Sacrifices Today

 

Will we bring korbanot, sacrifices, in the future?

Some Jews are excited by the possibility, and they aren’t waiting for the future! Each year, there are individuals who attempt to bring a lamb for the Korban Pesach, pascal offering, forcing police to intercept them before they ascend the Temple Mount. 

Other Jews reject the possibility of restoring sacrifices. In ancient times, in Biblical times, and in Temple times, we had sacrifices, but we’ve moved on. One of the first changes to the liturgy made by Reform Judaism was to omit the Shabbat Musaf service. The very idea of praying a service whose very identity came from the musaf sacrifice is an antiquated concept.

Many Jews are ambivalent about sacrifices. While we daven Musaf and there are prayers invoking the return of sacrifices, there are other issues to worry about, and we don’t have the opportunity to do so anyway. Often, the opinion of the Rambam is invoked. In his Guide for the Perplexed, he writes that sacrifices were the starting point for prayer.

“The purpose of sacrifices being incorporated into the Divine service of the Jewish people was to accommodate the transition of the people going from the extreme falsehood of idol worship to the extreme truth of worshipping one true God…Now, through strict rules and regiments, they could direct it toward the service of God.” (Part III, Chapters 32 & 46)

What about the future? Rambam writes:

“In the future, the Messianic king will arise and renew the Davidic dynasty, restoring it to its initial sovereignty. He will build the Temple and gather the dispersed of Israel…the observance of all the statutes will return to their previous state. We will offer sacrifices…” (Laws of Kings 11:1)

Many quote Rabbi Avraham Yitzhak Kook as holding the view that there won’t be sacrifices in the future. Rav Kook’s views on the subject, as is often the case with his Torah, are complex.

I think anything relating to the Messianic era, the Third Temple, or the resurrection of the dead is complicated. When it comes to sacrifices, I suggest a “wait and see” attitude while trying to find meaning in what may, on the surface, seem to be a brutal, bloody mess. We should look to the root of the word “korban,” which is K-R-V, closeness.

Ramban explains the role of the korban is to draw the individual closer to God. I think the sacrifice is also a directive to bring us closer to other people. Even if actual sacrifices do not resonate with us, we can embrace sacrificial values. Here are a few examples:

1.  The Torah describes that “adam,” a person brings a sacrifice. Of course, a person brings a sacrifice! Maybe the Torah is teaching us the need to be an adam, a mensch, a person who lives with dignity and respect, one who has purpose and mission. The very first lesson is to be an adam.

2.  One of the offerings is the korban chatat, the sin offering. Why does the Torah require an offering for an act which was completely accidental? Let the person apologize to God and commit to do his best in the future. Why a sacrifice? The korban chatat teaches the value of learning from mistakes. There is a charge on the credit card for the animal or the family photos of the trip to Jerusalem to bring the sacrifice in person. The sin offering is a tangible reminder of the error, but it also represents transcending and learning from that error.

3. Life requires sacrifice. The words the Torah uses to introduce sacrifices are “ki yakriv mikem – when you bring of yourselves.” There are spiritual and emotional costs if we want to raise ourselves up, grow, or help others. “There are no free lunches.” “No pain, no gain.” As Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, the Alter Rebbe of Chabad, taught: It’s not about what we need; rather, it’s about what we are needed for.

A man with a sick daughter begged the Chasidic Rebbe for heavenly intervention. The rebbe told him he could do nothing for him until he was willing to sacrifice, to give up something. When the man said he would give up his business activities on the Sabbath, the rebbe promised his daughter a full recovery. And so it was.

Life is never as simple as Chasidic stories. At the same time, the value of sacrifice is one of the lessons and values we learn from korbanot. Even if we’re not excited about bringing animal offerings, they can still inspire us to strive to be better human beings, who learn from our mistakes, and understand the need for and value of sacrifice.