וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר

The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

דַּבֵּ֞ר אֶל־כָּל־עֲדַ֧ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֛ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֥ אֲלֵהֶ֖ם קְדֹשִׁ֣ים תִּהְי֑וּ כִּ֣י קָד֔וֹשׁ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Speak to the entire congregation of the children of Israel, and say to them: You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy. Before giving the Torah to the children of Israel, God declares and demands that they “shall be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Now it is time for the people to actualize this declaration: Their holiness must express itself in deed. Holiness is not the performance of a specific deed, ritual, or initiation. Rather, the holiness of the children of Israel is due to their special relationship with God, and the ramifications of this relationship include a tremendous collection of requisite actions.

אִ֣ישׁ אִמּ֤וֹ וְאָבִיו֙ תִּירָ֔אוּ וְאֶת־שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Each of you shall fear his mother and his father and you shall observe My Sabbaths: I am the Lord your God. Some explain that the juxtaposition of these two laws indicates that although one must take great care to fear one’s parents and obey them, the obligation to observe the Sabbath takes precedence over this commandment; one is not obligated to obey one’s parents when their instructions involve a transgression of the Sabbath or other commandments.

אַל־תִּפְנוּ֙ אֶל־הָ֣אֱלִילִ֔ים וֵֽאלֹהֵי֙ מַסֵּכָ֔ה לֹ֥א תַעֲשׂ֖וּ לָכֶ֑ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Do not turn to the false gods, and do not fashion for yourselves cast gods, because you are holy and I am the Lord your God.

וְכִ֧י תִזְבְּח֛וּ זֶ֥בַח שְׁלָמִ֖ים לַיהוָ֑ה לִֽרְצֹנְכֶ֖ם תִּזְבָּחֻֽהוּ׃

And when you slaughter a peace offering to the Lord, for your propitiation you shall offer it, of your own goodwill, or in order to find favor in God’s eyes.

בְּי֧וֹם זִבְחֲכֶ֛ם יֵאָכֵ֖ל וּמִֽמָּחֳרָ֑ת וְהַנּוֹתָר֙ עַד־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י בָּאֵ֖שׁ יִשָּׂרֵֽף׃

To this end, you must observe the laws of the offering: On the day of your slaughter it shall be eaten and on the next day, in accordance with that which was stated previously (7:16); and the leftover until the third day, it shall be burned in fire.

וְאִ֛ם הֵאָכֹ֥ל יֵאָכֵ֖ל בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֑י פִּגּ֥וּל ה֖וּא לֹ֥א יֵרָצֶֽה׃

And if it, the offering, is eaten on the third day, it is detestable [ piggul ]. According to rabbinic tradition, sacrificial meat that was left until the third day is considered leftover [ notar ]. Piggul refers to an offering that was initially offered with intent to consume its flesh on the third day. Although it is prohibited to eat notar , the offering itself is accepted so long as it was offered with proper intent; it is not disqualified retroactively. Piggul , however, since it is offered with improper intent, shall not be accepted by God at all, no matter when its flesh is consumed in practice.

וְאֹֽכְלָיו֙ עֲוֺנ֣וֹ יִשָּׂ֔א כִּֽי־אֶת־קֹ֥דֶשׁ יְהוָ֖ה חִלֵּ֑ל וְנִכְרְתָ֛ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִ֖וא מֵעַמֶּֽיהָ׃

And he who eats it shall bear responsibility for his iniquity, because he profaned that which is sacred to the Lord; and that person shall be excised from his people.

וּֽבְקֻצְרְכֶם֙ אֶת־קְצִ֣יר אַרְצְכֶ֔ם לֹ֧א תְכַלֶּ֛ה פְּאַ֥ת שָׂדְךָ֖ לִקְצֹ֑ר וְלֶ֥קֶט קְצִֽירְךָ֖ לֹ֥א תְלַקֵּֽט׃

When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not finish reaping the corner of your field; do not harvest it. And the gleanings of your harvest, the sheaves that fall from the sickle during the harvest, you shall not gather; rather, you must leave them in the field.

וְכַרְמְךָ֙ לֹ֣א תְעוֹלֵ֔ל וּפֶ֥רֶט כַּרְמְךָ֖ לֹ֣א תְלַקֵּ֑ט לֶֽעָנִ֤י וְלַגֵּר֙ תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֔ם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Your vineyard you shall not harvest completely [ te’olel ], do not gather the small, incompletely formed clusters of grapes [ olelot ], and the fallen fruit of your vineyard, the grapes that have separated and fallen off the cluster, you shall not gather. All this produce, meaning the the corner of your field, the gleanings of your harvest, the incomplete clusters, and the fallen grapes, you may not gather from your field. Rather, for the poor and for the stranger, who is financially unstable, you shall leave them: I am the Lord your God.

לֹ֖א תִּגְנֹ֑בוּ וְלֹא־תְכַחֲשׁ֥וּ וְלֹֽא־תְשַׁקְּר֖וּ אִ֥ישׁ בַּעֲמִיתֽוֹ׃

In addition to charity, the following prohibitions, some of which are designed to prevent social injustices, are important for the establishment of a holy congregation: You shall not steal; nor shall you falsely deny a claim that you owe another money, nor shall you lie to one another.

וְלֹֽא־תִשָּׁבְע֥וּ בִשְׁמִ֖י לַשָּׁ֑קֶר וְחִלַּלְתָּ֛ אֶת־שֵׁ֥ם אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

You shall not take an oath in My name falsely, as you will profane the name of your God by using it for wrongdoing: I am the Lord, and invoking My name among your falsehoods is doubly wrong.

לֹֽא־תַעֲשֹׁ֥ק אֶת־רֵֽעֲךָ֖ וְלֹ֣א תִגְזֹ֑ל לֹֽא־תָלִ֞ין פְּעֻלַּ֥ת שָׂכִ֛יר אִתְּךָ֖ עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃

You shall not use your power, status, or authority to exploit your neighbor, that is, you shall not prevent him from receiving that which he rightfully deserves. Such exploitation might occur during business negotiations or during disagreements, or may relate to the hiring of workers. And you shall not rob someone of that which belongs to him; you shall not keep the wages of a hired laborer with you overnight until morning. You must pay your employees without delay. In particular, if you employ a day laborer who is to receive his wages after each day’s work, you must pay him during the same evening in which he completes his labor.

לֹא־תְקַלֵּ֣ל חֵרֵ֔שׁ וְלִפְנֵ֣י עִוֵּ֔ר לֹ֥א תִתֵּ֖ן מִכְשֹׁ֑ל וְיָרֵ֥אתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ אֲנִ֥י יְהוָֽה׃

You shall not curse a deaf person; you shall not place an obstacle before the blind. Upon these prohibitions, the Torah adds the warning: You shall fear your God: I am the Lord. In many instances, an injured person is unaware of who harmed him, and an offender can easily escape responsibility, especially if his victim is deaf, blind, or otherwise helpless with no one to argue on his behalf. Moreover, one may harm another in a discrete manner, unnoticeable even to those surrounding the victim. Therefore, the verse stresses that even when one has no reason to fear the reactions of the victim or society, he must fear God, before whom all actions and intentions are revealed.