קרבן עולה

Shavua Tov. Today we were supposed to read פרשת צו. The Parsha begins with the commandment to offer the קרבן עולה, that was burnt entirely on the altar. The עולה might be considered the most intense of all the sacrifices. It was the only one not eaten by either the Kohein, or the one offering the sacrifice. Our Rabbis teach us that the עולה is an atonement for הרהורי עבירה, thinking about doing an עבירה. The Gemara in מסכת יומא says that הרהורי עבירה קשו מעבירה, that thinking about sinning is greater than sinning itself. This is very puzzling as the individual never put his thoughts into action. The Rabbis explain this by saying that one may not take his sinful thoughts so seriously. But in actuality, sin first begins with the thought. Sin develops in three stages: העין רואה, והלב חומד, והגוף עושה, the eye sees, the heart desires, and the body acts. The purpose of the עולה is to nip the sin in the bud. One should not take sinful thoughts too lightly, and he should begin working on correcting these thoughts as soon as they come into one’s head. The offering of the עולה, takes care of all of this.