Mitzvos and Offerings Are for Our Own Good
From the Torah ofRav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitzהרב דוד מתתיהו בן יחיאל יהושע רבינוביץProfile ›
Vayikra 1:2
דַּבֵּר אֶל־בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי־יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קׇרְבָּן לַיהֹוָה מִן־הַבְּהֵמָה מִן־הַבָּקָר וּמִן־הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת־קׇרְבַּנְכֶם
Speak to Bnei Yisrael and say to them: When a man of you brings an offering to Hashem, from the animals, from the cattle or from the flock you shall bring your offering.
1“When a man of you brings an offering.”1 Chazal asked why the verse says mikem, “of you,” and answered that it excludes a stolen animal.2 Yet “there are still words to say on God's behalf,” and “the Torah has seventy faces.”3
אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן (א, ב). הִקְשׁוּ חז״ל (סוכה ל, א) לָמָּה נֶאֱמַר ׳מִכֶּם׳, וְתֵירְצוּ לְהוֹצִיא אֶת הַגָּזוּל, אַךְ עוֹד לֶאֱלוֹק מִילִּין, וְשִׁבְעִים פָּנִים לַתּוֹרָה.
In shortChazal read mikem as excluding a stolen animal, but the Torah has seventy faces, and more can be said.
2aWe may explain this on the basis of a question raised in the holy sefarim: how can anyone stand before the Omnipresent and serve Him by doing the mitzvos? Even before a king of flesh and blood, a poor or lowly man cannot stand, so how much less before the King of the kings of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He! The sefarim answer that a lowly man is not admitted before a human king because it is no honor for the king to be served and honored by someone of low standing; that is left to the ministers around him. But when we serve Hashem, we do not come to give Him honor, for who are we, creatures molded from clay, to give Him honor? On the contrary, we do the mitzvos for our own good, as Chazal said: “The mitzvos were given only to refine people through them,” as metal is refined.4
וְאֶפְשָׁר לוֹמַר עַל פִּי מַה שֶׁכָּתְבוּ בַּסְּפָרִים הַקְּדוֹשִׁים לְבָאֵר, הַאֵיךְ אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲמוֹד לִפְנֵי הַמָּקוֹם לְשָׁרְתוֹ בַּעֲשִׂיַּית הַמִּצְוֹת, הֲרֵי אֲפִילּוּ לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם אִי אֶפְשָׁר לֶעָנִי אוֹ לְאָדָם פָּחוֹת לַעֲמוֹד לְפָנָיו, קַל וָחוֹמֶר לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ מַלְכֵי הַמְּלָכִים הקב״ה. וְכָתְבוּ, כִּי הַטַּעַם שֶׁאֵין רְשׁוּת לְהַכְנִיס לִפְנֵי מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם אֲנָשִׁים פְּחוּתִים, הוּא מֵחֲמַת שֶׁאֵין זֶה כָּבוֹד לַמֶּלֶךְ שֶׁאָדָם נְחוּת דַּרְגָּא יְשָׁרְתוֹ וְיִתֵּן כָּבוֹד לַמֶּלֶךְ, וְדָבָר זֶה מָסוּר רַק לְשָׂרִים אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ, אֲבָל בַּעֲבוֹדָתֵינוּ להקב״ה אֵין אָנוּ בָּאִים לַחֲלוֹק לוֹ כָּבוֹד, שֶׁכֵּן מִי אָנוּ קְרוּצֵי חוֹמֶר שֶׁנִּיתֵּן לוֹ כָּבוֹד, אֶלָּא אַדְּרַבָּא עֲשִׂיַּית הַמִּצְוֹת הוּא לְטוֹבָתֵנוּ אָנוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמְרוּ חז״ל (ויקרא רבה יג, ג) לֹא נִיתְּנוּ הַמִּצְוֹת אֶלָּא לְצָרֵף בָּהֶם אֶת הַבְּרִיּוֹת (עיין בספר שבילי אמונה נתיב ח).
- Vayikra Rabbah 13:3; see Shvilei Emunah, Nesiv 8. ↩
2bDovid HaMelech's words may hint at this: “A prayer of the poor man when he is faint, ki ya'atof.”5 How can someone on the level of a poor man stand before Hashem in prayer? Only because ki ya'atof, which can also be read “when he wraps himself”: in praying he is, as it were, wrapping the prayer around himself, since it is for his own good. That is why, as the verse continues, “he pours out his speech before Hashem.”
וְאֶפְשָׁר לְרַמֵּז זֹאת בְּדִבְרֵי דָּוִד הַמֶּלֶךְ ע״ה שֶׁאָמַר (תהלים קב, א) ״תְּפִלָּה לְעָנִי כִי יַעֲטוֹף״, הַיְינוּ דְּאֵיךְ אֶפְשָׁר לְמִי שֶׁנִּמְצָא בְּמַדְרִיגַת עָנִי לַעֲמוֹד בִּתְפִלָּה לִפְנֵי ה׳, אֶלָּא זֶהוּ רַק מֵחֲמַת ׳כִּי יַעֲטוֹף׳, הַיְינוּ שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת שֶׁמִּתְעַטֵּף בְּעַצְמוֹ שֶׁזֶּה לְטוֹבָתוֹ, וְלָכֵן ׳וְלִפְנֵי ה׳ יִשְׁפּוֹךְ שִׂיחוֹ׳.
- Tehillim 102:1. ↩
In shortNo lowly man may serve a human king, yet we may serve Hashem, because the mitzvos, and prayer too, are given for our own good.
3The same difficulty arises with the offerings: how can we come forward to give an offering to Hashem? Does the Holy One, blessed be He, need our offerings? Here too the answer is the same: bringing an offering is entirely for our own good. That is the meaning of “When a man of you brings”: mikem, “of you,” means “for your good,” since the offering brings a person to teshuvah and humility, as the Ramban explains.6
וְהִנֵּה גַּם בְּעִנְיַן הַקְרָבַת הַקָּרְבָּנוֹת קָשֶׁה כַּנִּזְכָּר, אֵיךְ אָנוּ בָּאִים לִיתֵּן קָרְבָּן לַה׳, וְכִי הקב״ה צָרִיךְ לְקָרְבְּנוֹתֵינוּ, אֶלָּא שָׁם גַּם כֵּן הַתְּשׁוּבָה כַּנִּזְכָּר, שֶׁכָּל עִנְיַן הַקְרָבַת הַקָּרְבָּן הִיא רַק לְטוֹבָתֵינוּ, וְזֶהוּ שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ׳אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם׳ הַיְינוּ לְטוֹבַתְכֶם, שֶׁעַל יְדֵי הַקָּרְבָּן בָּא הָאָדָם לִתְשׁוּבָה וּלְשִׁפְלוּת, כַּמְּבוֹאָר בְּדִבְרֵי הרמב״ן.
- Ramban on Vayikra 1:9. There he explains that a person bringing an offering should feel that everything done to the animal ought by right to have been done to him. ↩
In shortHashem needs no offerings; mikem means “for your good,” since the offering brings a person to teshuvah and humility.
4May the Holy One, blessed be He, help us draw a lesson for ourselves from every mitzvah and from the Torah, and so bring the redemption near. Amen, may it be His will.
הקב״ה יַעֲזוֹר שֶׁנִּלְמוֹד מִכָּל הַמִּצְוֹת וְהַתּוֹרָה מוּסַר הַשְׂכֵּל, וְעַל יְדֵי זֶה נְקָרֵב אֶת הַגְּאוּלָּה, אָמֵן כֵּן יְהִי רָצוֹן.
In shortThe Rebbe prays that we draw a lesson from every mitzvah and from the Torah, and so bring the redemption near.
Takeaway
It can seem bold for a small, lowly person to stand before the King of kings, yet Hashem does not need our honor or our offerings. He gave us the mitzvos, prayer and the offerings to refine us; each one is for our own good. However lowly we are, then, we may stand before Him and let every mitzvah bring us to teshuvah and humility.
Learn this in the merit of Rav Dovid Matisyohu Rabinowitz. His yahrzeit and life ›
English translation, notes and summaries © Zechusam.