Parashat Vayikra 5786, 2026: "Whither Korbanot?"

 
Rabbi David Etengoff
 
ה' יעזור וירחם על אחינו כל בני ישראל בארץ ישראל ובכל חלקי הארץ
 
The laws regarding korbanot are one of the major themes of Sefer Vayikra. The Rambam (1135-1204) discusses their underlying rationale in two passages in The Guide of the Perplexed:

His wisdom, may He be exalted, and His gracious ruse, which is manifest in regard to all His creatures, did not require that He give us a Law prescribing the rejection, abandonment, and abolition of all these kinds of worship [practiced by the surrounding nations] … Therefore He, may He be exalted, suffered the above-mentioned kinds of worship to remain, but transferred them from created or imaginary and unreal things to His own name… (The Guide of the Perplexed, III:32, vol. II, p. 526, translation and notes, Dr. Shlomo Pines, underlining, brackets and bolding my own)
 
The second section appears in III:46. Herein, the Rambam maintains that korbanot are a negative response to delegitimize the practices of the surrounding idol-worshipping nations who forbade the offering of sheep (Egyptians), goats (Sabians), and oxen:

Thus it was in order to efface the traces of these incorrect opinions [that is, forbidding the offering of sheep, goats, and oxen] that we have been ordered by the Law to offer in sacrifices only these three species of quadrupeds: “When a man from [among] you brings a sacrifice to the Lord; from animals, from cattle or from the flock you shall bring your sacrifice.” (Sefer Vayikra 1:2) … Thus wrong opinions, which are diseases of the human soul, are cured by their contrary found at the other extreme. (pp. 581-582)
 
In sum, the Rambam maintained that the korbanot were included in the Torah as a concession to behaviors familiar to our forebears, and to negate the spurious opinions of the nations of the time. This is a causally and historically based analysis of this class of mitzvot. Not too surprisingly, nearly every classic meforash soundly rejects this approach.
 
The Ramban (1194-1270) is one of the most celebrated Torah thinkers to repudiate the Rambam’s position. In his Commentary on the Torah (Sefer Vayikra 1:9), he states that the Rambam’s words concerning this matter are patent nonsense (divrei havai). Moreover, he turns the Rambam’s historically based position on its head:

Behold when Noach and his three sons went out of the Ark, there were no Chaldeans and Egyptians in existence. Nevertheless, he offered korbanot that were pleasing to Hashem, concerning which it is stated: “And Hashem smelled the pleasant aroma, and Hashem said to Himself, ‘I will no longer curse the earth because of man…’ (Sefer Bereishit 8:21) Hevel, [who preceded Noach,] also brought a sacrifice from the first born and best of his flock. [Once again, Hashem’s response was completely positive]: “And Hashem turned to Hevel and to his offering.” (Sefer Bereishit 4:4) And, it must be noted, there was not even the remotest thought of idol worship in the world at that time! (Commentary on the Torah, translations, brackets and underlining my own; Tanach translations, The Judaica Press Complete Tanach, underlining and brackets my own).
 
The Ramban concludes his argument with these powerful words: “And cha v’shalom that one would even think that the sole purpose and ultimate value of the korbanot is to negate the notion of idol worship in the minds of the foolish!”

Like the Ramban, my rebbe and mentor, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik (1903-1993), known as “the Rav” by his students and followers, strongly rejected the Rambam’s approach to the rationalization of the mitzvot. As we have seen in the case of korbanot, the Rambam focuses upon the “how” question, (that is, “How did sacrifices come to be?”) when analyzing this class of commandments. The Rav, however, vigorously repudiated this entire methodology:
​
Judging Maimonides’ undertaking retrospectively, one must admit that the master whose thought shaped Jewish ideology for centuries to come did not succeed in making his interpretation of the commandments prevalent in our world perspective.
 
While we recognize his opinions on more complicated problems such as prophecy, teleology and creation, we completely ignore most of his rational notions regarding the commandments. The reluctance on the part of the Jewish homo religiosus [religious person] to accept Maimonidean rationalistic ideas is not ascribable to any agnostic tendencies, but to the incontrovertible fact that such explanations neither edify nor inspire the religious consciousness. They are essentially, if not entirely, valueless for the religious interests we have most at heart. …
 
If rationalization is guided by the “how” question and by the principle of objectification then it is detrimental to religious thought. (Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, The Halakhic Mind: An Essay on Jewish Tradition and Modern Thought, pp. 92 and 98, brackets, spacing and underlining my own)
 
In Rabbi Soloveitchik’s view, both in regard to the korbanot and other aspects of Jewish practice, the Rambam’s suggestion of historical bases for the mitzvot detracts from the holiness and uniqueness of the Torah’s revelation at Har Sinai. Moreover, he maintains that only interpretations of the Torah and mitzvot that “edify and inspire the religious consciousness” will enable us to grow closer to our Creator. This idea corresponds to the Rav’s emphasis regarding the ultimate import of devekut Hashem (cleaving to Hashem) that is so prominently presented in his work, “U’vikashtem Misham” (And From There He Will Search for You).
 
May we once again offer the korbanot in love and devotion to the Almighty in the soon to be rebuilt Beit HaMikdash. V’chane yihi ratzon.
 
Shabbat Shalom
Past drashot may be found at my blog-website: http://reparashathashavuah.org
 
Many may also be found on http://www.yutorah.org using the search criteria Etengoff and the parasha’s name.
 
The email list, b’chasdei Hashem, has expanded to hundreds of people. I am always happy to add more members to the list. If you have family or friends you would like to have added, please do not hesitate to contact me via email mailto:[email protected].
 
*** My audio shiurim on the topics of Tefilah and Tanach may be found at: https://www.box.com/s/7bf01f9abcabf02e25c3
 
*** I have posted 164+ of Rabbi Soloveitchik’s English language audio shiurim (MP3 format) spanning the years 1958-1984. Please click on the highlighted link.

---