Defining To’Evah – What to Avoid

See here for a different treatment of this Pasuk

Parshat Shoftim

by Rabbi Avi Billet

1You shall not sacrifice to the Lord, your God, an ox or a sheep that has in it a blemish, any bad thing, for that is an abomination to the Lord, your God.

אלֹֽא־תִזְבַּח֩ לַֽיקֹוָ֨ק אֱ-לֹק֜יךָ שׁ֣וֹר וָשֶׂ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִֽהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם כֹּ֖ל דָּבָ֣ר רָ֑ע כִּ֧י תֽוֹעֲבַ֛ת יְקוָ֥ק אֱ-לֹק֖יךָ הֽוּא:

The Hebrew word translated above as “abomination” is to’evah, a word which is hard to pin down to a single word in translation. It has been translated as “taboo,” “loathsome,” “distasteful,” in different contexts, and reflects on things which are either socially “off” or unacceptable, or seriously problematic in God’s eyes, perhaps on account of their ungodliness, dishonesty, or a smack-in-the-face to God’s expectations of humanity.

Without going into detail on each, there are a number of categories of actions either described or forbidden in the Torah as being To’evah, which include missionary and idolatrous activities, certain sins of sexuality (including cross-dressing) when a person engages in such activity with certain entities forbidden either in general or in case-specific situations (such as a divorced man remarrying his ex-wife after she’d subsequently married another man), cheating in business, eating non-kosher animals, and utilizing witchcraft for any purpose. 

While those categories are relatively clear, in Egypt, for Egyptians to be eating with Yosef’s brothers (Hebrews) was considered a to’evah (perhaps “taboo”). Shepherds were considered to’avat Mitzrayim (Bereshit 46:34) when Yosef was trying to get his brothers out of working for Pharaoh, in hopes they’d be left alone to their own work when living in Goshen. Along similar lines, a lamb was considered to’avat Mitzrayim, and was a concern in Shmot 8:22 of how “we could eat it as part of an offering to God and not be stoned!” 

The word also appears in different contexts in other books of the Bible, enlarging the conundrum over its accurate translation. Yeshayahu refers to insincere offerings as to’evah. The prophet Yechezkel (ch. 8) refers to to’evot that were employed in the desecration and profanation of the Mikdash. 

Mishlei (Proverbs) has a number of examples of behaviors that are to’evot. A violent or perverse person (3:32, 16:5), haughty eyes/brazenness or someone who incites quarrels (6:16 – see commentaries) – this is in addition to 6 behaviors that “God hates” (listed in the surrounding verses), stubbornness (11:20), lying (12:22), offerings of the wicked (which is not necessarily referring to idolatry – 15:8), evil thoughts (15:26), one who justifies evil or who makes paints a righteous person as being wicked (17:15). 

In Mishlei, to’evah clearly refers to regrettable behaviors on many fronts. 

The verse in our parsha (quoted at the top) seems to imply that bringing a blemished animal on the Mizbeach as an offering is a “to’evah” – a detestable act. Surely, some to’evahs do not need explanation for how heinous they are, while others are of a different nature, lending us to wonder if they are all truly in the same category. 

What is most interesting, however, is how our verse presents the To’evah in question. Note the comma in the translation “an ox or a sheep that has in it a blemish, any bad thing” and be aware that the word for “thing” in Hebrew is דבר, which can also be understood to mean “word.” 

Rashi suggests that the To’evah comes about because someone causes the offering to become piggul – a disqualification usually associated with intention – brought on in this case through improper speech – thus the phrase means “any bad word/speech” and is an addition to the disqualified korban. This theme is advance by Baal Haturim as well, who writes לומר לך כל המנבל פיו נקרא תועבה ושנאוי – “Anyone who filths one’s mouth is called to’evah and one who is detested.” The term nivul peh refers to one’s errant speech, which he further extends to one’s speech and thoughts associated with committing the crime/sin of idolatry. 

Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi (a super-commentary on Rashi) also extends the deficiency in speech to the realm of evil thoughts of a similar nature. 

It could be argued that the word “To’evah” references something that is to be avoided. Sometimes it is an action. Sometimes it is a form of behavior. Sometimes it is certain company. In one case it refers to an Egyptian deity that Egypt would want us to avoid slaughtering. 

At the very least, the door Rashi and Baal HaTurim open for us is a reminder that our speech is powerful. We can ideally use our speech in a positive way, to uplift people, to engage in prayer, to utilize our words to share knowledge and ideas. We can also, unfortunately, find ourselves in the pitfall of using our speech in a manner which is presented as to’evah, whether disqualifying an offering, or, in the realm of human-to-human, breaking down relationships and friendships. The examples from the book of Mishlei should be particularly instructive as we aim for improvement in ourselves. 

As we enter the month of Elul, we should want to avoid being guilty of violating to’evot of every type. If we remind ourselves that close to 1/3 of the sins to which we confess our guilt in the Viduy of Yom Kippur are related to matters of speech, there’s no better reminder than this early-in-our-parsha teaching of Rashi, the day after Rosh Chodesh Elul, that we can always improve in our speech-choices. In this way, the to’evot of speech can be removed from our experience. 

May our attention to this matter serve as a merit for us and our community. May we be reminded of the words of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagan at the end of his introduction to his book “Chafetz Chaim”: 

גם לבד זה ידוע הוא מה שהובא במדרש רבה פרשת נשא, וזה לשונו: אם יגעת הרבה בדבריהם, הקדוש ברוך הוא מסיר יצר הרע ממך. על כן אמרתי אל לבי, אפשר שעל ידי שיעיינו בספר הזה שהוא מלוקט מכל דברי הראשונים בענין זה ויתבוננו בו, לא ישלוט כל כך היצר הרע בעון זה. וממילא כשימשוך מתחלה את עצמו מעון זה במקצת, בהמשך הזמן ימשוך את ידו ממנו לגמרי, כי בעון זה הרבה ממנו ההרגל עושה, והבא לטהר מסייעין אותו. ובזכות זה ובא לציון גואל במהרה בימינו אמן.

“The Midrash Rabba on Naso writes: If you work hard at these things, the Holy One removes your yetzer hara. This is why I told myself that it is possible through people studying this work [which informs people of proper speech choices] which compiles all the words of the Rishonim on this subject [Lashon Hara], and people understand it, then the yetzer hara won’t have as much influence in [encouraging] this sin. Inevitably when a person draws oneself away from this sin step by step, eventually a person will eradicate this sin from oneself altogether. This sin is worse in those who regularly engage in it. Yet one who actively seeks to purify oneself is helped [by God] in that endeavor. And in this merit, the Redeemer should come to Zion speedily in our days, Amen!”