Derasha 6 on Vayikra 4:3

Parashas Vayikra · Aliyah 5 · Passuk 3 · Unit 6 of 10

The Complete Passuk

אִ֣ם הַכֹּהֵ֧ן הַמָּשִׁ֛יחַ יֶחֱטָ֖א לְאַשְׁמַ֣ת הָעָ֑ם וְהִקְרִ֡יב עַ֣ל חַטָּאתוֹ֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר חָטָ֜א פַּ֣ר בֶּן־בָּקָ֥ר תָּמִ֛ים לַיהֹוָ֖ה לְחַטָּֽאת׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Horayos 6b.

E-Daf.com — Horayos 6b
HebrewBooks / Shas PDF

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Horayos 6b

לְאַשְׁמַת הָעָם — שֶׁיֵּהָא הֶעְדֵּרָה וְלֹא יְדִיעָה.

English: “To the guilt of the people” — that there be absence [of knowledge] and not awareness.

In the sugya: The phrase is read to require that the High Priest’s chatas arise from a state of he’ederah (absence of knowledge) rather than from awareness of the prohibition.

Type of Learning

He’ederah without yedi’ah — the High Priest’s special bull is for a ruling that left the people without knowledge of the prohibition.

What Is Learned

The High Priest’s special bull is for a ruling that left the people without knowledge of the prohibition. The phrase “to the guilt of the people” is interpreted as requiring he’ederah (absence) rather than yedi’ah (awareness). The offering therefore addresses a judicial or personal error that produced a state of unknown prohibition among the people, not a case in which the prohibition was already known and simply overlooked.

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