This week, the annual Jewish Torah reading cycle brings us to the book of Vayikra, or Leviticus. Many see this as the “plotless” part of the Torah, detailing sacrifices and many other laws that do not have explicit modern applicability. But at a time when Israel has been calling on its young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of country, it is important to remember that the sacrifices, even in the days of the Scripture, were not costless. In fact, they were actions of great import, taken at great personal risk, and often fraught with peril.
At a time when Israel has been calling on its young men and women to make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of country, it is important to remember that the sacrifices, even in the days of the Scripture, were not costless. In fact, they were actions of great import, taken at great personal risk, and often fraught with peril.
So many of the sacrifice stories in scripture end up in violence or near violence, starting with the first known sacrifices in human history, those of Cain and Abel. Cain brings a second-rate sacrifice to the Lord and Abel brings a better one, earning him praise from G-d. A jealous Cain strikes Abel dead, leading to a life of wandering and loneliness. The story teaches us that an offering to the Lord could not be taken lightly and one needed to bring one’s best for the sacrifice to be worthwhile.
The next tale of sacrifice is that of Abraham, who is clearly – albeit reluctantly – willing to bring his best: his beloved son, Isaac. This it turns out is a test, but still one that brings with it a cost. The rabbis say that Abraham cried at the prospect of having to sacrifice his son, and those tears fell into Isaac‘s eyes, leading to Isaac’s blindness late in life. It is that very blindness that allowed his son Jacob to fool Isaac, impersonating his brother Esau and procuring Esau’s expected paternal blessing. This, once again, has long-term implications as Jacob, fearing Esau’s rage, would be exiled from his home for over 20 years.
In the book of Exodus, the children of Israel make a sacrifice to the golden calf, leading to an angry G-d seeking to destroy the Jewish people. G-d is eventually appeased, but not until after Moses destroys the tablets bearing the Ten Commandments, and the Levites slaughter over 2,000 sinners in the process, once again showing this association between sacrifice and the loss of human life.
The next sacrifice happens even closer to home for Moses: the death of his brother Aaron‘s two sons, Nadav and Avihu. The two sinned in bringing “a strange fire” as a sacrifice to the Lord. It’s not clear exactly what this strange fire is. Some interpretations say they brought it while drunk, some say they didn’t follow Lord’s instructions, but what is clear is the deadly result: G-d kills Nadav and Avihu and Aaron is devastated.
In the book of Numbers, the rebel Korach goes up with his own type of sacrifice in a challenge to Moses. The Lord rejects Korach. His 250 men are swallowed up by the earth, after which a deadly plague descends on the children of Israel, making this one of the bloodier sacrifice episodes in the Torah.
The dangers of sacrifice are apparent in the Book of Kings as well. The prophet Elijah challenges 850 pagan priests of Baal and Asherah, who are advising the king, Ahab. Elijah shows that with the Lord’s help he can light a flame of even wet kindling wood, while the pagan priests are unable to summon a flame. After Elijah wins his fire-starting contest, the people rise up and kill the pagan priests wholesale.
The consistent message is that sacrifices were actions of great import, taken at great personal risk, and often fraught with peril. The danger of sacrifice was also manifest in the pagan practices of the time, which involved the abomination of human sacrifice. Judaism rejected human sacrifice, or, worse, child sacrifice, in favor of animals, a tremendous step forward for humanity. But this movement away from human sacrifice did not mean that there were no longer human costs associated with sacrifice. These stories show that the sacrifices were taken seriously in scriptural times: they needed to be done in a specific way, with heart full of worship, awe, and gratitude. For the Lord, sacrifice was not necessarily about the offering. This is reflected in Hosea’s words, “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.” (Hosea 6:6)
Many people read the book of Leviticus and roll their eyes at its seemingly abstruse rules that seem far removed from today’s modern world. But this review of biblical tales of sacrifice, and the deadly consequences for getting those sacrifices wrong, reveals the great import the sacrifice had in the ancient world. These stories should cause us to think more carefully about the messages that we take from Leviticus and the rules surrounding the sacrifice. The rabbis say that in the absence of the Holy Temple, sacrifices are no longer brought. Until at least the coming of the Messiah, Jews substitute prayer for the sacrifices. Specific prayers are meant to take the place of specific sacrifices, raising a question for all of us: do we take prayer as seriously as we should, especially given the potential implications that we see from those who do not do sacrifice in the right way?
As these difficult times demand great personal sacrifice from a select few, the rest of us should consider the meaning behind the sacrifices that are laid out in Leviticus. Such a consideration can lead us to take the annual reading of the book of Leviticus, as well as our prayers for those on the front lines in the struggle against Israel’s enemies, a little more seriously.
Tevi Troy is a Senior Scholar at the Straus Center at Yeshiva University and the author of five books, including, most recently, “The Power and the Money: The Epic Clashes Between American Titans of Industry and Commanders in Chief.”
