The Torah in Parashat Vayikra (chapter 5) requires violators who commit certain offenses to offer a sacrifice known as the “Korban Oleh Ve’yored” – “fluctuating sacrifice.” It is so named because the offering depends on the offender’s financial status. A financially stable sinner brings a goat or sheep; one who struggles financially brings two birds; and a destitute person brings the cheapest sacrifice – a flour offering.
This offering is brought by the following groups of sinners: one who mistakenly ate hallowed food (such as sacrifices) in a state if Tum’a (impurity); one who entered the area of the Bet Ha’mikdash in a state of Tum’a; one who violated a Shebu’at Bitui (vow) by doing something he vowed not to do, or failing to do something he vowed to do; and one who made a false Shebu’at Ha’edut – oath denying having information which he could provide as testimony in a court case. This final case marks an exceptional situation where a sin-offering is required for an intentional violation; normally, sin-offerings are brought to atone for unintentional transgressions.
In explaining the reason behind this unique sacrifice, the Sefer Ha’hinuch establishes that sins committed verbally are particularly common, as people tend to be less careful about the way they speak than about the way they act. The Torah therefore made atonement for this type of sin accessible to all people, even those with limited means, by allowing the poor to bring an inexpensive offering. The Sefer Ha’hinuch applies this rationale also to the sins involving Tum’a, noting that these offenses, too, were very common, given the practical difficulty entailed in avoiding sources of ritual impurity. And thus for these violations, too, the Torah ensured that even destitute violators would have the ability to earn atonement through an inexpensive sacrifice.
As for the requirement to bring a sacrifice after intentionally making a false Shebu’at Ha’edut, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that this offense is especially common. People would frequently need to summon witnesses, and witnesses would easily be tempted to conveniently deny having information, claiming that they did not remember. Additionally, people do not generally regard this false denial as a crime, since no money is actually being stolen. In truth, however, this indeed constitutes a serious offense, as it undermines the judicial process. Hashem, in His kindness, made atonement available for even the intentional violation of this offense, even for the poor, because this is so common.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch emphasizes that a sinner required to offer a Korban Oleh Ve’yored must then set up “fences” – meaning, safeguards – for himself, to ensure to avoid these sins in the future. Offering the sacrifice alone is insufficient; the violator must recognize his weakness and strategize in order to overcome it. Just as a recovering addict must put in place safeguards to keep a distance from the object of his addiction, one who has violated a prohibition must figure out ways to protect himself from repeating the misdeed.
The Sefer Ha’hinuch surprisingly writes that if a poor individual is obligated to bring a Korban Oleh Ve’yored, and he voluntarily chooses to offer the standard sacrifice, despite his limited means, he does not fulfill his obligation. Intuitively, of course, we would have assumed that this pauper should be congratulated for voluntarily incurring this additional expense to offer a more respectable sacrifice, even though the Torah allowed him to offer a cheaper sacrifice due to his financial struggles. However, the Sefer Ha’hinuch writes that to the contrary, he does not even fulfill his basic requirement. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that the Torah here conveys to us the crucial lesson that we must not spend beyond our means. Once the Torah allowed this pauper to bring an inexpensive offering, it is wrong for him to waste his limited resources on a costlier sacrifice – teaching us to always ensure not to spend more than we can. If the Torah said this about a sacrifice to G-d, then it applies even more so to spending on other, mundane possessions and pursuits. The Sefer Ha’hinuch explains that those who spend beyond their means end up stealing to pay for their luxuries, and so the Torah taught us to avoid spending more than we can by demanding that one who must bring a Korban Oleh Ve’yored offer only the sacrifice he is supposed to offer, and not a more expensive sacrifice.
If a financially stable individual set aside money to purchase an animal to be brought as a Korban Ola Ve’yored, and then he suddenly became poor, he must exchange the sanctity of this animal on birds, and then bring them as his sacrifice. Since he became poor before consecrating an animal, he offers the sacrifice of a poor person. Conversely, if a poor individual set aside money for his inexpensive Korban Ola Ve’yored, and then suddenly became wealthier, he must add money to purchase an animal for his sacrifice.
This Misva, of course, applies only in the times of the Bet Ha’mikdash. It applies to both males and females, except that the case of Shebuat Ha’edut is relevant only to males, as women do not serve as witnesses. One who is obligated to offer a Korban Oleh Ve’yored but failed to do so has neglected a Misvat Aseh (affirmative command).
Although this Misva does not apply on a practical level nowadays, in the absence of the Bet Ha’mikdash, nevertheless, as we have seen, a number of concepts underlying this Misva are as relevant today as they were in the past. The Sefer Ha’hinuch’s discussion of this Misva demonstrates to us how each and every law in the Torah is eternally relevant and has profound meaning and significance for each and every one of us, even those Misvot which are practically no longer applicable.