Ki Seitzei 21:23 · unit 6
TT #98 · Parashas Ki Seitzei · Second Aliyah · Passuk 21:23
The Complete Passuk
לֹא־תָלִין נִבְלָתוֹ עַל־הָעֵץ כִּי־קָבוֹר תִּקְבְּרֶנּוּ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא כִּי־קִלְלַת אֱלֹהִים תָּלוּי וְלֹא תְטַמֵּא אֶת־אַדְמָתְךָ אֲשֶׁר יְהֹוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ נַחֲלָה׃
His body shall not remain overnight on the tree; rather you shall bury him on that same day, for a hanging person is a curse of God, and you shall not defile your land that Hashem your God is giving you as an inheritance.
Chabad.org — 21:23
Source Citation
Torah Temimah points to Sanhedrin 46b .
Sefaria — Sanhedrin 46b
Core Text of Chazal
Core Text
וְלֹא תְטַמֵּא אֶת אַדְמָתְךָ – מִכָּאן שֶׁהַמְלִין אֶת מֵתוֹ גּוֹרֵם טֻמְאָה לָאָרֶץ.
English: “And you shall not defile your land” — from here we learn that one who leaves his dead overnight causes impurity to the land.
On the daf / in context: The verse links the failure to bury promptly with the defilement of the Land of Israel itself.
Type of Learning
Derash connecting the prohibition to the sanctity of the Land.
What Is Learned
Leaving a corpse unburied overnight defiles the land that Hashem has given as an inheritance.
Source pointed to by Torah Temimah. Only Chazal’s words and what they derived are presented. Ashkenazi transliteration.