When Words Fail Us: Vayikra 5786
The idea of animal sacrifice seems primitive and antiquated. I recently listened to a lecture by Rabbi Alex Israel, entitled “Understanding Korbanot” which makes the ancient sacrificial procedures much more relatable. I would like to share some of his thoughts.
The first sacrifices which were brought were those of Cain and Abel who brought the sacrifices of their own volition. Similarly, after exiting the ark Noah chose to bring a sacrifice. What we see here is a human need to give thanks to God. Humanity does this by giving a possession of value to God. The word in Hebrew for sacrifice, korban, comes from the word karov, meaning to draw near. Cain, the farmer, drew near to God by giving off his valued produce, while Abel, the shepherd, drew near by offering up his precious animals. This desire to give possession of value as a display of thanksgiving can even be found in the animal kingdom. A cat’s presentation of a mouse he caught to his owner, likewise, is an offering of thanksgiving.
Yet, just as the owner doesn’t need (or for that matter, desire the mouse) God does not need our offerings. Our first patriarch is taught very early on that God does not desire human sacrifices by the famous story of Akeidat Yitzchak, (The Binding of Isaac). Yet, the question remains, why is it that God allowed for animal sacrifices, being that, unlike other religions, we never believed that we were feeding God by offering sacrifices to him.
In his famous philosophical work, the Guide to the Perplexed, Maimonides argues that God allowed for animal sacrifices simply because humans could not imagine having a relationship with God without sacrificing to him. According to this point of view, sacrifice is viewed as a concession to humanity due to its inability to find other vehicles for maintaining a relationship with the divine. Yet, in his legal work, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides maintains that the world is sustained due to the merit of the sacrificial service. Though Maimonides appears to contradict himself, perhaps he means that the world is sustained through prayer, because prayer in the rabbinic mind, replaced sacrifice as the primary vehicle of worship, after the destruction of the second temple.
Nachmanides, unlike Maimonides, has a more positive view of sacrifice, believing that it could be a vehicle of positive transformation. After committing an unintentional sin, one was permitted to sacrifice an animal as an act of atonement instead of forfeiting his own life. The message was clear. Though he was worthy of death, God in his mercy, allowed him to substitute an animal in his place, in order to be granted a second chance. Substituting an animal for a human is reminiscent of the ram who was sacrificed in place of Isaac.
Rabbi Israel suggests a third way of understanding sacrifices, understanding them as a symbolic language. For example, if a man gives flowers to a woman he is saying “I love you.” If he places the very same flowers on the grave of his fallen comrade he is saying, “I salute you.” If he sends the very same flowers to the couple who is hosting him for a Shabbat meal, he is saying, “thank you.”
Let’s look at the first three offerings which appear in the beginning Sefer Vayikra (The Book of Leviticus) and see how they serve as symbolic language. The first is the Olah (elevation) offering. Before being sacrificed, the animal was slaughtered and then skinned. Afterwards, the pieces of meat were taken up onto the altar and completely consumed in the fire. An animal which moments before had been alive, was suddenly reduced to a heap of ashes. This is a reminder about the fragility of human life. We will return to dust, so we should make the most of life while we have the opportunity.
Conversely, the Shlamim (Peace) offering, after being sacrificed was eaten by its owner. This signifies a desire to invite God to partake in a meal with us. Unlike the Olah, which evokes a sense of yirah (awe), the Shlamim evokes a sense of fellowship with God.
The Mincha offering was made of flour and oil representing sustenance. This was brought to thank God for bestowing bounty.
Rabbi Israel explains that a sacrificial system was designed to give us a language to communicate with God because at times, words fail us. Likewise, one of the rationalizations for the use of the shofar on the High Holidays, is that the shofar blasts are our cry to God when words fail us. Today, our fixed liturgy ensures that we are able to communicate with God even when our own words fail us. And the reality is, that we are still able to sacrifice to God, not by bringing sacrifices to the altar, but by giving of our time and resources.
