Portion 24 Vayikra Leviticus 1:1-5:26, Portion 25 Tzav Leviticus 6:1-8:36
Olah, the burnt offering 1:1-17, 6:1-6
For what sin does the olah (burnt offering) atone? Noah offers a burnt offering in Genesis 8:20. Rabbi Tamarat and several others say that Noah sinned by not interceding on behalf of the people to urge God to refrain from unleashing the flood. Likewise Moses did not intercede on behalf of the Egyptians when Pharaoh offered to let the Israelites go free if they left their livestock behind. Perhaps the burnt offering is a perpetual atonement for the sin of not acting on behalf of justice for our oppressors. Sometimes we care for our own animals better than we care for our human opponents. Psalm 51:16-19 expresses the idea that one can get the message of animal offerings in other ways, and that if one does so, then they are not required. Ibn Ezra considered Psalm 51:20-21, which contradicts 16-19, to be an addition.
Minchah, the grain offering 2:1-16, 6:7-16
Perhaps a mincha offering serves the purpose of a burnt offering for those without means. In 6:12-16 the priest offers a mincha offering on the occasion of his anointment. Perhaps a mincha offering by a layperson is a reminder that we are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The combination of incense and unleavened bread implies that we are to conduct our society in such a way that the poorest among us are to be treated with the same reverence that we treat our priests.
Zevach Sh’lamim, offering of thanksgiving 3:1-17, 7:11-38
One of the purposes of the thanksgiving offering is that the ritual makes what might otherwise have been an individual expression of gratitude into a communal expression of gratitude. The offering of a thanksgiving must also include a minchah offering. Perhaps this is a reminder to welcome the poor to the festive meal. Deuteronomy 12:15 allows the pure and impure alike to partake of a festive meal together.
Chatat, purgation offering 4:1-5:13, 6:17-23
4:3 I have been told that the Hebrew word often translated as blame, also has the connotation of shame. The people aren’t guilt for the priest’s offence, although the entire community is shamed when it’s spiritual leader sins.
4:6,17,25,30,3: Dipping our finger in our wine and sprinkling it out during the Passover Seder when the plagues are read is reminiscent of the priest dipping his finger in the blood and sprinkling it on the alter as part of the purgation offering. This part of the Seder can therefore be interpreted as an acknowledgement of our culpability in wars fought in our name.
Asham, reparation offering 5:14-26, 7:1-6
In Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, reparation must be made for a criminal act. One of the reasons that killing a criminal is so sinful is that it deprives the guilty of their sacred obligation to make reparation.
Blood prohibition 7:26-27
In all of the offerings, blood belongs to God and is not to be consumed by people “for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have assigned it to you for making expiation for your lives upon the altar; it is the blood, as life that effects expiation.” - Leviticus 17:11
We do not eat the blood of an animal as a perpetual reminder that we are not God and do not have the authority to extract the life from another human being. The penalty for doing so is to be cut off from the people, as Cain was for killing Abel, and Moses was for killing the Egyptian taskmaster. Perhaps the prohibition against eating the fat around the organs that are offered up is a similar prohibition against usurping God’s role.
8:1-36 Moses performs the priestly role in anointing Aaron and Aaron’s sons. In a dramatic break with the biblical pattern, the younger son gives the blessing to the sons of the oldest son.
Olah, the burnt offering 1:1-17, 6:1-6
For what sin does the olah (burnt offering) atone? Noah offers a burnt offering in Genesis 8:20. Rabbi Tamarat and several others say that Noah sinned by not interceding on behalf of the people to urge God to refrain from unleashing the flood. Likewise Moses did not intercede on behalf of the Egyptians when Pharaoh offered to let the Israelites go free if they left their livestock behind. Perhaps the burnt offering is a perpetual atonement for the sin of not acting on behalf of justice for our oppressors. Sometimes we care for our own animals better than we care for our human opponents. Psalm 51:16-19 expresses the idea that one can get the message of animal offerings in other ways, and that if one does so, then they are not required. Ibn Ezra considered Psalm 51:20-21, which contradicts 16-19, to be an addition.
Minchah, the grain offering 2:1-16, 6:7-16
Perhaps a mincha offering serves the purpose of a burnt offering for those without means. In 6:12-16 the priest offers a mincha offering on the occasion of his anointment. Perhaps a mincha offering by a layperson is a reminder that we are to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The combination of incense and unleavened bread implies that we are to conduct our society in such a way that the poorest among us are to be treated with the same reverence that we treat our priests.
Zevach Sh’lamim, offering of thanksgiving 3:1-17, 7:11-38
One of the purposes of the thanksgiving offering is that the ritual makes what might otherwise have been an individual expression of gratitude into a communal expression of gratitude. The offering of a thanksgiving must also include a minchah offering. Perhaps this is a reminder to welcome the poor to the festive meal. Deuteronomy 12:15 allows the pure and impure alike to partake of a festive meal together.
Chatat, purgation offering 4:1-5:13, 6:17-23
4:3 I have been told that the Hebrew word often translated as blame, also has the connotation of shame. The people aren’t guilt for the priest’s offence, although the entire community is shamed when it’s spiritual leader sins.
4:6,17,25,30,3: Dipping our finger in our wine and sprinkling it out during the Passover Seder when the plagues are read is reminiscent of the priest dipping his finger in the blood and sprinkling it on the alter as part of the purgation offering. This part of the Seder can therefore be interpreted as an acknowledgement of our culpability in wars fought in our name.
Asham, reparation offering 5:14-26, 7:1-6
In Mishpatim, Exodus 21:1-24:18, reparation must be made for a criminal act. One of the reasons that killing a criminal is so sinful is that it deprives the guilty of their sacred obligation to make reparation.
Blood prohibition 7:26-27
In all of the offerings, blood belongs to God and is not to be consumed by people “for the life of the flesh is in the blood and I have assigned it to you for making expiation for your lives upon the altar; it is the blood, as life that effects expiation.” - Leviticus 17:11
We do not eat the blood of an animal as a perpetual reminder that we are not God and do not have the authority to extract the life from another human being. The penalty for doing so is to be cut off from the people, as Cain was for killing Abel, and Moses was for killing the Egyptian taskmaster. Perhaps the prohibition against eating the fat around the organs that are offered up is a similar prohibition against usurping God’s role.
8:1-36 Moses performs the priestly role in anointing Aaron and Aaron’s sons. In a dramatic break with the biblical pattern, the younger son gives the blessing to the sons of the oldest son.
posted by ross at 11:55 PM
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