Torah Tidbit
Parashah Vayikra (and he called), Leviticus 1:1 – 5:26
God calls out, from within the tabernacle, to Moses and then instructs Moses on acceptable offerings and how to perform them.
“He called to Moses and Hashem spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: When a man amount you brings an offering to Hashem: from animals – from the cattle or from the flock shall you bring your offering.” – Leviticus 1:1-2
Walking the Walk
These verses play and turn on variations of the root word kar (kuf-resh):
- Calling out to someone – kara (kuf resh aleph) – interrupting someone’s direction so that they draw near to you instead. In this case, God asking Moses to approach Him.
- Brings – karav (kuf resh bet) – instead of the normal verb for taking or carrying something, this is the word for drawing close to something. The implication is that in bringing the offering one appreciates the animal and its representation of the giver’s intentions.
- Offering – karban (kuf resh bet nun) – this isn’t a present or gift, as the word “offering” implies. Nor is this a “sacrifice”, which implies giving up of something typically dear to the giver. Instead, note by its spelling, the karban represents the one who wants to draw close (karav) to Hashem.
That’s the primary intention of the sacrifices – drawing closer to HaShem. These are done after repentance, surviving crises, or just plain thankful for all the blessings He provides. Thus these are only done in a state of joy. The experience is then taken back to the real world and helps with making one’s life better align with His expectations (commandments).
These “offering” services have absolutely nothing to do with appeasing an angry vengeful god through the taking of life. Invariably the assumption creeps in that one can manipulate the god through the giving of the right sacrifices – much like Baalam instructing Balak so that Baalam will hear from God. This is the opposite with God – HE is unmovable, unshakeable, unchangeable, the rock and shelter. We draw close to Him and His expectations – not the other way around.
As a side note, kar (kuf resh) is used for what appear to be “chance” meetings – drawing together without any intention to do so. However, we should be careful to not consider any occurrence to be by chance, correct? Every moment of our lives is carefully crafted by the Creator for our best benefit.
Have a great week!