VAYIKRA-LEVITICUS I-V
The third of the five books of the Torah receives the name of Vayikra, which is the first word of this text. In Spanish it is known as Leviticus, a name that designates the issues concerning the tribe of Levi, consecrated to the service of the Lord. In Hebrew it is also known as Torat HaKohanim, because its texts describe the service of the sacrifices offered by the descendants of Aharon, Mosheh’s elder brother.
As if the Torah did not wish the worship in the Mishkan, and later on in the Beit HaMikdash, to be the exclusive patrimony of a mysterious caste, it reveals the details of the different sacrifices and describes the possibility of other people participation in some offerings. Although daily prayers include a petition about the restoration of sacrifices, Korbanot, these offerings present intellectual difficulties for contemporary man, who cannot assimilate that the relationship between man and God is accompanied by animal sacrifices. Yehudah HaLevi and Rambam reflected on these Korbanot and proposed two different explanations. For Yehudah HaLeví it is a mystical process that allows ‘the approach of man to the Divinity. The Laws governing the offerings cannot be questioned, because they contain secrets and notions that are beyond the reach of the human intellect.
Saadiá Ga’on divided the Mitsvot between those that are understandable to the human mind, such as “thou shalt not kill”, and those that escape logic, such as the prohibition of wearing clothing made of linen and wool. It can be argued, however, that even the Mitsvot that have an explanation that is reasonable to the human intellect, contain a mystical element that is not based on understanding. Because a man of faith refrains from lying not only because of the damage that his action may cause, because of the intrinsic immorality of his action, but primarily because it is an ordinance of Divine origin.
For Yehudah HaLevi, the sacrificial system is a Divine concession that allows man to approach God in a mystical act, inexplicable, but that reverberates to a spiritual level of greater elevation. The smoke of sacrifice that rises to the heights represents the ascent of the spirit in its eagerness to be close to the Creator.
Rambam assumes a rationalist position in some of his writings. He considers the Korbanot to be a stage in spiritual development, a superior alternative to the idolatry that reigned at the beginning of the formation of the Hebrew people. This is Hora’at Sha’ah, a Law that is subject to time coordinates that should serve as a bridge of transition from paganism to pure monotheism. This explanation of Rambam is found in his Morh Nevuchim; while, in his Yad Hachazakah he considers Korbanot service to be a permanent element of Judaism.
Centuries later, several commentators tried to explain the reason for the sacrifices. Some leaned towards Rambam suggesting that, in the time of the Messiah, the Mashiach, he will not return to the Korbanot.
Rav Kook, on the other hand, following the line drawn by Yehudah HaLevi, finds that sacrifices contain “mystical realities” not understandable by the intellect, but that they refer to “spiritual truths” and, therefore, this system will be fully restored at some historical moment.
It is interesting to note that, in earlier times, and even in some circles of the present, children begin to study the Torah with the book of Vayikra. Why? Perhaps to teach that life demands sacrifice. Judaism and morality demand that pleasure be postponed in the face of the imperative of duty. Every human relationship calls for sacrifice, to attend to the needs of the less fortunate, of the widow and the orphan in the language of the Torah.
