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Part of a series of articles on
Priesthood in Judaism
Kohen · Recognition of priestly descent Priestly covenant
Roles Priestly blessing · Redemption of the firstborn son Tzaraath (skin disease and mildew) The Torah instruction of the Kohanim Sacrifice · Incense offering Beth din shel Kohanim
High Priests Aaron · Eleazar · Phinehas  · Eli · Ahimelech · Abiathar (First Temple)  · Zadok · Shallum · Hilkiah · Jehoiada (Second Temple) Joshua the High Priest Simeon the Just Elazar Ben Charsum Yishmael Ben Elisha Yehoshua ben Gamla Pinchus Ben Shmuel
Twenty-four kohanic gifts The ten gifts given in the Temple 1. Sin offering  · 2. Guilt offering 3. Communal peace offering 4. Fowl sin offering  · 5. Leftovers from the suspensive guilt offering 6. Oil from the offering for the leper 7. Bread from First Fruits · 8. Showbread 9. Leftovers of the meal offering 10. Leftovers of the First Sheaf. Four gifts given in Jerusalem 11. Firstborn animal · 12. Firstfruits 13. Burnt offering (Judaism) · 14. Parts of the thank offering and Nazirite's offering Ten gifts given (even) outside of Jerusalem 15. Heave offering 16. Heave offering of the Levite's tithe 17. Dough offering 18. First shearing of the sheep 19. Shoulder, cheeks and maw 20. Coins for redemption of the first born son · 21. Redemption of a donkey  · 22. Dedication of property to a priest  · 23. Field not redeemed in a Jubilee year · 24. The property of the foreigner with no heir.
Clothing Priestly garments Priestly undergarments Priestly tunic Priestly turban · Priestly robe (Judaism) Ephod · Priestly breastplate · Priestly frontlet Urim and Thummim Priestly sash
Miscellaneous topics The Mitzvah of sanctifying the Kohen Kohanic disqualifications Holy anointing oil Kahen Aaron's rod Bat-Kohen (daughter of a kohen) Sons of Zadok Contact by a kohen with a dead body
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A sin offering (Hebrew: קרבן חטאת‎ korban khatta'at) is a biblical sacrifice offered to achieve atonement for the committing of an unintentional sin.^[1]

Etymology[link]

The Hebrew noun hatta'at "sin" comes from the verb hata' (חָטָא) "to sin." The first use is in the sentence "sin lies at your door" to Cain in Genesis 4. The noun hata'at can mean "sin," or also by metonymy in phrases such as "the bullock... it is sin," or "a bullock for a sin, for atonement," it can also stand for sin offering. The high priest was instructed to "lay his hand upon the head of the sin (rosh ha-khatta't רֹאשׁ הַֽחַטָּאת), and slay the sin in the place of the burnt offering" (Leviticus 4:29). To avoid confusion the more explanatory term korban khatta'at "a sacrifice of sin" (Hebrew: קרבן חטאת‎ ) is found in rabbinical commentaries.^[2]

In the Septuagint the Hebrew term "sin" is sometimes directly translated as "sin" - either by the Greek feminine noun hamartia ("sin" ἁμαρτία), or less commonly by the neuter noun hamartemata ("result of sin," "sinful thing" ἁμάρτημα) thereby duplicating the metonymy in the Hebrew text. More often the Greek paraphrases the Hebrew with expressions such as "that which is for sin" (peri hamartias περὶ ἁμαρτίας) or "for sins" (hyper hamartion ὑπὲρ ἁμαρτιῶν)- since the Greek noun hamartia does not have the double meaning of the noun khatta'at in Hebrew.^[3]

In the Hebrew Bible[link]

The sacrificial animal for sin offerings depended on the status of the sinner offering the sacrifice;

1. for a high priest or an entire community, the sacrifice was to be of a young bullock;
2. for a king or a prince the offering had to be a young male goat; for other individuals the offering had to be either a young female goat, or a female lamb;
3. for poor individuals unable to afford these, a turtle dove sufficed.^[1]

Like all types of sacrifices offered on the altar, the animal had to be completely unblemished.

Apart from such general offerings for an unintended sin, the offering was also made on the following:

• on Day of Atonement - one bull as the high priest's offering, and a young male goat on behalf of the community
• on the appointment of a priest - a calf as the priest's offering, and a small young goat on behalf of the community
• on the termination of a Nazirite's vow - a year old ewe as the Nazirite's offering
• after recovery from skin disease - a ewe as the former leper's offering
• shortly after childbirth - a dove as the woman's offering
• after temporary marital separation due to menstruation or recovery from abnormal bodily discharges the offering in both cases being a dove or young pigeon.

Ritual[link]

The ritual of the sin offering began with the offerer confessing his/her unintentional sin while placing his/her hands and pushing his/her full weight over the head of the animal. In the case of community offerings the elders performed this function, in the case of Yom Kippur, the high priest performs this task. The animal would then be slaughtered by a ritual butcher, the blood carefully collected by the priest in an earthen vessel and sprayed/thrown on the two outer corners of the altar, while the fat, liver, kidneys, and caul, were burnt on the roof of the altar.

On the Day of Atonement, some of the blood would be sprinkled in front of the veil covering the entrance to the Holy of Holies when the blood would be sprinkled in front of the mercy seat; this was done seven times. The remainder of the blood was poured out at the base of the altar, and the earthen vessel that had contained it would be smashed.

the remaining flesh of the animal (in later rabbinical interpretation as one of the twenty four priestly gifts) was later consumed by the priest and his family, except when the priest himself was the offerer (such as in community offerings, and in the case of the Day of Atonement), when it would be burnt outside the sanctuary.

When the sacrificial animal was a bird, however, the ritual was quite different. The bird was slaughtered by a thumb being pushed into its neck, and the head being wrung off. A second bird would then be burnt on the altar as a whole sacrifice, completely immolated by fire.^[1]

Textual criticism[link]

According to 19th century textual scholars these rules originate from two different layers in the priestly source, thought by scholars to be one of the source texts of the Torah; the priestly code within the priestly source is believed to be a series of additions to the text, from Aaronid editors, over a long period.^[4] The earlier source is thought to be the one referring to the flesh being consumed by the priests, the latter part of Leviticus 6 falls into this source, while the later source, which Leviticus 4 falls within, reflects a development where the flesh from sin offerings was seen as insufficiently holy and thus needing to be disposed of elsewhere.^[5] In the Book of Hosea, a reference to the earlier form (Hosea 4:7-8) suggests a possible reason for the change - the priests were accused of rejoicing in the people's wickedness as they were living off the sin offerings.^[6] Although known as sin offerings, it is more likely that such offerings began as offerings made for unintentionally breaking a taboo (here meaning something which is seen as sacred but simultaneously prohibited).

1. The offerings for recovery from discharges and childbirth being for the breaking of a taboo about contact with blood - pus potentially containing blood, menstruation obviously containing it, and in the case of childbirth blood comes with the placenta. Textual scholars believe that the biblical regulation specifying the offering for childbirth in Leviticus 12 originally fell among those concerning bodily discharges in Leviticus 15 (due to various textual features), and hence that childbirth was treated as a form of abnormal discharge, for which a period of recovery was required.^[4]
2. The Nazarite's offering being due to the breaking of the Nazarite's own taboo nature, due to consecration to the deity, when the Nazarite vow was terminated.^[5]
3. Tzaraas was seen as a disease inflicted by God, as punishment for transgression of mitzvot, specifically slander^[7] and hence people becoming inflicted with Tzaraas themselves being seen as taboo (thus being temporarily expelled from society as a result); the sin offering for recovery from Tzaaras, for which the same sacrificial animal as the Nazarite's sin offering is proscribed, being due to the breaking of this taboo state by the act of recovering.^[5]
4. The Yom Kippur sin offering is considered to have developed slightly later; the biblical text seems to explain this offering as being for the purpose of protecting the high priest from death (...so that he does not die) when he approached the mercy seat,^[7] an action which was taboo (as the mercy seat was seen as sacred, but approach to it was prohibited). The passage in which this is explained as being about atonement for real sin, Leviticus 16:16 rather than just breach of this taboo, being considered by textual scholars to be a later gloss added to the text.^[1] The sin offering required when a priest had sinned, for which there is a similar sacrificial animal as the Yom Kippur offering, is considered by scholars to be a much later development, and only added to the text of Leviticus in the latest stages of its compilation, after sin offerings had begun to be seen as being about atonement for actual sin rather than relatively immediate breaches of taboos.^[1]

The other sin offerings are considered by scholars to be gradual developments; from being offered after contact with unclean animals, which is more of a taboo, to being offered for ritual uncleanliness in general, and finally to being offered for arbitrary sins.^[1] The gradations, according to which the type of sacrificial animal depends on the social status of the sinner, are considered by textual scholars to also be a later development.^[8]

References[link]

Yitzchak Ginzburg (born 14 November 1944) is an American born Israeli rabbi. He is a follower of the Chabad Lubavich movement and currently Rosh Yeshivah of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah in the Settlement Yitzhar in the West Bank, and the leader of the kabbalistic Gal Einai organization. He has published numerous books. A charge of incitement to racism was dropped after he made a clarification statement.

Biography[link]

Ginsburgh was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1944.^[1] His father held a PhD in education and consulted for various Jewish organizations.

While living in Philadelphia, he met a descendant of the Nadvorna Chassidic dynasty and at the age of 14 became a baal teshuva. He attended the University of Chicago majoring in mathematics and philosophy. He then completed a Masters in Mathematics at the Belfer Graduate School of Yeshiva University. At the age of 22, he decided to devote himself entirely to Torah study.^[1]

In 1965 he went to Israel and studied at the Yeshivah of Kamenitz in Jerusalem. He spent 1966 through 1967 at the Slonim shul in Tiberias. After the Six Day War, Ginsburgh went to Jerusalem, and was one of the first to move into the old Jewish quarter. He started to study the Chabad school of Chassidus in depth. That year he visited the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and remained in Crown Heights, Brooklyn for several months. When he returned to Israel he married, and began to teach Talmud, Shulchan Aruch, and Chassidut to a group of students in Jerusalem.

In 1983 he was asked by the Chabad Rabbi and Jerusalem philanthropist Yosef Eliyahu Deutsch to serve as head of the Shuva Yisra'el Yeshivah on Yo'el Street. Rabbi Ginsburgh gave frequent classes on a wide variety of subjects, from the exoteric to the esoteric parts of the Torah. Many were taped and form a large parte of the 15,000 lecture archive of his classes.

Until the retreat of the IDF from the Tomb of Joseph in Nablus during the Al-Aqsa Intifada (2001), Ginsburgh served as the Rosh Yeshivah of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah in Nablus and as the head of a Kollel in the ancient Shalom al Yisrael synagogue in Jericho. he has resumed his teaching at the Od Yosef Chai Yeshivah since its relocation to Yitzhar.

Ginsburgh lives with his family in Kfar Chabad, Israel and delivers classes throughout Israel, the United States and France. He devotes most of his time and resources to writing and publishing original works on Kabbalah and Chassidut that discuss a range of topics, from commentaries on the Chumash to the relationship between Torah and science. These books are published by Gal Einai, his organization, whose name is taken from Psalms 119:18.

He has published over 70 volumes of original work in Hebrew and another 13 in English.

His students include:

• Rabbi Shalom Arush, Head of the Chut shel Chesed Yeshivah and Institute;^[2]
• Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira of Yitzhar.^[3]

Religious and political views[link]

Ginsburgh advocates the reinstitution of Jewish monarchy in the Land of Israel.^[4] He opposes efforts to remove Jewish settlements from the West Bank and encourages his followers to attempt to dissuade soldiers and police officer from carrying out evacuations.^[5] He advocates "Hebrew labor" − the idea that Jews should only employ other Jews — and believes that Gentiles should not be allowed to live in the Land of Israel,^[6] unless they become the "righteous of the nations", accepting Jewish dominion.^[7]

Ginsburgh also supports the rebuilding of the Jewish temple, believing that this would facilitate spiritual elevation and hasten redemption.^[8] He favors the practice of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, the site of the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque.^[9]

In a rabbinical responsa published in 1995, Ginsburgh stated that "It is forbidden to kill a non-Jew who is not making war against us."^[10]

In his 2007 book Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations Ginsburgh writes:

“Ours is the first generation in modern times to understand the truly universal human condition and to seek to bring all peoples of the earth together in peace and harmony. We are the first generation to truly understand that we are faced with the challenge of either inhabiting our planet harmoniously or not inhabiting it at all. Filling our future is the fundamentalism that threatens to pit one religion against another. But, our different relationships and understandings of G-d should not be the reason for conflict but the source of goodwill in building our relationships with one another and our ability to understand others”.^[11]

Controversy[link]

The Israeli newspaper Haaretz has called Ginsburg "a well known radical on his views on Israel Arab public", noting his "prosecution in the past for incitement to racism after having published a book insisting that there is no place for Arabs in the state of Israel".^[12]

During the trial of seven of his students for the murder of an Arab girl during a violent settler rampage through the Palestinian West Bank village of Kifl Hares, Ginsburg said that in religious law, given the inequality between Arab and Jewish blood, Arabs who kill Jews warrant punishment, but Jews who kill Arabs should be let off. The Ashkenazi chief rabbi Avraham Shapiro condemned Ginzburg's views, the only one of the Israeli rabbinate to do so.^[13][14] He was cited as asserting at the time that: “Jewish blood is not the same as Arab blood. He who is not a Jew, and throws stones, or threatens Jews, comes under the (biblical injunction) 'you should kill him first'.”^[15]

In 1989, Ginsburg was quoted in the New York Times regarding his views on recent attacks against Palestinians and the rise of racism in Israel:

Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburg had offered biblical justification for the view that the spilling of non-Jewish blood was a lesser offense than the spilling of Jewish blood. "Any trial based on the assumption that Jews and goyim are equal is a total travesty of justice", he said.^[16]

In 1994, Ginsburgh received widespread criticism for his article "Baruch Hagever"^[17] in which he praised Baruch Goldstein who had massacred 29 Arab worshippers at the Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron.^[18][19] Rabbi Ginsburgh wrote that it is possible to view Baruch Goldstein's act as following five Halachic principles, namely "sanctification of God's name", "saving life" (referring to testimonies that he had allegedly received regarding a planned Arab massacre of Jews^[20]), "revenge", "eradication of the seed of Amalek" and "war".^[21] Motti Inbari commented on this:

In his writings, Ginzburg gives prominence to Halachic and kabbalistic approaches that emphasize the distinction between Jew and non-Jew (Gentile), imposing a clear separation and hierarchy in this respect. He claims that while the Jews are the Chosen People and were created in God's image, the Gentiles do not have this status.... Ginzburg stated that, on the theoretical level, if a Jew requires a liver transplant to survive, it would be permissible to seize a Gentile and take their liver forcefully. From this point only a small further step is required to actively encourage and support the killing of non-Jews, as Ginzburg did in the case of Goldstein.^[22]

Works in English[link]

• The Hebrew Letters: Channels of Creative Consciousness (1995, Hardcover, 501pp.)
• The Mystery of Marriage: How to Find Love and Happiness in Married Life (1999, Hardcover, 499pp.)
• Awakening the Spark Within: Five Dynamics of Leadership That Can Change the World (2001, Hardcover, 200pp.)
• Transforming Darkness Into Light: Kabbalah and Psychology (2002, Hardcover, 192pp.)
• Rectifying the State of Israel: A Political Platform Based on Kabbalah (2002, Hardcover, 230pp.)
• Living In Divine Space: Kabbalah and Meditation (2003, Hardcover, 288pp.)
• Body, Mind, Soul: Kabbalah on Human Physiology, Disease and Healing (2004, Hardcover, 341pp.)
• Consciousness & Choice: Finding Your Soulmate (2004, Hardcover, 283pp.)
• The Art of Education: Integrating Ever-New Horizons (2005, Hardcover, 303pp.)
• What You Need to Know About Kabbalah (2006, Hardcover, 190pp.)
• Kabbalah and Meditation for the Nations (2007, Hardcover 200pp.)
• Anatomy of the Soul (2008, Hardcover 144pp.)
• A Sense of the Supernatural: Interpretation of Dreams and Paranormal Experiences (2008, Hardcover 207pp.)

Works in Hebrew[link]

• Adamah Shamayim Tehom, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 374 pp.)
• Ahava, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 264pp.)
• Al Yisrael Ga’avato, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, pp. 392)
• Ani L’Dodi, 5758 (1998, Hardcover, 188 pp.)
• Anochi V’HaYeladim, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 126 pp.)
• B’Ita Achisheina, 5763 (2003, Hardcover, 372 pp.)
• Brit Hanisuin, 5757 (1997, Hardcover, 142 pp.)
• Chasdei David HaNe’emanim, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, 500-600 pp. ea. 5 Vols.)
• Chatan Im Kallah, 5765 (2005, Hardcover, 354 pp.)
• Einayich Breichot B’Cheshbon, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 288pp.)
• Eisa Einai, 5758 (1998, Hardcover, 412 pp.)
• El Olam Hakabala, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, 280 pp.)
• Emunah v’Muda’ut, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 324 pp.)
• Guf Nefesh V’Neshama, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 306 pp.)
• HaNefesh, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 424 pp.)
• HaTeva HaYehudi, 5765 (2005, Hardcover, 250 pp.)
• Herkavta Enosh L’Rosheinu, 5744 (1984, Hardcover, 78pp.)
• K’Matmonim Techapsena, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, 220 pp. ea. 2 Vols.)
• Klal Gadol B’Torah, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 202 pp.)
• Kumi Ori, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 274 pp.)
• Lahafoch Et Hachoshech L’or, 5764 (2004, Hardcover, 204 pp.)
• Lechiyot B’Merchav HaEloki, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 210 pp.)
• Lechiyot Im HaZman – Breishit, Shemot, 5770 (2010, Hardcover,~300 pp. ea 2 Vols.)
• Lev Ladaat, 5750 (1990, Hardcover, 230 pp.)
• Maamarei HaRebbe MiLubavitch, 5769 (2009, Hardcover, 174 pp.)
• Maayan Ganim – Parshat HaShavua, 5762 (2002, Hardcover,~220 pp. ea. 4 Vols.)
• Machol HaKramim, 5767 (2007, Hardcover, 166 pp.)
• Malchut Yisrael, 5756 (2006, Hardcover, 1244 pp. 3 Vols.)
• Melech B’Yofyo, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 248 pp.)
• Mevo L’Kabbalat HaAriza”l, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 330 pp.)
• Mivchar Shiurei Hitbonnenut, 5768 (2008, Hardcover, ~ 250 pp. ea. 9 Vols.)
• Mudaut Tivit, 5759 (1999, Hardcover, 192 pp.)
• Nefesh Briah, 5764 (2004, Softcover, 140 pp.)
• Or Yisrael, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 768 pp.)
• Otiot Lashon HaKodesh, 5769 (2009, Hardcover, 480 pp.)
• Otzar HaNefesh, 5770 (2010, Softcover, 254 pp. ea. 2 Vols.)
• Panim El Panim, 5760 (2000, Hardcover, 312 pp.)
• Rucho Shel Mashiach, 5764 (2004, Hardcover, 440 pp.)
• Sha’arei Ahava V’Ratzon, 5756 (1996, Hardcover, 278 pp.)
• Shechinah Beinehem, 5752 (1992, Hardcover, 208 pp.)
• Shiurim B’Sefer Sod Hashem Lirei’av, 5771 (2010, Hardcover, 420 pp.)
• Shlosha Ketarim, 5770 (2010, Hardcover, 440 pp.)
• Sod Hashem Lirei’av, 5745 (1985, Hardcover, 572pp.)
• Teshuvat HaShana, 5757 (1997, Hardcover, 316 pp.)
• Tikkun HaMedinah,5765 (2005, Hardcover, 196 pp.)
• Tom V’Daat, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, 418 pp.)
• Tzav HaSha’ah – Tipul Shoresh, 5761 (2001, Softcover, 162 pp.)
• U’Mimena Yivashea, 5766 (2006, Hardcover, 146 pp.)
• Yayin Mesameach, 5764 (2004 , Hardcover, ~160 pp. ea. 5 Vols.)
• Yayin Yitzchak, 5770 (2010, Hardcover, 476pp.)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gal Einai website (English) - www.inner.org
• Gal Einai website (Hebrew)
• Gal Einai website (Russian)
• Rabbi Ginsburgh's Torah Teachings (Hebrew)
• Rabbi Ginsburgh's Torah Teachings Videos (Hebrew)
• Rabbi Ginsburgh's Torah Teachings Videos (English)
• Rabbi Ginsburgh's Short Teachings on Twitter