This mitzvah trains a person to take his words seriously. A vow is not a passing feeling. When a person speaks in the language of obligation before Hashem, his words can create a real duty.

The mitzvah also teaches humility. The Torah’s fixed valuations do not measure a person’s soul, wisdom, or greatness. A simple person and a famous person in the same age and category have the same Torah amount. This reminds a person that human worth is not the same as market value.

In daily life, the mitzvah builds care around pledges and donations. A person should not speak lightly about what he will give to tzedakah, Torah, shul, or sacred causes. If he makes a real commitment, it must be honored.

עֲרָכִין — fixed Torah valuations also teach that serving Hashem includes material responsibility. Money can become holy when it is given through Torah obligation. A person’s resources, like his words, can be brought into avodas Hashem — service of Hashem.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Positive Mitzvah 114; Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Arachin V’Charamin 1:1–4.
• Rambam defines this mitzvah as the command to carry out the laws of עֲרָכִין — fixed Torah valuations. He explains that if a person pledges the erech of himself or another person, he must pay the amount written in the Torah. Rambam makes clear that this is not ordinary appraisal. It is a Torah-defined obligation created by a specific vow.

Sefer HaChinuch

• Source: Sefer HaChinuch, Mitzvah 350.
• Sefer HaChinuch explains that the mitzvah trains people to give from their property to sacred purposes and to take vows seriously. The Torah fixes the amounts so that the obligation is clear and not left to emotion or confusion. Through this mitzvah, speech becomes responsible, and money can be directed toward kedushah — holiness.

Arachin

• Source: Mishnah Arachin 1:1.
• The Mishnah teaches that all people can be the subject of עֲרָכִין — fixed Torah valuations, and that many people can create such obligations through speech. This establishes the mitzvah as a formal system of hekdesh obligation, not a personal estimate of someone’s worth.

Arachin

• Source: Gemara Arachin 2a.
• The Gemara opens by clarifying who is included in the laws of עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations and how the Torah’s language expands the obligation. Chazal show that this mitzvah has precise legal categories, because sacred speech creates binding results.

Arachin

• Source: Gemara Arachin 18a–19a.
• The Gemara discusses the age stages and Torah amounts used in עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations. This shows that the system is not based on personal assessment. The Torah itself defines the values.

Sifra

• Source: Sifra, Bechukosai, Parashah 3.
• Sifra expounds the words “בְּעֶרְכְּךָ נְפָשֹׁת לַה׳” and explains the Torah’s fixed categories of valuation. The Midrashic reading shows that the vow is directed to Hashem, and therefore its rules must come from Hashem’s Torah.

Vayikra Rabbah

• Source: Vayikra Rabbah 37:1.
• The Midrash places the laws of vows and valuations at the end of Sefer Vayikra, after the Torah has taught holiness in korbanos — offerings, tumah — ritual impurity, kedushah — holiness, and covenant. This teaches that holiness also reaches personal speech and financial commitments.

Tanchuma

• Source: Midrash Tanchuma, Bechukosai 6.
• Tanchuma connects pledges to Hashem with the seriousness of speech and responsibility. A person who directs words toward hekdesh must understand that those words are no longer ordinary. They enter the realm of obligation before Hashem.

Rashi

• Source: Rashi on Vayikra 27:2.
• Rashi explains that עֵרֶךְ — valuation means the fixed amount written in the Torah, not a person’s market worth. His comment protects the basic meaning of the mitzvah. The Torah is not pricing a soul. It is defining a vow-payment.

Ramban

• Source: Ramban on Vayikra 27:2.
• Ramban explains that these laws belong to the world of neder — vow and hekdesh, where a person dedicates value to Hashem. The Torah gives set amounts so the obligation can be fulfilled with clarity. Sacred speech must be anchored in Torah law.

Ibn Ezra

• Source: Ibn Ezra on Vayikra 27:2.
• Ibn Ezra explains the plain meaning of the passage as a person pledging a fixed valuation to Hashem. His reading highlights that the mitzvah begins with speech and becomes a payment. The mouth creates an obligation that the hand must fulfill.

Sforno

• Source: Sforno on Vayikra 27:2.
• Sforno explains that the Torah’s valuations guide a person who wants to dedicate something to Hashem but uses the language of a person’s erech. The Torah channels that impulse into a clear obligation. Devotion must be guided by halacha.

Abarbanel

• Source: Abarbanel on Vayikra 27.
• Abarbanel explains that the laws of valuations appear after the covenant because they teach how voluntary religious feeling enters a legal Torah structure. A person may be moved to pledge, but the Torah determines how that pledge is fulfilled.

Rabbeinu Bachya

• Source: Rabbeinu Bachya on Vayikra 27:2.
• Rabbeinu Bachya teaches that vows to Hashem require care because speech has spiritual force. When a person says words of dedication, he attaches his property to holiness. עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations teach that this power must be treated with reverence.

Chizkuni

• Source: Chizkuni on Vayikra 27:2.
• Chizkuni explains that the Torah gives exact values for different ages and categories so that the person knows what he owes. The mitzvah removes uncertainty. A vow to Hashem should not become a source of argument or guesswork.

Kuzari

• Source: Kuzari 3:11.
• The Kuzari explains that Torah law gives concrete form to religious life. This mitzvah fits that system because a spiritual impulse becomes a defined act. The person does not serve Hashem through feeling alone, but through Torah-shaped obligation.

Maharal

• Source: Maharal, Gur Aryeh on Vayikra 27:2.
• Maharal explains that Torah categories reveal an order deeper than ordinary human judgment. In עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations, the amount is not based on social importance. It is based on the Torah’s own structure, teaching that holiness is measured by Divine order, not human status.

Ran

• Source: Derashos HaRan, Derush 7.
• Ran explains that vows show the power of human speech to create obligation. עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations are a strong example of this principle. A person’s words can take money that was ordinary and place it under a sacred duty.

Ritva

• Source: Ritva on Arachin 2a.
• Ritva explains the legal categories of who can pledge and who can be evaluated under the Torah’s system. His approach shows that the mitzvah depends on precise halachic status. Sacred obligation is powerful because it is carefully defined.

Rashba

• Source: Rashba, Teshuvos 1:656.
• Rashba discusses the seriousness of neder — vow obligations and how they bind a person once properly expressed. His treatment helps frame עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations as part of the wider Torah system where speech can create binding sacred duty.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Arachin V’Charamin 1:1–4.
• Rambam rules that one who says “my erech is upon me” must give the Torah amount based on age and gender. If he says “the erech of so-and-so is upon me,” he gives the amount fixed for that person. This is the practical heart of the mitzvah.

Rambam

• Source: Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Arachin V’Charamin 1:5–7.
• Rambam rules that עֵרֶךְ — fixed valuation differs from דָּמִים — market value. If a person says “my value is upon me,” the obligation follows appraisal. If he says “my erech is upon me,” the obligation follows the Torah’s fixed chart. The wording matters.

Shulchan Aruch

• Source: Shulchan Aruch, Yoreh Deah 258:1.
• Shulchan Aruch rules that pledges to hekdesh or tzedakah must be fulfilled and that a person must be careful with words of dedication. Although formal Temple hekdesh is not practiced today in the same way, the seriousness of sacred pledges remains.

Rema

• Source: Rema, Yoreh Deah 258:13.
• Rema discusses communal and tzedakah pledges and how they become binding through speech or accepted practice. This shows how the responsibility of sacred speech continues in later halacha, even when the full Mikdash system of arachin is not active.

Shach

• Source: Shach, Yoreh Deah 258:5.
• Shach explains practical details of when a pledge becomes binding and how seriously such commitments must be treated. His discussion keeps the lesson of עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations alive: words directed toward holiness cannot be dismissed casually.

Chasam Sofer

• Source: Chasam Sofer, Toras Moshe, Bechukosai, s.v. “אִישׁ כִּי יַפְלִא.”
• Chasam Sofer explains that the laws of valuations teach the seriousness of voluntary devotion. A person may feel inspired to give, but Torah gives that inspiration form. The mitzvah teaches that holiness needs both heart and structure.

Netziv

• Source: Netziv, HaEmek Davar on Vayikra 27:2.
• Netziv emphasizes the Torah’s language of “יַפְלִא” — making a distinct or exceptional vow. The person separates something from ordinary ownership and directs it to Hashem. This act must be handled with care because it moves property into the world of kedushah — holiness.

Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch

• Source: Rav Hirsch on Vayikra 27:2.
• Rav Hirsch teaches that עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations show that a person may dedicate his material resources to express devotion to Hashem. Yet the Torah does not allow religious feeling to remain uncontrolled. It gives exact law, so devotion becomes disciplined service.

Malbim

• Source: Malbim on Vayikra 27:2.
• Malbim highlights the Torah’s wording and distinguishes between valuation language and other forms of dedication. The mitzvah depends on the exact words used. This teaches that speech has legal force and must be precise when directed toward hekdesh.

Meshech Chochmah

• Source: Meshech Chochmah on Vayikra 27:2.
• Meshech Chochmah explains that the Torah’s fixed values prevent religious giving from becoming a display of ego or social comparison. The Torah sets the measure, reminding the person that holiness is not controlled by human pride.

Rav Kook

• Source: Rav Avraham Yitzchok HaCohen Kook, Olat Re’iyah, Nedarim.
• Rav Kook teaches that vows can reveal a deep desire to lift ordinary life toward Hashem. עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations channel that desire into Torah form. The soul wants to give itself, and the Torah teaches how that desire becomes holy action.

Baal Shem Tov

• Source: Baal Shem Tov al HaTorah, Bechukosai.
• The Baal Shem Tov teaches that every word a person speaks has spiritual weight. In this mitzvah, speech does not disappear into the air. It creates responsibility before Hashem. The mouth becomes a vessel for holiness or carelessness.

Tanya

• Source: Tanya, Likutei Amarim, Chapter 37.
• Tanya teaches that mitzvos draw holiness into the physical world. In עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations, money becomes connected to Hashem through a person’s vow. Physical resources are lifted when they are placed into sacred service.

Sfas Emes

• Source: Sfas Emes, Bechukosai 5635.
• Sfas Emes teaches that the end of Sefer Vayikra reveals how holiness reaches even voluntary speech and personal giving. A person’s inner will can become a vessel for kedushah — holiness when it is shaped by Torah.

Kedushas Levi

• Source: Kedushas Levi, Bechukosai, s.v. “אִישׁ כִּי יַפְלִא.”
• Kedushas Levi presents vows to Hashem as expressions of love and awakening. A person feels moved to give something of himself to Hashem. The Torah’s laws of עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations help that love become faithful and responsible.

Shem MiShmuel

• Source: Shem MiShmuel, Bechukosai 5672.
• Shem MiShmuel explains that a person’s words can reveal a hidden inner desire for closeness to Hashem. But desire must be refined. עֲרָכִין — fixed valuations teach that spiritual yearning becomes complete only when it accepts Torah boundaries.

Ramchal

• Source: Ramchal, Mesillas Yesharim, Chapter 13.
• Ramchal teaches that perishus — restraint and voluntary dedication can be holy when guided by Torah. This mitzvah shows that voluntary giving must not become wild or self-made religion. It must remain disciplined, honest, and loyal to Hashem’s law.

Mitzvah 227 begins the final cluster of Sefer Vayikra, which deals with vows, valuations, consecrated property, and cherem — banned or dedicated property. After the Torah teaches korbanos — offerings, purity, kedushah — holiness, mo’adim — appointed times, Shemitah, Yovel, blessing, and rebuke, it ends with the laws of what a person voluntarily pledges to Hashem.

עֲרָכִין — fixed Torah valuations are different from ordinary donations. If a person simply gives money, he gives what he chooses. If he uses the language of erech, the Torah determines the amount. This creates a powerful lesson: once speech enters the sacred realm, Torah defines its meaning.

The mitzvah also protects human dignity. The Torah’s fixed values are not statements about the true worth of a person. No soul can be priced. The Torah is defining a neder — vow payment, not measuring human greatness.

Today, the full Temple system of arachin is not practiced in the same way. Still, the mitzvah teaches lasting foundations: be careful with sacred speech, honor pledges, give responsibly, and remember that money can become part of avodas Hashem — service of Hashem.