Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Speak to the entire community of Isra’el; tell them, ‘You people are to be holy because I,Adonaiyour God, am holy.

3 “‘Every one of you is to revere his father and mother, and you are to keep myShabbats; I amAdonaiyour God.

4 “‘Do not turn to idols, and do not cast metal gods for yourselves; I amAdonaiyour God.

5 “‘When you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings toAdonai, offer it in a way that will make you accepted.

6 It is to be eaten the same day you offer it and the following day; but if any of it remains until the third day, it is to be burned up completely.

7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it will have become a disgusting thing and will not be accepted;

8 moreover, everyone who eats it will bear the consequences of profaning something holy meant forAdonai— that person will be cut off from his people.

9 “‘When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters.

10 Likewise, don’t gather the grapes left on the vine or fallen on the ground after harvest; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I amAdonaiyour God.

11 “‘Do not steal from, defraud or lie to each other.

12 Do not swear by my name falsely, which would be profaning the name of your God; I amAdonai.

13 Do not oppress or rob your neighbor; specifically, you are not to keep back the wages of a hired worker all night until morning.

14 “‘Do not speak a curse against a deaf person or place an obstacle in the way of a blind person; rather, fear your God; I amAdonai.

(RY: v, LY: ii)

15 “‘Do not be unjust in judging — show neither partiality to the poor nor deference to the mighty, but with justice judge your neighbor.

16 “‘Do not go around spreading slander among your people, but also don’t stand idly by when your neighbor’s life is at stake; I amAdonai.

17 “‘Do not hate your brother in your heart, but rebuke your neighbor frankly, so that you won’t carry sin because of him.

18 Don’t take vengeance on or bear a grudge against any of your people; rather, love your neighbor as yourself; I amAdonai.

19 “‘Observe my regulations.

“‘Don’t let your livestock mate with those of another kind, don’t sow your field with two different kinds of grain, and don’t wear a garment of cloth made with two different kinds of thread.

20 “‘If a man has sexual relations with a woman who is a slave intended for another man, and she has neither been redeemed nor given her freedom, there is to be an investigation. They are not to be put to death, because she was not free.

21 In reparation he is to bring a ram as a guilt offering for himself to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

22 Thecohenwill make atonement for him with the ram of the guilt offering beforeAdonaifor the sin he committed, and he will be forgiven for the sin he committed.

(LY: iii)

23 “‘When you enter the land and plant various kinds of fruit trees, you are to regard its fruit as forbidden — for three years it will be forbidden to you and not eaten.

24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, for praisingAdonai.

25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit, so that it will produce even more for you; I amAdonaiyour God.

26 “‘Do not eat anything with blood. Do not practice divination or fortune-telling.

27 Don’t round your hair at the temples or mar the edges of your beard.

28 Don’t cut gashes in your flesh when someone dies or tattoo yourselves; I amAdonai.

29 “‘Do not debase your daughter by making her a prostitute, so that the land will not fall into prostitution and become full of shame.

30 “‘Keep myShabbats, and revere my sanctuary; I amAdonai.

31 “‘Do not turn to spirit-mediums or sorcerers; don’t seek them out, to be defiled by them; I amAdonaiyour God.

32 “‘Stand up in the presence of a person with gray hair, show respect for the old; you are to fear your God; I amAdonai.

(RY: vi, LY: iv)

33 “‘If a foreigner stays with you in your land, do not do him wrong.

34 Rather, treat the foreigner staying with you like the native-born among you — you are to love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt; I amAdonaiyour God.

35 “‘Don’t be dishonest when measuring length, weight or capacity.

36 Rather, use an honest balance-scale, honest weights, an honest bushel dry-measure and an honest gallon liquid-measure; I amAdonaiyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

37 Observe all my regulations and rulings, and do them; I amAdonai.’”

1 (LY: v)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Say to the people of Isra’el, ‘If someone from the people of Isra’el or one of the foreigners living in Isra’el sacrifices one of his children to Molekh, he must be put to death; the people of the land are to stone him to death.

3 I too will set myself against him and cut him off from his people, because he has sacrificed his child to Molekh, defiling my sanctuary and profaning my holy name.

4 If the people of the land look the other way when that man sacrifices his child to Molekh and fail to put him to death,

5 then I will set myself against him, his family and everyone who follows him to go fornicating after Molekh, and cut them off from their people.

6 “‘The person who turns to spirit-mediums and sorcerers to go fornicating after them — I will set myself against him and cut him off from his people.

7 Therefore consecrate yourselves — you people must be holy, because I amAdonaiyour God.(RY: vii, LY: vi)

8 Observe my regulations, and obey them; I amAdonai, who sets you apart to be holy.

9 “‘A person who curses his father or mother must be put to death; having cursed his father or his mother, his blood is on him.

10 “‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife, that is, with the wife of a fellow countryman, both the adulterer and the adulteress must be put to death.

11 The man who goes to bed with his father’s wife has disgraced his father sexually, and both of them must be put to death; their blood is on them.

12 If a man goes to bed with his daughter-in-law, both of them must be put to death; they have committed a perversion, and their blood is on them.

13 If a man goes to bed with a man as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they must be put to death; their blood is on them.

14 If a man marries a woman and her mother, it is depravity; they are to be put to death by fire, both he and they, so that there will not be depravity among you.

15 If a man has sexual relations with an animal, he must be put to death, and you are to kill the animal.

16 If a woman approaches an animal and has sexual relations with it, you are to kill the woman and the animal; their blood will be on them.

17 If a man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and has sexual relations with her, and she consents, it is a shameful thing; they are to be cut off publicly — he has had sexual relations with his sister, and he will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing.

18 If a man goes to bed with a woman in her menstrual period and has sexual relations with her, he has exposed the source of her blood, and she has exposed the source of her blood; both of them are to be cut off from their people.

19 You are not to have sexual relations with your mother’s sister or your father’s sister; a person who does this has had sexual relations with his close relative; they will bear the consequences of their wrongdoing.

20 If a man goes to bed with his uncle’s wife, he has disgraced his uncle sexually; they will bear the consequences of their sin and die childless.

21 If a man takes his brother’s wife, it is uncleanness; he has disgraced his brother sexually; they will be childless.

22 “‘You are to observe all my regulations and rulings and act on them, so that the land to which I am bringing you will not vomit you out.(LY: vii)

23 Do not live by the regulations of the nation which I am expelling ahead of you; because they did all these things, which is why I detested them.

24 But to you I have said, “You will inherit their land; I will give it to you as a possession, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I amAdonaiyour God, who has set you apart from other peoples.(Maftir)

25 Therefore you are to distinguish between clean and unclean animals and between clean and unclean birds; do not make yourselves detestable with an animal, bird or reptile that I have set apart for you to regard as unclean.

26 Rather, you people are to be holy for me; because I,Adonai, am holy; and I have set you apart from the other peoples, so that you can belong to me.

27 “‘A man or woman who is a spirit-medium or sorcerer must be put to death; they are to stone them to death; their blood will be on them.’”

Haftarah K’doshim: ‘Amos 9:7–15 (A); Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 20:2–20 (S)

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah K’doshim: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:33–37; 5:43–48; 15:1–11; 19:16–30; 22:33–40; Mark 7:1–23; 12:28–34; Luke 10:25–39; Romans 13:8–10; Galatians 5:13–26; Ya‘akov (James) 2:1–9; 1 Kefa (1 Peter) 1:13–21

Parashah 31: Emor (Speak) 21:1–24:23

1 Adonaisaid to Moshe, “Speak to thecohanim, the sons of Aharon; tell them: ‘Nocohenis to make himself unclean for any of his people who dies,

2 except for his close relatives — his mother, father, son, daughter and brother;

3 he may also make himself unclean for his virgin sister who has never married and is therefore dependent on him.

4 He may not make himself unclean, because he is a leader among his people; doing so would profane him.

5 Cohanimare not to make bald spots on their heads, mar the edges of their beards or cut gashes in their flesh.

6 Rather, they are to be holy for their God and not profane the name of their God. For they are the ones who presentAdonaiwith offerings made by fire, the bread of their God; therefore they must be holy.

7 “‘Acohenis not to marry a woman who is a prostitute, who has been profaned or who has been divorced; because he is holy for his God.

8 Rather, you are to set him apart as holy, because he offers the bread of your God; he is to be holy for you, because I,Adonai, who makes you holy, am holy.

9 The daughter of acohenwho profanes herself by prostitution profanes her father; she is to be put to death by fire.

10 “‘Thecohenwho is ranked highest among his brothers, the one on whose head the anointing oil is poured and who is consecrated to put on the garments, is not to stop grooming his hair, tear his clothes,

11 go in to where any dead body is or make himself unclean, even when his father or mother dies.

12 He may not leave the sanctuary then or profane the sanctuary of his God, because the consecration of the anointing oil of his God is on him; I amAdonai.

13 “‘He is to marry a virgin;

14 he may not marry a widow, divorcee, profaned woman or prostitute; but he must marry a virgin from among his own people

15 and not disqualify his descendants among his people; because I amAdonai, who makes him holy.’”

(ii)

16 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

17 “Tell Aharon, ‘None of your descendants who has a defect may approach to offer the bread of his God.

18 No one with a defect may approach — no one blind, lame, with a mutilated face or a limb too long,

19 a broken foot or a broken arm,

20 a hunched back, stunted growth, a cataract in his eye, festering or running sores, or damaged testicles —

21 no one descended from Aharon thecohenwho has such a defect may approach to present the offerings forAdonaimade by fire; he has a defect and is not to approach to offer the bread of his God.

22 He may eat the bread of his God, both the especially holy and the holy;

23 only he is not to go in to the curtain or approach the altar, because he has a defect — so that he will not profane my holy places, because I amAdonai, who makes them holy.’”

24 Moshe said these things to Aharon, his sons and all the people of Isra’el.

1 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Tell Aharon and his sons to separate themselves from the holy things of the people of Isra’el which they set apart as holy for me, so that they will not profane my holy name; I amAdonai.

3 Tell them, ‘Any descendant of yours through all your generations who approaches the holy things that the people of Isra’el consecrate toAdonaiand is unclean will be cut off from before me; I amAdonai.

4 “‘Any descendant of Aharon withtzara‘ator a discharge is not to eat the holy things until he is clean. Anyone who has touched a person made unclean by a dead body, or who has had a seminal emission,

5 or who has touched a reptile or insect that can make him unclean, or a man who is unclean for any reason and who can transmit to him his uncleanness —

6 the person who touches any of these will be unclean until evening and is not to eat the holy things unless he bathes his body in water.

7 After sunset he will be clean; and afterwards, he may eat the holy things; because they are his food.

8 But he is not to eat anything that dies naturally or is torn to death by wild animals and thereby make himself unclean; I amAdonai.

9 Thecohanimmust observe this charge of mine; otherwise, if they profane it, they will bear the consequences of their sin for doing so and die in it; I amAdonai, who makes them holy.

10 “‘No one who is not acohenmay eat anything holy, nor may a tenant or employee of acoheneat anything holy.

11 But if acohenacquires a slave, either through purchase or through his being born in his household, he may share his food.

12 If the daughter of acohenis married to a man who is not acohen, she is not to have a share of the food set aside from the holy things.

13 But if the daughter of acohenis a widow or divorcee and has no child, and she is sent back to her father’s house as when she was young, she may share in her father’s food; but no one not acohenis to share in it.

14 If a person eats holy food by mistake, he must add one-fifth to it and give the holy food to thecohen.

15 They are not to profane the holy things of the people of Isra’el that they have set apart forAdonai

16 and thus cause them to bear guilt requiring a guilt offering, by eating their holy things; because I amAdonai, who makes them holy.’”

(iii)

17 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

18 “Speak to Aharon and his sons and to the entire people of Isra’el; tell them: ‘When anyone, whether a member of the house of Isra’el or a foreigner living in Isra’el, brings his offering, either in connection with a vow or as a voluntary offering, and brings it toAdonaias a burnt offering,

19 in order for you to be accepted, you must bring a male without defect from the cattle, the sheep or the goats.

20 You are not to bring anything with a defect, because it will not be accepted from you.

21 Whoever brings a sacrifice of peace offerings toAdonaiin fulfillment of a vow or as a voluntary offering, whether it come from the herd or from the flock, it must be unblemished and without defect in order to be accepted.

22 If it is blind, injured, mutilated, has an abnormal growth or has festering or running sores, you are not to offer it toAdonaior make such an offering by fire on the altar toAdonai.

23 If a bull or lamb has a limb which is too long or short, you may offer it as a voluntary offering; but for a vow it will not be accepted.

24 An animal with bruised, crushed, torn or cut genitals you are not to offer toAdonai. You are not to do these things in your land,

25 and you are not to receive any of these from a foreigner for you to offer as bread for your God, because their deformity is a defect in them — they will not be accepted from you.’”

26 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

27 “When a bull, sheep or goat is born, it is to stay with its mother for seven days; but from the eighth day on, it may be accepted for an offering made by fire toAdonai.

28 However, no animal is to be slaughtered together with its young on the same day, neither cow nor ewe.

29 “When you offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving toAdonai, you must do it in a way such that you will be accepted.

30 It must be eaten on the same day it is offered; leave none of it till morning; I amAdonai.

31 “You are to keep mymitzvotand obey them; I amAdonai.

32 You are not to profane my holy name; on the contrary, I am to be regarded as holy among the people of Isra’el; I amAdonai, who makes you holy,

33 who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God; I amAdonai.”

1 (iv)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Tell the people of Isra’el: ‘The designated times ofAdonaiwhich you are to proclaim as holy convocations are my designated times.

3 “‘Work is to be done on six days; but the seventh day is aShabbatof complete rest, a holy convocation; you are not to do any kind of work; it is aShabbatforAdonai, even in your homes.

4 “‘These are the designated times ofAdonai, the holy convocations you are to proclaim at their designated times.

5 “‘In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, between sundown and complete darkness, comesPesachforAdonai.

6 On the fifteenth day of the same month is the festival ofmatzah; for seven days you are to eatmatzah.

7 On the first day you are to have a holy convocation; don’t do any kind of ordinary work.

8 Bring an offering made by fire toAdonaifor seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.’”

9 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

10 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘After you enter the land I am giving you and harvest its ripe crops, you are to bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to thecohen.

11 He is to wave the sheaf beforeAdonai, so that you will be accepted; thecohenis to wave it on the day after theShabbat.

12 On the day that you wave the sheaf, you are to offer a male lamb without defect, in its first year, as a burnt offering forAdonai.

13 Its grain offering is to be one gallon of fine flour mixed with olive oil, an offering made by fire toAdonaias a fragrant aroma; its drink offering is to be of wine, one quart.

14 You are not to eat bread, dried grain or fresh grain until the day you bring the offering for your God; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

15 “‘From the day after the day of rest — that is, from the day you bring the sheaf for waving — you are to count seven full weeks,

16 until the day after the seventh week; you are to count fifty days; and then you are to present a new grain offering toAdonai.

17 You must bring bread from your homes for waving — two loaves made with one gallon of fine flour, baked with leaven — as firstfruits forAdonai.

18 Along with the bread, present seven lambs without defect one year old, one young bull and two rams; these will be a burnt offering forAdonai, with their grain and drink offerings, an offering made by fire as a fragrant aroma forAdonai.

19 Offer one male goat as a sin offering and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings.

20 Thecohenwill wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering beforeAdonai, with the two lambs; these will be holy forAdonaifor thecohen.

21 On the same day, you are to call a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work; this is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

22 “‘When you harvest the ripe crops produced in your land, don’t harvest all the way to the corners of your field, and don’t gather the ears of grain left by the harvesters; leave them for the poor and the foreigner; I amAdonaiyour God.’”

(v)

23 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

24 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘In the seventh month, the first of the month is to be for you a day of complete rest for remembering, a holy convocation announced with blasts on theshofar.

25 Do not do any kind of ordinary work, and bring an offering made by fire toAdonai.’”

26 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

27 “The tenth day of this seventh month isYom-Kippur; you are to have a holy convocation, you are to deny yourselves, and you are to bring an offering made by fire toAdonai.

28 You are not to do any kind of work on that day, because it isYom-Kippur, to make atonement for you beforeAdonaiyour God.

29 Anyone who does not deny himself on that day is to be cut off from his people;

30 and anyone who does any kind of work on that day, I will destroy from among his people.

31 You are not to do any kind of work; it is a permanent regulation through all your generations, no matter where you live.

32 It will be for you aShabbatof complete rest, and you are to deny yourselves; you are to rest on yourShabbatfrom evening the ninth day of the month until the following evening.”

(vi)

33 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

34 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast ofSukkotfor seven days toAdonai.

35 On the first day there is to be a holy convocation; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

36 For seven days you are to bring an offering made by fire toAdonai; on the eighth day you are to have a holy convocation and bring an offering made by fire toAdonai; it is a day of public assembly; do not do any kind of ordinary work.

37 “‘These are the designated times ofAdonaithat you are to proclaim as holy convocations and bring an offering made by fire toAdonai— a burnt offering, a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, each on its own day —

38 besides theShabbats ofAdonai, your gifts, all your vows and all your voluntary offerings that you give toAdonai.

39 “‘But on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the produce of the land, you are to observe the festival ofAdonaiseven days; the first day is to be a complete rest and the eighth day is to be a complete rest.

40 On the first day you are to take choice fruit, palm fronds, thick branches and river-willows, and celebrate in the presence ofAdonaiyour God for seven days.

41 You are to observe it as a feast toAdonaiseven days in the year; it is a permanent regulation, generation after generation; keep it in the seventh month.

42 You are to live insukkotfor seven days; every citizen of Isra’el is to live in asukkah,

43 so that generation after generation of you will know that I made the people of Isra’el live insukkotwhen I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I amAdonaiyour God.’”

44 Thus Moshe announced to the people of Isra’el the designated times ofAdonai.

1 (vii)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Order the people of Isra’el to bring you pure oil from crushed olives for the light, to keep lamps burning always.

3 Outside the curtain of the testimony in the tent of meeting, Aharon is to arrange for the light to be kept burning always from evening until morning beforeAdonai; this is to be a permanent regulation through all your generations.

4 He is always to keep in order the lamps on the puremenorahbeforeAdonai.

5 “You are to take fine flour and use it to bake twelve loaves, one gallon per loaf.

6 Arrange them in two rows, six in a row, on the pure table beforeAdonai.

7 Put frankincense with each row to be an offering made by fire toAdonaiin place of the bread and as a reminder of it.

8 Regularly, everyShabbat, he is to arrange them beforeAdonai; they are from the people of Isra’el, as a covenant forever.

9 They will belong to Aharon and his sons; and they are to eat them in a holy place; because for him they are, of the offerings forAdonaimade by fire, especially holy. This is a permanent law.”

10 There was a man who was the son of a woman of Isra’el and an Egyptian father. He went out among the people of Isra’el, and this son of a woman of Isra’el had a fight in the camp with a man of Isra’el,

11 in the course of which the son of the woman of Isra’el uttered the Name [Yud-Heh-Vav-Heh] in a curse. So they brought him to Moshe. (His mother’s name was Shlomit the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)

12 They put him under guard untilAdonaiwould tell them what to do.

13 Adonaisaid to Moshe,

14 “Take the man who cursed outside the camp, have everyone who heard him lay their hands on his head, and have the entire community stone him.

15 Then tell the people of Isra’el, ‘Whoever curses his God will bear the consequences of his sin;

16 and whoever blasphemes the name ofAdonaimust be put to death; the entire community must stone him. The foreigner as well as the citizen is to be put to death if he blasphemes the Name.

17 “‘Anyone who strikes another person and kills him must be put to death.

18 Anyone who strikes an animal and kills it is to make restitution, life for life.

19 If someone injures his neighbor, what he did is to be done to him —

20 break for break, eye for eye, tooth for tooth — whatever injury he has caused the other person is to be rendered to him in return.(Maftir)

21 He who kills an animal is to make restitution, but he who kills another person is to be put to death.

22 You are to apply the same standard of judgment to the foreigner as to the citizen, because I amAdonaiyour God.”

23 So Moshe spoke to the people of Isra’el, and they took the man who had cursed outside the camp and stoned him to death. Thus the people of Isra’el did asAdonaihad ordered Moshe.

Haftarah Emor: Yechezk’el (Ezekiel) 44:15–31

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah Emor: Mattityahu (Matthew) 5:38–42; Galatians 3:26–29 [In connection with the feasts, see readings for Parashah 41]

Parashah 32: B’har (On Mount) 25:1–26:2

[In regular years read with Parashah 33, in leap years read separately]

1 Adonaispoke to Moshe on Mount Sinai; he said,

2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to observe aShabbatrest forAdonai.

3 Six years you will sow your field; six years you will prune your grapevines and gather their produce.

4 But in the seventh year is to be aShabbatof complete rest for the land, aShabbatforAdonai; you will neither sow your field nor prune your grapevines.

5 You are not to harvest what grows by itself from the seeds left by your previous harvest, and you are not to gather the grapes of your untended vine; it is to be a year of complete rest for the land.

6 But what the land produces during the year ofShabbatwill be food for all of you — you, your servant, your maid, your employee, anyone living near you,

7 your livestock and the wild animals on your land; everything the land produces may be used for food.

8 “‘You are to count sevenShabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years.

9 Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, onYom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on theshofar; you are to sound theshofarall through your land;

10 and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It will be ayovelfor you; you will return everyone to the land he owns, and everyone is to return to his family.

11 That fiftieth year will be ayovelfor you; in that year you are not to sow, harvest what grows by itself or gather the grapes of untended vines;

12 because it is ayovel.It will be holy for you; whatever the fields produce will be food for all of you.

13 In this year ofyovel, every one of you is to return to the land he owns.

(LY: ii)

14 “‘If you sell anything to your neighbor or buy anything from him, neither of you is to exploit the other.

15 Rather, you are to take into account the number of years after theyovelwhen you buy land from your neighbor, and he is to sell to you according to the number of years crops will be raised.

16 If the number of years remaining is large, you will raise the price; if few years remain, you will lower it; because what he is really selling you is the number of crops to be produced.

17 Thus you are not to take advantage of each other, but you are to fear your God; for I amAdonaiyour God.

18 “‘Rather, you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land.(RY: ii, LY: iii)

19 The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you will live there securely.

20 “‘If you ask, “If we aren’t allowed to sow seed or harvest what our land produces, what are we going to eat the seventh year?”

21 then I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land brings forth enough produce for all three years.

22 The eighth year you will sow seed but eat the the old, stored produce until the ninth year; that is, until the produce of the eighth year comes in, you will eat the old, stored food.

23 “‘The land is not to be sold in perpetuity, because the land belongs to me — you are only foreigners and temporary residents with me.

24 Therefore, when you sell your property, you must include the right of redemption.(LY: iv)

25 That is, if one of you becomes poor and sells some of his property, his next-of-kin can come and buy back what his relative sold.

26 If the seller has no one to redeem it but becomes rich enough to redeem it himself,

27 he will calculate the number of years the land was sold for, refund the excess to its buyer, and return to his property.

28 If he hasn’t sufficient means to get it back himself, then what he sold will remain in the hands of the buyer until the year ofyovel; in theyovelthe buyer will vacate it and the seller return to his property.

(RY: iii, LY: v)

29 “‘If someone sells a dwelling in a walled city, he has one year after the date of sale in which to redeem it. For a full year he will have the right of redemption;

30 but if he has not redeemed the dwelling in the walled city within the year, then title in perpetuity passes to the buyer through all his generations; it will not revert in theyovel.

31 However, houses in villages not surrounded by walls are to be dealt with like the fields in the countryside — they may be redeemed [before theyovel], and they revert in theyovel.

32 “‘Concerning the cities of theL’vi’imand the houses in the cities they possess, theL’vi’imare to have a permanent right of redemption.

33 If someone purchases a house from one of theL’vi’im, then the house he sold in the city where he owns property will still revert to him in theyovel; because the houses in the cities of theL’vi’imare their tribe’s possession among the people of Isra’el.

34 The fields in the open land around their cities may not be sold, because that is their permanent possession.

35 “‘If a member of your people has become poor, so that he can’t support himself among you, you are to assist him as you would a foreigner or a temporary resident, so that he can continue living with you.

36 Do not charge him interest or otherwise profit from him, but fear your God, so that your brother can continue living with you.

37 Do not take interest when you loan him money or take a profit when you sell him food.

38 I amAdonaiyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt in order to give you the land of Kena‘an and be your God.

(RY: iv, LY: vi)

39 “‘If a member of your people has become poor among you and sells himself to you, do not make him do the work of a slave.

40 Rather, you are to treat him like an employee or a tenant; he will work for you until the year ofyovel.

41 Then he will leave you, he and his children with him, and return to his own family and regain possession of his ancestral land.

42 For they are my slaves, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; therefore they are not to be sold as slaves.

43 Do not treat him harshly, but fear your God.

44 “‘Concerning the men and women you may have as slaves: you are to buy men- and women-slaves from the nations surrounding you.

45 You may also buy the children of foreigners living with you and members of their families born in your land; you may own these.

46 You may also bequeath them to your children to own; from these groups you may take your slaves forever. But as far as your brothers the people of Isra’el are concerned, you are not to treat each other harshly.

(LY: vii)

47 “‘If a foreigner living with you has grown rich, and a member of your people has become poor and sells himself to this foreigner living with you or to a member of the foreigner’s family,

48 he may be redeemed after he has been sold. One of his brothers may redeem him;

49 or his uncle or his uncle’s son may redeem him; or any near relative of his may redeem him; or, if he becomes rich, he may redeem himself.

50 He will calculate with the person who bought him the time from the year he sold himself to him to the year ofyovel; and the amount to be paid will be according to the number of years and his time at an employee’s wage.

51 If many years remain, according to them will he refund the amount for his redemption from the amount he was bought for.

52 If there remain only a few years until the year ofyovel, then he will calculate with him; according to his years will he refund the amount for his redemption.

53 He will be like a worker hired year by year. You will see to it that he is not treated harshly.

54 “‘If he has not been redeemed by any of these procedures, nevertheless he will go free in the year ofyovel —he and his children with him.(LY: Maftir)

55 For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; I amAdonaiyour God.

1 “‘You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue or a standing-stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I amAdonaiyour God.

2 “‘Keep myShabbats, and revere my sanctuary; I amAdonai.

Haftarah B’har: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 32:6–27

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’har: Luke 4:16–21; 1 Corinthians 7:21–24; Galatians 6:7–10

Parashah 33: B’chukkotai (By my regulations) 26:3–27:34

[In regular years read with Parashah 32, in leap years read separately]

3 “‘If you live by my regulations, observe mymitzvotand obey them;

4 then I will provide the rain you need in its season, the land will yield its produce, and the trees in the field will yield their fruit.

5 Your threshing time will extend until the grape harvest, and your grape harvesting will extend until the time for sowing seed. You will eat as much food as you want and live securely in your land.

(LY: ii)

6 “‘I will giveshalomin the land — you will lie down to sleep unafraid of anyone. I will rid the land of wild animals. The sword will not go through your land.

7 You will pursue your enemies, and they will fall before your sword.

8 Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand — your enemies will fall before your sword.

9 “‘I will turn toward you, make you productive, increase your numbers and uphold my covenant with you.(RY: v, LY: iii)

10 You will eat all you want from last year’s harvest and throw out what remains of the old to make room for the new.

11 I will put my tabernacle among you, and I will not reject you,

12 but I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.

13 I amAdonaiyour God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, so that you would not be their slaves. I have broken the bars of your yoke, so that you can walk upright.

14 “‘But if you will not listen to me and obey all thesemitzvot,

15 if you loathe my regulations and reject my rulings, in order not to obey all mymitzvotbut cancel my covenant;

16 then I, for my part, will do this to you: I will bring terror upon you — wasting disease and chronic fever to dim your sight and sap your strength. You will sow your seed for nothing, because your enemies will eat the crops.

17 I will set my face against you — your enemies will defeat you, those who hate you will hound you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.

18 If these things don’t make you listen to me, then I will discipline you seven times over for your sins.

19 I will break the pride you have in your own power. I will make your sky like iron, your soil like bronze —

20 you will spend your strength in vain, because the land will not yield its produce or the trees in the field their fruit.

21 “‘Yes, if you go against me and don’t listen to me, I will increase your calamities sevenfold, according to your sins.

22 I will send wild animals among you; they will rob you of your children, destroy your livestock and reduce your numbers, until your roads are deserted.

23 “‘If, in spite of all this, you refuse my correction and still go against me;

24 then I too will go against you; and I, yes I, will strike you seven times over for your sins.

25 I will bring a sword against you which will execute the vengeance of the covenant. You will be huddled inside your cities, I will send sickness among you, and you will be handed over to the power of the enemy.

26 I will cut off your supply of bread, so that ten women will bake your bread in one oven and dole out your bread by weight, and you will eat but not be satisfied.

27 “‘And if, for all this, you still will not listen to me, but go against me;

28 then I will go against you furiously, and I also will chastise you yet seven times more for your sins.

29 You will eat the flesh of your own sons, you will eat the flesh of your own daughters.

30 I will destroy your high places, cut down your pillars for sun-worship, and throw your carcasses on the carcasses of your idols; and I will detest you.

31 I will lay waste to your cities and make your sanctuaries desolate, so as not to smell your fragrant aromas.

32 I will desolate the land, so that your enemies living in it will be astounded by it.

33 You I will disperse among the nations, and I will draw out the sword in pursuit after you; your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland.

34 Then, at last, the land will be paid itsShabbats. As long as it lies desolate and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid itsShabbats.

35 Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during yourShabbats, when you lived there.

36 As for those of you who are left, I will fill their hearts with anxiety in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will frighten them, so that they will flee as one flees from the sword and fall when no one is pursuing.

37 Yes, with no one pursuing they will stumble over each other as if fleeing the sword — you will have no power to stand before your enemies.

38 And among the nations you will perish; the land of your enemies will devour you.

39 Those of you who remain will pine away in the lands of your enemies from guilt over your misdeeds and those of your ancestors.

40 Then they will confess their misdeeds and those of their ancestors which they committed against me in their rebellion; they will admit that they went against me.

41 At that time I will be going against them, bringing them into the lands of their enemies. But if their uncircumcised hearts will grow humble, and they are paid the punishment for their misdeeds;

42 then I will remember my covenant with Ya‘akov, also my covenant with Yitz’chak and my covenant with Avraham; and I will remember the land.

43 For the land will lie abandoned without them, and it will be paid itsShabbats while it lies desolate without them; and they will be paid the punishment for their misdeeds, because they rejected my rulings and loathed my regulations.

44 Yet, in spite of all that, I will not reject them when they are in the lands of their enemies, nor will I loathe them to the point of utterly destroying them and thus break my covenant with them, because I amAdonaitheir God.

45 Rather, for their sakes, I will remember the covenant of their ancestors whom I brought out of the land of Egypt — with the nations watching — so that I might be their God; I amAdonai.’”

46 These are the laws, rulings and teachings thatAdonaihimself gave to the people of Isra’el on Mount Sinai through Moshe.

1 (RY: vi; LY: iv)Adonaisaid to Moshe,

2 “Tell the people of Isra’el, ‘If someone makes a clearly defined vow toAdonaito give him an amount equal to the value of a human being,

3 the value you are to assign to a man between the ages of twenty and sixty years is to be fiftyshekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds], with the sanctuaryshekelbeing the standard,

4 if a woman, thirtyshekels.

5 If it is a child five to twenty years old, assign a value of twentyshekels for a boy and ten for a girl;

6 if a baby one month to five years of age, fiveshekels for a boy and three for a girl;

7 if a person past sixty, fifteenshekels for a man and ten for a woman.

8 If the person is too poor to be evaluated, set him before thecohen, who will assign him a value in keeping with the means of the person who made the vow.

9 “‘If the vow is for the value of an animal of the kind used when people bring an offering toAdonai, all that a person gives of such animals toAdonaiwill be holy.

10 He is not to exchange or replace it by substituting a good animal for a bad one or vice versa; if he does make such a substitution, both the original animal and the one replacing it will be holy.

11 If the animal is an unclean one, such as may not be used in an offering toAdonai, he must set it before thecohen;

12 and thecohenis to set a value on it in relation to its good and bad points; the value set by you thecohenwill stand.

13 But if the person making the vow wishes to redeem the animal, he must add one-fifth to your valuation.

14 “‘When a person consecrates his house to be holy forAdonai, thecohenis to set a value on it in relation to its good and bad points; the value set by thecohenwill stand.

15 If the consecrator wishes to redeem his house, he must add one-fifth to the value you have set on it; and it will revert to him.

(RY: vii, LY: v)

16 “‘If a person consecrates toAdonaipart of a field belonging to his tribe’s possession, you are to value it according to its production, with five bushels of barley being valued at fiftyshekels of silver [one-and-a-quarter pounds].

17 If he consecrates his field during the year ofyovel, this valuation will stand.

18 But if he consecrates his field after theyovel, then thecohenis to calculate the price according to the years remaining till the nextyovel, with a corresponding reduction from your valuation.

19 If the one consecrating the field wishes to redeem it, he must add one-fifth to your valuation, and the field will be set aside to revert to him.

20 If the seller does not wish to redeem the field, or if [the treasurer for thecohanim] has already sold the field to someone else, it can no longer be redeemed.

21 But when the purchaser has to vacate the field in theyovel, it will become holy toAdonai, like a field unconditionally consecrated; it will belong to thecohanim.

(LY: vi)

22 “‘If he consecrates toAdonaia field which he has bought, a field which is not part of his tribe’s possession,

23 then thecohenis to calculate its value according to the years remaining until the year ofyovel; and the man will on that same day pay this amount; since it is holy toAdonai.

24 In the year ofyovelthe field will revert to the person from whom it was bought, that is, to the person to whose tribal possession it belongs.

25 “‘All your valuations are to be according to the sanctuaryshekel[two-fifths of an ounce], twentygerahs to theshekel.

26 “‘However, the firstborn among animals, since it is already born as a firstborn forAdonai, no one can consecrate — neither ox nor sheep — since it belongs toAdonaialready.

27 But if it is an unclean animal, he may redeem it at the price at which you value it and add one-fifth; or if he does not redeem it, it is to be sold at the price at which you value it.

28 However, nothing consecrated unconditionally which a person may consecrate toAdonaiout of all he owns — person, animal or field he possesses — is to be sold or redeemed; because everything consecrated unconditionally is especially holy toAdonai.(LY: vii)

29 No person who has been sentenced to die, and thus unconditionally consecrated, can be redeemed; he must be put to death.

30 “‘All the tenth given from the land, whether from planted seed or fruit from trees, belongs toAdonai; it is holy toAdonai.

31 If someone wants to redeem any of his tenth, he must add to it one-fifth.

(Maftir)

32 “‘All the tenth from the herd or the flock, whatever passes under the shepherd’s crook, the tenth one will be holy toAdonai.

33 The owner is not to inquire whether the animal is good or bad, and he cannot exchange it; if he does exchange it, both it and the one he substituted for it will be holy; it cannot be redeemed.’”

34 These are themitzvotwhichAdonaigave to Moshe for the people of Isra’el on Mount Sinai.

Haftarah B’chukkotai: Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 16:19–17:14

B’rit Hadashah suggested readings for Parashah B’chukkotai: Yochanan (John) 14:15–21; 15:10–12; 1 Yochanan (1 John)

Hazak, hazak, v’nit’chazek!

Be strong, be strong, and let us be strengthened!