Chasidut к Бамидбар 15:2
דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם כִּ֣י תָבֹ֗אוּ אֶל־אֶ֙רֶץ֙ מוֹשְׁבֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י נֹתֵ֥ן לָכֶֽם׃
Скажи сынам Израилевым и скажи им: когда вы пришли в землю обитания вашего, которое Я вам даю,
Kedushat Levi
Leviticus 1,1. “He called out to Moses;” the fact that the letter א in this verse is written in smaller script is explained by something we had discussed in Exodus 24,1 on the line: ואל משה אמר עלה אל ה', “and to Moses He had said: ‘ascend towards Hashem.’” When a person performs one of G’d’s commandments this makes an impression in the celestial spheres and helps to awaken in him the desire to perform additional commandments so that he will constantly be occupied with doing G’d’s will. It had been Moses’ will to continuously perform G’d’s will and to thereby continue to ascend ever higher and come closer to Hashem as stated by the Zohar when explaining the line: ומשה עלה אל האלוקים, “and Moses had ascended towards G’d,” (Exodus 19,3). G’d’s invitation recorded in Exodus 24 to ascend (once again) was the result of his having done so in Exodus 19,3 when he had commenced to do so before an invitation had been issued to do so. The Zohar II,69 ascribes the invitation to Moses in our verse to ascend to Hashem as a reward for Moses’ initiative in Exodus 19,3. This is reflected here by the letter א being written in small script. It acknowledges the humility of Moses which exceeded anyone else’s humility, i.e. the “small” א.
We have a rule when offering a sacrifice to G’d that this offering is to reflect the largesse that G’d has seen fit to bestow upon us, without us in the lower regions of the universe having performed any good deeds to deserve this. This is the reason that the animal sacrifice must be dedicated and consecrated while still alive, as the ultimate gift G’d can bestow us is life itself. Life can only be bestowed by G’d Himself.
Libations, i.e. offerings consisting of oil or wine (with additives) are a form of “mini-offering,” but they represent an input by the residents in this lower part of the universe, man having had to seed and plant the earth before eventually producing the product from which oil and wine is made. These libations also reflect G’d’s largesse, i.e. the largesse bestowed upon us as a direct result of our constructive activities on earth. In other words, the Israelites were allowed (only after the affair of the spies) to present such libations in recognition of their good deeds.
While the Israelites were in the desert they were in the position of receiving G’d’s largesse without having made an input of their own as they could not seed or plant orchards or grow grain in the desert. In recognition of their inability to do so, G’d provided heavenly bread, i.e. the manna for them. In lieu of their offering libations to Him, G’d provided them with a travelling well which took care of their daily needs for fresh water.
All this has been alluded to in Numbers 15,2 when the Torah begins to describe how the people’s lives will change once they will come to the land of their inheritance, i.e.כי תבאו אל ארץ מושבתיכם וגו', “when you will come to the land in which you will reside permanently, etc.” The Torah there continues with listing the various kinds of offerings (first animal) and then libations, in that order. The reason why these sacrificial offerings are linked to the people being in possession of their permanent homes in the Holy Land is because the sacrifices are reflections, i.e. acts of acknowledgment and gratitude for G’d’s largesse by giving them an ancestral heritage. This also explains why the sages have decreed אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין, “when intoning songs of thanksgiving to G’d one must only do so while saying a blessing over wine (and drinking it) as an acknowledgment of the most precious product that the earth (lower part for the universe) has to offer us by the grace of G’d.” (Compare Rashi on Erchin 11)
We have a rule when offering a sacrifice to G’d that this offering is to reflect the largesse that G’d has seen fit to bestow upon us, without us in the lower regions of the universe having performed any good deeds to deserve this. This is the reason that the animal sacrifice must be dedicated and consecrated while still alive, as the ultimate gift G’d can bestow us is life itself. Life can only be bestowed by G’d Himself.
Libations, i.e. offerings consisting of oil or wine (with additives) are a form of “mini-offering,” but they represent an input by the residents in this lower part of the universe, man having had to seed and plant the earth before eventually producing the product from which oil and wine is made. These libations also reflect G’d’s largesse, i.e. the largesse bestowed upon us as a direct result of our constructive activities on earth. In other words, the Israelites were allowed (only after the affair of the spies) to present such libations in recognition of their good deeds.
While the Israelites were in the desert they were in the position of receiving G’d’s largesse without having made an input of their own as they could not seed or plant orchards or grow grain in the desert. In recognition of their inability to do so, G’d provided heavenly bread, i.e. the manna for them. In lieu of their offering libations to Him, G’d provided them with a travelling well which took care of their daily needs for fresh water.
All this has been alluded to in Numbers 15,2 when the Torah begins to describe how the people’s lives will change once they will come to the land of their inheritance, i.e.כי תבאו אל ארץ מושבתיכם וגו', “when you will come to the land in which you will reside permanently, etc.” The Torah there continues with listing the various kinds of offerings (first animal) and then libations, in that order. The reason why these sacrificial offerings are linked to the people being in possession of their permanent homes in the Holy Land is because the sacrifices are reflections, i.e. acts of acknowledgment and gratitude for G’d’s largesse by giving them an ancestral heritage. This also explains why the sages have decreed אין אומרים שירה אלא על היין, “when intoning songs of thanksgiving to G’d one must only do so while saying a blessing over wine (and drinking it) as an acknowledgment of the most precious product that the earth (lower part for the universe) has to offer us by the grace of G’d.” (Compare Rashi on Erchin 11)
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