Nature of the Chatat/2

Nature of the Chatat

Exegetical Approaches

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Sin Offering

The Chatat serves to atone for unintentional sins.

Meaning of Chatat

Common denominator

Purification Offering

The Chatat is primarily a purification offering, meant to purify the Mikdash.

Meaning of Chatat – According to these sources, the root "חטא" means to purify, as proven by the many verses where it is clearly mentioned in the context of purification (sometimes being parallel to the root "טהר") including Vayikra 14:48-52, Bemidbar 8:7, Bemidbar 19:19 and Yechezkel 43:23-26.

Common denominator – R. D"Z Hoffmann asserts that the common denominator between all cases in which one must bring a Chatat is that they involve contraction of impurity, be it spiritual or physical. Thus, both those individuals who have created spiritual impurity by unintentionally transgressing a prohibition and those who have contracted physical impurity (a birthing mother, one who has tzara'at, one who has an emission, and a Nazirite who has come in contact with a corpse) are obligated to bring a Chatat.