קרבנות

We begin the third book of the Torah this week. Vayikra focuses mainly on the offering of sacrifices. The Netivot Shalom says that there was a custom to teach children ויקרא before learning any of the other books of the Torah. The reason for this is that children are pure and innocent, and the קרבנות also purify. The fact that so many chapters deal with sacrifices, shows it’s importance. In פרקי אבות we are told that the world is based on תורה, עבודה, וגמילות חסדים. Torah refers to its study. גמילות חסדים refers to doing acts of kindness. And עבודה refers to the קרבנות. The offering of sacrifices carries with it a unique responsibility. Unlike other laws that we can pressure one to observe, such as by ציצית, Beit Din could force one to observe. קרבנות had to be offered לרצונו, with good will and good intent. The proper intent carries with it great importance. Without such intent, the קרבן is not accepted by Hashem. We should have proper intent, or כוונה, in all that we do. But the principle is learned from the offering of קרבנות.