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Parshat Vayikra
2004
So Close - And Not So Far Away
This week we begin reading the book of Vayikra, or Leviticus. Vayikra begins by describing in extensive detail the instructions for offering sacrifices. The complexity of the process combined with the often bloody detail illustrated by the text leads many to conclude that this parsha is archaic, obsolete, and of little use to modern Jews today. After all, the Jewish people have evolved thousands of years past the age of animal sacrifice and our rituals today bear little to no resemblance to those from thousands of years ago. However, perhaps even though the practices themselves no longer exist and very well may make our stomachs turn, we can still relate the themes and greater meaning to our lives and our struggle to connect our ancient tradition with modernity.
Leviticus Chapter 1: 1-4
The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the Israelite people, and say to them: When any of you presents an offering of cattle to the Lord, he shall choose his offering from the herd or from the flock. If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall make his offering a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, for cceptance in his behalf before the Lord. He shall lay his hand upon the head of the burnt offering, that it may be acceptable in his behalf, in xpiation for him.
Your Torah Navigator
1. What does the commandment that the offering must be "without blemish" convey about the requirements of the offering?
2. Why do you think an Israelite must "lay his hand upon the head" of the offering? What does this add to the act of offering the sacrifice?
3. How do you think bringing an offering of cattle to the Lord brings about expiation?
In these opening four verses of the book, the text refers to presenting a korban (offering) and an olah (burnt offering). Olah comes from the Hebrew word to ascend (make aliya, etc.) and thus presents an image of the smoke of the offering rising up to God, a natural image when picturing sacrifice. The word for offering, korban, derives from the Hebrew word close or ear. How does this notion of proximity relate to an offering?
A Word
The intricate details presented in the text about how to choose which cattle to offer to God, from where, and what characteristics it should have indicates the importance of an offering's worth and value. Obviously, when offering a symbol of your devotion to God, you want to bring something with meaning and worth, thus something close to you. However, a korban is not simply something close to us that we then in turn offer to God, but rather the means to the end of bringing us closer to God. The act of the sacrifice might require the Israelites to bring an offering close to them and to their hearts. However, the act itself is not as important as the result: the connection formed between God and the Jewish people.
Though we no longer practice sacrifices today, Jewish ritual has evolved to encompass other mechanisms to achieve closeness with God. Prayer is the most obvious way in which we worship and connect ourselves with the Divine presence. Like offering sacrifices, prayer occurs at fixed times and requires we take time out of our day to go, pray, and achieve this closeness. However, we do not need to take time out from our lives at set intervals to bring ourselves closer to God. Performing acts of loving kindness, pursuing justice, welcoming the guest, consoling the mourner – these are all ways we as modern Jews offer our own korbanot by bringing God's presence into this world through our action. Though we may read this week's parsha, and much of Vayikra, and think that it no longer applies to modern Jews and a modern world, I urge you to think about how you can bring yourself close to the divine presence. Our civilization may have evolved beyond animal sacrifice, yet we certainly have not evolved beyond the need to connect with something greater than ourselves.
Prepared by Dena Wigder, Iyyun Fellow, Hillel's Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning.
Learn More
Additional commentaries and text studies on Parshat Vayikra at MyJewishLearning.com.
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