Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual/2
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This topic has not yet undergone editorial review
Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual
Exegetical Approaches
Utilitarian: Discover the Killer
The ritual and its various components are all meant to aid in finding the unknown murderer.
Sources:Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan), R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Rambam, Chizkuni, Sefer HaChinukh, R. Bachya1
Natural or miraculous? These commentators disagree whether the killer is to be found via natural or supernatural means:
- Miracle – Both Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) and R. Bachya maintain that the ritual will miraculously lead to the murderer, either as a trail of worms leads from the heifer to the culprit, or as the heifer himself walks to the house of the murderer.
- Natural – The other commentators suggest that the publicity generated by the ritual will motivate people to search for the killer and gather information that will aid in the investigation.
Details of the rite – According to this approach, the very existence of a rite leads people to talk about the killing, making it more likely that some information will be revealed that will aid in finding the killer.
Closest city – The rite is performed by elders of the closest city since the murderer was most likely from there, leading to a higher chance of finding him as people talked about the incident.
Not sown land – Rambam understands this to mean that the land shall not be sown in the future. As such, the directive serves as an incentive to the owner of the land to find the killer, lest he lose the ability to work his land.
Beheading – Abarbanel suggests that several aspects of the rite are symbolic of punishment to be meted out to the people due to the
A calf that has not been worked
נַחַל אֵיתָן
Elders vs priests
יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם
"כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל"
Parallel cases
Context
Repentance and Atonement
The ritual is one of atonement, meant either to cleanse the land from the blood of the innocent, or to atone for the people / leaders who might be partially responsible for the death..
For the Land
Acts of murder defile the land, which can only be cleansed though the blood of the killer. When the killer is unknown and cannot be brought to justice, the ritual is necessary to cleanse the land.
Sources:Shadal
Death defiles – Bemidbar 35:33 explicitly states that blood defiles the land and can only be purified through the blood of the killer: "וְלָאָרֶץ לֹא יְכֻפַּר לַדָּם אֲשֶׁר שֻׁפַּךְ בָּהּ כִּי אִם בְּדַם שֹׁפְכוֹ".
Heifer substitutes for killer
For the Nation/Leaders
The rite atones for the nation's shared responsibility in the death.
"כַּפֵּר לְעַמְּךָ יִשְׂרָאֵל" – The prayer,2 "Forgive, Hashem, Your people" implies that the rite focused on attainment of atonement.
Declaration of Innocence
- Ralbag suggests that the elders' declaration
A calf that has not been worked
Beheading
נַחַל אֵיתָן
Unsown land
Prevent Scapegoating
The ritual is meant to prevent scapegoating and the killing of innocents that might result from the people's zeal to find a culprit so as to prevent potential collective punishment.3
Sources:Minchat Yehuda, Shadal #2
Teach the Value of Life
Killing of the calf
Beheading
Why a calf?
Elders and priests – Both the elders and priests are needed for the ceremony since the murder constituted both a crime against society and a spiritual sin against Hashem. Thus both the elders and priests must participate in the rite. The elders take responsibility for their failure to protect life, while the priests highlight the need to ask forgiveness and gain atonement. Together they reaffirm the value and holiness of life and reflect on their communities role in maintaining it.
