Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah
Ramban on Deuteronomy 21:16/רמב"ן על דברים כ״א:ט״ז
אלֹא יוּכַל לְבַכֵּר אֶת בֶּן הָאֲהוּבָה, אַזְהָרָה שֶׁלֹּא יַעֲשֶׂה זֶה. וְכֵן כֻּלָּם, לֹא תוּכַל לֶאֱכֹל בִּשְׁעָרֶיךָ (דברים י"ב:י"ז), לֹא תוּכַל לָתֵת עָלֶיךָ אִישׁ נָכְרִי (דברים י"ז:ט"ו). וְאָמַר אוּנְקְלוֹס (תרגום אונקלוס על דברים כ"א:ט"ז) בְּכֻלָּם, לֵית לָךְ רְשׁוּ. וְהַטַּעַם לֹא תִּתֵּן יְכֹלֶת לְנַפְשְׁךָ לַעֲשׂוֹת כָּכָה, וְהוּא מַפְלִיג בָּאַזְהָרָה. וְכֵן כִּי אֶת הַבְּכֹר בֶּן הַשְּׂנוּאָה יַכִּיר לָתֶת לוֹ פִּי שְׁנַיִם, מִצְוַת עֲשֵׂה שֶׁיַּנְחִילֶנּוּ פִּי שְׁנַיִם. וְהִנֵּה הַמַּשְׁוֶה אֶת הַבְּכוֹר לְאֶחָיו בְּנַחֲלָתוֹ עוֹבֵר בְּלֹא תַעֲשֶׂה וַעֲשֵׂה, ואע"פ שֶׁאֵין דְּבָרָיו קַיָּמִים בַּדִּין, וְכָל שֶׁכֵּן אִם לֹא רָצָה לְהוֹדִיעַ שֶׁהוּא הַבְּכוֹר וְטָעַן שֶׁהוּא פָּשׁוּט, וְהִנְחִילוֹ כְּאֶחָד מִבָּנָיו מִדַּעְתּוֹ שֶׁהוּא הַבְּכוֹר, שֶׁעוֹבֵר בָּהֶן. וְאֵלּוּ מִצְוֹת מְחֻדָּשׁוֹת. וּמִמָּה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב עַל פְּנֵי בֶן הַשְּׂנוּאָה הַבְּכֹר, יֵרָאֶה לִי שֶׁאֵין הַמִּצְוָה הַזֹּאת וְהַדִּין הַזֶּה נוֹהֵג אֶלָּא בְּחַיֵּי הַבְּכוֹר, אֲבָל אִם מֵת הַבְּכוֹר בְּחַיֵּי אָבִיו, אע"פ שֶׁהוּא יוֹרֵשׁ חֵלֶק בְּכוֹרָתוֹ בַּקֶּבֶר וּמוֹרִישׁוֹ מִן הַדִּין לְבָנָיו, אִם רָצָה הַזָּקֵן וְאָמַר יִירְשׁוּ בָּנַי כָּךְ וְכָךְ בִּנְכָסַי וּבָנָיו שֶׁל בְּנִי הַבְּכוֹר יִטְּלוּ כָּךְ וְכָךְ בִּנְכָסַי, דְּבָרָיו קַיָּמִין כְּדֶרֶךְ שֶׁהֵם קַיָּמִים בְּמָקוֹם שֶׁאֵין שָׁם בְּכוֹר. וְכֵן אֵינֶנּוּ עוֹבֵר בַּלָּאו הַזֶּה אִם לֹא הִכִּיר הַבְּכוֹר לְאַחַר מוֹתוֹ, כִּי לֹא מָצָאתִי עַל פְּנֵי, רַק בְּחַיָּיו, עַל פְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן אֲבִיהֶם (במדבר ג ד), עַל פְּנֵי תֶּרַח (בראשית יא כח), וְכֵן כֻּלָּם:
1LO YUCHAL’ [literally: “he could not” but rendered: HE MAY NOT] DECLARE THE SON OF THE BELOVED FIRSTBORN. This is an admonition82 against doing so. Likewise are all such verses as: ‘Lo thuchal’ (thou mayest not) eat within thy gates etc.;83 ‘lo thuchal’ (thou mayest not) put a foreigner over thee.84, 17:15. And in all these cases, Onkelos translates “you have no right” [which proves that the verse before us, too, constitutes an admonition], and the purport of these expressions is, “you could not allow yourself the possibility of doing so,” emphasizing the importance of the admonitions. Similarly, But he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the hated, by giving him a double portion85 constitutes a positive commandment that he bequeath a double portion to the firstborn. Thus he who equalizes the firstborn with his brothers [i.e., he assigns him a share equal to theirs] violates both a negative commandment and a positive commandment, even though his words are not legally valid. He surely violates both [commandments] if, knowing he [the son of the hated one] is the firstborn, and did not wish to make it known that he is the firstborn and claimed that he is an ordinary son and caused him to inherit like any one of his sons. Now, these are newly-declared commandments. And from that which Scripture states [he may not declare the son of the beloved firstborn] in the face of the firstborn, the son of the hated it would appear to me that this commandment and this law are binding only during the lifetime of the firstborn. But, if the firstborn died during the life of his father, even though he [the deceased son] inherits his share as the firstborn in the grave and bequeathes it by law to his children, yet if the father wished [to deviate] and said, “My sons shall inherit such-and-such of my belongings, and the children of my [late] son, the firstborn, shall take such-and-such of my belongings,” his instructions are valid just as they would be valid in a case where there is no firstborn son. Similarly, the father would not be violating this negative commandment if he did not acknowledge the firstborn son only after his death, for I have never found the expression ‘al pnei’ (in the face of) except with reference to the living, such as: ‘al pnei’ (in the presence of) Aaron their father;86 ‘al pnei’ (in the presence of) his father Terah,87 and similarly all such expressions. [Therefore, in this case, since it states that the father may not do it ‘al pnei’ the firstborn of the hated, it follows that the prohibition is binding only during the lifetime of the firstborn and that the father had acknowledged him as such.].