Why did God command Israel to serve Him through sacrifices?
Maimonides gave a controversial explanation in his Guide to the Perplexed (III: 32, 46). He wrote that the purpose of sacrifices was to wean the Israelites away from idolatry. Having grown accustomed to this form of worship in Egypt, it was impossible to draw them away from idolatry without a service of sacrifices to God.
Other authorities (Nachmanides, Rabbeinu Behayei) categorically rejected this idea. Yet, there appears to be a supporting source for Maimonides in the Midrash. After describing the unique Temple service of Yom Kippur, the Torah states, "Then the Israelites will stop sacrificing to the demons." (Levitticus 17:7) The Sages explained this unusual verse via the following parable:
"This is like the case of an unrefined prince who would eat unslaughtered meat. The king said: let him always eat at my table, and automatically he will become accustomed to avoid from such foods. So too, the people of Israel were enthralled with Egyptian idolatry. Therefore God said: let them always bring their offerings before Me." (Vayikra Rabba 22:8)
The Midrash indicates that God commanded the Jewish people to offer sacrifices in order to wean them from Egyptian idolatry - just like Maimonides wrote. Yet, if we examine this Midrash carefully, we will see that it does not truly correlate to Maimonides' explanation for sacrifices.
The king requested his son join in the royal meals in order to correct his unruly habits. Yet, eating at the king's table is not just a method of discipline. Simply being present at the royal table is in itself a wonderful thing. The true thrust of the parable is this: the prince, due to his inappropriate behavior, did not deserve to eat at his father's table at all meals. The king requested his presence at all times in order to refine his eating habits. Above and beyond its educational value, however, participation in a royal meal is a great privilege. Similarly, the service of God through sacrifices is a truly wonderful matter. Through this form of divine service, one merits experiencing sublime holiness. It is like 'eating at the table of the king', where one benefits from the illuminating favor of the King of life.
This Midrash does not refer to the Temple service in general, but rather to a specific situation immediately following the Exodus from Egypt. During their 40-year sojourn in the desert, the Israelites were not allowed to eat meat unless it came from a sacrifice offered in the Tabernacle (see Deuteronomy 12:20). This was a temporary measure for that generation alone. Why was non-sacrificial meat forbidden to them? Having just left Egypt and its idolatrous culture, it was necessary to stop the Israelites from worshipping foreign gods. Therefore, God commanded that generation to eat only meat from sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle, ensuring that none would privately continue the idolatrous practices of Egypt.
This is precisely the point of the Midrash. The requirement to eat only sacrificial meat was a special decree for the generation leaving Egypt, weaning them from idolatry. Yet, the fundamental concept of offering sacrifices in the prescribed times and situations as set down by the Torah - this has its own sublime goal.
Perhaps this was also the intention of the prophet Jeremiah, who tried to discourage the people from offering unwanted sacrifices: "So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, (it would be better that) you eat the meat. For I did not speak nor command your fathers concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices when I took them out of Egypt. This is the thing I commanded them: Listen to My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people." (Jeremiah 7:21-23)
How could the prophet say that God did not command sacrifices?
The people of Jeremiah's day wanted to emulate the holy practices of the Israelites in the desert, only eating sacrificial meat. The prophet therefore explained to them that the special decree at that time was not for reasons of spiritual elevation, but in order that the newly freed Israelites would abandon idolatry and listen to God's voice.
[Based on Midbar Shur pp. 158-9]
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Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.
Maimonides gave a controversial explanation in his Guide to the Perplexed (III: 32, 46). He wrote that the purpose of sacrifices was to wean the Israelites away from idolatry. Having grown accustomed to this form of worship in Egypt, it was impossible to draw them away from idolatry without a service of sacrifices to God.
Other authorities (Nachmanides, Rabbeinu Behayei) categorically rejected this idea. Yet, there appears to be a supporting source for Maimonides in the Midrash. After describing the unique Temple service of Yom Kippur, the Torah states, "Then the Israelites will stop sacrificing to the demons." (Levitticus 17:7) The Sages explained this unusual verse via the following parable:
"This is like the case of an unrefined prince who would eat unslaughtered meat. The king said: let him always eat at my table, and automatically he will become accustomed to avoid from such foods. So too, the people of Israel were enthralled with Egyptian idolatry. Therefore God said: let them always bring their offerings before Me." (Vayikra Rabba 22:8)
The Midrash indicates that God commanded the Jewish people to offer sacrifices in order to wean them from Egyptian idolatry - just like Maimonides wrote. Yet, if we examine this Midrash carefully, we will see that it does not truly correlate to Maimonides' explanation for sacrifices.
The king requested his son join in the royal meals in order to correct his unruly habits. Yet, eating at the king's table is not just a method of discipline. Simply being present at the royal table is in itself a wonderful thing. The true thrust of the parable is this: the prince, due to his inappropriate behavior, did not deserve to eat at his father's table at all meals. The king requested his presence at all times in order to refine his eating habits. Above and beyond its educational value, however, participation in a royal meal is a great privilege. Similarly, the service of God through sacrifices is a truly wonderful matter. Through this form of divine service, one merits experiencing sublime holiness. It is like 'eating at the table of the king', where one benefits from the illuminating favor of the King of life.
This Midrash does not refer to the Temple service in general, but rather to a specific situation immediately following the Exodus from Egypt. During their 40-year sojourn in the desert, the Israelites were not allowed to eat meat unless it came from a sacrifice offered in the Tabernacle (see Deuteronomy 12:20). This was a temporary measure for that generation alone. Why was non-sacrificial meat forbidden to them? Having just left Egypt and its idolatrous culture, it was necessary to stop the Israelites from worshipping foreign gods. Therefore, God commanded that generation to eat only meat from sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle, ensuring that none would privately continue the idolatrous practices of Egypt.
This is precisely the point of the Midrash. The requirement to eat only sacrificial meat was a special decree for the generation leaving Egypt, weaning them from idolatry. Yet, the fundamental concept of offering sacrifices in the prescribed times and situations as set down by the Torah - this has its own sublime goal.
Perhaps this was also the intention of the prophet Jeremiah, who tried to discourage the people from offering unwanted sacrifices: "So said the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, (it would be better that) you eat the meat. For I did not speak nor command your fathers concerning burnt-offerings and sacrifices when I took them out of Egypt. This is the thing I commanded them: Listen to My voice, and I will be your God and you will be My people." (Jeremiah 7:21-23)
How could the prophet say that God did not command sacrifices?
The people of Jeremiah's day wanted to emulate the holy practices of the Israelites in the desert, only eating sacrificial meat. The prophet therefore explained to them that the special decree at that time was not for reasons of spiritual elevation, but in order that the newly freed Israelites would abandon idolatry and listen to God's voice.
[Based on Midbar Shur pp. 158-9]
--------------------------------------------------------
Chanan Morrison, of Mitzpeh Yericho, runs a website (RavKook.n3.net) dedicated to presenting the Torah commentary of Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak HaCohen Kook, first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael, to the English-speaking community.