Vayikra – Once Upon a Week

Read the transcript below, or watch a video of the teaching by Yehuda Bachana.

Today we begin a new book – Leviticus - that mostly deals with the laws and rules of the sacrifices. The Second Temple was destroyed in 70 AD, some 40 years after Yeshua’s ascension to heaven. The destruction of the Temple resulted in the cancellation of all sacrifices. Due to the lack of an alternative, the sages of Israel decided that our prayers would replace the sacrifices.

This decision is based on the following verse of Hosea:

The sacrifices of our lips - our prayers and praise - are more precious in His eyes, than the sacrifices on the altar.

It is for this very reason that the Jewish traditional prayer was structured according to the sacrificial laws. A religious Jew will recite prayers daily: in the morning (‘Shaharit’), afternoon (‘Mincha’) and evening (‘Ar’vit’), following the schedule and names of daily sacrifices, offered in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple.

The additional prayer, ‘Musaf’, is named after the additional sacrifices offered on Shabbat, and is recited on Shabbat and holidays. In that manner, the sacrifices, or at least, their memory and intentions, are present in our prayers and our public readings, on a daily basis.

Yet, what are the reasons for the sacrifices? Why would people offer them? I would like to present you with three main explanations.

The first approach sees the sacrifice as a symbol. This person bringing the animal to be sacrificed, sees or at least is aware, that the animal is slaughtered, dissected and burned on the altar. Such an experience leaves a strong impression, to say the least.

This innocent animal suffers punishment and replaces the sinner. And so at that very moment, my sin and my unworthiness to stand before God, is the cause of the slaughter and burning of this animal…

We see the same approach and the same idea in the tradition of atonements before the Yom Kippur, when people circle a chicken above their heads saying: “This is my atonement.” Afterwards, the chicken is brought to a slaughter-house, and the sinner continues a good and peaceful life.

Personally, I oppose this tradition, because of the suffering of the animal. Moreover, I oppose it, because I believe in the redemption through Yeshua, which makes this tradition meaningless.

The two additional explanations of the sacrifices contradict each other. According to the second approach, the sacrifices were given in order to prevent paganism.The Israelite, who wishes to bring a sacrifice, can do so in G-d’s Temple, instead of going to a pagan shrine.

Thus, the order of sacrifices prevents the need to turn to paganism. According to this approach, the entire order of the sacrifices in the Temple, and all the commandments connected to it, are only a precaution to prevent paganism.

The third approach argues that the entire order of sacrifices, which takes a significant part of the Torah, cannot just be a precaution against paganism. Rather, the sacrifices are meant to bring people closer to God. The worship of God in general, and sacrifices in particular, are done in order to prepare the heart and bring us closer to God. If you love someone, you give.

As Messianic believers, we mostly agree with the first explanation: sacrifices are a symbol, and the main purpose is the forgiveness of sins. We believe that the sacrifice replaces the sinner. The sacrifice is killed, dissected and burned instead of me.

The letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament, says, that without spilling of blood, there is no redemption; and, if the sacrifice is offered for a certain sin, or if the sins are forgiven by God, there is no reason for the sacrifice. As it is written in Hebrews:

Sacrifice is not only given for the ‘remission of sins’, and the book of Leviticus speaks of many different sacrifices: the burnt offering, the peace offering, the sin offering the guilt offering and so on. The very fact that God required different types of sacrifices, offered at different times and for different reasons, means that sacrifices are important in the eyes of God.

Sacrifice and offering appear at the beginning of the Biblical story and continue to be part of it until the end of the New Testament. The entire New Testament is based on the idea of sacrifice and on the ultimate sacrifice of all – Yeshua, the Son of God.

The book of Genesis tells of the first sacrifice with the story of Cain and Abel… Some of you might remind me of the leather garments God made for Adam and Eve, and argue how that would rather count as the first sacrifice.

The first sacrifice offered by man to God, however, appears in the story of Cain and Abel. This sacrifice is also the reason for the first jealousy and the following first murder, because jealousy led Cain to murder his brother Abel.

Cain’s jealousy leads us to the next questions about man’s intentions:

Does one’s heart intention matter when bringing a sacrifice?

Does the quality of the sacrifice mater?

Why did God reject Cain’s offering?

Some commentators explain that Abel offered God ‘from the firstborn of his flock’, from the best and finest, while Cain offers ‘the fruit of the ground’, and not necessarily from the best of the best. Some conclude that we thus need to bring God the best and the first we have. The word ‘bikurim’, or ‘first fruits of the harvest’, describes the issue of quality best:

Yet, others understand this text differently.They say that the Bible does not tell us that God favored Abel’s offering over Cain’s, but rather that He favored Abel and his offering, but did not favor Cain and his offering. The difference hides in the relevance of the personalities of those bringing the offering, rather than in what they bring.

If God did not favor Cain, He would rejected his offering accordingly; and, if Abel was acceptable in the eyes of God, His offering was, too, regardless of its quality. I am of the opinion that it is the combination of the two. On the one hand, the quality of our sacrifice is important. If I care about something, I will invest in it.

The commandments, too, forbid the sacrifice of an animal with a blemish or defect. The priest with a deformity, too, cannot serve in the Temple. On the other hand, the identity of the one bringing the sacrifice is not less important. Who is this person, and why is he or she offering this sacrifice? What is the intention? What is in his or her heart?

As people, and especially as Messianic believers, we tend to hold the first approach, viewing the sacrifice as a symbol, with the purpose to bring atonement – the forgiveness of sins. The better the sacrifice is - the more expensive and the better the quality - the more it will satisfy God, and He will forgive our sins.

We also believe that God will always accept our sacrifice. However, the sacrifice is only half the story. God also wants the person’s heart, and although the quality of the offering is important, it is still less important than the intentions and the heart of the person bringing the sacrifice. God tests our hearts, and if the person’s heart passes the test, God will accept his sacrifice.

Can God reject our offering? Can God reject prayer, can he reject fasting?

Yes! The Prophet Isaiah teaches us that when our intentions and our hearts are not in the right place, then our days of fasting, our sacrifices, our holidays and appointed times, will be all in vain and God will not want them:

Before coming to God, before presenting Him with our prayer and our offering, and before saying ‘in the name of Yeshua the Messiah’, we have to make sure that our intentions are pure.

We have to come to God after we did everything in our power to fix our attitude towards each other: in the congregation, parent to child and child to parent, boss towards an employee, spouse to spouse, and so on. We have to improve and fix our attitude towards others, before bringing our sacrifice or prayer to God.

Yeshua is teaching us the following important rule:

The New Testament teaches us the importance of a person’s inner being and intentions. Yeshua teaches us the importance of a pure heart. Practically speaking, a person can bring a magnificent offering to the Temple. When looking outwardly, it seems the person giving this expensive and high-quality sacrifice is giving his or her best to God, but will God accept such an offering?

The answer depends on the intentions of the person bringing it. Yeshua points out the importance of our intentions and of our full repentance. Yeshua’s teaching is calling us to change.

If we did things in our life that we regret, and we are on our way to the Temple to show remorse by reconciling with God, our intention is a rather good one. Yet, what about those around us? What about those we have hurt?

Yeshua says we should leave our offering to God for later, and first go and reconcile with our brothers and sisters.

In conclusion:If a person is worthy, and his intentions are worthy, the sacrifice will be accepted. If the person is unworthy, he has to repent and reconcile with those around him, and only then, offer his sacrifice to God.

The sacrifice that we point at is the perfect and ultimate sacrifice of Yeshua the Messiah, the Son of the living God.