48 — Your Sin is Another’s Mitzvah

Our Gemara discusses a technical piece regarding the Shavuous sacrifice that has interesting moral and halachic implications. However, to fully appreciate them, we must first understand the basic text and legal reasoning. The Gemara states:

“Rabbi Ḥanina Tirata taught a baraisa before Rabbi Yoḥanan: If one slaughtered four sheep for Shavuos, rather than the required two, accompanied by two loaves, he draws two of the sheep out of the four and sprinkles their blood not for the sake of the sheep of Shavuos. He then sprinkles the blood of the other sheep for the sake of the sheep of Shavuos.

As, if you do not say to do this, but rather require him first to sprinkle the blood of two of the sheep for their own sake, then you have caused the loss of the latter two sheep. Since they were previously fit to have their blood sprinkled on the altar for the sake of the sheep of Shavuos, and were disqualified from this status when the blood of the other two sheep was sprinkled for that purpose, they are no longer fit to have their blood sprinkled even for the sake of a different offering.

Rabbi Yoḥanan said to Rabbi Ḥanina Tirata: And does the court say to a person: Arise and sin in order that you may gain? Is it proper for the priest to sprinkle the blood of the first pair not for their own sake so that the second pair will remain fit?”

[in other words, at this point the Gemara assumes that it is improper to commit a sin even in order to achieve a higher purpose, such as fulfillment of the overall mitzvah. The Gemara cites a precedent from a different case where the limbs of an olah sacrifice are intermingled with the limbs of a chattas sacrifice. In such a case, we do not offer the entirety of the limbs on the altar, which would treat the limbs of the chattas as if they were wood, even though this would accomplish the overall positive goal of allowing the olah sacrifice to proceed with its full process.]

Rabbi Ḥanina Tirata answered Rabbi Yoḥanan: We indeed do say: Arise and sin with a sin offering in order that you may gain with regard to a sin offering, since it is the same type of offering. Similarly, one may sin with regard to the sheep of Shavuos in order to gain with regard to the other sheep brought for the same offering.

We do not say: Arise and sin with a sin offering in order that you may gain with regard to a burnt offering. Therefore, the Rabbis prohibit burning the limbs of the sin offering on the altar in order to allow for the burning of the limbs of the burnt offering.

The Gemara similarly refines this ruling and states: We do say: Arise and sin on Shabbos in order that you may gain on Shabbos, i.e., in order to allow lambs of the Shavuos offering to be eaten on Shavuos that occurs on Shabbos. We do not say: Arise and sin on Shabbos in order that you may gain on a weekday—any process that would preserve the eimurin (choice inner fats and certain internal organs) which are meant to be burned after Shabbos.”

The essential element of discussion in the Gemara is that, at times, one is permitted to commit a sinful act that will preserve an overall mitzvah. The proviso seems to be that it must be directly connected to the very same mitzvah and not performed to preserve or enact a different one.

Shulchan Aruch (O.C. 102:4) rules that it is forbidden to pass in front of (within four cubits of) a person who is praying Shemoneh Esreh. One of the reasons given is that it disrupts his........

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