Vayikra
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Isaiah 43:21-44:23
Switzerland is known for many things: stunning mountain vistas, cheese, army watches, neutrality, confidential banking. If you wish to tour this beautiful country there are many ways to do so, but you might want to think twice before electing to drive.
In January of last year, a court in eastern Switzerland imposed a record-breaking fine of $290,000 on an unnamed offender for going 35 kilometers above the 50 km/h speed limit. (The car he was driving, a Ferrari Testarossa, was worth considerably less than the fine itself.)
Nine years ago the Swiss voted to replace prison terms for certain offenses, including speeding, with fines based on the net worth of the perpetrator. Readers may or may not be in favor of this policy, but were you aware that this kind of fine is part of Jewish tradition?
A careful reading of the sacrificial system described in this week’s Torah portion reveals one sacrifice with a peculiar feature. In 5:1-13, the Torah describes what is known as “variable burnt offering.” Its value and content are determined by the economic status of the penitent. It is offered for any of the following errors: touching Temple property and sacrifices while ritually impure, accidentally swearing falsely when rendering testimony, unintentional violation of a vow or suppression of testimony under oath.
Yet the whole concept is bothersome. If sin is egalitarian, why isn’t expiation? Does the Torah attach less severity to the sins of an impoverished individual?
I can appreciate that a person trying to get off cheap by offering a sacrifice below his economic class has not discharged his obligation. However, the Sefer HaChinuch explains that even if a poor person extends beyond his means and offers a sacrifice that he must stretch to afford, he too has not performed the sacrifice properly! Why not allow this person to bring more than they must? Why does the Torah allow for different sacrifices for the same sin?
Perhaps the answer can be found in the nature of the sins for which this particular variable offering is brought. What is the common denominator among these mistakes? In each case there is a violation of a commitment that has been made. A person who suppresses testimony or swears falsely under oath is failing to honor their commitment to complete and honest disclosure. Defiling a sacrifice, even unintentionally, is a violation of the commitment of that animal for sacred purposes.
The Torah made this sacrifice variable and based on economic class because it recognized that different people are capable of taking on different levels of commitment, and that taking on more than one’s abilities permit them to handle is counterproductive. The individual whose piety leads them to give a sacrifice far beyond their means has crossed the line of improper commitment just as one who pays below their ability.
The applications of this concept are clear on an economic level, but are true as well in other dimensions. We live in a time where people are stretched thin with the commitments they take on for themselves, both professionally and personally. There are many noble causes that take up an overwhelming proportion of some people’s lives. Yet some of their peers make almost no commitment to aid the greater good.
This dichotomy of citizenship, between the overwhelmed and underwhelming, is to be found among children as well. Some children have their time over-crowded with activities and tutoring, while others are left with little stimulation or challenge in their free time. Of course kids find things to do, but are those activities meaningful and reflective of good values?
It is certainly a delicate line to walk. Some people’s inclinations lead them to think they can do more than their results would seem to indicate, while others claim a sense of overload that must be shared by the television screen that is always on in front of them. But therein lies the challenge of the variable burnt offering; the challenge to make honest and realistic personal assessments. Not taking on too much, but at the same time rising to the commitments that are in our capabilities.
Rabbi Judah Dardik is the spiritual leader at Orthodox Beth Jacob in Oakland. He can be reached at [email protected].