Eating Out
Eating more than any other physical experience brings about, very literally, the unity between body and soul. Sacrifices – “G-d’s food” – had the effect of unifying G-d, the soul of the world, with the body of the world; the entire universe. Eating is also an internalizing process, to the extent that one cannot separate between the food that one has eaten and the body which has ingested the food.
Eating it Within the Temple Precincts
Of the different types of sacrifices a Jew would offer to G-d in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, there were two distinct categories. The first included sacrifices one would bring as an atonement for one’s transgressions such as a chatas (sin offering) or asham (guilt offering). The generic name for this entire category is kodshei kadoshim, the most holy of the holy sacrifices. The second category included the shelamim (peace offering) or Thanksgiving offering (todah) that one brought as a way of getting closer to G-d. The generic name for this category is Kodoshim Kalim, lighter or lower levels of holiness.
One of the salient distinctions between these two categories mentioned in this week’s parsha, Tzav, is that the sacrifices of the first category kodshei kadoshim, must be eaten within the precincts of the Holy Temple itself. The sacrifices of the second category (kodashim kalim), however, could be eaten anywhere within the city limits of Jerusalem.
There are two questions that arise. First, why is there a restriction as to where one can eat the sacrifice? Once the sacrifice had been offered in the Holy temple, why did it matter where the person who offered the sacrifice ate it?
Second, why is there a distinction between sin offerings that may be eaten only in the Temple itself, while all other sacrifices may be eaten throughout the city of Jerusalem?
Korban: Not Sacrifice; Agent of Closeness
To answer these questions one must understand the purpose of eating the sacrifice. Why does the Torah make such a fuss about the actual eating of the sacrifice, to the point that, as stated in the Talmud, only when the Kohain (priest) ate the sin offering does the one who sinned procure atonement.
The Hebrew word for sacrifice is korban, which really means “drawing near.” All sacrifices are about removing the gaps that exist between a Jew and G-d, and a fellow Jew, While one can get closer to G-d and others by way of the performance of any mitzvah, the korban experience was considered to be the most dramatic form of achieving closeness and unity, and also the most enduring.
The Kabbalah of Eating
To exemplify the korban’s objective of unity and endurance, the Torah required of us to actually eat the sacrifice, because of two salient features inherent in the process of eating:
First, eating more than any other physical experience brings about, very literally, the unity between body and soul. Indeed, the entire sacrificial rite is referred to as Achilas Mizbeach, the eating of the altar. This is to suggest that the korban had the effect of unifying the soul of the world — G-d — with the body of the world, the entire universe.
Second, eating is also an internalizing process, to the extent that one cannot separate between the food that one has eaten and the body which has ingested the food. The exercise of eating best exemplifies the concept of internalization.
While the offering of a korban effects a bond between the person and G-d, there is a need to exemplify that bond and internalize that newly acquired relationship, so that it does not dissipate with the passage of time. By eating the sacrifice, thus, the person was made aware of the sacrifice’s goal of generating unity and of the need to make the ideal of unity an integral and inseparable part of his/her personality.
The Right Environment
But, eating alone does not suffice for the completion of the process. The environment in which the eating of the korban took place was also crucial.
Though of a peripheral nature — unlike eating which internalizes the food — environment sets the tone and direction for the other experiences of life. To guarantee that the eating of the korban was in the right environment, it was crucial that it be eaten in a holy place, so that the holy aspects of the korban should be internalized.
When one would bring a sin offering, a much greater amount of effort was required to internalize the feeling of closeness to G-d that was generated by the korban. Because the distance that had to be bridged was far greater for the sin-offering than for the others, there was also a greater demand that the eating of the korban occur in the holiest of environments, in the Temple precincts themselves.
No More Sin Offerings!
Our sages tell us that in the Messianic age there will be no need for the sin offerings. The sole offering that one will have to bring to the Temple will be the Thanksgiving offering. Despite the fact that we will no longer have to bridge the gap caused by sin, we will always need to express our gratitude to G-d as a way of getting closer and closer to Him; a process that will never end.
From the book Light from the Future: Parshas Tzav by Rabbi Heschel Greenberg, published by the Jewish Discovery Center.
