Vayikra: A Poetic Commentary

Vayikra means “and he (God) called.”  It is easy for us to hear the call of the Divine when reading about the journeys of the patriarchs and matriarchs or the ordeals of the slaves and their exodus from Egypt.  But to hear God’s call in the description of sacrifices is not an easy task! And yet Vayikra is about more than just sacrifices and laws. At the core of Vayikra is the sacrificial system that is meant to connect the people with the Divine.

In the first third of this parashah, which is what is read in many congregations this Shabbat, we read first of the Olah, the burnt offering, or literally “that which rises up.”  These were sacrifices in which the entire animal, after being ritually slaughtered was burned on the altar. This differed from other sacrifices where part of the animal was saved as a sacred meal for the priests and the worshipers.  

Most communal sacrifices were olot – burnt offerings.  The community would give the priests beasts and birds that belonged to them and watch them as they were sacrificed to God on the altar, watching the smoke rise up to God with a reyakh nee’khoah – pleasant odor.

The mincha, or grain offering then followed the olot.  Here, grain was mixed with oil and spices and presented either in a cooked or uncooked form to the priest.  It was then burnt on the altar. However, the text makes clear that no leaven and no honey may be used in the mincha offering.  We do not know if this is in any way connected with the later rabbinic association of leaven with pride, hubris, and ego, but this is certainly a connection that I possible interpretation.

Hearing the Divine Call

Aliyah 1

I hear God’s call

bring my sacrifice

bring my self

perfect    unblemished

butI am notperfect

I am filled with blemishes

imperfections      faults sin

still I must find within 

perfection   Godliness holiness

from that  place

I must sacrifice  offer

give  to God

aliyah 2

my offering  goes up in flames

before my eyes

I am consumed

my soul  is aflame

rising in the smoke

it begins the ascent to its source

the scent of teshuvah  repentence 

is in the air

ut is pleasing to God

whose smile radiates

into  my heart

aliyah 3

Suddenly I hear and see

there is more sacrifice

more violence  blood killing

the smells  the sounds

become a holy cacophony

I want to run

I wonder how could God desire this

      but how could God not

true sacrifice

is not easy    simple pretty

true sacrifice of the self

before God

is difficult   painful

yet necessary

that is the message of this ritual

I still want to run

away from the pain

away from the noise

to somewhere pleasant  

           somewhere safe

                 somewhere simple

if only it really existed

or perhaps I a grateful to God it does not

aliyah 4

regardless of how I feel

the sacrifice continues

I do not run or hide

my eyes  my heart my soul

from reality

the priest

conduit between us and God

takes and slaughters my offerings

my possessions are no more

were they ever

really mine

no

they were a lways God's

as they still are

yet each time I see one

rise in smoke to their source

I feel a piece of my self

die with it returning to my source as well

in my heart 

I hear God saying

welcome home

aliyah 5

but I want no more death

of animals   nor self

it is finished

I have given all I can to God

for now

then suddenly I smell

something sweet and pleasant

mingled with the acrid smell

of sacrifice

like fresh bread baking

the smell of home or hearth

safety and security

this is something i can enjoy

I hope it will never end

aliyah 6

that wondrous smell

tempting me

hunger desire arising within me

I am ready to eat

to devour

        the bread

    staff of life

source of my sustainance

but wait

the smell is changing

from sweet to acrid

pleasant to noxious

soothing to burning

the bread is burning

it turned to smoke on the altar

why

I wanted it

we all did

but of course

it was not ours either

it is not for us 

it is for God

I understand this

yet I am still in pain

my desires still unfulfilled

I continue to mourn the loss

of something  that was never mine

then i remember

this is what it’s all about

life is always about

gain and loss

pain and pleasure

criticism and praise

recognition and invisibility

all of these are illusions

never real

labels we create and try to claim

but they were never mine

like the bread

when they are present

they bring joy

               that is not real joy 

when they are gone

they bring pain

    that feels all too real

what is real

what is here always

is simply God

aliyah 7

and so I offer to God

my meal   my grain my sacrifice

my soul

I do not bring leavened bread

I do not bring ego self

selfishness  pride

for they are illusions not fitting for God

I do not bring

merely the sweetness

that hides the real pain

like honey masks the bitterness

we must all taste

I simply bring what is real

all that i am

no judgments   no facades no illusions

I simply all that I truly am

a part of everyone  of God of the universe

a particle of the smoke

rising from the altar of life

returning to the source of life

I hear the call in my heart

as I see the smoke rise to God

my soul rejoices

together we all sing praise 

to the  One to whom all praise is due

halleluyah