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This week we embark upon a brand new book of the Torah. It is the third book of the Torah which we call Vayikra, or Leviticus. In the very first portion of this book, Parashat Vayikra, we learn that what we set aside for Godliness should come from the best of what we have to offer.
In ancient times our people were instructed to give many offerings before God in the tabernacle. These offerings are described in great detail throughout the book of Leviticus. One theme many of them share is that in most cases the offerings must come from the finest and most unblemished of what we possess.
For example, we learn of the meal offering in Leviticus, chapter 2, verse 4, which states, "When you offer a meal offering that is baked in an oven, it shall be of fine flour; unleavened loaves mixed with oil..."
Clearly it is not enough just to give, not enough just to participate. The Torah is telling us to demand more of ourselves, to put our all into what we do and who we are. Just as the flour needed to be of the highest quality, and as the animal offerings needed to be those with the least blemish, we too need to be presenting the finest versions of ourselves.
Ultimately, what matters most is not whether the flour is pure and fine, but whether the one who offers it is doing so in the spirit of kindness, generosity, and joy. We learn from the prophets that God is not particularly impressed by our burnt offerings. Of much more interest to God is whether each individual is living by the laws of kindness and fairness which are prescribed in the Torah.
The quest for righteousness is the true goal. This can only be achieved if one is able to embody the principle of offering only the finest, and most unblemished, version of all things.
May we all be able to offer the best versions of ourselves.
Shabbat Shalom.
Cantor Zachary Konigsberg
cantorzkonigsberg@gmail.com
917-696-0749
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