לא תחמוד

(1) Not to desire the money of your friend: That we were prevented from fixing in our thoughts to desire what is in the hand of one of our brothers, the Children of Israel; since the fixing of the desire for that thing in our heart will become a cause to create machinations to get it from him - even though it is not his will to sell them - by purchase or exchange or, if we cannot [acquire it] in any other way, by force. And about this is it stated (Deuteronomy 5:18), "you shall not desire the house of your neighbor, etc." And Rambam, may his memory be blessed, wrote (Sefer HaMitzvot LaRambam, Mitzvot Lo Taase 266), that the two negative commandments - which are "you shall not covet," which is in the Order of Vayishma Yitro, and "you shall not desire" in this Order - are not repeated negative commandments about one matter. Rather, they are two matters. As the negative commandment of "you shall not covet" will prevent him from taking that which someone besides him acquired, in any way - whether with money or without money - if [the owner] does not want to sell that thing. But this negative commandment of "you shall not desire" will prevent him from even the desire for it in his heart. As with the desire, he will come to supplicate him and to pressure him to sell it or trade it for another vessel, no matter what. And even though one of these negative commandments brings its fellow, they are considered two nonetheless. And behold, you [can] see the difference between them.

(2) And do not wonder to say, "And how is it in the hand of a man to prevent his heart from desiring the storehouse of every delightful vessel that he sees in the hand of his fellow, whereas he is totally empty of them; and how does the Torah bring a prevention about that which is impossible for a man to uphold?" As the thing is not like this, and only silly evildoers and those that sin with their souls say it. As truly, it is in the hand of a man to prevent himself and his thoughts and his desires from anything that he wants. And [it is] within his control and his cognizance to distance and to bring close his want for all things according to his will. And his heart is given into his hand; to anything that he wants can he incline it. And God - in front of Whom are all hidden things - 'searches all the rooms of the belly, sees the kidney and the heart.' There is not one from all of the thoughts of man - little or big, good or bad - that is hidden from Him; and it is not covered from His eyes. [Hence] He will bring vengeance upon those that transgress His will in their hearts, and 'safeguards kindness for the thousands [of generations] for those that love Him,' who dedicate their thoughts to His service. As there is nothing as good for a man as good and pure thought, as it is the beginning of all actions, and their end. And this is apparently the matter of the 'good heart,' that the Sages praised in Tractate Avot 2:9. And the proof that these two negative commandments are different in their content and considered two [distinct commandments] is that which they said in Mekhilta DeRabbi Shimon bar Yochai 20:14, "'You shall not covet your neighbor's house' (Exodus 20:14), and later it states, 'and you shall not desire,' to make liable for the desire on its own and for the coveting on its own." And there, it [also] says, "From where [do I know] that if he desires, his end will be to covet? [Hence,] we learn to say 'you shall not desire' 'and you shall not covet.' From where [do I know] that if a man coveted, his end will be to steal? [Hence,] we learn to say 'They covet fields, and steal' (Michah 2:2)."

(3) The root of this commandment is known, since distancing theft from among men is useful for all, and the intellect is a trustworthy witness to the thing. And there is no lengthy discussion of [its] laws, as all of its content is elucidated in Scripture (see Tur, Choshen Mishpat 359).

(4) And it is practiced in every place and at all times by males and females. All people of the world are also obligated about it, since it is a branch of the commandment [against] theft, which is one of the seven commandments that all people of the world were commanded. And do not err, my son, with this well-known tally of the seven commandments of the Noachides mentioned in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 56b); as truthfully these seven are [only] like general principles, but they have many details. So you will find that the prohibition of sexual immorality is considered for them to be one commandment as a general principle, but there are details in it; such as the prohibition of the mother, and the prohibition of the sister from the mother's side, and the prohibition of a married woman, and the wife of the father, and the male, and the animal (Sanhedrin 58a). And so [too,] the matter of idolatry is all considered one commandment for them, but there are many, many details; as behold, they are the same regarding it as Israel, since they are liable for everything that an Israelite court would kill about (Sanhedrin 56b). And so too can we say that since they are warned about the matter of theft, that they were also warned about all of its distancings. And my intention is not to say that they are warned about this with a negative commandment like Israel. Rather, they were warned about it more generally in these seven. It is as if you would say, for example, that Scripture warned them, "Each man, shall not come close to the flesh of his relatives; to the mother, to the sister and to all of the family." And so too also with idolatry [that the command be] in general. And so with theft, [it is] as if it was stated to them, "You shall not steal, but distance yourselves from it completely" - and within the distancing is not to covet. But the matter is not like this with Israel, as the Omnipresent wanted to bring them merit, and [so] he multiplied the commandments for them, more than for [the gentiles]; and also in those that we were commanded, He commanded upon them with separate positive commandments and negative commandments - as every one that does one commandment acquires one defender for himself. And the one who transgresses this and fixes his thought to desire that which is of someone else transgresses this negative commandment. But there are no lashes for it, as there is no act [connected with it], yet his punishment is very great; as it is a cause for several mishaps, as is well-known [from] the story of Achav and Navot.

(9) Anyone who covets the male or female servant or the house or goods of his neighbor, or anything that he can buy from him, and he exerts friendly pressure and annoys him until he buys it from him, even for a high price, breaks the prohibition: "You shall not covet" (Exodus 20:17).— —