Difference between revisions of "Purpose of the Beheaded Heifer Ritual/2"
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<category>Discover the Killer | <category>Discover the Killer | ||
<p>The goal of the ritual is to publicize the murder so as to more easily find the culprit.</p> | <p>The goal of the ritual is to publicize the murder so as to more easily find the culprit.</p> | ||
| − | <mekorot><multilink><a href="TargumYerushalmiYonatanDevarim21-1-1-9" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)</a><a href="TargumYerushalmiYonatanDevarim21-1-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1:1-9</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1-9</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="MorehNevukhim3-40" data-aht="source">Rambam</a><a href="RambamHilkhotRotzeachuShemirathaNefesh9" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Rotzeach uShemirat haNefesh 9</a><a href="RambamHilkhotRotzeachuShemirathaNefesh10" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Rotzeach uShemirat haNefesh 10</a><a href="MorehNevukhim3-40" data-aht="source">Moreh Nevukhim 3:40</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Maimon (Rambam, Maimonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Maimon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ChizkuniDevarim21-2-9" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniDevarim21-2-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:2-9</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SeferHaChinukh530" data-aht="source">Sefer HaChinukh</a><a href="SeferHaChinukh530" data-aht="source">530</a><a href="Sefer HaChinukh" data-aht="parshan">About Sefer HaChinukh</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RBachyaDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">R. Bachya</a><a href="RBachyaDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1-9</a><a href="R. Bachya b. Asher" data-aht="parshan">About R. Bachya b. Asher</a></multilink></mekorot> | + | <mekorot><multilink><a href="TargumYerushalmiYonatanDevarim21-1-1-9" data-aht="source">Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)</a><a href="TargumYerushalmiYonatanDevarim21-1-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1:1-9</a><a href="Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)" data-aht="parshan">About Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan)</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1-9</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="MorehNevukhim3-40" data-aht="source">Rambam</a><a href="RambamHilkhotRotzeachuShemirathaNefesh9" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Rotzeach uShemirat haNefesh 9</a><a href="RambamHilkhotRotzeachuShemirathaNefesh10" data-aht="source">Hilkhot Rotzeach uShemirat haNefesh 10</a><a href="MorehNevukhim3-40" data-aht="source">Moreh Nevukhim 3:40</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Maimon (Rambam, Maimonides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Maimon</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="ChizkuniDevarim21-2-9" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniDevarim21-2-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:2-9</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="SeferHaChinukh530" data-aht="source">Sefer HaChinukh</a><a href="SeferHaChinukh530" data-aht="source">530</a><a href="Sefer HaChinukh" data-aht="parshan">About Sefer HaChinukh</a></multilink>, <multilink><a href="RBachyaDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">R. Bachya</a><a href="RBachyaDevarim21-1-9" data-aht="source">Devarim 21:1-9</a><a href="R. Bachya b. Asher" data-aht="parshan">About R. Bachya b. Asher</a></multilink><fn>R. Bachya brings several ways of understanding the ritual; this is one which he cites in the name of Rambam and then also "על דרך המדרש".</fn></mekorot> |
| − | <point><b> | + | <point><b>Natural or miraculous?</b> These commentators disagree whether the killer is to be found via natural or supernatural means:<br/> |
| + | <ul> | ||
| + | <li>Miracle </li> | ||
| + | </ul></point> | ||
<point><b>A calf that has not been worked</b></point> | <point><b>A calf that has not been worked</b></point> | ||
<point><b>Beheading</b></point> | <point><b>Beheading</b></point> | ||
| + | <point><b>נַחַל אֵיתָן</b></point> | ||
| + | <point><b>Not worked and unsown</b></point> | ||
| + | <point><b>Elders vs priests</b></point> | ||
| + | <point><b>יָדֵינוּ לֹא שָׁפְכוּ אֶת הַדָּם</b></point> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
<category>Atonement | <category>Atonement | ||
Version as of 04:06, 17 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
The rite atones for the nation's shared responsibility in the death.
