In the final section of Parshat Shoftim, the Torah describes a strange ceremony called the Eglah Arufah, which was a procedure done if a dead body was found near a city that was presumably murdered, but the murderer was unknown and still at large. In this procedure, the elders of the city nearest to the body bring a young cow to a rough valley incapable of cultivation and near a river, break the neck of the cow, wash their hands over it, and proclaim, “Our hands did not shed this blood, nor did our eyes see it done. Absolve, O Lord, Your people Israel whom You redeemed, and do not let guilt for the blood of the innocent remain among Your people Israel.” (Devarim 21:1-9)

On the face of it, this has a flavor of ritual, and the declaration of the sages seems to imply this is some process of atonement akin to a sacrifice, but Jewish tradition has interpreted the rationale and message of this practice in a way that sets a standard for the kind of responsibility communal leaders have in caring for the people under their jurisdiction. The Mishnah in tractate Sotah interprets their declaration, “Our hands have not spilled this blood, and our eyes have not seen him,” to mean not that they were defending themselves and offering an alibi,........

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