From The Masters Of Kabbalah and Chumash (5 Books of
Moses)
13th century - "RambaN" - Rabbi Moshe ben
Nachman
14th century - "Bachya" - Rabbi Bachya ben
Asher
16th century - "Alsheich" - Rabbi Moshe
Alshech of Tsfat
17th century - "Shelah" - Rabbi Yeshaiya
Horowitz
18th century - "Ohr HaChayim" - Rabbi Chaim
Ben Attar
Ramban
By way of the Truth (the mystic teachings of the Kabalah), there is a
hidden secret contained in the offerings. Our Rabbis have said in the
Sifre and at the end of Tractate Menachot: "Shimon ben Azai said:
Come and see what is written in the section of the offerings! It does
not say with reference to them E-il (G-d), nor Elokecha
(thy G-d), nor Elokim (G-d), nor Shaddai (Almighty), nor
Tze-vaot (G-d of 'Hosts'), but only Yod-Hei-the proper name
of G-d (the Tetragrammaton -'Eternal') - in order not to give an opponent
[i.e. a believer in plurality] an occasion for a point of attack. Perhaps
you might say that He is in need of food, Scripture therefore says, If
I were hungry, I would not tell thee; for the world is Mine and the fullness
thereof. I have only commanded you to bring the offerings in order that
My Will should be said and fulfilled. "In the beginning of Torat
Kohanim we also find: "Rabbi Yosei says: Wherever an offering is
mentioned by Scripture, the Tetragrammaton is used, in order not to give
an opportunity for heretics to rebel" [by finding pluralistic allusions
against the principle of Unity]. These are the words of the Rabbis of
blessed memory.
Now it is true that in the section of the Torah where the offerings are
commanded it does not say E-il or Elokim (G-d). But we do
find [elsewhere in Scripture] verses as follows: the bread of 'Elokeihem'
(their G-d), they do offer [further, 1:26]; Offer unto 'Elokim'
(G-d) the offering of thanksgiving [Ps.50:14], and so forth. However,
the slaughtering [of the offering] must be to the Name of the Eternal
alone, meaning that [he who slaughters it] must have no intention to do
so to anything else in the world, save unto the Name of the Eternal only.
This is the sense of the saying of the Sages: "Scripture has ordered
all these Services to be devoted to the [four-letter] Proper Name."
(credits)
Rabbeinu Bachya
"If his burnt-offering is from the cattle...." [Lev.
1:2]
A kabbalistic approach: The olah type offering is mentioned first
as it corresponds to the emanation of binah. The sequence of the
types of offerings mentioned parallels the emanations in descending order,
so that the peace offering is immediately below the burnt offering, followed
by the offering when the High Priest has become guilty of a sin, i.e.,
a sin offering. Thee three stages correspond to the first three attributes
of the thirteen attributes in Parshat Ki Tissa.
(credits)
Alsheich
"..He said: Speak to the Israelites and say to them: A person
from among you who..." [1:1-2]
1) Why does G-d repeat ve-amarta (and say), after having said
daber (speak)?
2) The word mikem (from among you) seems superfluous.
Possibly, the introductory harsh daber refers to the fact that
man being merely adam, i.e. partly adama (earth), and therefore
liable to sin, should really have offered himself as a sacrifice, just
as Isaac had done; he should not have contented himself with offering
animals in his place. To secure G-d's goodwill, one's own person must
be placed at G-d's unreserved disposal.
Nonetheless, G-d is willing to be appeased by a lesser degree of sacrifice,
namely animal sacrifice. Hence the va-amarta, the "soft"
talk. G-d conceded that He had lowered the standards He could have applied
to His creatures. If man offers an animal, it may be regarded as if he
had offered his essence, i.e. mikem.
The use of indirect speech at the beginning, indicates G-d's displeasure
at the need to ask His forgiveness, hence adam ki yakriv (third
person); at that point man is still far from G-d, due to his iniquity.
Gradually, due to his urgent desire to come closer to G-d, man regains
his stature ki yakriv, i.e. he can come close, by means of the
animal which becomes the symbol of his having offered himself to G-d.
At that point G-d addresses him directly, i.e., takrivu et korbanchem
offer your sacrifices!
(credits)
Shelah
"…for when a man shall offer" [in Hebrew: "Adam
ki yakriv"] (Lev. 1:2)
Remember that if Adam had not sinned, the whole concept of areas that
are sanctified and areas that are not would not have existed. The whole
earth would have been like the Garden of Eden, and every place on earth
would have enjoyed a state of holiness. A return to such a situation is
forecast in Jeremiah (3:16-17) where the prophet says, "In those
days - declares G-d - men shall no longer speak of the Ark of the Covenant
of G-d, nor shall it come to mind. They shall not mention it nor miss
it, or make another." Rashi comments on this that this means that
G-d promises that "all your entrances will be holy and I shall dwell
therein as though it were the Ark of the Covenant."
Every day would have exuded the atmosphere of Shabbat….
There similarly would not have been people specially selected to perform
the service in the Sanctuary since the whole of mankind would have been
a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Neither would certain times have
been singled out as especially suitable for festivals or as times for
atonement, etc. Every single day would have enjoyed the same high status
of holiness. Every day would have exuded the atmosphere of Shabbat, as
promised for the future after the arrival of the Messianic age. A sign
for you to remember this by are the words "olam" ["world",
i.e. place], "shana" ["year", i.e. time], and "nefesh"["soul"],
which are mentioned in the Sefer Yetzirah.
This means that the holiness of a particular place and the sanctity of
a particular time are tied up with the concept "year". The sanctity
of a specific person as distinct from people generally is connected to
the concept of "soul". Man would not have been required to bring
himself close to G-d by means of an animal sacrifice; he himself would
have been the sacrifice, much as is described by our sages when they tell
of the archangel Michael offering the souls of the departed righteous
on the Heavenly Altar. (Chagiga 12)
For the above-mentioned reasons this book commences with Adam; this is
why the Torah writes: "…for when a man shall offer" [in
Hebrew: "Adam ki yakriv"] (Lev. 1:2) an allusion to Adam, the
first man. We can therefore view the whole of this book, Torat Cohanim,
as the rehabilitation of Adam - humankind.
(credits)
Ohr HaChayim
"If someone sins and commits a trespass against the Lord, etc."
[5:21-22]
The words vema'aleh ma'al meh HaShem may be understood in kabbalistic
terms. Every Jewish soul depends on continuous input from celestial forces
called shefa neshamot in order to sustain itself spiritually inside
a body. The only soul which does not enjoy this continuous spiritual input
is one whose nefesh, the person it resides in, has become guilty of criminal
sins which will result in its being deprived of the celestial spiritual
input. This is what the Torah meant when it described the nefesh
being "cut off" in Genesis 17:14 as the consequence of a Jew
ignoring the commandment to circumcise himself or be circumcised.
The celestial spiritual input into our souls which we have described
enters by means of two thin "threads" through a person's two
nostrils as this is the area where the nefesh is joined makom
deveikut, to its owner, i.e. to G-d. This is what Moses meant when
he said in Deut. 4:4: "all of you who have cleaved unto the Lord
your G-d are alive as of this day."
If man commits the sins described in this paragraph his soul comes under
the domination of the forces of evil, if the spiritual input from celestial
sources were to continue, it would actually strengthen the forces of evil
which have taken over in that person. When the Torah speaks of vema'aleh
ma'al meh Hashem, this describes such a process of strengthening
him who trespassed against G-d.
…All of Israel are branches of one soul. If any branch of that soul
becomes involved in evil this has repercussions on the entire people.
This is the deeper meaning of the words vekachash be-amito, his
denial extends to the members of his am, his people. His people
become kachash, "weak" through his sinful behavior. …The
Jewish nation increases in spiritual power by means of its men of valor
who contribute to its peace and harmony and who thereby assure it of itself.
(credits)
Sources
Ramban
- credits
Adapted from the 13th century classic by the illustrious scholar, philosopher
and defender of the faith, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman-known as 'RAMBAN' or
'Nachmanides', a master kabbalist in his own right and a major link in
the transmission of Jewish mysticism-based on the excellent annotated
English translation, Nachmanides on the Torah, by Rabbi Dr. Charles B.
Chavel
Bachya
- credits
Selected with permission from the seven-volume English edition of The
Torah Commentary of Rabbeinu Bachya, as translated and annotated by Eliyahu
Munk. Rabbi Bachya ben Asher [1255-1340] of Saragosa, Spain, was the outstanding
pupil of Rabbi Shlomo ben Aderet (the "Rashba"), a main disciple
of Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (the "Ramban"). Several books have
been written about the Kabballah-based portions of R. Bachya's commentary.
Alsheich
- credits
Adapted from Torat Moshe - the 16th commentary of Rabbi Moshe Alshech,
the "Preacher of Zefat" on the Torah, as translated and condensed
in the English version of Eliyahu Munk)
Shelah
- credits
Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz was born in Prague around the year 1565. He served
as Rabbi of Cracow and other congregations before he was appointed as
the Rabbi of the community of Frankfurt on Main in the year 1610. In 1916,
Rabbi Horowitz moved to Prague where he became the Chief Rabbi of the
city. He moved to Eretz Yisrael about 1621. He was rabbi in Jerusalem
and in Tiberias, where he died in or about 1630. In addition to his magnus
opus, Shenei Luchot HaBrit, he also compiled an edition of the prayer-book
with a comprehensive commentary. Many of his innovations, including his
formulation of the Kol Nidrei prayer, have become part and parcel of the
Ashkenazi Siddur.
Ohr HaChayim
- credits
Selected with permission from the five-volume English edition of Ohr HaChaim:
the Torah Commentary of Rabbi Chaim Ben Attar, as translated and annotated
by Eliyahu Munk.
The holy Rabbi Chayim ben Moses Attar was born in Sale, Western Morocco,
on the Atlantic in 1696. His immortal commentary on the Five Books Of
Moses, Or Hachayim, was printed in Venice in 1741, while the author was
on his way to the Holy Land. He acquired a reputation as a miracle worker,
hence his title "the holy," although some apply this title only
to his Torah commentary.
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