Vayikra 5:5 · unit 2

Parashas Vayikra · Aliyah · Passuk 5:5 · Unit 2 of 6

Complete Passuk

וְהָיָה כִי־יֶאְשַׁם לְאַחַת מֵאֵלֶּה וְהִתְוַדָּה אֲשֶׁר חָטָא עָלֶיהָ׃

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah cites Toras Kohanim (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura DeChovah, Section 10).

Sefaria — Toras Kohanim (Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura DeChovah, Section 10)

Core Text — Toras Kohanim · Sifra DeChovah Sec. 10

עַל חַטָּאתוֹ אֲשֶׁר חָטָא — עַל אוֹתָהּ חֵטְא שֶׁחָטָא.

“For his sin which he sinned” — for that specific sin which he sinned.

In the midrash: The doubled language “his sin which he sinned” is read as requiring precise correspondence. The confession and the offering must be directed to the particular transgression that generated the liability, not to a generic or unrelated sin.

Type of Learning

Diyuk of “al chatato asher chata” — confession and offering must correspond to the specific sin.

What Is Learned

Vidui and the oleh ve-yored are directed to the specific transgression that caused the liability, not a generic confession. A person who sinned by false oath cannot discharge the obligation by confessing an unrelated failure; the offering and the words must match the actual sin. This correspondence is what makes the atonement process coherent.

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