There is one small word at the start of Chapter 2 that breaks through all the very technical descriptions of the sacrifices to teach a beautiful lesson - ‘Nefesh’.
“When a person presents an offering of meal to Hashem: The offering shall be of choice flour…” (Translation of Vayikra 2:1)
The lesson is very easily lost in translation. Rashi highlights that this is the only
voluntary sacrifice where the giver (‘person’) is referred to by the moving description of ‘Nefesh’ - ‘Soul’. This is indeed strange because the laws that follow relate to the most meagre and cheap of the voluntary sacrifices - a ground grain offering. The other more ‘respectable’ voluntary sacrifices (bird, beef and lamb) are given by, ‘Adam/Man’ - a far less glamorous description for a much more meaningful sacrifice.
“...For who is it that usually brings a meal-offering? The poor man! The Holy One, blessed be He, says, as it were, I will regard it for him as though he brought his very soul as an offering.” - Rashi
It’s so easy to get confused between what we give and how we give it - but there is a very important space between these two aspects. This is especially true when it comes to the service of Hashem. He doesn’t need our sacrifices; the ‘market value’ of what we give matters only in as much as it contributes to how much we evolve through the giving process.
The poor person, interestingly, doesn’t have a choice but to give of his heart and soul. The meagre meal offering could very well have been his breakfast and gives him nothing to boast about. He has ‘no choice’ but to give it with his very essence. On the other hand, when we give from a more privileged space, we face a subtle and important challenge - to retain that same soulful connection in our contribution - to close the gap between what we give and why we give.
‘Vayikra’ is a deep call to each one of us to seek out ways to give - with all the intricacies that it takes to be simply authentic.
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