For the week of Friday, March 22, 2024

The name of the entire book of Leviticus is the name of our first Torah portion, “va’yikrah,” which means, “the Lord called…” These first five chapters are a detailed description of the animal and vegetable sacrifices offered in the Jerusalem sanctuary. Some of the more famous sacrifices were the “olah,” from the verb which means “to go up.” This implies that this, the most common of all sacrifices, was a burnt offering which was totally consumed by the fire. Also noted is the “she’la’meem,” the peace offering, generally shared by the officiants and the family that brought this offering. Also there is the “minchah” offering, meaning that which is “placed down before God.” This was generally a vegetable, grain or oil sacrifice.

Why is the book of Leviticus, named after the Levitical families, filled with descriptions of such sacrifices. The word sacrifice in Hebrew is “korban,” which derives from the root verb, meaning “to draw close.” The offering of sacrifices was a means by which the ancient families would draw themselves towards the divine. Remember, there were no scrolls or books available, nor did the Israelites possess a standard liturgy of prayers to be publicly recited. Offering a sacrifice was a means of drawing closer to God.