With the inauguration of the Mishkan nearing its completion, a final set of korbanot is set to be brought as part of its ceremonial designation as a “Tent of Meeting” between God and the Israelites. It is on these verses that Rabbi S. R. Hirsch makes a particularly sharp observation. Noting that, after these korbanot are brought, Moshe and Aharon then enter the Mishkan and recite blessings and prayers – at which point God’s glory appears – he writes that:
“God’s Presence, however, did not appear immediately upon the completion of the offerings. If that had happened, it might have lent credence to the pagan superstition that in the offering procedures there is a mysterious quality that has a magical effect upon God and produces an appearance of God to man, in a kind of physical cause-and-effect.”
The ritual nature of korbanot and their superficial similarity to pagan sacrifices meant that it was extremely important to tightly control this area of divine worship. Rabbi Yehuda HaLevi argues in the first section of his Kuzari that performance of all commandments must be dictated by careful consideration of halachah rather than enthusiastic embracing of what subjectively “feels right”. This is particularly true of korbanot, where a thin line separates legitimate service of God – within which korbanot express one’s total dedication to God – from attempting to innovate rituals and thereby producing, as Rav Hirsch described, a magical and superstitious effect upon God.
Talmud Reclaimed explores another dimension of this need for precision in korbanot. The opening section of the book analyses the structure of biblical law, which is often sparse in terms of explicit scriptural instruction – with further details supplied by the oral tradition and rabbinic legislation (through the authority of a Sanhedrin).
In the understanding of Rambam, the primary function of korbanot was to wean the ancient Israelites off pagan thought and ritual towards a monotheistic faith and form of worship. For this to be effective, a very careful balance had to be struck: on the one hand the korbanot rituals had to be sufficiently similar to familiar forms of worship, while on the other hand crucial theological and practical distinctions were necessary to distance the Israelites from paganism. This means that in the area of korbanot – unlike other mitzvot – relatively more details were explicitly commanded to ensure that the balance not be disrupted.
I’ve received numerous comments and questions over the years as to the relevance of Rambam’s reason for korbanot in the modern era: surely we, with our sophisticated 21st century mindset, don’t require any sacrificial assistance to divest ourselves of pagan proclivities? These comments tend to get me wondering what Rambam would make of the state of Judaism today and its idiosyncrasies. Of mass pilgrimages to graves. Of strange segullot and dancing around bonfires at Rashbi’s grave. Perhaps, in Rambam’s estimation, a return of the divinely-ordained and tightly controlled order of korbanot might help reduce the experiential attraction of some of these practices?
See more at www.TalmudReclaimed.com.
First posted on Facebook 7 April 2024, here.
