Parshath Pinhas (Numbers XXV,10-XXX,1) 7/2/10

A.

The theme of this week’s parasha is the continuity of the këhunna in Aharon’s line of descent. Originally, it was intended that the first-born male of every family in Israel would serve as a kohén (whence the requirement that a first-born son be redeemed through the ceremony of pidyon ha-bén). When G-d decided instead to entrust the këhunna to Aharon, the formulation used, Aharon u-vanav (“Aharon and his sons”), was ambiguous, in that it could be understood literally, or to refer to all of his descendants. Our parasha’s confirmation of Pinhas ben El‘azar ben Aharon ha-kohén in the bërith këhunnath ‘olam, the “eternal covenant of the këhunna,” removes all previous ambiguity. Therefore the latter part of our parasha revisits the qorbanoth, whose sacrifice constitutes one of the kohén’s core functions, providing additional details concerning them.

Specifically, our eye is drawn to the sacrificial order of rosh hodesh, the beginning of the month. After detailing the nature and order of sacrifice, the Torah concludes: זאת עלת חדש בחדשו לחדשי השנה (“This is the ‘ola [‘sacrifice burnt completely on the altar’] of the month at its renewal for the months of the year”; XVIII, 14), and then adds in the very next verse, almost as an after-thought, ושעיר עזים אחד לחטאת לד' על עלת התמיד (“And one male goat as a sin-offering [hattath] for Ha-Shem on top of the ‘ola of the tamid [the sacrifice offered regularly twice daily]”).

For what hét’ (“sin”) does this hattath atone?

B.

The Talmud deals with our question.

In the first mishna in Shavu‘oth, we learn: ועל שאין בה ידיעה לא בתחלה ולא בסוף שעירי הרגלים ושעירי ראשי חדשים מכפרין (“And in [a case of tum’a] concerning which [the person who became tamé’] had knowledge neither at the beginning nor at the end, the holiday and rosh hodesh goats atone” שם ב.). In short, the hattath atones when someone becomes tamé’ without being aware of it.
Later on, the gëmara takes up this mishna, and Rabbi Yëhuda explains the rationale: אמר קרא "ושעיר עזים אחד לחטאת לד'" חטא שאין מכיר בו אלא ד' יהא שעיר זה מכפר (“Says the verse, ‘and one male goat for a hattath for Ha-Shem,’ [for] a hét which no-one recognizes but Ha-Shem, this goat will atone”; שם ט.).

A bit later in the parasha, we note, e.g., concerning Passover: שעיר חטאת אחד לכפר עליכם (“And one goat, a hattath to atone for you”; ibid., 22; cf. also 30; XXIX, 5, 11, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34 and 38), and the difference in the wording between this and rosh hodesh prompts Réysh Laqish to ask: מה נשתנה שעיר של ר"ח שנאמר בו "לד'" אמר הקב"ה שעיר זה יהא כפרה על שמיעטתי את הירח (“How is the goat of rosh hodesh different that about it is said ‘for Ha-Shem’? Said the Holy One, Blessed is He, 'This goat is an atonement [kappara] because I diminished the moon!'”).

To understand this remark, we must turn elsewhere in the Talmud; כתיב "ויעש אלקים את שני המאורות הגדולים" וכתיב "את המאור הגדול ואת המאור הקטן" ואמרה ירח לפני הקב"ה רבש"ע אפשר לשני מלכים שישתמשו בכתר אחד?! אמר לה לכי מעטי את עצמך. אמרה לפניו רבש"ע אמרתי לפניך דבר הגון אמעיט את עצמי?! כו' חזי' שלא קא מיתבא דעתה, אמר הקב"ה הביאו כפרה עלי שמיעטתי את הירח וגו' (“It is written, ‘And G-d made the great luminaries’ [Genesis I, 16], and it is written, ‘the great luminary and the small luminary’ [ibid.]; and the moon said before the Holy One, Blessed is He, Master of the Universe! Is it possible for two kings to use the same crown? He told her, Go and diminish yourself. She said before Him, I said before You a proper thing; I should diminish myself?!...He saw that she was not pacified; said the Holy One, Blessed is He, ‘Bring a kappara for Me because I diminished the moon....”; חולין ס:).

The sun and moon, the “great luminaries”, are of course physical objects; however, their movements and properties are directed by metaphysical sarim, “angels,” as it were, and it is their conversation with the Creator to which we are being made privy. The verse in Genesis implies that at first both were of the same size, and only subsequently did the moon become small.

Hazal tell us דכד ברא קוב"ה לשמשא ולסיהרא גזר לשמשא דאתחזא למיהוי שולטנא דעשו וגזר על סיהרא למיתב בעלמא דין שולטנא דיעקב ומני עליהון רברבין תקיפין כו' וההוא רברבנא דאתמני על סיהרא בגין אומה דיעקב בעא מן קוב"ה דאתיהב שולטנא לסיהרא בעלמא דין כו' אמר קוב"ה וכי מה בעינא אומה דיעקב אלא לעלמא דאתי כו' אבל בעלמא דין לכי מעטי את עצמך ואשתעבידי בגלותא למזכי לעלמא דאתי וגו' (“that when the Holy One, Blessed is He, created the sun and the moon, He decreed upon the sun that it appear to constitute the dominion of ‘Esav, and decreed upon the moon that it establish in this world the dominion of Ya‘aqov, and appointed over them mighty sarim... And the sar which had been appointed over the moon on behalf of the nation of Ya‘aqov asked of the Holy One, Blessed is He, that dominion be given to the moon in this world... Said the Holy One, Blessed is He, 'Why do I need the nation of Ya‘aqov, save for the world to come... but in this world, go, diminish yourself, and be subjected in the Exile to merit the world to come....”; זוהר חדש י"ד.). Even though this world is not Israel’s natural abode, we are here to “establish dominion,” to infuse sanctity as the ממלכת כהנים וגוי קדוש (“kingdom of kohanim and holy nation”; Exodus XIX, 6) and thereby disestablish Edom.

The Maharsha notes that the male goat (sé‘ir) is emblematic of Edom/‘Esav (cf., e.g., Genesis XXXIII, 16, XXXVI, 20), whose power is in and of this world. The sacrifice of the sé‘ir reduces Edom’s strength, ושיהי' גם לישראל לפעמים ממשלה בעוה"ז כירח הזו שפעם שהיא מתגדלת בתחלת החדש ופעם שהיא מתקטנת בסף החדש וכן הוא הענין בכנסת ישראל וגו', (“such that Israel, too, will at times have reign in this world like this moon, which first waxes at the month’s beginning, and wanes at the months’s end; so is it with the assemblage of Israel”; חולין שם ד"ה א"ל ועיי' כל דבריו שכתב באריכות).

Israel can only prosper in this world, in which we are, individually and collectively, exiled, by first breaking the power of ‘Esav/Edom through the power of tëshuva and atonement, as embodied in the sé‘ir of rosh hodesh.

C.

If the above is so, why is this appeasement of the moon’s sar termed a hattath la-Shem? One approach is that of the ‘Aruch, who comments: שעיר זה כפרה לישראל ועלי לקביע שמן כפרה זו וקבעתי ר"ח להפיס דעתה של ירח (“[G-d says] this sé‘ir is a kappara for Israel, and it is for Me to fix the time of this kappara, and I fixed rosh hodesh to appease the moon”; מובא בתוס' לשבועות שם ד"ה שעיר).

Hence, lë-halacha, as noted in the mishna cited supra and codified by Rambam (הל' שגגות פי"א ה"ט), the hattath applies to Israel, whence we read lachem, “for you,” concerning, e.g., Passover. La-Shem, “for Ha-Shem,” shows the Divine timing of the së‘ir rosh hodesh. But as we have seen, G-d says explicitly הביאו עלי כפרה, which certainly seems to mean, “Bring on My behalf a kappara....” Let us enlist the aid of the Maharal mi-Prag to dig a bit deeper.

D.

The Maharal notes that the Torah applies the conventional concepts of hattath and kappara to human beings; the notion that G-d committed an improper act requiring atonement is untenable on its face. Rather, consider what the words really mean, כי כל הסרה וסילוק נקרא כפרה כו' ולפיכך מה שאמר "הביאו קרבן כפרה עלי" הוא סילוק התרעומת במעשה ד' כו' כי זה מדת הש"י שנותן מעלה תחת שפלות שהגיע לו עד שהכל שוה כו' ולא נמצא תרעומות אצל הבורא וזה מה שנתן לה קרבן בראש חודש, שלא תמצא בחמה ובכל שום צבא השמים מדריגה זאת שנגד שנתן לה מיעוט וגו' (“for any removal or dismissal is called kappara... and so what He said, ‘Bring a qorban kappara on My account,’ refers to the removal of any dissatisfaction [tir‘ometh] with Ha-Shem’s act... For it is a measure of Ha-Shem, to grant a heightened status [ma‘ala] to offset any degradation, until everything is in balance... and no tir‘omoth with the Creator are found; hence, that He gave her a qorban on rosh hodesh, not found with the sun or any of the celestial host, this degree being compensation for her diminution....”).

So kappara reëstablishes the Divinely desired balance and harmony between Creation and its Creator; the issue, as always, lies with the creature, not with G-d.

Wherein lies the ma‘ala conferred by the qorban? יש לך לדעת כי הקרבן שנקרא בשם הזה מורה על הקירוב שיש ביום הזה אל הש"י יותר מבשאר הימים והנה המיעוט של הירח גורם להתקרבות אל הש"י אשר מקרב השפלים והקטנים כו' ולכך ראוי שיהי' יום זה שמיעט הירח כו' בהתחדשות הירח ובאותו זמן הירח הוא יותר קטן ולכך הוא מקבל על ידי זה גם כן קירוב וגו' (“It is for you to know that a qorban, because it is called by this name, points to the closeness [qiruv] to Ha-Shem one has on this day more than other days, and the moon’s diminution causes this closeness to Ha-Shem, Who brings close the lowly and small.... And so it is fit that this day when He diminished the moon.... be at the moon’s renewal, and at the same time be at its smallest, through which it receives also qiruv....”; באר הגולה, באר רביעי).

The bottom line of hattath, then is kappara, the removal of tir‘omoth intervening between G-d and man. The primary function of the moon being temporal, allowing Israel to mark the months, sacrifice of the sé‘ir at rosh hodesh breaks the power of ‘Esav, source of tum’a, and enables Israel’s mission to establish dominion in this world, and merit the next.

The sanctity of holidays differs from that of shabbath, in that shabbath is wholly Divinely ordained, but Israel determine the actual days on which the holidays are fixed in any given year by fixing the rashei hodashim. Here, too, the sé‘ir rosh hodesh is symbolic: it is up to us to do tëshuva, bring about kappara, and remove any tir‘ometh preventing the mission’s fulfillment.