[א] "ישראל" – אלו ישראל. "גר" – אלו גרים. "הַגָר" – לרבות נשי הגרים. "בתוכם" – לרבות נשים ועבדים. 1) (Vayikra 17:10) ("And a man, a man, from the house of Israel and from the stranger that sojourns among them, that shall eat any blood — I shall set My face against the soul that eats the blood, and I shall cut it off from the midst of its people.") "Israel": (the congregation of) Israel; "the stranger": proselytes; "that sojourns": to include the wives of proselytes; "in their midst": to include women and bondsmen.
[ב] אם כן למה נאמר "איש איש"? אמר ר' אלעזר בר' שמעון להביא ולד בת ישראל מן העכו"ם ומן העבד. 2) If so, (i.e., if all have been accounted for) why is it written "a man, a man"? R. Elazar b. R. Shimon said: To include the child of an Israelite (mother) by a gentile or by a bondsman.
[ג] "אשר יאכל כל דם" – מה תלמוד לומר? לפי שנאמר "כי נפש הבשר בדם וכולי" שיכול אין לי חייבים אלא דם הנפש במוקדשים. מנין על דם הנפש בחולין, ועל דם התמצית בחולין, ועל דם התמצית במוקדשים? תלמוד לומר "אשר יאכל כל דם", דברי ר' יהודה. וחכמים אומרים על כולם אינן חייבים אלא על דם הנפש בלבד. 3) "that shall eat any blood": What is the intent of this? Because it is written (Vayikra 17:11) "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; (and I have given it to you upon the altar to atone for your souls"), I might think that one is liable only for blood of the soul (i.e., the blood of shechitah, by which the soul leaves) in consecrated animals. Whence do I derive (the same for) the blood of the soul in chullin (non-consecrated animals), and residual blood in chullin and residual blood in consecrated animals? From "that shall eat any blood." These are the words of R. Yehudah. The sages say: For all of these he is not liable (kareth) except for "blood of the soul" alone.
[ד] "ונתתי פני" – פונה אני מכל עסקי ועוסק בה. "בנפש" – ולא בצבור. "האוכלת" – ולא המאכלת. "מקרב עמה" – ועמה שלום. 4) "I shall set My face (against the soul that eats the blood"): I shall free Myself from all of My other affairs and I shall deal with him alone. "against the soul": and not against the congregation. "that eats": and not that feeds others (i.e., he is not liable to kareth) "that eats … from the midst of its people": Its people will remain at peace.
[ה] "כי נפש הבשר בדם הִוא" – להגיד מה גרם. "ואני נתתיו" – ואם נתנם במתנה אחת, כפר. "לכם" – ולא לאחרים. "על המזבח" – כל מקום שיתן על המזבח יכפר. "על המזבח" – ולא על קרקעו של מזבח. "כי הדם הוא בנפש יכפר" – הא אם נתן מדם התמצית לא עשה כלום. 5) "For the life of the flesh is in the blood": This is the reason (that it is forbidden). "and I have given it": If he makes (even) one application (of the blood) it atones. ("I have given it) to you": and not to others. (Gentiles do not bring sin-offerings and guilt-offerings.) "upon the altar": anywhere on the altar that it is applied (post factum), it atones. "upon the altar": and not upon the ground of the altar (in the azarah). (Vayikra 17:11) "for the blood in the soul (i.e., by which the soul lives) atones": so that if he applied residual blood, he has done nothing (towards atonement).
[ו] "על כן אמרתי לבני ישראל כל נפש מכם לא תאכל דם" – להזהיר גדולים על הקטנים. יכול יהיו נכרתים על ידיהם? תלמוד לומר "האוכלת" – האוכל נכרת. 6) (Vayikra 17:12) "Therefore, I have said to the children of Israel: All souls of you shall not eat blood": to exhort the elders over the children. I might think that they would be cut off because of them (if they did not exhort them); it is, therefore, written (Vayikra 17:10) ("that soul which eats blood"): the eater (alone) will be cut off.
[ז] יכול לא יהיו נכרתים על הקטנים, שאין הקטנים נכרתים על ידי עצמם, אבל יהיו נכרתים על ידי גדולים שהרי גדולים נכרתים על ידי עצמם? תלמוד לומר "כל אוכליו יכרת" – אינם נכרתים לא על ידי קטנים ולא על ידי גדולים. 7) I might think that they would not be cut off because of (feeding) minors, for they themselves are not cut off (for eating blood), but that they would be cut off because of (feeding) adults, for they themselves are cut off (for eating it). It is, therefore, written (Vayikra 17:14) "All of its eaters will be cut off." They (the feeders) are not cut off for (feeding) either adults or minors.