While Genesis tells the story of the family of Adam and the family of Abraham, the progenitors of the Jewish people, Exodus is the incipient story about the family of Israel who are a people of humble beginnings that become partners with God to bring goodness to the world. Leviticus, the third book of Torah, tells a different story, a story of Priestly concerns about the behavioral communal norms for these people with concepts such as Tahor and Tamai (pure and impure), touching on themes like sanctification, purification and consumption seen in the Kosher Laws, interpersonal relationships or the Holy Days, defining a “kingdom of priests” to be holy as they perceived God to be. This week we look at the first parasha of this book, called Vayikra that talks about Zevachim, or ritual sacrifices then and what they could mean today.
There are three initial thoughts that come to mind with sacrifices. First, while there is great detail concerning the particulars of the sacrifices themselves, which have depths of meaning that are worth exploring, here it is about their nature. The practice of sacrifice itself given our modern sensibilities is barbaric and cruel, yet at the same time it must be understood within the cultural norms of worship practices that were for them “dignified, meaningful and uplifting” (W. Gunther Plaut). Second, what would people do with no more capability to offer sacrifices? In the Haftorah (Is. 43:21-44:23) we read of God’s dismay that Israel had not brought their “sheep for burnt offerings nor honored God with your sacrifices,” creating a challenge for the people after the destruction of the Temple. In a well-known Midrash (Avot d'Rabbi Natan 4:17-18) we read a story about Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai who is consoling one of his disciples as he morns the inability to offer sacrifices any longer, the Rabbi applying the words of the Prophet Hosea to his student that God now desires "mercy and not sacrifice" as things have changed. The Talmud (Berachot 6b) further clarifies that change to be our prayers that are the new offering of the heart just as the sacrifices were before the Temples destruction. And third, the continued study of Temple sacrifices daily. During weekday shacharit (morning prayers) in a Traditional/Orthodox siddur before getting to the Baruch Shemar (Nissim Shel HaYom in the Reform siddur) it is customary to read several Biblical and Rabbinic passages about the Temple sacrifices, bringing upon the reader much zechut, or merit, as if they were offering sacrifices upon the alter of the Temple itself. This is why Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan taught that by learning about sacrifices a Jew would “be able to understand and appreciate it” in order to make their own prayers more meaningful.
What of the sacrifices themselves? In approaching a sense of the Holy, or God, the people are asked to do so via the five sacrifices listed in this parasha. The first three offerings are voluntary; they are the Olah (burnt) offering of thanksgiving, the Minchah (meal) offering of appreciation and the Sh’lamim (well-being) offering of wellness of mind and spirit. The last two are obligatory; the chatat (sin) and the asham (guilt) offerings as all people will do unintentional wrongs as well as intentional sins in connection to the mitzvat Adonai, commandants of God (Lev. 4:2 and 5:17). We might ask why the initial sacrifices were not compulsory since they support the human mind, body, soul and spirit regarding how one sees and experiences the world around them. While the last two were mandatory because people are imperfect the initial three were about free-will, allowing each person to chose if they want peace of mind and spirit (Sh’lamim) by being thankful (Olah) and appreciative (Minchah), as opposed to disappointed and ungrateful, in how they live daily life. In the same we get to chose to be thankful by offering the prayer of Modeh Ani upon waking or by embracing all our of blessings when offering the daily prayer for gratitude that thanks God “who provided me with all my needs, albeit it times of good or bad, seeking peace of mind and spirit by praying the words of Sim Shalom that asks for peace everyday. But sacrifices were much more than giving thanks, they also touch on the flawed human condition.
The obligatory chatat and asham offerings are the foundation of the daily Tachanun prayer of repentance as well as the Al Chait that we recite on Yom Kippur as we pound our chests and ask for forgiveness from the sin of “unclean lips,” just to name one. Words of lies, hate or slander, called lashon hara, in Judaism are compared to murder, impacting the person speaking, the person being spoken about and the person who is listening (Talmud, Arachin 15b). In our realization of the damage we may have caused from unthoughtful words, illuminated by the Divine image within, our better selves seek consolation for our actions, hence the sacrifice of prayer reminds us that we need to make amends to those we have wronged (bein adam lachaveiro) as well as with God (bein adam lamakom) just as the chatat and asham offerings did in the days of old. But in general why a fixed ritual of prayers? In a time when we call ourselves spiritual as opposed to religious or prefer spontaneous prayers as opposed to prayers that are prescribed, and by the way this is not an either/or but a both/and, there is something about ritual that our neshamot (souls) respond to. When we hear the prayers over the candles on Friday night or the emotions of hearing the Kaddish at a funeral we recognize that prayers have relevance to our lives that can touch the deepest parts of the human soul.
Final thought. Sacrifices of prayer are more than just a daily checking in, or reconnecting with God, but are a self-assessment of one’s own spiritual condition. We therefore read in the Mishnah from Pirkei Avot 3:1 that as people we are “destined to give an account and a reckoning,” most importantly for ourselves, allowing our prayers to help us by examining our attitudes of being thankful while at the same surveying the short comings of our own humanity. However you understand the future of sacrifices is another matter, but today’s sacrifices of prayer are meant to awaken the recognition of the holy and good in our lives just as the sacrifices of Leviticus were meant to do in the days of the Beit Hamikdash, or in the holy Temple.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Adam
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