of Ingathering. This refers to the holiday of Succos —

when you gather in [the fruits] of your labor. Because the entire summer the grains dry in the fields and during the Succos [season] it is gathered indoors out of the rains.

Three times, etc. Since the subject here deals with shemittah, it was necessary to state that the Three Festivals will not be cancelled from [taking place at] their allocated times.

Every male among you. [זְכוּרְךָ means:] the males among you.

You must not sacrifice — while chametz is present — etc. Do not slaughter the Pesach korbon on the fourteenth day of Nisan until you remove your chametz.

You must not allow to remain overnight — the fat of My festival-offering, etc. — away from the altar —

Until morning. One might think that even [if it were] on the wood-pile [of the altar], it would nevertheless become unfit due to its having remained overnight. Therefore the Torah says: “On the fireplace, on the altar all night.”

You must not allow to remain overnight. It is not considered [unfit due to] לִינָה unless it [was not placed on the altar] by dawn, as it is said: “Until morning.” But the entire night he may lift it up from the ground onto the altar.

The beginning of the first fruits of your land. Even during the seventh year bikkurim is obligatory. It is for this reason that [the Torah] states even here [regarding the seventh year]: “The first fruits of your land.” What is the procedure [for setting aside bikkurim]? A man who, upon entering his field, sees a fig that has ripened. He ties a reed around it to identify it and thereby designates it [as bikkurim]. Bikkurim need to be brought only from the seven species which are listed in Scripture: “A land of wheat, barley, etc; (grapes, figs pomegranates, olives, dates.)”

You must not cook a young animal. A calf and a sheep are also implied in “גְּדִי” because “גְּדִי” represents any tender, newborn animal, [as can be inferred] from the fact that you find in a number of places in the Torah that גְּדִי is written, and it is necessary to explain afterward: עִזִּים — goats, for example: “I will send גְּדִי עִזִּים — a goat,” or: “the גְּדִי הָעִזִּים — goat,” or: “two גְּדַיֵי עִזִּים — goats,” thereby teaching you that wherever גְּדִי is mentioned without specification, then a calf and a sheep are also implied. [The prohibition of לֹא תְבַשֵּׁל גְּדִי בַּחֲלֵב אִמּוֹ] is written three times in the Torah: once to prohibit the eating [of meat cooked with milk], another to prohibit deriving any benefit from them, and once to prohibit cooking them.

Behold, I will send an angel. Here they are foretold that they are destined to sin, and the Shechinah would then say to them: “For I will not go up among you.”

That I have prepared. That I have prepared to give to you (i.e., Eretz Yisrael). That is its plain meaning. But its midrashic explanation is: “to the place that I have established [for the Temple] [for] My Place (i.e., the Temple of Heaven) has already been set up in line with it. This is one of the verses [in Scripture] which indicate that the Beis Hamikdosh of Heaven is directly in line with the Beis Hamikdosh below.

Do not rebel against him. תַּמֵּר is from the same root as הַמְרָאָה — “robbing,” as in: “Whoever (יַמְרֶה) will rebel against your order.”

For he cannot bear your transgression. He is not accustomed to this (the act of sinning) for he is of the group [of beings] who do not sin. An alternate explanation: [He has no power to forgive] for he is only a messenger and can only to do his mission.

As My Name is in him. This follows the beginning of the verse: “Be careful in his presence... for My Name is linked with him.” Our Sages said that this angel is Metatron whose name is the same as his Master’s (God) for מְטַטְרוֹן has the same numerical value as שַׁדַּי (314).

And I will attack. As Onkelos translates it: וְאָעִיק — “I will oppress.”

You must [totally] destroy — their idols.

Their monuments. The stones that they set up [for the purpose] of bowing down to them.

No woman will suffer miscarriage — if you act according to My will.

מְשַׁכֵּלָה . [A woman] who suffers miscarriages or buries her children is called a מְשַׁכֵּלָה .

I will bring panic. וְהַמֹּתִי is the same as וְהָמַמְתִּי . Onkelos translates it וֶאֱשַׁגֵּשׁ — “I will confuse.” This is true of any word whose verb-root has its last root-letter doubled, when it is conjugated in the פָּעַלְתִּי form. There are instances where the doubled letter is taken and given a dagesh and vocalized with a melopum (cholam), for example: וְהַמֹּתִי from the root: “(וְהָמַם) A confused sound was made by the wheel of his cart,” [or:] וְסַבּוֹתִי — “I circled” from the same root as: “(וְסָבַב) He circled Beth El,” [or:] דַּלּוֹתִי — “I was brought low” from the root: “(דָּלְלוּ) They became low and dried up,” [or:] “(חַקֹּתִיךְ) I have engraved you on the hands,” from the same root as: “(חִקְקֵי) engraved in the heart,” [or:] “whom have (רַצּוֹתִי) I crushed,” from the same root as: “(רִצַּץ) He has crushed and abandoned the poor.” Whoever translates וְהַמּוֹתִי as: “I will kill” is in error, for if it were from the root מִיתָה then its ה' would not receive a patach nor would its מ' get a dagesh, and its vowel would not be a melopum (cholam), but [would take the form:] וְהֵמַתִּי, as in “(וְהֵמַתָּה) You shall kill this nation.” And [the reason that] the ת' [of וְהֵמַתָּה] is with a dagesh is because it is in place of two letters ת', one of them being part of the root for no form of the word מִיתָה exists without a ת', and the other one serving as [a suffix-letter], as in: אָמַרְתִּי — “I said,” חָטָאתִי — “I sinned,” עָשִׂיתִי — “I did.” Similarly: the ת' of וְנָתַתִּי has a dagesh because it comes in the place of two [letters ת'], for it should have been written with three letters ת': two as part of the root, as in: “On the day (תֵּת ה') that God gave,” [or:] “It is (מַתַּת) a gift from God”; and the third [letter ת'] serves as a suffix.

Their Backs. [I.e.] that they will flee from you and thereby turn the backs of their necks to you.

The hornets. It is a kind of flying insect which would strike them in their eyes and inject a poison into them, and they would die. The hornets did not cross the Jordan River and the Chittites and Canaanites [mentioned here as being driven out] were from Sichon and Og. It is for this reason that of all seven nations, only these [three] are enumerated here. [The fact that] the Chivites [are mentioned here], though they resided on the other side of the Jordan and somewhat further on, is explained by our Sages in Maseches Sotah: It (the hornet) stood at the edge of the Jordan and hurled the poison into them.

Desolate. [I.e.,] empty of people, since you are few and there are not enough of you to fill it.

Will multiply against you. וְרַבָּה עָלֶיךָ is to be understood as וְתַרְבֶּה עָלֶיךָ .

Until you have increased. [תִּפְרֶה meaning:] increased, from the word פְּרִי (fruit), as in: “(פְּרוּ) Be fruitful and multiply.”

I will set. [וְשַׁתִּי is] from the word הֲשָׁתָה — “setting.” The letter ת' carries a dagesh because it comes in the place of two [letters ת'], for any form of שִׁיתָה must have a ת' while the other one is a suffix.

To the river. The Euphrates.

וְגֵרַשְׁתָּמוֹ . And you will drive them away.

That you [might] worship. Here you have the word כִּי used in the sense of אֲשֶׁר . This is also true in various places. This (the usage here) is actually אִי which is one of the four meanings of כִּי . We often find [the word] אִם being used to convey אֲשֶׁר, as in: “וְאִם you will offer a minchah of the first fruit” which is actually obligatory.