Next week we enter the week leading up to Purim.  If we allow ourselves to believe that the energy of the Purim story is timeless, we might also come to realize that while the events of the coming week (and the past few weeks) might seem to be crazy or difficult, the truth of Purim is that there is a hidden goodness in these events, and at Purim, if we get high enough, the whole world will flip-flop, and things instead of being hard and leaving us in the dark, wondering, will be bright and full of hope; all we will need to do is move forward to take care of the details.

Which leads into the parsha (weekly Torah portion) we read this week.  Last week we started the third book of the five book series transcribed by Moshe (Moses).  This book is called Vayikra, as is this week’s parsha.  It means, “And he called,” for the book begins with haShem (god) calling to Moshe.

This parsha is filled with details of sacrifices; the latter half of which talks about sacrifices for sins that you didn’t know you made, and then you come to find out that you made.

Since I led into the parsha talking about Purim, how is Purim a lead in to what I just said?

Well, one aspect of the story is the people realizing they have done something seriously wrong, and atoning for it by coming together and fasting for three days, and having the sins atoned for.

I think all of us would agree that a spontaneous three day fast is quite a sacrifice to make.  So, the parsha is preparing us for an awakening of something (or things) we have done wrong by telling us it is possible to be forgiven for these forgotten errors in judgement.

I know I am not looking forward to discovering I have made some unintentional boo-boo that has caused the predicament I am now in.  But, it is nice to know that when this occurs, haShem has already told me (and all of us) the remedy for the error.

But I get ahead of myself.  First, let us look at what is in the parsha.  It begins with haShem telling Moshe to talk to the people about the types of animals a person can bring as an offering to haShem.  It then talks about an Olah offering.  This offering is usually called a fire offering because the whole animal is burned on the altar.  However, the literal meaning of the word olah is to go up.  In other words all of it goes up to haShem.  We hear how and where to slaughter it and what gets done to it after the slaughter.  If it is a meal offering, we read about how it is made and what happens with it.  Next we then hear about the Shlamim offering – commonly referred to as a peace offering.

Once again we read of haShem telling Moshe to talk to the people.  This time it is regarding people who accidentally do something that god says not to do.  First we hear of a priest who sins causing the people to be guilty, and we hear what he needs to bring as a sacrifice and what gets done to the sacrifice.  We next read of what we are to do if the people as a whole accidentally do something god says not to do and the matter was hidden from the people, and the people then find out about it.  Next we read of what a leader is to do when he finds out that he did a no-no.  And next is what the average person does upon discovering he has done something god said not to do.

After all this we read that a person who hears an oath, or is witness to an event, and does not tell, this person acquires guilt.  Next we hear of a person who touches anything that is not pure, and this is hidden from him, he becomes impure and guilty (I apologize here because a discussion of what the Hebrew word asham, which translates as guilty, means would be appropriate at this point, but this is not the year for it).  Likewise for a person who makes an oath and forgets about it.  When the oath is revealed to him, he becomes guilty.

In these cases, he must confess, and then bring a guilt offering, and we get the details of what this offering is and what happens to it.  After this, Moshe is told by god to tell the folks that if a person accidentally sins regarding a sacred object, the person must bring a guilt offering and we get the details surrounding this offering.  Next is the guilt offering surrounding issues between people.  The parsha ends by stating that the priest shall atone on him before haShem and he will be forgiven on anything that he does to incur guilt.

Some pretty intense stuff here, no?  What is haShem trying to tell us in all of this?

As I was half-way thru the parsha, an interesting thought floated into my head:  when a person gives a list of rules and regulations, she usually starts by giving the most important first.

I took that idea and placed it over the parsha to see how it fit, and this is what I got.

The first thing we read about is an Olah offering.  As I mentioned above, this is an offering that gets completely burned up.  Why might haShem consider this the most important offering?  Perhaps because all of it, its entirety, is offered up to haShem.

You see, before the animal is slaughtered, you are to put your hands on its head.  This is not to pat its head and say, “Nice cow.”  It is to literally get in touch with the cow and become one with the cow.  For the idea is that you are the one who really wants to get close to god.  And not just a part of you, but your entire being.  Unfortunately, if you put yourself on the altar, you would not be able to do the work you need to do in this world.  So instead, you connect with the cow and the whole cow goes up in smoke to haShem, letting haShem know how much you want to be close to him.

If this is done right, and haShem accepts the offer, then all of you is close to haShem, including the part of you here in the physical world.  What this means is that god has now come down into the physical world to be close to you.  In fact, you have brought god into this world!  Wow.

Wait!

For I am not finished.  The second offering is a Shlamim offering, often called a peace offering, for the word shlamim has shalom as its root, and we all know that shalom means peace.

Well, not exactly.  Really, shalom means whole, complete, unity.  When a person is whole and completely in harmony with himself, he is at peace.  This is the root of the word shalom .

Why is this offering second?

Well, we have just finished sacrificing to bring our entire being close to god, the only true shalom thing.  And having come close to god, it seems natural that we would want to emulate god, so we would naturally want to be shalom too.

Ok, so how do we do this?  Well, today, we might go buy and read a few self-help books, and maybe attend a few weekend seminars on personal growth.  However, you still need to make a huge commitment to risk change, to face all the scary parts of yourself.  To put out the effort.

Today, we don’t understand the importance of a cow.  Back in Moshe’s time, a cow was a person’s livelihood.  So, to sacrifice one was a big deal.  And if something went wrong, if it had a blemish, or the slaughter wasn’t perfect, then you had to bring another cow.

Let me try to put in modern terms.  After you do the self-help books and seminars, you now have to come to your local priest with 10 $1000 bills.  These bills must be new and crisp, without a blemish.  You then need to cut them up into strips of exactly the same size.  If even one strip was a little too big or too small, you had to get another 10 $1000 bills.  If everything was kosher up to this point, you then give the strips to the priest who throws them onto a fire and you watch them burn.

Are you willing to do this?

If you are, then you are willing to become shalom.

Ok, I hear some of you ask, what if you don’t have $10,000? Then you take 10 $100 bills.  And if you don’t have that, then you use 10 $10 bills.  I hope you get the idea – this isn’t a cheap or throw away thing you are doing.  This is your life we are talking about.

Well congratulations.  You are now close to haShem, and shalom.  Now what?

Now we get to the unintentional sin offerings.  Why?  Because we live in the physical world and we are bound to make mistakes.

And when we do, a part of us, a part of our soul, feels bad and goes off away from us and we are no longer whole or shalom.

So, we do tshuvah, a word that is frequently translated as repentance.  The true meaning of the word is to return.  When we do tshuvah, we are trying to bring that part of us that has wondered off, back to us, so we can become whole.  Sometimes that piece is stuck with the mistake we made, feeling ashamed and not worthy, not believing it will be welcomed back.  Or perhaps it feels that it now belongs with the sin, the mistake.

This is why we again lay our hands on the animal, and sacrifice it.  We are asking the animal to go and find that piece of us, and tell it that it is loved and missed, and the animal will stand in its place if need be, so that piece of us can return and we can become whole/shalom again.

I realize this missive might be a little far out for a few of you.  The ideas are not easy ones to convey.  We have been on a fun ride on this blog for the few years, and you have trusted me enough to continue to receive these inspirations from haShem.  So, all I am asking is that if some of this is difficult to digest, try sitting with it; try looking past the lines and words and see the message that is sitting just underneath.

If you are willing to make that sacrifice, I think you will see that a really big theme behind this parsha is that god is hoping we will come close to her with all our hearts, souls, and resources so we can learn how to be whole, then strive to become whole with that same conviction.  And finally, to know that we will make mistakes, and there is a road back from those boo-boos, back to shalom.
Have a great shabbat and and Happy Purim everybody. 🙂

If you care to read what I wrote about this parsha last year, click here.

About the Author

Shmuel Shalom Cohen spent 10 years studying Torah in Jerusalem. Six years ago, he started Conscious Torah to help Jews connect to their tradition in ways they didn’t think possible. Shmuel also started, and is the executive directory of Jewish Events Willamette-valley, a non-profit whose mission is to build Jewish community, pride, and learning. In his free time, Shmuel likes walks in nature, playing music, writing poetry, and time with good friends.