Parashat Vayikra

Hashem does not desire our sacrifices per se, but rather our submission and obedience to His will

(From the teachings of Maran Rabbeinu Ovadia Yosef ztvk”l)(written by his grandson HaRav Yaakov Sasson Shlit”a)(translated by our dear friend Rav Daniel Levy Shlit”a, Leeds United Kingdom)

Source: Sefaria.org

In this week’s Parashah we shall begin reading the parashiyot about the korbanot (sacrifices). It states in the Torah, “If the sacrifice is a burnt offering taken from the cattle, it must be an unblemished male, One must bring it of his own free will, to the entrance of the Ohel Moed before Hashem” (Vayikra 1:3).

From these pesukim (and likewise from what it states, “be careful to sacrifice to me” Bamidbar 28:2), our chachamim deduced (Sotah 8a) that a person must stand next to their sacrifice. This means that when a person offers a sacrifice in the Bet HaMikdash, they must attend with the sacrifice in the Bet HaMikdash, “to the entrance of the Ohel Moed”. Even if for example, a person is wealthy and busy with their affairs and has a team of staff that run their affairs, they may not call one of their staffers and say to them, take this sheep and offer it for me! It is impossible to do this! They must attend in person before HaKadosh Baruch Hu. They must place their hands on the sacrifice and confess before Hashem, to pray and supplicate before Him. They alone and not via anyone else.

They gave a parable for this. To what is it comparable to? There was a hired shepherd who would receive sheep from his master to graze, to lead them and look after them. Every day he would go out with them to the outskirts of the city and there the sheep would graze. In that city within the city walls was the house of the city’s ruler, the great minister. Near his home, next to the wall, the minister had a beautiful garden fashioned in a most remarkable way. In it were growing in a comprehensive geometric formation all types of flowers and roses, fruit trees and delicacies. It was truly remarkable!

One day, the shepherd went out with his sheep near to the city and he passed close to the minister’s home. Since he was very tired, he placed his head on his knapsack and fell asleep. The sheep saw the minister’s garden, which had a fence around it, but not a particularly high fence. The sheep jumped one by one over the fence and entered the spectacular garden. They crushed all the flowers and they began eating  from the roses and the lilies and destroyed all the garden’s beauty!

The minister heard a great commotion coming from the garden. He looked through his window and behold he saw that the sheep had destroyed his beautiful garden. He looked in the distance and saw that the shepherd was lying on the floor and was fast asleep, whilst derelict of his duty to guard. Paying no attention whatsoever to everything that happened. The minster was furious, how can this person sleep and neglect his duty to look after the sheep?! The minster ordered his officers, confiscate all the sheep and lock them in my cattle shed, thereby ensuring that when the shepherd wakes up, he will certainly search for his sheep and when he comes to find them the minister will pass judgement on his antics!

After a short while, the shepherd awoke from his sleep and was quite astonished, where are the sheep? A person who was there approached him and said to him, “Don’t you know what happened? Your sheep entered the minister’s garden and trampled everything in their path and massively damaged the beautiful plants that were in the garden. Therefore the minister ordered his officers to confiscate your sheep and lock them in his cattle shed.”

The shepherd said, “Oh No! What will I do now! How will I get the sheep back?” One of the people from the city who knew the minister approached him. He said to him, “Listen! You aren’t the first person that this has happened to, sometime ago exactly the same thing happened that one of the shepherd’s sheep entered and damaged the minister’s garden but our minister is full of compassion. That shepherd went to him and brought him gift a box of chocolates and asked the minister’s forgiveness with tears in his eyes. The minister took pity on him and ordered that the sheep be returned without further punishment. If so, you may also do this. Go to the minister and ask his forgiveness! The shepherd listened and the words found favour in his eyes.

The next day he came to the minister’s home with a box of chocolates and requested to have an audience with the minister in order to seek his forgiveness. When he approached one of the clerks, the clerk turned him away, “Today the minister isn’t here, he left this morning for Haifa and he won’t be here today.” The shepherd said to himself, what can I do? I must return the sheep ! He entered the minister’s house and asked where his office is, he placed on the minister’s table the box of chocolates, opened the cattle shed, took his sheep and left.

In the afternoon the minister returned home and behold he saw on his table a box of chocolates. He asked, “What is this? Who placed this box here.” His clerks answered him, “This shepherd whose sheep broke in yesterday to your garden, came and placed the box and took back his sheep from the cattle shed.” The minister was enraged and said, “What a total fool! Do I need his chocolates?! I am exceedingly wealthy! I should need chocolates? If he had come and sincerely apologised, I would have forgiven him and returned him his sheep, but like this? To place a box of chocolates and take the sheep without permission?!”

This is the parable and the analogy is when a person sins before HaKadosh Boruch Hu. Currently they send their sacrifice to the Bet HaMikdash. They call their clerk and tell them that they should offer a sheep in the Bet HaMikdash, but they don’t come themselves. HaKadosh Baruch Hu says to him, “I take not from your household any bull, nor from your pens any goats” (Tehillim 50:9), and do I need your bullock? Your sacrifice? The whole world is Mine! “For mine is every beast of the forest, the cattle of a thousand mountains” (ibid.). Submission is the key! That the sinner approach Hashem, places their hands of the sacrifice and confesses. They must supplicate to HaKadosh Baruch Hu that He forgive them and be good to them, supplicating before Hashem that He enlighten their eyes in Torah! This is the main thing! This is what Hashem desires! He has no desire in mere sacrifices! HaKadosh Baruch Hu says to him, the rich lack no gold and silver. They have many sheep and cattle, and do I need their animal? “Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats. Offer Hashem confession, then redeem your vows to the Most High. And call upon Me in the day of distress, I will release you and you will honour me” (ibid.). This is HaKadosh Baruch Hu’s true will!

In in our time, when we have no sacrifices, we may say, “and let our lips substitute for bulls” (Hosea 14:3). In lieu of the sacrifices we have prayer. Prayer must be with submission, with complete concentration, that a person understands what comes out of their mouth. This is the main importance of prayer, “prayer without concentration - is like a body without a soul. In contrast, when a person is subservient, they confess and pray with intent, then Yishtabach Shemo of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, He is a compassionate King full of mercy, forgiving of our sins!

May HaKadosh Baruch Hu, who performed miracles for our fathers, make miracles and wonders for us and show us the end of wonders speedily in our days, Amen.

Shabbat Shalom

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