לֹ֥א תַטֶּ֛ה מִשְׁפַּ֥ט אֶבְיֹנְךָ֖ בְּרִיבֽוֹ׃

You shall not distort the judgment of your poor in his dispute. In the earlier prohibition against favoring the poor (verse 3), the Torah warned the judge not to follow blindly his noble instinct in order to help those who are disadvantaged. It is no less common for judges to favor wealthy, powerful litigants to the disadvantage of the poor, whose ability to protest injustice is more limited.

מִדְּבַר־שֶׁ֖קֶר תִּרְחָ֑ק וְנָקִ֤י וְצַדִּיק֙ אַֽל־תַּהֲרֹ֔ג כִּ֥י לֹא־אַצְדִּ֖יק רָשָֽׁע׃

You shall distance yourself from falsehood. From the context it appears that this instruction is also directed at judges. When they receive the impression that one of the litigants is presenting a false claim, even if their suspicion cannot be proven, they should rely on their intuition and reject that claim. And you shall not kill the innocent and the righteous. If a judge thinks that an innocent person is being accused of a crime based upon false testimony he should not convict him, as I will not vindicate the wicked who kill innocent people.

וְשֹׁ֖חַד לֹ֣א תִקָּ֑ח כִּ֤י הַשֹּׁ֙חַד֙ יְעַוֵּ֣ר פִּקְחִ֔ים וִֽיסַלֵּ֖ף דִּבְרֵ֥י צַדִּיקִֽים׃

You shall not take a bribe, a gift or any form of benefit from one of the litigants; as a bribe will blind the perceptive from recognition of the truth, and corrupt the words of the righteous.

וְגֵ֖ר לֹ֣א תִלְחָ֑ץ וְאַתֶּ֗ם יְדַעְתֶּם֙ אֶת־נֶ֣פֶשׁ הַגֵּ֔ר כִּֽי־גֵרִ֥ים הֱיִיתֶ֖ם בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃

You shall not oppress a stranger. Do not harm him, discriminate against him, or issue demands that he cannot fulfill. As a defenseless foreigner, the Torah specifically warns against persecuting him. For you Israelites know the soul of a stranger, as you were strangers in the land of Egypt.

וְשֵׁ֥שׁ שָׁנִ֖ים תִּזְרַ֣ע אֶת־אַרְצֶ֑ךָ וְאָסַפְתָּ֖ אֶת־תְּבוּאָתָֽהּ׃

The following law will become relevant only when the children of Israel enter the land of Israel: Six years you shall sow your land, perform other agricultural labors, and gather its produce.

וְהַשְּׁבִיעִ֞ת תִּשְׁמְטֶ֣נָּה וּנְטַשְׁתָּ֗הּ וְאָֽכְלוּ֙ אֶבְיֹנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְיִתְרָ֕ם תֹּאכַ֖ל חַיַּ֣ת הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה כֵּֽן־תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לְכַרְמְךָ֖ לְזֵיתֶֽךָ׃

But the seventh year you shall leave it fallow and relinquish it. You must cease your agricultural activities and consider the field as though it does not belong to you. You shall render your field ownerless so that the poor of your people may eat its produce, and their leftovers, the beast of the field shall eat. So you shall do to your vineyard, and to your olive grove. This command is not limited to grain, as it applies to all forms of agricultural produce.

שֵׁ֤שֶׁת יָמִים֙ תַּעֲשֶׂ֣ה מַעֲשֶׂ֔יךָ וּבַיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י תִּשְׁבֹּ֑ת לְמַ֣עַן יָנ֗וּחַ שֽׁוֹרְךָ֙ וַחֲמֹרֶ֔ךָ וְיִנָּפֵ֥שׁ בֶּן־אֲמָתְךָ֖ וְהַגֵּֽר׃

Similarly, six days you shall perform your activities, and on the seventh day you shall rest, so that your ox and your donkey will also rest, and the son of your maidservant, even if he is young and does not get tired from his work, and the stranger who works as a hired laborer will be invigorated. The Sages explain that this “stranger” is a gentile who resides in the Land of Israel and observes the Noahide laws. He too must be given leave to relax on Shabbat, despite the fact that he is not obligated to keep Shabbat, unlike gentile slaves owned by Jews.

וּבְכֹ֛ל אֲשֶׁר־אָמַ֥רְתִּי אֲלֵיכֶ֖ם תִּשָּׁמֵ֑רוּ וְשֵׁ֨ם אֱלֹהִ֤ים אֲחֵרִים֙ לֹ֣א תַזְכִּ֔ירוּ לֹ֥א יִשָּׁמַ֖ע עַל־פִּֽיךָ׃

You shall observe everything that I have said to you. This general command comes toward the end of a series of laws that touched upon a wide range of topics. It serves to preclude the notion that one can fulfill his obligations by keeping only some or even most of the Torah’s commandments. God’s instructions are not recommendations but a system of laws that is obligatory in its entirety. You shall not mention the name of other gods; they shall not be heard from your mouth. This law serves to ensure that one keep his distance from anything related to idolatry.

שָׁלֹ֣שׁ רְגָלִ֔ים תָּחֹ֥ג לִ֖י בַּשָּׁנָֽה׃

Three times in the year you shall hold a festival to Me.

אֶת־חַ֣ג הַמַּצּוֹת֮ תִּשְׁמֹר֒ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִים֩ תֹּאכַ֨ל מַצּ֜וֹת כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּיתִ֗ךָ לְמוֹעֵד֙ חֹ֣דֶשׁ הָֽאָבִ֔יב כִּי־ב֖וֹ יָצָ֣אתָ מִמִּצְרָ֑יִם וְלֹא־יֵרָא֥וּ פָנַ֖י רֵיקָֽם׃

You shall observe the Festival of Unleavened Bread; seven days you shall eat unleavened bread, as I commanded you when I took you out of Egypt (12:15). The consumption of unleavened bread is one of the defining characteristics of the festival of Passover. This festival shall be observed at the appointed time in the month of the ripening, for during it you came out from Egypt; they shall not appear before Me empty-handed. You shall express respect toward Me and My Sanctuary by bringing offerings.

וְחַ֤ג הַקָּצִיר֙ בִּכּוּרֵ֣י מַעֲשֶׂ֔יךָ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּזְרַ֖ע בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה וְחַ֤ג הָֽאָסִף֙ בְּצֵ֣את הַשָּׁנָ֔ה בְּאָסְפְּךָ֥ אֶֽת־מַעֲשֶׂ֖יךָ מִן־הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃

The festival of the wheat harvest, Shavuot, will be with your harvesting the first fruits of your handiwork that you sow in the field; and the festival of the ingathering, Sukkot, at the end of the year, when you gather your handiwork, the grain and most of the summer fruit, from the field.

שָׁלֹ֥שׁ פְּעָמִ֖ים בַּשָּׁנָ֑ה יֵרָאֶה֙ כָּל־זְכ֣וּרְךָ֔ אֶל־פְּנֵ֖י הָאָדֹ֥ן ׀ יְהוָֽה׃

Three times during the year, on Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, all your males shall appear before the Master, the Lord. On these three major festivals, which have agricultural significance, the men must appear in the Temple in the manner of subjects before their master.

לֹֽא־תִזְבַּ֥ח עַל־חָמֵ֖ץ דַּם־זִבְחִ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָלִ֥ין חֵֽלֶב־חַגִּ֖י עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃

You shall not slaughter the blood of My offering with leavened bread. In addition to the general prohibition against owning leavened bread on Passover, there is a further requirement to destroy all one’s leavened bread by the time one’s paschal lamb is offered. The Sages disagree with regard to the precise application of this prohibition. And the fat of My offering that must be burned on the altar shall not remain overnight until morning. The sacrificial rites of the paschal lamb and the festival peace offering brought on the eve of Passover must be completed on that day, rather than left until the following day.

רֵאשִׁ֗ית בִּכּוּרֵי֙ אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ תָּבִ֕יא בֵּ֖ית יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֑יךָ לֹֽא־תְבַשֵּׁ֥ל גְּדִ֖י בַּחֲלֵ֥ב אִמּֽוֹ׃ (ס)

You shall bring the choicest of the first fruits of your land to the house of the Lord your God. This can mean the best first fruits or simply the first fruits. This commandment does not have to be performed specifically on a festival; it can be fulfilled any time from the beginning of the harvest until the gathering of the crops, which is between Shavuot and Sukkot. The bringing of the first fruits is presented in greater detail in Deuteronomy (26:1–15). You shall not cook a kid in its mother’s milk. Cooking a kid in the very milk from which it should have gained its sustenance is considered cruel. The tradition of the Sages extends this prohibition to cooking any milk and meat together, as well as eating meat and milk that were cooked together. It is possible that these extensions of this law are based on the fact that one who buys meat and milk from the marketplace cannot be certain that they have no original connection to each other. Nonetheless, in practice the prohibition applies even when it is known with certainty that the milk is not from the mother of that kid.