פרשת ויקרא

Sefer Vayikra opens with, and deals mainly with the instructions for the sacrificial offerings that were to be presented in the Mishkan and eventually in the Beis Hamikdash. The Mishna in Avos says that this crucial service that was performed in the holy temple constitutes one of the three pillars that the world stands on. Alongside Torah study, and acts of kindness, the services that were done in the Beis Hamikdash kept the world going on a daily basis.

Amongst the plethora of vital sacrifices that are instructed by the Torah, there is one that is singled out for its importance and uniqueness. In describing the “Mincha” offering, the Torah uses a very unique language. The verse says, “When one’s soul desires to offer a Mincha offering…” This term of the soul’s desire seems to be reserved specifically for the Mincha offering. Chazal teach us that since a Mincha offering was voluntary, and it was very cheap as it constituted mainly flour, it was most common for poor people to offer the Mincha sacrifice to God. Rashi explains that when a pauper offers up a Mincha offering, Hashem considers it as if he had offered up his own soul to God and this explains the exclusive terminology used to describe the Mincha sacrifice. Furthermore, the verse in Micha that we recite at the end of Shmone Esrei three times a day says that we are awaiting the coveted Beis Hamikdash specifically so that we can resume the Mincha offering. I would like to try to explain the special significance that the Torah seems to attach to the Mincha offering.

Perhaps we can begin with the inspiring words of the Chasam Sofer. The Chasam Sofer cites the Ramban in his introduction to the book of Vayikra who asserts that the goal of all sacrifices is to achieve forgiveness for the Jewish people. The internal organs that are burnt on the altar represent our internal organs which convince us to sin against God. For example, the heart desires, the kidneys give us suggestions, etc. The external limbs of the animal which are offered on the altar atone for the external acts of sin that we have performed with our limbs such as our hands and legs. And the blood of the animal which is poured on the various parts of the altar represents our very soul which we have sullied through sin against God. The Ramban concludes by saying that when we perform this work in the Beis Hamikdash, we should envision that instead of the animal’s organs and limbs which are being dissected and burnt, it is actually our limbs and organs which should be mutilated, and our blood and intestines which deserve to be splashed against the altar in atonement for our rebellion against God, but because of Hashem’s infinite kindness and mercy, He commanded that the animals suffer this horrific fate and not us. It emerges from the Ramban’s holy words that the primary significance of the sacrifices is not in the animal itself, which God obviously has no need for, but rather in the feelings of total subjugation to God’s will which these sacrifices should engender in a person. The sole purpose of the sacrifices that we offer to God is to generate in us a feeling of remorse for our wrongdoings and desire to rededicate all of our efforts to the correct service of God as we had been doing before the sin.

However, an interesting point surfaces based on this explanation. From this Ramban, it should come out that the Mincha offering, which contains no live animals, and no blood, should be the least effective in generating our repentance, and therefore the least desired by God. Yet the Torah teaches us that this is not the case. This presents a challenge to the Ramban’s interpretation of the goal of the sacrifices! But in truth, there is no challenge at all. The Mincha offering contains the greatest sacrifice of all, the sacrifice of the person’s very soul. All the other sacrifices are supposed to generate a person to want to perfect his service of God, whereas the Mincha offering itself is that very service that God desires. When the underprivileged individuals come forth with their meager rations, which they would otherwise have used to feed their families, and they offer part of these rations up to God, they demonstrate their fierce longing to do the will of their creator, despite the deprivation that they will personally suffer. Only somebody with great dedication would be willing to do this and this kind of sacrifice is what “pleases” Hashem the most. For this reason the Mincha offering is singled out by the Torah and referred to as the offering of the soul, and for this reason is it so coveted by the Creator.

In the present times which we currently find ourselves, we unfortunately no longer have the ability to utilize the sacrifices to atone for our sins and to realign ourselves to the will of the Creator. But this concept of being able to dedicate ourselves to His service is perhaps more needed then ever before in history. In the opulent world which we currently reside, where the vast majority of the human race spends its entire energies on nothing more then the pursuit of all available worldly pleasures and conveniences, it is incumbent upon each and every Jew to devote his strengths and his desires to the complete service of God in all that he does. This kind of dedication, that we culled from the Mincha offering, is desperately needed in today’s world and can still allow us to keep the lesson that we were meant to have learned from the sacrifices, alive today in our hearts by having ourselves serve personally as the sacrifice to God.

Perhaps we could conclude with the pertinent words of R’ Shach. R’ Shach once added to all that we have said, that there is indeed another way that we can fulfill the concept of the sacrifices in modern times. He explained that when we have situations come up in our life that don’t exactly go our way, whether they cause us physical pain, or emotional pain, if we persevere during these times, and continue to serve God with full acceptance of our situation despite our discomforts, Hashem considers this as if we offered up ourselves on the altar to Him. This sacrifice that we endure by accepting our situation out of love for our Creator, is very similar to the sacrifices that were performed in the Holy Temple. The common thread was that they both involved giving up of ourselves to do God’s will. This kind of sacrifice is exactly what God desires and is what will earn us the right to eventually resume the original sacrifice, in Jerusalem, speedily in our days.

May we merit to properly integrate this concept of self-sacrifice, and serve God with all of our hearts!