Shoftim 21:04 · unit 7

TT #367 · Parashas Shoftim · Seventh Aliyah · Passuk 21:04

The Complete Passuk

וְהוֹרִ֡דוּ זִקְנֵי֩ הָעִ֨יר הַהִ֤וא אֶת־הָעֶגְלָה֙ אֶל־נַ֣חַל אֵיתָ֔ן אֲשֶׁ֛ר לֹא־יֵעָבֵ֥ד בּ֖וֹ וְלֹ֣א יִזָּרֵ֑עַ וְעָֽרְפוּ־שָׁם֙ אֶת־הָ֣עֶגְלָ֔ה בַּנָּ֖חַל׃

And the elders of that city shall bring the heifer down to a hard valley that has not been worked and has not been sown, and they shall break the neck of the heifer there in the valley.

Chabad / Judaica Press

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sotah 47a.

TT lemma: בַּנָּחַל.

Sefaria — Sotah 47a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
בַּנָּחַל – וְלֹא בְעִיר.

English: ‘In the valley’ – and not in the city.

On the daf / in context: The rite must occur in the designated valley.

Type of Learning

Derash on the location of the killing (Bavli) — the valley is mandatory.

What Is Learned

The breaking of the neck must take place in the hard valley, not within the city itself.