Musar for Leviticus 1:2

אדם כי יקריב מכם . I have already pointed out that this verse addresses itself to the awakening of the אדם attribute within us urging us that when we do offer sacrifices to G–d we should consider that it is our very selves we offer to Him. This kind of urgent advice is valid both for when we offer a total offering, or a sin offering. When the Torah introduces the details of the various categories of sacrifices with the words: זאת תורת העולה, or זאת תורת החטאת, etc., it means that what one does to the animal in question is what really should have been done to oneself, the person who now is required to offer this animal in lieu of himself. The Torah uses the same words of introduction when a peace offering is offered and no sin is being atoned for, to teach us that the owner ought to view himself as establishing harmony with the altar, harmony with the priests, and harmony with the owners (himself). If such considerations prevail the directive-promise of Exodus 19,6: "You will be for Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" will be fulfilled. This is because the owners, too, consume part of the meat of the peace offering, שלמים.

Following these laws the Torah commands the details of the daily communal offerings known as תמידים. These offerings correspond to the close attachment of the soul to its Maker. The expression עולת תמיד for this sacrifice indicates that it symbolizes the soul that always "ascends" (עולה) to the Celestial Regions. The "address" of this sacrifice is the attribute of G–d represented by the Ineffable four-lettered Name. When the sacrifice "rises," it unites the soul of those who have offered it with G–d Himself. This idea is first mentioned when the Torah says in Leviticus 1,3: "When an Adam, (the Torah's word for the most superior type of human being) wishes to achieve closeness with the four-lettered attribute of G–d (through presentation of a sacrifice)" [Editor's translation]. In our portion the word אשי in the verse “את קרבני לחמי לאשי,” hints that the Torah speaks of these select people, viz, אנשי (28,2). The Torah describes certain people as achieving this closeness, קרבות through the daily תמידים. All this is part of the mystical dimension of גלגול, the soul's travels during its incarnations within different bodies. The offering of these sacrifices helps these incarnations achieve their purpose. They are refined and cleansed through these קרבנות.

Let us get back to the main subject. The Holy Temple and Jerusalem are the root of sanctity on earth. This is the real reason that the priests are not allowed to consume the בכורים before they have been deposited in the precincts of the Holy Temple. Inasmuch as the בכורים, the first ripe fruit of the year's various crops, are called ראשית, this teaches that great sanctity attaches to them, as we have explained on another occasion. This is why they have to be transported to a sacred place, and why people who are sanctified for their G–d, i.e. the priests, have to consume them inside Jerusalem. The mystical dimension of why similar rules apply to the consumption of קדשים קלים, sacrificial meat of a subordinate degree of sanctity, as well as to the consumption of the second tithes of the grain, oil, and grape harvests is that these represent the basic elements of our food supply. The remains of the sacrificial meat may not be eaten until their blood has been sprinkled on the altar because the blood represents the life of these respective animals. After this "life" has been dedicated to the altar, the body of the animal may be enjoyed. Remember that, just as the service, i.e. the sacrificial animal belongs to G–d as a gift, so does the person performing the service since the main purpose of sacrificial service is to bring oneself close to G–d, i.e. to make a present of oneself to G–d. We have explained the concept of אדם כי יקריב מכם, that man sacrifices himself, many times. The total offering, עולה, is in a class by itself; all of the animal (except the skin) is burned on the altar; this is because it is meant to atone for sinful thoughts as opposed to sinful deeds. When the Torah (Leviticus 6,2) describes it as מוקדה על המזבח כל הלילה, "remaining on the site where it is burned all night long," this is an allusion to sinful thoughts which occupy a person while he lies in bed. The קדשים קלים, on the other hand, allude to the שלימות הגוף, the perfection of one's body.

Man's diminution after his seduction by the serpent ended only when the Jewish people received the Torah. At that time the Jewish people finally excreted any residue of the pollutant absorbed by him by way of the original serpent. Man (Jews) was then fit to resume his original stature. We find an allusion to this in the words: והר סיני עשן (Exodus 19,18). The word עשן is an acronym for the three "perfections" עולם, שנה, נפש, which we described as having been possessed by Adam prior to his sin.

To return to our main subject, that the person presenting the offering is in fact the real sacrifice, something we derived from the wording of Leviticus 1,2: אדם כי יקריב מכם. This has an additional mystical dimension. It can happen that man is "sacrificed" even in our world [not only when the soul is sacrificed by the archangel Michael on the Celestial Altar. Ed.]. This happens as a result of the transmigration of souls as we have explained earlier (Torah Ohr on Eikev). It is the reason why we are commanded to slaughter animals even when we consume them as חולין, non-consecrated meat. Extreme care has to be taken in the performance of ritual slaughter so that we do not wind up eating נבלה. When this happens the verse from Genesis 34,7: נבלה עשה בישראל, "he committed an outrage in Israel," would apply. No one knows whose soul the animal in question harbored. By not having been slaughtered in the most meticulous way a great injustice may have been done. According to the directive ואהבת לרעך כמוך, "Love your neighbor like yourself," the obligation to kill the animal in such a way that its death elevates it spiritually is included. Should the animal die of natural causes (any cause other than approved ritual slaughter) the spirit of impurity which was contained in that animal will not have been released but will suffuse it. On the other hand, if it is healthy and contains some spark of sanctity, and is killed by means of ritual slaughter the soul will exit in purity.

We find that Adam essentially violated three categories of sin: idol worship, sexual licentiousness, and bloodshed. He was also guilty of violating property rights, i.e. financial misdemeanors. Our sages describe Adam as a heretic in Sanhedrin 38. They describe him as "pulling his foreskin," (ibid. i.e. to make himself appear as if he had not been circumcised) He also cohabited with his wife who had previously been slept with by the serpent. As a result Adam's son Cain was infected with the pollutant of the serpent, the reason why he could become a murderer. [I recommend to the reader the commentary on this by Rabbeinu Chananel, who sees these accusations as being mouthed by the Gentiles, and who feels that the Talmud quotes them only in order to teach us how to respond to Biblical quotations taken out of context and used against us by our enemies. Ed.] As to Adam having sinned in property matters, this must be explained, seeing that the whole world belonged to him and he could not therefore become guilty of stealing, embezzling, etc. Rashi comments on Leviticus 1,2 that the reason why the Torah uses the word אדם as an example for someone who offers a sacrifice is, that just as Adam could not have brought a sacrifice from money which was not his, so anyone who offers a sacrifice is warned not to use stolen money for its purchase. Adam's sin consisted of his attitude to material things, described by the Torah as פורה ראש ולענה, "sprouting poison weed and wormwood" (Deut. 29,17). Adam displayed greed by eating from the tree of knowledge, which is described by the Torah as "inspiring desire in the eyes" (Genesis 3,6). He was a victim of the trait which our sages described when they said: "man does not leave this world without leaving behind half his desires unfulfilled, that having amassed his first million, a man already aims at the second million" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). Adam himself is alluded to in these three portions. Prior to his sin, Adam can be viewed as having been ראש המטות, "the (spiritual) head of all human tribes." Our sages describe the ministering angels surrounding Adam as paying homage to him, eager to hear his words of wisdom (Bereshit Rabbah 8,9). When the Torah says of the progress of the Jewish people in the desert in Numbers 33,2: "These are the departures of the Jewish people according to their journeys," this is a veiled reference to Adam who had been expelled from Paradise and forced to reside in various parts of the earth, a constant traveler. At the end of the same verse, the Torah reverses the description of these journeys by describing them as "their journeys according to the points of their departures."

I have already alluded earlier to the reason the High Priest has to eat part of the meat of the sacrifices. I will here add another mystical dimension to this requirement. It is all connected with the first statement in the Book of Leviticus about the nature of animal sacrifice, i.e. אדם כי יקריב מכם, that the soul of a person is transferred to the animal he offers as a sacrifice or has the priest offer on his behalf. When the priests eat, they absorb the souls of the owners of the sacrifices for whom they seek atonement. This is achieved through eating of the animals which had been appointed as a substitute for the person offering the animal to G–d.

G–d answered Satan at that time, that Abraham already had offered such a sacrifice at the time he circumcised himself and again when he circumcised Isaac, seeing that circumcision rates as a major sacrifice. When he did this he fulfilled the commandment of Leviticus 1,2: אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן, "when someone offers a sacrifice it should be part of you," i.e. part of your very self. We have an allusion to this in Genesis 12,11 ויהי כאשר הקריב לבא מצרימה, when the use of the word הקריב instead of קרב, indicates that he brought himself closer to G–d (see our commentary page 80). G–d compensated the Jewish people for Abraham's devotion at the appropriate time. We know that circumcision itself rates as a major sacrifice from the boast of Ishmael to Isaac that whereas he, Ishmael, had submitted voluntarily to that painful procedure at the age of thirteen, Isaac as an eight day old baby had not suffered, nor had he accumulated a merit for consenting to that act. Isaac responded that if G–d were to ask him to sacrifice his entire body he would be prepared to do so (compare Sanhedrin 89). According to this last version the words אחר הדברים האלה in 22,1 refer to this conversation between Ishmael and Isaac. We will demonstrate that both approaches are true and reflect valid Torah viewpoints.

We need not assume that the sages disagree. The ransom payment for someone guilty of slander is derived from the example of the groom who slandered the reputation of his bride; the ransom payment for sexual licentiousness is derived from the amount listed as due from the rapist. The ransom payment for robbery is derived from the example of the owner who allowed his ox to gore the slave of his neighbour. The ox which Adam sacrificed corresponded to the lesson learned at the beginning of the Book of Leviticus that when one offers a sacrifice it must be מכם, must belong to you, cannot be something stolen (Leviticus 1,2). G–d told Moses: "I am very merciful;" He showed him a coin of fire as a symbol that an offering burned up on the altar is ריח ניחוח, acceptable to G–d as a sweet-smelling fragrance. In other words, the half-shekel contribution by each Israelite was to be used for the purchase of animals to be offered as sacrifices, as Adam had done at the time he expiated for his sin.

The קרבנות, sacrificial offerings, are composed of all four types of creatures on earth. The salt represents the דומם, inert matter. The Torah commands that it must be part of every sacrifice (2,13). The מנחות, gift offerings as well as the נסכים, libations, with their predominantly flour or wine content, represent the צומח, the growing but immobile vegetable matter. The living creatures are represented by offerings of cattle, sheep, goats, doves and pigeons respectively. The fourth category of creature, articulate man, is represented in every sacrifice by the person offering same when he thinks about the meaning of what he is doing and rouses himself to become closer to G–d through vicariously offering G–d his very life-force, נפש. The reason the Torah (2,1) speaks about ונפש כי תקריב, "a life-force sacrificing," is that on occasion, by means of גלגול, G–d summons a soul or several souls to serve as sacrifices to expiate for some unatoned sin of the past. This is further alluded to in the words אדם כי יקריב מכם, This demonstrates that by sacrificing himself in our world man can establish a closer relationship with G–d in the spiritual world. The medium of achieving this is the קרבן.

When that time comes, the תיקון, "repair work" will have been completed and the world will be as good as at the time it was created when both body and soul were on an equally elevated level. It was said of Adam in Psalms 49, 13: אדם ביקר בל ילין; נמשל כבהמות נדמו, "Man does not even spend a single night on his pedestal; he is like the beasts that perish." This was the Psalmist's description of Adam's spiritual descent to the level of the ox. Our sages have said that the ox that Adam sacrificed had his horns protruding in front of his legs (Avodah Zarah 8). Had Adam not sinned, he could have lived up to the ideal described in Leviticus 1, 2: אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לשם, "when you Adam will offer yourself as an offering to G–d." Adam, endowed with everlasting life, would then have cleaved to G–d in the same manner as the righteous nowadays are described as doing after their death. We are told that the angel Michael, in his capacity as the High Priest in the Celestial Sanctuary, "sacrifices" the souls of the צדיקים. The repair-work was begun by the "ox" as an extension of Joseph whom the Torah describes as בכור שור, firstling ox (Deut. 33,19). The repair will be completed by the "lion," i.e. Yehudah. When that has been accomplished, Israel will be transported "on wings of eagles," in contrast to the time of the destruction, when the prophecy of Deut. 28,49: "G–d will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, etc.," was fulfilled. In the future the blessing of Deut. 32,11 in which G–d is described as taking Israel under His wing like an eagle, will come true. We observe that the different גלגולים, wanderings of the Jewish people, follow the pattern of the animals Ezekiel saw in his vision of the מעשה מרכבה, in Ezekiel 1, where the Chashmal is described as equipped with the features of man, ox, lion and eagle. At that time Israel will achieve an unparalleled degree of unity and not only the Lord will be One, but His name will be One. The last letters in the words אחד ושמו אחד combine to make the name דוד. When that has come to pass all the participants will have achieved ever-lasting life as had been intended by the Creator from the beginning.

The general rule which emerges from all this is that the Tabernacle or Temple respectively symbolize the חידוש העולם, the rejuvenation of the world, and that the priest is the basis of bringing about man's rehabilitation, i.e. the rehabilitation of אדם הראשון. It is the latter who is perceived as the subject in the second verse of the Book of Leviticus when the Torah speaks of אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה'. When a person suffers from any of the skin afflictions mentioned in chapters 13 they must not only undergo a period of purification, but in order for this purification process to be completed successfully, he has to offer a sacrifice or sacrifices which the priest offers on his behalf. Until such a sacrifice has been presented on the altar of the Tabernacle he has not achieved atonement for whatever caused his affliction. In summation, the entire Book of Leviticus from פרשת ויקרא until פרשת בהר deals with the various aspects of the קרבנות.

The meaning behind this is that Adam was on a spiritual level that made him fit to wear garments of light, and even his heel radiated a light more brilliant than the sun. Had he not sinned, his facial skin would have radiated a blinding light. Light is also called קרן, as we know from Chabakuk 3,4: ונגה כאור תהיה, קרנים מידו לו, "It is a brilliant light which gives off rays on every side". When we look at the sun we observe that many lines emanate from it. These are what are called קרני החמה, the "horns," or rays, of the sun. Once Adam sinned and had to switch to leather garments, i.e. garments whose raw material came from the dust of the earth, he became clay, just like the clay in the hands of the potter. Adam's new status is best described in Lamentations 4,2, where the prophet Jeremiah speaks of המסולאים בפז, איכה נחשבו לנהבלי חרש מעשה ידי יוצר, "Those who used to be valued as fine gold are now accounted as earthen pots fashioned by a potter." Adam's decline is compared to the decline from being קרן-like, to becoming פך-like. The name אדם originally related to a superior kind of אדמה. Subsequently it related to the inferior material we know as אדמה, dust from the earth. From that latter material one constructs the cruses, clay פכים. As long as Adam was on his original spiritual level, he himself was the offering to G–d, as hinted in Leviticus 1,2, that in the first instance one should make an offering of oneself to G–d. At that time man was like the souls of the righteous; these are described as being offered to G–d by the angel Michael after they have departed this earth. When the Psalmist tells us that man did not even spend one single night in his original innocence and now has become likened to the beasts (Psalms 49,14), he thereby hints that man descended to the level of the ox. The deeper meaning of the Midrash which tells us that the ox sacrificed by Adam had only one קרן, horn, is proof that he retains a small vestige of the image of קרן, though on a much lower plane than before.