Our Gemara on this amud describes the rules of Semicha, which is a ritual where hands are placed upon the sacrifice, and on which sacrifices it applies. From the process, it seems that it is related to penitence, as it appears to apply to sacrifices that are brought in order to achieve forgiveness or at least closeness to God. For example, communal sacrifices do not require Semicha, except for the scapegoat of Yom Kippur.

There is a discussion regarding whether someone who inherited a sacrifice performs Semicha. However, that does not necessarily indicate that it is not part of penitence, because we do have a concept that an heir can bring about forgiveness for his relative. This is why we give charity on behalf of the deceased (Rokeach Yom Kippur 217, and Beis Yosef and Levush I.C. 621).

Symbolically, it is easy to imagine that there is some kind of transfer by placing the hands on the sacrifice. The idea that hands can effect a transfer is seen elsewhere in Torah belief; for example, Bamidbar 27:23 speaks of Moshe conferring authority upon Yehoshua. The placing of the hands in this case symbolizes a transfer of authority; in the case of a sacrifice, it is a transfer of something else—blame or liability, most likely.

Likkutei Moharan (25:5) adds a dimension to explain this. Sin itself is a result of letting our physical nature dominate our spiritual nature. It is not just that the sin is a physical act of lust, but that our desires for physical gratification and meeting the needs of our body become primary instead of our spiritual yearnings and the need to satisfy our soul. The animal that is being sacrificed is not just taking the punishment for us, so to speak, but also represents our physicality, and we are expunging our physical instincts and gratifications and immediately disposing of them. This is why there is a halachic rule in sacrifices that the slaughtering should happen immediately after the Semicha (Berachos 42a). The power of physicality is constant, and even at the moment that one makes an effort to distance himself from it, it is so susceptible to rationalization and backsliding that the animal must be slaughtered immediately.

This is not the only situation in Halacha where one action must immediately follow another. The Gemara in Berachos (42a) that we just quoted actually lists three such pairs:

“There are three pairs that immediately follow each other: Immediately following placing hands on the head of a sacrifice is its slaughter; immediately following the blessing of redemption recited after Shema is the Amidah prayer; and immediately following the ritual washing of the hands after a meal is the blessing of Grace after Meals. (There is a minority of commentaries who hold it is referring to the washing and blessing at the beginning of the meal.)”

Is there any deeper link between these three pairs, and what is the reason for this requirement?

Recanti (Vayikra 6) says something cryptic:

His sin is transferred to the sacrifice, and we do not want anything to invalidate that sacrifice, so it must be slaughtered immediately. (It seems, according to Recanti, that if the sacrifice became invalidated, the toxic effects of this transferred sin would be released back into the world.) If one says the blessing immediately following the washing, Satan cannot prance about that particular meal. And if one immediately enters Shemoneh Esrei after the blessing of redemption, Satan is denied the ability to prance about for the entire day.

What does any of this really mean? Toras HaOlah (II:22) says that the semicha represents the heavenly flow of blessing, presumably symbolically represented in the placing of hands. Since entropy and decay immediately affect all physical matters from the moment they are granted the spark of existence, the sooner the potential is utilized, the better. The sacrifice, the blessing after washing, and the blessing over redemption prior to Shemoneh Esrei all represent various states of existence: the matter (chomer), the form (tzurah), and the space (he-ader).

The ancients conceptualized all matter as requiring an intellectual design or form to impose its unique pattern of existence upon it—like the software that activates the hardware. Space (he-ader) is the actual field upon which matter exists, and it also needs to be created to allow matter to exist. These three requirements for existence are represented in the three pairs of immediates and need rapid activation to avoid the entropic process of decay that promptly follows.

Which each of the three corresponds to was not made clear by Toras HaOlah, but my guess is that the bestowing of existence upon chomer is represented in semicha on the sacrifice. The bestowing of tzurah is represented by the blessing prior to Shemoneh Esrei, as this is a form of redemption—to be free to find one’s purpose or program. And finally, the washing prior to blessing is the creation of space to allow for the occupation of matter, which is like a blessing over sustenance.

Satan is synonymous with death, decay, and loss of this life force (see Bava Basra 16a and Rasag’s introduction to his commentary on Iyov). So Recanti’s explanation that the execution of the slaughter, prayer, and blessing be immediate lest “Satan prance about” is synonymous with Toras HaOlah’s concern that entropy would disrupt or weaken the life-giving force drawn via these activities and rituals.

Psychologically speaking, delay allows for doubt and ambivalence.

One final thought: The initial powerful and intuitive drive can be watered down by intellectual rationalizations that are not compatible with the passions of a religious emotional act. When it comes to devotional service, overthinking and delay, which sap energy and resolve, do not bring about the best results.

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Translations Courtesy of Sefaria, except when, sometimes, I disagree with the translation

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Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, Rabbi Simcha Feuerman, LCSW-R, LMFT, DHL is a psychotherapist who works with high conflict couples and families. He can be reached via email at simchafeuerman@gmail.com