We live in ironic times. While our generation generally prefers relevance over blind observance, we also see a vibrant Judaism surrounding us in the absence, for close to 2,000 years, of any formal communications from an intangible and invisible God.

This week we are confronted with the onset of Toras Kohanim, the volume of the Five Books of Moshe pertaining to the priests and their holy work.

Our greatest thinkers, millennia ago, struggled to find meaning in the sacrificial order. Maimonides (Guide III:46) suggested that the entire order was established to counter the desire to mimic the nations of the world who offered sacrifices to their false deities. While this repulsive instinct included human sacrifice, God desired to sanctify the practice by allowing it under more noble circumstances.

The Ramban famously dissents, arguing that we find animal sacrifice mentioned in the Torah well before the sin of the Golden Calf or even the Jews’ sojourn in Egypt. The concept was not introduced to address a problem. He also points out that the four-letter Ineffible name of God appears around the sacrifices, none of God’s other appellations. Rather, it is a means to come closer to the Almighty as the root of the term korban implies (k.r.v means to come close). He writes (Chavel translation to Vayikra 1:9):

It is far more fitting to accept the reason for the offerings which scholars say, namely that since man’s deeds are accomplished through thought, speech and action, therefore God commanded that when man sins and brings an offering, he should lay his hands upon it in contrast to the evil deed committed. He should confess his sins verbally in contrast to his evil speech, and he should burn the inwards and kidneys of the offering in fire because they are the instruments of thought and desire in the human being….

Rabbis have taken sides in this holy debate between two of the greatest thinkers of all of Jewish history.

But how do we – in 2017 – confront this entire order which has not taken place in almost two millennia? How can this speak to us?

First, we can try to look at it in context.

The entire section is introduced by the term Vayikra el Moshe, God called to Moshe. The Torah scroll famously writes a small aleph at the end of the word Vayikra. The Sages explain that the term implies a certain uniqueness of the object of the calling, i.e. Moshe. Moshe did not want to use such an elite term and preferred vayikar without the Aleph. HASHEM wanted the Aleph. They reached a compromise with a subscript Aleph.

Rashi also links the term Vayikra to the language used among the angels. More on this later.

Second, many of the commentaries see the korbanos as a means of expiation. This is certainly relevant to us. But we have ways to confess and beg forgiveness for our misdeeds and receive Divine atonement without donating cattle, livestock, birds, flour and oil. The Maharal in Nesivos Olam suggests that donating a significant amount – certainly an animal offering – lessens our dependence on materialism, similar to the goal of a fast. Leaning our weight onto the animal which will die in our stead represents a powerful image of culpability. This animal will die and will be burned on the altar instead of us. It should have been us on the altar; our just God will not permit human sacrifice. God understands the vast difference between the animal kingdom and its human subset.

I’m still scratching my head. I understand that there are aspects of ritual I don’t understand, especially trying to understand what God wants. How can I possibly comprehend that? How can I try to “give” God anything? For those closest to us, or when we want to make a remarkable impression, we put a lot of thought what to give someone. We want them to like it. For those whom we love, we should know. For those we want to astound, we make it our business to find out. How much more so with gifts to God!

The Chassidim introduced another way to understand words and ideas. Find the first time it is used. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z’l called that the “headquarters” of the idea.

The first two times in Chumash the root k.r.v. both relate to Sarah:

"ויהי כאשר הקריב לבוא מצרימה, ויאמר אל שרי אשתו, הנה נא ידעתי כי אשה יפת מראה את" (בראשית י"ב:י"א)

“And it came to pass, when he (Avraham) came near to enter to Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, Behold now, I know that you are a pretty woman to look upon” (Bereshis 12:11).

The allusion to distance refers to Judaism’s first couple approaching Egypt, a place foreign both nationally and ideologically to them. Their approach was a distant one. The language of the end of the verse triggered responses from the commentaries about the closeness of their relationship in the context of modesty.

The second reference, not specifically using the root k.r.v. to connote closeness can be found a few chapters later.  

"וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה בְּקִרְבָּהּ לֵאמֹר אַחֲרֵי בְלֹתִי הָיְתָה-לִּי עֶדְנָה וַאדֹנִי זָקֵן" (בראשית י"ח:י"ב)

“And Sarah laughed internally saying, after I have withered shall I have clear skin, and my husband is old” (Bereshis 18:12).

The root here represents the closeness of oneself: there is nothing closer. Rashi renders that she laughed at herself, thinking that an older woman passed the age of fertility to conceive and deliver a child.

Yet God gets the last laugh. She does give birth because anything is possible when it comes to the Almighty.

Within this genre, we also encounter Bereshis 20:4: “Now Avimelech had not approached her (Sarah); so he said ’O my Oord, will You slay a nation even though it is righteous?” Recall the story. Once again Avraham and Sarah found themselves in a foreign land. Fearing the custom of killing the husband to marry the wife, Sarah announced that the man with whom she traveled was her brother not her husband. She was summarily taken to the king’s harem. However in this case (as opposed to Egypt), God came to the king in a dream threatening him with death if he laid a finger on Sarah, as she is a married woman. We then read our verse. Avimelech then berates Avraham for lying about Sarah’s status. Avraham proverbially shrugs his shoulders and retorts that he was under the impression that this was not a God-fearing (i.e. moral) society. The root k.r.v. in the third verse implies an intimate approaching. The Torah uses a different verb to connote marital relations. Here it implies an attempt to come close, but there will always be distance. To borrow a term from contemporary Israel advocacy, there was daylight between the two.

These stories teach us great lessons.

Avraham and Sarah approached Egypt, but the gap between them and Egypt remained cavernous. Sarah laughed. She scoffed at God’s ability to turn nature upside down. Expiation can be considered an example of transforming the past for the future. For Sarah it was reversing her aging process. The root here k.r.v. implies either one’s internal organs or implies doing something internally. Let us remember that the Olah offering atones for sins of thought, not the commission of illicit acts.

I believe this is the proper connotation of k.r.v in the context of proximity. Look at other uses in the Torah and I think we have a convincing argument.

In Bereshis 27:41 after Yaakov successfully attains his father’s blessing, the text tells us: “Now Esav harbored hatred toward Yaakov because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him; and Esav said to himself, ’The days of mourning for my father will draw near, then I will kill my brother Yaakov.’” Yitzchak lived a lot longer and Eisav’s loathing dissipated.

In Bereshis 37:18 the verse states about Yosef, “They saw him from afar; and when he had not yet approached them and they conspired towards him to kill him.” Yosef was very distant from his brothers.

Shmos 3:5 is a verse with which we are all familiar. Moshe sees a burning bush yet it is not being consumed. He approaches. God speaks to him for the first time, cautioning him: “And He said, Do not come any closer; take off your shoes from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.” This could not be any clearer. The distance can be felt.

Moshe’s brother has a similar experience in Vayikrah 9:7. “And Moshe said to Aharon, approach the altar, and offer your sin offering, and your burnt offering, and make atonement for yourself, and for the people; and offer the offering of the people, and make atonement for them; as the Lord commanded.” Aharon hesitated. Moshe encouraged him forward.

Finally, the first reference to the k.r.v. root in the book of Bamidbar can be found in 1:51. “And when the Mishkan is to set forward, the Levites shall take it down; and when the Tabernacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

How are Korbanos relevant today? I believe one aspect of this enormous area of the Torah can be the question of approaching the Almighty. Our sages have taught that prayer has become the substitute for the Temple service. Rabbi Soloveitchik wrote voluminously on the question how can mortal and imperfect man even approach God with our litany of requests? The gap between us is too great! What kind of chutzpah would it take to merely talk to God as if we were conversing with a fellow human being? Attempting to converse with the Almighty is itself the epitome of audacity. The gap is too great. Would I consider having a heart-to-heart with a mosquito?

I believe this is why the order of the sacrifices opens up with a statement of Moshe’s unparalleled humility. It took the greatest of men to realize how small we truly are. How ironic, but how true!

Rav Soloveitchik explained that we can converse with God only when we seek permission to do so. At times He grants automatic permission. We need a mattir, we need God to allow us to approach him. We may not assume a conversation.

Maybe this is the meaning of some events in the story of Esther. Recall that the Jews fasted for three days – on Pesach no less – so Esther would be successful in gaining the ear of the king. If she were to approach him without prior permission, she could be executed. She was without doubt risking her life. The Megillah relates (5:2) “And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she found favor in his sight; and the king held out to Esther the golden scepter that was in his hand. So Esther drew near (k.r.v), and touched the top of the scepter.” There is a tradition when reading Megillas Esther that “the king” without the name Achashverosh can also refer to the King of Kings, the Almighty. With proper preparation and prayer, we can approach. Perhaps this is a meaning of korban we can appreciate.

We don’t take our animals (since most of us don’t have cattle, livestock and birds in our back yards) and sacrifice them to God. But we have money and resources. One of the overt miracles of the latter part of the 20th and the 21st century is the ability of Jews to pay the cost of Jewish living, which includes, but is not limited to tuition, kosher food, living in expensive real estate zones due to the need to be in walking distance of our synagogues, giving tzedakah, hosting guests… The estimates of what it costs are staggering, I believe over $200,000 a year. This is sacrifice. Holding our breath every time we write tuition checks, make mortgage payments are leaps of faith. But we have to remember why we do it. We do it because we believe this is what will bring us closer to our Father in Heaven, the King of Kings.

I conclude with a beautiful story. A man came to his Rebbe complaining of all the challenges he faced. Nothing was working for this poor man. The Rebbe empathized with the man and told him that when the next opportunity came to recite Hallel (a prayer of praise added to the liturgy on holidays and Rosh Chodesh) he should recite Ana Hashem, “I beseech you oh God” with tremendous kavanah (religious fervor). The man came to shul early at the next opportunity and belted out “Ana Hashem hoshiya na” (I beseech you oh God, save us) and “Ana Hashem hatzlicha na” (I beseech you oh God, give us success). Nothing changed. The man hesitatingly went back to the Rebbe telling him nothing happened. The Rebbe asked him to show him exactly what he said and how he said it. The man showed him. The Rebbe smiled. He said, “I was not referring to that Ana Hashem in the prayer. There is another one we say. “Ana Hashem ki ani avedcha” (I beseech you oh Hashem for I am your loyal servant.). Don’t ask God. He knows what you want. Tell him that you subjugate yourself before Him. That is the gift you can give Him. Maybe that is the secret of the korbanos  as well.