Parshat Vayikra covers many of the offerings that were brought before G-d, each of them brought as a consequence of an action or sin being committed. Among the listings of possible sacrifices, one description of a sacrifice stands out: The Torah says, When a leader sins, and does something he/she shouldnt do, and becomes guilty... (4:22). All other descriptions begin with And IF a person. Why is the Torah assuming a leader WILL sin? And if a person sins, arent they automatically guilty? Why the redundant terminology? The Sforno offers an insight that helps explain this Passuk (verse). He explains that powerful and important people are more likely to be observed sinning and thus must be more careful. But the Passuk goes on to tell us that sinning isnt bad until the person becomes guilty, by not doing anything about what they have done. The Sifra adds a beautiful exclamation point to this lesson. The word meaning will (sin) is asher, which is similar to the word ashrei, which means praised. Why would a sinner ever be praised? When a person admits that they are wrong, their sins turn into praises, revealing their true character! In our lives, we struggle to admit even to ourselves when were wrong, and its even harder when others observe us. To be a true leader is to admit when were wrong, both to ourselves and to others! -WeeklyDvar
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 00:11:20 +0000