17 (18) And thou shalt write Aharon’s name upon the rod of Levi: for one rod shall be for the head of the house of their fathers.

(19) And thou shalt lay them up in the Tent of Meeting before the Testimony, where I will meet with you.

(20) And it shall come to pass, that the man’s rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom: and I will make to cease from me the murmurings of the children of Yisra᾽el, whereby they murmur against you.

(21) And Moshe spoke to the children of Yisra᾽el, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses: twelve rods: and the rod of Aharon was among their rods.

(22) And Moshe laid up the rods before the Lord in the tent of the Testimony.

(23) And it came to pass, that on the morrow Moshe went into the tent of the Testimony: and, behold, the rod of Aharon for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and blossomed, and yielded almonds.

(24) And Moshe brought out all the rods from before the Lord to all the children of Yisra᾽el: and they looked, and took every man his rod.

17 (25) And the Lord said to Moshe, Put Aharon’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept for a token against rebels; that there may be an end of their murmurings against me, that they die not.

(26) And Moshe did so: as the Lord commanded him, so he did.

(27) And the children of Yisra᾽el spoke to Moshe, saying, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish.

(28) Everyone that comes at all near the tabernacle of the Lord dies; shall we totally perish?

18 (1) And the Lord said to Aharon, Thou and thy sons and thy father’s house with thee shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary: and thou and thy sons with thee shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

(2) And thy brethren also of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of thy father, bring thou near with thee, that they may be joined to thee, and minister to thee: but thou and thy sons with thee shall minister before the tent of the Testimony.

(3) And they shall keep thy charge, and the charge of all the tent: only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor you, die.

(4) And they shall be joined to thee, and keep the charge of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the tent, and a stranger shall not come near to you.

(5) And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar: that there be no wrath any more upon the children of Yisra᾽el.

(6) And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Yisra᾽el: to you they are given as a gift for the Lord, to do the service of the Tent of Meeting.

(7) Therefore thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest’s office for everything that concerns the altar, and within the veil: and you shall serve: I have given your priest’s office to you as a service of gift: and the stranger that comes near shall be put to death.

(8) And the Lord spoke to Aharon, Behold, I also have given thee the charge of my heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Yisra᾽el; unto thee have I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy sons, by an ordinance for ever.

(9) This shall be thine of the most holy things, reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every meal offering of theirs, and every sin offering of theirs, and every guilt offering of theirs, which they shall render to me, shall be most holy for thee and for thy sons.

(10) In the most holy place shalt thou eat it; every male shall eat it: it shall be holy to thee.

(11) And this is thine; the heave offering of their gift, for all the wave offerings of the children of Yisra᾽el: I have given them to thee, and to thy sons and to thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

(12) All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the first of them which they shall offer to the Lord, them have I given thee.

(13) The first ripe fruit of all that is in the land, which they shall bring to the Lord, shall be thine; every one that is clean in thy house shall eat of it.

(14) Everything devoted in Yisra᾽el shall be thine.

(15) Everything that opens the womb in all flesh, which they bring to the Lord, whether it be of men or beasts, shall be thine: nevertheless the firstborn of man shalt thou surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts shalt thou redeem.

(16) And those that are to be redeemed shall be redeemable from a month old according to the usual estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gera.

(17) But the firstling of an ox, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, thou shalt not redeem; they are holy: thou shalt sprinkle their blood upon the altar, and shalt burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savour to the Lord.

(18) And the flesh of them shall be thine, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder shall they be thine.

(19) All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Yisra᾽el offer to the Lord, have I given thee, and thy sons and thy daughters with thee, by a statute for ever: it is a covenant of salt for ever before the Lord to thee and to thy seed with thee.

(20) And the Lord spoke to Aharon, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy portion and thy inheritance among the children of Yisra᾽el.

18 (21) And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Yisra᾽el for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, even the service of the Tent of Meeting.

(22) Neither must the children of Yisra᾽el henceforth come near the Tent of Meeting, lest they bear sin, and die.

(23) But the Levites shall do the service of the Tent of Meeting, and they shall bear their iniquity: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations, that among the children of Yisra᾽el they have no inheritance.

(24) But the tithes of the children of Yisra᾽el, which they offer as a gift to the Lord, I have given to the Levites to inherit: therefore I have said to them, Among the children of Yisra᾽el they shall have no inheritance.

(25) And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying,

(26) Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, When you take of the children of Yisra᾽el the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up from it a gift for the Lord, even a tenth part of the tithe.

(27) And this your gift shall be reckoned to you, as though it were the corn of the threshingfloor, and as the fulness of the winepress.

(28) Thus you also shall offer a gift to the Lord of all your tithes, which you receive of the children of Yisra᾽el; and you shall give of it the Lord’s gift to Aharon the priest.

(29) Out of all that is given to you, you shall set aside all that is due as a gift to the Lord, of all the best thereof, even the hallowed part of it.

(30) Therefore thou shalt say to them, When you have set aside the best of it, then it shall be counted to the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.

(31) And you shall eat it in every place, you and your households: for it is your reward for your service in the Tent of Meeting.

(32) And you shall bear no sin by reason of it, when you have set aside from it the best of it: nor shall you pollute the holy things of the children of Yisra᾽el, lest you die.

11 (14) Then said Shemu᾽el to the people, Come, and let us go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there. (15) And all the people went to Gilgal; and there they made Sha᾽ul king before the Lord in Gilgal: and there they made sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Sha᾽ul and all the men of Yisra᾽el rejoiced greatly. 12 (1) And Shemu᾽el said to all Yisra᾽el, Behold, I have hearkened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you. (2) And now, behold, the king walks before you: and I am old and greyheaded; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my childhood to this day. (3) Behold, here I am: answer me before the Lord, and before his anointed: whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I oppressed? or of whose hand have I received any bribe with which to blind my eyes? and I will restore it you. (4) And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, nor oppressed us, neither hast thou taken ought of any man’s hand, (5) And he said to them, The Lord is witness against you, and his anointed is witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand. And they answered, He is witness. (6) And Shemu᾽el said to the people, It is the Lord that made Moshe and Aharon, and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Miżrayim. (7) Now therefore stand still, that I may plead with you before the Lord concerning all the righteous acts of the Lord, which he did to you and to your fathers. (8) When Ya῾aqov was come into Miżrayim, and your fathers cried to the Lord, then the Lord sent Moshe and Aharon, who brought your fathers out of Miżrayim, and made them dwell in this place. (9) And when they forgot the Lord their God, he sold them into the hand of Sisera, captain of the host of Ḥażor, and into the hand of the Pelishtim, and into the hand of the king of Mo᾽av, and they fought against them. (10) And they cried to the Lord, and said, We have sinned, because we have forsaken the Lord, and have served the Ba῾alim and the ῾Ashtarot: but now deliver us out of the hand of our enemies, and we will serve Thee. (11) And the Lord sent Yerubba῾al, and Bedan, and Yiftaĥ, and Shemu᾽el, and delivered you out of the hand of your enemies round about, and you dwelled secure. (12) And when you saw that Naĥash the king of the children of ῾Ammon came against you, you said to me, No; but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your king. (13) Now therefore behold the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have desired! for behold, the Lord has set a king over you. (14) If you will fear the Lord, and serve him, and obey his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of the Lord, and if both you and also the king that reigns over you will follow the Lord your God – (15) but if you will not obey the voice of the Lord, but rebel against the commandment of the Lord, then shall the hand of the Lord be against you, as it was against your fathers. (16) Now therefore stand and see this great thing, which the Lord will do before your eyes. (17) Is it not wheat harvest today? I will call to the Lord, and he shall send thunder and rain; that you may know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of the Lord, in asking for a king for yourselves. (18) So Shemu᾽el called to the Lord; and the Lord sent thunder and rain that day: and all the people greatly feared the Lord and Shemu᾽el. (19) And all the people said to Shemu᾽el, Pray for thy servants to the Lord thy God, that we die not: for we have added to all our sins this evil, to ask for a king for ourselves. (20) And Shemu᾽el said to the people, Fear not: you have done all this wickedness: yet turn not aside from following the Lord, but serve the Lord with all your heart; (21) and turn not aside: for then you should go after vain things, which cannot profit nor deliver; for they are vain. (22) For the Lord will not abandon his people for his great name’s sake: because it has pleased the Lord to make you his people.

1. A board placed over the mouth of a new oven, overlapping it on all sides to the extent of a handbreadth, If there is uncleanness beneath [the board], vessels above it remain clean; If there is uncleanness above it, vessels beneath it remain clean. In the case of an old oven, they become unclean. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri declares them clean. [If the board] is placed over the mouth of two ovens, if there is uncleanness between them, they become unclean. Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri declares them clean.

2. Netting placed over the mouth of an oven, [so that it is] closed with a sealed lid: If there is uncleanness below [the netting] or above it, everything becomes unclean; But what is directly [above] the air-space of the oven remains clean. If there is uncleanness directly [above] the air-space of the oven, everything directly above it even to the sky becomes unclean.

3. [In a case where] the board is placed over the mouth of an old oven projects from either [end] to the extent of one handbreadth but not from the sides: If there is uncleanness under one end [of the board], vessels [under] the other end remain clean. Rabbi Yose declares them unclean. A betach does not bring uncleanness. If there was a projection in it: Rabbi Eliezer says: it [still] does not bring uncleanness. Rabbi Joshua says: we look at the betach as if it is not there, and the projection above brings uncleanness.

4. [With regard to] the shoe of a cradle, for which a hole had been made [in the ceiling to bring it] into the house [below], If [the hole] is one handbreadth square, everything becomes unclean; But if it was not [one handbreadth square] its [uncleanness] is reckoned as one reckons with [cases of contact with] a corpse.

5. [With regard to] the roof beams of a house and of the upper story which have no plaster ceiling upon them and are in a line, [the upper ones exactly above the lower]: If there is uncleanness beneath one of them, all beneath that one becomes unclean. If it is between a lower and an upper [beam] what is between them becomes unclean. If it is above the upper [roof beams], what is directly above to the sky becomes unclean. [In the case] where the upper [roof beams] were [over the gaps] between the lower [roof beams]: If there is uncleanness beneath one of them, what is beneath all of them becomes unclean; If above them, what is directly above to the sky becomes unclean.

6. [With regard to] a beam which is placed across from one wall to another and which has uncleanness beneath it: If it is one handbreadth wide, it conveys uncleanness to everything beneath it; If it is not [one handbreadth wide], the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards. How much must its circumference be so that its width should be one handbreadth? If it is round, its circumference must be three handbreadths; If square, four handbreadths, since a square has a [circumference] one quarter greater than [that of] a circle.

7. [With regard to] a pillar lying [on its side] in the open air, If its circumference is twenty-four handbreadths, it brings uncleanness to everything under its side; But if it is not, the uncleanness cleaves upwards and downwards.

8. If an olive-sized portion of a corpse is stuck to the threshold: Rabbi Eliezer declares the house unclean. Rabbi Joshua declares it clean. If it was placed beneath the threshold, the [case] is judged by the half [in which the uncleanness is found]. If it is stuck to the lintel, the house becomes unclean. Rabbi Yose declares it clean. If it was in the house, a person touching the lintel becomes unclean. [As for] a person touching the threshold: Rabbi Eliezer declares him unclean. Rabbi Joshua says: [if he touches it at a point] below a handbreadth [from the surface] he remains clean; above that handbreadth he becomes unclean.

§ The mishna teaches: In the case of a woman who discharges an item similar to fish or to grasshoppers, repugnant creatures, or creeping animals, if blood emerges with it, the woman is impure, and if not, she is pure. The Gemara asks: But let Rabbi Yehuda disagree with the Rabbis with regard to this halakha as well, just as he disagrees with them in the first clause of the mishna, in the case where a woman discharges an amorphous piece of tissue, as he maintains that she is impure whether or not blood emerges with it.

Reish Lakish says: This case is also subject to the dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbis, and the opinion cited in the mishna is that of the Rabbis. And Rabbi Yoḥanan says: You may even say that the ruling of the mishna is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda, as when Rabbi Yehuda says that the woman is impure even if blood does not emerge, it is only there, in the case of an amorphous piece of tissue, as the blood is likely to dry and turn into the form of a piece of tissue. But blood is not likely to become the form of a creature, such as a fish or a grasshopper.

The Gemara challenges: But this is difficult according to that version in which Rabbi Yoḥanan says that Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbis disagree with regard to whether opening of the womb is impossible without a discharge of blood (see 21b). Since Rabbi Yehuda holds that blood automatically emerges whenever the womb opens, and therefore the woman is impure even if she did not notice any blood, he should disagree with the Rabbis in this case too, i.e., if a woman discharges an item similar to a fish or one of the other creatures.

The Gemara answers: The one who teaches that version of the above discussion teaches an alternative version of Rabbi Yoḥanan’s opinion here as well, like this: With regard to a woman who discharges an item similar to fish, or to grasshoppers, repugnant creatures, or creeping animals, Rabbi Yoḥanan and Reish Lakish both say that this case is subject to a dispute between Rabbi Yehuda and the Rabbis, and the opinion stated in the mishna is that of the Rabbis.

One who cuts his nails, his hair, his mustache or his beard is surely [doing] a subcategory of shearing, so he is liable. And that is when he cuts with a tool. But if he cuts with his hand – whether himself or someone else – he is exempt. Likewise one who cuts off a growth from his body is exempt – whether by hand or with a tool, whether from himself or from someone else. And it is permissible to cut off a growth in the Temple by hand, but not with a tool. However if it was dry, he may even cut it off with a tool and [then] perform the [Temple] service.

How much does one who cuts his hair [need] to cut so that he be liable? Two hairs. But if he cut white ones from black ones, he is liable [for] even one. [In the case of] a nail the majority of which has separated or strips of skin the majority of which have separated towards above and they disturb him, it is permissible for him to cut them by hand – but not with a tool. However if he cut them with a tool, he is exempt. And if they do not disturb him, it is forbidden even by hand. And if their majority has not separated, it is forbidden to cut them by hand even if they disturb him. And if he cut them with a tool, he is liable.