Difference between revisions of "Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual/2"
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
This topic has not yet undergone editorial review
m |
m |
||
| Line 11: | Line 11: | ||
<point><b>Natural or miraculous?</b> These commentators disagree whether the killer is to be found via natural or supernatural means:<br/> | <point><b>Natural or miraculous?</b> These commentators disagree whether the killer is to be found via natural or supernatural means:<br/> | ||
<ul> | <ul> | ||
| − | <li>Miracle</li> | + | <li>Miracle – both Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) and R. Bachye</li> |
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
<point><b>A calf that has not been worked</b></point> | <point><b>A calf that has not been worked</b></point> | ||
Version as of 02:36, 1 January 2024
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 – both Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) and R. Bachye
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 – 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.
