Nature of the Asham/1

Nature of the Asham

Introduction

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Common Denominator?

Vayikra 5:14-26 details the laws of the Asham, listing three transgressions for which one is required to bring it. The first (v.15-16) and third cases (v.20-25) both relate to the theft.  One who has unintentionally benefited from that which was sanctified to Hashem (מעילה) or one who has intentionally taken property belonging to another and denies this under oath¹ are both obligated not only to return the theft and add a fifth but also to bring an Asham. The second case (v. 17-20) known as אשם תלוי, is understood by most² to refer to a scenario in which one is unsure whether or not they have transgressed a commandment.³

Outside of Parashat Vayikra we learn of three other individuals who must also bring an Asham: a Metzora as part of his purification process (Vayikra 14:10-20), one who has had relations with a pledged servant, a שפחה חרופה (Vayikra 19:20-22) and a Nazirite who has been defiled by the dead (Bemidbar 6:9-12).  What is the common denominator uniting all these cases?  Some are unintentional crimes, while others are intentional transgressions. Some involve sins against Hashem and others sins against man, while yet others appear not to relate to sin at all.  Is there any defining factor which can explain why specifically these individuals must bring an Asham?

Relationship to the Chatat

How does the Asham relate to the Chatat?  Both are obligatory offerings connected to certain sins and both are brought by the Metzora and Nazirite. Why, then, not mandate but one offering to cover all the different cases?  Why do certain crimes obligate one type of sacrifice and other crimes another? Does this suggest that the two sacrifices serve distinct functions? Some of the difference in protocol include the following:

• Animal brought – While a layman who is obligated to bring a Chatat brings a she-goat or female lamb, in most cases those obligated to bring an Asham must bring a ram. [The Metzora and Nazirite are exceptional and bring a male lamb.]  Does the more expensive offering imply that the Asham is brought for more severe offense?
• Blood rites – There is much emphasis on the role of the blood in the Chatat ritual, mentioning pouring, sprinkling and the unique language of placing, ""וּמִן הַדָּם יִתֵּן עַל קַרְנֹת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ".  The Asham's blood rite is much more similar to that of the Olah or Shelamim, mentioning only, "וְאֶת דָּמוֹ יִזְרֹק עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ סָבִיב".  Is there a significance to this difference?
• Difference in status / economics - The Chatat is status dependent, mandating different procedures for layman, prince and priest.  In certain cases, too, it differentiates based on economics, allowing those less well off to bring a lower grade offering. No such distinctions exist by the Asham. Why not?

¹

² Shadal is exceptional understanding the case to be one in which a person sins because he was unaware of the law (what he refers to as ignorantia juris). He assumes that a Chatat in brought when one is mistaken regarding the facts or reality (what he refers to as ignorantia facti), mistaking an unkosher piece of meat for a kosher one, while this Asham would be brought if the individual did not know that such animals were prohibited altogether.

³ For example, they know they ate a fatty substance but are not sure whether it was prohibited fat (חלב) or permitted fat.  This stands in contrast to one who mistakenly ate a prohibited food and later realized his mistake. [In such a case one brings a Chatat.]  In the first case one is unsure whether there was a transgression at all.  In the second one is aware of his transgression, but it was inadvertent.