QUESTIONS FOR THE SHABBOS TABLE
PARSHAS VAYIKRA, 1:1-
5:26
We start a new Book this week, Vayikra or Leviticus.
At Vayikra 1:2 it says:”When a person from you will sacrifice an offering to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall sacrifice your offering”.
אָדָם כִּי-יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן, לַיהוָה--מִן-הַבְּהֵמָה, מִן-הַבָּקָר וּמִן-הַצֹּאן, תַּקְרִיבוּ, אֶת-קָרְבַּנְכֶם
Offering a sacrifice, in this
case an animal, was the means for people at that time to come closer to God.
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
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This week’s parsha begins with the word Vayikra: א ויקר On all Torah scrolls the letter א is small…Why?
It was always seen as a symbol of the intense
modesty of Moshe. But there is another explanation of the small aleph that
Rabbi Berel Wein teaches us:
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.
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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
קַרֵב interior
Are we not the People of the Book, or what?
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In the Parsha there is a specific commandment,
2:13, that the grain offering (the Minchah) requires salt. This is followed by
a general statement that all sacrifices require salt, hence the custom to have
salt at our Shabbos table where table is symbolic of the Altar on which sacrifices
were placed.
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.
A question: What is it about salt that makes it so important
to Hashem?
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.
My answer: There is a fundamental connection, evidenced by
salt, between the creation of life and life’s Creator.
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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.
In 2015, Anglo’s living in
Nahariya, Israel, dressed as cowboys marched in the city’s Purim
parade. Here’s what we looked like:
In the USA in the 1800's
the westward
movement brought many distinct ethnicities all with their own. cultural
traditions. In a way Israel is like that.
In terms of
persistent stereotypes I like to think that cowboys represent
the encouragement of honorable behavior,
respect and patriotism.
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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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More from Rav Kook?
Is fasting a substitute
for bringing a sacrifice?
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 strengthen 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.
Now,
relating fasting to sacrifice, think of this: Offering sacrifices was a form of
purification. You offer the sacrifice and you come out a better or
"cleaner" person.
Fasting will do the
same.
Rav Sheshet in the 4th century was on to
something good.
