Rav Avigdor Miller z”l has a very unique explanation of the sin of shechutei chutz. The simple understanding is that a person was inspired and decided to sacrifice a korban to Hashem, but instead of bringing it to the Bais Hamikdash, he made an altar in his back yard and burnt the korban there. The punishment for this sin is very severe: kares. This needs explanation. Furthermore, the Torah equates shechutei chutz to shefichas damim – spilling blood. The question is, whose blood are we talking about? Is it the blood of the animal, and we’re calling this sin a form of murder? That sounds very strange. Rav Miller says that the blood referred to here is that of the person who sacrificed the animal. The Torah considered this sin a form of spilling blood because it’s referring to the person who could have brought the korban to the Bais Hamikdash and failed to do so. Tosfos in Baba Basra 21 says that bringing a korban to the Bais Hamikdash was a spiritually transformational experience. Therefore, one who does not do so is considered taking his own life, because of what they could have become through the Bais Hamikdash experience.
This novel idea has great implications, specifically now during the days of counting the days from Pesach to Shavuos.
When we count to Shavuos we need to make sure that each day isn’t just counted; rather, we need to make it count. The goal of counting the sefira days, as the Aruch Hashulchan beautifully puts it, is to transform ourselves from animals to humans (the korban omer was brought from barley, which is what an animal eats, in contrast to the korban brought on Shavuos, which comes from wheat, which is human food).
The goal of these days is to transform ourselves into people who are ready to receive the Torah, which isn’t just about the information in the Torah; rather, it’s about the connection to Hashem and the experience of Matan Torah, when Hashem said we are his nation in the world.
May we take advantage of each day during the sefira period, and be zoche to see the full geulah, bimheira b’yameinu.
by Rabbi Daniel Coren
