וְהַנָּשִׂ֨יא אֲשֶׁר־בְּתוֹכָ֜ם אֶל־כָּתֵ֤ף יִשָּׂא֙ בָּעֲלָטָ֣ה וְיֵצֵ֔א בַּקִּ֥יר יַחְתְּר֖וּ לְה֣וֹצִיא ב֑וֹ פָּנָ֣יו יְכַסֶּ֔ה יַ֗עַן אֲשֶׁ֨ר לֹא־יִרְאֶ֥ה לַעַ֛יִן ה֖וּא אֶת־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
At ang pinunong nasa gitna nila ay magpapasan sa balikat sa dilim, at lalabas; bubutas sila sa pader upang doon siya ilabas; tatakpan niya ang kanyang mukha, sapagkat hindi niya makikita ng kanyang mata ang lupain.
Rabbeinu Bahya
A Midrashic approach (Sifra Vayikra 5,1) to the words אשר נשיא יחטא: According to Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai the word אשר may be understood as אשרי, i.e. “hail to the generation whose king offers a sin-offering for having committed an inadvertent sin. If he is humble enough to acknowledge an error and to seek forgiveness, how much more so is he likely to repent and ask forgiveness for sins committed knowingly!” If the people observe that their king acknowledges errors by offering a sin-offering how much more so will their subjects be encouraged to acknowledge their mistakes and bring sin-offerings and ask G’d’s forgiveness!
I might have thought that when the Torah writes the word נשיא it refers to a mere tribal head such as Nachshon prince of Yehudah. In order to make clear that this is not the kind of נשיא the Torah has in mind here, we find the words ועשה אחת מכל מצות ה' אלו-היו אשר לא תעשינה, “and he becomes guilty of committing one of the acts from all the commandments of Hashem which may not be done, etc.” In Deut. 17,19 the Torah writes: ”in order that he (the king) should learn to fear the Lord his G’d.” The message is that just as the king who has no human authority above him must respect divine authority, so here too, the “prince” is to understand that he must respect divine authority. The word נשיא as describing the highest temporal authority is also used in Ezekiel 12,12 where the prophet writes: והנשיא אשר בתוכם אל כתף ישא, which means that “that the king (Tzidkiyahu) should carry the vessels of exile on his shoulders.” The term נשיא is appropriate for a king as he is the most elevated person in the nation. This is also what the Torah meant in Exodus 22,27 where we read אלוהים לא תקלל ונשיא בעמך לא תאור, “you shall not curse G’d, nor shall you revile the leader of your people.” In that verse the Torah first warns against cursing the most high Being, i.e. G’d, followed by the most highly placed human being, i.e. the king who rules the land (or on earth). Our sages have said that when the people sin it is usually found that their king is punished for their sin. They base this on verse 21 in our chapter where the sin is described as חטאת העם, “the sin of the people,” and these words are followed immediately by the words “when a ruler sins.” They use this sequence to teach that anyone in authority who is able to protest wrongdoing and does not do so is considered as guilty of the wrongdoing committed (Shabbat 54).
I might have thought that when the Torah writes the word נשיא it refers to a mere tribal head such as Nachshon prince of Yehudah. In order to make clear that this is not the kind of נשיא the Torah has in mind here, we find the words ועשה אחת מכל מצות ה' אלו-היו אשר לא תעשינה, “and he becomes guilty of committing one of the acts from all the commandments of Hashem which may not be done, etc.” In Deut. 17,19 the Torah writes: ”in order that he (the king) should learn to fear the Lord his G’d.” The message is that just as the king who has no human authority above him must respect divine authority, so here too, the “prince” is to understand that he must respect divine authority. The word נשיא as describing the highest temporal authority is also used in Ezekiel 12,12 where the prophet writes: והנשיא אשר בתוכם אל כתף ישא, which means that “that the king (Tzidkiyahu) should carry the vessels of exile on his shoulders.” The term נשיא is appropriate for a king as he is the most elevated person in the nation. This is also what the Torah meant in Exodus 22,27 where we read אלוהים לא תקלל ונשיא בעמך לא תאור, “you shall not curse G’d, nor shall you revile the leader of your people.” In that verse the Torah first warns against cursing the most high Being, i.e. G’d, followed by the most highly placed human being, i.e. the king who rules the land (or on earth). Our sages have said that when the people sin it is usually found that their king is punished for their sin. They base this on verse 21 in our chapter where the sin is described as חטאת העם, “the sin of the people,” and these words are followed immediately by the words “when a ruler sins.” They use this sequence to teach that anyone in authority who is able to protest wrongdoing and does not do so is considered as guilty of the wrongdoing committed (Shabbat 54).