Vayikra / And He Called
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Isaiah 43:21-44:23
Hebrews 10:1-38
Leviticus 1:1-2 states: ‘Now the Lord called to Moses, and spoke to him from the tabernacle of meeting, saying, 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When any one of you brings an offering to the Lord, you shall bring your offering of the livestock—of the herd and of the flock.’
This is the way the verse reads translated from Hebrew to English. However, in Hebrew the word order is different. English reads: adam mikem ki yakriv, “when one of you offers a sacrifice.” But the Hebrew reads: adam ki yakriv mikem, “when one offers a sacrifice of you”. Shenor Zalman taught that ‘we offer ourselves’.
The real sacrifice is mikem, “of you.” We give God something of ourselves. When we offer ourselves, when the sacrifice is of us, we give our lives to God. The prophet Samuel breaks it down to what is the sacrifice, ‘So Samuel said: “Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.’ 1Samuel 15:22.
The word Karbanot is usually translated as ‘sacrifices’ or ‘offerings’, however, both of these terms suggest a loss of something or a giving up of something. Karbanot comes from the root Qof-Resh-Bet, which means ‘to draw near,’ and indicates the primary purpose of offerings: to draw us near to God.
Vayikra is about the five different types of sacrifices.
Leviticus 1 | The Burnt Offering Olah ( עלָה ), "ascending offering.” This was a freewill sacrifice that was consumed entirely by the fire on the altar. The sacrificial victim must be an animal or a bird that is without defect. As the animal is slaughtered, the kohen catches its blood in a pan and sprinkles it (zerikat hadam) on the altar. The animal is then cut up, salted, and entirely burned. This is perhaps the best-known of the offerings. It was the oldest and most common, representing submission to God’s will. Olah from the root Ayin-Lamed-Heh has the same root as the word aliyah, which is used to describe moving to Israel, ascending up whether in study or spiritually, and also in a synagogue to say a blessing over the Torah. An olah is completely burnt on the outer altar; no part of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God.
Leviticus 2 | The Grain Offering Minchah ( מִנְחָה ), "meal offering". This was a nedavah also a freewill offering of flour (prepared with fine flour, olive oil and frankincense), usually given by a person not of wealth. Part of the meal offering is burned on the altar, and the remaining part is eaten by the kohanim.
Leviticus 3 | The Peace Offering Shelamim ( שְׁלָמִים ), "peace offering". This was a nedavah a freewill offering given as a way of expressing thanks and praise to God. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zebach sh'lamim (or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning "peace" or "whole." A portion of the offering is burnt on the altar. A portion is given to the priests and the rest is eaten by the person giving the offering, and his family.
Leviticus 4 | The Sin Offering Chatat ( חַטַּאת ), "sin offering". This was a chovah a required offering to make atonement for certain sins committed unintentionally. It is an expression of sorrow for the error and a desire to be reconciled with God. Chatat, from the word chayt, means to miss the mark. A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness, not for intentional, malicious sins. The size of the offering varied according to the nature of the sin and the financial means of the one bringing the offering.
Leviticus 5:14-6:7 | The Trespass Offering Asham ( אָשָׁם ), "guilt offering". This was a chovah, a required offering, as part of the penitence required for certain improper acts such as retaining another's property by swearing falsely. In each case, the wrongdoer was required to restore the property plus an additional amount.
Sacrifices appear throughout the Bible, from the beginning of Genesis through the Torah and into the Renewed Covenant. The first sacrifice was from Cain and Abel, which opened the doors to jealousy and murder.
Some teach that God did not look upon Cain with favor in regards to his offering, as he brought some of the first fruits of the soil, but not the best. Whereas, Abel brought offerings from the firstborn of his flock, the best animals he had. This teaches that there is a relationship between the quality of the sacrifice and the degree of intent shown by the one presenting it.
It does not say: “The Lord looked with favor on Abel's offering, but on Cain's offering he did not look with favor.” But rather it says: “The Lord looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor.”
This teaches that the difference depends on the character of the individuals offering the sacrifices and not the sacrifices themselves. Cain was unacceptable and therefore so was his offering.
Isaiah 1:11-15 teaches that if our intentions and our hearts are not in the right place, then our fasting, sacrifices, and holidays are in vain. The prophet Isaiah continues with instructions for us in order to learn how to be acceptable in God’s sight- Isaiah 1:16-17.
Yeshua reiterates this in Matthew 5:23-24. ‘Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.’
The wording in this verse gets twisted. For instead of the correct wording ‘…if your brother has something against you…’ It changes to ‘…if you have something against your brother…’
The difference is crucial. In the correct reading, we are to go to our brothers if they have something against us; if we hurt, offending or wounded them. It is our burden to ask forgiveness, seek restitution and maybe even reconciliation. But the way it has been twisted, renders the offender as the offended, leaving the offended in charge of whether they want to apologize or not. ‘I have something against you, but I will approach you in my time, therefore I am better than you.’
The point of the offerings in this parsha was to sanctify and clear the person of the offense. It was the purity of the heart that mattered to God. The prior Torah portion, the end of Exodus was about the willing and pure heart to give, connecting these two Torah portions in regards to the purity of the offerings.
None of the offerings would have sufficed to God if there was not a willing heart.
וַיִּקְרָא
Vayikra / And He Called
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Isaiah 43:21-44:23
Hebrews 10:1-38
Vayikra/And He Called is the third book of the Torah, also known as Leviticus. This book, more than any of the others, deals with halachot, or laws, of the Temple and sacrifices, and is referred to as “The Torah of the Kohanim” – the Torah of the priests and those who work in the Temple, and contains the instructions for the five offerings.
Leviticus 1 | The Burnt Offering Olah ( עלָה ), "ascending offering”. This was a free-will sacrifice that was consumed entirely by the fire on the altar. The sacrificial victim must be an animal or a bird that is without defect. As the animal is slaughtered, the kohen catches its blood in a pan and sprinkles it (zerikat hadam) on the altar. The animal is then cut up, salted, and entirely burned. This is perhaps the best-known of the offerings. It was the oldest and most common, representing submission to God’s will. Olah from the root Ayin-Lamed-Heh has the same root as the word aliyah, which is used to describe moving to Israel, ascending up whether in study or spiritually, and also in a synagogue to say a blessing over the Torah. An olah is completely burnt on the outer altar; no part of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering represents complete submission to God's will, the entire offering is given to God.
Leviticus 2 | The Grain Offering Minchah ( מִנְחָה ), "meal offering". This was a nedavah also a freewill offering of flour (prepared with fine flour, olive oil and frankincense), usually given by a person not of wealth. Part of the meal offering is burned on the altar, and the remaining part is eaten by the kohanim.
Leviticus 3 | The Peace Offering Shelamim ( שְׁלָמִים ), "peace offering". This was a nedavah a freewill offering given as a way of expressing thanks and praise to God. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zebach sh'lamim (or sometimes just sh'lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning "peace" or "whole." A portion of the offering is burnt on the altar. A portion is given to the priests and the rest is eaten by the person giving the offering, and his family.
Leviticus 4 | The Sin Offering Chatat ( חַטַּאת ), "sin offering". This was a chovah a required offering to make atonement for certain sins committed unintentionally. It is an expression of sorrow for the error and a desire to be reconciled with God. Chatat, from the word chayt, means to miss the mark. A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness, not for intentional, malicious sins. The size of the offering varied according to the nature of the sin and the financial means of the one bringing the offering.
Leviticus 5:14-6:7 | The Trespass Offering Asham ( אָשָׁם ), "guilt offering". This was a chovah, a required offering, as part of the penitence required for certain improper acts such as retaining another's property by swearing falsely. In each case, the wrongdoer was required to restore the property plus an additional amount.
In Leviticus 2:11-13 is the Covenant of Salt, in which salt has to accompany the offering, not honey. To be clear, though, Moses wrote in the same verse that the Israelites were to “add salt to all your offerings.” Thus, all offerings made by the Israelites to God, not just grain offerings, were to have salt added to them. But why salt and not the sweetness of Honey? There are two thoughts:
The nature of salt is that its flavor enhances food only when it is applied sparingly. A mound of salt ruins the entire dish, likewise the teaching that the covenant with God is consecrated with salt because salt can sustain the world or destroy it. Salt is the most fundamental spice that makes our food tasty and pleasing. However, too much salt makes fertile soil infertile.
But what about the honey? This question is even more perplexing because in other places in the Torah, we find such positive Scriptures toward sweetness. For example, the Promised Land, Eretz Yisrael, is described as the “Land of Milk and Honey,” and as a land where figs, grapes, pomegranates, and dates grow, which are all very sweet fruit.
The teaching is that in many crossroads in which man finds himself, he has the choice between taking the easy route, the “sweet” one which is enjoyable but meaningless to himself or society; and taking the rougher, “salty,” route, which is challenging and risky, but can represent the narrow way.
Numbers 18:19 speaks about the covenant of salt. Ezekiel 43:24 instructs the priests to sprinkle salt on the burnt offering. In 2 Chronicles 13:5, God gave Israel to David over a covenant of salt. In 2 Kings 2:21, Elisha healed the waters with salt. We are the salt of the earth in Matthew 5:13-16 and our speech is to be seasoned with salt, Colossians 4:6. In Mark 9:50 Yeshua tells us that salt is good, but what happens if salt becomes unsalty?
The Hebrew word for salt is melach / mem/ lamed / chet. מֶלַח. Melach is a noun that comes from the root word “malach” (מלח) which means to rub to pieces or pulverize, to disappear as dust, or to season or rub with salt. Melach is also used for the Salt/Dead Sea; Genesis 14:3; Numbers 34:3,12; Deuteronomy 3:17; and in Joshua 3:16, which will one day be made fresh again – Ezekiel 47:11.
Salt accompanies the offerings/sacrifices that were made in the Temple. These sacrifices were not cruelty towards the animals, as God took great care in instructing care and compassion for animals. However, since taking an animal life might be perceived as cruelty, sacrifices could only be offered in the Temple, a place of holiness that held the proper intention and compassion. Also, the method of ritual slaughter taught by the Torah is meant to minimize pain and trauma.
The spiritual message of seeking closeness to God is eternal. Today, when we lack a Temple, we are given the perfect elements of coming close to God, obedience, remorse, repentance and Yeshua, the Living, Walking Torah, who gives us the answer: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’ John 14:6.
No one can approach the Father without the Torah, Yeshua, for He is the Torah. Could this be why Yeshua references Vayikra when He speaks of salt in our lives in Matthew 5:13 and Mark 9:50? He was the eternal offering for our sins, which all offerings according to Torah were to be accompanied with salt. The power of sacrifice is accomplished by prayer. As the prophet says in Hosea 14:2-3: ‘Offer your prayers in the place of sacrifices.’
Salt has the unique quality of never spoiling, just as our spiritual sacrifices towards God should never spoil.
