Sacrifice and Korbanot
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5767
First there was TGIF and BYOB and this week online I found out that there is also BYTM – Better you than me!
That is an anti-Jewish sentiment; we believe better me than you.
By now you are probably wondering what in the world is he talking about, so let me explain.
The Mishnah and Gemara in the second perek of kiddushin establish the concept of shlichus, of a halachick agent who is capable of performing certain mitzvoth for you. An agent can write and give a “get” for a man and receive one for a woman. An agent can actually get engaged for you. That, for obvious reason is not recommended and no longer practiced but in theory it can be done. You could appoint a shaliach to do bedikat chametz for you and assorted other mitzvoth.
While this might seem totally logical to many of us, either because we are familiar with the concept from our study or practice of Jewish Law, or because we have encountered similar concepts in American society and law, the concept is far from simple and inherently logical.
I might very well have argued that if you are commanded to perform this activity then it is you and only you who must actually perform it. That actually seems to be the more intuitive position. You are obligated and you alone must discharge that obligation. One good support to that idea can be found in the Gemara itself. The Talmud does not simply state that there is such a concept but it struggles to find a verse to support every instance in which the principle is invoked and used. In other words, this is not a logical principle that can simply be posited; rather it is one that to exist might find a textual source to form its basis.
It is a chiddush, a novel idea that someone else can perform your duties for you.
As with every Jewish rule there are exceptions. There are times when you can’t use a shaliach and you must perform the prescribed activity by yourself. Every time you encounter such a situation you must ask yourself “what is so unique about his mitzvah that it must be done by me? Or, why is it critical that I myself perform it?
Take as an easy example the mitzvah of teffilin. It is a classic example of a category of mitzvoth that you must perform yourself-. There simply is no substitute for putting in on yourself.
We encounter another exception to the rule of shlichut in this mornings Torah reading.
In chapter 1 verse 4 regarding the olah sacrifice we read
וְסָמַךְ יָדוֹ עַל רֹאשׁ הָעֹלָה וְנִרְצָה לוֹ לְכַפֵּר עָלָיו:
4. And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.
All of the commentators point to the singular form for “his hand” as strange since we know from elsewhere that this semicha is actually done with two hands. Why then does the verse here write “his hand”? The Ramban points to a gemara in menachot in 93b that learns the following laws from that word. It says “his hand” to exclude the hand of his servant and it says “his hand” to exclude the hand of his agent. Shlichus, or agency does not work here. Placing your hands upon the head of the animal before its sacrifice is something that you and only you can do. You must do it?
Why should that be so?
I think that the answer to that question contains one of keys to understanding the purpose and method of the sacrificial order.
Two verses earlier, in the second verse of the book of Leviticus we read,
אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַיקֹוָק – a person who shall sacrifice from you a korban to hashem,
That can be read in one of three ways:
- A person who shall sacrifice from you – meaning from your own and not a stolen item
- Change the wording in the verse and read – a person “mikem” from amongst you who will sacrifice …
- A person who will sacrifice from you – from within, i.e. a person who will give of themselves…
The third interpretation speaks to me because it tells me that one of the key points of the sacrificial order is sacrifice. We must give up something dear to us for God. Clearly God does not need our animal. We need to give the animal. There are many different interpretations as to why we must but of the most basic and profound is that the privilege to offer a korban to Hashem is an opportunity for us to give up something for God. Contrary to the popular notion – having to give up something of value to us for God is not meant to instill within us a sense of bitterness at having not been able to use that item as we would otherwise have wished, rather as we sacrifice it impresses upon us the realization that we only sacrifice things of value for people that we love and value. Thus as we sacrifice and give up for Hashem we internalize the love that we have for God and the realization that God is our ultimate value.
Think for a moment about who you would sacrifice the most for in your lives- a spouse, a parent, a child? Ask yourself why would you make the sacrifice? And ask yourself having made the sacrifice do you resent having made it or do you have an even greater appreciation for the closeness that you fell for that person? My bet would be that the answer would be the latter. If you truly cared for someone you would not mind sacrificing for them and doing so would only bring you closer. So then it is in our relationship with Hashem. Sacrifice should work to bring us closer.
Therefore, for whatever reason we are bringing our korban whether it be because we have sinned or simply because we desire to become closer to God this type of sacrifice can help us achieve our goal.
Now let us return to the semicha, to the laying of the hands upon the korban. This says the chizkuni, is the moment that is set aside to think about what is about to transpire. It is the moment that we are meant to internalize the meaning of the korban, our relationship to God that needs mending and the sacrifice that is require in order to help bring us closer to God. If that is the purpose than there can be no shlichut, there can be no agent, it must be you!
You must perform the semicha and you must internalize the message!
