Parashat Vayikra (Leviticus 1-6:7)
Leviticus 1
1:1 And the LORD called unto Moses, and spake unto him out of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,
Comment: This portion is named Vayikra, which means “(He) called”, taken from this verse 1:1. Vayikra is also the “Jewish name” of this book Leviticus. This is the middle book of the five books of Torah.
Why is this book of Leviticus located in the middle of the Torah?
This book in the middle talks about the services of the priests (from the family of Aaron from the tribe of Levi). Serving Gd is the central part of our living as Gd’s people. This book of Leviticus is in the middle of the other four books of Torah, just as the Levite camp is sitting or marching in the middle of four camps of Israelites, as will be described in Numbers 2 and Numbers 10.
1:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, If any man of you bring an offering unto the LORD, ye shall bring your offering of the cattle, even of the herd, and of the flock.
Comment: What is a common feature of these animals for sacrifice (the herd, and the flock)?
All these animal sacrifices come from domestic animals that were raised by human beings in the first place. They will be slaughtered by human beings in sacrifice. This compares us mankind to the animal sacrifices for Gd. We were raised by Gd in the first place (and were also created and sustained by Him), so we owe our lives to Gd. We sacrifice animals to proclaim this faith, and we ourselves live on to serve Gd, with all our lives. Related to this, Paul says in the New Testament (Romans 12:1) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
1:6 And he shall flay the burnt offering, and cut it into his pieces.
2026 Comment: Is everything from the sacrificial animal burnt for the burnt offering?
No. The skin is not burned. It is flayed and given to the priest who offers it (v7:8 later).
I guess the reason may be related to the Creator making dresses from leather for Adam and Eve after they sinned (Genesis 3:21). Wearing such a dress from the sacrificed animal can remind us about the sacrifice needed to cover the effect of sin.
1:13 But he shall wash the inwards and the legs with water: and the priest shall bring it all, and burn it upon the altar: it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
2026 Comment: Why was it so challenging for Abraham to be willing to offer his son as a burnt offering in Genesis 22?
If it were according to the current description of burnt offering, Abraham would have to slaughter his son, cut the flesh into pieces (v12 here), “wash the innards and the legs with water’’ (here), and burn them upon the altar. The L-RD was merciful and prepared a ram to replace Abraham’s son, instead.
I am sure Abraham would prefer himself being offered up instead of his son, since he was more than 100 years old already and his son was still young. So offering his son was a bigger test than offering himself.
Is human sacrifice allowed nowadays?
No. Abraham’s test was long before the sacrificial laws are defined in the bible. Here in Leviticus, it is clearly stated that only certain domestic kosher animals (e.g., 1:2), and certain kosher birds (such as turtledoves and young pigeons in 1:14), may be sacrificed. So I think after the laws in Leviticus were given, human sacrifices are not allowed.
In fact even in the case of Abrahams test, the L-RD never asked Abraham to kill his son explicitly, only to “bring him up there” (“v’ haaleihu sham” in original Hebrew, in Genesis 22:2) for a burnt offering, which Abraham did.
Why was Abraham’s story still included in the Bible?
Abraham had this son miraculously at age of 100. The L-RD who gives life and maintains life also has the authority to take away, and Abraham believes that the same L-RD will also restore life with resurrection of the dead (Hebrews 11:19).
For practical purposes, I think Abraham’s test teaches both the parents and the children that children (and parents too) belong to the Creator. Even though their parents love them, they should not be placed ahead of the Creator of all. This will prevent over-indulging, and let the children know that they are not most important, and this kind of understanding is ultimately good for the children (and for the parents too).
Leviticus 2
2:1 And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
Comment: “meat offering”: I wonder if this is an ancient English usage, because this offering does not really contain meat. It is more commonly called “meal offering” nowadays. An alternative translation is “gift offering”, which may be closer to the literal meaning of the Hebrew word (minchah). See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_offering
What is a major difference between the “gift offering” here in Leviticus 2 and the “burnt offering” in Leviticus 1? Burnt offering involves sacrificing an animal life. The gift offering doesn’t sacrifice a life, but uses fine flour instead, which is the basic source of human food that generates strength. I think burnt offering corresponds to dedicate one’s life to Gd, in the sense of loving your Gd “with all your soul” (i.e. to die for Gd and to live for Gd), while gift offering corresponds to dedicating one’s strength to serve Gd, in the sense of loving your Gd “with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:5). There are many ways of using one’s strength to serve Gd, some donate money, some write books, some sing hymns, some pray with extraordinary devotion, …. Corresponding to this, there are many ways of using the fine flour in gift offerings (with oven, with pan, or with frying pan), as can be seen in later verses (v.4, v.5, v7).
Leviticus 3
3:1 And if his oblation be a sacrifice of peace offering, if he offer it of the herd; whether it be a male or female, he shall offer it without blemish before the LORD.
Comment: Peace offering: in Hebrew it is called shlamim. It is related to shlemut (completeness) or shalom (peace). I think this offering expresses our faith that our peace, harmony and well being come from Gd.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaughter_offering
https://njop.org/vayikra-5769-2009/
Rashi comments here that for peace offering, there is peace among the altar, the priests, and the owner of the animal, since each side receives a part. See Leviticus 7 later, which details a special kind of peace offering for thanksgiving.
https://www.sefaria.org/Rashi_on_Leviticus.3.1.1?lang=bi
Leviticus 4
4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
Comment: This chapter starts to talk about sin offerings. Since man makes many kinds of mistakes, there are many kinds of sin offerings. The sin offerings seem to atone for unintentional errors.
Leviticus 5
5:1 And if a soul sin, and hear the voice of swearing, and is a witness, whether he hath seen or known of it; if he do not utter it, then he shall bear his iniquity.
Comment: This chapter talks about trespass offerings (a.k.a. guilt offerings). There are many kinds of trespasses also, which seem to also include intentional wrongdoings.
The trespass offering seems to focus on repairing the damage made between man and Gd, or between man and his fellow. See https://www.gotquestions.org/trespass-offering.html
See also here for a comparison between sin offerings and trespass offerings:
https://theisraelbible.com/sin-offerings-guilt-offerings/
Leviticus 6
6:7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
Comment: Verses 6:1-7 appear as v.5:20-26 in the Jewish Bible. E.g. see https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9906/jewish/Chapter-5.htm/showrashi/true
This makes sense to me since it still talks about trespass offering.