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Misva #123: The Korban Oleh Ve’yored

Misva #123: The Korban Oleh Ve’yored

FromSefer Hachinuch


Misva #123: The Korban Oleh Ve’yored

FromSefer Hachinuch

ratings:
Length:
20 minutes
Released:
Jan 23, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Description

The Torah in Parashat Vayikra (chapter 5) requires violators who commit certain offenses to offer a sacrifice known as the “Korban Oleh Ve’yored” – “fluctuating sacrifice.” It is so named because the offering depends on the offender’s financial status. A financially stable sinner brings a goat or sheep; one who struggles financially brings two birds; and a destitute person brings the cheapest sacrifice – a flour offering. This offering is brought by the following groups of sinners: one who mistakenly ate hallowed food (such as sacrifices) in a state if Tum’a (impurity); one who entered the area of the Bet Ha’mikdash in a state of Tum’a; one who violated a Shebu’at Bitui (vow) by doing something he vowed not to do, or failing to do something he vowed to do; and one who made a false Shebu’at Ha’edut – oath denying having information which he could provide as testimony in a court case. This final case marks an exceptional situation where a sin-offering is required for an intentional violation; normally, sin-offerings are brought to atone for unintentional transgressions. In explaining the reason behind this unique sacrifice, the Sefer Ha’hinuch establishes that sins committed verbally are particularly common, as people tend to be less careful about the way they speak than about the way they act. The Torah therefore made atonement for this type of sin accessible to all people, even those with limited means, by allowing the poor to bring an inexpensive offering. The Sefer Ha’hinuch applies this rationale also to the sins involving Tum’a, noting that these offenses, too, were very common, given the practical difficulty entailed in avoiding sources of ritual impurity. And thus for these violations, too, the Torah ensured that even destitute violators would have the ability to earn atonement through an inexpensive sacrifice. As for the requirement to bring a sacrifice after intentionally making a false Shebu’at Ha’edut, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this offense is especially common. People would frequently need to summon witnesses, and witnesses would easily be tempted to conveniently deny having information, claiming that they did not remember. Additionally, people do not generally regard this false denial as a crime, since no money is actually being stolen. In truth, however, this indeed constitutes a serious offense, as it undermines the judicial process. Hashem, in His kindness, made atonement available for even the intentional violation of this offense, even for the poor, because this is so common. The Sefer Ha’hinuch emphasizes that a sinner required to offer a Korban Oleh Ve’yored must then set up “fences” – meaning, safeguards – for himself, to ensure to avoid these sins in the future. Offering the sacrifice alone is insufficient; the violator must recognize his weakness and strategize in order to overcome it. Just as a recovering addict must put in place safeguards to keep a distance from the object of his addiction, one who has violated a prohibition must figure out ways to protect himself from repeating the misdeed. The Sefer Ha’hinuch surprisingly writes that if a poor individual is obligated to bring a Korban Oleh Ve’yored, and he voluntarily chooses to offer the standard sacrifice, despite his limited means, he does not fulfill his obligation. Intuitively, of course, we would have assumed that this pauper should be congratulated for voluntarily incurring this additional expense to offer a more respectable sacrifice, even though the Torah allowed him to offer a cheaper sacrifice due to his financial struggles. However, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that to the contrary, he does not even fulfill his basic requirement. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah here conveys to us the crucial lesson that we must not spend beyond our means. Once the Torah allowed this pauper to bring an inexpensive offering, it is wrong for him to waste his limited resources on a costlier sacrifice – teaching us to always ensure not to spend
Released:
Jan 23, 2022
Format:
Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

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