Comentario sobre Levítico 5:17

ולא ידע ואשם … והביא [AND IF A SOUL SIN, AND DO ANY OF THESE THINGS WHICH SHOULD NOT BE DONE …] AND HE DOES NOT DISCOVER THAT HE IS GUILTY … HE SHALL BRING [A RAM … FOR A GUILT OFFERING] — This paragraph (vv. 17—19) is speaking of a person to whom there has occurred a כרת ‎ספק (i. e. it is speaking of a person who is doubtful whether he has inadvertently committed an act of such a character as to be punishable with כרת if done willfully), and he does not know whether he has actually committed a sinful act or not. For instance: חלב (fat forbidden to be eaten under the penalty of כרת) and permitted fat (שומן) lay before him, and he believed that both were permissible food (i. e. that both were שומן), and he ate one of them. Afterwards, however, people told him that one of these was חלב, but he does not know whether he had eaten that which was חלב. Then such a one has to bring an אשם תלוי (the guilt-offering for a doubtful sin, lit., the guilt-offering in suspense, from תלה to “be in suspense”); and this protects him against punishment so long as he does not become cognisant that he has undoubtedly sinned, and if he becomes cognisant of this after a time he has to bring a sin-offering (cf. Keritot 22b, 23a).

ואשם ונשא עונו, our sages have a tradition that the Torah here speaks of an asham taluy, a guilt offering offered while the exact nature of the guilt is unclear. The person offering it is not even sure that he is guilty of an offence. Considering this state of affairs the Torah writes ונשא עוונו, he carries (the burden) of his guilt. The guilt is not spelled out precisely as it is not yet known. He may not actually have committed a sin, but this does not mean that he is free from guilt as had he been careful he would never have been in the predicament of not knowing if he had committed the specific sin he is afraid he might have committed.

ולא ידע ואשם; the Torah discusses an אשם תלוי an offering pending clarification of the sin. This is why the Torah adds the rider על שגגתו אשר שגג והוא לא ידע, seeing that every שוגג, inadvertently committed sin, contains an element of being unaware of it, why would the Torah have to add the words “and he did not know?” [Had he known, the sin would have been deliberate and no sacrifice would exonerate him. Ed.] The error consisted of mistakenly eating something not kasher instead of picking up the similar looking kasher item next to it. At the time the person thought that both were kasher so that there was nod doubt in his mind. By the time he found out, the other piece had disappeared. If for some reason he becomes aware later that he had indeed eaten the forbidden piece of meat he will have to bring an additional sin-offering. The effect of the asham taluy protected him only until clarification of the true state of affairs.