Rabbi Riskin expands on the term “from you” as meaning what does Hashem want from us?
He concludes that in making sacrifices today, Hashem wants us to give of ourselves, upfront and personal
Hashem is to be seen and heard in the small things in life and not only in the large, great events. Hashem tells Elijah that He is not to be found in the wind, the noise of a quake, the brightness of a burning fire but rather in the still, small voice, in the sound of a whisper and not of a shout.
The still, small voice is most representative of God and his omnipotence. Science has shown us in our time that our physical appearance, if not even our longevity and health, lie in small almost invisible strands that make up our DNA. God calls out with a small aleph to his creatures – to see Him in every aspect of life, no matter how small and insignificant it may appear on its surface.
The word “offering” or “sacrifice” is Korban or קָרְבָּן. The three letter root is קרב.
A verb having this root is לְהִתְקַרֵב , to come closer. Try squeezing out more meanings for קָרְבָּן.
Juggling the letters of the root yields the following possibilities:
רֵבקַ damn רקב decay ברק lightning בקר beef קַברֵ grave
וְכָל-קָרְבַּן מִנְחָתְךָ, בַּמֶּלַח תִּמְלָח, וְלֹא תַשְׁבִּית מֶלַח בְּרִית אֱלֹהֶיךָ, מֵעַל מִנְחָתֶךָ; עַל כָּל-קָרְבָּנְךָ, תַּקְרִיב מֶלחַ
“And every meal-offering of yours you shall season with salt; neither shall you omit the salt covenant of your God to be lacking from your meal-offerings; with all your offerings you shall offer salt”.
A question: What is the salt covenant?
Offerings must not lack salt. This is a commandment and as such does not need to be understood. (That does not mean that we should not try to understand the commandment.) The commandment is part of a covenant, the “salt covenant”. Apparently the commandment a legally binding agreement that Hashem has imposed upon us. And Hashem’s obligations under the covenant, if any, are not stated.
In the Book of Numbers 18:19, God's covenant with the priesthood is said to be a covenant of salt. In the second book of Chronicles 13:5, God's covenant with the Davidic kings of Israel is also described as a covenant of salt. A covenant of salt most likely means that the covenant is a perpetual covenant, because of the use of salt as a preservative.
Try these facts to come up with your answer. Oceans are salty. They are comprised by about 35% salt. 98% of all the water on our planet is salty. Lakes, rivers and underground water comprise only 2% of the Earth’s water. All original life stemmed from sea water. Layers of salt, “rock salt”, are only the remains of ocean water that has evaporated.
In Parsha Vayikra we are instructed about the variety of offerings that are to be made to Hashem. The first offering that is discussed is known as the עולה, which is not shared with the public or the priests (except for the hides), but is entirely dedicated to Hashem.
עולה has in its narrow meaning something that is raised up. It is no coincidence that an immigrant Israeli is also referred to as an עולה. Native born Israelis, sabras as they are called, are great in their own right, but the עולה has special meaning to Hashem and for Israel. Be proud. Walk tall.
An עולה (Oleh) who in English-speaker is called an Anglo. An Anglo עולה is commonly depicted by native born Israelis as cowboys whether or not they hail from the USA, as they are often Canadians, Brits, Australians, South African and the like.
What will the rebuilt Temple be like? Will we really offer animal
sacrifices once again?
These are some views on the subject held by Rav Kook as interpreted by Channon Morison:
In the writings of the Kabbalists, we find a remarkable description of how the universe will look in the future. All aspects of the universe will be elevated. Even the animals in that future era will be different. Animals will advance to the level of people today (Sha’ar Hamitzvot of the Ari z"l). Obviously, no sacrifice could be offered from such humanlike animals. At that time, there will no longer be strife and conflict between inhabitants of the world.
Human beings for their own physical, moral, and spiritual needs will no longer take the lives of animals.
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When the fourth-century scholar Rav Sheshet fasted, he would add the following request to his Amidah (Standing) prayer:
“Master of the Universe! You know that when the Temple stood, a person who sinned would bring a sacrifice. Although only the fats and blood would be offered on the altar, the person would be granted atonement.
Now I have fasted, and my fat and my blood have diminished. May it be Your Will that the decrease in my fat and my blood should be considered as if I offered them on the altar, and my offering was accepted.” (Berachot 17a)
Rav Sheshet’s prayer is inspiring, but it makes one wonder: Why should one go to the trouble of bringing a sacrifice if the same atonement may be achieved through fasting?
Coming forward to today let me add my 2 cents:
I probably fast five days a week. An individual fast may last as little as 12 hours or as much as 20 hours. I drink water or tea or black coffee during a fast.
When you have fasted for 12 hours, amazing things begin to happen:
Your insulin level begins to drop which is a guarantee of becoming healthier. Also a cascade of Human Growth Hormone begins, and this will strengthens your bones, increase your muscle mass, strengthen your immune system and slow down the aging process. As the hours increase things get better and better.
At around 16 hours or more your body on a cellular level experiences a phenomenon called autophagy:
Autophagy is the body's way of cleaning out damaged cells, in order to regenerate newer, healthier cells. The body removes unnecessary or dysfunctional components Consider it as a form of recycling or waste management.
“You shall not forget!”
This Shabbos is called Shabbat Zachor – of Remembrance
Shabbat Zachor "Sabbath of remembrance שבת זכור is the Shabbat immediately preceding Purim. Deuteronomy 25:17-19 describing the attack on the weakest of us by Amalek, is recounted. There is a tradition from the Talmud that Haman, the antagonist of the Purim story, was descended from Amalek. The portion that is read includes a commandment to remember the attack by Amalek, and therefore at this public reading both men and women make a special effort to hear the reading.
“You shall remember what Amalek did to you on the way, when you went out of Egypt, how he happened upon you on the way and cut off all the stragglers at your rear, when you were faint and weary, and he did not fear God.
Therefore, it will be, when the Lord your God grants you respite from all your enemies around [you] in the land which the Lord, your God, gives to you as an inheritance to possess, that you shall obliterate the remembrance of Amalek from beneath the heavens”.
“You shall not forget!”
We were entering a “bad neighborhood”. It was bad then and it is still bad today.
And there is a lesson to be learned in connection with a “bad neighborhood”:
Moshe should have known that there were stragglers who were vulnerable, and needed rear-guard protection.
A leader is responsible for the well-being of his people. This was true then. It is true today.
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The haftarah for Shabbat Zachor, 1 Samuel 15:2–34 or 15:1–34,
describes Saul's encounter with Amalek and Saul's and Samuel's treatment of the
Amalekite king Agag.
Purim, in turn, commemorates
the story of Esther and the Jewish people's victory over Haman's plan to kill
the Jews, told in the book of Esther. Esther
3:1 identifies Haman as an Agagite, and thus a descendant of Amalek.
Numbers 24:7 identifies the Agagites with the Amalekites.
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This week we celebrated International Woman’s Day:
You are strong.
You are fearless.
You are a Jewish Israeli woman.
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