Parshat Vayikra: Questionable Actions

Jun 30

Original author - Rabbi Shlomo Levin and Rabbi Yonatan Neril[1], edited by the GrowTorah Summer Inchworms 2021

This week’s Torah portion of Vayikra describes the various voluntary and obligatory sacrifices that Hashem commands the Jewish people to bring. Two types of offerings, the chatat (sin offering) and the asham (guilt offering), provide atonement for unintentional transgressions. After both of these offerings are described, the Torah presents another, puzzling form of the guilt offering:

If a person sins and commits one of the commandments of Hashem which may not be committed, but he does not know, he is guilty, and he shall bear his transgression. He shall bring an unblemished ram from the flock, with the value for a guilt offering, to the kohen. The kohen shall then make atonement for his unintentional sin which he committed and did not know, and he shall be forgiven. It is a guilt offering, he has incurred guilt before Hashem. (Leviticus 5:17-19, Judaica Press Translation)

These verses elicit many questions. We have already read that the sin and guilt offerings atone for unintentional misdeeds, so how does this offering differ? What does it mean, that the person “does not know?” Why is this action uniquely described as incurring guilt “before Hashem?”

The Talmud reads these verses as describing a very specific type of sacrifice, called asham talui, an “undetermined guilt” offering. As opposed to the other sin and guilt offerings, which are brought when a person’s action has transgressed a commandment, the asham talui is brought when it cannot be conclusively determined whether the act was, in fact, a transgression at all.

Rashi gives the following example of such a case:

[A piece of] prohibited animal fat and [a piece of] permissible animal fat are placed before someone, and, thinking that both were permissible [fats], the person ate one. Then, people told that person, “One of those pieces was prohibited fat!” Now, if the person knew that the piece consumed was the forbidden piece they would bring a regular sin offering. But since it is unknown which piece was eaten, the permitted or the forbidden, the asham talui offering is prescribed.[2]

But why does one need to bring any offering at all? The 16th-century Italian commentator, Sforno[3] even suggests that, perhaps, a person in this situation would worry that bringing a sacrifice would be wrong. Since maybe the permitted piece of meat was eaten and there was no sin, this sacrificial offering would be unnecessary and, therefore, invalid. It would be bringing unconsecrated meat into the Beit Hamikdash.

Sforno writes that regardless of which piece of meat was consumed, even if it was the right one, this person is still guilty of not paying closer attention to their actions, and not making sure that their food was kosher before eating. The asham talui teaches us that we may not engage in careless or risky behavior. We must take responsibility for questionable actions even in the absence of conclusive proof that we have done something wrong. Only through correcting our uncertain actions can we truly be absolved of blame.

The logic of the asham talui offering can inform environmental consciousness. Humanity’s impact on the global climate is clear. The basic premise of this impact is that modern industrial society has increased greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, with 27% of emissions in the US caused by burning fossil fuels for transportation and 25% caused by electric power as of 2021.[4] This increase affects the makeup of the earth’s atmosphere, impacting climate. There is scientific consensus for human-caused climate change.[5] According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the most authoritative body on climate change science in the world, comprised of hundreds of scientists from tens of countries, “...Evidence of observed changes in extremes such as heatwaves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human influence, has strengthened since the Fifth Assessment Report, (AR5) [which was published in 2016].”[6] The US Environmental Protection Agency states that “since 1901, the average surface temperature across the contiguous 48 states has risen at an average rate of 0.16°F per decade (see Figure 1). Average temperatures have risen more quickly since the late 1970s (0.31 to 0.54°F per decade since 1979). Eight of the top 10 warmest years on record for the contiguous 48 states have occurred since 1998, and 2012 and 2016 were the two warmest years on record.”[7]

This much is certain. Where the uncertainty lies, however, generally concerns the degree of impact that we can have as individuals. There are many instances where the negative environmental impact of our actions is hard to quantify or understand. It’s often unclear how much small personal actions positively or negatively affect the environment. Does shutting the water off while I brush my teeth matter? Will carpooling to work really affect air quality? Do our personal choices make any significant impact on building a sustainable environment, or is the onus on the government policymakers and the corporate industries that contribute most to climate change? These kinds of doubts and uncertainties can prevent people from making changes that could positively affect the environment.

The message of the asham talui offering is that atonement must be sought even in the absence of certainty. Thus, as Sforno says, we should avoid behaviors that might bring us into guilt. Even if making a small change in our lifestyle seems anticlimactic, taking personal responsibility for the climate—alongside advocating for policy change— is the only way forward. Our personal behavior regarding climate change matters, and when we change our actions to be more environmentally sustainable, we deepen our commitment and responsibility to the earth.

The Torah underlies a contemporary moral guiding value, the precautionary principle. It implies that we must do our best to be environmentally sustainable at the individual level at a time when Hashem’s planet is most definitely at risk. Even if it is unclear to what degree our personal choices make a difference, the stakes are too high for us to be lenient. We can make changes that help mitigate the results of climate change. It is our responsibility to make them.

Suggested Action Items:

Calculate your carbon footprint here.
Consider some ways to decrease your carbon footprint like carpooling to work, purchasing sustainably sourced produce, or starting a compost pile in your backyard.

Original Canfei Nesharim Sponsorships:

The Parsha of Vakiyra is dedicated by Mira Chaya Mellman, in memory of the grandmothers for whom I am named: Rebecca Warach, Mollye Shapiro, and Clara Mellman, z”l.

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