By Max Finkler
This week’s Torah portion is Vayikra: Leviticus 1:1 — 5:26
This week’s Torah portion is Vayikra. In this portion, God, through Moses, instructs the Israelites on how to do their required sacrifices. These sacrifices were how the Israelites connected with God and were the base of their religious life.
There were four main kinds of sacrifices. The olah, the burnt offering, was brought to thank God and express gratitude. It was also brought as part of the daily and festival services.
The second and third kinds of sacrifice were the chatat, the sin offering, and the asham, the guilt offering. They were both given by individuals who had sinned, and they served as an apology or plea for forgiveness from God. The last type of offering was the shelamim, the peace offering. The peace offering was usually to thank God for specific actions, or in anticipation of them.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is “korban,” coming from the root karov, meaning to pull closer. This is an appropriate word because although the sacrifices were used for thanksgiving and repentance, their bigger purpose was to create a relationship between God and the Israelites, and to consistently remind the Israelites to follow God’s mitzvot and not be led astray by idolatry or other nations.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks explains that sacrifices are about love, both today and in the Bible. People make sacrifices all the time for the ones they love, for their children, partners, friends and God.
In Judaism, many of our actions and values involve sacrificing one thing for another of importance. Sitting shiva, visiting the sick and giving charity are actions we take to support others, despite giving up our time or money. Many Jews keep kosher and observe Shabbat, sacrificing their pleasure and putting aside things we need to get done, to remember God, slow down and come together as a community or family.
This week’s Haftorah also connects the ideas of love, sacrifice and being in a relationship with God. In the Haftorah, the kingdom of Judah is in exile. The prophet Isaiah explains that Israelites were exiled to Babylonia because they were worshiping idols instead of sacrificing to God. After criticizing the Israelites’ idolatry, the Haftorah finishes with God reminding the Israelites that they are still God’s chosen people and of God’s eternal love for them. God assures them that they can be forgiven, even without sacrifices, by returning to God’s ways. This reminds us that although sacrifices showed the Israelites’ love for God, it was not their only way to show love nor to redeem themselves. The most important thing was to actually follow and love God.
Although sacrifices are no longer part of Jewish life, we can still relate to the values of Vayikra, the sacrificial system and God’s love. After the Temple was destroyed, sacrifices were replaced with tefillah (prayer). Today, we pray three times a day, to mimic the three daily sacrifices. God still receives our love, and we still feel God’s, but in different ways. We say prayers and wear ritual clothing to show our connection to God and to remind us how to act.
Even though Parshat Vayikra focuses on the sacrifices people made to God, I think that it doesn’t just teach us about our relationship with God, but also our relationship with the people around us. The sacrifices fed the poor and hungry, teaching the values of tzedakah and caring for our community. The sin offerings helped people realize their wrongdoings and invited them to take actions to fix their mistakes. We may not be able to sacrifice, but through these values and actions, we can still sustain a loving relationship with God and with our community.
Max Finkler is a seventh-grade student at Krieger Schechter Day School.
