Parshat Vayikra

Framing the Moment

By: Rabbi Dr. Abraham Unger

Of all the ancient peoples, the Children of Israel are the only one that survived. The Jews are the sole survivors of antiquity. This is doubly surprising not just because of the sands of time, but because of so many persecutions. Why are Jews and their tradition so resilient?

We begin this week the third book of the Torah, Sefer VaYikra, the Book of Leviticus. It largely focuses on animal sacrifices in the Mishkan, the traveling Tabernacle in the desert, which served as the blueprint for the Beit HaMikdash, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. There seems to be nothing more primitive than sacrifice. Yet this narrative exemplifies the reason behind Judaism’s longevity.

Maimonides, the most influential Jewish philosopher and codifier of Jewish law (known by his Rabbinic acronym Rambam), suggests that animal offerings were common in early civilization. Because of this popularity, they were retained in Jewish tradition, but with one core change. Jews directed these sacrifices towards one G-d – the G-d of Sinai and of ethical monotheism. The Torah understood that it had to speak in the language of the time, but it subtly moved this language towards human progress by replacing its pagan underpinnings with historic Jewish values that lead to a higher morality.

Judaism’s great secret is its external adaptability combined with its internal transcendent values that never waver in their reach for the good and the right.