“If a person will sin…”
Korbanos are not only about sin—but sin is where the Torah lingers longest. It certainly is given prominent attention. Our pasuk introduces a korban meant for a specific group of aveiros.
Chazal speak eloquently about teshuva. One of their remarks[2] is particularly puzzling. They explain a passage from the haftorah we read on fast days: “Seek Hashem when He can be found…Let the wicked one forsake his way…let him return to Hashem and He will show him mercy…for He is abundantly forgiving.”[3] The last words, they tell us, mean “a tenth of an ephah.” They say nothing more – leaving us scratching our heads.
Consider an episode in the life of Acher, the infamous major talmid chacham turned renegade. More accurately, an event concerning his death. Upon his passing, the Heavenly Court admitted to being in a bind. Sentence him to gehinom? Wouldn’t work. He had studied so much Torah, that the fires of gehinom would have no effect upon him. Let him into the World to Come? Unthinkable. He had sinned far too much.
Acher’s student, R. Meir, disagreed with the psak from above. Better to judge and sentence him, so that eventually he would get to the place of eternal bliss. “When I die,” said R. Meir, “I’ll see to it that smoke rises from Acher’s grave.”
And so it was. The Heavenly Court deferred to R. Meir, and smoke rose from Acher’s grave and continued to do so.
R. Yochanan was not impressed. “Is it proper for the student to burn his rebbi? When I die, I will see to it that the smoke disappears.”
The story is difficult enough to process, but Maharsha points out another level of difficulty. We do not see columns of smoke rising from the graves of evildoers. Why was Acher different?
The Ran reframes this aggadah. The punishment of evildoers in this world serves one of two purposes. It either directs the sinner himself to correct his ways, or brings others to mend their ways when they contemplate his fate. (Vengeance against the sinner, says the Ran, is simply not something that Hashem is interested in.)
Punishment after death, however, meets neither of those two objectives. It is too late for the sinner to turn over a new leaf, and no observers are on hand to witness his predicament to learn from it.
Rather, teaches the Ran, the anguish experienced by the sinner after death is “natural.” Rebellion against Hashem – sin – is simply incompatible with the soul. It cannot rid itself of its incongruity; it feels constant pain for it. There is no escaping it. It is the fire of gehinom. Eventually, except for the most evil of all, there is respite from the pain, and the soul can go on to Olam habo.
The gemara[4] teaches that the fire of gehinom has no effect upon the talmid chacham. It is incompatible with the aish hatorah. This places Acher in an awkward position. Sentencing him to gehinom wouldn’t make any sense, because it wouldn’t do what it does to others. Olam habo was out of the question. He would have to remain in a kind of perpetual limbo, neither here nor there.
The thought of this being the fate of his rebbi pained R. Meir. He therefore prevailed against the Heavenly Court! If a plume of smoke would be visible rising from Acher’s kever, earthly observers would learn a lesson from the misdeeds of his life! That would be of benefit to Acher in the long run.
R. Yochanan found this compromise objectionable. Should the smoking kever become a permanent fixture? Surely by now people have learned what they have to learn from his example. It is time for the smoke to cease, and for Acher’s judgment to end. And so it was.
A midrash[5] speaks of four different responses to the question, “What should happen to the sinner?” Chochmah said that he must die. Flout the rules of the Creator, and you lose your license to live. Couldn’t be simpler.
Nevuah answered that harm will inevitably pursue the sinner. Torah said, “There is a way out! Let the sinner offer a korban!” Hashem Himself said, “Let him do teshuva.”
The Torah’s response leaves room for renewal and regeneration. The Torah allows for a kind of substitution of the animal that is offered, as a substitute for taking the life of the sinner. But what will happen when there is no beis hamikdosh to which korbanos can be brought?
We return to our opening midrash. A sinner wishes to bring a korban. If he can afford an animal, he brings it. If he is too poor, the Torah allows him to substitute less expensive birds. The Torah steadily lowers the barrier.
But what if the person is destitute, and cannot even afford the bird-offerings. The Torah says that he is allowed to substitute the inanimate. He brings flour. How much? A “tenth of an ephah.”
By going so far to make sure that everyone has a way back, Hashem shows that what He really is happy to accept is teshuva itself. This is the lesson of the tenth of an ephah. This is the abundance of forgiveness that Yeshaya speaks of!
- Adapted from Divrei Shaul, by Rav Yosef Shaul Nathanson, the Shoel U-Meishiv ↑
- Vayikra Rabbah 3:3 ↑
- Yeshayahu 55:6-7 ↑
- Chagigah 27a ↑
- Yalkut Shimoni #702 ↑