וְאֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל תְּדַבֵּ֣ר לֵאמֹ֑ר קְח֤וּ שְׂעִיר־עִזִּים֙ לְחַטָּ֔את וְעֵ֨גֶל וָכֶ֧בֶשׂ בְּנֵי־שָׁנָ֛ה תְּמִימִ֖ם לְעֹלָֽה׃
E aos Filhos de Yisrael você dirá: 'Tomem um bode como oferta pelo pecado, e um bezerro e um cordeiro, ambos de um ano de idade, perfeitos, como oferta queimada. {ס}
Kedushat Levi
Exodus 9,3. “and to the Children of Israel say as follows: ‘take a he-goat for a sin offering;” this verse concludes with the words: “as well as an ox and a ram as a peace offering to slaughter in the presence of the Lord and a gift offering soaked in oil, for on this day the Lord has appeared to you” (collectively). This verse which sounds as if it was an afterthought, raises the question how this was possible as we have a rule (Pessachim 96) that any animal designated as a sacrificial animal must undergo at least 4 days of examination to determine if it is not blemished in any way. Why did G’d command to take these animals and present them as sacrifices on the same day they had been selected without their having to undergo the four day period during which they would be examined as to the state of their fitness? The fact that this occurred on the same day is evident from the fact that Aaron did not descend from the altar and bless the people until all the animals and the gift offering had been presented (verse 23).
Kedushat Levi
Rabbi Moshe Alshich’s commentary on Exodus 25,8 in which G’d instructs the Jewish people through their leader Moses to build for Him a Tabernacle, (residence) on earth in their midst, was not intended to imply that this signaled G’d’s move from the celestial regions to earth, is well known. The purpose of the Tabernacle is to signal that the principal Presence of G’d was to be on earth, i.e. amongst the Jewish people, as is clear from the words: ושכנתי בתוכם, “I shall take up residence amongst them;” the operative word in that line is the word בתוכם, which ought to be translated as “within them,” within the hearts and minds of the Israelites, as opposed to G’d’s presence being confined to a Temple.
When commenting on Leviticus 1,11 ושחט אותו על ירך המזבח צפונה, “he is to slaughter it (the sheep or goat offered as a burnt offering) on the northern side of the altar,” our sages comment [seeing that it is quite unclear who is the subject of the word ושחט, Ed.] that it includes also a gentile who offers a burnt offering consisting of a sheep or goat. [I could not find the source of this statement. Ed.]
We need to explain what prompted our sages to make the comment we just quoted. It is generally accepted that the idea of animal sacrifice contains a large measure of symbolism, i.e. that the donor presents the animal in lieu of his own self, who if the sacrifice was in expiation of a sin committed by the donor, should have paid for this with his own life. The expression לכפר עליהם, “to atone on their behalf,” (or a similar formula) appears dozens of times in the Torah in conjunction with animal sacrifice. Our sages therefore saw fit to understand the subject in our verse of the word אותו as not being the animal, but the person presenting it as a sacrifice. They do not,- if I understand the author correctly,- consider this as an act of contrition by the donor of the burnt offering, [seeing that a burnt offering does not atone for transgressions of negative commandments, Ed.] but as an expression of the donor’s love for Hashem, his preparedness to prove that love with his own life.
There are four basic elements making up a healthy animal [of the categories fit for offerings on the altar], and the four elements each require a day’s observation before the prospective animal is approved. The four days therefore symbolize a progressive “spiritual” ascent in the fitness of such an animal to substitute for its owner. Only then is it slaughtered. Once the animal has passed the tests concerning its health, it is perceived as being as close to a human being as is possible, so that it is able to take the place of the human being on whose behalf its being offered.
The chapter that we are discussing described the state of the nation on the eight’s day of the consecration of the Tabernacle, (9,1) the first day of Nissan, a day on which the priests had already completed seven days of preparation. During the preceding seven days the need for an animal sacrifice to atone for the people or the priests did not exist, as both had been sufficiently refined spiritually during those days so that they were in a state of physical and mental purity. The only reason that these sacrifices were presented nonetheless, was to enable the people to rejoice in the presence of the Lord, so that as a result the Shechinah [which had not been manifest since the sin of the golden calf, Ed.] would once more manifest itself as being present among the nation. When the Torah therefore wrote in 9,3 that the people were to take (as a sacrifice) a he-goat, as a sin offering as well as a calf and a sheep as a burnt offering, there was nothing strange in this being done without the customary preparation for these animals for four days prior to their being slaughtered. In fact the words והקרב לפני ה', “and present as sacrifice in the presence of the Lord,” (verse 2) may be understood as specific permission to dispense on that occasion with the usual examinations and waiting period.
When commenting on Leviticus 1,11 ושחט אותו על ירך המזבח צפונה, “he is to slaughter it (the sheep or goat offered as a burnt offering) on the northern side of the altar,” our sages comment [seeing that it is quite unclear who is the subject of the word ושחט, Ed.] that it includes also a gentile who offers a burnt offering consisting of a sheep or goat. [I could not find the source of this statement. Ed.]
We need to explain what prompted our sages to make the comment we just quoted. It is generally accepted that the idea of animal sacrifice contains a large measure of symbolism, i.e. that the donor presents the animal in lieu of his own self, who if the sacrifice was in expiation of a sin committed by the donor, should have paid for this with his own life. The expression לכפר עליהם, “to atone on their behalf,” (or a similar formula) appears dozens of times in the Torah in conjunction with animal sacrifice. Our sages therefore saw fit to understand the subject in our verse of the word אותו as not being the animal, but the person presenting it as a sacrifice. They do not,- if I understand the author correctly,- consider this as an act of contrition by the donor of the burnt offering, [seeing that a burnt offering does not atone for transgressions of negative commandments, Ed.] but as an expression of the donor’s love for Hashem, his preparedness to prove that love with his own life.
There are four basic elements making up a healthy animal [of the categories fit for offerings on the altar], and the four elements each require a day’s observation before the prospective animal is approved. The four days therefore symbolize a progressive “spiritual” ascent in the fitness of such an animal to substitute for its owner. Only then is it slaughtered. Once the animal has passed the tests concerning its health, it is perceived as being as close to a human being as is possible, so that it is able to take the place of the human being on whose behalf its being offered.
The chapter that we are discussing described the state of the nation on the eight’s day of the consecration of the Tabernacle, (9,1) the first day of Nissan, a day on which the priests had already completed seven days of preparation. During the preceding seven days the need for an animal sacrifice to atone for the people or the priests did not exist, as both had been sufficiently refined spiritually during those days so that they were in a state of physical and mental purity. The only reason that these sacrifices were presented nonetheless, was to enable the people to rejoice in the presence of the Lord, so that as a result the Shechinah [which had not been manifest since the sin of the golden calf, Ed.] would once more manifest itself as being present among the nation. When the Torah therefore wrote in 9,3 that the people were to take (as a sacrifice) a he-goat, as a sin offering as well as a calf and a sheep as a burnt offering, there was nothing strange in this being done without the customary preparation for these animals for four days prior to their being slaughtered. In fact the words והקרב לפני ה', “and present as sacrifice in the presence of the Lord,” (verse 2) may be understood as specific permission to dispense on that occasion with the usual examinations and waiting period.