01 Jun BEHAALOTECHA: THE LEVIYIM’S SACRIFICES

We read in Parashat
Behaalotecha of the
formal consecration
of the Leviyim
as G-d’s special
servants who would
work in the Mishkan. This process
included the offering of sacrifices –

specifically, one bull as an Ola (burnt-
offering), and a second bull as a Hatat

(sin-offering).
Rav Levi Yitzhak of Berditchev (1740-
1809), in his work Kedushat Levi, notes
that pair of sacrifices are listed in two
different sequences in this section. When
the Torah first mentions the requirement
to bring two bulls, it mentions first the
Ola, followed by the Hatat (8:8). Later,
however, in describing the procedure to be
followed for the process of consecration,
G-d commands Moshe to offer the Hatat
and then the Ola (8:2).
Rav Levi Yitzhak explains this
discrepancy by citing an insight he heard
from his father about the general topic of
the sequence required when both an Ola
and Hatat are offered.

In general, the Hatat offering – which
is brought for the purpose of earning
atonement – is sacrificed before the
Ola, which is sacrificed as a gift to earn
Hashem’s favor. Quite naturally, as the
Gemara (Zebahim 7b) explains, the
sinner must first achieve a pardon for his
wrongdoing before he can then proceed
to win the King’s favor and affection.
Therefore, the Hatat must be offered
before the Ola.
However, Rav Levi Yitzchak’s father
noted, we know that the Ola sacrifice
does, in fact, achieve atonement – for
sins of Mahashaba (improper thoughts).
Although a person who is guilty of
having bad intentions is not required to
bring a sacrifice, he has the opportunity to
achieve atonement through the offering
of the optional Ola sacrifice. Seemingly,
then, the Ola resembles the Hatat, in that
it, too, serves to attain forgiveness, and
we must therefore ask why the Hatat is
offered before the Ola.
Rav Levi Yitzchak’s father answered
based on the general rule that Hashem
does not hold us accountable for our

wrongful intentions unless they lead
to action. One who harbored wrong
intentions does not really need an Ola
sacrifice for atonement, since he is
not liable to punishment for his sinful
thoughts. The exception to this rule is
idol-worship. One who harbors thoughts
of pagan beliefs is liable to punishment
regardless of whether or not he acted
upon those thoughts. And therefore, Rav
Levi Yitzchak’s father asserts, when a sin
involving idolatry has been committed,
the Ola sacrifice indeed precedes the
Hatat, because one must first atone for
the thoughts which led to the worship,
and then for the worship itself.
Returning to the sacrifices of the
Leviyim, Rav Levi Yitzhak explains that
these offerings were brought on behalf
of the entire nation to atone for the grave
sin of the golden calf. Fundamentally, as
this sin was one of idol-worship, the Ola
should have been offered first, before the
Hatat, and for this reason, in the initial
command, the Ola is mentioned first.
However, Rav Levi Yitzhak writes, the
truth is that Beneh Yisrael did not truly
intend to betray G-d and worship the

golden calf. They created a graven image
not to replace Hashem, but rather as a
means through which they mistakenly
thought they could draw close to Hashem.
While this was, indeed, a grievous sin,
and one which resembled idol-worship,
the people did not actually worship a
foreign deity. Therefore, when these two
sacrifices were actually offered, the Hatat
was brought before the Ola, as is done in
the case of sins other than idol worship.