Derasha 2 on Vayikra 1:4

Parashas Vayikra · Aliyah 1 · Passuk 4

The Complete Passuk

וְסָמַ֣ךְ יָד֔וֹ עַ֖ל רֹ֣אשׁ הָעֹלָ֑ה וְנִרְצָ֥ה ל֖וֹ לְכַפֵּ֥ר עָלָֽיו׃

Chabad.org — English translation + Rashi

Source Citation

Torah Temima points to Yoma 5a (verified; juxtaposition of semicha and atonement).

E-Daf.com — Tsurras Hadaf (size=3)
HebrewBooks / Shas PDF of the daf

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Yoma 5a
וְנִרְצָה לוֹ — וְכִי סְמִיכָה מְכַפֶּרֶת? וַהֲלֹא אֵין כַּפָּרָה אֶלָּא בְּדָם!
אֶלָּא מַה תַּלְמוּד לוֹמַר וְסָמַךְ וְנִרְצָה — לוֹמַר לְךָ: שֶׁאִם עֲשָׂאָהּ לִסְמִיכָה שִׁירֵי מִצְוָה, מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִלּוּ לֹא כִּפֵּר וְכִפֵּר.

English: “And it shall be accepted for him” — does leaning effect atonement? Surely atonement is only through the blood! Rather, why does the Torah say “and he shall lean… and it shall be accepted”? To teach you that if one treats the leaning as a mere residue of the mitzvah, Scripture regards it as if he had not effected atonement — even though he has.

Type of Learning

Custom (juxtaposition / semuchin) — the Torah places leaning next to atonement to stress the importance of performing semicha properly, even though it is not indispensable for the validity of the offering.

What Is Learned

Semicha is not essential for the korban to be valid, but one who treats it as unimportant is regarded as having performed the mitzvah in a deficient way. The juxtaposition underscores its weight.