Vayikra - The bridge to infinity

 

Vayikra – The Bridge to Infinity

And just like that, another book is complete. In the Book of Shemot, we experienced and overcame the exile, and at its triumphant conclusion, we find the Mishkan, the Tabernacle of the holy assembly, worthy of the Shechinah.
Last week we looked into this very important and tragically joyful moment. Tragically, because according to some opinions, the Mishkan was a makeshift solution necessitated by the terrible transgression of the Golden Calf.
However, the Ramban disagrees; he sees the Mishkan as a fully preplanned, triumphant culmination of the exodus from Egypt.
And now comes the Book of Vayikra. This entire book is dedicated to the Temple service and the laws associated with it. It is therefore also called "Torat HaKohanim" (The Teaching of the Priests). And since the Temple is the mobile equivalent of Mount Sinai, where the Shechinah is permanently present, it is also by far the most extensive theme in the entire Chumash.
Half of the Book of Shemot and the entirety of Vayikra are devoted to it. There is no other topic that takes up so much space in the holy Torah.

Since this book constantly speaks of "Korban," we would do well to clarify what "Korban" actually means.
"קרבן" (Korban) comes from the root "קרב" (karav), which means "to approach, to come near, neighborhood, closeness." If we weaken the "Kuf," it becomes "חרב" (charav), meaning "to destroy, to raze, to level to the ground."
A Korban, then, is something we need to draw near to the Holy One, blessed be He and blessed be His Name. And to do so, we burn at least parts of this thing on an altar—a specific structure designed solely for the purpose of facilitating this approach through a burned, destroyed offering.
And perhaps because these Korbanot are at least partially burned, the mistaken notion arises that it is a "sacrifice," implying that one loses something when approaching HKB"H (the Holy One, blessed be He), God forbid.
What a terrible notion, what a monumental error!
The holy Maharal brings us closer to the wonders of the possibility of making oneself noticeable to God at all in his work "Gvurot Hashem."
Imagine the following:
A finite, mortal being of limited scope in just five or six dimensions (left, right, up, time, feeling, essence) stands before an infinite, immortal, eternally living Being of infinite scope in infinitely many dimensions.
How can the finite being connect with the infinite at all, how can it even make itself noticed?
Exactly: It can’t.
Because the finite being, limited by its finitude, is nonexistent in the face of infinity.
And that is a very, very big problem for us. An infinitely big problem, actually.
And therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He and blessed be His Name, has built us a bridge.

A bridge from our limitation into infinity.

This bridge is called Torah and Mitzvot. Here, the Maharal also quotes the Rambam. And it contains specific instructions on how we Jews must behave so that this connection to the Infinite, infinitely benevolent HKB"H, is established and maintained.
Among these are the Shabbat and all the holidays, called Mo’ed, which always include Korbanot as part of them.
The Korbanot themselves are highly symbolic acts, about which I hope to write more in the course of the month. It’s not for nothing that there are sages who dedicate their entire lives solely to studying these aspects of the Torah.
So, in humility, a few small remarks:
There are several classes of Korban. There are those of blood, flesh, and fat. And there are those of purely plant-based nature.
The vast majority are burned only in small part on the altar and eaten in large part.
And hence my lament at the outset: No, they are NOT sacrifices. Because we eat from them too.
In fact, during the time of the Mishkan in the desert, any slaughtering without a Korban was forbidden!
Originally, then, the blood, certain organs, and fats of every animal eaten had to be brought to the altar!
And: The blood is never burned but is sprinkled and poured at various parts of the altar where not even a hint of fire reaches.
Burned are body parts, organs, or whole animals, as well as spices, flour offerings, and oil.
This shows how multifaceted and complex these Korbanot are.
What strikes me is the following:
The human body uses different components of food in very different ways. One part is literally burned for energy (though very controlled, so no fire arises, but certainly heat). Another part is used for metabolism, as operating materials, transport means, and information carriers. And another part serves as building blocks for the body—cell walls, muscles, bones, teeth, nails.
Now, if we look at the Korbanot, which are partly brought to the altar and partly eaten, we can seek and recognize parallels: A portion of the organs, flour, oil, fats, and spices is burned on the altar. But another part comes to the altar and is altered there, though not for burning. And a portion of the liquids (blood, wine, water) is poured at the base of the altar and "disappears" into its foundation. So, there are different functions here too, which probably only a handful of sages truly understand.
Very interesting in this context is the "ריח הניחוח" (rei’ach hanichoach), the pleasant aroma that HKB"H describes as rising from the Korban. The Malbim, in his commentary on Noah (Bereshit 8:21), when Noah offers the first Korban after the Flood, provides a lengthy kabbalistic commentary on this phenomenon.
In brief, he says that the spiritualized parts of the Korban animal and the intentions of the one offering it cause it to be accepted as if the person had offered themselves on the altar.
It is thus about a very high degree of devotion by the person, who dedicates their physically conditioned evil inclinations to the service of the Holy One, blessed be He and blessed be His Name. If they have this intention during the time they offer the Korban, it effects atonement, and likely also a strengthening of their good inclination, as well as a true curbing and channeling of the evil inclination, so that it now serves the holy purposes of human existence.
Another aspect is the eating of parts of many Korbanot. The Chatat, the sin offering, particularly occupies me. A very large part of it must be eaten by the Kohanim. And this parallels the Shelamim, the voluntary, joyful thanksgiving offering! Both are holy to the Eternal!
This again highlights what is brought in Tractate Avodah Zarah and at several other places: The Holy, All-Merciful One, blessed be He, does not desire the destruction of the evildoer; He desires their return, their turning to the good! And this return is as dear and important to Him as the gratitude of the righteous.
What also seems significant here is the fact that the holy Kohanim eat the Korban. This brings us back to the whole complex of eating, which I explore in more detail in "LeChaim – To Life" and "A Meal with God."
In brief:
Everything we eat goes into the blood, then through the heart, and then into the rest of the body. Blood = Nefesh, the part of the Neshama anchored in the body, which has five parts in total, only one of which is in this world.

Applied to the Korban: All the intentions and commanded mindsets underlying the Korban, all atonement for transgressions, joy, repentance, and so on, go into the blood with the eaten Korban, and thus into the Neshama of the Kohen who eats it. The Kohen, through his holiness, his Mitzvot, prayers, and learning, transforms everything into a spiritual act pleasing to the intentions of the Eternal, which in turn reflects back onto those offering the Korban and all of Am Yisrael, thus guiding the physical world.
And now we might understand just a tiny bit better why we should weep day and night for the Holy Temple and storm the heavens to finally build us the third, eternal Temple!
Since the Temple was destroyed, we no longer have the ability to effect this kind of world guidance, and the world has become much darker. Although we say every morning "ונשלמה פרים שפתינו" (And let our lips be as the payment of bulls)—meaning our prayers should stand in place of the Korbanot—it seems that this is not quite the same.

May it be that through the power of our learning, prayers, and Mitzvot, the Mashiach comes and builds the third Temple, swiftly and in our days.
Good Shabbos.