Close To Torah

The Midrash and many commentators start off the parsha and the sefer of Vayikra, discussing the virtue of humility. Rabbeinu Bechaya had a custom of starting each parsha and speech that he wrote with a verse that ties into and summarized the entire parsha or topic (see Kad Hakemach). He begins Vayikra with Mishlei (22:4) “One who is modest achieves: fear of God, wealth, honor and life.” Modesty is wonderful but what does this have to do with Vayikra?

Worthy Prophet

The Torah tells us that Moshe was the most humble man to ever live. What is interesting is that our parsha begins where Moshe had to be called by Hashem to enter the Ohel Moed because he was reluctant to do so without the express command of Hashem (Rabbeinu Bechaya). Additionally, the first word of Vayikra has a small alef at its end. Why is this? When God calls to an unworthy prophet such as Bilaam, the verse reads, “Vayikar” the first four letters without an alef at the end. This hints to the word keri, which means haphazard, showing that God viewed the prophet as lacking the virtues that were expected of him. When God called to a righteous prophet He used the word, “Vayikra” which was spelled in full to signify an expression of love, care and individual appreciation towards the prophet. Moshe was reluctant to use the word Vayikra in reference to himself but yet he was unable to change the Torah’s text, and so instead he wrote the alef in a smaller font (Baal HaTurim). The result was an even greater memorialization of Moshe’s humility! This is a beautiful lesson, but once again, we must ask, what is it doing here? What does this have to do with our parsha?

Karban Sacrifice

The theme of Vayikra is that of sacrificial offerings. When the Jews wished to serve Hashem in the Tabernacle or Temple they brought sacrifices for sins, thanks and holiday occurrences. The purpose of the sacrifices was not simply to pay the money for an animal or other item and then leave. Rather, the goal was for one to be inspired to grow. Coming to the majestic and royal palace of God was awe-inspiring and uplifting. You used one specific door to enter and made sure to leave from a different door to show that we were looking for change and growth.

Being in the Mishkan and offering a sacrifice instilled an awe and love of God that was powerful and long lasting. This is the goal of the karban experience. One who left inspired left with a feeling of the greatness of Hashem and the frailty of man. Man was truly humbled by the experience. This is the connection between our parsha and the theme of humility. The entire goal of karbanos was to help man rise above personal ego and to commit himself to the true service of Hashem with vigor and deep humility.

A most famous Midrash (Vayikara Rabbah 1:15) tells us that even though Moshe was the great leader of the Jews, the father of all prophets, the man who performed amazing miracles as the messenger of Hashem in Egypt, the Yam Suf and beyond, who brought down the Torah from Heaven, he still did not enter the Ohel Moed until Hashem called him. Hence, “Vayika el Moshe, Hashem called to Moshe… (Vayikra 1:1).” The Midrash concludes: “Derech Eretz, conducting oneself with proper character traits, precedes one’s ability to learn Torah.”

The Torah’s Order

Rabbi Ahron Kutler zt”l (1891-62) explains that really even proper Derech Eretz is a part of Torah learning. It is just that one must first master the laws of common decency (Derech Eretz) and respect in order to proceed to the other aspects of Torah. He states that this is why the Torah begins with Sefer Bereishis, called Sefer HaYasher by Chazal (which means, the Book of the Upright) because it tells over the great traits of the Avos and Imaos, the founders of our Nation. Caring for others and working on one’s middos refinement is the goal of the entire Torah. Only after the mastery of Bereishis does one encounter other laws of the Torah that follow. The Vilna Goan states in Mishlei (4:13), “The entire theme of the Torah is to refine one’s character traits, for if one does not, what is his life worth?”

Respect

The Mishna in Avos (4:1) teaches us that only one who respects others is deserving of respect. One who walks around acting as if the world revolves around him does not care for or listen to the feelings or needs of others. He is insensitive to anyone outside of himself and thus discounts the presence and existence of others. Anyone that feels these vibes will quickly wish to distance himself from this person as well and will not be respectful of him either. It is only someone who cares about and is respectful to others that wins the respect and admiration of those around him. The Torah only resides by someone who lives a respectful life and knows how to share and care for others. This is a part of the great legacy and lessons of the Avos. When one embodies this, he or she is capable of being respectable holders of Torah.

Our Service of Hashem

This lesson is directly related to Sefer Vayikra. Vayika represents the laws of the Kohanim and that of the Karbonos. Hashem only accepts the Avodah, service of those that are humble and respectful towards others. Nowadays, there are no sacrifices and tefillah, prayer, has taken their place. May Hashem answer our prayers in the merit of the care and respect that we show to others.

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.

Our Parsha begins with the instructions of the procedure for a man who wishes to bring a Korban, sacrifice. The Torah seems to state something extra, “אדם, A man who wishes to bring a sacrifice (Vayikra 1:2).” This seems odd as to why it’s stated this way, why not simply leave off the “man wanting part” and jump straight into the laws as the Torah normally does?

I believe that the Torah specifically wishes to express the word Adam as an introduction to the concept of Karbonos.

The letters of the Hebrew Alphabet are sacred and infinitely deep. The Zohar and Talmud (Shabbos 104a) tell us that the Hebrew letters contain secrets of the world. If one takes the word בכר, firstborn, he is struck by its numerical value of 222 and the fact that it is comprised by the number two in hundreds (ר=200), tens (כ=20) and units (ב=2). The Vilna Goan explains that this signifies the Torah law of inheritance which states that the firstborn son gets a double portion of his father’s estate. When examining the letters which make up the word מדת, middos (literally: measurements, or character traits), one is struck by the fact that its value is 444. What does this mean?

The number four represents stability and support. A table with four legs is called sturdy. Though it can stand with three, the fourth leg is seen as adding support and reliance. So too one’s middos, character traits, when refined and developed, make a person a more functional and complete human being. Additionally, one’s character must be put to the test by four parties involved. (1) You yourself, (2) the person you are interacting with, (3) society’s moral view of your action and most importantly: (4) Hashem! When your actions pass this rigorous scrutiny, you have achieved proper middos (444)!

What is fascinating is the examination of the words Adam (אדם) and Emes (אמת) whom together spell: the man of truth, our noble goal in life. Each word begins with an Alef, which the Gemara (Shabbos 104a) tells us refers to Hashem Who is called The Chief (Aluf). The remaining combined letters between the two words are מדת, middos. The man of truth is defined by the development of his character traits.

This is the most powerful lesson of bringing Korbanos. Chazal say that it is not the slaughtering of the sacrifice that brings one forgiveness; it is not some esoteric or magical atonement. Rather, when the sinner takes to heart that he needs to repent and improve his actions and that Hashem allowed him to bring an animal sacrifice instead of himself, this is where the power lies. The Torah specifically mentions the word אדם, Adam, when introducing Korbanos in order to stress that only one who truly wants to improve and work on himself to become the man of truth and refined character, is considered to have brought a sincere and proper Korban!

ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה’ אליו… (א:א)

“Hashem called to Moshe and spoke with him…” (1:1).

The best student in the world (Moshe), learning from the best Teacher in the world (Hashem), has a great lesson for us.

Rashi states that the Moshe was not taught everything all at once. Hashem would teach him Torah lessons in specific segments. After a break in between, Hashem would then call him back later for further learning. This was done in order to give Moshe the time to digest and contemplate the material.

This is a fundamental lesson for us. It takes time and much review in order to properly absorb material. The question which has always intrigued me is: why here? This is not the first time that we find Hashem teaching Moshe the Torah laws. Throughout Sefer Shemos Hashem gave over many laws to Moshe. Why then is the lesson of contemplation and digestion of material specifically found here?!

I suggest that it is an intrinsic part of Vayikra, Leviticus. The Jews were saved from Egypt and Hashem brought them to the desert where He gave them the Torah and then commanded them to build a Mishkan for Him. The Mishkan is the place where Hashem would dwell among them. The home of Hashem is very special. More importantly though is the actual service of Hashem, the Karbonos brought before him!

Karbonos represent an ultimate dedication to Hashem. One was to watch the animal slaughtered, blood sprinkled and then body burnt upon the Altar. This animal could have been him, had Hashem not accepted his repentance and sacrifice substitute for himself. This exercise is only effective and moving if one contemplates it!

One can be exposed to the greatness and miracles of Hashem, but that does not mean that he truly saw. Only when one contemplates what he beheld is there effect! This is true with all of Torah. Learning the beauty of Torah is not complete without accompanied action brought on by the learning.

The most relevant place to stress the importance of contemplation is in the Sefer of Vayikra which discusses the service of Hashem!

Indeed, the Ramban writes that the Karban Olah is brought for transgressions and is totally burn. This is to show the sinner that Hashem expects from him total dedication towards Him!

We merited to have the Karban Tamid of the morning and evening through Yitzchok Aveinu being brought up upon the Altar before Hashem at the Akeida. Avraham asked that his children should have the ability to fully connect with Hashem and he was granted this through Karbonos.

Nowadays, we unfortunately we don’t have the Beis HaMikdash. Thus, our area of service and dedication is in Tefillah which have replaced Karbonos until Moshiach’s arrival. When we pour out our hearts before Hashem, we are contemplating… we are recognizing in the deepest way that only Hashem can answer us and fill our needs. This is the ultimate level of contemplation.

I believe this is the reason that the lesson of contemplation is taught specifically as we embark upon the laws of Karbonos, Sefer Vayikra.

דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר נפש כי תחטא… (ד:ב)

“Speak to the Jews saying, a soul that sins…” (4:2).

Why does the verse mention the soul, shouldn’t it simply say, “a man that commits a sin”?

To answer this question, the Midrash tells a parable. Once upon a time a king owned a precious orchard. Its fruits were so special that he feared that even his own watch-guards would be tempted to eat from it. He devised a plan to avert this problem. He hired a crippled man and a blind man to be his guards. Thus, one wouldn’t see them, and the other would have no way to reach them, and they would both ward off intruders. All went well until one day the guards started to talk.

The lame one said, “I see delicious fruit”.

“So let’s eat!” came the response from the blind man.

“I can’t reach them,” said the lame one.

What did they do? The lame man got onto the blind man’s shoulders and together they were able to eat the fruit. The king noticed the loss which his orchard had incurred and angrily questioned his guards. “How could I have done it?” said the lame man, “I can’t reach the fruits!” “Look at me,” said the other, “I am blind.” The king however, being intelligent, uncovered their scheme. He placed the lame man on top of the blind man and judged them together!

So too in the future, Hashem will ask the soul why it sinned while alive on Earth. The soul will answer, “blame the body, for ever since we’ve been separated, have You seen me do anything wrong?” Hashem will then ask the body why it sinned. He will respond, “blame my soul, You see that since we’ve been separated, I have lied limply and innocently on the ground!” How will Hashem resolve this? He will place the Neshamah back into the body and judge them together!

Much depth is encapsulated here regarding the function of our body and soul. Let us extrapolate upon a few points.

The soul is the cripple and the body is the blind man.

The soul’s main function is to spiritually attach us to Hashem and to see Him with clarity. He then must provide the body with a clear map as to which course of action should be pursued and which should be avoided. He is the navigator of the powerful machine called “man”. He is the one with proper sight, but is crippled from acting, that is the department of the body.

The body on the other hand, has much raw force, he moves freely, but he is blind as a bat and needs to be directed and channeled towards the correct direction. To summarize, the soul only sees but cannot move by itself, thus it is cripple. The body, on the other hand, can move but cannot see where to go, thus it is blind.

Actions that one takes stem from both the control center, the soul, and also the vehicle, the body. The Neshamah must not allow itself to become tainted and perverted, it must focus on the true goals of life. The body must not let itself be dragged down by its two detractors. Firstly, the body is intrinsically materialistic, and secondly it is found in a physical surrounding. This is hinted to by the words of Shlomo at the beginning of Koheles. “Mah yiss’ron l’adam b’chol amalo she’yamol tachas ha’shamesh, what gain does man benefit from all of his physical toil which he performs under the sun.”

1- Man is called Adam which connotes adamah, dirt, as his essence is physical.

2- He is found “under the sun,” his place of residence is physical.

The job of the Neshamah is to purify itself, attach to Hashem, achieve a clear vision of how to bring out its full potential and grab the reins of the body and steer towards success. The body however, must cooperate.

Thus, we can now understand the verse which we began with. If it were to say “a man that sins,” one may think that “man” refers to the body, who is exclusively responsible. This is not true, as man is one unit comprised of both a body and a soul. Therefore, it says “a soul who sins,” to tell us that even the soul is responsible for a sin.

Let us learn to function with our bodies and souls together, serving Hashem according to our great potentials!