meta: {"file": "/data/tomer/Sefaria-Export/txt/Tanakh/Torah/Exodus/English/The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein.txt"}
text: Exodus
  שמות
  The Rashi chumash by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
  
  
  Exodus
  
  
  
  
  
  And these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt, [Scripture mentioning them again, after their death, in G-d's love for them]; with Jacob, a man and his household they came.
  Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Judah.
  Issachar, Zevulun, and Benjamin.
  Dan, Naftali, Gad, and Asher.
  And all the souls who issued from Jacob's thigh were seventy souls, and Joseph [— the same Joseph who tended his father's flock] was [king] in Egypt.
  And Joseph died, and all of his brothers, and all of that generation.
  And the children of Israel were fruitful, and teemed [six in one birth], and multiplied, and became exceedingly strong, and the land was filled with them.
  And a new king arose over Egypt who [deported himself as if he] did not know Joseph.
  And he said to his people: Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more numerous and more powerful than we.
  Ready yourselves to plot against it, lest it increase, and it shall be, in the event of war, that it, too, will be added to our foes, and it will war against us and go up out of the land.
  And they placed over it tax officers in order to afflict it with their [Egypt's] toils. And it built, [fortifying them as] treasure cities for Pharaoh — Pithom and Ramses.
  And as [much as] they would afflict it, so did it multiply and so did it burst forth. And they were sick of their lives before the children of Israel.
  And Egypt worked the children of Israel with (back-) breaking labor.
  And they embittered their lives with hard toil: with mortar, and with brick, and with all the labor of the field; all of the labor with which they worked them was (back-) breaking.
  And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, the name of the one, Shifrah [Yocheved, so called because she "beautifies" (meshapereth) the infant], and the name of the second, Puah [Miriam, so called because she "coos" (poah) to the infant].
  And he said: When you deliver the Hebrew women, and you see upon the birth-stool that it is a son, then you shall kill him [(his astrologers having told him that a male would be born who would save Israel)], and if it is a daughter, then she shall live.
  And the midwives feared G-d and they did not do as the king of Egypt spoke to them, and they sustained the males.
  And the king of Egypt called to the midwives and said to them: Why have you done this thing and sustained the males?
  And the midwives said to Pharaoh: For not as the Egyptian women are the Hebrew women, for they are [as expert as] midwives. Before the midwives come to them, they are delivered [of themselves].
  And G-d did good unto the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very strong.
  And it was, because the midwives feared G-d, that He made them houses [the houses of the Cohanim and the Levites from Yocheved, and the house of kingdom from Miriam (this being "the good" that He did unto them)].
  And Pharaoh commanded his entire people, saying: Every son that is born, into the Nile shall you throw him, and every daughter shall you keep alive. [On the day of Moses' birth, Pharaoh's astrologers told him that the Jewish savior had been born and that he would be smitten by water, for which reason he decreed that all males be cast into the Nile — not knowing that Moses was destined to be "smitten" through the waters of Merivah (Numbers 20:13)].
  
  
  
  And there went a man from the house of Levi and took the daughter of Levi [after he had separated from her because of Pharaoh's decree (to drown the males)].
  And the woman conceived and bore a son, and she saw that he was good, [the house being filled with light at his birth], and she hid him for three months.
  And she could conceal him no longer, and she took for him a reed casque [resistant to hard and soft], and she coated it with loam [on the inside] and with pitch [on the outside, so that "that tzaddik" not smell the foul odor of the pitch], and she put the child in it, and she placed it in the rushes by the banks of the Nile.
  And his sister stood from afar to know what would be done with him.
  And the daughter of Pharaoh went down to the Nile to bathe, and her maidens walked by the riverside, and she saw the casque in the midst of the rushes, and she sent her handmaid and she took it.
  And she opened it and she saw the child, and, behold, a youth crying [(His voice was as that of a youth)] and she pitied him and she said: This is one of the Hebrew children.
  And his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter: Shall I go and call for you a Hebrew nursing woman to nurse the child for you? [many Egyptian women having attempted to nurse him — without success (Moses being destined to speak with the Shechinah)].
  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her: Go. And the maiden went [She went with alacrity, like a youth], and she called the child's mother.
  And Pharaoh's daughter said to her: Take [Heilichi (hei lichi — "This is yours," an unwitting prophecy)] this child and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wage. And the woman took the child and she nursed it.
  And the child grew, and she brought it to Pharaoh's daughter, and he was a son to her. And she called his name Mosheh, saying: "For out of the water did I take him" (meshithihu)].
  And it was in those days that Moses grew [in greatness, Pharaoh appointing him over his house], and he went out to his brothers and he saw [i.e., he took to heart] their toils, and he saw an Egyptian man [an overseer] striking a Hebrew man [an officer] of his brothers.
  And he turned here and there and he saw that there was no man [destined to issue from the Egyptian as a proselyte], and he smote the Egyptian and he buried him in the sand.
  And he went out on the second day, and, behold, two Hebrew men [Dathan and Aviram] quarreling, and he said to the wicked one ["wicked" by reason of lifting his hand to strike]: Why would you strike your fellow [your "fellow" in wickedness]?
  And he said: Who made you a man [(when you are yet a youth)], an officer and a judge over us? Would you speak [the Ineffable Name] to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? And Moses was afraid, and he said: In truth, the thing has become known.
  And Pharaoh heard this thing [through Dathan and Aviram], and he sought to kill Moses [He handed him over to the executioner, but the sword did not prevail against him (see 18:4)], and Moses fled from Pharaoh, and he abode in the land of Midian, and he sat at the well, [patterning himself after Jacob, who found his match thereby].
  And the priest of Midian [the chief among them (who had given up idolatry)] had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and they filled up the trough to give their father's flock to drink.
  And the shepherds came and drove them away [because of the ban (on their father)], and Moses arose and he rescued them, and he gave their flock to drink.
  And they came to Reuel their father, and he said: Why did you hasten to come today?
  And they said: An Egyptian man rescued us from the shepherds, and he also drew water for us, and he gave the flock to drink.
  And he said to his daughters: And where is he? Why did you leave the man? Call him and let him eat bread. [Perhaps he will marry one of you.]
  And Moses consented to remain with the man, and he gave Tzipporah his daughter to Moses (as a wife).
  And she bore a son and he called his name Gershom. For he said: I was a stranger (ger) in a foreign land.
  And it was in the course of those many days [when Moses was in Midian] that the king of Egypt died [(He was stricken with leprosy, tantamount to death, and slaughtered Jewish infants and bathed in their blood)], and the children of Israel moaned under the toil, and they cried out, and their outcry ascended to G-d from the toil.
  And G-d heard their outcry, and G-d remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
  And G-d saw the children of Israel, and G-d knew [i.e., He "took it to heart."]
  
  
  
  And Moses grazed the flock of Yithro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock by way of the wilderness [so that it not graze in others' fields], and he came to [what was later called] the mountain of G-d, to Chorev.
  And an angel of the L-rd appeared to him in the heart of the fire in the midst of the bush, [G-d "identifying Himself" with the sufferings of Israel]. And he saw, and, behold, the bush was burning with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
  And Moses said: I will turn away thither and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.
  And the L-rd saw that he had turned aside to see. And G-d called to him from the midst of the bush, and He said: Moses, Moses. And he said: Here I am.
  And He said: Do not come near here. Remove your shoes from your feet, for the place that you are standing upon is holy ground.
  And He said: I am the G-d of your father, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob. And Moses covered his face, for he was afraid to look at G-d.
  And the L-rd said: I have seen the afflictions of My people who are in Egypt, and their outcry have I heard under their taskmasters, for I have known [i.e., taken to heart] their tribulations.
  And I went down to save it from the hand of Egypt and to bring it up from that land to a good and broad land, to a land flowing milk and honey, to the place of the Canaani, the Chitti, the Emori, the Perizi, the Chivi, and the Yevussi.
  And now, the outcry of the children of Israel has come to Me, and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
  And now, go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will take out My people, the children of Israel, from Egypt.
  And Moses said to G-d: Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh [i.e., How am I worthy that I should speak with kings], and [how have the Jews merited it] that I should take the children of Israel out of Egypt?
  And He said [(in answer to "Who am I?") It is not you who is the protagonist here,] for I shall be with you, and this [the non-consumed bush] is the sign for you that I have sent you [(and it is in My power to save.) And, in answer to "How have the Jews merited it, etc.", there is a great thing in store for them, viz.:] when you take the people out of Egypt, you will serve G-d on this mountain [and receive the Torah there].
  And Moses said to G-d: Behold, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them: "The G-d of your fathers sent me to you," and they say to me: "What is His name?" what shall I tell them?
  And G-d said to Moses: I shall be [with them in this affliction] as I shall be [with them in the bondage of the other kingdoms. (Moses replied: "Sufficient the suffering unto its time!")] And He [in accord] said: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: "I shall be" sent me to you.
  And G-d said further to Moses: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: The L-rd, the G-d of your fathers, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, sent me to you. This [the Tetragrammaton] is My name forever (leolam) [written as "le'alem" ("to be concealed," i.e., not to be pronounced)], and this ["A-do-nai"] is My remembrance [i.e., pronunciation] from generation to generation.
  Go and gather the elders [i.e., the dignitaries] of Israel, and say to them: The L-rd, the G-d of your fathers, has appeared to me — the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — saying: I have remembered you ("pakod, etc.") and what has been done to you in Egypt.
  And I have said that I will bring you up from the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaani, the Chitti, the Emori, the Perizi, the Chivi, and the Yevussi to a land flowing milk and honey.
  And they will hearken to your voice, [this formula ("pakod, etc.") having been handed down to them as a "password" from Jacob and Joseph (Genesis 50:24-25)], and you and the elders of Israel shall come to the king of Egypt and say to him: The L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews, has visited us; and now, let us go, we pray you, a distance of three days in the desert, and we shall sacrifice to the L-rd our G-d.
  And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, if not by [My manifesting] a strong hand.
  And I will stretch out My hand and I will smite Egypt with all of My wonders which I shall do in its midst, and then he will send you out.
  And I will put the favor of this people in the eyes of Egypt; and when you go, you will not go empty-handed.
  And a woman shall ask of her neighbor and of the woman who lives in her house articles of silver and articles of gold and garments, and you shall put them on your sons and on your daughters, and you shall empty out Egypt.
  
  
  
  And Moses answered and he said: But they will not believe me, and they will not hearken to my voice; for they will say: The L-rd did not appear to you.
  And the L-rd said to him: "What is this in your hand?" And he said: "A staff."
  And He said: Throw it to the ground. And he threw it to the ground and it became a serpent, [a "hint" to Moses that he had plied the serpent's craft — slander (in saying that the Jews would not believe him)], and Moses fled from before it.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Stretch out your hand and seize its tail. And he stretched out his hand and grasped it, and it became a staff in his hand.
  So that they believe that the L-rd appeared to you, the G-d of their fathers, the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob.
  And the L-rd said to him again: Put your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom and he took it out, and, behold, it was leprous as snow [(leprosy being the punishment for slander (see Numbers 12)].
  And He said: Return your hand to your bosom, and he returned his hand to his bosom. And he took it from his bosom, and, behold, it had resumed its fleshy appearance, [whence it is derived that G-d's goodly measure is more expeditious than His punitive one ("from his bosom," as opposed to "took it out," above, implying that it had healed upon contact with his bosom)].
  And it shall be, if they do not believe you, and they do not hearken to the message of the first sign, then they will believe the message of the last sign, [already having precedent (— as in the instance of Pharaoh and Avimelech, who were smitten with plague because of Sarah —) that the intenders of harm to them are smitten with plague.]
  And it shall be, if they do not believe, also these two signs, and they do not hearken to your voice, then you shall take of the waters of the Nile, and you shall spill it upon the dry land. And the waters that you take from the Nile — they shall become blood upon the dry land.
  And Moses said to the L-rd: I pray You, O L-rd, I am not a man of words, also [(connoting an additional day)] from yesterday, also from the day before, also from when You began to speak to Your servant [this being the seventh day of Moses' opposition to the mission (in deference to Aaron's seniority)]; for heavy of speech and heavy of tongue am I.
  And the L-rd said to him: Who made a mouth for man, or who makes one mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the L-rd?
  And now, go, and I shall be with your mouth, and I will teach you what to speak.
  And he said: I pray You, O L-rd, send, now, by the hand of [him] You are wont to send [i.e., Aaron].
  And the anger of the L-rd burned against Moses, and He said: Is not Aaron your brother the Levite? [i.e., He was destined to be the Levite, and you, the Cohein — Now, he shall be the Cohein, and you, the Levite]. I knew that he shall surely speak. And, also, behold, he shall come out towards you [when you go to Egypt] and he shall see you and he shall rejoice in his heart [and he will not (as you think) be offended by your rise to eminence (for which reason Aaron merited the choshen, the breast-plate, worn over the heart)].
  And you shall speak to him, and you shall place the words in his mouth, and I shall be with your mouth and with his mouth; and I shall teach you what to do.
  And he shall speak on your behalf to the people, and he shall be a spokesman for you [in that you are "heavy of speech"], and you shall be a master to him.
  And this staff take in your hand, wherewith you shall do all the signs.
  And Moses went and he returned to Yether, his father-in-law [to be granted leave to go, for he had sworn to (remain with) him], and he said to him: Let me go, I pray you, and return to my brothers who are in Egypt and see if they still live. And Yithro said to Moses: Go to peace.
  And the L-rd said to Moses in Midian: Go, return to Egypt, for all the men who sought your life [Dathan and Aviram] have died. [They were reduced to poverty, which is tantamount to death.]
  And Moses took his wife and his sons, and he rode them on the ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And [before returning to Egypt] Moses took the staff of G-d in his hand [(there being no "before" and "after" in Scripture)].
  And the L-rd said to Moses: When you go to return to Egypt, see [i.e., give heart to] all of the wonders that I have placed in your hand [(those mentioned later (7:9)] and do them before Pharaoh, and I shall strengthen his heart and he shall not send the people.
  And you shall say to Pharaoh [when he hardens his heart against sending out the Jews]: Thus said the L-rd: "My first-born son is Israel" [(an expression of grandeur)].
  And I say to you [by word of the L-rd]: Send out My son and let him serve Me. And if you refuse to send him, behold, I shall kill your first-born son [(the last plague being mentioned as a threat in that it is the severest)].
  And he [Moses] was on the way in the lodging when [an angel of] the L-rd encountered him and sought to kill him [for remissness in the circumcision of his son].
  And Tzipporah took a flint and cut off the foreskin of her son and she cast it at his [Moses'] feet, and she said [about her son]: "For you are a groom of blood to me" [i.e., You would bring about the death of my "groom" (Moses)].
  And he [the angel] let go of him. Then she said: "A groom of blood for [i.e., by reason of remissness in] circumcision.
  And the L-rd said to Aaron: Go towards Moses to the desert. And he went, and he met him in the mountain of G-d, and he kissed him.
  And Moses told Aaron all the words of the L-rd wherewith He had sent him, and all the signs which He had charged him with.
  And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel.
  And Aaron spoke all the things that the L-rd spoke to Moses, and he performed the signs before the eyes of the people.
  And the people believed when they heard that the L-rd had remembered the children of Israel and that He had seen their affliction. And they bowed and they prostrated themselves.
  
  
  
  And afterwards Moses and Aaron came [(but the elders, in fear of going, fell off one by one)], and they said to Pharaoh: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of Israel: Send My people that they may make a festival unto Me in the desert.
  And Pharaoh said: Who is the L-rd that I should hearken to His voice to send out Israel? I do not know the L-rd and I shall also not send out Israel.
  And they said: The G-d of the Hebrews revealed Himself to us. Let us go, we pray you, a three days' distance in the desert and sacrifice to the L-rd our G-d lest He smite us [(instead of "smite you," in deference to royalty)] with pestilence or with the sword.
  And the king of Egypt said to them: Why, Moses and Aaron, would you distance the people from their work? Go to your labors [at home (the tribe of Levi being exempt from the servitude of Egypt)].
  And Pharaoh said: The people of the land are many now, and you would quit them of their toils.
  And Pharaoh commanded on that day the taskmasters [Egyptians] of the people and its officers [Hebrews], saying:
  Do not continue to give stubble to the people [to knead with clay] to make bricks as heretofore. Let them go and collect stubble for themselves.
  And the quota of bricks which they made heretofore you shall impose upon them. Do not reduce it. For they are idling. That is why are they crying out: "Let us go and sacrifice to our G-d!"
  Let the labor be heavy on the men and let them do it, and let them not speak vain words.
  And the taskmasters of the people went out, and its officers, and they said to the people: Thus has Pharaoh said: I shall not give you stubble.
  You, go [quickly]; take for yourselves stubble wherever you find it. For nothing must be diminished from your work [quota].
  And the people spread out throughout the land of Egypt to gather straw for the stubble.
  And the taskmasters pressed [upon them], saying: Finish your work, the [entire] day's quota in its day, as it was when the stubble was [supplied to you].
  And the officers of the children of Israel, whom the taskmasters of Pharaoh placed over them, were smitten, (the taskmasters) saying: Why did you not finish your brick-making quota as of three days ago, both yesterday and today?
  And the officers of the children of Israel came and they cried out to Pharaoh, saying: Why should you do thus to your servants!
  Stubble is not given to your servants, and bricks they say to us: Make! And, behold, your servants are smitten, and [this thing brings] sin upon your people.
  And he said: You are idlers, idlers! That is why you say: Let us go and sacrifice to the L-rd.
  And now, go and work. And stubble will not be given to you, and produce the quota of bricks!
  And the officers of the children of Israel saw them [their fellow Jews who were under them] in misfortune, [the officers being constrained] to say: Do not diminish from your bricks the quota of each day in its day.
  And they [(men of Israel)] met Moses and Aaron standing opposite them when they left Pharaoh.
  And they said to them: May the L-rd reveal Himself to you and judge how you have made us contemptible in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants to put a sword in their hands to kill us!
  And Moses returned to the L-rd and he said: O L-rd, why have You done evil to this people [and] why have You sent me!
  And from the time I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done [increasingly greater] evil to this people, and You have not saved Your people.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: [Because you questioned My providence,] now you shall see — what I shall do to Pharaoh, [but not what shall be done to the seven nations when I bring Israel into Eretz Yisrael]. For with a strong hand [that I shall wield against him] he shall send them out, and with a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land [against their will (the Jews not having time to prepare their food)].
  And G-d spoke ["strong words"] to Moses [for his presumptuousness (5:22)] and He said to him: I am the L-rd [Yod-Keh-Vav-Keh (connoting "trusted for recompense," for which reason I sent you)].
  And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as Kel shakkai ("the All-Sufficient G-d"); but [by] My name Yod-Keh-Vav-Keh I was not realized for them, [for I promised them but did not fulfill].
  And also [when I appeared to them as Kel Shakkai], I set up My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan [(see Genesis 17:1 and 8, 26:3, 35:9, 11, 12)], the land of their sojournings, where they dwelt.
  And also, [having set up the covenant and being obliged to fulfill it], I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel under the Egyptian servitude, and I have remembered My covenant [(Genesis 15:14) wherein I promised to punish the enslaving nation].
  Therefore, [by that oath] tell the children of Israel that I am the L-rd [trusted to fulfill], and I shall take you out from under the toils of Egypt [for thus did I promise (Genesis 15:14)], and I will deliver you from their labors, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments.
  And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be to you as a G-d; and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out from under the toils of Egypt.
  And I shall bring you to the land which I lifted My hand [i.e., which I swore by My throne] to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And I shall give it to you as an inheritance. I am the L-rd.
  And Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel and they did not hearken to Moses [i.e., they were not comforted by him], for shortness of breath [in anguish] and soreness of toil.
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  Come and speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.
  And Moses spoke before the L-rd, saying: If the children of Israel did not heed me, how should Pharaoh heed me! And I am of uncircumcised [i.e., occluded] lips.
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses and to Aaron [who, because of Moses' demurral (above) was made his spokesman], and He charged them concerning the children of Israel and concerning [their embassy to] Pharaoh, king of Egypt [(the charge continuing, Ibid. 29)] to take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
  These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuven, the first-born of Israel [(The genealogy of Moses and Aaron is traced from its beginning in the line of Jacob)]: Chanoch and Falu, Chetzron and Carmi. These are the families of Reuven.
  And the sons of Shimon: Yemuel and Yamin and Ohad and Yachin and Tzochar and Shaul the son of the Canaanitess. These are the families of Shimon.
  And these are the names of the sons of Levi according to their births: Gershon and Kehoth and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were one hundred and thirty-seven years [(Levi's years being mentioned to apprise us of the years of the bondage, there being no bondage while any of Jacob's sons lived, and Levi being the longest-lived of them)].
  The sons of Gershon: Livni and Shimi, according to their families.
  And the sons of Kehoth: Amram and Yitzhar and Chevron and Uziel. And the years of the life of Kehoth were one hundred and thirty-three years [(whence it is derived that the four hundred years of Israel's servitude (Genesis 15:13) date from the birth of Isaac)].
  And the sons of Merari: Machli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their births.
  And Amram took Yocheved his aunt [his father's sister; the daughter of Levi, the sister of Kehoth] to himself as a wife. And she bore to him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven years.
  And the sons of Yitzhar: Korach and Nefeg and Zichri.
  And the sons of Uziel: Mishael and Eltzafan and Zichri.
  And Aaron took Elisheva the daughter of Aminadav, the sister of Nachshon, to himself as a wife [(whence it is derived that in taking a wife one should inquire about her brothers)], and she bore to him Nadav and Avihu and Elazar and Ithamar.
  And the sons of Korach: Assir and Elkanah and Aviasaf. These are the families of the Korchi.
  And Elazar the son of Aaron took one of the daughters of Putiel [(of the seed of Yithro, who fattened (pitem) calves for idolatry, and of the seed of Joseph, who made light of (pitpet) his evil inclination (in resisting Potiphar's wife)] to himself as a wife, and she bore Pinchas unto him. These are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
  It [i.e., the afore-mentioned] are [the] Aaron and Moses whom the L-rd told: Take the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt with their hosts [(all of their hosts according to their tribes)].
  They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to take the children of Israel out of Egypt. [Those who were commanded — those are the ones who fulfilled.] It was [the same] Moses and Aaron [(single-minded) in their mission and in their righteousness].
  And it was on the day that the L-rd spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt
  that the L-rd spoke to Moses saying [(a reversion to (11) after the genealogical hiatus)]: I am the L-rd [trusted to send you and to fulfill My embassy]. Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I speak to you.
  And Moses said before the L-rd: I am uncircumcised [i.e., occluded] of lips. How, then, will Pharaoh heed me! [(a reversion to (12)].
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: See, I have made you an overlord to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your spokesman.
  You speak [(once, for each embassy)] all that I shall command you, and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, [elaborating on what you have said], that he send the children of Israel from his land.
  And I shall harden the heart of Pharaoh [since he has inveighed against Me and since I know that he is not inclined to repent wholeheartedly], and I shall [in consequence] increase My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt [for the "edification" of Israel].
  And Pharaoh will not pay heed to you and I shall place My hand against Egypt [to smite them], and I shall bring forth My hosts, My people, the children of Israel, from the land of Egypt with great judgments.
  And Egypt will know that I am the L-rd when I stretch forth My hand against Egypt; and I shall take out the children of Israel from their midst.
  And Moses and Aaron did as the L-rd commanded them; so did they do.
  And Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
  And the L-rd said to Moses and to Aaron:
  When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying: Give us a wonder [i.e., a sign proving the potency of your sender], then say to Aaron: Take your staff and cast it before Pharaoh; it shall be a serpent.
  And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and they did thus, as the L-rd had commanded. And Aaron cast his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants and it became a serpent.
  And Pharaoh, too, called to the wise men and the magicians; and the necromancers of Egypt did likewise through their charms.
  And each cast down his staff and they became serpents, and the staff of Aaron [(i.e., after the serpent had reverted to a staff)] swallowed their staffs.
  And Pharaoh's heart became strong and he did not pay heed to them, as the L-rd had spoken.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: The heart of Pharaoh is hard. He refuses to send the people.
  Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the water in the morning [to ease himself by the Nile (in secret, so that his people not be disabused of his godhood)]. And stand opposite him on the bank of the Nile; and the staff which turned into a serpent take in your hand.
  And you shall say to him: The L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying: Send out My people that they may serve Me in the desert; and you have not heeded (this) until now.
  Thus says the L-rd: By this you will know that I am the L-rd. Behold, I will strike with the staff in my hand the waters of the Nile and they shall turn to blood, [G-d first smiting their god, the Nile (their water source in the absence of rain), and then, they themselves.]
  And the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall reek, and the Egyptians shall weary themselves [in quest of a "cure"] to drink water from the Nile.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt [(Because the Nile "protected" Moses when he was cast into it (as an infant), it was not smitten through him, but through Aaron for the plagues of blood and frogs)], over their rivers, over their canals, over their standing waters, and over all their gatherings of water, and they shall be blood. And there will be blood in all the land of Egypt [even in the bath-houses and house-tubs] and in [water in] wood and stone [vessels].
  And Moses and Aaron did thus, as the L-rd had commanded. And he raised the staff and he smote the waters in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants. And all the water in the Nile turned to blood.
  And the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile reeked, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was throughout the land of Egypt.
  And the necromancers of Egypt did likewise through their charms. And Pharaoh's heart was strengthened and he did not pay heed to them, as the L-rd had spoken.
  And Pharaoh turned and came to his house, and he did not set his heart to this [the plague of blood], too, [as well as (not) to the staff's turning into a serpent].
  And all of Egypt dug around the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink from the waters of the Nile.
  And seven days [of plague] were completed after the L-rd had smitten the Nile [before it returned to its original state, each plague obtaining for a quarter of a month, and three-quarters for warning.]
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh and say to him: Thus said the L-rd: Send out My people and let them serve Me.
  And if you are a refuser, (not) to send out, behold, I shall smite all of your border with frogs.
  And the Nile shall swarm frogs, and they shall go up [from the Nile] and come [first] into your house, [Pharaoh having counseled first against the Jews (1:9)], and into your bed chamber and upon your bed, and [then] into the house of your servants, and into your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs.
  And in you [i.e., in your innards] and in your people and in all of your servants shall the frogs go up.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch your hand with the staff over the rivers, over the water courses, and over the ponds, and bring up the frogs upon the land of Egypt.
  And Aaron stretched forth his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frog [swarm] came up and covered the land of Egypt.
  And the necromancers did likewise through their charms, and the frogs came up upon the land of Egypt.
  And Pharaoh called to Moses and to Aaron and he said: Entreat the L-rd that he remove the frogs from me and from my people, and I will send out the people and they will sacrifice to the L-rd.
  And Moses said to Pharaoh: "Presume" over me as to when I should entreat for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses. Only in the Nile shall they remain.
  And he said: [Entreat today] for tomorrow [i.e., that they be cut off tomorrow]. And he said: As you say. So that you know that there is none like the L-rd our G-d.
  And the frogs will depart from you and from your houses and from your servants and from your people; only in the Nile shall they remain.
  And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh and Moses cried out to the L-rd over the frogs which He had brought upon Pharaoh.
  And the L-rd did according to the word of Moses and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courtyards, and out of the fields.
  And they piled them up in heaps, and the land reeked.
  And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and his heart was hardened and he did not heed them, as the L-rd had spoken [(7:4)].
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Say to Aaron: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth [(It was not fitting that the earth be struck by Moses, for it had "protected" him when he had killed the Egyptian, for which reason Aaron was bidden to strike it)], and it will be lice in all the land of Egypt.
  And they did so. And Aaron stretched forth his hand with his staff and he struck the dust of the earth, and the louse [swarm] was in man and beast. All the dust of the earth was lice in the whole land of Egypt.,
  And the necromancers did likewise with their charms to bring forth the lice, [attempting to create them and bring them forth from some other place], but they could not do so, [for the demon (of their art) is ineffective with a creature smaller than a barley corn]. And the louse [swarm] was in man and beast.
  And the necromancers said to Pharaoh: It is the finger of G-d, [and not magic]. And the heart of Pharaoh was strengthened and he did not heed them, as the L-rd had spoken [(7:4)].
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Rise early in the morning and appear before Pharaoh. Behold, he goes out to the water. And you shall say to him: Thus said the L-rd: Send out My people and let them serve Me.
  For if you do not send My people, I shall incite, against you and your servants and your people and your houses, the mixed multitude [of wild animals, serpents, and scorpions]. And the houses of Egypt will be filled with the mixed multitude, and also the ground on which they are.
  And I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen on which My people stands, that there be no mixed multitude there. So that you know that I am the L-rd [whose decree is fulfilled] in the midst of the land [though My shechinah is in the heavens].
  And I will make a deliverance [which shall distinguish] between My people and your people. Tomorrow will this sign be.
  And the L-rd did so, and a sore mixed multitude came into the house of Pharaoh and into the house of his servants; and in all the land of Egypt the land was being ravaged by the mixed multitude.
  And Pharaoh called to Moses and to Aaron and he said: Go and slaughter to G-d in the land, [in your place; not in the desert].
  And Moses said: It is not right to do this, for the abomination of Egypt [i.e., what they hold sacred] we will slaughter to the L-rd our G-d. Will we slaughter the abomination of Egypt before their eyes and they not stone us?
  We shall go a three days' journey into the desert, and we shall sacrifice to the L-rd our G-d, as He shall say to us.
  And Pharaoh said: I shall send you, and you shall sacrifice to the L-rd your G-d in the desert. Only do not go too far; entreat for me.
  And Moses said: Behold, I am leaving you, and I shall entreat the L-rd, and the mixed multitude shall depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow. Only let Pharaoh not continue to dissemble, not to send the people to sacrifice to the L-rd.
  And Moses went out from Pharaoh and he prayed [devoutly] to the L-rd.
  And the L-rd did as Moses spoke and He removed the mixed multitude from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. [(But they did not die, as the frogs did, so that no benefit be derived from their hides.)]
  And Pharaoh hardened his heart this time as well, and he did not send out the people.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh and speak to him: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews: Send out My people and let them serve Me.
  For if you refuse to send (them) and continue holding them,
  Behold, the hand of the L-rd is in your cattle in the field, in the horses, in the asses, in the camels, in the herd, and in the flock — a very sore pestilence.
  And the L-rd will distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt, and there will die naught of all that appertains to the children of Israel.
  And the L-rd set a time, saying: Tomorrow the L-rd shall do this thing in the land.
  And the L-rd did this thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died. And of the cattle of the children of Israel, not one died.
  And Pharaoh sent and, behold, not even one had died of the cattle of Israel; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened and he did not send out the people.
  And the L-rd said to Moses and to Aaron: Take for yourselves your full handfuls of furnace-soot, and let Moses fling it heavenwards before the eyes of Pharaoh.
  And it shall be dust over all the land of Egypt. And it will be upon man and beast, boils sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt.
  And they took the furnace-soot and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses flung it heavenwards, and it became blister-sprouting boils in man and beast [(those beasts which the G-d-fearing among the Egyptians had taken into their houses during the pestilence (compare 20), only those in the field dying (3)].
  And the necromancers could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were in the necromancers and in all of Egypt.
  And the L-rd strengthened Pharaoh's heart and he did not heed them, as the L-rd had said to Moses.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Rise early in the morning and appear before Pharaoh, and say to him: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews: Send out My people and let them serve Me.
  For this time I am sending all of My plagues against your heart and in your servants and in your people, so that you know that there is none like Me in the whole land.
  For now [in the plague of pestilence] I could have stretched forth My hand and smitten you and your people with pestilence, and you would have gone lost from the earth.
  But, because of this I have preserved you, in order to show you My might, and that My name be spoken in all the land.
  You still tread My people down, not letting them go.
  Behold, I shall rain down as at this time tomorrow [(when the sun reaches this mark that I have inscribed on the wall)] a very sore hail, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day of its founding until now.
  And now, send, gather in your cattle and everything you have in the field. Every man and beast found in the field which will not be taken into the house — the hail will descend upon them and they will die.
  Those who feared the word of the L-rd among the servants of Pharaoh drove their servants and their cattle into the houses.
  And whoever did not take to heart the word of the L-rd left his servants and his cattle in the field.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Stretch your hand towards the heavens and there will be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast, and on all the grass in the field in the land of Egypt.
  And Moses stretched his staff towards the heavens, and the L-rd sent thunders and hail, and fire coursed to the ground, and the L-rd rained hail on the land of Egypt.
  And there was hail, and fire flaming within the hail, extremely sore, the like of which had not been in the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
  And the hail smote in all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, from man until beast. And the hail smote all the grass in the field and broke all the trees in the field.
  Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
  And Pharaoh sent and he called to Moses and to Aaron, and he said to them: I have sinned this time. The L-rd is the righteous one and I and my people are the wicked ones.
  Entreat the L-rd, and enough of thunders of G-d and hail! And I will send you and you will be detained no longer.
  And Moses said to him: When I leave the city [(which was full of idolatry)], I shall spread out my hands to the L-rd. The thunders will stop and there will be no more hail, so that you will know that the earth is the L-rd's.
  But you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the L-rd G-d [and that you will revert to your perverseness with the cessation of the hail.]
  And the flax and the barley were broken [by the hail], for the barley was ripe [and hard] and the flax was in stalk.
  But the wheat and the spelt were not broken, for they were late growths [and, therefore, soft].
  And Moses went away from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread out his hands to the L-rd, and the thunders stopped and the hail, and rain did not reach the ground.
  And Pharaoh saw that the rain stopped, and the hail and the thunders, and he continued to sin; and he hardened his heart, he and his servants.
  And Pharaoh's heart was strengthened and he did not send out the children of Israel, as the L-rd had spoken by the hand of Moses.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Come to Pharaoh [and warn him], for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants in order to set these signs in his midst.
  And so that you tell in the ears of your son and the son of your son, of My setting Egypt to scorn and of My signs that I placed in them, and you will know that I am the L-rd.
  And Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and they said to him: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of the Hebrews: How long will you refuse to be humbled before Me? Send out My people and let them serve Me.
  For if you refuse to send out My people, tomorrow I shall bring a locust swarm in your boundaries.
  And it will cover the face of the land so that the land cannot be seen, and it will devour the remainder of the remnant left to you from the hail. And it will devour every tree that sprouts for you from the ground.
  And they will fill your houses, and the houses of all of your servants, and the houses of all of Egypt, which your fathers have not seen, and the fathers of your fathers, from the day they were upon the ground until this day. And he turned and went out from before Pharaoh.
  And the servants of Pharaoh said to him: How long will this one be a stumbling block to us? Sent out the people and let them serve the L-rd their G-d. Do you not yet know that Egypt is lost?
  And Moses and Aaron were returned [by messenger] to Pharaoh. And he said to them: Go serve the L-rd your G-d. Who and who are the goers?
  And Moses said: With our youth and with our elders will we go; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go. For it is a feast of the L-rd to us.
  And he said to them: May the L-rd thus be with you as I will send you and your children. [How much more so will I not send your flocks and herds!] See, that [your intended] evil will turn against you.
  Not so, [as you say, to take the children with you, but], let the men now go and serve the L-rd, for that [to sacrifice to the L-rd (3:18, 5:3)] is what you ask. And he [(It is not indicated who)] drove them away from Pharaoh's presence.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locust swarm. And it shall come up upon the land of Egypt and it shall devour all the grass in the land, all that was left by the hail.
  And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the L-rd swept an east wind over the land all that day and all that night. Morning came and the east wind bore the locust swarm, [Egypt being in the south-west of Eretz Yisrael].
  And the locust swarm came up on all the land of Egypt, and it rested in the entire boundary of Egypt — very sore. Before it there had never been a locust swarm of its like, and after it there will not be such.
  And it covered the face of the whole land and the land was darkened, and it devoured all the grass of the earth and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left. And there remained no green on a tree or in the grass of the field in all the land of Egypt.
  And Pharaoh hastened to call Moses and Aaron, and he said: I have sinned to the L-rd your G-d and to you.
  And now, forgive my sin, I pray you, just this time, and entreat the L-rd your G-d that He remove from me just this death.
  And Moses went out from before Pharaoh and he prayed to the L-rd.
  And the L-rd turned a very strong west wind, and it lifted the locust swarm and cast it into the Red Sea. There remained not one locust [(even of those they had salted)] in all the border of Egypt.
  And the L-rd strengthened Pharaoh's heart and he did not send out the children of Israel.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Stretch forth your hand towards the heavens, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, which shall darken darkness.
  And Moses stretched forth his hand towards the heavens, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt a triad of days.
  One man did not see another [for one triad of days (when the wicked among the Jews who refused to leave Egypt were killed — in darkness, so the Egyptians could not say: "These are being smitten as we are")], and no man rose from his place [(One who was sitting could not stand, and one who was standing could not sit)] for [another] triad of days [(when the Jews could search their houses at will for vessels to take with them during the exodus)], and for all the children of Israel there was light in their habitations.
  And Pharaoh called to Moses and he said: Go serve the L-rd; only your flocks and herds leave in place. Also your children shall go with you.
  And Moses said: [Not only shall our cattle go with us, but] you, too, shall place in our hands sacrifices and burnt-offerings, and we shall offer them to the L-rd our G-d.
  Our cattle, too, shall go with us; a hoof will not remain. For we will take thereof to serve the L-rd our G-d. For we do not know what [i.e., how much we will need] to serve the L-rd until we come there.
  And the L-rd strengthened Pharaoh's heart and he did not want to send them.
  And Pharaoh said to him: Go from me. Take heed to yourself. Do not see my face again. For on the day you see my face you will die.
  And Moses said: True have you spoken, [and in the proper time. Indeed,] I shall not see your face again!
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Yet one more plague shall I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that, he shall send you hence. When he sends (you), [he shall send] all [of you]; he shall drive you hence.
  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of the people, that every man ask of his (Egyptian) neighbor and every woman ask of her neighbor vessels of silver and vessels of gold, [so that the righteous one, Abraham, not say "and they shall serve them and they shall afflict them" (Genesis 15:3) He did fulfill, but "and afterwards they shall go out with great wealth" (Ibid. 14) He did not fulfill.]
  And the L-rd put the favor of the people in the eyes of Egypt. The man Moses, too, was very great in the land of Egypt in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people.
  And Moses said [to Pharaoh]: Thus said the L-rd: When the night is divided [i.e., at midnight] I shall go out into the midst of Egypt.
  And every first-born in the land of Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh who sits on his throne [(and down)] until the first-born of the maidservant behind the mill-stones [(and up. The captive first-born (see 12:29) died so that they not say that their gods "claimed their shame" and brought destruction upon the Egyptians. The sons of the maidservants died, for they, too, worked the Jews and rejoiced in their affliction)] and all the first-born of beasts, [these having been served as objects of idolatry. ("When the Holy One Blessed be He exacts punishment of a nation, He exacts punishment of its gods.")]
  And there will be a great outcry in the whole land of Egypt, the like of which had never been and the like of which will not be again.
  And against all the children of Israel a dog shall not sharpen its tongue — from man until beast — so that you will know that the L-rd distinguished between Egypt and Israel.
  And all these servants of yours will come down and bow down to me, saying: Go out! you and all your followers; and then I will go out. And [after he finished what he had to say] he went out from before Pharaoh in great wrath [over his having said (10:28): "You shall not see my face again!"]
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Pharaoh will not pay heed to you, so that My wonders be multiplied in the land of Egypt [viz.: the plague of the first-born, the splitting of the Red Sea, and the "shaking out" of the Egyptians therein.]
  And Moses and Aaron performed all of these wonders before Pharaoh, and the L-rd strengthened Pharaoh's heart and he did not send the children of Israel from his land.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses and to Aaron [(Aaron being accorded honor in this first mitzvah (2) for having participated and exerted himself along with Moses in the embassy of the signs)] in the land of Egypt [outside the city (see 11:29)], saying:
  This month [this stage of the moon (the L-rd "pointing it out" to Moses)] [Nissan] shall be to you the beginning of months. It is the first for you of the months of the year.
  Speak [today, on Rosh Chodesh] to the whole congregation of Israel, saying: On the tenth day of this month [(the "taking" of the paschal lamb of Egypt was on the tenth, but not that of future generations)] shall they take for themselves, each man a lamb for a family [(and, in the event that the family is large and one lamb will not suffice for it)], a lamb for a household [(i.e., for each household within that family)].
  And if the household is too small for one lamb [so that some of it would be left over (nothar, which is forbidden)], then he and his neighbor next to his house shall take it according to the count of souls. Each according to his eating [(excluding one who is so sick or old that he cannot eat at least an olive size)] shall you [include in the] count for the lamb.
  A lamb, unblemished, a one-year-old male [i.e., in its first year] shall it be to you. Of the lambs or of the goats shall you take it, [a (young) goat, too, being regarded as a "lamb"].
  And it shall be to you for a keeping [i.e., surveillance against blemish] until the fourteenth day of this month [(Israel being given two mitzvoth on that night — the blood of the paschal lamb and the blood of circumcision — to make them worthy of redemption)], and the entire congregation of Israel shall slaughter it [(whence it is derived that one's messenger is reckoned as the sender himself)], from midday (on).
  And they shall take from the blood [in the basin] and place it on the two side posts and on the lintel of the houses where they shall eat it, [but not on non-dwellings].
  And they shall eat the flesh, [but not sinews and bones] on this night, roasted in fire. And matzoth with merorim [(Every bitter herb is called maror)] shall they eat it, [in commemoration of (1:10): "And they embittered (vayemararu) their lives."]
  Do not eat of it not entirely roasted or cooked in water [or any other liquid], but roasted in fire [(a negative commandment here being added to the positive (8)]; [it is to be roasted entire], its head, with its legs, with its inner parts, [and its entrails placed therein after rinsing].
  And you shall not leave over anything of it until the morning [(sunrise)]; and what is left over of it until morning [(dawn)], in fire shall you burn it.
  And thus shall you eat it: your thighs girded ["ready for the road"], your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste — it is a pesach ("skipping over") offering to the L-rd [see 27].
  And I shall pass through the land of Egypt in this night, and I shall smite every first-born in the land of Egypt [(even first-born of other nations in the land of Egypt)], from man until beast; and upon all the gods of Egypt I shall wreak judgments, [wooden idols rotting and metal ones melting]; I am the L-rd [I shall do this Myself and not through a messenger.]
  And the blood shall be for you as a sign [("for you" and not for others" — whence it is inferred that the blood was placed on the inside)] upon the houses where you are, and I shall see the blood [i.e., I shall "give heart" to your performance of My mitzvoth], and I shall skip over you, and there will be no destroying plague in you when I smite the land of Egypt [(even if you are found in an Egyptian house — but there will be plague in an Egyptian found in an Israelite house)].
  And this day [of the exodus] shall be for you as a remembrance [for the coming generations], and you shall celebrate it [the fifteenth of Nissan] as a festival of the L-rd. For your generations as an everlasting statute shall you celebrate it.
  Seven days [lit., "a septet of days"] shall you eat matzoth. [(Eating matzoth on the first night is obligatory, and, thereafter, optional)] But on the first day [i.e., on the eve of Pesach] you shall eliminate leaven from your houses. For whoever eats chametz, that soul [(one who has volition, but not one who is forced)] shall be cut off from Israel [and from My presence] — from the first day until the seventh day.
  And on the first day a calling of holiness and on the seventh day a calling of holiness shall there be unto you. [Call it "holy" for purposes of eating, drinking, and raiment.] No labor shall be done in them [even through a non-Jew]. Only what is to be eaten by all souls, that [labor] alone may be done for you, [and not any preparatory labor which could have been done before the festival].
  And you shall watch over the matzoth [that they not become chametz]; for on this very same day I took your hosts out from the land of Egypt. And you shall guard this day [against performing labor thereon] unto your generations as an everlasting statute.
  On the first day, on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening shall you eat matzoth, until the twenty-first day of the month in the evening [(whence it is derived that the mitzvah obtains in the evenings, too)].
  Seven days, se'or [a leavening agent] shall not be found in your houses [i.e., under your control — to exclude liability for chametz of a non-Jew which is found in a Jew's property.] For whoever eats leavening, that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a proselyte [(for whom the miracle was not performed)] or a citizen of the land.
  All leavening [(including an admixture — this is the exhortation against the eating of se'or)] you shall not eat. In all of your habitations shall you eat matzoth [(to exclude — as satisfying the mitzvah— matzoth of ma'aser sheni and thanksgiving challoth, which may be eaten only in Jerusalem)].
  And Moses called to all the elders of Israel, and he said to them: Draw forth [if you have your own,] and take unto yourselves [i.e., buy, if you do not have your own,] sheep for your families [a lamb for a family], and slaughter the pesach.
  And you shall take a bundle [three stalks] of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts (with some) of the blood which is in the basin, [a new dipping for each touching]; and you, do not go out, a man from the door of his house until morning. ["Once 'the destroyer' has been granted leave to destroy, he does not distinguish between righteous and wicked."]
  And the L-rd will pass through to smite Egypt, and He will see the blood on the lintel and on the two door posts, and the L-rd will skip over the door, and He will not permit the destroyer to come to your houses to smite.
  And you shall keep this thing as a statute for you and for your children forever.
  And it shall be, when you come to the land that the L-rd will give you, as He has spoken [6:8], then you shall observe this service. [The service is contingent upon their entering the land. (In the desert they were obliged to observe only one Pesach, in the second year, by Divine command.)]
  And it shall be, if your sons say to you: "What is this service to you?" [an allusion to the question of "the wicked son" (see 13:8)],
  then you shall say: It is a paschal sacrifice to the L-rd, who skipped over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt when He smote Egypt, and our houses He saved. And the people bowed down and they prostrated themselves [for the tidings of deliverance and entry to the land and for the tidings of the children that would be born to them,]
  And the children of Israel went and they did [(their intent to do being regarded as doing, and their going being rewarded as well as their doing)] as the L-rd commanded Moses and Aaron, [exactly, leaving nothing undone.] So did they [Moses and Aaron also] do.
  And it was in the middle of the night, and the L-rd [He and His "tribunal"] smote every first-born [even a non-Egyptian] in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne until the captive first-born in the dungeon [see 11:5 (The first-born of the maid-servant is subsumed in "until the captive first-born")], and every first-born of the beast.
  And Pharaoh arose [from his bed] at night [and not in the third hour of the morning in the manner of kings], he and all his servants [(Pharaoh awakened them)] and all of Egypt. And there was a great outcry in Egypt, for there was no house where no one had died. [If there were no first-born there, the eldest in the house died.]
  And he called to Moses and to Aaron at night, and he said: Arise, go out from the midst of my people, both you [the adults] and the children of Israel [the children], and go serve the L-rd as you have spoken [and not as I have spoken].
  Also your flocks and also your herds take, as you have spoken [i.e., Take also of mine as you have spoken (10:25): "You, too, etc"], and go and bless also me [Pray for me that I not die, for I, too, am a first-born.]
  And Egypt bore down upon the people, hastening to send them out of the land, for they said: We are all dead, [even non first-born dying, beyond the decree of Moses].
  And the people took their dough before it leavened, [the Egyptians pressing them to leave], their [matzoh and maror] remnants bound up in their clothes, on their shoulders [and not upon their beasts, in the love of the mitzvah].
  And the children of Israel did as Moses had bid them [11:2] and they asked of Egypt vessels of silver and vessels of gold and raiment.
  And the L-rd placed the favor of the people in the eyes of Egypt, and they lent them [even more than they asked], and they emptied out Egypt.
  And the children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth [a distance of one hundred and twenty miles, "on eagle's wings" (19:4)], six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from the children.
  And also a great mixture [of proselytes] went up with them. And flocks and herds, a great crush of cattle.
  And they baked the dough which they had taken out of Egypt, cakes of matzoh, for it had not leavened. For they were driven out of Egypt and they could not tarry; and provisions, too, they could not make for themselves [(a tribute to Israel's belief in the L-rd, venturing forth into the desert without provisions)].
  And the habitation of the children of Israel in the land of Egypt [and their habitations outside it after "Your seed shall be a stranger, etc." (Genesis 15:13)] was [all together] four hundred and thirty years.
  And it was at the end of four hundred and thirty years, and it was on this very same day [the fifteenth of Nissan, (the date of the angels' tidings to Abraham on the birth of a son, the date of Isaac's birth, the date of the covenant between the pieces — the L-rd not delaying an instant after the arrival of the foretold time)] that all the hosts of the L-rd went out of the land of Egypt.
  It is a night of guarding for the L-rd, ["guarded" by the L-rd] to take them out from the land of Egypt; it is "this night" of the L-rd [i.e., of His saying to Abraham: "On this night I shall redeem your children"], guarded [against destructive agents] for all the children of Israel for (all) their generations [see 33].
  And the L-rd said to Moses and Aaron [(on the fourteenth of Nissan)]: This is the statute of the paschal offering: No stranger [(Both a heretical Jew and a non-Jew are implied)] may eat of it.
  And every man-servant acquired by money — you shall circumcise him; then shall he [(according to one view, the master; according to another, the servant)] eat of it.
  A sojourner [a ger toshav (one who does not convert fully, but who undertakes not to serve idols and to observe the seven Noahide laws)] and a hired man [a non-Jew] may not eat of it. [The above applies (even) to a circumcised Arab or a circumcised Giveonite who is a sojourner or a hired man.]
  In one house [i.e., group] shall it be eaten. Do not take from the house [i.e., from the group] of the flesh outside. And a bone [which has an olive-size of meat on it] shall you not break in it.
  The entire congregation of Israel [in any groups] shall offer it [in future generations, (as opposed to the Pesach of Egypt, when it was offered by family groups)].
  And if there live with you a stranger (i.e., a proselyte) and he would offer a paschal offering to the L-rd [on the fourteenth of Nissan], let all of his males be circumcised and then he shall draw near to offer it. And he shall be as the citizen of the land, and no uncircumcised one shall eat of it [(including one who is not circumcised because his brothers have died as a result of circumcision)].
  One Torah shall there be for the citizen and for the stranger that lives in your midst. [The proselyte is hereby equated with the citizen for all of the other mitzvoth of the Torah.]
  And all the children of Israel did as the L-rd commanded Moses and Aaron; thus did they do.
  And it was in this very same day that the L-rd took the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses, saying:
  Sanctify unto Me every first-born, the [first] opener of each womb among the children of Israel in man and beast; he is Mine, [acquired by Me when I smote the first-born of Egypt].
  And Moses said to the people: Remember this day when you went out of Egypt from the house of bondage [(We are hereby taught to make mention of the exodus every day)]. For with might of hand did the L-rd take you hence, and chametz shall not be eaten.
  This day you go out, in the month of spring [an equable month: neither hot, nor cold, nor rainy.]
  And it shall be, when the L-rd brings you to the land of Canaan [(a particular nation of the seven nations generically called "Canaanites")], the Chitti, the Emori, the Chivi, and the Yevussi, which He swore to your forefathers to give to you [(Abraham — Genesis 15:18; Isaac — 26:3; Jacob — 28:13)], a land flowing with milk [from goats] and honey [from dates and figs], then you shall perform this service [of Pesach] on this month.
  Seven days shall you eat matzoth, and on the seventh day, a festival to the L-rd.
  Matzoth shall be eaten the seven days; and chametz (leaven) shall not be seen unto you, and se'or (leavening) shall not be seen unto you in all of your boundaries.
  And you shall tell [vehigadeta] your son [(an allusion to "the son who does not know how to ask." "Open for him" with words of aggadah (narration), which stimulate questioning)] on that day, saying: Because of this [i.e., so that I fulfill His mitzvoth, e.g., pesach, matzoth, and maror] the L-rd wrought for me when I went out of Egypt [(an allusion to the answer to "the wicked son," (see 12:26), viz.: "The L-rd wrought for me and not for you. Had you been there, you would not have merited redemption.")]
  And it [the account of the exodus from Egypt] shall be to you as a sign upon your [left] hand [in the hand phylactery] and as a memorial between your eyes [in the head phylactery], so that the Torah of the L-rd be in your mouth; for with a mighty hand did the L-rd take you out of Egypt.
  And you shall keep this statute in its time, from year to year.
  And it shall be, when the L-rd brings you to the land of the Canaanite as He swore to you [6:8] and to your forefathers and gives it to you [(Let it be in your eyes as if it is given to you on that day and not as an inheritance from your fathers)],
  then you shall set apart every firstling of the womb for the L-rd. And every firstling of the cast-off [i.e., the premature birth] of a beast that shall be to you, the males are the L-rd's.
  And every firstling of an ass [and not of any other unclean beast, the first-born of the Egyptians being compared to asses, and, also, because the asses "assisted" Israel in taking out the spoils of Egypt)] shall you redeem with a lamb. [The lamb is given to the Cohein, benefit may then be derived from the firstling, and the lamb is chullin (non-sacred) for the Cohein.] And if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck [with a hatchet from behind (He caused the Cohein a loss; therefore, he suffers a loss)], and every human first-born among your sons shall you redeem [by giving five selaim to the Cohein].
  And it shall be, if your son asks you in after time, saying "What is this?" [(an allusion to the question of "the simple son")], then you shall say to him: With might of hand did the L-rd take us out of Egypt from the house of bondage.
  And it was, when Pharaoh resisted sending us out, that the L-rd killed every first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of man until the first-born of beast. Therefore, I sacrifice to the L-rd every male firstling of the womb, and every firstling of my sons, I redeem.
  And it shall be as a sign upon your hand and as a frontlet [totafoth (signifying "four" — the four compartments of the head phylactery)] between your eyes; for with might of hand did the L-rd take us out of Egypt.
  And it was, when Pharaoh sent out the people, that G-d did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near [and afforded "easy return" to Egypt]. For G-d said: Lest the people bethink themselves [about having left Egypt] when they see war [e.g., Numbers 14:45] and they return to Egypt.
  And G-d led the people circuitously by way of the desert to the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up armed from the land of Egypt.
  And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him. For he had made the children of Israel swear, saying: G-d will surely remember you, and you shall bring up my bones from here with you, [the tribes, (the bones of all the tribes also being brought up with them)].
  And they journeyed from Succoth [on the second day] and they encamped in Etham at the edge of the desert.
  And the L-rd went before them by day with [i.e., leading] a pillar of cloud to guide them on the way, and at night, with a pillar of fire to light them, to go by day and by night.
  He did not dispel the pillar of cloud in the day and the pillar of light at night before the people. [Before the one "set," the other rose.]
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses, saying:
  Speak to the children of Israel that they return [The L-rd turned them back to Egypt to deceive Pharaoh into thinking they had lost their way (3)] and encamp before Pi Hachiroth [Pithom, called "Pi Hachiroth" because the Jews became freemen (bnei chorin) there], between Migdol and the sea, before Baal Tzefon [the only remaining Egyptian idol (left over to deceive the Egyptians into relying on its potency)]. Over against it shall you encamp by the sea.
  And Pharaoh will say about the children of Israel: They are trapped in the land; the desert has shut them in.
  And I shall strengthen Pharaoh's heart and he will pursue them, and I will be honored through [the downfall of] Pharaoh and all of his host [(Pharaoh being mentioned first in that he was the "initiator")], and Egypt will know that I am the L-rd. And they did so. [(a tribute to Israel, who did not ask: "How can we turn back towards our pursuers!")]
  And it was told to the king of Egypt [on the fourth day, by officers that he had sent with them (after seeing that they did not return to Egypt on the stipulated third day)] that the people had fled. [(On the fifth and sixth days they pursued them; on the night of the seventh Israel went down to the sea; and in the morning — the seventh day of Pesach — they sang (15:1)], and the heart of Pharaoh (12:31) and of his servants (10:7) was reversed against the people. [Now they pursued them for the wealth that they had lent them], and they said: What is this that we did in sending Israel away from serving us!
  And he [Pharaoh himself] harnessed his chariot, and he "took" [by suasion] his people with him.
  And he took six hundred choice chariots and all [the other] chariots of Egypt, and officers upon all of them.
  And the L-rd strengthened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt [Pharaoh wavering between pursuing and not pursuing] and he pursued the children of Israel, and the children of Israel went out with a high hand [i.e., with manifest might].
  And Egypt pursued them, and they overtook them camping by the sea, every horse of Pharaoh's chariots and his horsemen and his host, by Pi Hachiroth, before Baal Tzefon.
  And Pharaoh pressed ahead [of the others], and the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and, behold, Egypt coming after them [with one heart, as one man], and they were exceedingly afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the L-rd, ["embracing the trade" (prayer) of their fathers: (Abraham — Genesis 19:27; Isaac — 24:63; Jacob — 28:11)].
  And they said to Moses: Is it for lack of graves in Egypt that you have taken us to die in the desert! What is this that you did to us to take us out of Egypt.
  Is not this the thing that we spoke to you in Egypt [5:21], saying: Let us be and let us serve Egypt, for it is better for us to serve Egypt than to die in the desert.
  And Moses said to the people: Do not fear. Stand ready to see the salvation of the L-rd, which He shall work for you this day. For your seeing Egypt is [only] this day; you shall see them no more, forever.
  The L-rd will war for you, and you will be still.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Why do you cry out to Me? [i.e., Why do you prolong your prayer when Israel are stepped in affliction?] Speak to the children of Israel and have them go forward [(There is nothing standing in their way. The merits of their fathers and their belief in Me will suffice to split the sea.)]
  And you, raise your staff, and stretch out your hand over the sea, and split it. And the children of Israel shall come in the midst of the sea on the dry land.
  And I, behold, I shall strengthen the heart of Egypt, and they shall come after them, and I shall be glorified through Pharaoh and through all his host, through his chariots and through his horsemen.
  And Egypt will know that I am the L-rd when I am glorified through Pharaoh, through his chariots and through his horsemen.
  And the angel of G-d (Elokim), who went before the camp of Israel, turned and went behind them [to separate the Israelites from the Egyptians and to receive the projectiles intended for them. ("Elokim" connotes justice. Israel was being judged at that moment for survival or for destruction along with the Egyptians)]. And [when it became dark and the pillar of fire supervened], the pillar of cloud turned from before them and stood behind them [to "darken things" for the Egyptians].
  And it came between the camp of Egypt and the camp of Israel. And there was a cloud and darkness [for the Egyptians] and it [the pillar of fire] lighted the night [for the Israelites], and the one [camp] did not come close to the other all the night.
  And Moses stretched his hand over the sea, and the L-rd drove the sea with a strong east wind [(the strongest of the winds)] all the night, and He made the sea into dry land, and the waters [of all the world] were split.
  And the children of Israel came in the midst of the sea on the dry land. And the water was to them a wall, on their right and on their left.
  And Egypt pursued and came behind them, all horse of Pharaoh [i.e., all of his horses being regarded as (only) one in the eyes of the L-rd], his chariot and his riders into the midst of the sea.
  And it was in the morning watch that the L-rd looked to the camp of Egypt [to destroy it] with a pillar of fire and cloud [(The pillar of cloud rendered the sea-bed clay, and the pillar of fire made it so hot that the horses' hooves fell off)], and He confounded the camp of Egypt.
  And He removed their chariot wheels [(They were burnt off, the chariots jolted, and the drivers were broken)], and He led them with [the measure of] hardness, [measure for measure for their hardness (9:34)]. And Egypt said: I shall flee from before Israel; for the L-rd wars for them against the Egyptians.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Stretch forth your hand over the sea so that the waters [standing like a wall] return [to their place] upon Egypt, upon its chariot, and upon its riders.
  And Moses stretched forth his hand upon the sea, and the sea returned towards morning to its [original] strength, and Egypt [in distraction] fled towards it, and the L-rd shook out Egypt into the midst of the sea.
  And the waters returned and covered the chariot and the riders of all the host of Pharaoh that came after them in the sea; not so much as one remained of them.
  And the children of Israel walked on the dry land in the midst of the sea. And the water was to them a wall, on their right and on their left.
  And the L-rd saved Israel on that day from the hand of Egypt, and Israel saw Egypt dead on the shore of the sea, [the Egyptians having been cast up there so that Israel not say: Just as we came up on this side, so they came up on another side and will pursue us].
  And Israel saw the great hand by which the L-rd wrought against Egypt, and the people feared the L-rd, and they believed in the L-rd and in Moses, His servant.
  
  
  
  Then Moses and the children of Israel would sing [i.e., it entered their heart to sing] this song to the L-rd, and they said: I shall sing to the L-rd for He is exalted [over all the] exalted: horse and its rider [joined together] He cast into the sea.
  The strength and vengeance of the L-rd has been salvation to me. This is my G-d [(His glory was so manifest that they pointed to it)] and I will extol Him; the G-d of my father [(Not I, but my forefathers are the origin of this hallowing)], and I will exalt Him.
  The L-rd is the Master of war; the L-rd is His name [his "weapon," with which He wages war].
  The chariots of Pharaoh and his host He cast into the sea, and the élite of his officers were mired in the Red Sea, [the sea-bed turning into slime, measure for measure for their belaboring Israel with lime and bricks.]
  [He mired them there] so that the waters should [return and] cover them; they dropped to the depths like stone.
  Your right hand, O L-rd, is grand in power. Your right hand, O L-rd, breaks the foe.
  And [if Your right hand, alone, breaks the foe, then, when it is uplifted] in the greatness of Your grandeur, [how much more so do] You destroy those who rise up against You [i.e., those who rise up against Israel. And, if in the greatness of Your grandeur alone, they are destroyed, then,] when You send forth Your wrath, [how much more so] does it consume them as stubble!
  And with the breath of Your nostrils [i.e., in the heat of Your anger], the waters were [heated solid and] piled up. the waves stood up as a wall. The depths were congealed [into stone, and the Egyptians were dashed against it] in the fury of the sea.
  The foe (i.e., Pharaoh) said [to his people in urging them to pursue Israel:] I shall pursue, I shall overtake, I shall divide (the) spoil [with my officers and servants]. My spirit [i.e., my desire] will be filled with them. I shall draw forth my sword; my hand will impoverish them.
  You blew with Your breath — the sea covered them; they plummeted like lead in the mighty waters.
  Who is like You among the mighty, O L-rd? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, dreaded in praise [i.e., men dreading to praise You lest they fall short in Your praises], doing wonders!
  You inclined Your right hand [and they fell — all being contained in Your hand] — the earth swallowed them up [(whence it is derived that they merited burial for vindicating G-d's judgment upon them)].
  You have led forth in Your kindness this people whom You have redeemed. You have guided them in Your strength to Your holy habitation.
  Peoples heard — they tremble; quaking has seized the inhabitants of Plasheth [(for having killed the sons of Ephraim, who "pushed" the redemption prematurely and were killed by the inhabitants of Gath (I Chronicles 7:21)].
  Then the chiefs of Edom were confounded; the mighty ones of Moav were seized with trembling. [Even though they were not the "target," they were mortified by Israel's ascendancy]; all the inhabitants of Canaan melted [in fear of destruction and conquest].
  There fell upon them dread [(upon the distant — see Joshua 2:9-10)] and terror [(upon the near)]; by the greatness of Your arm they will be (struck) still as stone. Until Your people, O L-rd, pass over [the Arnon]; until there pass over [the Jordan] this people, O L-rd, whom You have acquired [endearingly] (to Yourself).
  You will bring them and You will plant them [("them" and not "us" — Moses prophesying in effect that he himself would not enter the land)] in the mountain of Your inheritance, aligned with Your habitation [the Throne of Glory], which You have made, O L-rd — the sanctuary, O L-rd, which Your [two] hands have established [(the sanctuary being more beloved of the L-rd than the world, which He created with one hand (Psalms 48:13). And when will it be rebuilt with two hands? At that time when… (18)]
  the L-rd will reign for ever and ever.
  When the horse of Pharaoh came with its chariot and its riders into the sea, and the L-rd turned back upon them the waters of the sea, and the children of Israel walked on the dry land in the midst of the sea —
  Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron [(Miriam having prophesied the birth of Moses, etc., while she was only the sister of Aaron)] took the timbrel in her hand [(the righteous women of that generation having taken timbrels out of Egypt in their certitude that G-d would work miracles for Israel)], and all the women went out after her with timbrels and dances.
  And Miriam answered to them [(Moses chanted to the men, and they responded after him, and Miriam chanted to the women (1):] "Sing to the L-rd, for He is exalted [over all the] exalted; horse and its rider He cast into the sea."
  And Moses made Israel journey from the Red Sea [against their wills (the Egyptians having adorned their horses with gold, silver, and precious stones, which the Israelites lingered to collect, "the spoils of the sea" exceeding the spoils of Egypt)], and Israel went out to the desert of Shur, and they traveled three days in the desert without finding any water.
  And they came to Marah, and they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter (marim) — wherefore it is called Marah.
  And the people caviled against Moses, saying: "What shall we drink!"
  And he cried out to the L-rd, and the L-rd showed him a tree; and he cast it into the waters and the waters were sweetened. There He made for them statute and judgment [(He gave them for study some of the areas of Torah — Sabbath, the red heifer, jurisdiction)], and there He tried them [(and "discovered" their stiff-neckedness, their not imploring Moses, but caviling against him)].
  And He said: If you pay heed to the voice of the L-rd your G-d, [taking upon yourselves to perform the mitzvoth], and you do what is just in His eyes, [performing them], and you give ear to His mitzvoth, [being attentive to their details], and you keep all of His statutes, [decrees having no ostensible reason, and, therefore, "vulnerable to attack" by the evil inclination (e.g., the prohibitions against wearing kilaim and eating swine, the institution of the red heifer, and the like)] — then [if you observe My mitzvoth], all of the illness which I placed upon Egypt I will not place upon you, for I am the L-rd who heals you [by "prescribing" (Torah and mitzvoth) against this illness].
  And they came to Eilim, and there (they found) twelve springs of water, [for each of the twelve tribes], and seventy palm trees, [for each of the seventy elders], and they encamped there by the waters.
  
  
  
  And they journeyed from Eilim, and the entire congregation of the children of Israel came to the desert of Sin between Eilim and Sinai on the fifteenth day of the second month of their going out from the land of Egypt [(whence we derive that of the left-over dough they ate sixty-one meals, and the manna descended for them on the sixteenth of Iyyar)].
  And the entire congregation of the children of Israel caviled against Moses and Aaron in the desert [because their bread had ended].
  And the children of Israel said to them: Would that we had died by the hand of the L-rd in the land of Egypt, when we sat over the fleshpot, when we ate bread to satiety! For you have taken us out to this desert to kill this entire congregation by famine!
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Behold, I shall rain down bread for you from heaven, and the people shall go out and gather each day's ration in its day, [and not one day for another], so that I may try them, whether or not they will walk in My law [(not to leave over of it until morning and not to go out to gather on Shabbath)].
  And it shall be, on the sixth day, that they shall prepare what they shall bring, and it shall be [after they have gathered it] double [(for Friday and Shabbath)] what they gather every day.
  And Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel: In the evening [when He sends out the quail], you will know that the L-rd [and not we (3)] took you out of the land of Egypt.
  And in the morning [when you receive the manna], you will see the glory [i.e., the beneficence] of the L-rd, [the manna being given with a "radiant countenance" (the request for bread being "legitimate") as opposed to the quail, which was given "grudgingly"], for He hears your cavilings, [which are] against the L-rd. And we, [of] what [significance] are we that you cause [(everyone) your families and your mixed multitude] to cavil against us?
  And Moses said: (You will see this) when the L-rd gives to you in the evening flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety [(but not flesh to satiety — whence we infer that flesh is not to be eaten to satiety)], for the L-rd hears your cavilings whereby you cause [others] to cavil against Him. And what are we? Not against us are your cavilings, but against the L-rd.
  And Moses said to Aaron: Say to the entire congregation of the children of Israel: Draw near before the L-rd [to the place where the clouds will descend], for He has heard your cavilings.
  And it was, as Aaron spoke to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, that they turned to the desert, and, behold, the glory of the L-rd appeared in the cloud.
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  I have heard the cavilings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying: Towards evening you will eat flesh, and in the morning you will be sated with bread; and you will know that I am the L-rd your G-d.
  And it was in the evening that the quail arose and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew [covering the manna] around the camp, [the manna being "sandwiched" in dew (see Numbers 11:9)].
  And the dew layer ascended [when the sun rose], and, behold, on the face of the desert, thin [i.e., a thin thing] was revealed [spread] thin as hoarfrost upon the ground.
  And the children of Israel saw it, and each said to his neighbor: "It is man" [(a food) "preparation"], for they did not know what it was [to call it by its name.] And Moses said to them: This is the bread that the L-rd has given to you to eat.
  This is the thing that the L-rd has commanded: Gather of it each man according to his eating, an omer [(a certain measure)] for a head [according to] the number of your souls [in your tent]; each for [the number] in his tent shall you take.
  And the children of Israel did so, and they gathered, some (taking) more [than an omer for a head], some less.
  [But when they came home] and they measured it in the omer (a measuring vessel of that size) [they found that] he who had taken more did not exceed [the omer] and he who had taken less did not diminish; each according to his eating had they gathered.
  And Moses said to them: Let no man leave over of it until morning.
  And they did not heed Moses, and men [Dathan and Aviram] left over of it until morning, and it was rotted and raised worms, and Moses was wroth with them.
  And they gathered it each morning, each according to his eating; and when the sun was hot (i.e., strong), it [that which remained in the field] melted.
  And it was, on the sixth day, they [found that they had] gathered double bread, two omers for [each] one. And all the princes of the congregation came and they told it to Moses [(who had not commanded them as he had been told (5), for which reason he was included in (28): "How long will you refuse to keep My mitzvoth and My laws?")]
  And he said to them: This is what the L-rd had spoken: A resting, a holy Sabbath is it to the L-rd tomorrow. What you bake [in an oven] (of the manna)] bake [all of it today for two days], and what you would cook [in water] cook; and all the rest put by for yourselves in keeping until the morning.
  And they put it by until the morning, as the L-rd had commanded Moses, and it did not rot, and there was no worm in it.
  [In the morning, when they were wont to go out and gather the manna, they came and asked Moses: "Shall we go out or not?"] And Moses said: Eat it [(what you have)] today. [They returned towards evening and asked: "Shall we go out now?" He answered that they should not] for it is Sabbath today to the L-rd. [Seeing them to be worried that the manna might not fall again, he said:] Today you will not find it in the field, [but tomorrow you will.]
  Six days you shall gather it, and on the seventh day it is Sabbath; there will not be [manna] on it, [Scripture hereby including Yom Kippur and festivals (as days on which manna does not fall)].
  And it was on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, and they did not find.
  And the L-rd said to Moses [("The cabbage is smitten with the thorn" — see 22)]: How long will you refuse to keep My mitzvoth and My laws?
  See [with your own eyes] that the L-rd has given you the Sabbath [to be observed], wherefore He gives you on the sixth day bread for two days. Let each man sit in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
  And the people rested on the seventh day.
  And the children of Israel called its name "man" (see 15). And it was [round] like coriander seed and [(unlike coriander seed)] white, and its taste was like dough fried in honey.
  And Moses said: This is the thing that the L-rd commanded: Fill the omer with it as a keeping for your generations, so that they see the bread that I fed you in the desert when I took you out of the land of Egypt.
  And Moses said to Aaron [(when the tent of meeting had been erected)]: Take one earthen jug and put therein a full omer of manna and place it before the L-rd [i.e., before the ark] as a keeping for your generations.
  ["And Moses said, etc." (above)] as the L-rd had commanded Moses. And Aaron placed it before the [ark of] testimony for a keeping.
  And the children of Israel ate the manna for forty years until they came to an inhabited land [on the other side of the Jordan (see Joshua 5:11-12)]. They had eaten the manna [that had fallen on the seventh of Adar, (when Moses died, the manna ceasing with his death)], until they came to the edge of the land of Canaan [before they crossed the Jordan].
  And the omer is a tenth of an ephah [forty-three and one fifth eggs (the minimum amount for the separation of challah and for meal-offerings)].
  
  
  
  And the entire congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the desert of Sin in their journeys by the word of the L-rd, and they encamped in Refidim; and there was no water to drink for the people.
  And the people quarreled with Moses, and they said: Give us water and let us drink. And Moses said to them: Why would you quarrel with me? Why would you try the L-rd [to see if He can give water in a dry land]?
  And the people thirsted there for water, and the people caviled against Moses, and said: Why did you bring us up from Egypt to put to death me, my children, and my cattle by thirst?
  And Moses cried out to the L-rd, saying: What can I do to this people? [If I wait] but a little more they will stone me!
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Pass before the people [and see if they will stone you! (Why do you slander My children!)] And take with you some of the elders of Israel [to attest that you are bringing forth the waters, that they were not there before]. And your staff wherewith you smote the Nile take in your hand and go [that it not be said that it is a "punishment staff" (having been used against Pharaoh and Egypt, and that it cannot effect good)].
  Behold, I shall stand before you there on the rock in Chorev, and you shall strike in the rock [into it, the staff being of hard sapphire] and water will come out of it and the people will drink. And Moses did thus before the eyes of the elders of Israel.
  And he called the name of the place Massah and Merivah because of the "quarrel" (riv) of the children of Israel and because of their "proving" (nasotham) the L-rd, saying: "Is the L-rd in our midst or not?"
  And Amalek came and warred with Israel in Refidim [(the Holy One Blessed be He saying, as it were: After everything, you have the temerity to ask if I am in your midst? I shall "sic the dog (Amalek)" upon you!)]
  And Moses said to Joshua: Choose for us [you and me (whence it is derived that the honor of one's disciple should be as dear to one as his own)] men [warriors and fearers of sin, whose merits will avail them] and go out [of the cloud] and do battle with Amalek. Tomorrow I shall stand upon the top of the hill with the staff of G-d in my hand.
  And Joshua did as Moses said to him, to war against Amalek. And Moses, Aaron, and Chur [the son of Miriam and Calev] went up to the top of the hill [(whence it is derived that three must officiate (in prayer) on a fast day (Israel fasting at that time)].
  And it was, when Moses lifted his hand, that Israel prevailed, and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. ["Now is it the hands of Moses that gain the victory!, etc." (see Rosh Hashanah 29a)]
  And the hands of Moses became heavy [because he was lax in the mitzvah and deputed it to another (Joshua)], and they [Aaron and Chur] took a stone [(but not a pillow)] and placed it beneath him [(Moses associating himself with Israel's suffering)], and he sat on it. And Aaron and Chur supported his hands — one on one side, one on the other. And he was [i.e., he persisted with] his hands [spread out in an attitude of] steadfastness [in prayer] until the sun set. [The Amalekites would determine "propitious hours" for victory astrologically, and Moses caused the sun to stand still, thus confounding their reckonings.]
  And Joshua weakened Amalek and his people with the sword [(He decapitated their warriors and left only the weaker ones (whence we infer that he wrought by Divine command)].
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Write this as a remembrance in the book [(that Amalek initiated war with Israel before all other nations], and place it in the ears of Joshua [who will bring Israel into the land, that he command Israel to give Amalek his due recompense (a hint to Moses that Joshua and not he will bring them into Eretz Yisrael)] because I desire to blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under the heavens, [for which reason I exhort you thus].
  And Moses built an altar and he called its name "The L-rd is my miracle."
  And he said: For [the] hand [of the L-rd is raised to swear] by the throne [kes (as opposed to the complete form, kissei)] of Kah (the L-rd) [(as opposed to the complete name, Yod-Keh-Vav-Keh)]: "The L-rd is at war with Amalek from generation to generation" [The import: G-d's name will not be complete and His throne will not be complete until the name of Amalek is blotted out.]
  
  
  
  And Yithro heard [(of the splitting of the Red Sea and the war with Amalek and he came to join Israel)], the chief of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses [(Yithro now priding himself in Moses, whereas previously the reverse was the case (see 4:18)], all that G-d had done [(the falling of the manna, the welling of the water, the defeat of Amalek)] with Moses and with Israel, His people [(Moses being equated with all of Israel)] — that the L-rd had taken Israel out of Egypt [(this being the greatest of all)].
  And Yithro, Moses' father-in-law took Tzipporah, Moses' wife, after she had been sent [back to her father's house to spare her suffering in Egypt].
  And her two sons, the name of the first, Gershom; for he (Moses) said: "I was a stranger (ger) in a foreign land,"
  And the name of the second, Eliezer, for (he said): "The G-d of (Elokei) my father was my help (be'ezri), and He saved me from the sword of Pharaoh" [When Dathan and Aviram exposed Moses (see 2:14-15) and Pharaoh ordered him decapitated, his neck became a pillar of marble.]
  And Yithro, Moses' father-in-law, and his sons and his wife came to Moses to the desert [(a tribute to Yithro, his leaving magnificence for the desert)], where he was encamped, (to the) mountain of G-d.
  And he said to Moses: I, your father-in-law, Yithro, am coming to you; and your wife and her two sons with her. [If you do not come out for my sake, come out for your wife's sake, and if not for her sake, for your sons' sake.]
  And Moses went out to his father-in-law, [followed by Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, all who saw them following in their wake — a monumental show of honor to Yithro] and he [Moses] bowed down to him and kissed him, and they greeted each other, and they came into the tent.
  And Moses related to his father-in-law [(to appeal to his feelings, to draw him to Torah)] all that the L-rd did to Pharaoh and to Egypt on behalf of Israel, all the ordeals [(at the Red Sea and with Amalek)] that they had undergone upon the way and how the L-rd had rescued them.
  And Yithro rejoiced over all the good that the L-rd had done to Israel [the manna, the well, the Torah, and, above all,] His rescuing them from the hand of Egypt. [Until now, one slave could not escape from Egypt — and now, six hundred thousand!]
  And Yithro said: Blessed is the L-rd, who rescued you from the hand of Egypt [a hard people] and from the hand of Pharaoh [a hard king], who rescued the people from under the [oppressive] hand of Egypt.
  Now I know [even more than in the past] that greater is the L-rd than all the gods [(There was no idolatry in the world that Yithro had not served)]. For [they (the Egyptians) were destroyed] by the [very] thing [water] whereby they devised evil against them.
  And Yithro, Moses' father-in-law, took a burnt-offering and peace-offerings (for sacrifice) to G-d. And Aaron and all the elders of Israel [(with Moses "in attendance")] came to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law before G-d [(whence it is seen that deriving enjoyment from a feast partaken of by Torah scholars is akin to basking in the Divine radiance)].
  And it was [on the day after Yom Kippur] on the morrow [of Moses' descent from the mountain with the second tablets (This section is out of chronological order)] that Moses sat [like a king] to judge the people, and the people stood, (waiting) upon Moses from morning to evening ["Every judge who judges a true judgment in its (essential) truth, even for one moment, Scripture accounts it to him as if he had occupied himself with Torah the entire day ('from morning to evening') and as if he were a partner with the Holy One Blessed be He in the creation" (see Genesis 1:5)].
  And Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did to the people, and he said: What is this thing that you do to the people? Why do you sit by yourself and all the people wait upon you from morning to evening?
  And Moses said to his father-in-law: Because the people come to me to enquire [(concerning the law)] of G-d.
  When they have a matter [to be resolved], he [the one who "has the matter"] comes to me, and I judge between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the statutes of G-d and His laws.
  And the father-in-law of Moses [(Scripture honoring Yithro by this appellation)] said to him: The thing that you do is not good.
  You will languish, both you [including Aaron and Chur and the seventy elders] and this people that is with you. For this thing is beyond your strength; you will not be able to do it alone.
  Now, hearken to my voice. I shall counsel you, and let G-d be with you [in counsel; consult Him on this]. You be to the people [an intermediary] to G-d, [receiving judgment from Him], and you bring the matters [i.e., their disputes] to G-d.
  And you shall exhort them in respect to the statutes and the Toroth; and you shall apprise them of the way in which they shall go, and of the deed that they shall do.
  And you shall see from all the people [through the holy spirit that is upon you] men of valor [rich men, who need not toady to anyone], fearers of G-d, trustworthy men, haters of gain [at the expense of integrity]; and (from these) place over them (the people) officers of thousands [600 officers for 600,000]; officers of hundreds, [6,000]; officers of fifties [12,000]; and officers of tens [60,000].
  And they shall judge the people at all times. And it shall be, every major thing shall they bring to you, and every minor thing shall they themselves judge, and it shall be easier for you, and they shall bear (the burden) with you.
  If you do this thing and G-d will command you [to do it], then you will be able to bear up [(but not if He does not command you to do it)]; and also all of this people [Aaron, Nadav, Avihu, and the seventy elders who are with you] shall come to their place in peace.
  And Moses heeded his father-in-law's voice, and he did all that he said.
  And Moses chose men of valor from all of Israel, and he made them heads of the people: officers of thousands, officers of hundreds, officers of fifties, and officers of tens.
  And they judged the people at all times. The hard thing they brought to Moses, and the small thing they themselves judged.
  And Moses sent his father-in-law and he went to his land [to proselytize his family].
  
  
  
  On the third month of the exodus of the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, on this day [on the New Moon ("Let words of Torah always be 'new' to you, as if they were given this day")], they came to the desert of Sinai.
  And they journeyed from Refidim and they came to the desert of Sinai [(Just as they came to the desert of Sinai in a state of penitence, so they had left Refidim in a state of penitence.)] And Israel encamped there ["as one man, with one heart"] opposite [i.e., east of] the mountain.
  And Moses went up to G-d [early in the morning on the second day] and the L-rd called to him from the mountain, saying: Thus shall you say [(in this mode and in this order)] to the house of Jacob [the women (To them, "say" it, "gently")], and speak (tagid) to the children of Israel [the men. (Lay down for them the things which are "tough as sinews" (giddin), the punishments and the details of the mitzvoth)].
  You have seen [with your own eyes] what I did to Egypt [on your behalf], and I bore you [(all of you in one day, from the places of your dispersion in the land of Goshen, to Ramses, assembling you for the Exodus)] on eagles' wings, [My angel protecting you from the projectiles of the foe (see 14:19-20), as an eagle, the highest flying of the birds, protects its young from other birds by carrying them on its wings], and I brought you to Me.
  And now [(If you take it upon yourselves now, it will be "pleasant" for you in the future, all beginnings being difficult)], if you hearken to My voice and observe My covenant [that I shall make with you for the keeping of the Torah], then you shall be unto Me a select treasure, above all the (other) peoples; for all the earth [including the other peoples] is Mine, [(so that in choosing you it is clear that I am choosing you above them)].
  And you shall be to Me a kingdom of lords and a holy nation. These are the words, [not less and not more] that you shall speak to the children of Israel.
  And Moses came, and he called to the elders of the people, and he put before them all these things that the L-rd had commanded him.
  And all the people answered together and they said: Whatever the L-rd has spoken we shall do. And Moses [on the third day] returned the words of the people to the L-rd, [Moses doing what was "proper," though in no way "needed."]
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Behold, I shall come to you in the thickness of the cloud so that the people hear when I speak with you, and also in you [and in the prophets that follow you] they will believe forever. And [on the fourth day] Moses told the words of the people [(to the effect that they wished to hear it from the King's own mouth)] to the L-rd.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Go to the people and make them ready today and tomorrow, and have them wash their garments.
  And have them be ready for the third day [the sixth of Sivan (and on the fifth he erected the altar and the twelve monuments (see 24:4)], for on the third day the L-rd will go down before the eyes of all the people [(the blind being cured)] on Mount Sinai.
  And demarcate bounds for the people roundabout, [the bounds] "saying": Take heed unto yourselves not to go up on the mountain or to touch [even] its edge. Whoever touches the mountain shall be put to death.
  No hand shall touch it; for stoned shall he be stoned or cast down shall he be cast down [(whence it is derived that those executed by stoning are cast down from the stoning site, two (men's) statures high)]. Whether beast or man, he shall not live. When the ram's horn sounds, [indicating the departure of the Shechinah], they may go up on the mountain.
  And Moses went down [directly (not pausing for personal matters)] from the mountain to the people and he made the people ready, and they washed their garments.
  And he said to the people: Be ready in three days. Do not draw near to a woman [for three days, (so that the woman can immerse on the third day and be ready (i.e., pure) to receive the Torah, ejected semen being "neutralized" by the third day)].
  And it was, on the third day, when it was morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a heavy cloud upon the mountain, and the sound of the shofar, very strong, [the Holy One Blessed be He preceding them — what flesh and blood would not do (the "Rabbi" waiting for His disciple!)], and all the people in the camp trembled.
  And Moses took out the people towards G-d, [(who was coming towards them, as a groom to a bride)] from the encampment, and they stood at the foot of the mountain.
  And the whole of Mount Sinai smoked, for the L-rd had come down upon it in fire, and its smoke rose like the smoke of a lime kiln, and the whole mountain trembled greatly.
  And the sound of the shofar grew exceedingly strong [(the reverse of the normal phenomenon)]. When Moses spoke [the last eight commandments (after they had heard the first two from the L-rd Himself)], G-d answered him [i.e., acceded to his request] regarding the [amplification of his] voice, [so that he could be heard by the multitude].
  And the L-rd descended upon Mount Sinai [(He bent the heavens and spread them over the mountain, and the Throne of Glory descended upon them)] upon the top of the mountain. And the L-rd called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Go down and warn the people [(not to ascend the mountain)], lest they break [their bounds in aspiring] to the L-rd to see, [and they draw near to the side of the mountain], and there fall of them many, [(even the falling of one of them being regarded as the falling of "many")].
  And also the priests [i.e., the first-born], who draw near to the L-rd [to offer sacrifices], let them [not ascend, but let them] be in readiness [to take their assigned stations], lest the L-rd [kill them and] make a breach in them.
  And Moses said to the L-rd: The people will not be able to ascend Mount Sinai, for You [already] warned us, saying: Demarcate bounds for the mountain and hallow it. [There is no need, then, for me to warn them again.]
  And the L-rd said to him: Go, descend, [and warn them again, (prompting to zeal being called for both before the deed and at the time of the deed)], and go up, you [in your precincts] and Aaron with you [in his precincts], and the priests [in their precincts] — and the people, let them not break [their bounds at all] to ascend to the L-rd, lest He make a breach in them.
  And Moses went down to the people and he said (it) [this warning] to them.
  
  
  
  And G-d [Elokim, the Judge, "exacting payment" (for all of the ten commandments, unlike some other sections in the Torah, where performance is rewarded, but non-performance not punished)] spoke all of these things [miraculously, in one utterance (after which He reiterated each commandment individually)] saying, [i.e., the people responding in the affirmative or in the negative as per the nature of the commandment]:
  I am the L-rd your G-d who took you out of the land of Egypt [Having taken you out is sufficient reason that you be subservient to Me.] ("your [singular] G-d") [an opening for Moses to plead for Israel in the episode of the golden calf, viz.: "You said this ("your G-d") to me, not to them!"] from the house of [Pharaoh, to whom you were] servants.
  There shall not be unto you [(You may not keep them even if you do not make them)] gods of [i.e., made by] others before My presence [i.e., idolatry is interdicted not for this generation alone but eternally (just as I am eternally present)].
  You shall not make for yourself a graven image or the likeness of anything which is in the heavens above or in the earth below, or in the waters beneath the earth.
  You shall not bow down to them and you shall not serve them, for I am the L-rd your G-d, a jealous G-d, ["jealous" to exact punishment, and not "overlooking" idolatry], visiting the sins of the fathers upon the children, for the third and the fourth generations to those who hate Me, [those who perpetuate their fathers' ways],
  And doing lovingkindness [i.e., "guarding" the lovingkindness that a man does, to reward him] for thousands [of generations], for My lovers and the keepers of My mitzvoth, [whence (5 and 6) it is seen that G-d's "measure" of reward is greater than His measure for punishment].
  You shall not take the name of the L-rd your G-d in vain [by swearing at variance with what is known, e.g., that a pillar of stone is one of gold], for the L-rd will not absolve him who takes His name in vain.
  Have [always] in remembrance the Sabbath day [("Remember" and "Keep" (Deuteronomy 5:12) were stated in one pronouncement)] to set it apart [i.e., If you chance upon something specially fine, set it apart for the Sabbath].
  Six days shall you work, and you shall do all of your labor [i.e., When Shabbath arrives, let it be in your eyes as if all your labor has been done and give it no thought.]
  And the seventh day is Sabbath to the L-rd your G-d. You shall not perform any labor: you, and your son, and your daughter [minors — parents being exhorted vis-à-vis their young children], your man-servant, and your maid-servant, and your beast, and your sojourner in your gates.
  For, six days did the L-rd make the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day. [How much more so, then, must we — who feel toil — rest on that day!] Therefore, the L-rd blessed the Sabbath day [by providing a double portion of manna on the sixth day], and He sanctified it [by not having the manna fall on the Sabbath].
  Honor your father and your mother so that your days be prolonged on the earth that the L-rd your G-d gives to you, [the implication being that if you do not honor them your days will be shortened.]
  You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal [a human being, i.e., kidnap]. You shall not testify against your neighbor false testimony.
  You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, and his man-servant, and his maid-servant, and his ox and his ass, and all that belongs to your neighbor.
  And all the people saw [(whence we derive that there were no blind ones among them)] ["saw" miraculously] the sounds [emanating from the Mighty One's mouth], and the lightnings, and the sound of the shofar, and the mountain smoking. And the people saw and they shuddered, and they stood far off. [(They recoiled twelve mil, the distance of their encampment, and ministering angels came and restored them)]
  And they said to Moses: Speak, you with us, and we shall hear; and let G-d not speak with us, lest we die.
  And Moses said to the people: Do not fear, for to uplift you has G-d come and so that His fear [engendered by beholding His awe] be upon your faces, that you not sin.
  And the people stood from afar, and Moses drew near [within the three divisions: "darkness, cloud, and mist" (Deuteronomy 4:11)] to the mist [the "thickness of the cloud" (19:9)], where G-d was.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Thus shall you say to the children of Israel: You saw [with your own eyes] that from the heavens I spoke to you ["to exhort you, and on the earth He showed you His great fire" (Deuteronomy 4:36)]
  You shall not make [likenesses of those (the angels) who minister] unto Me. Gods of silver [(If you make the cherubs who "stand with Me" of silver (instead of the prescribed gold), they will be considered "gods" (i.e., idols)], and gods of gold [(If you make more than two cherubs of gold, they will be considered "gods")], do not make for yourselves [i.e., in your synagogues and study halls, as I have bidden you make in the Temple].
  An altar [fixed upon the] earth shall you make for Me, [i.e., in My name], and you shall slaughter beside it your burnt-offerings and your peace-offerings, [which come from] your flocks and your herds. Wherever I [permit you to] mention My name [i.e., in the Temple, where the Cohanim are authorized to utter the Ineffable Name in the priestly blessing], I shall come to you, [i.e., there shall I repose My shechinah] and I shall bless you.
  And when you make an altar of stones unto Me, do not build them hewn, for if you lift your sword upon it, you profane it [(the altar being created to prolong life, and the sword, to shorten it)].
  And do not go up by steps, [but by a smooth ramp] upon My altar, so that your nakedness not be revealed upon it [by your having to take (relatively) long strides].
  
  
  
  And these [(Just as what precedes was stated at Sinai, so these)] are the judgments [(this section being juxtaposed with that of the altar to teach that the Sanhedrin should preside near the sanctuary)] that you should set [(as a "set" table, the judgments not merely to be mandated to them, but to be "digested" for them)] before them [and not before gentiles, even if their law, in the instance in question, coincides with Jewish law (this, to avoid diminution of the honor of Heaven)].
  If you buy [from beth-din] a Hebrew man-servant, six years shall he serve, and in the seventh he shall go out to freedom, gratis.
  If alone [without a wife] he came, alone shall he go out [(If he were not married when he came, his master may not give him a Canaanite bondswoman for the begetting of slaves)]. If he were the husband of a [Jewish] woman, then his wife shall go out with him. [(When did she come in?) It is hereby derived that one who buys a Hebrew man-servant is required to feed his wife and children.]
  If his master gives him a woman [a Canaanite bondswoman], and she bears him sons or daughters, then the woman and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone.
  And if the man-servant will say: I love my master, my wife [the bondswoman] and my children; I shall not go out free,
  then his master shall bring him near to the judges [(The man-servant must consult the judges who sold him)], and he shall bring him near to the door or to the door-post [(Just as a door-post stands (in its place), so the door (against which his ear is bored) must be standing)], and his master shall bore his [right] ear with an awl, and he shall serve him forever [i.e., until the Jubilee year]. [Why the ear? The ear which heard on Mount Sinai: "Thou shalt not steal!" and he went and stole (for which reason beth-din sold him) — let his ear be bored! Or, if he sold himself: The ear which heard on Mount Sinai: "For unto Me are the children of Israel servants" and he went and acquired a master for himself — let his ear be bored! And why door and door-post? The Holy One Blessed be He said: The door and the door-post, which were witnesses in Egypt when I skipped over the lintel and the two door-posts (on which the Jews had sprinkled the blood of the Paschal lamb), and I said: "For unto Me are the children of Israel servants" — and not servants to servants (i.e., the Egyptians) and this one went and acquired a master for himself! Let his ear (that heard and did not listen) be bored (in their presence!)]
  And if a man sells his daughter [a minor (under twelve)] as a maid, she shall not go out as the [Canaanite] bondsmen go out, [with the master's knocking out a tooth or an eye (but: at the end of six years, at the Jubilee year, or at her bringing (pubertal) signs — whichever is first)].
  If she be ill-favored in the eyes of her master, who [on that account] did not designate her [to be his wife, even though he should have], then he shall [help] redeem her [by deducting from her six-year redemption money the value of the service she had already rendered]. To a strange nation [i.e., to another man] he [both the master and the father] shall not presume to sell her, after he [the master, by not taking her to wife, or the father, by selling her] has been faithless to her.
  And if [as is the master's prerogative,] to his son he designate her, [(the purchase money serving as the betrothal money)], according to the ordinance of the daughters ["her food, her clothing, and her (conjugal) time" (10)] shall he provide for her.
  If another (wife) he take for himself [in addition to her], her [the first one's] food, her clothing, and her (conjugal) time he shall not diminish.
  And if [one of] these three [viz. marrying her himself, marrying her to his son, or deducting from her redemption money] he does not do to her, then she shall go out gratis, without money [(Scripture providing an additional way for her to go out, viz., showing signs of puberty)].
  If one strikes a man [(only one who is destined to be a "man," and not a fetus that is certain to die of itself)], and he dies, then, [i.e., only if it is a death-dealing blow], he shall be put to death.
  And if he did not lie in wait (for him), but G-d put (him) into his hand, then I shall make for you a place [even (now) in the desert] where he shall flee, [that place being the Levite encampment.]
  And if a man be deliberate, [and not unwitting] against his neighbor, [and not against a gentile], to kill him with subtlety [(to exclude a doctor whose patient dies as a result of his treatment, a bailiff of beth-din who kills in the administration of stripes, and one whose son or disciple dies under his chastisement)], from My altar [if he were a Cohein and wished to perform the priestly service] shall you take him to die.
  And if one strikes [and wounds] his father or his mother, he shall be put to death [by strangulation (unlike one who wounds another, who pays but is not killed)].
  And if one, [including a woman, tumtum (one of indeterminate gender) or hermaphrodite], kidnapped a man and sold him, and he were found in his hand, [i.e., men having witnessed his being kidnapped and sold and his having been in the kidnapper's hand before the sale], he (the kidnapper) shall be put to death [by stoning].
  And if one [including a woman] curses his father or his mother, he shall be put to death [by stoning].
  And if men quarrel and a man strike his neighbor with stone or fist and he not die, but become bedridden [and work-disabled],
  If he arise and walk outside on his own power, then the striker shall be absolved [(the striker being imprisoned pending resolution of the victim's state)]; only his work-disability [payment] shall he (the striker) give, and heal shall he heal [i.e., he shall pay medical expenses].
  And if a man strike his [Canaanite] man-servant or maid-servant with a rod [of killing potential], and he die under his hand, vengeance [by the sword] shall be taken.
  But if one day or two days [i.e., one day which is like two days, a twenty-four hour period] he survive, vengeance shall not be taken, for he (the man-servant) is his money, [but if another (i.e., not his master) kills him, even if the servant lingered on that long, he (the murderer) is put to death].
  And if men fight [with each other and one strikes at the other] and they hit a pregnant woman, and her fetuses miscarry, and there be no death [in the woman], then he shall be punished [i.e., payment (for the fetuses) shall be exacted of him.] As the husband of the woman imposes upon him (the striker) [through beth-din] he shall give by word of the judges.
  And if there be death [in the woman] then you shall give a life for a life [(According to one view, "life," literally; according to another, monetary payment, estimated by the sales-price of servants in the marketplace)].
  An eye for an eye [(If one blinded another, he pays him the monetary value of an eye, estimated by loss of value of a blinded servant in the marketplace)]; a tooth for a tooth; a hand for a hand; a foot for a foot.
  A burn [produced by fire] for a burn [(monetary payment, estimated by how much one would give to be spared the pain of the burn)]; a wound [(where blood is drawn)] for a wound [(Though he makes the other payments (loss of limb, disability, etc.,) he is not exempt from payment for pain)]; a welt [(where no blood is drawn)] for a welt.
  And if a man strike the eye of his [Canaanite] man-servant or the eye of his maid-servant, and he destroy it, free shall he send him in lieu of his eye [or any other organ prominences which do not grow back (excluding a child's tooth)].
  And if the tooth [(though one is not born with it, unlike "eye")] of his man-servant or the tooth of his maid-servant he strike out, free shall he send him in lieu of his tooth.
  And if an ox [(or any other animal)] gore a man or a woman and he die, the ox shall be stoned and its flesh shall not be eaten [even if it is slaughtered after judgment has been pronounced upon it], and the owner of the ox is absolved ["the owner" of a tam (an ox that is not "confirmed" in killing, as opposed to a mued, a three-time killer ox. See 29)]
  And if it were a goring ox from yesterday and the day before, [three gorings (including the latest), and the owner were warned [in the presence of witnesses], and he did not guard it, and it killed [(by goring or otherwise)] a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner, too, shall die [at the hands of Heaven].
  When kofer ["atonement" (payment)] is set for him, he shall give the redemption of his soul [(According to one view, the value of the victim; according to another, the value of the owner)], according to all that shall be set for him.
  Or if it gore a son [a minor], or it gore a daughter [a minor], according to this ordinance shall it be done to him.
  If the ox gore a [Canaanite] man-servant or maid-servant, then silver, thirty shekels, shall he give to his master [regardless of how much he is worth] and the ox shall be stoned.
  And if a man open a pit [(in the public domain) which was covered] or if a man dig a pit [even if he completes another's digging], and he not cover it, and there fall into it an ox or an ass [or any other animal],
  the owner of the pit [i.e., the one who occasioned the damage, whether or not he be the actual owner] shall pay. Money shall he restore [(any kind of "restoration," even bran)] to its owner, and the carcass shall belong to him [the latter (as partial payment towards damages)].
  And if the ox [a tam ("non-confirmed" in damaging)] of a man strike [(any kind of "striking" — butting, kicking, biting, etc.)] the ox of his neighbor, and it die, then they shall sell the living ox and halve its money [between them] and also the [value of the] carcass shall they halve [between them (so that the owner of the tam, where both oxen are of equal value, pays half-damages)].
  Or [if it were not a tam, but] it be known that it were a goring ox [a mued] from yesterday and the day before, [three gorings (including the latest)], and its owner did not guard it, then pay shall he pay, an ox [full value] for an ox, and the carcass shall belong to him [the owner of the gored ox, (the owner of the goring ox making up the difference between the value of the carcass and the full value of the gored ox)].
  If a man steal an ox or a lamb, and slaughter it or sell it, then five (head of) cattle shall he pay for the ox, and four sheep for the lamb, ["ox" and "lamb," specifically (Only four for the lamb, as opposed to five for the ox, for the thief suffers shame in carrying the lamb (whereas he leads the ox)].
  
  
  
  If the thief be found breaking in, and he be struck (by the owner) and die, he (the owner) has no blood [liability, the thief coming with intent to kill the owner if necessary, and "If one comes to kill you, arise and kill him!"]
  If the sun shone upon him [i.e., If it is obvious that the thief would not kill him (as in the instance of a father stealing from a son)], he (the thief) "has blood" [i.e., he is regarded as a "live man," and one who kills him is a murderer.] Pay shall he [the thief] pay [for what he stole (but he is not to be put to death)]. If he lacks it, he is to be sold for his theft.
  If the theft be found in his hand [i.e., in his possession, he neither having slaughtered it nor sold it], from ox to ass, to lamb [(all objects are included)], living (animals) [or their value, and not dead animals], double shall he pay.
  If a man take his beast into a field or a vineyard and he send his beast [and it tread, causing damage] or ravage [by the "tooth"] in the field of another, then the best of his (the animal owner's) field and the best of his vineyard shall he pay [if he wishes to pay him in land].
  If fire go out [even of itself] and it find thorns, and there be consumed [by the progress of the fire in the thorns] sheaves, or the standing corn, or the field, [his furrow being singed so that it has to be re-plowed], pay shall he pay, he that lights the fire [even though he lights it in his own property and it moves of itself by means of the thorns].
  If a man give to his neighbor money or vessels to watch [without pay], and it be stolen from the house of the man [(this being the latter's claim)], if the thief is found, he shall pay double [to the owner].
  If the thief not be found, then the master of the house [where the article had been deposited] shall draw near to the judges [to deliberate with the owner and to swear to him] that he has not sent his hand against his neighbor's deposit.
  For every matter of offense, [where he is found to have lied under oath, witnesses testifying that he himself stole it, and the judges incriminating him on their testimony], for an ox, for an ass, for a lamb, for a garment, for every lost object about which he [the witness] will say that it is this [whereunto you swore that it was stolen, and, behold, you have it], unto the judges, [who shall cross-examine the witnesses,] shall come the matter of both, [and] whom the judges shall incriminate [i.e., the watcher, if he is found guilty], shall pay double to his neighbor.
  If a man give to his neighbor an ass or an ox or a lamb or any beast to watch [for pay], and it die [naturally] or be broken or seized [by robbers], no one seeing [to testify to this],
  the oath of the L-rd shall be between both, that he (the watcher) did not send his hand against the deposit of his neighbor [to use it for himself (for if he did, and it afterwards met with mischance, he is liable)], and its owner shall accept [the oath], and he [the watcher] shall not pay.
  And if it were stolen from him, he shall pay its owner.
  If it were torn [by a wild beast], let him bring witnesses [to that effect and thereby free himself of liability]. For the torn (beast) [(which he could not save, as when it was torn by a lion)] he shall not pay.
  And if a man borrow from his neighbor and it be broken or die, its owner not being with (i.e., engaged by) him [the borrower, in his work], pay shall he (the borrower) pay.
  If its owner were with him [whether in the same work (as the animal) or some other work, even if he were not with him at the time of breaking or death], he (the borrower) shall not pay. If it (the animal) were hired, it came by its hire [into the hands of the hirer, who, paying for it, (unlike the borrower), is not liable for mischance. (There is a difference of opinion as to whether he is to be regarded as an unpaid watcher or as a paid one.)]
  And if a man entice a virgin who is not betrothed and he lie with her, he shall endower her unto himself as a wife [i.e., he shall write her a kethubah (a marriage contract) and marry her.]
  If her father refuse to give her to him, money shall he pay [fifty shekels] as per the indemnity for the [ravished] virgins (see Deuteronomy 22:29)].
  A witch you shall not allow to live, [but you shall kill her, or him, as the case may be, (in beth-din)].
  Anyone who lies with a beast [either actively or passively] shall be put to death [by stoning].
  One who slaughters [(or performs any inner Temple service, like slaughtering) to idolatry shall be put to death — only to the L-rd alone!
  And a stranger [from another land] you shall not taunt and you shall not oppress him [by theft], for you were strangers in the land of Egypt [and are equally vulnerable to taunting].
  Every widow and orphan you shall not afflict. [All men are intended; it is just that "widow and orphan" are more vulnerable to affliction.]
  If you afflict him, [you will receive your just deserts]; for if he but cry out to Me, I will hear his cry.
  And My wrath shall burn and I shall kill you by the sword, and your wives will be widows, and your children, orphans [There will be no witnesses to your death, and your wives will not be able to remarry or your sons to inherit you.]
  When you lend money, [lend it, preferentially, in this order:] My people [before heathens], the poor man [before the relatively wealthier] with you [in your city, before the poor of other cities]. Do not be to him as a creditor [Do not be severe in demanding payment. If you know that he is without means, act towards him as if you had not lent him.] Do not impose interest (neshech) upon him, [neshech — "biting." Interest is like the biting of a snake. It begins with an almost imperceptible wound and then "swells" up to one's head.]
  If you take as a pledge the garment of your neighbor [after the time for repayment of the loan arrives and he does not pay], until the setting of the sun return it to him. [Scripture here speaks of a day garment, which is not needed at night. (Restore it for the day and you may take it again at night.)]
  For it is his solitary covering, [his outer garment]; it is his shirt for his skin [his inner garment]. On what shall he lie? [This includes his couch (as having to be returned for the day.)] And it shall be, if he cries out to Me, I shall hear; for I am gracious.
  Elohim you shall not curse [(an exhortation against cursing G-d and against cursing a judge)], and a prince in your people you shall not curse.
  Your fullness [the obligation that is incumbent upon you when your produce has fully ripened, i.e., bikkurim (first fruits)] and your dema (terumah) you shall not delay [you are not to change the order of their separation. You are not to take terumah before bikkurim or ma'aser before terumah]. The first-born of your sons you shall give to Me [(Redeem him from the Cohein for five sela'im)].
  Thus shall you do with your ox, with your sheep [i.e., Just as a human bechor is redeemed after thirty days, so the bechor of small cattle (e.g., sheep) is to be looked after for thirty days and then given to the Cohein.] Seven days shall it be with its mother [(an exhortation to the Cohein not to sacrifice it before the eighth day)]; on the eighth day you may give it to Me.
  And [if] men of holiness [i.e., If you separate yourselves from abominations of neveilah and treifah], you shall be unto Me [i.e., you shall be Mine; if not, you shall not be Mine.] And flesh torn [by a predatory animal from a live clean animal] in the field [(not necessarily the field, "the field" being the common instance)] you shall not eat; to the dog you shall throw it [or you may sell it to a heathen ("the dog" being mentioned to indicate that it takes precedence to selling and also that "the Holy One Blessed be He does not withhold the reward of any creature" (see 11:7)].
  
  
  
  Do not bear a false report [(an exhortation against receiving slander and an exhortation to a judge not to hear the words of one litigant before the other arrives)]. Do not place your hand with an evildoer [who puts forth a false claim against his neighbor] to [promise him to] be a false witness [for him].
  Do not incline [in judgment] after many [wicked men, simply because they are many] for evil. And do not answer [the defendant, who solicits your judgment] in the dispute, to incline after [those] many [wicked ones] to incline [the judgment from the truth; but judge in accordance with the truth and "let the collar (of responsibility) hang on the neck of the many"].
  And do not honor a poor man in his quarrel [to favor him in judgment simply because he is poor].
  If you encounter the ox of your foe, or his ass, straying, return shall you return it to him.
  Would you see the ass of your foe lying under its burden and forbear to help [disburden] it? Help shall you help [unload it] with him [the owner].
  Do not incline the judgment of your needy one in his quarrel.
  From a thing of falsehood keep far, and a clean one and a righteous one you shall not kill [("a clean one": If you have something to say in his favor after he has been sentenced to death, the case is to be reopened. "a righteous one": If you have something to say against him after he has been acquitted (i.e., found "righteous") the case is not to be re-opened)], for I will not find the wicked one righteous [(so that even if he has been erroneously acquitted, "the L-rd has many messengers")].
  And a bribe you shall not take [even to judge truly], for a bribe blinds the wise and undermines righteous words [i.e., true judgments].
  And a stranger you shall not oppress. And you have known the soul of the stranger [how he suffers under oppression], for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
  And six years shall you sow your land and you shall gather [into your house] its produce.
  And the seventh year it shall lie fallow [and not be worked] and you shall leave it [i.e., you shall not eat of its produce after the time of removal (see Leviticus 25:7)], and the poor of your people shall eat it, and what they leave shall be eaten by the animals of the field [(Just as it need not be tithed for animals, so it need not be tithed for the poor — whence it is derived that ma'aser does not obtain in the sabbatical year)]. Thus shall you [also] do with your vineyard and with your olive grove, [(what precedes applying to a grain field)].
  Six days shall you do your work, and on the seventh day shall you rest [i.e., Shabbath is not superseded by Shevi'ith (which is also a commemoration of the creation)], so that there rest your ox and your ass [Give it "resting," i.e., allow it to tear grass from the earth and eat it], and there be refreshed the son of your maidservant [an uncircumcised Canaanite servant] and the stranger [a ger toshav, a "sojourning stranger" (one who shuns idolatry and observes the seven Noachide laws)].
  And all that I have spoken to you, you shall observe [(all positive commandments are hereby "affixed" with an exhortation)]. And the name of other gods you shall not mention [One should not say to another: "Wait for me near that idol" (mentioning its name) or "Stand with me on the festival of that idol"]; it shall not be heard [from the gentile] upon your mouth [i.e., at your instigation. (Do not enter into partnership with a gentile, lest he swear by his god (in the instance of a dispute) in which instance you are an accessory to the mentioning of idolatry.)]
  Three times shall you celebrate for Me in the year.
  The festival of matzoth shall you keep. Seven days shall you eat matzoth, as I commanded you, at the appointed time in the month of aviv, [when the grain begins to ripen]; for in it did you go out of Egypt. And they shall not appear before Me empty-handed, [but they shall bring burnt-offerings].
  And the festival of the harvest [Shavuoth], the [time of bringing the] first-fruits of your labor, which you sow in the field [(the two loaves of Shavuoth permitting the new wheat for meal-offerings and the bringing of first-fruits to the Temple, viz. (Numbers 28:26)], and the festival of the ingathering [Succoth] at the going out of the year, when you gather your labor from the field [against the rain].
  Three times in the year shall appear all the males among you in the presence of the Master, the L-rd, [the festivals not lapsing in the sabbatical year].
  You shall not offer alongside chametz the blood of My sacrifice [i.e., Do not slaughter the Pesach offering on the fourteenth of Nissan until the chametz has been removed], and there shall not remain [unplaced on the altar] the fat of My festival offering until morning.
  The first of the first-fruits of your land [even in the sabbatical year] you shall bring to the house of the L-rd your G-d. You shall not cook a kid [any young, tender animal] in its mother's milk. [This is written three times in the Torah: (here, 34:26, and Deuteronomy 14:21), once to forbid eating (milk and meat together), once to forbid derivation of benefit, and once to forbid cooking.]
  Behold, I shall send an angel before you [(the L-rd here apprising them that they would sin, that He would not go up among them (33:3) and that they would require an intermediary)], to watch over you on the way, and to bring you to the place that I have readied [for you].
  Take heed of him and hearken to his voice. Do not rebel against him, for he will not forgive your offenses, [sin being foreign to his nature and forgiveness not being deputed to him. "Take heed of him"] for My name is within him [i.e., associated with him].
  But if you hearken to his voice and do all that I shall speak, then I shall hate your enemies and oppress your oppressors.
  For My angel shall go before you, and he will bring you to the Emori, and the Chitti and the Perizi and the Canaani and the Chivi and the Yevussi, and I will annihilate them.
  Do not bow down to their gods and do not worship them and do not emulate their deeds, but raze them [their idols] and break down their [stone] monuments [which they set up to bow down to].
  And you shall serve the L-rd your G-d, and He will bless your bread and your water, and I shall remove sickness from your midst.
  There shall not be [if you do My will] a woman bereft [(of her young, miscarrying or burying them)] or barren in your land; the number of your days shall I complete.
  My fright shall I send before you, and I shall confound all the people among whom you come, and I shall set the nape of all your foes before you [in fleeing you].
  And I shall send the hornet before you, and it shall drive out the Chivvi, the Canaani, and the Chitti before you.
  I will not drive them out before you in one year lest the land be left desolate and the animals of the field increase against you.
  Little by little I will drive them out before you until you multiply and inherit the land.
  And I shall set your boundaries from the Red Sea until the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert until the river. For I will put in your hand the inhabitants of the land, and you will drive them out before you.
  You shall not make a covenant with them or with their gods.
  They shall not dwell in your land lest they cause you to sin against Me, that you serve their gods and they be a stumbling block to you.
  
  
  
  And to Moses He said [(before the Ten Commandments) on the fourth of Sivan]: Go up to the L-rd, you and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and bow down from afar.
  And Moses alone shall draw near [to the mist] to the L-rd, but they shall not draw near, and the people shall not go up with him.
  And Moses came and he told the people [on that day] all the words of the L-rd [the commandment of separation (from conjugal relations) and the keeping of bounds (from Mount Sinai)] and all of the judgments [the seven Noachide laws, Sabbath, honoring of father and mother, and the administration of justice, which had been related to them at Marah]. And the people answered with one voice and said: All of the things which the L-rd has spoken we shall do.
  And Moses wrote all the words of the L-rd [from the creation until the giving of the Torah, and he wrote down the mitzvoth given at Marah] and he arose early in the morning [on the fifth of Sivan] and he built an altar at the foot of the mountain and twelve monuments for the twelve tribes of Israel.
  And he sent the youths [i.e., the first-born] of the children of Israel, and they offered up burnt-offerings and slaughtered sacrifices, peace-offerings to the L-rd, bullocks.
  And Moses took half of the blood [(an angel coming and halving it)] and he placed it in basins [(two basins: one for half the blood of the burnt-offering; the other, for half the blood of the peace-offering to sprinkle upon the people (whence our sages infer that our ancestors entered the covenant through circumcision, immersion, and the sprinkling of blood, there being no sprinkling without immersion)], and half the blood he sprinkled upon the altar.
  And he took the book of the covenant [(from the creation until the giving of the Torah and the mitzvoth given at Marah)], and he read (it) in the ears of the people, and they said: All that the L-rd has spoken we shall do and we shall hear.
  And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the L-rd has made with you over all these words.
  And there went up Moses and Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel.
  And they saw the G-d of Israel [They "peeked" and were liable to death, but the Holy One Blessed be He, desiring not to dampen the joy of (receiving the) Torah "waited" for Nadav and Avihu until the consecration of the tabernacle, and for the elders until the episode of the complainers (Numbers 11:16)], and under His feet, as the work of a sapphire brick [This was before Him at the time of the (Egyptian) bondage to "keep Him in mind" of the brick-toil of the Jews] and as the appearance of the heavens in brightness. [When they were redeemed, there was light and rejoicing before Him.]
  And against the nobles of the children of Israel [Nadav, Avihu, and the elders], He did not send forth His hand [(whence it is to be derived that it would have been warranted)], and they gazed upon G-d [grossly] while eating and drinking.
  And the L-rd said to Moses [after the giving of the Torah]: Go up to Me to the mountain and be there [forty days], and I shall give you the tablets of stone and the Torah and the mitzvah which I have written to teach them. [All the six hundred and thirteen mitzvoth are contained in the Ten Commandments.]
  And Moses arose and Joshua his attendant, and Moses went up to the mountain of G-d, [Joshua accompanying him as far as he was permitted to go, pitching his tent there and awaiting Moses' return].
  And to the elders he said [upon leaving the encampment]: Abide for us here [with the rest of the people to be "on call" for judging their disputes] until we return to you, and, behold, Aaron and Chur [(the son of Miriam and Calev ben Yefuneh)] are with you. Whoever has a claim (against his fellow) shall draw near to them.
  And Moses went up to the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain.
  And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud. [Or, according to another view, him. ("it"): "And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered it for six days [from Rosh Chodesh Sivan], and He called to Moses [(all of Israel standing there, but Moses being singled out for special honor)] on the seventh day [to declare the Ten Commandments] from the midst of the cloud." ("him"): "And the glory of the L-rd reposed upon Mount Sinai and the cloud covered him for six days [after the Ten Commandments, the beginning of the forty days of Moses' going up to receive the tablets (Scripture teaching that entrance into the "Divine Encampment" (later, the Holy of Holies) requires a six-day separation period)], and He called to Moses on the seventh day from the midst of the cloud."]
  And the sight of the glory of the L-rd was like a consuming fire on the top of the mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel.
  And Moses came in the midst of the cloud, [G d making a kind of path for him in its midst], and he went up to the mountain. And Moses was in the mountain forty days and forty nights.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  Speak to the children of Israel and let them take for Me [i.e., for My Name's sake] terumah [a tithe]. From every man whose heart prompts him shall you take My terumah. [Three terumoth are referred to here: the terumah of a beka for a head, of which the sockets were made; the terumah of the altar, a beka for a head, for the communal offering funds; and the terumah of the mishkan (the tabernacle), an individual gift. (The thirteen articles mentioned below were needed either for the work of the mishkan or for the priestly garments)].
  And this is the terumah that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper [all voluntary gifts, except silver, a half-shekel for each individual (Additional offerings of silver were used for making the ministering vessels)].
  And tcheleth [wool died with the blood of the chilazon, of a greenish hue], and argaman [wool colored with a dye of that name], and crimson, and linen, and goats' hair.
  And skins of rams dyed red [after tanning] and skins of techashim [a kind of animal found only at that time], and acacia wood. [Jacob foresaw that they would build a tabernacle in the desert (where there is no wood). Accordingly, he brought cedars to Egypt, planted them and bade his sons take them when they left Egypt.]
  Oil for the light [pure olive oil to make the flame ascend continuously], spices for the anointing oil [used to anoint the vessels of the mishkan itself, to sanctify it] and for the burning [ketoreth (the rising of a smoke column)] of the incense, [which was burned every evening and morning].
  [Two] onyx stones [for the ephod (28:6)] and stones for filling [the golden settings in the breastplate (choshen)], for the ephod and the choshen [respectively].
  And they shall make for Me mikdash [beth kedushah — "a house of holiness"] and I shall dwell in their midst.
  ["And they shall make for Me mikdash"] according to all that I show you, the design of the tabernacle and the design of all its vessels. And so [according to this design] shall you do [in future generations when any of the Temple vessels are lost].
  And they shall make an ark [without legs] of acacia wood: two and a half cubits, its length; one and a half cubits, its breadth; and one and a half cubits, its height.
  And you shall cover it with pure gold. From inside and from outside shall you cover it. [Bezalel made three arks: two of gold and one of wood, each having four walls and a base, and open from above. He placed the wooden one in a golden one, and a golden one in the wooden one and covered the top with gold so that it was found to be covered with gold "from inside and from outside."] And you shall make a rim of gold roundabout it. [He made the outer ark higher than the inner so that it projected above the kaporeth (the ark cover) and formed a rim roundabout, symbolizing the "crown of Torah"].
  And you shall cast for it four golden rings, and you shall place them on its four [upper] corners [near the kaporeth, two on each side along the breadth of the ark, into which the staves were placed, this allowing space (the two and a half cubits of the length) for two carriers to walk between them] — two rings on one side and two rings on the other.
  And you shall make staves of acacia wood and cover them with gold.
  And you shall insert the staves in the rings on the sides of the ark to carry the ark therewith.
  In the rings of the ark shall the staves remain; they shall never depart from it.
  And you shall place in the ark the Testimony [(the Torah, which serves as testimony between you and Me that I have charged you with the mitzvoth written therein)] that I shall give you.
  And you shall make a kaporeth [an ark-cover (the ark was open on top and the kaporeth was placed upon it like a board)] of pure gold: two and a half cubits its length and a cubit and a half its width [(corresponding to the length and width of the ark, the kaporeth resting on the thickness of its four walls. The thickness of the kaporeth was a tefach, a hand-breadth)].
  And you shall make two golden cherubs. Of beaten work shall you make them, at the two [front] ends of the kaporeth.
  Make one cherub at one end and one cherub at the other end. From the kaporeth [itself] shall you make the cherubs at its two ends.
  And the cherubs shall have their wings spread on high [parallel to their heads], covering the kaporeth with their wings from above [a space of ten tefachim between the wings and the kaporeth]. And their faces shall be towards each other. Towards the kaporeth shall the faces of the cherubs be.
  And you shall place the kaporeth on the ark from above, and in the ark shall you place the Testimony that I shall give you.
  And I will be appointed for you [to speak to you] there, and I will speak to you from above the kaporeth between the two cherubs on the ark of testimony, all that I shall charge you with to the children of Israel.
  And you shall make a table of acacia wood: two cubits, its length; one cubit, its breadth; and a cubit and a half, its height [the combined height of its legs and the thickness of the table].
  And you shall cover it with pure gold, and you shall make for it a rim of gold roundabout, [symbolizing the "crown of kingdom"].
  And you shall make a frame for it, a hand-breadth roundabout, and you shall make a golden rim [the aforementioned (24)] for its frame, roundabout.
  And you shall make for it four golden rings, and you shall place the rings in the four corners of its four legs.
  Opposite the [corners of the] frame shall the rings be, as housings for the staves for the carrying of the table.
  And you shall make the staves of acacia wood, and you shall cover them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them.
  And you shall make its [bread-] moulds [for the show-bread], its censers [for the frankincense], its (hollow) canes [canes split lengthwise on which the loaves were placed to separate one from another so that they not mold], and its staves, [the framework for the canes] by which [canes] it [the show-bread] shall be covered. Of pure gold shall you make them.
  And you shall place upon the table show-bread before Me always. ["show-bread," lit., "face-bread," so called because it had "faces" (i.e., surfaces) facing two (opposite) sides of the sanctuary].
  And you shall make a menorah [candelabrum] of pure gold; of beaten work shall the menorah be made, ["of itself." Moses being "stymied" by the task, the Holy One Blessed be He said to him: "Cast the talent into the fire and it shall be made of itself."] Its base, its [central] shaft [surmounted by the middle lamp, made in the form of a cup (for the oil and the wick)], its bowls [golden ornaments projecting from the branches], its bulbs [apple-shaped ornaments around the central branch], and its flowers [flower-shaped figures], from it [the one piece of gold] shall be [fashioned (without breaking anything off)].
  And six branches projecting from its [the central shaft's] sides, three branches of the menorah from one side, and three branches of the menorah from the other side [slantwise, one above the other, all rising to the height of the middle branch].
  Three chased bowls on one branch, with bulb and flower; and three chased bowls on the other branch, with bulb and flower. And so with (all) six branches that project from the menorah.
  And on the [central shaft of the] menorah were four bowls [one projecting under the branches, and three (respectively) above the origin of the branches], chased, its bulbs and its flowers [(The phrase is ambiguous, i.e., either "bowls chased, its bulbs and its flowers," or "…bowls, its bulbs and its flowers chased")]
  And a bulb under the two branches from it [the one piece of gold], and a bulb under the (next) two branches from it, and a bulb under the (next) two branches from it, (thus) for (all) the six branches that project from the menorah.
  Their bulbs and their branches from it shall be, all one (piece of) beaten work of pure gold.
  And you shall make its lamps [small bowls into which oil and wicks were placed], seven, and he (the artificer) shall fashion its lamps so that their light is directed at its face [the central shaft].
  And its tongs [for manipulating and positioning the wicks] and its snuff-dishes [small bowls into which the high-priest raked the ashes every morning], pure gold.
  (Of) a talent of pure gold shall he make it [together] with all these vessels.
  And see, and make (them) according to their design which you are shown [here] in the mountain.
  
  
  
  And the tabernacle (the <i>mishkan</i>) shall you make with ten curtains [to serve it as a roof and as partitions outside the boards, the curtains being hung behind them to cover them]: twisted linen (<i>shesh</i>) and blue (wool) and purple and scarlet, [four varieties in each thread, one of linen and three of wool and each thread twisted six (<i>shesh</i>) times, giving a twenty-four-fold thread], cherubs of artistic work [(figures interwoven on both sides)] shall you make them.
  The length of one curtain, twenty-eight cubits; and the width, four cubits for one curtain — one measure for all the curtains.
  Five curtains shall be attached [by sewing] one to the other, and five curtains, one to the other.
  And you shall make loops of purple wool at the edge of the end curtain of one (five-curtain) joining, and, likewise, at the edge of the end curtain of the other joining.
  Fifty loops shall you make in the one (end) curtain, and fifty loops shall you make at the edge of the (end) curtain in the second joining, the loops [on the respective joinings] directly aligned one with the other.
  And you shall make fifty golden hooks, and you shall join the curtains one to the other by the hooks, [inserting one end of the hook into one loop, and the other end, into its corresponding loop], and the tabernacle shall be one.
  And you shall make curtains of goats' hair to tent over the [lower curtains of the] tabernacle; eleven curtains shall you make them.
  The length of one curtain, thirty cubits; and the width, four cubits for one curtain — one measure for the eleven curtains.
  And you shall join five curtains separately and six curtains separately, and you shall double [two cubits of] the sixth curtain [the "surplus" vis-à-vis the lower curtains] over the face of the tent [the screen on the east (as a bride's face is veiled in modesty)].
  And you shall make fifty loops at the edge of the end curtain in (one) joining, and fifty loops at the edge of the curtain in the second joining.
  And you shall make fifty copper hooks, and you shall insert the hooks into the loops, and you shall join the tent [the goats' hair covering], and it shall be one.
  And the additional draping in the curtains of the tent, half of the additional curtain [i.e., two cubits], you shall hang over the back [the west] of the tabernacle [to cover the two cubits of exposed beams.]
  And the cubit on one side and the cubit on the other side in excess [of the length of the lower curtains] in the length of the curtains of the tent, shall be spread over both sides [north and south] of the tabernacle [curtains] to cover it [(for purposes of adornment)].
  And you shall make a cover for the tent [(the goats' hair roof)] of rams' skins dyed red, and a cover of tachash skins above.
  And you shall make the beams of the tabernacle [those that have been designated for the purpose (Jacob, prophetically, having planted acacia trees to this end)] of standing acacia wood. [The beams of the tabernacle walls are to be stood up vertically, and not placed horizontally one atop the other.]
  Ten cubits the length of the beam [(so that the height of the tabernacle was ten cubits)], and a cubit and a half the breadth of each beam [(so that the length of the tabernacle was thirty cubits)].
  Two prongs (wooden projections) for each beam [(the beam being hollowed out at the bottom to form these prongs)], rung-like, one near the other [like the rungs of a ladder]. So shall you do for all the beams of the tabernacle.
  And you shall make the beams for the tabernacle, twenty beams for the southern side.
  And forty silver sockets shall you make under the twenty beams; two sockets under one beam for its two prongs, and two sockets under the next beam for its two prongs.
  And for the second side of the tabernacle, the northern side, twenty beams.
  And their forty silver sockets, two sockets under one beam and two sockets under the next beam.
  And for the ends [i.e., the back] of the tabernacle on the west, you shall make six beams, [accounting for nine cubits of width.]
  And two beams shall you make for the corners of the tabernacle at the ends, [(so that the interior width is ten cubits)].
  And they (the beams) shall be fitted against each other at the bottom, and together shall they be fitted at its top into one ring. [Two adjacent beams were fixed together by a ring placed in grooves along their breadth.] So shall it be for the two of them [for the two beams at the end, the beam at the northern end and the western beam, and so,] for the two corners shall they be.
  And [on the western side] there shall be eight beams and their silver sockets, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one beam and two sockets under the next beam.
  And you shall make bars of acacia wood, five for the beams of one side of the tabernacle [These "five" are three, the upper and lower bars, respectively, consisting of two equal (fifteen cubit segments) running along the side wall, and one bar running the entire length through a hole bored in each beam.]
  And five bars for the beams of the second side of the tabernacle, and five bars for the beams of the side of the tabernacle at the western ends.
  And the middle bar in the midst of the beams shall extend from end to end.
  And the beams shall you cover with gold, and their rings shall you make of gold [to serve as] housings for the bars, and you shall cover the bars with gold [i.e., They will be "covered" with gold when they are inserted into the golden rings flanked by the golden half-reeds on either side.]
  And you shall set up the tabernacle after the manner which will have been shown to you [by the L-rd] in the mountain.
  And you shall make a <i>parocheth</i> (partition) of blue wool and purple wool and scarlet wool and twisted linen. Artistic work shall he make it, cherubs. [See Rashi on verse 1].
  And you shall place it on four pillars of acacia wood covered with gold, their hooks of gold [(Hooks bent upwards were set in the pillars on which to place the pole on which the top of the <i>parocheth</i> was wrapped)] (the pillars standing) upon four sockets of silver.
  And you shall put the <i>parocheth</i> under the hooks, and you shall bring there, inside the <i>parocheth</i>, the ark of testimony; and the <i>parocheth</i> shall separate for you between the holy and the holy of holies.
  And you shall put the <i>kaporeth</i> (the lid) upon the ark of testimony in the holy of holies.
  And you shall place the table outside the <i>parocheth</i>, and the menorah opposite the table on the southern side of the tabernacle; and the table shall you place on the northern side.
  And you shall make a screen [a curtain] for the entrance of the tent, of blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer [needlework, the figures on one side being the same as those on the other.]
  And you shall make for the screen five pillars of acacia wood, and you shall cover them with gold, and their hooks (shall be) of gold; and you shall cast for them five copper sockets.
  
  
  
  And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide. The altar shall be square and three cubits high.
  And you shall make its horns on its four corners. From it [the altar itself] shall its horns be, [and not first made and then attached to it.] and you shall cover it with copper [to atone for brazenness (see Isaiah 48:4)].
  And you shall make its pots (into which) to empty its ashes, and its shovels [with which to remove its ashes], and its sprinkling basins [in which to receive the blood of the sacrifices], and its spits, and its fire-pans [for taking coals from the outer altar to the inner altar for the burning of the incense]. All of its implements shall you make of copper.
  And you shall make for it a copper lattice, netting work. And you shall make on the netting four copper rings at its four edges.
  And you shall place it under the karkov of the altar [an encircling, decorative band] below. And the netting shall extend until the mid-point of the altar [for distinguishing between the (placing of the) "upper blood" and the "lower blood"].
  And you shall make staves for the altar of acacia wood, and you shall cover them with copper.
  And its staves shall be brought into the [four] rings [made in the lattice]. And the staves shall be on the two sides of the altar when it is carried.
  A hollow of boards shall you make it, as He showed you on the mountain; so shall they do.
  And you shall make the court of the tabernacle: On the south side, curtains for the court, of twisted linen, a hundred cubits long on one side.
  And its pillars, twenty, [five cubits between the pillars], and their sockets twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their belts [(threads by which the pillars were encircled)] of silver.
  And so for the northern side in length. Curtains a hundred (cubits) long, and its pillars, twenty, and their sockets twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their belts, of silver.
  And the width of the court on the west side: Curtains, fifty cubits (long), their pillars, ten, and their sockets, ten.
  And the width of the court on the front side, to the east, fifty cubits.
  And fifteen cubits of curtains on the shoulder [(on one side of the opening)], their pillars three and their sockets three.
  And on the second shoulder, fifteen (cubits) of curtains, their pillars three and their sockets three.
  And for the gate of the court, a screen [a curtain] of twenty cubits: blue wool, and purple wool, and scarlet wool, and twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer, their pillars four and their sockets four.
  All the pillars of the court roundabout, belted with silver, their hooks of silver and their sockets of copper.
  The length of the court, a hundred cubits, and the width, fifty by fifty, and the height, five cubits of twisted linen, and their sockets [(including the sockets for the pillars of the screen)] of copper.
  All the implements of the tabernacle for all of its labor [for erecting and dismantling it], and all of its pegs, and all the pegs of the courtyard, of copper.
  And you shall command the children of Israel that they take for you olive oil, clear [without lees], (the olives) crushed [(in a mortar and not ground in a mill, so that there be no lees)], for illumination [(but the olives may be ground in a mill for the (oil of the) meal-offering)], to raise a light [(the flame rising of itself)] continually [i.e., each night].
  In the tent of meeting outside the parocheth which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall arrange it [so that it burn] from evening until morning before the L-rd, an eternal statute for their generations, from the children of Israel. 
  
  
  
  And you, draw near to yourself [after completing the work of the tabernacle] Aaron your brother and his sons with him from the midst of the children of Israel to be a priest unto Me — Aaron, Nadav and Avihu, Elazar and Ithamar, the sons of Aaron.
  And you shall make consecrated garments for Aaron your brother, for honor and for glory.
  And you shall speak to all the wise of heart whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they make the vestments of Aaron to sanctify him, to make him a Cohein [a ministering priest] unto Me.
  And these are the garments which they shall make: a choshen [an ornament worn on the heart], an ephod [a kind of apron], a me'il [an outer robe], a kethoneth [an inner robe worn on the skin] with checkered indentations, a mitznefeth [a dome-like hat], and an avnet [the belt over the kethoneth]. And they shall make garments of kodesh [i.e., from the contribution that has been consecrated (mekudesheth) for My name] for Aaron your brother and for his sons to make him a Cohein unto Me.
  And they [the wise of heart] shall take [from the donors] the gold, the blue wool, the purple wool, the scarlet wool, and the linen [whereof to make the garments].
  And they shall make the ephod of gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen, artistic work. [See Rashi on 26:1.]
  Two shoulder straps, attached, shall it [the ephod] have to its two ends [(to the ends of the width of the ephod, which is the width of the Cohein's back)], and it [the ephod with the two shoulder straps] shall be connected [to the cheishev (8) (by needle, and not woven together with it)].
  And the cheishev [the belt] of his adornment which is above it [i.e., which is on the upper edge of the ephod], after its manner [i.e., artistic work, of the five varieties (of material)], of it [i.e., woven together with the ephod] shall it be: gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.
  And you shall take the two shoham stones and engrave thereon the names of the children of Israel.
  Six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the remaining six on the second stone, in order of their birth [i.e., on the first stone: Reuven, Shimon, Levi, Yehudah, Dan, Naftali; on the second: Gad, Asher, Yissachar, Zevulun, Yosef, Binyamin].
  The work of a stone artisan (a lapidary), [with script as clear as] the engraving of a signet shall you engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel; surrounded by golden settings shall you make them [(the settings then to be attached to the shoulder straps of the ephod)].
  And you shall place the two stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the children of Israel. And Aaron shall carry their names before the L-rd on his two shoulders as a remembrance [i.e., so that the Holy One see the tribes inscribed before Him and remember their righteousness].
  And you shall make [two] golden settings.
  And (you shall make) two chains of pure gold. At the edge [of the choshen] shall you make them, braided chains on the settings [of the ephod].
  And you shall make a choshen of judgment [i.e., a choshen which atones for subversion of judgment]; artistic work, like the work of the ephod shall you make it: gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen shall you make it.
  Square shall it be, folded (into a square), a zereth (half a cubit) its length, and a zereth its width.
  And you shall fill it [its indentations] with stone filling, four rows of stone. A row of odem, pitedah, and bareketh — the one row.
  The second row — nofech, sapir, and yahalom.
  The third row — leshem, shevo, and achlamah.
  And the fourth row — tarshish, shoham, and yashfeh. Set in gold shall they [the rows] be with their [exact] fillings [i.e., They shall be surrounded by golden settings of a depth to accommodate the exact thickness of the stone.]
  And the stones shall be according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engraving of a signet, each by his name shall they be, for the twelve tribes [in order of their birth: odem for Reuven, pitedah for Shimon, etc.]
  And you shall make for the choshen chains at the edge, braidwork of pure gold.
  And you shall make for the choshen two rings of gold, and you shall put the two rings on the two ends of the choshen [on the two corners opposite the neck.]
  And you shall place the two golden braids on the two rings at the ends of the choshen.
  And the two ends of the two braids [i.e., the two heads of each braid] you shall place on the two settings (verses 12-13) [the right braid on the right setting, and the left braid on the left], and you shall place [the settings] on the shoulder straps of the ephod on its face [i.e., on the topside of the (shoulder strap of the) ephod.]
  And you shall make two golden rings, and you shall place them on the two ends of the choshen [the two lower corners] on its edge which faces the ephod [i.e., the lower, apron part], inwards [(whereas the rings on top of the choshen face outwards)].
  And you shall make two golden rings, and you shall place them on the (origin of the) two shoulder straps of the ephod below, on its face [i.e., on the topside of the ephod], opposite [i.e., near] where it [the shoulder strap] is attached [to the ephod], above the cheishev of the ephod.
  And they shall bind the choshen from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a string of blue wool to be on [i.e., fastened to] the cheishev of the ephod. And the choshen shall not be detached from the ephod.
  And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel on the choshen of judgment on his heart when he enters the sanctuary, as a remembrance before the L-rd, always.
  And you shall place into the [fold of the] choshen of judgment, the urim and the tumim [the (written) Tetragrammaton, by means of which the choshen illuminates (meir) and brings to perfection (metamem) its words]. And they shall be on Aaron's heart when he comes before the L-rd. And Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel [(i.e., the choshen, which they consult for judgment and direction)] on his heart before the L-rd, always.
  And you shall make the me'il (the outer robe) of the ephod [i.e., belted by the ephod] entirely of blue wool.
  And its head-opening shall be [folded over] within it [as a hem]. Its opening shall have a border roundabout, the work of a weaver [and not needlework]. As the opening of a suit of armor shall it [its neck-opening] be for it, so that it not be torn [(Tearing it constitutes transgression of a negative commandment.]
  And you shall make on its (lower) hem pomegranates [(they were round and hollow)] of blue wool and purple wool and scarlet wool on its hem roundabout, and golden bells [with clappers within them] in their [the pomegranates'] midst roundabout, [one bell between every two pomegranates].
  A golden bell and a pomegranate [next to it], a golden bell and a pomegranate on the hem of the me'il roundabout.
  And it will be on Aaron for ministering, and its sound will be heard when he comes to the sanctuary before the L-rd and when he leaves, and he will not die [(the implication being that if he enters lacking one of the priestly garments he is subject to death at the hands of Heaven)].
  And you shall make a tzitz [a kind of plate, two fingerbreadths wide, which went round his forehead from ear to ear], of pure gold, and you shall engrave it as the engraving of a signet: "Holy to the L-rd."
  And you shall place it on a string of blue wool, and it [the middle string of three (two at the sides and one in the middle)] shall be on the mitznefeth (the mitre). Opposite the face of [i.e., on top of] the mitznefeth shall it be.
  And it [the tzitz] shall be on Aaron's forehead. And Aaron shall bear [(towards atonement)] the sin of the holy (offerings) which the children of Israel consecrate of all the gifts of their holy offerings [(the tzitz atones for offerings of impure blood and fats)]. And it shall be on his forehead [to atone for them] always, for (the conferring of) favor upon them before the L-rd.
  And you shall checker [with indentations] the kethoneth (the inner robe) [which is made of] linen. And you shall make a mitznefeth of linen; and an avneit (a belt) shall you make, the work of an embroiderer.
  And for the sons of Aaron you shall make [(these four garments, including michnasayim (42), and no more:)] kutanoth; and you shall make for them avneitim; and migbaoth [mitznafoth] shall you make for them for honor and for glory.
  And you shall dress with them [the eight garments] Aaron your brother, and [with the four garments] his sons with him, and you shall anoint them [Aaron and his sons (with the anointing oil)], and you shall fill their hands [i.e., you shall invest them], and you shall sanctify them, and they shall minister unto Me.
  And you shall make for them [for Aaron and for his sons] pants (michnasayim) of linen to cover the flesh of nakedness. From the hips to the thighs shall they be.
  And they [their respective garments] shall be on Aaron and on his sons when they come to the tent of meeting [to the heichal (Temple); likewise, to the mishkan (tabernacle)] or when they draw near to the altar to serve in holiness, that they not bear a sin and die [ — whence it is derived that a Cohein who ministers lacking one of the priestly garments incurs death (at the hands of Heaven)], an eternal statute [categorical (for validity of the service) immediately and for future generations], for him and for his seed after him.
  
  
  
  
  And this is the thing that you shall do to them to sanctify them to minister unto Me: Take one young bullock [to atone for the sin of the golden calf (that "calf" being a bullock)] and two unblemished rams.
  And [(ten of each of the following kinds:)] matzah bread [(later referred to as "challah of oil bread" (23) because he puts as much oil into it as into the loaves and wafers combined)], and matzah challoth mixed with oil [when they are still flour], and matzah wafers anointed with oil. [After they are baked, he anoints them in the shape of the Greek letter chi, similar to our nun.] Of fine wheat flour shall you make them.
  And you shall place them in one basket, and you shall bring them near in the basket [to the court of the mishkan on the day it is erected], and the bullock and the two rams.
  And Aaron and his sons you shall bring near to the entrance of the tent of meeting, and you shall wash them in water [(This is immersion of the entire body)].
  And you shall take the garments and you shall dress Aaron with the kutoneth and the me'il of the ephod and the ephod and the choshen. And you shall adorn him with the cheishev of the ephod.
  And you shall place the mitznefeth on his head, and you shall place the crown of sanctity [the tzitz] on the mitznefeth. [See 28:37].
  And you shall take the oil of anointment, and you shall pour it on his head, and you shall anoint him.
  And his sons shall you bring near and dress them in kutanoth.
  And you shall gird them with an avneit, Aaron and his sons, and you shall bind migbaoth upon them, and the kehunah (the priesthood) shall be for them an everlasting statute; and you shall fill the hand of Aaron and the hand of his sons. [i.e., You shall thereby invest them into the priesthood.]
  And you shall bring the bullock before the tent of meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall place their hands on the head of the bullock.
  And you shall slaughter the bullock before the L-rd at the entrance of the tent of meeting [i.e., in the court of the mishkan before the entrance].
  And you shall take of the blood of the bullock and you shall place it on [top of] the horns of the altar with your finger, and all of the [remnants of the] blood you shall pour at the base of the altar.
  And you shall take all of the fat that covers the innards [i.e., the stomach membrane] and the lobe [the liver membrane] with [some of] the liver, and the two kidneys and the fat that is upon them, and you shall smoke (them) upon the altar.
  And the flesh of the bullock and its hide and its waste you shall burn in a fire outside the camp — it is a sin-offering [This is the only outer-altar sin-offering which is (entirely) burnt].
  And you shall take the one ram and Aaron and his sons shall place their hands on the head of the ram.
  And you shall slaughter the ram and you shall take its blood and you shall toss it [from a vessel] on the [corners of the] altar [so that the blood is seen on both sides of each corner] roundabout. [He tosses it on two opposite diagonal corners, so that the blood is seen on all four sides of the altar.]
  And you shall cut the ram into its pieces, and you shall wash its innards and its feet, and you shall place them with its [other] pieces and with its head.
  And you shall smoke the entire ram upon the altar. It is a burnt-offering to the L-rd, a fragrance that is pleasing [in that His will was done], a fire-offering [i.e., the smoking of the limbs on the fire] to the L-rd.
  And you shall take the second ram, and Aaron and his sons shall place their hands on the head of the ram.
  And you shall slaughter the ram, and you shall take of its blood and you shall place it on the t'nuch of the ear [the cartilage of the middle section inside the ear] of Aaron, and on the t'nuch of the ear of his sons — the right (ear) — and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot. And you shall toss the blood on the altar roundabout.
  And you shall take some of the blood which is on the altar and some of the anointment oil, and you shall sprinkle it upon Aaron and upon his garments and upon his sons and upon the garments of his sons with him. And he and his garments and his sons and the garments of his sons with him shall be sanctified.
  And you shall take from the ram the fat [of the small intestines, or (according to another opinion) the stomach], and the fat-tail, [from the kidneys and below], and the fat that covers the innards, and the lobe with [some of] the liver and the two kidneys and the fat that is on them and the right thigh [(This is the only instance of the smoking of the right thigh with the eimurim [the consecrated parts])]; for it is the ram of miluim (completeness) [a peace-offering (shelamim), complete in that all share in it: the altar, the officiator (in this instance, Moses, who receives the breast), and the owners (in this instance, Aaron and his sons, who eat the rest of it)].
  And one loaf of bread [from the (matzah) challoth (see 2)], and one challah of oil bread, and one wafer from the basket of matzoth which is before the L-rd. [(This is the only instance of a bread offering accompanying an animal offering, being burned on the altar)].
  And you shall place all of it on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and you shall wave them a waving before the L-rd. [The Cohein (in this instance, Moses) places his hand under that of the owner (in this instance, Aaron and his sons, who held the parts), and he moves them back and forth (to the Owner of the four winds of the world). Waving staves off punishment and ill winds. In "lifting" (27), he lifts and lowers them (to the Owner of heaven and earth). Lifting staves off harmful dews.]
  And you shall take them from their hand and you shall smoke them on the altar after the [first ram which you brought as a] burnt-offering, a pleasing fragrance before the L-rd. It is a fire-offering to the L-rd [i.e., in His name].
  And you shall take the breast of the ram of miluim which is Aaron's, and you shall wave it, a waving before the L-rd, and it shall be a portion for you.
  And you shall consecrate [for waving and lifting in peace-offerings of future generations] the breast of the waving and the thigh of the lifting, which was waved and which was lifted, from the ram of the miluim which is Aaron's and his sons'.
  [But you shall not consecrate it for burning in future generations, for] it shall be for Aaron and his sons as an everlasting share from the children of Israel [to whom the peace-offerings belong]. For it [breast and thigh] is a devotion. And it shall be set aside by the children of Israel from the sacrifices of their peace-offerings, their devotion to the L-rd.
  And the consecrated garments which are Aaron's shall be to his sons [of the high-priesthood] after him, to be exalted through them and to be invested [in the high-priesthood] through them.
  Seven [consecutive] days shall he don them, he who officiates in his stead, of his sons, who comes to the tent of meeting [i.e., who is qualified to enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, viz. the high-priest], to minister in the holy place.
  And the miluim ram shall you take and you shall cook its flesh in a holy place [i.e., in the court of the tent of meeting, these peace-offerings being holy of holies].
  And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram and the bread that is in the basket at the entrance [i.e., in the court] of the tent of meeting.
  And they [Aaron and his sons, the owners,] shall eat them, so that there be atoned through them [any impurity they (Aaron and his sons) possess], to invest them [through the ram and the bread] and to consecrate them [in the priesthood]. And a stranger (i.e., a non-Cohein) may not eat, for they are holy [i.e., holy of holies (whence is derived the exhortation against a non-Cohein eating holy of holies)].
  And if anything be left over from the flesh of the miluim or from the bread until morning, you shall burn what is left over in fire. It shall not be eaten, for it is consecrated.
  And you shall do thus to Aaron and to his sons, according to everything I have commanded you [(The repetition renders the commandment categorical, so that if even one detail is omitted they are not invested.)] Seven days [i.e., on each of the seven days] shall you invest them [as indicated].
  And a bullock sin-offering shall you make each day for the cleansings [of the altar of any impurity], and you shall purify the altar [by application of blood with the finger] when you cleanse it. And you shall anoint it [with the anointing oil] to consecrate it.
  Seven days shall you cleanse the altar and you shall consecrate it. And the altar shall be holy of holies [in that] whatever touches the altar [(even an unfit offering)] shall be consecrated.
  And this is what you shall offer upon the altar [("this": something like the burnt-offering which follows, i.e., an animal which was fit when it entered the Temple court — even if it became unfit thereafter. Such animals (but not those which were unfit before they entered), once they ascend the altar are not taken down)]: sheep in their first year, two each day, always.
  The one sheep shall you offer in the morning and the second sheep shall you offer in the afternoon.
  And a tenth of [an ephah of] fine flour mixed with oil of crushing [i.e., extracted by crushing olives in a mortar (although it is also valid if the olives are ground in a mill. See 27:20)], a quarter of a hin; and a libation, a quarter of a hin of wine, for the one sheep.
  And the second sheep shall you offer in the afternoon. As the meal-offering of the morning and as its libation shall you offer it, a pleasing fragrance [(this, referring to the libation meal-offering, which is entirely burnt)], a fire-offering to the L-rd.
  A continual [daily] burnt-offering for your generations, at the entrance of the tent of meeting before the L-rd, where I shall appoint a time for you to speak to you [i.e., When I set a time to speak with you, I shall set it for that place.]
  And I shall be appointed there for the children of Israel [to speak to them], and it [the mishkan] will be sanctified through My glory, [My shechinah resting therein.]
  And I shall consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar; and Aaron and his sons shall I consecrate to minister unto Me.
  And I shall dwell in the midst of the children of Israel, and I shall be a G-d to them.
  And they shall know that I am the L-rd their G-d who took them out of the land of Egypt so that I should dwell in their midst; I am the L-rd their G-d.
  
  
  
  And you shall make an altar for the smoking of the spices; of acacia wood shall you make it.
  A cubit its length and a cubit its width — square shall it be; and two cubits its height. From it shall its horns be (made).
  And you shall cover it with pure gold, its roof and its walls roundabout and its horns; and you shall make for it a rim of gold roundabout [symbolizing "the crown of kehunah"].
  And two golden rings shall you make for it. Beneath its rim at its two corners shall you make (them), on its two sides. And it [the ring-work] shall be for housings for the staves to carry it thereby.
  And you shall make the staves of acacia wood, and you shall cover them with gold.
  And you shall place it before the parocheth which is by the ark of testimony, before the lid on the testimony [i.e., aligned directly opposite the ark, on the outside of the parocheth], where I shall be appointed for you.
  And Aaron shall smoke incense upon it every morning. When he cleans the lamps [the cups of the menorah (He would clean them of their ashes every morning)], he shall smoke it.
  And when Aaron kindles the lamps in the afternoon, he shall smoke it, [every day, half a portion in the morning, half in the afternoon], a continual incense before the L-rd for your generations.
  You shall not bring up upon it strange [i.e., donated] incense, nor burnt-offering [any offering of animal or fowl], nor meal-offering [any offering of bread]; nor may you pour a libation upon it.
  And Aaron will make atonement [by application of the blood] upon its horns once a year [on Yom Kippur] with the blood of the sin-offering of the atonements [the bullock and the goat of Yom Kippur, which atone for impurity of the sanctuary and its sacred objects]. Once a year shall he make atonement upon it for your generations; it is holy of holies to the L-rd [It is consecrated for these things alone and for no other service.]
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  When you [wish to] take [a count of] the heads of the children of Israel according to their numbers, [do not count them by heads, but] let each man give [a half-shekel] as an atonement for his soul to the L-rd in counting them, so that there be no plague among them in counting them. [And count the shekalim, for the evil eye prevails over what is counted and makes it vulnerable to pestilence (See II Samuel 24:1-10)].
  This is what they shall give [(The L-rd showed Moses a coin of fire whose weight was half a shekel and said to him: "Let them give a coin like this")], everyone who passes among the counted, half a shekel by the [standard] shekel [weight] for consecration, twenty gerah the shekel. [Let them give] half this shekel as an offering to the L-rd.
  Everyone who passes among the counted, from the age of twenty years and above [(the army age)] shall give the offering of the L-rd.
  The rich shall not give more and the poor shall not give less than the half-shekel, to give the offering of the L-rd to atone for your souls [i.e., so that you not be plague-smitten because of the count.]
  And you shall take the silver of the atonements from the children of Israel and give it for the work of the tent of meeting [(whence it is seen that Moses was commanded to count them at the beginning of the erection of the mishkan. It was from this counting that the sockets for the mishkan were made.)] And it shall be for the children of Israel a remembrance before the L-rd to atone for your souls.
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  And you shall make a kiyyor [an urn with spigots] of copper, and its pedestal of copper, for washing. And you shall place it between the tent of meeting and the altar [(not directly between them but drawn off towards the south)], and you shall put water there.
  And Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it [(at one and the same time, placing the right hand on the right foot and the left hand on the left foot.)]
  When they come to the tent of meeting [to smoke incense morning and evening, or to sprinkle of the blood of the bullock of the high-priest and the "idolatry goats"], they shall wash with water and they will not die, [(the implication being that if they do not wash they will die], or when they draw near to the [outer] altar to serve, to smoke a fire-offering to the L-rd.
  And they shall wash their hands and feet and not die, [the implication being that if they do not wash (this, in reference to service on the outer altar) they will die]. And it shall be for them an eternal statute, for him and his seed for their generations.
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  And you, take for yourself choice spices: pure myrrh, five hundred (shekel-weights)]; aromatic cinnamon — half of it, two hundred and fifty [(It was weighed twice to amount to five hundred and a little more (a small amount being added each time to tip the scale above 250)]; and aromatic cane, two hundred and fifty [(its total weight)].
  And kiddah, five hundred in the shekel-weight of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.
  And you shall make of it oil of sacred anointment, a mixed blend, the work of the spice-blender. Oil of sacred anointment shall it be.
  And you shall anoint with it [(in the shape of the Greek letter chi)] the tent of meeting and the ark of testimony.
  And the table and all of its implements, the menorah and all of its implements, and the incense altar.
  And the burnt-offering altar and all of its implements, and the kiyyor and its pedestal.
  And [by this anointment] you shall consecrate them and they shall be holy of holies [in that] everything [fit for (use in) a ministering vessel] that touches them [i.e., that enters into them] shall become consecrated.
  And Aaron and his sons shall you anoint, and you shall consecrate them to minister unto Me.
  And to the children of Israel shall you speak, saying: Oil of sacred anointment shall this (zeh) be to Me [(The gematria of zeh is twelve; there were twelve lugin of anointing oil)], for your generations [All of it remains for future generations.]
  On the flesh of man it shall not be smeared, and you shall not compound another like it. It is holy. Holy shall it be to you.
  One who compounds its like or who puts of it [(of that made by Moses)] upon a stranger [(one not requiring anointment for priesthood or royalty)] shall be cut off from his people.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Take for yourself [two] spices [and] stacte, onycha, galbanum [(a foul-smelling spice, included in the incense to teach us not to belittle inclusion of sinners in our fasts and prayers)], [and an additional five] spices, and pure frankincense. They [the stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense] shall be equal [in weight] to one another.
  And you shall make it into incense, a compound, the work of a spice-blender, thoroughly mixed, [and it shall be] pure [and] holy.
  And you shall grind some of it fine, and you shall place some of it [daily, on the inner altar] before the [ark of] testimony in the tent of meeting where I shall be appointed for you [to speak to you] there. Holy of holies shall it be to you.
  And the incense that you make, in its composition [(the number of its spices)] you shall not make for yourselves. Holy shall it be to you for the L-rd. [You shall make it only for His name alone.]
  One who makes its like to smell it shall be cut off from his people. [But one may make it of what he owns, in its composition, for Temple use.]
  
  
  
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  See, I have called by name [to do My work] Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur of the tribe of Judah.
  And I have filled him with the spirit of G-d, with wisdom [to learn from others], with understanding [to learn from what he has learned], with knowledge [the holy spirit], and with (skill in) all work.
  To do [the] artistic work [of a weaver], to work in gold, silver, and copper.
  And in stone work, to fill [the stone into its setting], and in wood work, to do all (kinds of) work.
  And I, behold, I have placed with him Ahaliav the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan. And in the heart of all the wise of heart [who are among you] I have placed wisdom, and they shall make all that I have commanded you:
  The tent of meeting and the ark for the [tablets of the] testimony, and the lid that is on it and all the implements of the tent.
  And the table and its implements, and the menorah [made of] pure [gold], and all its implements, and the incense altar.
  And the burnt-offering altar and all its implements, and the kiyyor, and its pedestal.
  And the mesh vestments [see Numbers 4] and the consecrated garments of Aaron the Cohein, and the garments of his sons for ministering.
  And the anointing oil, and the spice incense for [smoking in the sanctuary, which is] holy. As all that I have commanded you shall they make.
  And the L-rd said to Moses, saying:
  And you, speak to the children of Israel, saying […Even though I commanded you to charge them concerning the work of the mishkan, do not make light of the Sabbath to override it by that work], but [though you be eager and zealous in that work], My Sabbaths shall you keep. For it is a [great] sign between Me and you for your generations [that I chose you, by bequeathing to you My day of rest for your rest], [for the nations] to know that I, the L-rd, sanctify you.
  And you shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Those who profane it, [treating it like a weekday] shall be put to death [(if there were witnesses and warning)]. For whoever does work upon it, that soul [(in the absence of warning)] shall be cut off from the midst of its people.
  Six days may work be done, and on the seventh day (there shall be) a Sabbath of resting [(not merely casual resting, but complete resting, where all work, even for preparation of food, is forbidden)], holy unto the L-rd, [the keeping of its sanctity being for His name and by His charge.] Whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
  And the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath for their generations, an eternal covenant.
  Between Me and the children of Israel it is a sign forever. For six days the L-rd made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and [His spirit] was restored [(G-d using human terms that can be "assimilated by the ear" (of flesh and blood)].
  And He gave to Moses when He finished speaking with him [(the statutes and the judgments in Mishpatim)] on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, stone tablets written by the finger of G-d. ["There is no 'earlier' and 'later' in the Torah" (This section is out of chronological order.) The incident of the golden calf preceded the charge to build the mishkan. For on the seventeenth of Tammuz the tablets were broken, and on Yom Kippur the L-rd was reconciled with Israel. And the next day they began donating for the mishkan, which was erected on the first of Nissan.] ("when He finished (kechalotho) speaking with him") ["kechalotho" is written defective (without the vav). The Torah was given to Moses as a gift, as a bride (kallah) is given to a groom, for he could not (in the order of nature) have learned all of it in such a short time.] ("when He finished speaking with him") [Moses heard the halachah first from the L-rd, and then they "reviewed" it together.] ("tablets" — luchoth) ["luchoth" is written defective (without the vav), intimating (in the Hebrew) that the tablets were identical.]
  
  
  
  And the people saw that [(according to their reckoning — which was erroneous!)] Moses delayed in descending the mountain, and the people [the mixed multitude] rose up in a body upon Aaron and said to him: Arise, make for us gods who will go before us [(they desired many gods)], for this Moses [(Satan showed them an image of Moses being carried (as one dead) in the firmament of heaven)], the man, who brought us up from the land of Egypt [and guided us on the way], we do not know what has become of him, [and we need gods to guide us in his stead].
  And Aaron said to them: Remove the golden rings that are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me. [Aaron reasoned that the women and children would be reluctant to part with their jewelry and that in the meantime Moses would descend (but the men did not wait and they removed their own jewelry)]. ...
  And all the people disburdened themselves of the golden rings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.
  And he took it from their hands and he bound it in a scarf [and cast it into a crucible], and he made it [by agency of the sorcerers of the mixed multitude] into a molten calf, and they [the mixed multitude] said: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. ...
  And Aaron saw [that it had in it the spirit of life and that "Satan's act had succeeded," and he could not repel them completely], so he built an altar before it [as a "delaying tactic"] and Aaron called out and he said: "There will be a festival for the L-rd tomorrow!" [Aaron expecting that Moses would appear before they could worship the golden calf, and that they would, indeed, serve the L-rd.]
  And they arose early the next day, [Satan rousing them], and they offered up burnt-offerings and presented peace-offerings, and the people sat to eat and drink, and they arose to make sport [i.e., to commit adultery and to kill. (Chur, Miriam's son, who rebuked them, was killed here.)]
  And the L-rd spoke [harshly] to Moses: Go, descend [from your greatness. I gave you greatness only for their sake (At that time Moses was banished by the Heavenly Court)], for your people [(the mixed multitude, that you proselytized of your own volition)] that you brought up from the land of Egypt, has wrought corruptly.
  They have turned aside quickly from the way I commanded them. They have made for themselves a molten calf, and they have bowed down to it, and they have slaughtered to it, and they have said: These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: I have seen this people, and, behold, it is a stiff-necked people [They turn the "hard part" (the back) of their neck to those who would rebuke them.]
  And now, leave Me and let My wrath burn against them and I will annihilate them [(the L-rd "hinting" to Moses that his praying for them can save them)], and I will make of you a great nation.
  And Moses prayed before the L-rd his G-d, and he said: Why, O L-rd, should Your anger burn against Your people whom you took out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a strong hand? [Does rancor not obtain only with one wise man vis-à-vis another? with one strong man vis-à-vis another?]
  Why should Egypt say: "For evil did He take them out, to kill them in the mountains and to wipe them from the face of the earth!" Turn from Your burning wrath and bethink Yourself [to turn to good] the evil [intended] for Your people.
  Remember unto Abraham, Isaac, and Israel what You swore to them in You [i.e., by Your eternal essence (Abraham — (Genesis 22:16), Isaac — (Ibid. 26:3), Israel — (Ibid. 35:11)], and You said to them: I shall multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens, and all of this land of which I spoke, I shall give to your seed, and they shall inherit it forever.
  And the L-rd bethought Himself of the evil which He had intended for His people.
  And Moses turned and descended from the mountain with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand, tablets written [(miraculously) to be readable] on both sides; on this side and on that were they written.
  And the tablets are the work of G-d [Himself], and the writing is the writing of G-d, inscribed on the tablets.
  And Joshua heard the sound of the people in its clamor [(They were regaling and laughing)], and he said to Moses: "There is a sound of war in the camp."
  And he (Moses) said: There is no sound of strength and there is no sound of weakness. An agonizing sound do I hear [i.e., a sound of blaspheming and vilifying that agonizes the soul of the hearer.]
  And it was, when he drew near to the camp, that he saw the calf and dances, and Moses' wrath burned, and he cast the tablets from his hands, and he broke them at the foot of the mountain.
  And he took the calf that they had made, and he burned it with fire, and he ground it until it was fine (dust), and he scattered it over the water, and he gave the children of Israel to drink [with the intent of testing them like sototh (women suspected of adultery (see Numbers 5:11-31). Three death penalties were adjudicated: Where there were witnesses and warning — death by the sword (viz. 27 below) as in the instance of ir hanidachath (a city the majority of whose inhabitants have gone astray after idolatry. See Deuteronomy 13:13-19); where there were witnesses, but not warning — death by plague (viz. 35 below); where there were neither witnesses nor warning — death by hydrokon, the waters "inspecting" them (as in the instance of the sotah's draught) and their stomachs bursting].
  And Moses said to Aaron: What did this people do to you! [i.e., How much suffering must you have endured] so that you [not] bring upon it [this] great sin!
  And Aaron said: Let my master's wrath not burn. You know the people, that it is [in a] bad [way, always "proving" the L-rd.]
  And they said to me: Make for us gods who will go before us, for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.
  And I said to them [(only) one thing]: "Who has gold?" [And] they [hurried and] disburdened themselves and gave it to me. And I cast it into the fire, [not knowing that this calf would emerge], and this calf emerged.
  And Moses saw the people, that it was "exposed"; for Aaron had exposed it for scorn in [the mouths of] those rising up against them.
  And Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and he said: "Whoever is for the L-rd, [let him come] to me!" And there gathered unto him all the sons of Levi [(whence it is seen that the entire tribe was kasher)].
  And he said to them: Thus said the L-rd, the G-d of Israel [(viz. 22:19): "He who slaughters to idolatry shall be put to death")]: Let every man put his sword on his thigh. Let him pass back and forth from gate to gate in the camp and kill; a man, his brother [by his mother (but not by his father, i.e., a non-Levite)], a man, his neighbor, and a man, his relative.
  And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses, and there fell from the people on that day about three thousand men.
  And Moses said: [You, who kill them,] fill your hands this day [i.e., By this you will be invested (see 28:41) to be Cohanim)] to the L-rd. For each man [will be so invested (by having killed)] his son [i.e., his daughter's son by a non-Levite] and his brother [(as in 27)], to bestow upon you blessing this day.
  And it was on the next day that Moses said to the people: You have committed a great sin. And now, I shall go up to the L-rd. Perchance, I will shield you from your sin.
  And Moses returned to the L-rd and he said: I implore You — This people has committed a great sin, and they have made for themselves gods of gold [(If You had not lavished so much gold upon them, they would not have sinned)].
  And now, if You will bear their sin, [good — do not erase me,] but if not, erase me, I pray You, from Your book that You have written [(Erase me from Your entire Torah, so that it not be said about me that I was not worthy enough to implore mercy for Israel.)]
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Whoever sinned against Me, him shall I erase from My book.
  And now, go and lead the people whither I have spoken to you. Behold, my angel [ — but not I — ] shall go before you, and, [though I grant your petition not to destroy them outright,] on the day of My accounting [for other sins], I shall reckon their sin [of the golden calf] against them. ["No punishment comes upon Israel which does not contain some payment for the sin of the golden calf."]
  And the L-rd smote the people with plague [(those who had sinned in the presence of witnesses but who had not been warned — see 20 above)] because they had made the calf that Aaron had made.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Go, ascend from here [(Eretz Yisrael is the highest of all lands)], you and the people [("the people," as opposed to "your people" (see 32:7)], whom you brought up from the land of Egypt to the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying: "To your seed shall I give it."
  And I shall send an angel before you. And I shall drive out the Canaani, the Emori, the Chitti, the Perizi, the Chivi, and the Yevussi. [(The Girgashi left of its own accord.)]
  [And you shall bring them up] to a land flowing with milk and honey. [I tell you that I will send an angel before you] for I shall not ascend in your midst. For you are a stiff-necked people, [and when My shechinah is in your midst and you rebel against Me, My wrath is intensified.] (I shall not ascend in your midst, then,) lest I destroy you on the way.
  And the people heard this evil thing [(that the shechinah would not abide with them)] and they mourned, and none of them put on his adornment [(the crowns that were bequeathed them at Chorev when they said (24:7): "We shall do and we shall hear.")]
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Say to the children of Israel: You are a stiff-necked people. If I ascended in your midst [and you rebelled against Me in your stiff-neckedness, I would rage against you for] one instant and I would annihilate you. And now, [with this punishment you shall be smitten immediately — that you] remove your adornment from you, and [(as to the balance of your punishment)], I shall know what to do to you.
  And the children of Israel divested themselves of their adornment [which had been bequeathed them] at Mount Chorev.
  And Moses [from that sin onwards] would take the tent (his tent) and pitch it outside the camp [saying: "He who is banished from the Teacher is banished from the student (Moses)"], far from the camp [(two thousand cubits)], and he would call it "the tent of meeting" [for seekers of Torah.] And all who sought the L-rd [(whence it is derived that "soliciting an elder is like paying attendance upon the shechinah")] would go out to the tent of meeting that was outside the camp.
  And it was, when Moses went out [to go] to the tent, that all the people would rise, and each one would stand at the door of his tent and look after Moses [out of respect, and not sit down] until he had come to the tent.
  And it was, when Moses came to the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the door of the tent, and He would speak, with Moses [hearing].
  And all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the door of the tent, and all the people would rise and bow down [to the shechinah], each one at the door of his tent.
  And the L-rd would speak, with Moses [hearing], face to face, as a man speaks with his fellow. And [after the L-rd's speaking], he would return to the camp [and teach the elders what he had learned. (Moses followed this practice from Yom Kippur until the mishkan was erected.)] And his attendant, Joshua the son of Nun, a youth, would not depart from within the tent.
  And Moses said to the L-rd: See, You say to me: "Bring up this people," and You did not apprise me whom You would send with me. [Your sending an angel is not acceptable to me.] And You said [see 19:9]: "I have known you by name" [i.e., I have singled you out from others], "and you have also found favor in My eyes."
  And now, if I have, indeed, found favor in Your eyes, make known to me Your ways [i.e., the reward for finding favor in Your eyes], so that I know You [i.e., Your measure of reward], so that I find [what the nature of the reward is for finding] favor in Your eyes. And see that this nation is Your people, [and I cannot see myself being rewarded if they are not].
  And He said: My face [i.e., I Myself] shall go [and not an angel], and I shall give you rest.
  And he said to Him: [This, indeed, is what I desire, for] if You Yourself do not go, [but an angel], do not bring us up from here.
  For how, otherwise, will it be known that I and Your people have found favor in Your eyes? Is it not by Your going with us? And [I have yet another request: that You not repose Your shechinah on the nations of the world so that] I and Your people be distinct from all the people on the face of the earth.
  And the L-rd said to Moses: This thing, too, that you have spoken [(to repose My shechinah no more on the nations of the world)] will I do. For you have found favor in My eyes and I have known you by name.
  And [sensing it to be an opportune moment] he said: Show me, I pray you, Your glory.
  And He said: I shall cause all of My goodness to pass before you [when you are concealed in the cave], and I shall call in the name of the L-rd before you [to teach you the order of imploring mercy even when the merit of the fathers (zcuth avoth) no longer obtains. And you teach Israel to pray according to that order ("the Thirteen Attributes") and their prayers for mercy will thereby be granted]; and I shall be gracious when I desire to be so, and I shall be merciful when I desire to be so, [(but later (34:10) He assured Moses that "the Thirteen Attributes" are never unavailing)].
  And He said: You shall not be permitted to see My face [even when I pass all My good before you]; for no man can see Me and live.
  And the L-rd said: Behold, [in the mountain where I am wont to speak with you], there is a place with Me [i.e., set aside for Me for your needs (so that you not be harmed), where you will see what you shall see], and you will stand on the rock.
  And it shall be, when My glory passes by, that I shall place you in the cleft of the rock, and I shall cover you with My "palm" until I have passed.
  Then I shall remove My palm, and you shall see My back [(He showed him the head-knot of His tefillin)], but My face shall not be seen.
  
  
  
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Hew (p'sal) for yourself two stone tablets like the first [(He showed him a sapphire quarry and said to him: "The chips (psoleth) shall be yours" (thus, "for yourself." Moses grew wealthy from them.)] [Moses broke the first tablets; he was, therefore, told to hew the second.] And I shall write on the tablets the words which were on the first tablets, which you broke.
  And be ready in the morning, and go up in the morning to Mount Sinai, and stand for Me there on the top of the mountain.
  And let no man go up with you, and also let no man be seen on all of the mountain. The flocks and the herds, too, shall not graze opposite that mountain. [Because the first tablets were given amidst shouting, sound, and throng, the evil eye prevailed against them (and they were broken). There is nothing more desirable than "modesty."]
  And he hewed two stone tablets like the first, and Moses arose early in the morning, and he went up to Mount Sinai as the L-rd had commanded him, and he took in his hand two stone tablets.
  And the L-rd descended in a cloud and He stood with him there, and He called in the name of the L-rd [(see 33:19)]:
  And the L-rd passed before him and He called "Hashem (Yod-Keh-Vav-Keh), Hashem, [the attribute of mercy: one (Hashem) before the sin; one, after sinning and repentance], the G-d [(Kel, likewise the attribute of mercy)], who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, [withholding His anger in anticipation of repentance], and abundant in lovingkindness [to those who are in need of it, being deficient in merit], and truth, [paying goodly reward to the doers of His will],
  Preserving [a man's] lovingkindness [before Him] for two thousand [generations], forgiving [deliberate] sin, and [acts of] rebellion (against the L-rd), and transgression — but not absolving [completely]. He remembers the sin of the fathers upon sons [who persist in their fathers' ways], and upon sons of sons, upon the third [generation] and upon the fourth."
  And Moses hastened [when he saw the shechinah passing by and heard the "calling"], and he bowed to the ground and prostrated himself.
  And he said: If I have now found favor in Your eyes, my L-rd, let my L-rd go in our midst [as You have promised (33:14) and even] if it is a stiff-necked people [and it rebels against You, (concerning which You have said (Ibid. 33:3): "Lest I destroy you on the way")], You will (nevertheless) forgive our sin and our transgression, and You will make us Your [distinct] portion [viz. (Ibid.16)].
  And He said: Behold, I am making a covenant [for this]. Before all your people shall I make (wondrous) distinctions [(whereby you will be distinguished from all other nations, on whom My shechinah will not repose)], which (wonders) have never been created in all the land and in all the nations. And all the people in whose midst you are will see the work of the L-rd. For it is awesome, what I am to do with you.
  Be heedful of what I command you this day. Behold, I am driving out before you the Emori, the Canaani, the Chitti, the Perizi, the Chivi, and the Yevussi [(The Girgashi left of its own accord.)]
  Be heedful lest you make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land to which you are coming, lest it be a snare in your midst.
  But their altars shall you raze, and their monuments shall you break, and their trees devoted to idolatry shall you cut down.
  For you shall not bow down to another god. For the L-rd, Kana ("zealous") is His name, [zealous in exacting payment and not overlooking things]; He is a zealous G-d.
  Lest you make a covenant with the inhabitant of the land and they stray after their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and he call to you and you eat from his sacrifice. [I shall regard your eating from his sacrifice as acknowledging his idolatry, for, as a result, "You will take of his daughters for your sons, etc."]
  And you will take of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters will stray after their gods, and they will cause your sons to stray after their gods.
  Molten gods you shall not make for yourself.
  The festival of matzoth shall you keep. Seven days shall you eat matzoth as I commanded you, in the appointed time in the month of aviv [the first ripening]. For in the month of aviv you went out of Egypt.
  All firstlings of the womb [in man] are Mine, and (of) all of your kine that bears a male, the firstling of an ox or a sheep.
  And the firstling of an ass [(but not another unclean beast)] you shall redeem with a lamb [(He gives the lamb to the Cohein. It is chullin (non-sacred) in the hand of the Cohein, and the owner may work with the firstling)]. And if you do not redeem it, then you shall break its neck [with a hatchet. (He caused a monetary loss to the Cohein — let him incur such a loss!)]. All the first-born of your sons shall you redeem; and they [the children of Israel, when they go up to Jerusalem for the festival,] shall not appear before Me empty-handed, [but they shall bring the prescribed offering].
  Six days shall you work, and on the seventh day shall you rest. From [mundane] plowing and harvesting shall you rest [(to exclude harvesting the omer which is a mitzvah, and which overrides the Sabbath)].
  And the festival of Shavuoth shall you make for yourself, the first-fruits of the wheat harvest, [the "two breads" (see Leviticus 23:16-17), the first wheat meal-offering brought to the Temple, (the meal-offering of the omer brought on Pesach, being of barley)], and the festival of the ingathering (Succoth), [when you gather your produce from the field to the house], the circuit of the year [i.e., the beginning of the new year].
  Three times in the year shall all of your males appear before the L-rd, Hashem (Yod-Keh-Vav-Keh), the G-d of Israel.
  For I shall drive out nations from before you, and I shall broaden your boundary, [so that, being far from the Temple, you will not be able to appear before Me constantly, for which reason I am providing these three festivals for you (to do so)]. And no man shall covet your land when you go up to appear before the L-rd your G-d three times in the year.
  You shall not slaughter while chametz [still] is present, the blood of My [Pesach] offering [(an exhortation (against possessing chametz) to the slaughterer, the tosser of the blood, and any of the members of the "company" (for that offering)]. And there shall not tarry overnight [off the altar] until morning, the slaughtering [i.e., the eimurin (the consecrated parts)] of the festival of Pesach. [The same applies to all offerings.]
  The first of the first-fruits of your land [i.e., of the seven species mentioned in praise of your land (Deuteronomy 8:8)] you shall bring to the house of the L-rd your G-d. You shall not cook a kid in its mother's milk. [(This excludes (from Torah interdiction) fowl, where there is no "mother's milk")]. [See 23:19].
  And the L-rd said to Moses: Write for yourself these words [(but you are not permitted to write oral Torah)]; for according to these words have I made with you a covenant and with Israel.
  And he was there with the L-rd forty days and forty nights. Bread he did not eat and water he did not drink. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.
  And it was, when Moses descended [(with the second tablets, on Yom Kippur)] from Mount Sinai — with the two tablets of the testimony in the hand of Moses, when he descended from the mountain — that Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone [(the light projecting like horns)] from His having spoken with him.
  And Aaron and all of Israel saw Moses, and, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him.
  And Moses called to them, and there returned to him Aaron and all the princes of the assembly, and Moses would speak to them [the behest of the L-rd].
  And after that [i.e., after he had taught the elders], all the children of Israel would approach, and he would command them all that the L-rd had spoken with him on Mount Sinai.
  And when Moses finished speaking with them, he would place a mask on his face, [in deference to the rays of splendor, that not all "feast their eyes on them."]
  And when Moses came before the L-rd to speak with Him, he would put off the mask until he went forth; and he would go forth and speak to the children of Israel what he had been commanded.
  And the children of Israel beheld Moses' face, for the skin of Moses' face shone. And [when he took leave of them], Moses would put the mask back on his face until he came to speak with Him, [when he would doff it].
  
  
  
  And Moses assembled [on the day after Yom Kippur, when he had descended from the mountain] the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and he said to them: These are the things that the L-rd commanded to do.
  Six days may work be done, and on the seventh day it shall be holy for you, a Sabbath of resting for the L-rd. Whoever does work on it shall be put to death. [Moses states the exhortation against working on the Sabbath before charging them with the work of the mishkan by way of apprising them that it does not override the Sabbath.]
  You shall not light a fire in all of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.
  And Moses said to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing that the L-rd commanded [me] to say [to you].
  Take from yourselves an offering for the L-rd. Everyone whose heart prompts him shall bring it, the offering of the L-rd: gold, silver, and copper.
  And blue wool, and purple wool, and scarlet wool, and linen, and goats' hair.
  And rams' skins dyed red, and tachash skins, and acacia wood.
  And oil for the lighting, and spices for the anointing oil and for the burning of the incense.
  And shoham stones and filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen.
  And all the wise of heart among you shall come and make all that the L-rd has commanded:
  The mishkan [(The bottom spreads, seen from the inside, are called "mishkan")], its tent [(the tent of goats' hair curtains serving as a roof)], and its covering [(the covering of ram and tachash hides)], its hooks, its beams, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets.
  The ark and its staves, the kaporeth and the parocheth partition.
  The table and its staves and all of its vessels, and the show-bread.
  And the menorah of lighting and its implements [tongs and snuff-dishes], and its lamps [cups into which the oil and wicks were put], and the oil for lighting. [This, too, required "wise of heart," its processing being different from that of other oils.]
  And the incense altar and its staves, and the anointing oil, and the incense spices, and the entrance screen [on the east (26:36)] for the entrance of the mishkan.
  The burnt-offering altar and its copper lattice, its staves and all its implements, the kiyyor and its pedestal.
  The curtains of the court, its pillars and its sockets, and the screen of the gate of the court [on the east (27:16)].
  The pegs of the mishkan [(for securing the curtain ends in the ground so that they not flap in the wind)], and the pegs of the court, and their cords.
  The mesh vestments for covering the holy [appurtenances (the ark, the table, the menorah, and the altars)], the consecrated garments of Aaron the Cohein, and the garments of his sons for ministering.
  And the entire assembly of the children of Israel went forth from Moses' presence.
  And there came every man whose heart moved him. And everyone whose spirit prompted him brought the offering of the L-rd for the work of the tent of meeting and for all of its labor and for the consecrated vestments.
  And the men came along with the women. All whose heart prompted them brought armband and nose-ring and finger-ring and chumaz [a pudendal ornament] — all ornaments of gold — and every man who brought an offering of gold to the L-rd.
  And every man with whom was found blue wool or purple wool or scarlet wool or linen or goats' hair or rams' hides dyed red or tachash hides brought it.
  All who set aside an offering of silver or copper brought the offering of the L-rd. And all with whom was found acacia wood for any part of the work brought it.
  And every woman wise of heart spun with her hands. And they brought spun, the blue wool, the purple wool, the scarlet wool, and the linen.
  And all the women whose hearts lifted them with wisdom spun the goats' hair [directly from their backs].
  And the princes (of the tribes) brought [(after nothing else remained to be brought)] the shoham stones and the filling stones for the ephod and for the choshen.
  And the spice and the oil for lighting and for the oil of anointment and for the incense spices.
  Every man and woman whose heart prompted them to bring for all of the work that the L-rd had commanded to do by the hand of Moses — the children of Israel brought an offering to the L-rd.
  And Moses said to the children of Israel: See, the L-rd has called by name Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur [Miriam's son] of the tribe of Judah.
  And He filled him with the spirit of G-d, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge, and with (skill in) all work.
  And to devise designs, to work in gold, silver, and copper.
  And in stone work, to fill [the stone into its setting], and in wood work to do all kinds of artistic work.
  And to teach, He put it in his heart, he and Ahaliav the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan.
  He filled them with wisdom of heart to do every work of craftsman, artist, and embroiderer, in blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and linen; and weaver, doing all work and making designs.
  
  
  
  And Betzalel and Ahaliav and every man wise of heart in whom the L-rd has put wisdom and understanding to know to do all the work for the labor of the sanctuary shall do all that the L-rd has commanded.
  And Moses called to Betzalel and to Ahaliav and to every man wise of heart, in whose heart the L-rd had put wisdom, every one whose heart had lifted him to draw near to the work to do it. 
  And they took from before Moses the entire offering that the children of Israel had brought for the work of the labor of the sanctuary, to do it. And they brought him yet more offerings every morning.
  And there came all the wise men, the doers of all the work of the sanctuary, each from his work that they were doing.
  And they said to Moses: The people are bringing more than is needed for the work that the L-rd commanded to do.
  And Moses commanded, and they announced in the camp, saying: Let man and woman not do any more work for the offering of the sanctuary. And the people were held back from bringing.
  And the work [of the bringing] was sufficient [for the builders of the mishkan] for all of the work [of the mishkan], to make it and to leave (something) over.
  And all the wise of heart among the doers of the work made the mishkan of ten curtains. Twisted linen, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool; cherubs, of artistic work he made them.
  The length of one curtain, twenty-eight cubits; and the width, four cubits for one curtain — one measure for all the curtains.
  And he attached five curtains one to the other, and five curtains one to the other.
  And he made loops of purple wool at the edge of one curtain at its edge in the joining. So did he do at the edge of the end curtain of the other joining.
  Fifty loops he made in the one (end) curtain, and fifty loops he made at the edge of the (end) curtain in the second joining, the loops [on the respective joinings] directly aligned one with the other.
  And he made fifty golden hooks, and he joined the curtains one to the other by the hooks, and the mishkan was one.
  And he made curtains of goats' hair to tent over the [lower curtains of the] mishkan. Eleven curtains he made them.
  The length of one curtain, thirty cubits; and four cubits the width for one curtain — one measure for the eleven curtains.
  And he joined the five curtains separately and the six curtains separately.
  And he made fifty loops at the edge of the end curtain in one joining; and fifty loops he made at the edge of the (end) curtain in the second joining.
  And he made fifty copper hooks to join the tent [the goats' hair covering] to be one.
  And he made a cover for the tent, rams' skins dyed red, and a cover of tachash skins above.
  And he made the beams for the mishkan, standing acacia wood.
  Ten cubits the length of the beam, and a cubit and a half the breadth of each beam.
  Two prongs for each beam, rung-like, one near the other. So did he do for all the beams of the mishkan.
  And he made the beams for the mishkan, twenty beams for the southern side.
  And forty silver sockets he made under the twenty beams; two sockets under one beam for its two prongs, and two sockets under the next beam for its two prongs.
  And for the second side of the mishkan, the northern side, he made twenty beams.
  And their forty silver sockets, two sockets under one beam and two sockets under the next beam.
  And for the ends [i.e., the back] of the mishkan on the west, he made six beams.
  And two beams he made for the corners of the mishkan at the ends.
  And they were fitted against each other at the bottom, and together they were fitted at the top by the one ring. So did he do for the two of them, for the two corners.
  And [on the western side] there were eight beams and their silver sockets, sixteen sockets, two sockets under each beam.
  And he made bars of acacia wood, five for the beams of one side of the mishkan.
  And five bars for the beams of the second side of the mishkan, and five bars for the beams of the mishkan at the western ends.
  And he made the middle bar to extend in the midst of the beams from end to end.
  And the beams he covered with gold, and their rings he made of gold [to serve as] housings for the bars; and he covered the bars with gold.
  And he made the parocheth of blue wool and purple wool and scarlet wool and twisted linen. Artistic work he made it, cherubs.
  And he made for it four pillars of acacia wood and he covered them with gold, their hooks of gold. And he cast for them four silver sockets.
  And he made a screen for the entrance of the tent, of blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer.
  And its pillars five, and their hooks, and he covered their tops and their belts with gold; and their sockets five, of copper.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  And he made the burnt-offering altar of acacia wood, five cubits its length and five cubits its width — square — and three cubits its height.
  And he made its horns on its four corners. From it [the altar itself] were its horns (made). And he covered it with copper.
  And he made all the implements of the altar: the pots, and the shovels, and the sprinkling basins, and the spits, and the fire-pans. All of its implements he made of copper.
  And he made for the altar a copper lattice, netting work, under its karkov [an encircling decorative band] below, (and the netting extended) until its (the altar's) mid-point.
  And he cast four rings on the four edges of the copper lattice, housings for the staves.
  And he made the staves of acacia wood, and he covered them with copper.
  And he inserted the staves into the rings on the sides of the altar to carry it therewith. A hollow of boards did he make it [the altar].
  And he made the kiyyor (the laver) of copper and its pedestal of copper with [the copper of] the mirrors of the congregating women, who congregated [to bring their contributions] at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
  And he made the court (of the mishkan), on the southern side, the curtains of the court of twisted linen, a hundred cubits (long on one side).
  Their pillars twenty and their sockets twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their belts, of silver.
  And on the northern side, a hundred cubits, their pillars twenty and their sockets twenty, of copper; the hooks of the pillars and their belts, of silver.
  And on the western side, curtains, fifty cubits, their pillars ten, and their sockets, ten; the hooks of the pillars and their belts, of silver.
  And on the front side, to the east, fifty cubits.
  Curtains, fifteen cubits, on the shoulder, their pillars three and their sockets three.
  And on the second shoulder, (one) on either side of the gate of the court, curtains, fifteen cubits, their pillars three and their sockets three.
  All the curtains of the court roundabout, of twisted linen.
  And the sockets for the pillars, of copper, the hooks of the pillars and their belts, of silver, and the covering of their tops, of silver. And they were belted with silver, all the pillars of the court.
  And the screen of the gate of the court, the work of an embroiderer, blue wool, and purple wool, and scarlet wool, and twisted linen; and (it was) twenty cubits long, and high in (its) width five cubits, as the size [five cubits] of the curtains of the court.
  And their pillars four and their sockets four, of copper; their hooks, of silver, and the covering of their tops and their belt, of silver.
  And all the pegs of the mishkan and of the court roundabout, of copper.
  These are the accountings of the [donations for and the appurtenances of] the mishkan, the mishkan of testimony [testimony to G d's having "bypassed" the sin of the golden calf, having reposed His shechinah there. (The doubling of "mishkan" alludes to the Temple's twice having been taken as "collateral" (mashkon) for the sins of Israel)], (the accountings made) by word of Moses [of the articles of] the service of the Levites, [the Levites carrying them, setting them up, and taking them down] as designated by Ithamar the son of Aaron the Cohein, [Ithamar assigning to each Levitical "father's house" its specific service.]
  And Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur of the tribe of Judah did all that the L-rd had commanded Moses, [even things which Moses had not "relayed" to Betzalel. Moses first charged Betzalel to make the appurtenances and then the mishkan, and Betzalel, in practice, reversed the order, this, ("making the house first and then the furnishing"), indeed, according with what the L-rd had commanded Moses.]
  And with him, Ahaliav the son of Achisamach of the tribe of Dan, craftsman, artist, and embroiderer, in blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and linen.
  All the gold that was used for the work, in all the work of the sanctuary — the gold of the offering was twenty-nine kikar [(one kikar = three thousand shekels)] and seven hundred and thirty shekels in the shekel of the sanctuary.
  And the silver of the accountings of the assembly: a hundred kikar [(accounting for six hundred thousand people, each giving a half shekel)], and one thousand and seven hundred and seventy-five shekels in the shekel of the sanctuary.
  A beka [a half shekel] for every head, a half shekel in the shekel of the sanctuary for all who passed to be counted, from the age of twenty years and above, for six hundred and three thousand and five hundred and fifty (men).
  And the hundred kikar of silver were for casting the sockets of the [beams of the] sanctuary [the mishkan (ninety-six sockets for forty-eight beams)] and the sockets of the parocheth [(four sockets for four pillars)]. A hundred sockets for a hundred kikar, a kikar per socket.
  And from the one thousand and seven hundred and seventy-five, he made hooks for the pillars and covered their [the pillars'] tops and belted them.
  And the copper of the offering was seventy kikar and two thousand and four hundred shekels.
  And he made of it the sockets of the entrance of the tent of meeting, and the copper altar, and its copper lattice, and all the implements of the altar.
  And the sockets of the court roundabout, and the sockets of the gate of the court, and all the pegs of the mishkan, and all the pegs of the court roundabout.
  
  
  
  
  And from the purple wool and the blue wool they made mesh vestments for covering the holy (appurtenances) [see 35:19] and they made the consecrated garments of Aaron, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he made the ephod of gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.
  And they beat the plates of gold and cut [from the thin plate] strands to work into the blue wool [(i.e., one thread of gold intertwined with six of blue wool, etc.)]. And into the purple wool, and into the scarlet wool, and into the linen, the work of an artist.
  Shoulder straps did they make for it, attached — attached at its two ends.
  And the cheishev [the belt] of his adornment which is above it, was of it, after its manner [see 28:8], gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And they made the shoham stones surrounded by golden settings, engraved as the engraving of a signet with the names of the children of Israel.
  And he placed them on the shoulder straps of the ephod, stones of remembrance for the children of Israel, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he made the choshen, artistic work, like the work of the ephod: gold, blue wool, purple wool, scarlet wool, and twisted linen.
  It was square; folded did they make the choshen, a zereth its length and a zereth its width, folded.
  And they filled it with four rows of stone. A row of odem, pitedah and bareketh, the one row.
  The second row — nofech, sapir, and yahalom.
  The third row — leshem, shevo, and achlamah.
  And the fourth row — tarshish, shoham, and yashfeh. They were surrounded by golden settings with their fillings [see 28:20].
  And the stones were according to the names of the children of Israel, twelve according to their names, like the engraving of a signet, each by his name for the twelve tribes.
  And they made for the choshen chains at the edge, braidwork of pure gold.
  And they made two golden settings and two golden rings, and they placed the two rings on the two settings of the choshen.
  And they placed the two golden braids on the two rings at the ends of the choshen.
  And the two ends of the two braids they placed on the two settings and they placed them on the shoulder straps of the ephod on its face.
  And they made two golden rings, and they placed them on the two ends of the choshen on its edge which faces the ephod, inwards.
  And they made two golden rings, and they placed them on the (origin of the) two shoulder straps of the ephod below, on its face, opposite [i.e., near] where it is attached, above the cheishev of the ephod.
  And they bound the choshen from its rings to the rings of the ephod with a string of blue wool to be on the cheishev of the ephod. And the choshen shall not be detached from the ephod, as the L-rd commanded Moses.
  And he made the me'il of the ephod, the work of a weaver, entirely of blue wool.
  And the head-opening of the me'il was (folded over) within it, as the opening of a suit of armor. Its opening had a border roundabout, so that it not be torn.
  And they made on the (lower) hem of the me'il pomegranates of blue wool, and purple wool, and scarlet wool, twisted.
  And they made bells of pure gold, and they placed the bells in the midst of the pomegranates, on the hem of the me'il roundabout in the midst of the pomegranates.
  A bell and a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate, on the hem of the me'il roundabout, to minister, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And they made the kathnoth of linen, the work of a weaver, for Aaron and his sons.
  And the mitznefeth of linen, and the splendrous migbaoth of linen and the linen michnasayim of twisted linen.
  And the avneit of twisted linen and blue wool, purple wool, and scarlet wool, the work of an embroiderer, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And they made the tzitz, the holy crown of pure gold. And they inscribed it as the engraving of a signet: "Holy to the L-rd."
  And they placed on it a string of blue wool to place on the mitznefeth from above, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And all the work of the mishkan of the tent of meeting was completed. And the children of Israel did [the work]. As all that the L-rd had commanded Moses; thus did they do.
  And they brought the mishkan to Moses [to set up (lacking the strength to do it themselves)], the tent and all its implements: its hooks, its beams, its bars, its pillars, and its sockets.
  And the cover of rams' skins dyed red, and the cover of tachash skins, and the parocheth partition.
  The ark of testimony and its staves and the kaporeth.
  The table and all its implements and the show-bread.
  The pure menorah, its lamps — the lamps of the arrangement (27:21) — and all its implements and the oil for lighting.
  And the golden altar, and the anointing oil, and the spice incense, and the partition for the entrance of the tent.
  The copper altar, its copper lattice, its staves, and all its implements, the kiyyor and its pedestal.
  The curtains of the court, its pillars and its sockets and the partition for the gate of the court, its cords and its pegs, and all the implements of the service of the mishkan of the tent of meeting.
  The mesh vestments for covering the holy (appurtenances), the consecrated garments of Aaron the Cohein, and the garments of his sons for ministering.
  As all that the L-rd had commanded Moses, thus did the children of Israel do all of the work.
  And Moses saw all the work, and, behold, they had done it as the L-rd had commanded; thus had they done it. And Moses blessed them.
  
  
  
  
  And the L-rd spoke to Moses, saying:
  On the first day of the first month, you shall set up the mishkan of the tent of meeting.
  And you shall place there the ark of testimony, and you shall screen the ark with the parocheth.
  And you shall bring the table and make its arrangement [the two arrangements of the show bread (see Leviticus 24:5-6)], and you shall bring the menorah and you shall light its lamps.
  And you shall place the golden altar for (smoking) incense before the ark of testimony, and you shall place the entrance partition for the mishkan.
  And you shall place the burnt-offering altar before the entrance of the mishkan of the tent of meeting.
  And you shall place the kiyyor between the tent of meeting and the altar and you shall put water there.
  And you shall set up the court roundabout, and you shall place the screen of the gate of the court.
  And you shall take the anointing oil and you shall anoint the mishkan and all that is in it. And you shall consecrate it and all of its appurtenances, and it shall be holy.
  And you shall anoint the burnt-offering altar and all of its implements. And you shall consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be holy of holies.
  And you shall anoint the kiyyor and its pedestal, and you shall consecrate it.
  And you shall bring near Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the tent of meeting and you shall wash them with water.
  And you shall clothe Aaron in the holy garments, and you shall anoint him, and you shall consecrate him, and he shall minister unto Me.
  And his sons shall you bring near, and you shall dress them in kutanoth.
  And you shall anoint them as you anointed their father. And they shall minister unto Me. and this will serve for their anointment to be for them an eternal kehunah for their generations.
  And Moses did as all that the L-rd had commanded him; thus did he do.
  And it was in the first month of the second year on the first of the month that the mishkan was set up.
  And Moses erected the mishkan. He placed its sockets and he set its beams, and he placed its bars and he set up its pillars.
  And he spread the tent [the goats' hair spread] on the mishkan. And he placed the covering of the tent above it, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he took and he placed the testimony [the tablets] into the ark. And he put the staves on the ark. And he placed the kaporeth on the ark from above.
  And he brought the ark to the mishkan, and he placed the parocheth partition and it screened the ark of testimony, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he put the table in the tent of meeting on the side of the mishkan north [i.e., on the northern half of the breadth of the sanctuary], outside the parocheth.
  And he arranged on it a bread arrangement before the L-rd, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he put the menorah in the tent of meeting opposite the table on the side of the mishkan south.
  And he lit the lamps before the L-rd as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he put the golden altar in the tent of meeting before (i.e., inside) the parocheth.
  And he smoked upon it spice incense, as the L-rd had commanded Moses [see 30:7-8].
  And he placed the entrance partition for the mishkan.
  And the burnt-offering altar he placed at the entrance of the mishkan of the tent of meeting. And he offered up upon it the burnt-offering [the continual burnt-offering] and the meal-offering [accompanying the libations of the continual burnt-offering (29:40)], as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he put the kiyyor between the tent of meeting and the altar, and he put there water for washing.
  And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed from it their hands and their feet, [all of them being equal for kehunah on the eighth day of the investiture of the Cohanim (which was the day of the erection of the mishkan)].
  When they came to the tent of meeting and when they approached the altar they would wash, as the L-rd had commanded Moses.
  And he erected the court around the mishkan and the altar, and he placed the screen of the gate of the court. And Moses completed the work.
  And the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the L-rd filled the mishkan.
  And Moses could not come to the tent of meeting, for the cloud rested upon it and the glory of the L-rd filled the mishkan.
  And when the cloud rose from the mishkan, the children of Israel would travel on all of their journeys.
  And if the cloud did not rise, they did not journey until the day of its rising.
  For the cloud of the L-rd was on the mishkan by day, and a fire was in it at night before the eyes of all the house of Israel in all of their journeyings [i.e., in all the encampments of their journeyings].
  