Triennial Reading Cycle 2
For Year 5784

Parshat Vayikra

(Shabbat Zakhor)

Leviticus 3:1-4:26

March 22-23, 2024

This Shabbat, we begin the third Book of the Torah, the Book of Vayikra (Leviticus.) The Book of Leviticus will focus on the Korbanot, the individual and communal sacrifices. The sacrificial system served the ancients just as prayer serves us in more modern times. In the course of daily living, people offered sacrifices for various reasons:

* The olah (burnt offering) — A daily offering through which a person expressed a closeness to God.

* The minha (meal offering) — The sacrifice with intricate details; suggesting that one goes to great lengths when praising God.

* The zevach shlamim — An offering of thanksgiving for recovery from illness or as expression of gratitude for some significant event in one's life. Our triennial reading includes this sacrifice

* The hattat (sin offering) — A sacrifice on behalf of anyone committing a serious, but unintentional error. With this sacrifice, a person inadvertently fails to do what the law demands. Our triennial reading includes this sacrifice.

* The asham (guilt offering) — An offering on behalf of one who unintentionally commits an error of omission or who commits an intentional offense (making a false oath or stealing property)

Why read about an archaic system no longer applicable to our lives?

The Bible commentary, Etz Hayim (published by the Conservative Movement) includes a important insight:

The modern temper tends to discount prescribed ritual in favor of spontaneous religious expression. Yet something in the human soul responds to ritual whether it be the formality of a traditional wedding or the rituals of a sporting event or a public meeting. 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 and grandparents…The biblical prophets criticized the sacrificial system for its tendency to deteriorate into form without feeling…All religions of biblical time were based on sacrificial worship and the Israelites could not conceive of religion without it.

From such observations we can learn:

  • Rituals do enrich our lives; the sacrificial system in its time was an effective way for the people to demonstrate their character and to guide their relations with God and with each other.

  • In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet criticizes the people for blind adherence to ritual without demonstrating moral character. The sacrifices intended to guide people toward lofty ethical directions. To offer sacrifices while simultaneously ignoring the hungry and the distressed rendered the sacrifices as meaningless.

  • Today, prayer has replaced the sacrificial system; but consider this: Prayer is often about words. The sacrifices were offered with one’s entire being. Words alone are insufficient unless the person speaking those words backs them up with action.

  • Some of the sacrifices still survive, albeit in contemporary form. For example, the zevach shlamim (which is part of the triennial reading today) was an offering made in gratitude for recovering from injury or from potential injury. Today, there is a blessing known as bircat gomel; It is a blessing recited by a person (during the Torah reading) who recovers from an illness or who escapes serious injury. The sacrifice may no longer exist but the practice of publicly expressing gratitude-in the synagogue- still survives.

  • Consider Passover: The original ceremony evolved around an animal sacrifice. Today, we place symbols on our Seder table to remind us of our past history, even as today’s Passover ritual is totally different. We hold a Seder to tell the story of our path and to acknowledge our path to freedom. Other cultures could not adjust to changing conditions and they became extinct. Judaism is still here…

 Maftir for Shabbat Zakhor: Deuteronomy 25:17-19

On the Shabbat before Purim we annually read (from a second Torah), about how the Amalekites attacked b’nai yisrael as they fled Egypt. The Amalekites were a ruthless, compassionless tribe; taking advantage of a weary nation destined for freedom. We read about the Amalekites on this Shabbat because Haman was a descendant of the Amalekite tribe. The brief Torah reading is succinct: Zakhor et asher asah l’Amalek/ remember what Amalek did to you as you fled Egypt…

From the word Zakhor (Remember) comes the name for this special Shabbat, Shabbat Zakhor. The Torah teaches us to remember what the Amalekites did, but to blot out their name forever. On Purim, when we read Haman’s name we ‘blot it out’ by shaking our groggers.

 Haftorah Zakhor, I Samuel 15: 2-34

For our special Haftorah we read about a controversial theme, which is disturbing to many readers. King Saul is fighting a war against the Amalekites of his general. The prophet Samuel commands Saul not to spare any person, but to destroy the entire tribe. Saul conquers the enemy, but spares his counterpart, King Agag. Samuel becomes furious, condemning Saul for his disobedience. Saul will soon be deposed. Samuel then kills King himself.