Dear Friends,
This week, we begin reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra, also known as Leviticus. Our Parshah and most of the book focus on the ancient sacrificial rituals that the Israelites offered in the Mishkan and later in the Temple. The word in the Torah for sacrifice is Korban, which comes from the Hebrew word meaning to draw close. This implies that the purpose of Vayikra and the sacrificial tradition was to draw the Israelites and God close together, in an intimate relationship.
There is debate in Rabbinic midrash as to why it is that Korbanot, sacrifices, were an important part of traditional Jewish practice. According to Rabbi Akiba, God wanted the Israelites to offer sacrifices because “their sweet savor brings God delight.” However, Rabbi Yishmael disagrees. According to Rabbi Yishmael, sacrifices were offered not to satisfy God, but rather “for our sake and to satisfy our own needs.”
While we no longer offer sacrifices today, they inspired and paved the way for other Jewish rituals and practices that help facilitate that close relationship. For some of us, we engage in these rituals, we pray, and we perform mitzvot because we think it is what God and our tradition expects of us. For others, we engage with Jewish tradition because we find it to be personally fulfilling and meaningful. For many of us, it might be a little of both.
However it is that we practice Judaism, and for whatever reason we decide to participate in Jewish tradition and engage with Judaism, it is my hope and prayer for all of us that we do so in a way that draws us closer together with one another, our community, and with God.
Wishing you all a Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Josh Dorsch
