Commento su Levitico 7:37

ולמלואים AND FOR THE CONSECRATION OFFERING that was offered on the day that they were installed in the priestly office (cf. Exodus 28:41).

זאת התורה לעולה למנחה ולחטאח, This is the law of the burnt-offering, of the meal-offering and of the sin-offering. It is not clear what this verse wants to tell us. In Torat Kohanim we read that just as the details of the consecration rites of the Tabernacle which are discussed in the next chapter have all been handed down at Mount Sinai, so the details of permanent offerings have also been handed down at Mount Sinai. Seeing that the consecration rites consisted of public offerings, how do we know that the legislation concerning private offerings was also handed down from Sinai in all its details? Answer: This is why the Torah included the guilt-offering in our verse, an offering which is always a private offering. I have already said repeatedly such as at the beginning of Parshat Mishpatim what I have to contribute on the subject (compare page 689). Torat Kohanim as well as Zevachim 97 also derive from this verse that all the meat-offerings need to be slaughtered with a knife, same as the burnt-offering. It also teaches that all public peace-offerings are to be consumed by the male priests just like the meal-offerings. A more homiletical message contained in this verse may be the thought expressed by Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish in Menachot 110 that anyone studying the laws of the burnt-offering is as if he had actually offered such a sacrifice. I plan to follow the same approach.

For the day of installation of the kehunoh. Every place where the expression “מלוי יד” (literally, filling the hand) appears, it means the installation, as above in Parshas Tetzaveh.

זאת התורה לעולה, “this is the law for the burnt offering;” this is a reference to the skin of the burnt offering which has not been burned up;”

Let me first preface my remarks by recalling that numerous Kabbalists who have engaged in a study of these matters have said that the principal purpose of Torah and its study is to recapture sparks of sanctity which have "fallen" and as a result are being held captive. We are dealing with two separate aspects of fallen sparks of sanctity here. One refers to the sparks of sanctity which descended into the world of chaos for reasons which are well known. The term "sparks" of sanctity is enough for these students of Kabbalah to know what we are talking about. The second aspect of that term is that it refers to souls which are being oppressed by cruel humans ever since the time Adam sinned in גן עדן. At that time Adam provided the negative elements in our world with a great deal of spiritual loot. The only way such souls can be rescued from the clutches of the spiritually negative forces which hold them captive is the study of Torah in such a way that Torah becomes the mainstay of our lives. Torah is the only effective antidote to the forces of Samael (the evil urge) as we know from Kidushin 30: "If Samael attacks you drag him to the hall of Torah study. If he had been as hard as stone before you dragged him to the house of Torah study you will find that he melts; if he had been as tough as iron he will explode."

ולמנחה, “and for the gift offering;” this is a reference to the part of this offering that has not been consumed. ולחטאת ולאשם, “and for the sin offering, and for the guilt offering; the meat of which is to be consumed by the priests.

In our verse the Torah has revealed the marvellous properties of our Torah. When the Torah writes: "This is the Torah," this is an introduction to the description of its powers. The Torah continues: לעולה, to tell us that by means of Torah study the Jewish people can elevate themselves to be the vehicle of G'd's Presence. The Torah goes on to say למנחה. This word may be translated in several ways all of which are correct. The word reflects the concept of מנוחה, rest; it reflects the concept נחת, calm, tranquillity; it also reflects the concept of הנחה, deposit, repose. This latter meaning is most likely the principal meaning of the word מנחה. In Chulin 91 the stones upon which Jacob placed his head when he went to sleep after having been surprised by an early sunset, are described as having merged in order that the righteous Jacob should be able to use all of them as his pillow, for his repose. In his commentary on Genesis 2,2 Rashi writes בא שבת בא מנוחה, "the arrival of the Sabbath brings with it a sense of repose." This is because the righteous, the foundation of the world, uses the Sabbath as his pillow (allegorically speaking). This is also the mystical dimension of Song of Songs 2,6: שמאלו תחת לראשי וימינו תחבקני. "His left hand is under my head and His right arm embraces me."

ולמלואים, and for the consecration offerings which we learned about earlier in Exodus chapter 29.

ולתטאת ולאשם, and for the sin-offering and the guilt-offering. These words clarify two separate aspects of the descent of the sparks of sanctity into the nether regions which we referred to earlier. The sparks of sanctity which descended at the time the world was still in chaos, Tohu Vavohu [before the period which commenced with G'd creating light at the beginning of the Torah's report in Genesis 1,3 Ed.], are here referred to as לחטאת, i.e. "the Torah of the sin-offering," whereas the sparks of sanctity which descended into the realm of Satan after Adam sinned are referred to as לאשם, i.e. "the Torah of the guilt-offering." The Torah had to inform us of this division in order for us to appreciate that not only can it help us locate and isolate i.e. identify these sparks of sanctity in an environment inherently hostile to sanctity, but Torah can also be the instrument of rescuing these sparks of sanctity from their exile. The Torah alludes to this when it writes: ולמלואים, i.e. "to make them fill their original places." The word למלואים refers to the original place assigned to the sparks of sanctity which descended into chaos before G'd created order in the physical universe. The words ולזבח השלמים refer to the sparks of sanctity which descended into the clutches of the spiritually negative forces rampant in our world after Adam's sin. The expression זבח in this connection reminds us of Psalms 50,23: זובח תודה יכבדני אראנו בישע אלוקים, "he who offers a thank-offering honours Me….and I will show him salvation." Sanhedrin 43 comments on this verse that the person the Psalmist refers to sacrifices his evil urge. Slaughtering, זובח, means vanquishing that which one slaughters. By vanquishing one's evil urge one can again isolate the realm of good which had been inextricably fused with the forces of evil while that soul had been in the clutches of Satan, i.e. of the evil urge. This is a tremendous spiritual accomplishment as commented upon by David in Psalms 109,22 who viewed himself as לבי חלל בקרבי, "my heart was slain inside of me." David refered to having killed the evil urge within him. This is a very great spiritual accomplishment but it cannot be achieved except through Torah as we mentioned when we quoted the Talmud in Kidushin 30. The Talmud there also quotes G'd as saying: "whereas I have created the evil urge within you I have also given you a remedy to overcome it, i.e. the Torah."

ולזבח השלמים, and for the sacrifice known as peaceofferings. This is a reference to the breast, right thigh, and the parts given to the priests of the mandatory thanksgiving offerings.

Another homiletical message is contained in the words ולזבח השלמים which tell us that the whole purpose of identifying and isolating these lost sparks of sanctity is to do so by means of the זבח, the sacrifice; Isaiah 34,6 speaks of כי זבח לה׳ בבצרה, "for the Lord holds a sacrifice in Bozrah;" our sages comment on these words that in the future G'd will slaughter Satan. The meaning of the word "slaughter" [when applied to a spiritual being such as Satan. Ed.] is that G'd will deprive Satan of the component which enables it to live, i.e. the spark of sanctity. This then will be the peace-offering שלמים alluded to in our verse which is a reference to the "happy ending" of human history. Our verse tells us that even the slaughtering of Satan will be accomplished by means of preoccupation with the Torah. Torah. It is the merit acquired by the righteous through preoccupation with Torah which will bring all this about. Our sages in Sukkah 52 alluded to this when they described the slaughter of Samael as being carried out jointly by G'd and the righteous, each one holding the knife from one end. This is meant to teach us that it is within the power of the righteous to contribute their share in the elimination of Samael-Satan. We have already stated that the words זאת התורה are to remind the reader of all the marvellous things which can be accomplished by means of the Torah. לעולה למנחה; these words allude to the elevation of the שכינה and its unification with the essence of G'd. The words לחטאת ולאשם allude to the respective identification and isolation of the sparks of sanctity which are the essential part of the living universe. The words ולמלואים ולזבח השלמים describe the unification of the sparks of sanctity which had gone astray with their erstwhile source, and the slaughtering of the evil source which enabled such a going astray of sanctity to have occurred in the first place. This will also deny that source the basis for any future existence. The word שלמים, perfection, completion, alludes to the fact that when that stage will have been reached all the challenges life on earth presents will have been met successfully. This is the time when G'd will be proclaimed king in this world for ever more and He and His name will be One.

אשר צוה ה׳ את משה, which G'd commanded Moses, etc.; the Torah here reverts to the cause for all this, i.e. the Torah, as had been mentioned by the words וזאת התורה. It is as if the Torah had written in verse 37: "This is the Torah which G'd commanded Moses, etc." ביום צוותו את בני ישראל, on the day He commanded the children of Israel, etc. This ordinance was commanded to them at Mount Sinai seeing G'd said: "in the desert of Sinai." The Torah added: להקריב את קרבניהם, "to offer up their sacrifices." This is an allusion to what I have written previously that all particles of sanctity which exist are an integral part of Israel and that Israel will be able to reunite all these various "sparks" of sanctity by means of the Torah.