When He Swore Unto Isaac Sojourn in This Land

"And it shall be when the LORD brings you to the land" (Exodus 13:5): of five nations, which are really seven. "As He swore" (Exodus 13:5). And where did He swear? To Abraham: "On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: To your seed..." (Genesis 15:18). To Isaac: "Sojourn in this land, for to you and to your seed..." (Genesis 26:3). To Jacob: "the land on which you lie, to you I will give it" (Genesis 28:13). "And you shall perform this service" (Exodus 13:5). Just as the service that you performed in Egypt, so do it for the generations. And to us, where did He swear? "And I will bring you to the land concerning which I lifted up My hand" (Exodus 6:8). "To the land of the Canaanite" (Exodus 13:5). Why did Canaan merit that the land be called by his name? Because when he heard that Israel were coming, he cleared out the place. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: You cleared out the place; the land shall be called by your name, and I will give you a land as beautiful as your land. And which is it? This is Africa. "And He gives it to you" (Exodus 13:11): so that you should not say, I inherited it from my fathers. "And you shall set apart (ve-ha'avarta) every opener of the womb to the LORD" (Exodus 13:12). The word "ha'avarah" means nothing other than setting apart. And so you find with inheritances: "And you shall transfer (ve-ha'avartem) his inheritance to his daughter" (Numbers 27:8). Shimon ben Azzai says: What does Scripture teach by saying "and you shall set apart"? Because it says: "whatever passes under the rod" (Leviticus 27:32), I might understand that even an orphaned animal is included. "Service" is stated here (Numbers 18:21). Just as there holiness does not take effect upon it except during its mother's lifetime, so too the "service" stated here, holiness does not take effect upon it except during its mother's lifetime. If so, just as here males, so too there males? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "whatever passes under the rod," including both males and females. "And every firstling that an animal casts (sheger)" [understood as: that its mother sends forth prematurely]: it shall be exempt from the firstborn law, and the one that comes after it is not a firstborn. "That shall be to you" (Exodus 13:12): excluding one who sells the fetus of his animal to a gentile. And as for one who buys the fetus of an animal from a gentile, one might think he would be obligated? Scripture therefore teaches, saying: "that is born among your cattle and your flock" (Deuteronomy 15:19). "The males shall be to the LORD." Rabbi Yose said: from here you learn that if a ewe that had not yet borne a firstborn gave birth and bore two males, and their heads came out together, both belong to the priest, as it is said: "the males shall be to the LORD" (Exodus 13:12). "And every firstling of a donkey you shall redeem with a lamb" (Exodus 13:13): and not with a calf, nor with a wild animal, nor with a slaughtered one, nor with a mixed breed, nor with a koy. The firstling of a donkey you redeem, but not other unclean beasts. And what is the meaning of "you shall surely redeem" (Numbers 18:15)? "Redeem" refers to the firstling of a donkey alone; "you shall redeem" teaches that one may consecrate an unclean beast for the maintenance of the Temple and redeem it from the consecration for Temple maintenance. "And if you do not redeem it, you shall break its neck" (Exodus 13:13). We learn that the commandment of redemption takes precedence over the commandment of breaking the neck. And why does one break its neck? The Holy One, blessed be He, said: You destroyed the property of a priest; break its neck, and let your own property be destroyed, and you shall not derive benefit from it. And from where do we know that it is forbidden to derive benefit from it? "Breaking of the neck" is stated here, and "breaking of the neck" is stated regarding the heifer, as it is written: "And they shall break the heifer's neck there" (Deuteronomy 21:4). Just as the heifer whose neck is broken is forbidden for benefit, so too this is forbidden for benefit. "And every firstborn of man." "Among your sons you shall redeem" (Exodus 13:13): a general statement. "At your valuation, five shekels of silver" (Numbers 18:16): a specification. There is in the general statement only what is in the specification. It then repeated and stated a general principle: "and every firstborn of man you shall redeem" (Exodus 13:13). A general statement, a specification, and a general statement: you may deduce only something similar to the specification. Just as the specification is explicitly a movable item, namely property that has no security in land, so too anything is a movable item, namely property that has no security in land. From here they said: with anything one redeems firstborn sons, except for slaves, deeds, and lands, which are property that has security in land. "Every firstborn of your sons." If a man had five wives, all of them virgins, and they bore firstborn males, he is obligated to redeem them. The Merciful One said "opener of the womb": they are firstborn for the priest but not for inheritance. And why did Scripture need to say "every firstborn of your sons you shall redeem" (Exodus 13:13)? To say that if his father did not redeem him, he is obligated to redeem himself. And from here you learn that a man is obligated to teach his sons Torah. If his father did not teach him, he is obligated to teach himself, by an inference from minor to major, from redemption.