Along with Elevation Offerings, Guilt Offerings, Flour Offerings and others, this week Aharon and his sons, the Kohanim, learn how to offer the Sin Offering.
Last week we discussed, with regards to this offering, an exception to the rule: when one gave an offering for refraining from giving testimony. In almost all cases, a sin offering was for a sin of commission, not omission. The person had to do the wrong thing in order to be obligated to bring this sacrifice.
There is another difference regarding most cases where one would bring a Sin Offering: to refrain from giving testimony is a deliberate act, but in the vast majority of cases, the sin offering was for a negligent failure, not deliberate disobedience.
Why would it be that a person who failed negligently had to bring an offering to the Holy Temple, but someone who sinned deliberately could relax at home? One would think that, if there were to be a distinction like that, the opposite would be true: one only had to journey to offer an animal if he sinned deliberately.
The answer, though, is straightforward. A person who sinned through negligence needs a reminder to be more careful. It is, itself, somewhat of an external problem. It is a common character flaw for people to be careless on occasion, and carelessness leads to mistakes. For such a surface-level problem, the sin offering reminds him that he must do better.
To sin deliberately, however, reflects a deep flaw within the person. It impacts his character. And for such a person, to simply admit he was wrong, and to go and offer a sin offering, is not sufficient!
To refrain from giving testimony is a sin, yet it is, as we said, one of omission. So in that case he needs the Sin Offering to remind himself to step forward to do what is right. In most cases, however, the person doing a deliberate act needs much more than a reminder.
Atonement is not a simple process; the Prophets told us that if someone simply confesses his sins from the lips out, it is meaningless. The person who transgressed deliberately has to make the internal changes necessary, along with external reminders and guard rails, to avoid transgressing like that again. That process of reflection and change is far more demanding than a simple trip to Jerusalem to bring an offering.
Today we have no Temple or sacrifices, but the core process of internal transformation does not depend upon time or location. We only have to look within ourselves, admit our error, resolve to do better, and work to bring that about!
