LEV1152 Keep the laws of vows of monetary worth. Key concepts: The unique aspect of the human species is the ability to speak. The power of speech is the one part of a human being that works in partnership with the higher worlds, for every other part of us dies. Therefore, if a man sullies this unique aspect of his being, his entire body, in effect, dies. It becomes like a vessel that no one wants. Accordingly, the Torah commands to uphold our words and fulfill whatever we say, especially our promises that involve matters of holiness—e.g. vows to give charity or to bring offerings, or pledges to donate objects or value to the Beis HaMikdash. Regarding all of their verbal promises that we might make in daily life, although in the Torah there is no specific positive or negative command about fulfilling the promises, our Sages command and warn us repeatedly to keep our word.

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LEV1153 If an animal sacrificed for the Altar is switched for another, both animals are sanctified. Hashem wants to instill fear into our hearts regarding all matters of holiness. Accordingly, He commands in His Torah that once an animal is sanctified for the Altar, its holy status becomes fixed forever and one cannot tamper with it. One should not think that he has the power to remove the sanctity and dedicate a different animal instead. If a person transgresses this command and says, “This animal shall be in the place of that one,” his plan backfires and both animals are holy. Since the person tried to annul an animal’s sanctity he winds up causing its sanctity to spread onto another animal. Property that someone dedicates to the Beis HaMikdash but not to the Altar can be redeemed. The item’s monetary value plus one-fifth is given as redemption money; thereby the holiness is that attached to the item when it was dedicated transfers onto the redemption money and the item leaves the possession of the Beis HaMikdash. According to the Rambam, the Torah here reads man's mind and copes with a human foible. Man by nature enjoys accumulating possessions. He becomes very attached to them and does not want to part with them, so if he dedicates some of his property to the Beit HaMikdash, he might regret what he did. He might want to redeem the item so he can have it back, but will not want to pay its full value. For this reason, when one wants to redeem his dedicated object, the Torah requires him to pay the value of the principal plus one-fifth. Similarly, regarding animals dedicated to the Altar, were the Torah to allow us to exchange one animal and dedicate a better one in its place, people would come to switch dedicated animals for worse ones, too. Therefore, the Torah closes the door on the entire possibility.

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LEV1155 Possessions that have been declared “cherem” shall go to the Kohanim. The nation of Israel is the one nation chosen by Hashem to serve Him constantly and acknowledge His Holy Name. Our nation, unlike the others, is not under the influence of stellar forces, for all of our affairs are managed directly by Hashem. He uses no intermediaries, and not angels or stars. Therefore, when our nation faithfully fulfills the Torah and crowns itself with devoted service of the Giver of the Torah, we enjoy abundant blessings from Heaven, peace, prosperity and purity of spirit. Accordingly, in the grips of impatience and irritability, if a Jew utters a curse and cherem on some of his lands or his movable possessions, how can such words serve to transfer the items to another domain? After all, are not one’s possessions under Hashem's blessings? Nevertheless, since the one who declared the ban revealed his desire to disassociate himself from these items and transfer them elsewhere, it is fitting that his will be fulfilled. The items leave his domain, Sanctity falls upon them and they enter the domain of the Master of All.

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LEV1156 Take a yearly tithe of your newborn kosher animals. Hashem made the Jewish nation His Chosen People and wants every member of our nation to occupy himself in Torah, know Him and call in His Name. Realizing, however, that most people are drawn to materialism and will not exert themselves in Torah learning on a constant basis, Hashem gave them a city--Jerusalem--where people do exert themselves in Torah as is fitting. There one finds great Torah luminaries and every visitor takes mussar from what he sees there. Each year when Jews come to Jerusalem to bring the tithe of their newborn animals they see the Sanhedrin, our nation's most illustrious Torah luminaries. The people must come to Jerusalem also to bring the ma’aser sheini of their grain, as well as their fourth year fruits, all of which must be eaten within the city's walls. As a result, the owner of these items finds himself learning Torah in Jerusalem, where he sends one of his sons to learn Torah and subsist upon these food items there. In this way, at least one member of every family in Israel becomes wise in Torah and is able to teach the other members of his family. He is an ever-present source of guidance for them. The Land becomes filled with the knowledge of Hashem, and they find no manner of sin or transgression among them.

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NUM10 The spiritually impure must be sent out from the camp of the Shechinah. Spiritual impurity weakens the power of the intelligent soul, confusing it, as men of wisdom know. Spiritual impurity constitutes a barrier between the soul and our powers of perception. In this vein, our Sages expound the verse (Vayikra 11:43) “ונטמתם בם (v’nitnaisem bam)--and you shall become spiritually impure through them.” Our Sages teach (Yoma 39b), “ונטמתם בם (v’nitamtem bam)-- and you shall become clogged up from them.” That is, the wellsprings of human intelligence become stopped up because of spiritual impurity. It is spiritual force that somehow impairs our thinking. Therefore, in the camp of the Shechinah, a pure and holy place where the Spirit of the Lord is present, the presence of someone sullied by spiritual impurity cannot be tolerated. Regarding kings of flesh and blood, as well, the palace guards chase away all lepers and others who are unsavory in their bodies or dress. Hashem in His Torah warns about this matter several times, to emphasize its seriousness, for Hashem wants only our good. Just as people warn each other repeatedly regarding any matter that is particularly dangerous and harmful, so, too, Hashem warns His people.

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NUM11 Confess sins with true regret. We are commanded to confess before Hashem all our sins, when we feel sincere regretful over them. When a person confesses, he repents and says, “אנא השם חטאתי עויתי ופשעתי כך וכך״--please, Hashem, I have sinned. I have acted corruptly and I have behaved negligently by doing so and so.” That is, the person confessing must verbally specify his sin and ask forgiveness and atonement for it, elaborating on his feelings of regret to the best of his ability. We are obligated to confess all our sins, not only the grave ones. We also must ask forgiveness for the times when we could have fulfilled positive commands but chose not to do so. We also must confess wrongs that we committed against our fellow man, such as derogatory or slanderous speech, theft, robbery, causing physical injury and so forth. In addition, if because we wronged someone we owe him money, we must also pay our debt. Otherwise, that sin will not be forgiven, and it is preferable not to utter confession about it. Key concepts: When someone verbally admits his sins, he shows that he realizes that Hashem is aware of whatever he does and nothing can be hidden from Him. In addition, when we verbally confess our sins, specifying each one and expressing our regret over all of them, we will be more careful about our behavior in the future and will not want to sin again. Our heightened desire to avoid sin will cause us to find favor in the eyes of our Maker, Who wants only good for us and will guide us so that we stay on the correct path.

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NUM20 Observe the laws of the suspect wife. Fortunate is Israel, that they possess a way to rid husbands of their suspicions about their wives, and to clarify the truth. This miraculous procedure is not available to any other nations. Hashem gave this benefit only to the Jewish nation, the nation sanctified with all types of holiness, for only they are worthy of knowledge of this hidden matter. Through this mitzvah, love and peace between a man and his wife increases, and our offspring shall be holy.

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NUM22 Do not put frankincense into the meal offering of the suspect wife. Frankincense enhances an offering for it gives it a pleasant fragrance. It is not fitting to enhance the offering of a woman who has sinned and whose moral worth has been called into question. Also, our Sages teach that righteous and modest wives and mothers of our nation are called לבונה (levonah), “frankincense,” but the suspect wife deviated from this path.

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NUM23 Do not put oil into the meal offering of the suspect wife. Key concepts: The offering of the suspect wife may not be enhanced. Oil is a means for providing light, and her act was done in darkness. Also, since she behaved like an animal, her offering is from barley, the cheapest and most coarse type of grain, which usually is used for animal fodder. The Ramban explains that the husband brings this offering at his expense, for knowing that his wife disobeyed his warning and secluded herself with another man, he wants Hashem to take vengeance upon her. He brings the offering of שעורים (s’orim), barley, because the word שעורים (s’orim) is like סער (s’oar), “storm” or “tempest,” and the Prophet says (Yirmeyahu 23:19), “הִנֵּ֣ה סַעֲרַ֣ת יְהוָ֗ה חֵמָה֙ יָֽצְאָ֔ה וְסַ֖עַר מִתְחֹולֵ֑ל עַ֛ל רֹ֥אשׁ רְשָׁעִ֖ים יָחֽוּל׃ ”--Behold the storm wind of Hashem. Fury has gone forth. It is whirling tempest and shall fall upon the head of the wicked.” The bitter waters are put into an earthenware vessel as a sign of breaking her like earthenware. Earth is mixed into the water as a sign that she should die and return to the dust. As to the prohibition on oil, we can add that when oil is put with other liquids, it always rises to the top. Such a woman, who has acted immorally, must be put to shame and be brought down from her heights. Thus, her offering can contain no oil. Oil is a symbol of wellbeing and excellence, for it is a means of providing light and majesty. Kings and high priests are anointed with it, so this offering must be void of it. In sum, we must realize that when a person perverts his deeds, all his ways will bring him nothing but shame and humiliation. On the other hand, when a person behaves with virtue, Hashem is good to him, and he will have happiness, joy and honor.

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NUM35 A nazir shall not eat grapes. See [[NUM38]] Numbers 6:5 hair CHINUCH 233-234

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