Difference between revisions of "Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual/2"
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<point><b>Heifer substitutes for killer</b></point> | <point><b>Heifer substitutes for killer</b></point> | ||
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
| − | <opinion>For the Nation | + | <opinion>For the Nation/Leaders |
<p>The rite atones for the nation's shared responsibility in the death.</p> | <p>The rite atones for the nation's shared responsibility in the death.</p> | ||
| − | <mekorot><multilink><a href=" | + | <mekorot><multilink><a href="MishnaSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Mishna Sotah</a><a href="MishnaSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Sotah 9:6</a><a href="Mishna" data-aht="parshan">About the Mishna</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="YerushalmiSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Bavli Sotah,</a><a href="YerushalmiSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Sotah 9:6</a><a href="Talmud Yerushalmi" data-aht="parshan">About the Yerushalmi</a></multilink> <multilink><a href="YerushalmiSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Yerushalmi Sotah</a><a href="YerushalmiSotah9-6" data-aht="source">Sotah 9:6</a><a href="Talmud Yerushalmi" data-aht="parshan">About the Yerushalmi</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RambanDevarim21-4-8" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanDevarim21-4-8" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:4-8</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RalbagDevarim21-7-9" data-aht="source">Ralbag</a><a href="RalbagDevarim21-7-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:7-9</a><a href="RalbagDevarimToalot21-6" data-aht="source">Devarim Toalot 21:6</a><a href="R. Levi b. Gershom (Ralbag, Gersonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Levi b. Gershom</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim21Introduction" data-aht="source">R. David Zvi Hoffmann</a><a href="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim21Introduction" data-aht="source">Devarim 21 Introduction</a><a href="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim21-7-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:7-9</a><a href="R. David Zvi Hoffmann" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Zvi Hoffmann</a></multilink></mekorot> |
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
Version as of 05:08, 18 December 2023
Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual
Exegetical Approaches
Discover the Killer
The goal of the ritual is to publicize the murder so as to more easily find the culprit.
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
A calf that has not been worked
Beheading
נַחַל אֵיתָן
Not worked and unsown
Elders vs priests
יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם
Atonement
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 – These sources note that 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.
