Summary Vayikra 5762
The sedra of Vayikra opens with the words: Vayikra el Moshe - and He (G-d) called Moses. Rabbi Eli Munk notes that G-d called Moses three times in the Torah:

• at the burning bush to ask him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt
  
• just prior to receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai
  
• and now at the beginning of the book of Vayikra.
  

It seems that Moses felt that having taken the Israelites out of Egypt, his life's work was done, but then he was given the task of transmitting the Torah and building the Tabernacle. Having accomplished these goals, Moses felt perhaps that his mission was over, but then he was told to teach the laws of the sacrifices and other laws designed to make us into a holy nation. This was the most important aspect of his life's work.

Points to Ponder:
What can we learn from the portion on the sacrifices, given that, in the absence of the Temple, we no longer perform them? And why does the Torah use up so much space to describe them?

The English words sacrifice or offering, do not adequately convey the meaning of the Hebrew word korban. In fact the words 'sacrifice' or 'offering' imply that the one who brings it is giving up something, while the recipient benefits. The word korban comes from the root k-r-v, which means to approach, or draw near, and is never used to denote a present or an offering. Coming forward with these 'offerings', was thus a way of drawing near to G-d, which is positive, rather than 'sacrificing' something, which implies a negative.

We can see this even in the names of the different 'offerings':

• The burnt offering - olah was offered by a person who felt that he had failed to perform certain duties, and wished to try to bring himself closer to G-d. It could be offered from cattle, sheep or birds. Rabbi S. R. Hirsch notes that like cattle, we are G-d's workers 'in the field' and, like sheep, we are very dependent on our Shepherd.
  
• The meal-offering - mincha was brought as expressions of thanks for all one had. It demonstrated that one viewed one's material possessions as coming from G-d. Interestingly enough, the mincha was to contain matzah, but not chametz. Matzah is seen as the bread of dependence. On Pesach we begin the seder by stating that it is the bread of affliction which our forefathers ate in Egypt, when we were dependent on Pharaoh. Later on we say that it was the bread, which our forefathers ate when they left Egypt when they were dependent on G-d. Chametz, which is puffed up, represents the notion of independence and even arrogance. This is why, for the mincha, when we reflect on our dependence on G-d, the use of matzah and not chametz, is entirely appropriate.
  
• The root of the word shelamim - peace-offerings, is sh-l-m, meaning perfect. A person bringing this offering had the feeling of lacking for nothing, except a greater closeness to G-d, which is why he - or she - would bring this offering.
  
• The sin-offering was brought by a person who had sinned accidentally. This law applied to everyone, even the kohen gadol, or a prince. The sacrifice itself would not bring forgiveness -the person concerned had to confess his sin. The Hebrew word for 'and he shall confess' is vehitvadah, which is reflexive. A person must admit his shortcomings to himself. The first step to teshuva ( repentance), is self-knowledge. If a person had wronged another, then he had to 'confess' to the victim and make proper restitution, as appropriate. If he had stolen from someone else, for example, he had to return the stolen item. All this was done prior to making the sin-offering. It is clear from the Torah that any act of dishonesty is regarded as a breach of trust between man and G-d.
  

The Torah states that all sacrifices had to be 'perfect', ie. without blemish. This too, contains a lesson for our overall approach to keeping the mitzvot.

The Haftarah makes it clear that it is better to adhere to the words of G-d than to sin and offer sacrifices.

Most of the comments on this week's sedra are drawn from the commentary of Rabbi S. R. Hirsch on the Torah.

Shabbat Shalom