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March 19, 2007/29 Adar  5767
Parashat Vayikra
By Rabbi Allan Kensky
 

One of the principles of modern biblical scholarship that I learned from my wife, of blessed memory, Tikva Frymer-Kensky, was that the placement of a text in a larger work reflects on its importance in the work as a whole. The general rule would be that what is considered to be the most central idea will be found in the middle of the work. When we apply this principle to the Torah, it would suggest that Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, the third of the five books of the Pentateuch, with its laws of purity and impurity, sacrifice and holiness, is the heart of the Torah. This understanding was clearly behind the tradition (ennacted in Rabbinic times and still followed today in a small number of communities) that children would first be introduced to Torah by studying Sefer Vayikra. The children needed to study that which was most central first.
 
As I read the opening lines of Leviticus, I find allusions to another book of the Torah, namely Genesis. These allusions do not escape the eye of earlier midrashists. The first is the opening word of the book, “Vayikra—He called,” which echoes Genesis 1:4, “Vayikra—God called the light day and called the dark night.” In the second verse of Sefer Vayikra, we read God’s command to Moses: “adam ki yakriv mikem—When any of you presents an offering.” Striking is the use of the term adam, resonant of Adam, the first human. Several of the rabbis commented on the parallels between the narratives at the beginning of Leviticus and of Genesis. The first is seen as reflective of the new world order initiated with the Tabernacle, whose completion marked a renewal of the creation of Genesis. The rabbis also derive important teachings from the use of the term adam, each of which calls on the worshiper to comport himself in a way befitting a descendant of the first human being.
 
One text in the Midrash in Leviticus Rabbah (2:8) stands out: “Adam is an expression of love, of brotherliness, and of friendship.” As the Torah in Leviticus embarks in a new direction, focusing on the proper worship in the Tabernacle, the laws of purity and impurity, and instilling holiness among the people Israel, it is of the utmost importance to us that it begins with a statement that connects us with all the descendants of Adam. Jewish spirituality begins from that fundamental point, and must build on it. The particular holiness of Israel must always be seen in its larger context of Israel as part of the family of humankind.
 
Sefer Vayikra’s opening call directed to adam, the human, is also a reminder to us that spirituality begins with the individual, and that ultimately it is the longing and aspiration of each human being. Not to be lost in the larger community’s needs are the individual’s needs for spiritual fulfillment. That is why later calls in Sefer Vayikra to the collective body of Israel are preceded by this first call to the individual.

 Jewish spirituality may begin with the individual, but its larger arena is that of the community. Note our verse: adam ki yakriv mikem—when any of you presents. The individual is never far removed from the community, and must never forget his or her link to that community.

 The challenge of Jewish spirituality then, and now, is to attain that crucial balance between our need for personal spiritual fulfillment, the needs of our community and the bonds with our fellow human beings. The opening lines of Parashat Vayikra remind us to hold on to all three.

Rabbi Allan Kensky, a member of the UJC Rabbinic Cabinet, is rabbi of Beth Hillel Congregation Bnai Emunah in Wilmette, IL.
UJC Rabbinic Cabinet Chair: Rabbi Ronald Schwarzberg
Vice Chairs: Rabbi Jonathan Schnitzer,  Rabbi Steven Foster,  Rabbi Amy Small
President: Rabbi Bennett F. Miller, D.Min.
Honorary Chair: Rabbi Matthew H. Simon
Vice President, Jewish Renaissance and Renewal: Dr. Eric Levine
Mekor Chaim Editor & Coordinator: Saul Epstein
Senior Consultant, Rabbinic Cabinet: Rabbi Gerald Weider
 
The opinions expressed in Mekor Chaim articles are solely of the author and do not reflect any official position of UJC or the Rabbinic Cabinet.