או אינו אלא אפילו באחד ת"ל (דברים יט, טו) לא יקום עד אחד באיש
the house of C is for D; the field of E is for F! — There is no contradiction, the latter dictum referring to a first marriage and the former to a second marriage. R. ELIEZER SAYS, HE WARNS HER ON THE TESTIMONY OF TWO WITNESSES etc. So far only do [R. Eliezer and R. Joshua] differ, viz. in the matter of warning and seclusion, but in the matter of misconduct [they agree] that one witness is believed.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' [After due warning had been given and seclusion taken place]. And without drinking the water she leaves her husband's house and does not receive what would normally have been due to her under the marriage-contract.
');"><sup>22</sup></span> We similarly learn in the Mishnah: If one witness says: I saw that she committed misconduct, she does not drink the water.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Infra 31a.
');"><sup>23</sup></span> Whence is it derived according to Torah-law that one witness is believed? As our Rabbis taught: And there be no witness against her<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Num. V, 13.
');"><sup>24</sup></span> — the text refers to two witnesses.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' I.e., wherever Scripture uses the word witness, even in the singular, it denotes two.
');"><sup>25</sup></span> But perhaps it is not so and even one [suffices]! There is a teaching to declare, One witness shall not rise up against a man.<span class="x" onmousemove="('comment',' Deut. XIX, 15. ');"><sup>26</sup></span>
Mesilat Yesharim
Similarly, regarding licentiousness they said: "whoever sees the Sotah in her disgrace should make a Nazirite vow against wine"(Sotah 2a).
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
The Talmud (Sotah 2a) speaks about זווג ראשון, as well as זווג שני, "a first and a second matchmaking, mating." The "first one" is described as being proclaimed in Heaven, whereas the "second one" is man-made. The reference is to the commandment to be fruitful and multiply commanded to Adam and the subsequent commandment given to Noach and his descendants. The success of the second זווג, mating, marriage, which is on the basis of man's actions, depends on man's spiritual input being the first ingredient, whereas in the future, when the input from Heaven comes first, such זווגים, will be far superior to the matches being made on earth nowadays.
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
According to the Rekanati even the prohibition to take the garments of a widow as a pledge for a loan (24,17) contains an allusion to transmigration of souls. He sees in the prohibition a device by the Torah not to subject the widow to two painful experiences, the loss of her husband and the loss of her garments. In order to understand how this alludes to transmigration of souls we need to refer to a similarly worded verse in Exodus 22,25: אם חבול תחבול שלמת רעך עד בא השמש תשיבנו לו, "If you have occasion to take your fellow man's garment as a pledge, you must return it to him by sunset." This verse alludes to the mystical dimension called סוד העבור. Kabbalists see in it a reference to the soul which has to return to the Celestial Spheres every night, a concept we are familiar with from our nightly payer המפיל in which we consign our soul to G–d till the following morning. The widow consigning her garment (="soul") to a creditor therefore is punished every night on two counts, her soul suffers its second reincarnation. A widow is metaphor for a soul which has been consigned to a second round of life on earth already. The lender must not become the cause of her having to live a third round on earth. Transgressing the physical commandment described here results in psychic harm to the soul of the person against whom one has sinned.
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Shenei Luchot HaBerit
The Torah now continues with the blessings the Priests are to confer on the people (6,23-27). I have already mentioned earlier that the universe was created with the letter ב, which symbolizes ברכה, blessing. The presence of this blessing on an ongoing basis was spoiled due to the cursed activity of the serpent, which in turn led to the situation where ban איש או אשה כי יעשו מכל חטאת האדם, of "man or woman who commit any sins due to the all pervading influence of Adam" (5,6). It is Aaron's function to restore the natural state of the world as it was prior to sin. We have elaborated on the fact that Aaron was the תקון, the "repair, or correction," of Adam. When the Torah introduces the blessings with the words: "כה תברכו," the word כה, whose numerical value is 25, refers to the 25th of Elul, which is the date on which G–d commenced creating the universe, according to the view of Rabbi Eliezer (Vayikra Rabbah 29,1). A further allusion to this is the fact that G–d commenced His creation by saying: "יהי אור", let there be light, the word יהי having the numerical value 25.
