Bringing Holiness to the Table

This week's d'var Torah is offered in memory of my father, Ruby Simms, z'l, whose yahrtzeit is today.




Vayikra
Leviticus 1:1 - 5:26


Précis: The title of the Third Book of the Torah, Vayikra (“And He called”) is usually called “Leviticus” in English (from its name in Greek) based on the fact that much of the Book concerns ritual sacrifices performed under the auspices of the Levites. Many traditional commentators note that the Book is found in the center of the first Five Books, and intuit from its positioning the “centrality” of its teachings to Jewish tradition.
     The introduction to this Book in Etz Hayim reminds us that the “central concern” of the ancient Israelites was “how they were to express their loyalty” to Adonai. The answer from Vayikra: they were “to be holy, for I Adonai Your God, am holy.” Etz Hayim also reminds us of the importance of ritual: “…[S]omething in the human soul responds to ritual, whether it be the formality of a traditional wedding or the rituals of a sporting event…There is something comforting about the familiar, the recognizable, the predictable. There is something deeply moving about performing a rite that is older than we are, one that goes back beyond the time of our parents or grandparents…There is power in the knowledge that we are doing what generations of people before us have done in similar situations.”
     Yet, as noted in the introduction to this Book in the Plaut Commentary, much of this “holiness” is expressed in terms of sacrificial ritual which ceased to occur with the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. The word generally used in English for the ritual offering in the Temple is "sacrifice," but there is a deeper meaning to be found in the Hebrew word, korban, from a root meaning “to draw closer." The system of “sacrifices” (“korbanot”) was designed to allow the Israelites to “draw closer” to the Ineffable.
     With the end of the sacrificial system, the instructions of Vayikra remained an important area of study because of the belief that the restoration of the sacrificial system would soon occur and that the People would be restored soon to the Land as well. Later, as prayer became the de facto substitute for sacrificial rites, elements of those rituals were transformed and inserted into our prayer services. We thus have a daily reminder of our ancient ritual life and its core intent of drawing closer to Hashem.

Leviticus 1:5 “The bull shall be slaughtered before the Lord; and Aaron’s sons, the Priests, shall offer the blood, dashing to blood against all sides of the altar which is at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.”
     Writing in the Chancellor's Parashah Commentary, 3/20/99, JTS Chancellor Schorsch reminds us that with the destruction of the Second Temple, the rabbis transferred many aspects of ritual not only to the synagogue but also to the home. For example, the dining table where families gathered together for their meals became a representation of the Temple altar.
     The sacrifice noted in this verse is a sacrifice of atonement. The connection between the altar and the dining table implies that atonement begins at home. Family meals can be a time of repairing (atoning) for those day to day wrongs we inevitably do to each other, for sharing thoughts and ideas, and for creating ties that bind the family more firmly together.
     As Schorsch also reminds us, Jewish tradition states that when people eat together, it is incumbent upon them to speak words of Torah (Pirkei Avot 3:4). In other words, family mealtime is more than a time for physical refueling, or even for family reconciliation. It can also be a time for spiritual renewal and for discussion of “things Jewish.”
     Just as the Temple's altar was placed in the middle of a sacred enclosure, our own dining table needs a surrounding touched by holiness as well. Adding holiness may happen more obviously in connection with Shabbat or holiday meals, but it can be experienced much more frequently. It is up to each of us to create an atmosphere where the family dinner takes place in a home where our values are expressed, taught and observed.