In Deuteronomy 21, Bible commentators weigh in on the ceremony connected with breaking a red
heifer’s neck. For Abravanel, interpretation must adequately answer questions that jump out of the text:
“If one be found slain in the land which God your Almighty gives you to
possess it, lying in the field, and it be not known who has smitten him.
Then your elders and your judges shall come forth…even the elders of
that city shall take a heifer of the herd, which has not been wrought with,
and which has not drawn in the yoke…and shall break the heifer’s neck
in the river…”
- Why does the Torah demand a heifer from a herd, and not an animal of a flock?
- What is the significance of the heifer never having worked or shouldered a yoke?
- Why does the mitzvah require a wadi or river rendezvous?
- After the ceremony, why should the area be permanently cordoned off so that no one will ever
work it, creating a "no work zone"?
To be sure, this high-profile rite involving the elders, judges, and priests has one main concern:
publicizing the crime in efforts to collect data. Ultimately, of course, the goal is to apprehend the
murderer and bring him to justice.
Abravanel offers two perspectives, one explored here. For the full, see Torah Seascapes. The entire
ceremony mirrors or replays the crime act and actors. Enter the heifer. In Scripture, the Jewish nation
has been referred to as a heifer. The prophet Hosea writes, "And Ephraim is a heifer well broken…"
Further, the Torah commands that it be brought from "the city which is nearest." The sacrificial heifer
recalls the lifeless victim, perhaps a man of that city.
The heifer's life came to an abrupt end, before beginning its productive existence, "Which has not been
wrought with, and which has not drawn in the yoke." The victim, too, forfeited his life due to no fault of
his own. Criminologists study the role of the victim. Here, there was none; he did nothing wrong. That is
why the heifer had to be two-years old, an allusion to youth. The victim's sins had not caused his
untimely demise. A river and a violent death – the heifer's skull had been crushed corresponds to the
closest town, a place where Torah and justice formerly resided. Prophets liken Torah to water, as Isaiah
depicts. "Attention. Everyone who thirsts, come to the water…" Famously, the Talmudic sages have
penned: "Water certainly refers to Torah."
In our context, Abravanel suggests that within the city confines, where kindness and righteousness once
dwelled, a man was slaughtered, symbolized by the heifer. Wise Solomon wistfully stated: "And
moreover I saw under the sun, in the place of justice, that wickedness was there." A sharp blow to the
back of the head took the victim/heifer's life. The coroner's report attests to an ambush, a calculated
attack from behind. This was not the mark of a court's execution or public duel, both occurring during
daylight hours. In dark alleys, this killer skulked.
The memorial by the river remains eerily empty, eternally. Naturally, incentive ran high for the man who
owned the field, motivated to track down the culprit. Obviously, he wanted to stave off the heifer's
death, as well as secure continued quiet enjoyment of his property, now threatened with lifelong ban.
