This weeks portion called va-yeek-rah (translated “And He Called”) is from Leviticus 1:1
– 5:26.
This week’s Torah reading, Vayikra, begins the third book of the Torah, Leviticus.
Last week we completed the reading of the book of Exodus, which concluded with a
description of the construction of the Tabernacle. This week’s portion will provide a
description of the various sacrifices – animal, fowl, and meal-offerings – offered by the
priests in this newly constructed Sanctuary.
Let’s read from the parsha:
Lev 1:1 The LORD called Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying,
Lev 1:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When any one of you brings an
offering to the LORD, you shall bring your offering of livestock from the herd or from
the flock.
Lev 1:3 “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without
blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted
before the LORD.
Lev 1:4 He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted
for him to make atonement for him.
…
Lev 1:9 … And the priest shall burn all of it on the altar, as a burnt offering, a food
offering with a pleasing aroma to the LORD.
Does God need the sacrifices? Psalm 50 He declares that He is the owner of every beast
and the cattle on a thousand hills. He says, “If I were hungry I would not tell you, for
the world is Mine, and all it contains. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of
male goats?” (Psalm 50:12-13). He does not need sacrifices any more than He needs our
prayers or our praise, but all three are things that He has enabled human beings to offer to
Him so that they can enjoy relationship with Him.
Do modern men and women have any way to relate to the holy? Or is holiness, being
close to God, something which eludes us because the pace of life is too fast, or because
we are too materialistic, or because we are living in a secular society, or because times
have changed…
According to Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745-1812; founder of Chabad
Chassidism), we can learn something about this from a phrase at the beginning of our
Parshah. It is speaking about “a person who wishes to offer an offering to God,” in the
sense of an animal offering — something which would appear to concern only the times
of the Temple. However, each word of the Torah has several levels of meaning. The
Hebrew word for “offer” and “offering” (yakriv/korban) also means “draw near”.
So Rabbi Shneur Zalman explains the text as saying “if a person wishes to draw near to
God…“
Well, what does it tell us about the person who wants to draw near to God? How does he
or she do it? As explained by Rabbi Shneur Zalman, the Hebrew text continues: you draw
near by offering yourself to God.
Offering yourself? What does that mean, something mystical?
In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to present our bodies as “living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God.” What does this mean in practical terms? Is Paul asking us to build
altars and literally sacrifice ourselves upon them? Of course not. Paul is using the
sacrificial language as an illustration for obedience. He is urging us to set aside our
stubborn wills, our wayward flesh and our self-centered egos and force them to submit to
the commandments of God. When we set aside our own personal desires and inclinations
for the sake of obeying God, we are sacrificing ourselves for the sake of heaven. Instead
of offering a bull, a goat or a lamb to God as a gift, we are offering ourselves. This is why
the prophet Samuel declared that obedience is better than sacrifice:
Has the LORD as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice
of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams. (1
Samuel 15:22)
As the Torah describes the sacrificial service, it says that when the smoke of the offering
rises to heaven, it will be a “soothing aroma to the LORD” (Leviticus 1:9). At first this
seems strange. Does God really like the smell of burning meat?
Rashi interprets the “soothing aroma” as a metaphor for man’s obedience. He explains
that the aroma of the sacrifice is pleasing to the LORD because it is a token of His
children’s obedience. When God “smells” the aroma of the sacrifice, He says, “I have
given commandments and my will has been obeyed.”
In the same line of thought, the pleasing aroma of the sacrifice symbolizes God’s
acceptance of man’s gift. When God “smells” the sacrifice, He delights in the human
being who has gone to such effort to draw close to Him.
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