5785 Parshat Vayikra Dvar Torah by Nachum Lerner

This week we will read Parshat Vayikra, the beginning of the book of the Torah dedicated to the korbanot, or sacrifices, offered to Hashem in ancient times. The idea of offering sacrifices might seem hard for us to relate to, as it is so different from the way that we worship today. But it is important to remember what the real meaning of a korban is. The root of the word korban is “karov,” or “to come close.” A korban is intended to bring people close to Hashem. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks writes that a korban “is not about making God more accessible, but making the person bringing it more connected to the Divine.”

How, exactly, did this process work? One way that offering a sacrifice could bring someone closer to God was that the ceremony led to self-examination and repentance. Korbanot forced people to confront their own failings and to strive for personal growth. “The essence of the sacrificial system was not that God needed our sacrifices, but that we needed them,” says Rabbi Sacks, because they were about “introspection, and moral and spiritual renewal.”

The rituals connected to korbanot also highlight the importance of intention and action in Jewish tradition. Rabbi Norman Lamm points out that atonement “does not merely consist of words or feelings of remorse but must be demonstrated through action—through the offering of a sacrifice that symbolizes the effort to correct one’s wrongs.” The specific details of the korban ritual teach us that spirituality does not happen by accident, but instead requires discipline, focus, and intention. According to Rabbi Sacks, ritual is “the means by which human beings express the deepest truths of the soul” and the way that we “step into the presence of the holy, and transform our lives.”

Today, we no longer offer sacrifices. Our prayers take the place of the korbanot. But is there a way that we can still access the spiritual transformation that the korbanot once provided? The Lubavitcher Rebbe insists that we can. He maintains that we are still called to offer “sacrifices” today—sacrifices of our time, energy, and resources to serve God. He writes: “The essence of the sacrifices remains with us. Even without the Beit HaMikdash, we are still able to offer sacrifices through our actions. Each mitzvah that we perform, each prayer that we say, is a spiritual offering that elevates our soul and brings us closer to God.” This is a path to spiritual growth and transformation for us today in the modern world. When we perform acts of kindness, study the Torah, pray with sincerity and intention, or do other mitzvot, we are bringing ourselves close, or karov, to Hashem.

Parshat Vayikra offers us the opportunity to reflect on achieving a true spiritual renewal. As Pesach approaches, we also remember our advancement as a nation from Avdut Lecherut, from bondage both physical and spiritual, to freedom. May this Pesach lead to freedom for our captives, and a spiritual freedom and renewal for all of Bnei Yisrael. Shabbat shalom, and chag kasher vesameach!