Vayikra (ארקיו | “And He called”) 5774
· Torah: Vayiqra (Leviticus)
1:1-5:26
· Haftarah: Yesha’yahu (Isaiah)
43:21-44:23
· Brit Chadasha
·
Gospels: Mark
7:1-30, Luke 12:1-15:32
·
Romans 8:1-13, 12:1
·
Hebrews 10:1-14, 13:10-16
Noting that the word Vayiqra (וַיִּקְרָא) means “And He called/spoke”, Rashi
talks about the wording of this parsha.
The word uses a small letter ‘aleph’, which he takes as a point of
emphasis. He refers to Balaam, where the scriptures say: ‘And G-d met Balaam’ (Bamidbar (Numbers) 23:4). The word for ‘met’ used here is vayiqar (וַיִּקָּר), having the connotation of
‘by chance’. He goes on to explain that
with HaShem’s people, there is nothing by chance, but rather everything having
a purpose, but those who are outsiders can only have chance meetings.
According to Chabad.org, in the late
eighteenth century, as was the custom, on the third birthday, Menachem Mendel, who would become the third Lubavitch
Rabbi, was taken by his grandfather, wrapped in a tallith, to start his Hebrew
training. Coming home that night, he
asked his grandfather, “Zayde, why is there a small aleph at the end of
Vayiqra?. His grandfather explained that
the first man Adam was hand-made by HaShem, with superior intellect to the
angels and all other creations, and because of his superiority, became arrogant. This is supported by the use of a large aleph
in Divrei HaYamim Aleph (1 Chronicles) 1:1.
Moshe Rabeinu, however was the meekest man to walk the face of the
earth, and even though the Voice of HaShem called him from the Mishkan, the
tent of meeting, he was not puffed up.
It has been said that humility is two-fold – the first part is to
realize that our powers and abilities are G-d given. The second is that if
another person were given the same
gifts and calling, he/she would be able to accomplish more. This was indeed true of Moshe. He had an assignment from HaShem, and he
purposed to complete it to his utmost ability.
Adonai has no need for our sacrifices,
in Tehillim (the Book of Psalms), it states that the whole earth is His, along
with the fullness thereof (Chapter 24:1).
Psalm 50 also declares that His hunger is neither for the flesh of bulls
nor the blood of goats. The purpose of
the sacrificial system was not to senselessly kill innocent animals, but to
provide a means to clarify and enhance the relationship between HaShem and His
people. “All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and HaShem hath laid on Him
(Yeshua) the iniquity of us all (Yesha’yahu/Isaiah 53:6). The relationship with
HaShem was destroyed by our sin (חׇטׇא / chata
-- missing-the-mark). It requires a
voluntary sacrifice, which only Yeshua could accomplish.
The sacrificial system provided interaction
between the individual, the Kohen, the animal, and Adonai. Rashi tells us that the wording of Vayiqra 1:2
“. . . כּׅי
אָדׇם – When a
man’ refers to a voluntary sacrifice. If
a man were under obligation (for the burnt offering), the wording would have
been something along the lines of ‘ a man shall bring’. A man would voluntarily bring an animal from
his herd/flock to present to HaShem. He
was present at the killing, skinning, and placing of the animal on the altar.
The Kohen would arrange the appropriate pieces in proper order so as to honor
HaShem in the whole process.
Neither the tabernacle nor the temple
are around, today, so we are (temporarily at least) to offer the sacrifices of
prayer, praise, and self-sacrifice (as in Romans 12:1). Obedience, loyalty, and knowledge of G-d is
more desirable than the sacrifice of the blood and flesh of animals. As a reminder to today’s remnant, the Brit
Chadasha discusses the couple Ananias and
Sapphira. They had an opportunity to give
an honorable sacrifice, but they chose dishonorable, and with it, death. May we
be smart enough to learn from all of these lessons.
The rest of the Torah portion
discusses other offerings – the meal offerings, the peace offerings, the sin
offerings, and the guilt offerings. The
offense for a definite/specific sin is clear in the mind of the individual, and
because of that, its restoration is often easier / more complete than one where
the person is uncertain as to having violated a Torah prohibition.
Fast-forward the time to the period of
the divided kingdom, and we see that history not heeded repeats itself – the Haftarah
portion starts with a rebuke for turning from HaShem and his sacrificial
system. Even though Bnai Yisrael have
fallen into idol worship, He reminds them that His nature is more than willing
to forgive and restore them to Himself.
This Shabbat is International Women’s
Day, and Yisrael has joined many countries to promote a safe environment for
them in the workplace, as well as spearhead a 6 year project to fight
trafficking. Let us continue to support
Yisrael in these times.
Shabbat Shalom.
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