Vayikra
Leviticus 1:1-5:26
Isaiah 43:21-44:23
For generations, children’s Torah study began with Vayikra, the Hebrew name of both the Book of Leviticus and this week’s Torah portion. Leviticus, with arcane and mysterious taboos and rites, sexual prohibitions, dietary restrictions, highly structured systems of sacrifice and healing, and economic, social and religious life directed by the priesthood, seems like an odd book with which to introduce children to the study of sacred texts.
On first blush, Leviticus appears to be out of step with what a child would enjoy studying when beginning a traditional Jewish education. The problem with seemingly irrelevant material serving as the centerpiece of beginning Torah study is heightened by the negative attitude toward cultic ritual expressed by many prophets, best stated in the opening chapter of Isaiah:
“I delight not in the blood
Of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goat. . .
Bring no more vain oblations;
It is an offering of abomination to Me;
New moon and sabbath, the holding of convocations —
I cannot endure iniquity along with the solemn assembly.
Your new moons and your appointed seasons
Fill Me with loathing;
They are a burden to Me;
I cannot endure them. . .
Learn to do good.
Devote yourselves to justice;
Aid the wronged
Uphold the rights of the orphan;
Defend the cause of the widow”.
— Isaiah 1:11-17
Indeed, the anticlerical tradition of the prophets causes a reader to look askance at the ceremonial passages of Leviticus that emphasize the sins of unclean eating, improper sacrifices and the immolation of animals as a sign of devotion. However, to pedagogues, the study of cultic priestly practices was preferable to dealing with the troubling theological issues raised by the imaginative tales in the Book of Genesis as well as in the powerful saga of Israel in Egypt, depicted in the Book of Exodus.
Nevertheless, Leviticus is by no means devoid of substance; Leviticus underscores several significant concepts and makes it possible for the reader to understand why it was chosen as a child’s primer. For example, Leviticus teaches the value of being able to say no to temptation, a lesson of great importance to children who can often be impetuous.
Rabbi Harold Kushner related that he once engaged in a debate with a Baptist theology professor who claimed that he believed every word in the Bible to be the word of God. He chided Kushner for only choosing selective verses as divine in origin. Kushner responded by asking, “How come you eat pork chops and I don’t, when the 11th chapter of Leviticus specifically forbids it and you believe that those are God’s words?”
The professor answered, “Because I believe that Jesus came to liberate us from the ritual commandments and left only the ethical ones binding.”
Kushner challenged him again: “Even if that were the case, why do you define the dietary laws of Leviticus as ritual, not ethical? What is a more important ethical issue in today’s world than teaching people to control their appetites?”
The Holiness Code found in chapter 19 of Leviticus can be the underpinning of early Jewish education because it recommends the highest ethical standards, whether in social or sexual relationships or in ritual observance: “kedoshim t’heyu — You shall be holy” (Leviticus 19:2). Moreover, this chapter spells out the requirements of a regulated society: a prohibition against stealing, robbing, defrauding, oppressing, lying and slandering, a system of fair weights and measures, judgment of disputes between parties with equal justice, selling food and providing interest-free loans to the needy.
This Holiness Code contains other significant ethical considerations including the well-known phrase: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:17). In the middle of this ritually centered book, chapter 19 redeems a priesthood focused primarily on ritual by portraying the inextricable bond between ritual and ethics. In so doing, it provides added meaning to beginning studies with Leviticus.
The rabbis of old began a child’s study of Torah with Leviticus because they understood that self-control, sacrifice and justice provide the stepping stones to a righteous, ethically instructed life. Combining the ritual with justice, the center of a life of faith, is a valuable lesson not only for children but also for all who struggle with Vayikra.