The Egla Arufa

The egla arufa (Devarim 21:1-9) is known as one of the strangest mitzvot in the Torah. A dead body has been found in a field between cities in Eretz Yisrael, and we cannot identify the murderer. The Sanhedrin (supreme rabbinic court) must come to the area to determine the city closest to the dead body. The elders from the nearest city would subsequently take a young calf that never worked, decapitating it from behind (arifa). The local elders would then declare that “we did not commit the murder,” and then the Kohanim would (identified as “Bnei Levi”) ask for a kapara (atonement). The ceremony would occur in a rugged valley (“Nachal Eitan”) which will never be worked upon. Let us try to discover a rational explanation for this mysterious ritual.

The Rambam

The Rambam (Moreh Nevuchim 3:40) explains that the bizarre nature of this mitzvah draws people’s attention. People will hear about what has been happening and talk about it, which likely will expose the murderer. The hope would be that conducting this strange ritual would create a buzz, and people would talk about the murder. After all, the Sanhedrin had come to town!

A rabbinic friend served as a chaplain for the Yonkers — the New York — police force for many years. The Yonkers police chief told my friend that he never had an unsolved murder on his watch. When he experienced difficulty solving a murder, he organized a vigil in memory of the deceased victim. Organizing a vigil never failed to lead to the discovery of the murderer. Motivating people to talk seemed to be the key to solving a murder.

The Chizkuni

The Chizkuni (in Pasuk Two) adds another reason: the egla arufa ritual created a buzz, which helped identify the murder victim. This identification was crucial because otherwise, the victim’s wife cannot remarry without properly identifying her deceased husband. The egla arufa prevented the wife from becoming an aguna (a woman unable to remarry due to insufficient evidence of her husband’s death)!

Ramban, Rashi and Chizkuni

The Ramban (on Devarim 21:5-8) raises a problem with the Rambam/Chizkuni approach. Since, they explain why we conduct this very unusual ritual, but do not explain the reason for its specific details (such as why we use a calf, the involvement of the Sanhedrin, etc.).

Rashi (on Devarim 21:4, based on Sotah 46a), however, explains the symbolism of the specific details of the ceremony. The calf symbolizes the victim who was deprived of his ability to live and be productive. Therefore, the killing of the calf dramatizes the tragedy of the victim being deprived of his productivity. Likewise, performing the ritual in a “Nachal Eitan,” which will not be worked upon also dramatizes the loss of productivity of the victim.

The Chizkuni (in Pasuk Four) adds that we kill the calf from behind because the murdered person was likely killed from behind! The victim was probably surprised and “cheap-shotted” from the back. Similarly, we kill the calf from the back to reenact the murder and evoke anguish and disgust for the heinous act.

TABC Talmid Tzvi Fishkin — Reenacting Mechirat Yosef

Many years ago, at Torah Academy of Bergen County, (Dr.) Tzvi Fishkin shared a magnificent insight based on Rashi to Bereishit 46:27. Rashi writes that Yosef signaled his identity to Yaakov Avinu by hinting at the mitzva of the egla arufa — the last halachot the father and son had learned before Yosef was sold into slavery.

Dr. Fishkin explains Rashi’s deeper meaning is that the egla arufa recreates mechirat Yosef. All the facets of the egla arufa fit perfectly with mechirat Yosef. First, the victim was found dead in a field, just as Yosef was victimized by his brothers shepherding in the open. Second, a calf that had never worked was used since it symbolized the 17-year-old Yosef, who had not worked with his brothers and stayed home and studied Torah with his father. Third, Yosef was “cheap-shotted” by his brothers, just as we do to the egla arufa. Fourth, Yosef was deprived of normal life at home, as symbolized by killing the calf and not working the “Nachal Eitan.” Fourth, the elders do not know what occurred to the victim, just like Yaakov Avinu was in the dark about what happened to Yosef (interestingly, the Rambam Hilchot Kri’at Shema 1:4 refers to Yaakov Avinu as “the elder”). Finally, none other than the Kohanim — referred to as “Bnei Levi” (Devarim 21:5) — ask for a kapara, since it was Levi who (according to Chazal, cited by Rashi to Bereishit 49:5) led the charge to sell Yosef.

Conclusion — A Call for Teshuva

On a base level, Hashem intends the egla arufa ceremony to help solve the murder. In addition, we reenact the murder to shatter apathy and evoke a passionate response to the horrific event that had occurred in their midst. On a deeper level, egla arufa reenacts mechirat Yosef. The message to the community is to recall the catastrophic results of mechirat Yosef — the many years of exile, suffering and slavery in Mitzrayim!

The egla arufa is an alarming message to the community that the unsolved murder is a situation comparable in horror to mechirat Yosef. The egla arufa ceremony summons us to teshuva to avert the reoccurrence of the calamities brought about by mechirat Yosef. We do teshuva and ask for a kapara in the merit of our efforts to discover the murderer and the victim — a rejection of apathy and recognition of the despicability of the murder — and resolving to prevent the recurrence of mechirat Yosef. The specter of mechirat Yosef hovers over our people as a potent admonishment for all generations.

Rabbi Haim Jachter is the spiritual leader of Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck. He also serves as a rebbe at Torah Academy of Bergen County and a dayan on the Beth Din of Elizabeth.