English translation — אחרי ב

A.

At the end of the parshah, the Torah concludes the section of arayos with the saying¹

: "And you shall keep My charge, not to do the abominable statutes etc., and you shall not defile yourselves with them; I am the L-rd your G-d."

Rashi stands on the words "and you shall not defile yourselves with them; I am the L-rd your G-d" and explains: "Behold, if you defile yourselves, I am not your G-d, and you are disqualified from after Me, and what pleasure do I have in you, and you are liable to destruction,

therefore it is said: I am the L-rd your G-d."

The reason why Rashi is <b>not</b> explaining the words "I am the Lord your God" as he explains in Parshat Va'eira²

"I am the Lord, faithful to punish etc. I am the Lord, faithful to give reward,"

and especially since he says there that thus "I am the Lord" is "expounded in several places" — is

(as the commentators³

explain)

: the matter of "I am the Lord — faithful to pay reward"

(and "to punish")

had already stood <b>earlier</b>⁴

in the parshah,

therefore there is no place to repeat the matter again.

One must say,

that "I am the Lord your God" means a new matter⁵.

One must, however, understand the explanation of Rashi:

From the words "ולא תטמאו בהם אני ה׳ אלקיכם" one can seemingly only infer

(from the positive you hear the negative⁶

"הא אם תטמאו <b>איני </b>אלקיכם".

From where does Rashi take all the details that he says afterwards⁷

: "ואתם נפסלים מאחרי ומה הנאה יש לי בכם ואתם מתחייבים כלי׳"?

Indeed, the explanation stands in Toras Kohanim&lt;sup&gt;8&lt;/sup&gt;

— but,

as discussed several times,

is not the subject of Rashi in his commentary on the Torah,

to copy the homilies of Chazal

( — and in their language&lt;sup&gt;9&lt;/sup&gt;).

And especially since Rashi does not say here "it is in Toras Kohanim"

(and the like),

From which it is proven that Rashi accepts this explanation as the &lt;b&gt;simple meaning &lt;/b&gt;of the verse.

D.

H.

That the words "and you shall not become impure through them

"I am Hashem your God" brings out the &lt;b&gt;all &lt;/b&gt;three details: you are disqualified from after,

and what pleasure do I have in you and you are liable for destruction.

It is perplexing: from where is the necessity in the &lt;b&gt;simple meaning &lt;/b&gt;of the verse for the details?

(or at least — wants)

&lt;b&gt;specify &lt;/b&gt;for the ben chamesh lamikra the meaning of “I am your God” in general — because&lt;sup&gt;10&lt;/sup&gt;

the content of “I am your God” is already found &lt;b&gt;earlier &lt;/b&gt;in &lt;b&gt;Rashi&lt;/b&gt;: on the verse

(in parshas Lech&lt;sup&gt;11&lt;/sup&gt;)

“And I will give to you etc. the land of Canaan etc. and I will be to them a God” Rashi explains “But one who dwells outside the land is as one who has no God” — and Rashi in this &lt;b&gt;does not &lt;/b&gt;add any explanation and on the contrary — not any details].

Also it is not understood the addition and conclusion of Rashi “therefore it is said ‘I am the Lord your God’” — what is Rashi adding here&lt;sup&gt;12&lt;/sup&gt;?

And in the language of an answer to the difficulty “therefore it is said”?

Furthermore: from the beginning of Rashi — that he dwells on the words "ולא תטמאו בהם אני ה׳ אלקיכם" — it is implied,

that the difficulty in the verse is also in the words "ולא תטמאו בהם",

and at the end Rashi cites only the words "אני ה׳ אלקיכם" and not "ולא תטמאו בהם"?

B.

This will be understood with the introduction of the explanation in Rashi's commentary at the beginning of the section on forbidden relations¹³

— "וידבר גו׳ דבר אל בנ"י גו׳ אני ה׳ אלקיכם" — where Rashi¹⁴

explains

(in his second commentary)

"Rabbi says: It was revealed and known before Him that they would eventually rebel against the forbidden relations ..

therefore He came upon them with a decree: I am the Lord your God,

know who decrees upon you,

He is able to exact punishment and faithful to pay reward."

It is seemingly not understood: "Know Who decrees upon you" and "Faithful to exact payment and faithful to pay reward" are seemingly two <b>separate</b> explanations of "I am the L‑rd

(your God)

And it is proven from this that in several places¹⁵

where Rashi explains

(on "I am the L‑rd")

"Faithful to pay reward" or "Faithful to exact payment"

(and the like)

he says <b>not</b> the introduction "Know Who decrees upon you"; and so conversely,

in several places Rashi explains "I am the L‑rd" — "I decreed upon you, you are not permitted to exempt yourselves"¹⁶,

"Know Who decreed upon the matter and let it not be light in your eyes"¹⁷,

and he does not add "Faithful to pay reward"

(and the like).

From where does Rashi take

that "I am the L‑rd your God" <b>in our context</b> means <b>both</b> matters¹⁸

— "Know who decrees upon you" and "He is ready to exact payment and faithful to pay reward"¹⁹?

So the explanation in this: by the portion of forbidden relations one finds a special thing,

that before the Torah begins to explain the details of the prohibitions,

there stands a general introduction,

and which consists of several several matters²⁰

: "Like the deed of the land of Egypt etc. the land of Canaan etc. you shall not do etc. My judgments you shall do etc. and you shall keep My statutes etc."

And the opening of the general introduction is — "And the L-rd spoke etc. speak to the children of Israel etc. I am the L-rd your G-d."

The reason why the Torah gives such a general and lengthy and extensive introduction to the section of forbidden relations is understood simply: forbidden relations are indeed a matter that "a person's soul craves them"²¹,

And to such an extent,

that even after all these warnings,

(as Rashi brings down,

as above)

"their end is to break away into forbidden relations."

Therefore, words of encouragement and multiple warnings are required to ensure that one be careful in this,

to withstand the test.

Since the "I am the Lord your God" stands in the <b>opening</b> of the general introduction,

therefore it is logical,

that this is a matter

(and encouragement)

<b>general</b>.

And this is the reason why the <b>first</b> explanation of Rashi on "I am the Lord your God"

(— in the <b>opening</b>)

is: "You have accepted My kingship upon yourselves; from now on accept My decrees,"

a matter of the utmost

General — acceptance of the yoke of commandments

(decrees²²).

And in order to explain,

as well as according to the <b>second </b>interpretation

(not

(only)

upon acceptance of decrees in general,

but)

<b>mainly </b>upon the matter of <b>forbidden relations</b>]

"I am the Lord your God" is a <b>general </b>matter

(which is why it is at the <b>opening of </b>the portion),

Rashi explains,

that the phrase "I am the Lord your God" which stands <b>here </b>includes <b>several </b>details — each word alludes to a separate warning²³

: "I — the One who decrees upon you"; "the Lord — faithful to pay reward"; "your God — judge to exact punishment";

That these three matters include <b>all </b>the modes

(general principles²⁴)

Through which one can affect a person to master the desires about which it speaks in the parshah

(Although they are strong desires,

as above).

3.

Wanting to restrain a Jew from a very great desire,

One must first of all tell him — "He who decrees upon you": He must know and remember,

That this is a decree from the Most High,

The Creator of the world and its Leader,

And therefore it is impossible that by indulging the desire <b>contrary </b>to the will of the Creator,

It should be good for him.

But one can try to convince oneself: he does not care that "her end is bitter as wormwood"²⁵,

as long as he will <b>for now</b> have enjoyment from the lust.

To this comes the second warning — "your <b>lehefera</b>": for transgressing the will of G-d one receives afterwards not merely a punishment,

but in a manner of perversion

(your <b>lehefera</b>)

: the Almighty gives a punishment which is <b>a perversion</b>,

He "turns around",

the entire enjoyment that he had from the transgression is nullified — so,

that there remains with him <b>nothing</b>,

only pain etc.

According to this a question arises — why did G-d do thus?

Why did the Almighty create him with such a strong lust,

which he cannot withstand?

One says to him

(a third matter)

— "and faithful to pay reward": the Almighty wants to give a Jew <b>reward</b>,

and therefore one places before him a trial,

so that he should withstand the trial and thereby receive reward; and the harder the service is to withstand the trial — the more reward he will receive.

4.

When one comes to the conclusion of the sedra,

one sees that the Torah repeats several admonitions regarding illicit relations — "Do not defile yourselves with any of these, etc., and you shall keep My statutes, etc."²⁶

; and also — that by transgressing illicit relations various punishments come — "and the land will not vomit you out, etc., and those souls will be cut off, etc."²⁷.

And only afterwards comes the final verse: "And you shall keep My charge, not to

do the abominable statutes, etc., and do not defile yourselves with them; I am the L-rd your G-d."

Is it not for the conclusion "I am the Lord your God" one would have learned,

that what the Torah repeats warnings etc. "And you shall keep My charge etc. and you shall not defile yourselves through them" is

by the prohibition of eating creeping things etc.,

that this is]

"to transgress through them many prohibitions" — the same prohibition multiple times.

Since however that along with this is also repeated "I am the Lord your God" — in which there is no relevance to say "many" — this compels to say,

that the entire continuation of the conclusion is

(not "to transgress etc. many",

but)

a conclusion similar to the opening²⁹

: just as the section of forbidden relations begins with a general introduction and exhortation — "I am the Lord your God,

like the practice of the land of Egypt etc. you shall do My judgments etc. and you shall keep My statutes etc.",

so too is the conclusion of the section with a similar general exhortation: "And you shall keep etc. I am the Lord your God".

In what consists, however, the action and advantage of this zealousness at the end of the portion regarding the zealousness at its beginning?

On this Rashi says: "ולא תטמאו בהם אני ה׳ אלקיכם — for if you become impure I am not your God": the novelty here consists in the &lt;b&gt;negation&lt;/b&gt; — "if you become impure I am not your God",

The novelty at the conclusion,

regarding the previous zealousness

(and therefore it comes

Finally,

at the conclusion of the portion)

: the "I am the Lord your God" at the beginning of the portion is matters of "obligation" — the Almighty decrees decrees upon Jews,

and in both lines: "a judge to exact punishment and faithful to pay reward".

When there is someone,

upon whom all these three details mentioned above do not work — he indeed knows who decrees and that he will "pay" for it

("a judge to exact punishment")

and he will lose the reward,

but the desire is so strong with him,

that he cannot withstand the temptation —

If Torah adds,

at the conclusion of the portion,

another way how to effect

(also)

upon him — by informing that "If you defile &lt;b&gt;I am not your God&lt;/b&gt;": this touches the connection of a Jew with the Most High.

And as one sees tangibly,

that when a Jew hears such words

("I am not your God")

he becomes agitated etc. and he cannot bear it

(as the well-known saying&lt;sup&gt;30&lt;/sup&gt;

: a Jew neither wants nor can he be torn away from Godliness).

6.

According to the above one will also understand why Rashi specifies and adds the three details — "And you are disqualified from after Me and what benefit do I have in you and you become liable for destruction":

Since the content

(warning and urging)

of “I am the Lord your God” at the end of the series is parallel to the matter of “I am the Lord your God” at the beginning of the portion of illicit relations — and the difference is only that earlier it is in “positive obligation” and at the end — in “negative prohibition” — it is understood,

that just as “I am the Lord your God”

at the beginning of the portion includes three details — each word a separate detail

(as above at length),

so too regarding “I am the Lord your God” at the end of the series,

that they include the <b>same</b> three details,

only in the manner of “negative prohibition”:

The "Ani" at the beginning of the parshah means — "Who decrees upon you",

which shows,

as above,

how the Almighty "occupies" Himself with Jews as His people upon whom He issues decrees — corresponding to this, at the end of the parshah comes the negative side of the same matter: "You are disqualified from after Me"

(and it can be said also from the term "Pesal lecha"³¹

— to hew out and separate)

Corresponding to the matter of "Hashem — faithful to pay reward" at the beginning of the parshah

(which the payment of reward shows,

that with the Almighty there is nachas ruach before Him³²

— He has <b>pleasure</b> from the service of the children of Israel)

— comes the matter of "And what pleasure do I have in you"

(negation of pleasure)

And parallel to the matter "your G-d — He is exacting to punish"

(at the beginning of the parshah),

which since the Almighty occupies Himself with a Jew to punish him,

it indicates the close connection and affection between them³³

(and especially according to the known³⁴

that the punishments in the Torah are for the benefit of man)

— at the conclusion it warns "you

are liable, G-d forbid": one loses the connection with the Almighty,

which is He, your life³⁵,

and consequently a matter of <b>G-d forbid</b> meaning³⁶.

And according to the above it is also understood what Rashi concludes "therefore it is said I am Hashem your G-d" — with this Rashi wants to clarify,

that that which he says the three details,

is because they are connected

(as above,

in a negative manner)

with the three expressions in the verse: I am Hashem your G-d.

7.

In the manner of Chassidus it is to explain the connection of the three details mentioned above to the three expressions "I am Hashem your G-d"

(in a different manner from the above)

"I" — His Essence and Being, may He be blessed&lt;sup&gt;37&lt;/sup&gt;

— is higher than the coming-into-being of the worlds.

As the well-known statement&lt;sup&gt;38&lt;/sup&gt;

: "This is not the essence of Divinity, that from which the worlds come into being."

Nevertheless, also "I" becomes drawn down into the world,

which is through the service of Torah and commandments

The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have for Himself, may He be blessed, a &lt;b&gt;dwelling &lt;/b&gt;in the lower realms,

that through Torah and commandments Jews make the world into a &lt;b&gt;dwelling &lt;/b&gt;for His Essence and Being, may He be blessed

(exactly as in a person's dwelling,

"the person's essence dwells in the dwelling"&lt;sup&gt;40&lt;/sup&gt;)].

"Havayah" is from the term "what makes"⁴¹

And "Elohei⁴²chem" — your power and vitality⁴²

— until — the power of the active in the passive,

the level of Divinity that enclothes itself in the created being.

And after this Rashi says "if you become impure I am not your God",

and this expresses itself in all three matters:

The first matter

(Continuing to "I am not your God"⁴³)

is,

that "you are disqualified from 'Acharei'": "Acharei" — aspect of Achoraim — is the name Elokim,

and Jews become "disqualified"

(cut off)

from the power of the active in the passive,

the name Elokim.

Afterwards — "ומה הנאה יש לי בכם": The service of Jews causes pleasure above — "&lt;b&gt;נתאוה &lt;/b&gt;הקב"ה להיות לו ית׳ דירה בתחתונים",

which is the pleasure of the Essence

("אני")

of the service of Torah and mitzvos; is "אם תטמאו — מה הנאה יש לי בכם".

And afterwards "ואתם מתחייבים כלי׳": Not only is there the negation of the power of the actor in the acted-upon,

but the negation becomes from the aspect of Havayah — the totality of the matter of coming-into-being — and consequently: "אתם מתחייבים &lt;b&gt;כלי׳&lt;/b&gt;".

After this, Rashi however concludes: "Therefore it is said, 'I am the Lord your God':"

The intention of these warnings is

(Not that there should be, heaven forbid, such a situation,

but)

that there should be the <b>obligation</b>⁴⁴

— "I am the Lord

your God".

And therefore,

even though the novelty in the warning here

(regarding the beginning of the portion)

is the <b>negation</b> — "for if you defile [yourselves] <b>I am not</b> your God",

it says however in the verse "I am the Lord your God",

because the purpose is,

that it should be "I am the Lord

your God": it should be the "delight ..

in you",

and consequently "I — the Lord your God" becomes: His Essence and Being, blessed be He, is drawn into Jews in an inwardness,

until the "I" becomes "

(the Lord)

your God" — your wisdom and your life — of every Jew.

(From the talk of Shabbos Parshas Acharei 5725)