"Doc Notes" The Book of Leviticus Introduction (1)

The Book of Leviticus I. TITLE: A. Hebrew: In Hebrew the title for this book comes from the opening words wayyiqra (aqyw) meaning “and he called” 1:1 B. Greek: In the Greek LXX the term is Leuitikon (LEUITIKON) an adjective used to describe the book as dealing primarily with ritual worship C. Latin: The Vulgate (a revision of the Old Latin) rendered the Greek heading Liber Leviticus (Book of Leviticus) from which the English is derived 1. This is an adjective suggesting the complete title “the Levitical book” or the “book pertaining to the Levites” 2. The book is really about cultic service which the descendants of Levi would participate in. The principle people in the book are Aaron and the priests to whom was committed the Aaronic priesthood 3. Later a distinction was made between the Levites and the Priests, and thee Levites could not claim Aaronic descent II. CHRONOLOGICAL SETTING: A. The Passover occurred on the first day of the first month of the year (Ex 12:2) B. The tabernacle was erected at Mount Sinai exactly one year after the Exodus (Ex 40:2, 17) C. One month later the nation prepared to leave Sinai for the Promised Land (Num 1:1) D. It seems that the book of Leviticus was given to Moses during the one month period between the erection of the Tabernacle and the departure of the people for the Promised Land from Mount Sinai Because YHWH is now dwelling among His people in holiness, He provides prescriptions mediated through Moses for the people to remain in relationship with Him (e.g., through ritual and cleanliness). III. AUDIENCE: A. Aaron and his sons as the priests to serve in the rituals and duties of the tabernacle (Lev 6:9--7:38; 11:1; 13:1; 15:1; 21:1) B. The Redeemed nation at Sinai (Lev 18:2; 19:2; 23:2; 26:46) IV. PURPOSES: A. Priests: To remind the priests who officiate before YHWH that He must be treated as holy and honored before all the people (Lev 10:3)3 B. Individual: To instruct the individual that they must come before YHWH in worship through cleanness, atonement, and holy living4 C. Nation: To remind the nation of their covenant obligations which are necessary for continued occupation of and blessing in YHWH’S HOLY LAND D. Culture: To instruct Israel to establish their culture by narrating the revelation and the first steps in approaching into God’s presence as well as the revelation of living with God E. Stipulations: To present his redeemed, covenanted people with a collection of cultic, civil, social, moral, and economic stipulations in order that the Holy God may continue to dwell amid an unholy people as He continues His work through them in the world. These stipulations are designed to prevent the withdrawal of YHWH from His people who will bring about defilement of the sanctuary F. Reveal: To reveal YHWH in His holiness, righteousness, mercy, and sovereignty who blesses Israel with His presence dwelling in the midst of their nation administered in specific instructions for approaching God’s presence and for living in the community of God’s people6 G. Model: To demand that the Israelites live in a way that would show to the contemporary Near Eastern nations the true nature of holiness7 1 R. K. Harrison, Leviticus: An Introduction and Commentary (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1980), 13. 2 Exodus 13:2, 13; 22:29; Numbers 3:12. 3 Philip Powers, Analysis of Leviticus a paper presented in 371 Seminar in the Pentateuch (DTS, November 1989), 10. 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. The emphasis is not on conditions for God's presence, but on conditions for the people to be in the land with His presence! The danger is that the individual will be cut off from the people in the land and that the Nation will be removed from the Land. 6 Elliott E. Johnson, Notes in 371 Seminar on the Pentateuch (DTS, Fall 1989). 7 R. K. Harrison, Leviticus, 26. The five books of the Torah A = Bereshit; B = Shemot; C = Vayikra; B = Bamidbar; A = Devarim. If we view the five books of the Torah as a whole entity, we find interesting parallels. Bereshit is a tale of a family and an evolution over generations from an individual's faith to a community's embrace of that belief. There were many bumpy roads traversed along the way but the core family emerges intact at the end of the story. Bereshit is a chronicle about the past Shemot is about the blossoming of this family into a people. Shemot records the Jewish people's exodus from Egypt and their transition into a nomadic nation wandering the desert. Shemot is a chronicle of the present. Whereas the other books are replete with stories, Vayikra has few stories and little character development. Its primary focus is on priestly laws with detailed attention given to animal sacrifices and personal purity. The culminating chapter, 19, focuses on "Kedoshim tihiyu - you shall be holy" by loving your neighbor as yourself. Bamidbar picks up Exodus' trail. Through the desert, the Jewish people meet both internal dissent and external foes along the way. It is a book of complaints and hope as the people transition from the exodus generation to their children who will enter the Land of Israel. Bamidbar is a chronicle of the present. In Devarim, the mitzvot are given for life during Temple times in the Land of Israel but upon receiving these commandments the Jews are still a nomadic people who can only dream of owning land. The Temple is yet to be built, and so Devarim is a chronicle of the future. Bereshit and Devarim both focus on the land of Israel, past and future. Shemot and Bamidbar take place largely in the desert in the present. But if these four books cover the past, present and future, where does that leave Vayikra? It is left standing all alone as the timeless book of eternity focused on the service of the divine through purity and holiness. The Midrash in Vayikra Rabbah asks, "Why do we begin teaching children the book of Vayikra and not Bereshit? Because children are pure and sacrifices are pure. Let the pure come and involve themselves with purity." A child, innocent and wholesome, was said to be worthy of partaking in this learning. Vayikra is not simply a passage about obscure levitical rules or leprosy. Purity and holiness are the book's main focus, with the Torah providing the road map of how to achieve them. Vayikra endeavors to close the gap between humans and the Divine. But this relationship needs work. As the Underground in London admonishes us, one has to first "mind the gap" to understand how to narrow it. In his biblical commentary, the Ramban (1194-1270) advises us to view sacrifices, korbanot, as a means of getting closer to God. Not as an ancient cultural ritual but rather as a timeless path to reach God. Korban, sacrifice, stems from the Hebrew root karov, to get close. Today, post-Temple, we have developed alternative methods of finding God. The rabbis instituted prayer and it opens up a communication channel for many. A spiritual journey needs divine assistance and demands personal effort to ensure success. The Torah provides us with tools, and one such guide is the command to use salt on sacrifices. In Vayikra 2:13 - "All your near-offerings of a grain gift you are to salt with salt, you are not to omit the salt of your God's covenant from atop your grain-gift, atop all your near-offerings you are to bring-near salt." Salt is repeated four times for emphasis. Salt in ancient times was used as a preservative as well as a taste enhancer. Our relationship with God needs salt: eternal support as well as an infusion of taste, understanding and reason. One can simply go through the motions on autopilot, but eternal experiences need to include passion and salt! Youth, who represent our past, present and future, are first taught the book of purity and spirituality. Children, filled with optimism, can readily look at the world with hope.They start out sans any preconceived biases. God is pure. Children are pure. Leviticus is pure. Let them all find each other and holiness can spring forth. God's presence can certainly be found in the other four books, but no other book has a central theme of God's holiness and the people's holiness as its pinnacle message. Hillel acts as a wonderful preservative for our religion. Judaism has been around for thousands of years and we constantly need to make religion relative. Bland ritual will be tasteless and eventually abandoned. Reason-filled and salt-infused understanding will enhance and preserve Judaism for generations to come. The Jewish people are at a critical junction where the other four books of the Torah are threatening to pull us apart. We argue time and time again about whether we should return to our past, live in the present or only plan for the future. Vayikra's message of eternal purity and holiness If the book of Shemot (Exodus) describes the melding, collective identity and destiny of the Jewish people, Vayikra (Leviticus) discusses how this community is to live its collective life and strive to higher levels of sanctification. The book deals with sacrifices, the rituals of sacrifices, and the role of kohanim, or priests. The opening chapter of Vayikra deals with the intricacies and classification of sacrifices to be brought by the children of Israel. Unlike many other sections of the Torah, it is hard to find a lot of philosophical or metaphysical concepts in this section. Just details, i.e., this is brought for such and such type of sacrifice, and how it is done. How do we reconcile the loftiness of the ideas set forth in this book with the dullness of its introduction? Just what role did sacrifices play in the lives of the children of Israel? As you can imagine, the children of Israel were more connected to the necessities of life than we are today. They grew the food they needed and raised the livestock they ate. The sacrifices they offered came from this food and livestock - the very sustenance they needed to live. These sacrifices had real meaning to Jews then, and what sacrifices were offered for which cause had real significance and value in their day-to-day lives. Through burnt offerings, meal offerings, peace offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings, actions were imbued with real meaning and import. It is ironic that what seems dull, distant and anachronistic to us today was very real, immediate and relevant then. Sacrifices spoke to people in a way they could understand, and by utilizing that which was ordinary but essential to everyday life, sacrifices were able to transform that everyday life and imbue it with meaning and sanctity. It is an interesting question to think about what speaks to us and can sanctify our lives in the same way today. we begin reading the third book of the Bible, Leviticus or Sefer Vayikra as it is called in Hebrew. This book deals primarily with the laws of sacrifices that were to be brought in the Tabernacle in the desert and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. Vayikra is often described as being inaccessible to modern readers, because we have a hard time relating to the detailed description of sacrificial worship that occupies a large part of the book. It is true that the details of Vayikra are often gory and confusing, but at a deeper level, the book is full of themes, symbols and ideas that resonate deeply with us. Finding meaning in Vayikra presents a challenge to us, but it is a challenge well worth taking. The following verses from Chapter 4 of Vayikra describe the sacrifices that are to be brought when one sins accidentally. The chapter deals with both communal and individual sins. Leviticus Chapter 4 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelite people thus: When a person unwittingly incurs guilt in regard to any of the Lord's commandments about things not to be done, and does one of them - If it is the anointed priest who has incurred guilt, so that blame falls upon the people, he shall offer for the sin of which he is guilty a bull of the herd without blemish as a sin offering to the Lord... If it is the whole community of Israel that has erred and the matter escapes the notice of the congregation, so that they do any of the things which by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and they realize their guilt... In case it is a chieftain who incurs guilt by doing unwittingly any of the things which by the commandment of the Lord his God ought not to be done, and he realizes his guilt... If any person from among the populace unwittingly incurs guilt by doing any of the things which by the Lord's commandments ought not to be done, and he realizes his guilt... Many of the classical Biblical commentators are troubled by the same questions. The following two commentators focus on the fact that the leadership is addressed first. Rabbeinu Bachya ben Asher (late 13th Century, Spain) The order of sinners who bring sacrifices in this chapter is: The high priest, the Sanhedrin (supreme court), the king, and the general populace. It begins with the high priest who is a great man and a messenger of God so that everyone will see what he does, and thus all of Israel will do repentance (Teshuva) - when they see that the most diligent person among them brings a sacrifice for his transgression, they will all learn from him: Just as God forgives someone who is close to God who is not supposed to sin, all the more so God will forgive the rest of the nation. Rashi on Leviticus 4:22 In case it is a chieftain who incurs guilt - (The Hebrew for this is: asher nasi yecheta). The word asher (in case) means "fortunate" (the Hebrew for fortunate is ashrei, which sounds like asher). Fortunate is the generation whose chieftain offers atonement for his accidental transgressions. All the more so that he regrets his willful transgressions. Your Commentator Navigator 1. According to Rabbeinu Bachya, why do people feel comforted by the fact that the high priest is forgiven for his sins? 2. Is it fair to hold leaders to higher standards than the rest of the nation? 3. Why does Rashi think a generation is fortunate if its leaders offer atonement? Is it harder for a leader to admit that he/she is wrong than an average person? A Word Both Rashi and Rabbeinu Bachya recognize the powerful positions that leaders are in. Whether it is fair or not, leaders are held to higher standards, and people have greater expectations of them. Furthermore, leaders' actions have greater impact. Our chapter is dealing with instances when the law is broken because it has not been properly taught. When leaders are wrong in this context, they cause others to err as well. While this places a great deal of responsibility on leaders, at the same time the Torah recognizes that our leaders are fallible and that they will make mistakes. The Torah's message is that while our leaders must be aware of the responsibility which they bear, they should have confidence in themselves and their abilities. At the same time, a critical leadership skill is to be willing to admit when you are wrong and to take the necessary steps to fix your mistakes.