Vayikra: Zemer of The Week
Ki Karov – כי קרוב
Classic version by Eitan Katz: https://youtu.be/5K4xUZrxj2Y
כִּי קָרוֹב אֵלֶיךָ הַדָּבָר מְאֹד
בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ
בְּפִיךָ וּבִלְבָבְךָ לַעֲשֹׂתוֹ
For the matter is very close to you –
in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.
in your mouth and in your heart, to do it.
Sefer Vayikra opens with korbanot – acts through which a person draws close to Hashem.
The very word korban comes from the root קרוב – closeness.
The very word korban comes from the root קרוב – closeness.
“Ki Karov” captures a strikingly similar message: closeness to Hashem is not distant or reserved for rare moments of spiritual intensity. It is already within reach – “בפיך ובלבבך,” in our words and in our hearts.
This song reminds us that what the Mishkan once enabled externally, we are meant to cultivate internally.
The path to connection is not far away. It begins with awareness, intention, and the small choices we make each day.
The path to connection is not far away. It begins with awareness, intention, and the small choices we make each day.
In that sense, the deepest korban is not brought on the altar – but built within the heart.
If you want a traditional Zemer:
The zemer for this week: מה ידידות
Fun “Jewish Puppet Animation” version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLuOPPQ-bWw
The author of this zemer, Menachem, modestly hid the acrostic of his name at the beginnings of the second, third, fourth, and sixth stanzas. The zemer begins and ends with praise for Shabbat and Shabbat observers, and the middle stanzas cover a wide variety of Hilchot Shabbat. The zemer first appeared in 1545.
A central element of this parsha is the wide variety of Korbanot that various types of people would bring from Bnei Yisroel.
Some of the zemer’s connections to the parsha:
· 2nd line of 3rd stanza:
“ויכבדוהו עשיר ורש” (“Both the rich man and the pauper will honor it”) – At multiple points, the parsha stresses the roles that both rich and poor can play in bringing Korbanot.
“ויכבדוהו עשיר ורש” (“Both the rich man and the pauper will honor it”) – At multiple points, the parsha stresses the roles that both rich and poor can play in bringing Korbanot.
o For instance, Rashi (Vayikra 1:17) explains that the feathers were supposed to be left on bird sacrifices to bring greater honor to the poor who brought them as sacrifices.
o To achieve atonement, the poor could bring an offering of a tenth of an ephah (Vayikra 5:11), but the rich were prohibited from bringing the same offering (according to the Gemara in Kereisos 28a).
· Chorus and 2nd line of 2nd stanza:
“ברבורים ושליו” and “תרנגולים מפוטמים” (“fatted fowl and quail” and “fattened chickens”) – The centrality of birds to this zemer mirrors the centrality of birds to the Korbanot (e.g., Vayikra 1:14, Vayikra 5:7).
“ברבורים ושליו” and “תרנגולים מפוטמים” (“fatted fowl and quail” and “fattened chickens”) – The centrality of birds to this zemer mirrors the centrality of birds to the Korbanot (e.g., Vayikra 1:14, Vayikra 5:7).