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In the Hebrew Bible, ''semicha'' (literally "leaning") refers to the priest's placing of his hands before the offering of a '' korban'' (animal sacrifice) in the
Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two now-destroyed religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jeru ...
. This involved pressing firmly on the head of the sacrificial animal, thereby symbolically "transmitting" sins onto the animal or, in other interpretations, to transform the sacrifice into an offering acceptable to
HaShem HaShem ( Hebrew: ''hšm'', literally "''the name''"; often abbreviated to 'h′'' is a title used in Judaism to refer to God. It is also a given name and surname. Religious usage * In Judaism, '' HaShem'' (lit. 'the Name') is used to refer ...
.


In the Hebrew Bible

The basis for the mitzvah of semicha is Leviticus 1:4: :And he shall lay 'samach''his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him. It is also mentioned in Leviticus 4:24 with regard to the laying on of hands over one's
sin-offering A sin offering ( he, קָרְבַּן חַטָּאת, ''korban ḥatat'', , lit: "purification offering") is a sacrificial offering described and commanded in the Torah (Lev. 4.1-35); it could be fine flour or a proper animal.Leviticus 5:11 A sin ...
, before it was slaughtered: ''"And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the goat."'' In Pseudo Jonathan's Aramaic translation of the
Pentateuch The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
, the translator of the verse explains its sense: "And he shall lay his right hand with force on the head of the goat." According to
Philo of Alexandria Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...
, the custom of laying on of hands was done in order to aid him in developing a clean conscience, so that he can say without guile: "These hands have not taken a bribe to distort justice, neither have they divided the spoil, nor have they coveted, neither have they shed innocent blood, etc." According to
Jewish tradition Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites"" ...
, the first dispute in Israel concerned whether or not it was permissible to lay hands upon one's sacrificial animal by applying one's full body weight on a Festival Day.


Laws in the Talmud and later rabbinic sources

The
Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
mentions that the first dispute in Israel concerned the laying on of hands (''semicha'') upon the head of one's sacrificial animal during a Festival Day, with applied force, some permitting the owner of the animal to do so, others forbidding him to do so. The
Babylonian Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cent ...
provides a more detailed set of regulations for the practice of ''semicha''. :How does one lean erform ''semicha'' The offering stands in the north, with its face towards the west, and the one who leans stands in the east, with his face to the west. And he places his two hands between the two horns of the offering; however, there may be nothing interposing between his arehands and the offering; and he confesses over a ''chatat'' in-offeringthe sins of a ''chatat'', and over an ''asham'' uilt-offeringthe sins of an ''asham''. and over an ''olah'' (burnt-offering) ..the sins of an ''olah'' The
Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
and
Talmud The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
record a debate on whether ''semicha'' may be performed on Jewish holidays, as it is considered a form of labor by the animal (supporting the owner's weight) which would normally be forbidden on holidays. Women who offer sacrifices are allowed to perform ''semicha'', but not required to. This ruling is extensively debated in later sources, as it involves the questions of whether this ''semicha'' fulfilled the commandment or else was done purely to gratify the women without having ritual significance; whether performing a commandment in a situation where it does not apply violates the prohibition of ''bal tosif''; how a "commandment" can exist if its performance is not required; whether a blessing can be recited on such an optional "commandment"; and so on. The results of this discussion are highly relevant to other commandments which are required for men and optional for women, such as
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and
shofar A shofar ( ; from he, שׁוֹפָר, ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying ...
.


Interpretations

The symbolism of this custom has been variously explained. According to
Philo Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's de ...
, the sacrificer intended his act to imply that "these hands have done no wrong, but have performed good and useful deeds." This, however, applies only to thank-offerings and meal-offerings, and not to sin-offerings or to offerings of atonement. Some rabbinical authorities interpreted "semikah" as meaning that the sacrificer, by laying his hands upon the animal, transferred his sins to it and imposed upon it the punishment which his conduct had merited. This meaning fits well in regard to the
Yom Kippur Yom Kippur (; he, יוֹם כִּפּוּר, , , ) is the holiest day in Judaism and Samaritanism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, the first month of the Hebrew calendar. Primarily centered on atonement and repentance, the day' ...
sin-offering of , but less reasonable as an explanation of other sacrifices, particularly those not related to sins. A similar suggestion is that by laying hands, the sacrificer designates the animal to take his place as that which deserves to be killed. מדוע סומכים?
/ref> Another approach is laying hand is intended to designate the animal to be a sacrifice, or else indicate the connection between the animal and its owner. According to some, different reasons apply to laying hands on different sacrifices; for example, Ibn Ezra argued that laying ''two'' hands on the Yom Kippur goat () indicates a transfer of sins, while laying ''one'' hand (on other sacrifices, e.g. ) designates the animal as a sacrifice and indicates the animal's ownership.Ibn Ezra, Leviticus 1:4


References

{{reflist Jewish sacrificial law Gestures