Shabbos Parashas Vayikra - 5777

Shabbos Parashas Vayikra - 5777

Rabbi Hal Miller

Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, When a man among you brings an

offering to Hashem, from animals---from the cattle or from the flock shall you bring

your offering. [Vayikra 1:2]

How could a religion so deeply invested in kindness toward others call for so much

shedding of animal blood? The entire book of Vayikra covers laws of the sacrifices,

so the topic is clearly important. Our verse assumes that the Jews will be bringing

sacrifices, and is merely describing which ones are allowed. Why would the Torah

assume this in the first place? What is animal sacrifice for?

Idol worship around the world was full of such sacrifice. Rambam states that it would

have been very difficult for the people to give up everything they knew about religion

when they were becoming the Jewish nation, and to do it all at once. Thus the people

were being weaned from idolatry a little at a time. Sacrifices were one area that was

left for "later". In fact, with the destruction of the Temple, we lost the ability to perform

these sacrifices, and there are those who teach that in the future, few if any of these

sacrifices will be reimplemented in the Third Temple. Frankly, this sounds like an

excuse. Rambam adds, though, that the Torah is teaching us to convert our behaviors

to new Divine purposes rather than the old goals of idolatry. This lesson we can apply

in other areas of life as well.

Ramban doesn't buy in to the Rambam's reasoning. He says that the Torah would not

command something other than for its own reasons. We would not be directed to perform

sacrifices for the purpose of easing the transition from idolatry, but only for something

which directly requires a sacrifice. Ramban says that the answer is found only in Kabbalah.

Others say that the reason for sacrifices is to separate out the animalistic side of human

nature, or to substitute for ourselves when we should have been killed for our sins.

The verses dealing with sacrifice refer to "adam", physical man. The verses dealing with

sin refer to "nefesh", or soul. It might seem backward, but Sforno gives a good explanation

when he writes that the physical man brings himself close to G-d by means of confession

of his sins through sacrifice. This method frees the soul from the prison of man's sins.

Nachshoni supports this when he points out that the name for a sacrifice, korban, tells us

its purpose, l'kareiv, or to come close. He also tells us that the animals approved for the

Altar were all considered gods by nations in the area at the time, and also that this was

the method by which Yitzchak was released from the altar himself. Thus, animals were

chosen by G-d for a number of purposes.

One last point. G-d created all of Creation for His own purposes. He assigned this role

to animals, thus they are achieving their purpose by being brought on the altar. Whichever

explanation one chooses, it is beyond our power to change the law.