Parashat Vayikra
Leviticus 1 - 5:26

Topics (click on any link)
Synopsis of the Torah portion
Spiritual insights into Parashat Vayikra
Key verses
Creative Midrash for Parashat Vayikra

Chapter 2
Next the Torah goes on to discuss meal offerings which consist primarily of choice flour, oil and frankincense. When meal offering are brought to the priest, he shall take it up to the altar, remove a token portion and turn the rest of it into smoke, a pleasing odor to the Lord. Two important considerations are presented: No meal offering shall be made with leaven and every offering shall be seasoned with salt.

Chapter 3
In cases when someone brings a sacrifice of well-being the same basic rules for the burnt offering apply, except there are details regarding the fat of the sacrificial animal. The chapter concludes with an unusual command: All the fat is the Lords; you must not eat any fat or any blood.

Chapter 4
Special forms of sacrifice are sanctioned for sins that are incurred by the priest or the congregation. These sin offerings differ from the offerings of well-being in the following respect: the priest dips his finger into the blood and sprinkles it seven times before the Lord in front of the curtain of the inner court and he shall also put some blood on the horns of the altar of incense. Thus, the priest makes expiation for the community and they shall be forgiven. If a tribal chieftain sins, he shall bring a goat as an offering to the Lord. if any person among the nation sins before the Lord he is to bring a female goat or sheep; the priest makes atonement and he will be forgiven.

Chapter 5
The last chapter deals with diverse sins: if someone is unwilling to testify in a trial, he is guilty; if someone touches any unclean thing, he is culpable; when someone talks behind another person's back, whether for good or for bad, he is guilty in these matters. He shall both confess his guilt and bring an offering to the Lord of a female from the flock; the priest will make expiation on his behalf. If the guilty person does not have the means for a sheep, he may bring two turtledoves or pigeons and if he cannot afford that he may bring an offering of fine flour.

Spiritual insights into Parashat Vayikra                        return to top of page
The opening Parashat of the Book of Leviticus deals with the order of the ritual sacrifices. At the top of the order is the burnt offering. This sacrifice was made daily and the entire offering, whether it is from the herd, the flock or a bird or meal (unleavened bread), must be entirely consumed by the flames. The burnt offering, the most holy of the sacrifices, is left to burn the entire day and is symbolized by the "Ner Tamid" the Eternal flame that is suspended before the Ark in all synagogues.

The Torah states that the whole offering is to be turned into smoke, an offering of fire to the Lord. Today we know that prayer has become the substitute for the sacrificial rituals; we know that prayer rises up to God and is meant to be a pleasing odor like the smoke. It is almost needless to say that these chapters in the Parashat Vayikra point to the highest form of Jewish worship, sacrifice and prayer. The burnt offering is by far the most holy of the order of sacrifices. Following this, the Parasha goes on to describe the details of the other offerings in this order: the offering of wellbeing (thanksgiving), the offering of a person or the entire community that unwittingly disobeys a commandment, and then proceeds to lists all sorts of trespasses against his fellow man. Only through prayer and sacrifice, can we find forgiveness and relive the guilt for all or any of our misdeeds.

Key Verses                         return to top of page
This page is not a commentary on the text, but a chance for you to express your own comments and feelings in order to gain deeper insight into your own life.

Leviticus 1:3
If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall make his offering a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, for acceptance in his behalf before the Lord.
Food for thought:
1. What do you think happens spiritually when an animal is sacrificed to the Lord?
2. How do you feel about animal sacrifice? How would that affect the way you follow Judaism if animals were still sacrificed?
3. Sacrifice was instituted right after the Israelites left the exile in Egypt. What do you think is preferable exile or sacrifice?

Leviticus 1:9
And the priest shall turn the whole [offering] into smoke on the altar as a burnt offering, an offering by fire of pleasing odor to the Lord.
Food for thought:
1. What happens to anything when its turned into smoke? Where does the smoke go? What is it telling you?
2. What do you think are the reasons for burning sacrifices? What does the fire accomplish?
3. Why isn't slaughtering the animal enough? Why such elaborate such rituals around the act of sacrifice?

Leviticus 2:1
When a person presents an offering of meal to the Lord, his offering shall be of choice flour; he shall pour oil upon it, lay frankincense on it, and present it to Aaron's sons the priests.
Food for thought:
1. Anyone can bring an offering for a variety of reasons. How would you feel about bringing a meal offering rather than an animal offering?
2. Animals are meat; there are also meal offerings and drink offerings. Doesn't this sound like a meal to you? Why do you think the Torah specified such substances for offerings to the Lord?
3. Why must the offering be presented to the priest? Couldn't you or I offer a sacrifice to God directly?

Leviticus 2:13
You shall season every offering of meal with salt; you shall not omit from your meal offering the salt of your covenant with God; with all your offerings you must offer salt.
Food for thought:
1. In what way or ways do we carry out this commandment today?
2. What do you think the Torah means by “offering the salt of your covenant with God”? What exactly does salt mean?
3. Do you think the salt just makes the offering more tasty or are there other implications for the use of salt?

Leviticus 3:6
And if his offering for a sacrifice of well-being to the Lord is from the flock, whether a male or a female, he shall offer one without blemish.
Food for thought:
1. The previous sacrifices were burnt sacrifices, the holiest of the offerings. Under what circumstances would a person offer a sacrifice of well-being as opposed to a burnt offering?
2. What do we sacrifice today for our well-being? Do you think that sacrifice means to give something up or does it have deeper implications?
3. Previously we have only encountered male sacrificial animals. Is there a difference between male and female offerings? Where are male offerings specified and where are female offerings mentioned?

Leviticus 3:16-17
The priest shall turn these into smoke on the altar as food, an offering by fire, of pleasing odor. All fat is the Lord's. It is a law for all time throughout the ages, in all your settlements: you must not eat any fat or any blood.
Food for thought:
1. Since sacrifice was abolished when the second Temple was destroyed, how do we substitute for sacrifices today?
2. Here the priest turns these [offerings] into smoke as food. Food for whom?
3. Why does the fat of the offering belong to God? Why should we not eat fat or blood? Do these rules hold up today?

Leviticus 4:6
The priest shall dip his finger into the blood, and sprinkle of the blood seven times before the Lord, in front of the curtain of the Shrine.
Food for thought:
1. Do you think the effects of the sacrifice would be diminished if the priest died not perform the ritual exactly as specified?
2. How do you think the prescribed actions make rituals more effective?
3. What do you think lies beyond the curtain of the Shine?

Leviticus 4:20
He shall do with this bull just as is done with the [priest's] bull of sin offering; he shall do the same with it. Thus the priest shall make expiation for them, and they shall be forgiven.
Food for thought:
1. Apparently sacrifice provides, among other things, forgiveness. In what ways do you think sacrifice expiates sin?
2. What other ways can we make expiation for our misdeeds, considering sacrifice has been abolished?
3. How do we seek forgiveness today? What would happen if we were not forgiven?

Leviticus 5:4
Or when a person utters an oath to bad or good purpose--whatever a man may utter in an oath--and, though he has known it, the fact has escaped him, but later he finds himself culpable in any of these matters--when he realizes his guilt in any of these matters, he shall confess wherein he has sinned.
Food for thought:
1. What present day practice is connected to this verse?
2. There are a number of other transgressions listed in chapter 5. Why does the utterance of oath's hold such importance?
3. After the confession, a sacrifice is offered. What do you think of the combination of a confession and a sacrifice to absolve a sin? How else can we absolve sin?

Leviticus 5:15
When a person commits a trespass, being unwittingly remiss about any of the Lord's sacred things, he shall bring as his penalty to the Lord a ram without blemish from the flock, convertible into payment in silver by the sanctuary weight, as a guilt offering
Food for thought:
1. Here money is convertible for an animal of sacrifice. Do you think a charitable donation would suffice to redeem a sin?
2. Would the expiation be more effective if a sacrifice was added?
3. How does Yom Kippur fit into the system of sacrifices, considering that the holiday supposedly absolves people of sin?

Additional questions to ponder:
1. What is it about the story, a verse, a word that seems to resonate with some aspect of your life?
2. Is there something about the story that rings a bell?
3. Can you recall experiences in your life when you have experienced something similar to this story?
4. How would you describe the characters in the story? Who do you know who's like them?
5. Can you personally identify with any one of the characters in the story? Which one?
6. Can you find a similarity between yourself and all the characters in the story?

Reflections:
The Rabbis of old would meditate on such questions, sometimes for weeks at a time, to help find deeper meaning in the verses. You may wish to contemplate just one or a few of these questions at a time, rather than tackling them all.
In what ways we any of your responses to the questions personally meaningful?

Suggestion:
Some of the questions here are of a personal nature which in some cases could be emotionally upsetting. If so, try relaxing your body as much as possible and takes long slow breaths of air. That usually helps to relieve anxiety.

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Creative Midrash on Parashat Vayikra                         return to top of page

Leviticus 4:20
He shall do with this bull just as is done with the [priest's] bull of sin offering; he shall do the same with it. Thus the priest shall make expiation for them, and they shall be forgiven.

The Rabbis of old would create parables, stories and narrative connections around such selected verses. What do you see between the lines, the sentences and the letters. The following questions can provide a launch pad upon which to create your own meanings of the Torah.

Imagine yourself to be an Israelite living in the wilderness during Moses’ reign. You commit a trespass against the Lord. What sort of trespasses are you often guilty of? (select one of your own character flaws) What makes you do it? Do you think you can refrain from doing it again? Could you forget about it? What should you do about it? What would you do, right now, when you did something wrong? Would you confess your sin? Would you bring a sacrifice to the Lord? If so what kind? Animal? Bird? Meal? How do you think you would feel once you give the offering to the priest and he turns it, by fire, into smoke? How would you perform the sacrifice in today's day and age?