Vayikra 5786 - I'm Ready for My Close-Up

This week moves us into the third Book of the Torah, named Leviticus or Vayikra. Almost exclusively, the book is about priestly garb and behavior, ritual purity and impurity, kosher animals, and maybe most of all, sacrifice. What mental images are conjured up for you

when you hear "biblical sacrifice"? Maybe knives, blood, mysterious rituals, animals bleating and thrashing? That may be what most of us picture, even though it is true that sacrifices could also be offered as money, grain, incense, produce, oil, etc. The connotation of the word "Sacrifice" - in English anyway - centers on giving something up. We offer to relinquish something of value to demonstrate our sincerity. Whether we're expressing joyful gratitude, uttering a heartfelt plea, or conveying something deeply personal; the conviction of our intention is clear for all to see in this visible, physical item. The thing is, it's just not a great translation of the Hebrew.

The word in Hebrew for "Sacrifice" is "Korban." It comes from the three-letter root, K-R-B, which means "to bring close." In part, it refers to bringing sacrificial offerings "close" to God when we approach the fire of the altar, but it's actually deeper than that.

When we present a Korban, we are bringing ourselves closer to God. Or perhaps God comes closer to us. These two descriptions are so different! A "sacrifice" feels like an apology. If we want to speak to God or ask for something, we need to "pay" first - like the cost of admission. A "Korban," by contrast, feels like healing. If I did something that made me feel distant from God, the Korban brings me back close. If I have something to celebrate, my Korban invites God in to share that joyous moment.

Perhaps the laws of this book of Korbanot are in fact building blocks for relationship. I think it's easy to see laws, rules, and guidelines as building barriers. This reframes it for me, however, into tools for building something stronger. I don't know that most of us see instructions like this... but maybe we should.