Parshat Vayikra 5778-What is the ‘sweet smell’of the sacrifice? Also there are 3 times when a person is ‘called’? A beautiful thought.

(based on the shiurim of Rabbi I. Bernstein zal given in London in 1993)

A phrase that we are all familiar with, regarding the sacrifices, is the following:

 אִשֵּׁה רֵיחַ-נִיחוֹחַ לַיהוָה.  {ס}

meaning ’of a sweet savour unto the Lord’.

What does this actually mean? A beautiful explanation is found in the Ketav Vekabbala(Rabbi Yaakov (of) Mecklenburg :19th century Europe). He quotes from the sefer Ma’aseh Hashem(of R’ Eliezer Harofe) who explains that this phrase does not indicate the special quality of the offering in itself. It actually indicates the status of the person who is bringing the sacrifice, and reflects his situation in the act of becoming closer to God.

The Ketav Vekabbala develops this idea in a wider context. It is well known that just by bringing a sacrifice an automatic forgiveness was not immediately achieved. The sacrifice actually becomes a ‘sweet smell’ of what the person is going to do in the future. The korban must become an intimation of better things to come from the person. The korban is valueless unless the person has a change of heart and improves his ways. The concept of   רֵיחַ-נִיחוֹחַ  is the sense that God has an ‘inkling’ from this man that things will be different in the future after the korban is brought.

Why is the metaphor of a ‘sweet smell’ used here to describe this future aspiration of the individual? Again Rav Mecklenburg explains that many times one may smell something and know that it is good, even before you actually see it as a physical reality. The aroma coming forward is the intimation of what is to follow. In a similar way, when a person brings a korban with the correct intentions and sincerity, his service of God also becomes like an aroma, which is suggesting something good to be seen in the future and which can only be sensed now, like a sweet smell from a distance. The korban has to act as a ‘mevasser’-a bearer of good tidings of what is yet to come.

If you would ask; where do we find that the word   רֵיחַ  refers to future events? The answer is found in Tenach,in the Book of Job, where  it says:’Mayrachok yariach milchama’-from afar he can sense (lit:smell) war’. The word רֵיחַ  denotes sensing from afar, as we see it is used in our context of korbanot as well.

The message is clear.When bringing a korban, if it is accompanied with the thoughts of teshuva and personal change, then God will sense this intention in the korban and it will be pleasing to God and good for the person making the offering.

The lesson for us today without sacrifices is still very applicable. Do we expect our acts of avodat Hashem to be pleasing if they reflect an external action but do not have any deeper sense of commitment and change.This is the challenge of living in a society where everything is judged on external appearances. For the Jew, it is the feelings in the heart which should guide the external actions in his/her life and in the relationship to God.

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There are three times in the Torah when Moshe is called. Once at the burning bush (Shemot ch.3), a second time at Mt.Sinai (Shemot ch.19-20) and now at the Mishkan in the beginning of Sefer Vayikrah. Rabbi Bernstein explained (homiletically) that this is a ‘remez-hint’ to special times of calling in one’s life. The bush, which is very small and low represents the calling to the person in the early stage of his/her life, to begin to educate oneself in Torah and Jewish values. The call of Sinai represents the time of acceptance of Torah and Mitzvot, at ages12/13.This is a call of commitment as one now enters the new stage of obligation to observe the commandments of God. The calling at the Mishkan represent a third time of a special calling from God, when one gets married and establishes one’s own ‘mishkan’/home in this world. Each stage represents a special time of ‘calling’ and it is our challenge to make this moments as meaningful and fulfilled as possible.

Shabbat Shalom and Chodesh Tov

Rabbi Ian Shaffer        Cherry Hill/SCW          Rosh Chodesh Nissan 5778