Portion of the Week; Vayikra 13-1, Rabbi Landa

the pope the old age is all too although more lenient days hot shot it in the days all it's the hall all of the week the bible as retin a synagogue with rabbinic commentary this evening we're rabbi samuel land a spiritual leader of the orthodox congregation at the ozone park a jewish center and ozone park new york this week said biblical portion as the first center of the book of leviticus the first half of this book deals with sacrifice and the laws that safeguard of the priestley

character of israel only almighty enjoying that to become a mom left disco i mean they go i could nourish a kingdom of priests and they've only nation the other half of the book deals with holiness i am assigned to vacation not human like my friends to us who for so many centuries have learned it to dispense with a sanctuary and with a sacrificial writes everything connected with a sacrificial alter is but a memory a recollection of something which pertains to the demand the remote past it is natural that in our study of the sacrificial system many questions almost impossible to answer should educate our minds even another ages students of scripture were

troubled with a great problem or how to reconcile the idea of a purely spiritual an omnipresent god with the apparent necessity of a sanctuary of offerings and intermediaries in the persons of priests my nominees who is our greatest legal authority gives the simplest and most rational interpretation his views are of extreme interest in as much as he seems to have anticipated at the opinions advanced by modern investigators the people of israel live there for many generations and it landed extreme ritual isn't where people and knew no other mode of worshipping their gods then through the medium of priests in gorgeous temples by the sacrifice of animals and even human being is an elaborate services a mode of worship

that was bound to make a deep impression upon imaginative minds of israel lights after being brought out of egypt were to be trained as a kingdom of priests and a wholly nation by means of a thorough knowledge of god and his laws it was not at all an easy task the egyptian culture how to be obliterated from their minds they have to forget egypt and it's degrading form of worship they had to purify their mom means to make them fitting receptive cause for a pure and simple monotheism for such a task generations are required the human mind that does not change by border it takes centuries for the processes of development that mature and meanwhile before complete transformation takes place relapses are bound to occur are

relapses and backsliding still former addicts it would have been contrary to human nature to have the people abandon all at once their old habits it was therefore in accordance with the wisdom of god and all the old manner of service should not be a discontinued the almighty allowed but with this distinction that of the service must be devoted to him the sanctuary must be built to god to him it must sacrifice has been offered and before him incensed burned by this divine plan the traces of the old idolatry were gradually blotted out and the existence and the unity of god were firmly established without confusing the minds of the people by transferring them suddenly from one extreme to another today israel

i'd spend the wilderness of the tabernacle was essentially amy gosh a sanctuary the dwelling place of god the source of religious inspiration the fountain once they drew faith and spiritual uplifting it was to them of the visible expression of the presence of god in their midst whom they trusted and whose commands they follow and that also served of them as a deterrent from lapsing into old habits it helped of them to curb their inclination towards idolatry it afforded them an opportunity for giving vent to their desire for worshiping in the manner of customary to the people among whom they'd well my mind it eases conscious that's such an

interpretation however attractive is bound to meet with objections how can we suppose that the divine commandments have no object in themselves what our own remains employed for another object surely the almighty may not lead his people by a roundabout way as an answer in my mind that is really far as us to another incident in the bible when the children of israel be parted from egypt god would not lead to them to palestine by the way of the land of the philistines although that was near last of the people should read and when they saw war and returned to egypt we are then show and that although able to prevent such an occurrence god led to the people by a circuitous route because he feared that to the hardships with which they were likely to meet might be john grade for their

ordinary strength he therefore took them by another road employed other means to attain his original objective in a similar manner you're mighty re frame from prescribing what the people by their natural disposition would be incapable of abating and allow them a sanctuary and sacrifices as a means of securing the higher objective that they might reject idolatrous practices altogether but they might ultimately cleave to god alone and serve him and purest and simplest manner this theory however does not belong so lead to my minorities it is expressed though in a different manner by rabbi pinnock us and the name of rabbi lavey and mad rush to healing fifty four he illustrates the

commandment regarding sacrifice by a parable thank you noticed there that his son had become addicted to feeding upon forbidden food the king and therefore directed that of those edible they should be set before he saw him and the king's own table with the result that to the brains of his own accord the sighted to forego his evil happen that's also the israel aides had been accustomed to sacrifices while in egypt and gardens in order to wean them from idolatry tolerated sacrifices but commander there that there may be offered in the sanctuary only by this means they should be weaned from the practice and saved it must however be admitted that other stages were not at all satisfied with that rationalization

of the commandments and found and the tabernacle as well as in the sacrifices the morrow's symbolism found dead on the psychology of conduct according to rabbi david hoffman sacrifices are symbols of man's gratitude to god and his dependence on him on the absolute devotion men goes to god as well as a man's confidence in him the best proof of their eternal value is of course our praying for the rebuilding of the temple and the re establishment of the ancient cities and even my money's himself at the conclusion of his code name laughing eleven one looks forward to a restoration of the sacrificial called in messianic times

however as mentioned by chief rabbi herds in his additional notes on the book of leviticus the rabbis hope that with the progress of time human conduct would advance to a higher standards so that that there would no longer be any need for x bheodari sacrifices only the feeling of gratitude to god would remain last year the rabbi same immigration and the messianic iraq all offerings will seize accept the thanksgiving offering which will continue forever perhaps and the real attitude of the rabbis on this question is exhibited by the following narrative in madras rob our numbers nineteen a pagan ones as rabbi yoga nun bands are crying for no reason of the redhead for the par i'd the law the

rabbi we forget me a refund him really analogous treatment of one who was possessed by an evil spirit why the sprinkling of the water mingled with the ashes of the burned right after that evil spirits were chased away the disciples of rabbi yell can learn what not however accepted this as the real significance of the right and said that to their teacher in ramallah has driven off with a straw one answer will allow give us by our lives explained the rabbi neither does a dead body render anyone i'm clean nor can water make clean but only one lesson he says i have more dainty statute and have established an institution and you are not permitted to transgress this my dear friends is indeed of the final solution the leaving the divine

origin of a commandment it is not for us to inquire but you already the command of the king of things for a man's finite of mind cannot pretend to encompass the whole love the infinite wisdom of god you have been listening to portion of the week the bible as read in the seminar with rabbinic commentary this evening you heard rabbi samuel on the spiritual leader of the orthodox congregation of the ozone park jewish center in ozone park new york they can't therefore portion of the week is eliza combine of the congregation beth salam of kings day wise also on long the college of all that mandates a home girl oh our el ali him mayor off that buzz aldrin a pall mall human body all matter bell

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