Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual/2
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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.
Need for the ritual – According to this approach, the very existence of a unique 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 and it will be those townspeople who might know something of the murder.
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.
Killing the calf – Abarbanel suggests that the killing of the calf is symbolic of the potential punishment to be meted out to the people in wake of the unsolved murder; their cattle too will die. Fear of punishment will motivate the people to search for the culprit.
Beheading – As beheading is a particularly gruesome killing, it will shock the people, generating more discussion of the killing.
A calf that has not been worked
נַחַל אֵיתָן
Elders vs priests – It is possible that both take pat in the rite since it has boh a cultic and judicial component.
יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם
"וְאַתָּה תְּבַעֵר הַדָּם הַנָּקִי מִקִּרְבֶּךָ כִּי תַעֲשֶׂה הַיָּשָׁר" – R"Y Bekhor Shor explains that Hashem says that if the ceremony is done, then the innocent blood will be avenged for the killer will be found as the incident is publicized.
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, "Forgive, Hashem, Your people" implies that the rite focused on attainment of atonement.
Declaration of Innocence
- Ralbag suggests that the elders' declaration of innocence is really an apology, since even though they did not actively spill blood, they are nonetheless responsible as they should have taught the nation better, ensuring that all were following the Torah's values, and thereby prevented such a horrendous deed.
- Alternatively the leaders declare that they did not inadvertentlycontributeto the murder by either
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.2
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. 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.
