What Do You Have To Offer? – Parshas Vayikra 5771
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Loading ...The Me’am Loaz introduces the topic of the sacrificial offerings in the Beis Hamikdash with the following question: how is it that you can “bribe” Hashem with sacrifices when the whole world belongs to him? Another pressing question is asked: one of the foundations of Judaism is that Hashem does not have a physical body. If so of what help is it to bring a sacrifice which is only fit for a physical being?
One of the answers given is that a sacrifice is in reality for the benefit of the one bringing it. He is supposed to contemplate the actions that necessitated the bringing of a sacrifice. Every positive and pleasurable experience that this person had in life was orchestrated by Hashem. This reality escaped his mind, for had it not; he wouldn’t have been able to bring himself to sin. A person does not want to go against his benefactor’s wishes. Out of appreciation for all the good he receives he strives to do his will. This person sinned against Hashem and is now bringing a sacrifice.
The Kav Hayasher in the second chapter writes about the importance of being careful with our eyes and what we see. When we see a doorpost we should remember the commandment of mezuzah, likewise when noticing a roof one should think about the mitzvah of building a fence around it. We can learn from here that a person can and should connect to Hashem through his eyes. He should try to find spirituality in everything he sees, looking for Torah commandments that it might connect to, or learning how he can become closer with Hashem.
As a person brings his offering, he has an additional task: to analyze the situation, and find a way to connect to Hashem through what is transpiring before his eyes. It is upon him to utilize those moments to think about how far he has distanced himself from Hashem, and arouse within himself thoughts of repentance. When he sees the animal being slaughtered, burned and turned to ash it should remind him of death, and how one day the sun will rise and he will not be there to see it. Thinking of the day of death is conducive to the repentance process. Shlomo Hamelech teaches us in Koheles 7:2 that it is better to go to a house of mourning then to attend a banquet. What wisdom is there in these words? It would seem that most people would opt for the lively enjoyable atmosphere of a party then the morbid setting of a mourner’s house. The Metzudas Dovid sheds light on the topic by teaching us a useful thought: we are meant to utilize the opportunity of the mourner’s house to help us repent. When someone attends such a place, it will cause him to think about death and more specifically his own personal situation. What will people say about him by his funeral? This mindset will help bring him to repentance, and change his life for the better.
When a person has this in mind he will automatically conduct his life differently. As a result, he will not be pulled after the pleasures of this world. His new focus will be his spiritual life.
One of the reasons for burning the fats, kidneys and liver on the altar stem from a similar point. The Me’am Loaz goes on to explain that it is these three organs that cause a man to sin. The fat causes sin, as we learn from the possuk: Yeshurun became fat, and as a result “kicked” meaning he sinned by not recognizing the good he received from Hashem. The kidneys are the organ that seduces a person to sin. It is from the liver where anger and haughtiness are bred. The burning of these three organs alludes to the person imploring him to remove these bad character traits from within and this will cause him to be successful in his service of Hashem as opposed to being drowned by these base hindrances.
It could be that this is one of the explanations for what Dovid Hamelech says in Tehillim: the sacrifices for Hashem are a broken spirit. When a person sees what happens to the sacrifice and it breaks his spirit of lustful sin, causing him to return to Hashem; this is the true offering.
Nowadays when we don’t have the Beis Hamikdash to gain repentance how can we utilize this message? The sages teach us that when we pray to Hashem it will be considered as if we brought an offering to Hashem. It could therefore be suggested that when one prays he should have these thoughts in mind contemplating his spiritual situation and thinking of ways to better himself. This will enable him to get closer to Hashem and achieve greater spiritual heights.
Categories: Parshas Vayikra
