ON THE NATURE OF SACRIFICE

Parashat Vayikra
Nisan 7, 5781 / March 19-20, 2021
Torah reading: Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
Haftarah: Isaiah 43:21 – 44:23
 
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ON THE NATURE OF SACRIFICE
 
"Speak to the Children of Israel, and say to them, 'If one from among you (mikem) shall sacrifice a sacrifice to the Lord ...'" Leviticus 1:2

This parashah, like nearly all the book of Leviticus, is about the sacrifices that were offered, first in the Tabernacle, later on various high places, and finally in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Jews have struggled for centuries over the significance of the sacrifices. Rambam (Maimonides) taught that the sacrifices were a compromise - the ancient Israelites, being exposed to sacrificial cults in Egypt and Canaan, could not comprehend a God or a religion that did not involve the offering of sacrifices. In his view, the people needed to be weaned from the idolatrous practices they saw all about them. The Temple was ultimately destroyed by God because there was no longer a need on the part of humans for animal sacrifice. God had never needed them.
 
Ramban (Nachmanides) rejected this view. He saw the sacrifices as having moral and spiritual symbolism which was essential to Jewish religious practice. In a way, this dispute is still played out within the various movements of modern Judaism. Orthodox prayer books retain the prayers for the re-establishment of the Temple and the sacrificial cult. Over 140 years ago, Reform Judaism deleted these prayers. About 90 years ago, Conservative Judaism reformulated the prayers to be in the past tense, as a remembrance of what once was.

Regardless of one's viewpoint, what does one do today with these passages about the sacrifices? Obviously, they cannot be offered. The beauty of the Hebrew language and the absence of punctuation in the Torah allow the instruction of our verse to be read literally as follows: "If a person shall sacrifice from your selves (mikem) a sacrifice to the Lord." The Torah itself gives a clue. It is not animals which we must sacrifice. Rather, we must give of ourselves.

The idea of lovingkindness as being preferable to sacrifice is quite ancient. This was clearly articulated shortly after the destruction of the Temple by Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai. Asked how one might make atonement in the absence of sacrifice, he replied: "We have another way of gaining atonement which is equal to it. What is it? Deeds of lovingkindness, as it is written: 'For it is lovingkindness I desire, and not sacrifice.'" Avot D’Rabbi Natan 11a, quoting the prophet Hosea. This was reiterated by Rabbi Elazar: "Doing deeds of charity is greater than all of the sacrificial offerings." BT Sukkah 49b

Deeds of lovingkindness, the giving of charity, the donation of time and energy to the betterment of the community and the world - these are what God wants from us. Is that too much of a sacrifice?

Shabbat Shalom! 

Rabbi Richard A. Flom
TBH/CBM
הַלּוֹמֵד מִכָּל אָדָם ?אֵיזֶהוּ חָכָם
Who is wise? The one who learns from every person.
Ben Zoma - Pirkei Avot 4:1
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND OTHER USEFUL INFO!

All first-borns (except Levi’im and Kohanim) are obliged to engage in a fast in recognition of the 10th plague, called Ta’anit B’chorot, from pre-dawn until sundown on the 14th of Nisan. The fast is occurring one day earlier this year on Thursday, March 25. To avoid the fast, the custom has become for the firstborn to engage in Torah study and then have a festive "meal" (a siyyum) at the completion of their study. I will be on-line hosting Torah study and siyyum on March 25, at 8:30 am, streaming at:  

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