Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Torah

KEEP THE MONTH OF AVIV. The commandment of the festivals [mentioned here] is explanatory, for He has already mentioned it. Now, in the Book of Leviticus He mentioned with reference to the festivals, And ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal, but here he did not mention them [the offerings] at all. Instead he commanded Israel to ascend on their account [to celebrate the festivals] to the place which He will choose, and rejoice before Him. For just as he commanded that one bring the Second Tithe before G-d, and also the firstling,, 15:19. and eat them there in the place that G-d will choose, he added [here] to make it clear that they will all be further obligated to come before G-d and celebrate before Him on three festivals and rejoice with the peace-offerings that they will offer before Him. Now he did not mention the times of the Festivals of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles on which dates they occur, but he briefly mentioned their months, for He had already stated everything there.

AND THOU SHALT SACRIFICE THE PASSOVER-OFFERING UNTO THE ETERNAL THY G-D THE FLOCK AND THE HERD. Its purport by way of the plain meaning of Scripture is similar to the expressions: the ox, the sheep, and the goats [which means: “the ox, ‘and’ the sheep … “]; Reuben, Simeon, Levi [which means: “Reuben, ‘and’ Simeon, ‘and’ Levi”], And here it means: “and thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering unto the Eternal thy G-d, ‘and’ the flock and the herd [thou shalt bring for the Festal-offering,” as will be explained]. Therefore, [because the flock and the herd are not used for the Passover-offering], he does not say “and thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering unto the Eternal thy G-d, ‘of’ the flock and ‘of’ the herd,” as He says in all places: ye shall bring your offering ‘of’ the cattle, ‘of’ the herd, or ‘of’ the flock; and if his offering be ‘of’ the flock;, Verse 10. if he offer ‘of’ the herd., 3:1. But here he commands concerning the Passover-offering, which is the sheep as He has previously mentioned; and sheep and herd, rams and goats and calves, to celebrate the Festal-offering on that day, just as he commanded concerning the Festivals of Weeks and Tabernacles, saying, And thou shalt keep the Festival of Weeks unto the Eternal thy G-d after the measure of the freewill offering of thy hand, meaning that he shall bring herd and sheep as peace-offerings in accordance with his means. So also he said with reference to Tabernacles, Seven days shalt thou keep a feast unto the Eternal thy G-d etc.,, Verse 15. and at the end he included all three [festivals] together., Verse 16. Similar to this [where the connecting letter vav — “and” is missing] is the verse: In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, ye shall have the Passover; a feast of seven days, unleavened bread shall be eaten, which means “‘and’ a feast of seven days.” We find this also in the Passover celebrated by King Josiah where it says, of the flock, lambs, and kids, all of them for the Passover-offerings … and three thousand bullocks, and afterwards it says, And they roasted the Passover [-offering] with fire according to the ordinance, and the holy offerings they boiled in pots, and in cauldrons, and in pans, and carried them quickly to all the children of the people., Verse 13. Thus Scripture explained there that the lambs and kids were all for the Passover-offerings, not the goats themselves [that were older than a year] nor the herd, as it is written, Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year; ye shall take it from the sheep or from the goats. And Scripture explains that the herd that he mentioned were three thousand, and they were holy offerings which were boiled in pots to be carried quickly to the people to eat their fill, as our Rabbis have received by tradition concerning the Festal-offering. And Onkelos connected here [in the verse before us] the word flock with the Passover-offering [for he translated as follows: “and thou shalt sacrifice the Passover-offering from the young lambs, and holy offerings from the herd”]. But in that case the vav in the word u’bakar (“and” the herd) does not connect itself well [with the word tzon — “flock,” since the connecting letter, vav, indicates that the herd and the flock were used for the same offerings, while Onkelos says that the flock was for the Passover-offering and the herd was for other types of offerings.] in the word u’bakar (‘and’ the herd). Moreover, the flock is not valid for the Passover-offering, [but only males less than a year old, so it is not correct to explain as Onkelos did that the flock was used for the Passover-offering]. The correct explanation is what we have said. Now he explained here many things. Thus he mentioned concerning the unleavened bread that it be bread of affliction, teaching that he commanded to remember that they left [Egypt] in haste, and this [bread of] affliction is a remembrance that they were living in Egypt with sparing bread and scant water. Thus he alludes to two things [that they eat unleavened bread in order to remember that they went out in haste and there was no time for their dough to rise, and that they remember that they ate there “bread of affliction”]. And thus the Rabbis also said [in the Passover Hagadah]: “This is the bread of affliction that our fathers ate in the land of Egypt.” Or it may be that he is saying that the unleavened bread be made like bread of poverty [flour and water] and not like rich bread [kneaded with wine, oil or honey] as our Rabbis stated. And he also explained in the commandment pertaining to leaven that it shall not ‘be seen’ with thee in ‘all thy borders’ [seven days], for at first He said, [seven days] shall there be no leaven “‘found’ in your houses. ”, 13:7 where it already states, Neither shall there be leaven seen with thee in all thy borders! But Ramban’s point is that here it adds seven days to the earlier prohibition of leaven not being “seen” in all “the borders,” thus making it parallel to the prohibition of leaven not being “found” in “the houses” where, in Exodus, it states seven days. See my Hebrew commentary p. 415.

NEITHER SHALL ANY OF THE FLESH, WHICH ‘TIZBACH’ (THOU SACRIFICEST). THE FIRST DAY AT EVEN, REMAIN ALL NIGHT UNTIL THE MORNING. The meaning thereof is that you are not to leave overnight until morning any of the meat [i.e., the Passover-offering] with which you celebrated the festival is not understood by Ramban in its general sense as “that which you slaughtered” or “sacrificed,” but as “that which you have eaten in celebration of the festival.” The reason for this interpretation will be clarified further in the text. on the evening of the first of the seven days mentioned. This [time of the celebration] was the night, as he stated, the Eternal thy G-d brought thee forth out of Egypt at night. [The word tizbach cannot mean “which thou slaughterest” or “sacrificest”] because he did not mention in this section the fourteenth day [of Nisan] and the slaughtering of the Passover-offering at all [which took place on the afternoon of the fourteenth]. Instead he mentioned the observance of the Passover at night, that is to say, the eating of the Passover-offering and the unleavened bread with it. The reason for [not mentioning the slaughter] is that the slaughtering of the Passover-offering and the burning of its sacrificial portion on the fourteenth day of Nisan are part of the commandment of the offerings, and these have already been mentioned in the law of the offerings; he did not repeat it here just as he did not restate the laws of the rest of the offerings. Neither did he mention here that [special] offerings are brought on the three festivals [because these relate to the laws of offerings], but he did mention to Israel [the laws] concerning the eating of the Passover-offering and the unleavened bread. So also, there ‘tizbach’ the Passover-offering at even, at the going down of the sun means: “there you shall observe the feast of the Passover-offering at night, at the going down of the sun, for it is to be ‘eaten’ at night.” And he stated by way of explanation, And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which the Eternal thy G-d shall choose; and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents. I have already explained this in the section of This month shall be unto you the beginning of months. It is also possible that we explain [the verse before us], Neither shall any of the flesh, which ‘tizbach’ the first day at ‘erev’ remain until the morning as meaning: “of the flesh which you slaughtered at erev (the afternoon),” this being the afternoon preceding the morning [mentioned in the verse, i.e., the morning of the fifteenth day] which is thus the [afternoon of the] fourteenth day of Nisan. And he states, there ‘tizbach’ (thou shalt sacrifice) the Passover-offering ba’erev [on the afternoon of the fourteenth day], for at the going down of the sun, at the season thou comest forth out of Egypt — then thou shalt roast and eat it.] refers to the time of eating the Passover-offering, which begins at nightfall. See Vol. II, p. 125, where Ramban’s first interpretation of the verses before us is identical with his second one here. He mentions just u’bishalta [which literally means “and thou shalt boil” or “seethe” — a cooking process forbidden on the Passover-offering], since He has already explained there that it be prepared roast with fire and not boiled at all in water. If so, the expression here u’bishalta means “and you shall cook it on fire according to the ordinance.”

Now he said, And on the seventh day [of Passover] shall be a solemn assembly to the Eternal thy G-d; thou shalt do no work therein. But he did not mention the prohibition of work on the first day [of Passover]; he likewise did not state such a prohibition for the Festival of Weeks, nor for Tabernacles, nor did he mention the commandment of the palm-branch [on the Festival of Tabernacles] and he likewise did not mention here the Day of Remembrance [i.e., the New Year] and the tenth of that month [i.e., the Day of Atonement] — the reason, as I have explained, is that now he came to mention only the [commandment to make an] appearance [in the Sanctuary] and the [commandment of] festivity, for all Israelites are obligated to make a pilgrimage on these three festivals to the place which G-d shall choose and celebrate there every man as he is able, according to the blessing of G-d which He hath given him, to rejoice before Him, to thank for all the good which He hath bestowed on us according to his compassions, and according to the multitude of His mercies. He [Moses] added, and on the seventh day shall be a solemn assembly meaning: Six days thou shalt eat unleavened bread and in addition to them is a solemn assembly on the seventh day, the purport being that they be further detained before Him to eat the unleavened bread. And because he said that [the seventh day] is Atzereth it might possibly mean that they be “restrained” only for the eating of the unleavened bread as on the [six] preceding days, therefore it was necessary to admonish [also in the same verse] that you are not to do work therein. Similarly He said with reference to the eighth day of the Festival of Tabernacles in the section on the festivals in the Book of Leviticus, Seven days ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal; it is a solemn assembly; ye shall do no manner of servile work, meaning that [the eighth day] is restrained in addition to the first [seven] days with respect to the bringing of a fire-offering, and it has a further prohibition against [doing therein any manner of] servile work, [a prohibition shared only by the first day of Tabernacles, but not by any of the intermediate days]. And by way of the Truth, [the mystic teachings of the Cabala, the verse stating that the seventh day of Passover] Atzereth is “the congregation of Israel,” and the verse comes to teach us the secret of the day. But it is not like Atzereth of the eighth day of Tabernacles, for the eighth day is a separate festival and the offering brought then, is for the congregation of Israel, but it is unlike the offerings brought on the seven days [of the Tabernacles]. The seventh day of Passover, however, is part of the Festival [of Passover] and it is Atzereth, for, sometimes it is counted as the eighth (crown). See L’vush Ha’orah to Ricanti here. and sometimes it is included [as part of the seven]. Thus it is like the Sabbath in which there is the [commandment to] remember and [the commandment to] observe, the honor for the day and honor for the night. [Thus the offering on the seventh day of Passover is part of the festival], and therefore he said here, a solemn assembly to the Eternal thy G-d, while there [with reference to the eighth day of Tabernacles] it is said, and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto the Eternal; it is a solemn assembly, meaning that the offering is the Atzereth and therefore “the meal” is small. The student learned in the mystic teachings of Cabala will understand. He [Moses] did not mention here the eighth day of the Festival of Tabernacles, because it has already been mentioned, and [because] there is no obligation that we go up in pilgrimage to the Sanctuary another time [in honor of the eighth day].

FROM THE TIME THE SICKLE IS FIRST PUT TO THE STANDING CORN. The meaning thereof is “from the time you begin to put the sickle to the standing corn,” seeing that He has already mentioned when we are to begin to raise the sickle upon the standing corn in bringing the omer [a measure of the new barley brought as a meal-offering on the second day of Passover] which is the first-fruit of our harvest. and the Midrash [of this verse] is: 316. “It teaches that the omer be reaped only with a sickle.”

He mentions here [that you are to rejoice] in the place which the Eternal thy G-d shall choose to cause His Name to dwell there, and likewise he said, Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Eternal thy G-d in the place which He shall choose. Now, I do not know whether this is to state that after the Sanctuary will be built we should not assemble to bring the festival-offerings except in that place which G-d has chosen, similar to what he said, Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover-offering within any of thy gates, etc. or that he is explaining here that they are not obligated to go up in pilgrimage on the festivals until such time as G-d will have chosen the place to dwell there.

AND THOU SHALT REMEMBER THAT THOU WAST A BONDMAN IN EGYPT. Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] said that this phrase is connected with the expression and thy manservant, and thy maidservant [mentioned in the first part of the preceding verse]. The correct interpretation is according to the plain meaning thereof, that you are to observe these statutes which the Lord Who redeemed thee out of the house of bondage commanded you. We also proclaim in the Kiddush of that [festival] day, “It is a memorial of the exodus from Egypt.” He stated these statutes with reference to the Festival of Weeks [an expression not used with reference to the other festivals] because the reason for the counting of seven weeks, and the observing of only the fiftieth day as the only solemn assembly is not mentioned in the Torah [and hence they are accounted as chukim — “statutes,” commandments for which we do not know the reasons, and therefore he warned us to observe and do these statutes]. I have already mentioned their secret. Shoftim

JUDGES ‘V’SHOTRIM’ SHALT THOU MAKE THEE IN ALL THY GATES WHICH THE ETERNAL THY G-D GIVETH THEE. He has commanded in the Torah, the word of both parties shall come before ha’elohim (the judges); indicates that “the judges” had received ordination. and he shall pay as the judges determine., 21:22. If so, He commanded [by implication] that Israel is to have judges, and here he [Moses] explained that they are to appoint judges in all their cities when G-d will give them the Land. For outside of the Land they are not required to appoint a court for themselves; rather, when an aggrieved party complains, people qualified to judge are to arise for him and according to their ordinances shall they judge it. Or the parties are to go up to the Land in the proper time [i.e., when there are courts of ordained judges functioning in the Land of Israel], and there, they will adjudicate it in the place of righteousness. He added here [that it is obligatory to appoint] shotrim, who are the ones that execute the judgment. Accordingly, Israelites living outside of the Land are not commanded to appoint for themselves judges in the cities. And so wrote Harav Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon. 1:2. But in Tractate Makkoth the Rabbis have taught: “And these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. This teaches that the laws of Sanhedrin are binding both within and without the Land. If so, why is it stated Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates? In the Land you are to appoint [judges] in every district and in every city; outside the Land you are to appoint [judges] in every district, but you are not obligated to do so in every city.” From this text it would appear that we are required to appoint a Sanhedrin outside the Land — not in every city as in the Land of Israel, but in every district. If so, this commandment is binding at all times in civil cases and in matters that may be adjudicated outside the Land. Nowadays, however, that ordination has ceased, Sages in the Land of Israel would agree to reinstitute ordination, they are empowered to do so (Mishneh Torah, Shoftim, Hilchoth Sanhedrin 4:11). Such an attempt was made by Rabbi Yaakov Beirav of Safed in the middle of the sixteenth century in the days of Rabbi Yoseph Karo, author of the Shulchan Aruch. The attempt failed for various reasons, one of them being that Rambam concluded his statement with the equivocal phrase “and the matter needs yet a final decision.” since, according to Torah-law, all judicial functions are void — for it is written, “[And these are the ordinances which thou shalt set] before them, and not before commoners ” and we [not being ordained,] are commoners, and would not be empowered to adjudicate outside the Land except for the Rabbinical ordinance that we “carry out the commission of the former ones [who had received ordination]” (marriage contract), inheritance, damages, etc. But matters not of common occurrence [such as one animal damaging another] or not involving a monetary loss [such as the additional amount levied as a fine upon returning stolen goods] are not enforceable. See Choshen Mishpat, I, for further clarification of this principle. — we are not at all bound, according to Torah-law, by the commandment to appoint judges.
THROUGHOUT THY TRIBES. “This refers to the expression [at the beginning of the verse] shalt thou make thee. This teaches that courts are to be set up in each and every tribe, and in each and every city.” This is Rashi’s language, and so it is also stated in Tractate Sanhedrin. But I know not the meaning of this text, for, since we have appointed courts in each and every city, there are many courts in every tribe [thus making it redundant to specify “throughout thy tribes”]! Perhaps the intent of the verse is to state that if there is a city belonging to two tribes, such as Jerusalem in which there is a share for [the tribe of] Judah and [for the tribe of] Benjamin, that we are to seat two courts therein. And so the Rabbis concluded in Chapter Cheilek that they may divide one city among two tribes, and so, indeed, was Jerusalem shared by Judah and Benjamin. And it is possible to explain that Scripture obligated [the nation] to appoint a court [exercising authority] over the whole tribe and it is to judge all [its people], and then we are to appoint a court for each and every city that is to judge that [particular] city. Now, although all these courts were alike in number of judges, consisting of twenty-three in criminal cases and three in civil cases, [people] most superior in wisdom among them were appointed over the whole tribe, while those inferior to them [were designated for the courts] of each and every city. Parties to a suit could force one another to adjudicate only before the court in their city, not before the court of another city. Even if both parties happened to be in another city one could still say, “Let us go before the court of our own city.” But the [supreme] court of the tribe could force any of the people of that tribe to stand trial before it. And even if the litigants are in their own city one can still say, “I want to go to the Great Court of the tribe.” Similarly, if the courts of the cities are in doubt [concerning the law], they are to come before the Great Court of the tribe and request [its decision]. Thus just as a Great Sanhedrin [of seventy-one judges] was appointed over all courts of all Israel, so one [supreme] court was to be appointed over each and every tribe. And if [the judges of that court] found it necessary to ordain or decree any matter for their own tribe, they were empowered to so decree and ordain and, to that tribe, their word was equivalent to the decree of the Great Sanhedrin over all Israel. This is “the court” mentioned in Tractate Horayoth wherein we are taught, “If the court of one of the tribes rendered a decision [that was unwittingly contrary to a negative commandment, punishable by excision] and that tribe acted according to their word, that tribe is obligated [to bring the prescribed offering], but the rest of the tribes are not liable.” And by way of the plain meaning of Scripture the sense of the verse is [to be inverted as follows]: “Judges and officers shalt thou make thee throughout all thy tribes in all thy gates,” the verse stating that they are to appoint judges over their tribes, and they are to judge in all their gates. Thus the judges of the tribe are to judge in all its cities.

JUSTICE, JUSTICE SHALT THOU PURSUE. “Go to seek a reliable court. THAT THOU MAYEST LIVE, AND INHERIT THE LAND. The appointment of qualified judges is of sufficient [importance] to sustain Israel and to settle them upon their Land.” This is Rashi’s language quoting from the Sifre. 144. The reason for the repetition [of the word “justice”] is to indicate that the judges should judge the people with righteous judgment, and you must also pursue justice constantly by going from your place to the place of the great Sages: “after Rabban Yochanan ben Zaccai to Jabneh; after Rabbi [Yehudah Hanasi] to Beth Shearim.” And Rabbi Abraham [ibn Ezra] commented: “Justice, justice. It is mentioned twice in order to indicate that one should pursue justice whether it would be to his advantage or loss. Or [it may be mentioned] one time after another for emphasis.” But in the Midrash of Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah the Rabbis interpreted it by way of a secret. They said: “Justice — this is His attribute of justice in the world, as it is said, Justice, justice shalt thou pursue. After that it is written, that thou mayest live, and inherit the Land. If you will judge yourself [knowing whence you came, and whither you are going, and before Whom you are about to give account and reckoning] you will live. If not, He will judge you and affirm [His judgment over you] against your will. And why is justice mentioned twice? Because it is written, from the brightness before Him.. The two terms brightness and fire thus refer to these two aspects of justice (Abusaula). The first justice refers to actual justice, this being the Divine Glory, as it is written, righteousness lodges in her. And what is the second justice? It is that which frightens the righteous” [making them fearful that perhaps they do not merit the World to Come]. And there [in that Midrash] it is further explained: “Justice is the helmet of salvation upon His head. The ‘head’ denotes only truth, as it is said, The beginning of Thy word is truth, and ‘truth’ is peace, as it is said, Is it not so, if peace and truth shall be in my days? etc.” If so, Scripture is stating here, “You are to judge in your court [to attain] justice, and pursue therein justice and [try to] achieve it, that thou mayest live in the World to Come with the second justice [which alludes to Him] Who is the Higher Justice, this being the great light hidden for the righteous for the Time to Come, and this is also the Might of the Holy One, blessed be He; and thou shalt inherit the Land, the Land of Israel, with the first justice.”

THOU SHALT NOT PLANT THEE AN ASHEIRAH. Any tree planted at the entrance of a house of G-d is called asheirah. Possibly because it ordereth the way aright, G-d is called etc.” Ramban’s further language about the prohibition of planting a tree near the altar of G-d, clearly shows that he is speaking here of a House of G-d. directing people’s “steps” [to worship], it is called [asheirah] from the word ‘ashurai’ (my steps) have held fast to Thy paths., 17:5. Scripture thus admonishes not to plant a tree beside the altar of G-d for beauty and to think that it is an honor and glory to G-d’s altar. He prohibited it because it was a custom of the idolaters to plant trees at the entrances of their idol’s temples, as it is written, further, and throw down the altar of Baal that belongs to thy father, and cut down the asheirah that is by it. Now Rashi wrote: “Thou shalt not plant thee an asheirah. This is intended to make one liable [to punishment] from the very moment of planting; and even if he does not worship it, he transgresses a negative commandment for planting it. And thou shalt not plant any kind of tree beside the altar of the Eternal thy G-d. This is an admonition against planting [trees] or building a [wooden] house on the Temple mount.” If so, Scripture is stating: “thou shalt not plant thee an asheirah ‘nor’ missing in the word kol (any) which should be v’kol (nor any). Thus, Rashi interprets the verse: we may not plant a tree for an idolatrous purpose anywhere, “nor any” tree, even for beauty’s sake, beside the altar of G-d. Ramban agrees to all that. However, Rashi adds that “building a [wooden] house on the Temple mount” is likewise prohibited; Ramban points out that this is forbidden only by law of the Rabbis. any kind of tree beside the altar of the Eternal.” But building a [wooden] house on the Temple mount is [prohibited by] Rabbinic ordinance based on Scriptural support, for Scripture prohibited only the “planting” — “thou shalt not plant thee an asheirah [prohibiting the planting anywhere of trees intended for idol-worship], nor shalt thou plant thee any tree [for whatever purpose] beside the altar of the Eternal thy G-d.”

NEITHER SHALT THOU SET THEE UP A PILLAR — “a pillar of one stone, even for the purpose of sacrificing to Heaven upon it. WHICH THE ETERNAL THY G-D HATETH. An altar of earth and an altar of stones, Verse 22. has He commanded you to make, but He hates this [one-stone pillar] because it was an ordinance of the Canaanites [for idol-worship]. Although it was pleasing to Him at the time of the patriarchs, He hates it now, because these [Canaanites] have made it an ordinance in the worship of the idols.” This is Rashi’s language. If so, Scripture prohibited [the planting of] an asheirah [anywhere], it enjoined against planting [trees] on the Temple mount although the intent be to Heaven, and it prohibited a pillar [erected] for Heaven — both [prohibitions, against trees and against pillars,] on account of the ordinances of the Canaanites. But I have not understood this ordinance, for the Canaanites used altars as well as pillars since Scripture states, And ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars; for ye shall break down their altars, and dash in pieces their pillars and similarly in all places; [hence all altars should have been prohibited even for the worship of G-d]! Perhaps we may say that the Canaanites were primarily devoted to pillars, and they had no idolatrous temple without a pillar upon which to sacrifice and pour oil upon its top, similar to what is stated with reference to Baal, And they brought forth the pillars that were in the house of Baal. However, only a few of their temples also had altars upon which to sacrifice [hence Scripture did not prohibit altars built to be used for Heaven]. It appears to me that the Canaanites, who were engrossed in idolatry, used to make in all temples of their gods an altar on which to bring sacrifices, erected a large stone at the entrance of the temple for the priests to stand upon, and planted a tree outside it to point the way for those who come there. They still do so to this day. Now the Glorious Name hates and despises all their deeds and He prohibited the pillar and the asheirah. He left only the altar because it is a necessity for the offerings concerning which He commanded. They were a source of pleasure before Him — because He ordained them and His Will was done — even prior to the existence of idol-worship on earth.
WHICH THE ETERNAL THY G-D HATETH. The purport thereof is that he is explaining that G-d had commanded, an altar of earth shalt thou make unto Me, And if thou make Me an altar of stones,, Verse 22. and so, Moses explained, He desires these [altars] excluding the pillar. He hates it because, all their deeds being detestable before Him, He commanded Israel not to copy their deeds. In the days of Jacob, however, the prohibition Neither shall ye walk in their statutes had not yet been ordained and he, therefore, used the pillar in worshipping G-d as was the custom of those who worshipped [the True G-d in the days of Jacob]. This commandment is thus understood as proceeding from the verse, And if thou make Me an altar of stones., Verse 22. But what He said in the Torah, Neither shall ye erect a graven image, or a pillar, 26:1. refers to a graven image and a pillar in order to place the graven image upon the pedestal for idol-worship, for there Scripture is speaking of idol-worship. He says [there], however, Neither shall ye place any figured stone in your Land to bow down unto it, 26:1. — even to Heaven, because he would appear to worship the mosaics themselves, for the same reason that an asheirah [is prohibited], because it is among the [idolatrous] statutes of the peoples. Know that an altar is a high structure of stones having four horns, a base, and a circuit above its base, and offerings are burnt between its horns. A pillar is a single large stone which they raise up upon which to burn [incense] or bring offerings, or for the priests to stand upon. A bamah (a high place) is like a mountain — they make it of assembled earth and, upon it, an altar is built upon which to sacrifice. Everything which is lofty and high is so named: I will ascend above ‘bamathei’ (the heights of) the clouds; upon ‘bamathei’ (the high places of) the earth. The back of a human being is also called bamah, as it is said, upon ‘bamatheimo’ thou shalt tread., 33:29. See in Megillah 16a where this verse is used when Mordecai stepped upon Haman in order to mount the king’s horse. Similarly Scripture states, And the king [Solomon] went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great ‘bamah’ (high place); a thousand burnt-offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. is distinguished from an altar, for, as explained above, an altar was erected on “the high place (bamah).”