by Rabbi Adam B. Ruditsky
Houston, TX

In the final sedra of Vayikra (Leviticus), the joint reading of B'har- B'chukkotai, we are looking at the concluding thoughts in this book of Torah, which is devoted to the pursuit of communal and personal sanctity. In fact, it is the Word itself that leads one to God's holy way, as we read, "These are the mitzvot which the Lord gave to Moses for the people of Israel at Mount Sinai" (Lev. 27:24). This closing verse corresponds with the beginning of Vayikra that says, "The Lord called to Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting: he said, ‘Speak to the people of Israel'" (Lev. 1:1-2). The book is framed to show that the origins of its teachings are from the God of heaven and earth and are given to a people he chose to be his own. Like Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra is also an invitation to Israel to relate to God in holiness and purity, sacrifice and deed, as a people called to be a "holy nation."

In Leviticus 26:3 Israel is told that "if you live by my regulations, observe my commandments and obey them," then things will go well with Israel. Israel's involvement with God comes with the keeping and standing upon these mitzvot. Offerings were part of the mitzvot and the people were active in doing them. Offerings require s'mikhah, the laying on of hands, as it is written (Lev. 3:2). Call it a transfer, call it participation, the offerer is involved with what is taking place. Offerings were also presented to Hashem on the festivals, or appointed times, as we read last week in Leviticus 23. The portion B'har connects the Shabbats of Leviticus 23 with the shalom, or rest, upon the possession of the land in B'chukkotai (cf. Lev. 26:6). However, the land itself is to be given a Shabbat, a time to find rest from the activity of human cultivation and even misuse of the earth (Lev. 25:1).  So important was the keeping of the Shabbat that Israel was commanded, "Keep my Shabbats and revere My Sanctuary; I am Hashem" (Lev. 26:2). The verse that ends the portion of B'har is preceded by a prohibition against idolatry, a theme that is common throughout scripture. Upon the finding of the Sefer Torah during the reign of Josiah, two things were acted upon right way: (1) banning idolatry and (2) keeping the Passover which was a Shabbat. King Josiah "revered" God's sanctuary by calling Israel back to her original invitation to be a "holy nation." One might say it was not as arbitrary as an invitation but rather an obligation, however it can also be argued that the invitation preceded the obligation, as a midrash on Israel's choosing suggests. All the other nations said no when God offered them his mitzvot, but Israel, although the smallest, said yes. From the highways and byways Israel came to Hashem's banquet of blessings.

The Shabbat - a blessing and gift from Hashem to His people - was the means of connection that provided the opportunity and platform for the community of Israel to worship God.  Worshiping God was to be "revered" by Israel, meaning they were to be in awe or respectfully fearful within the house of God. You could not stand in the house of God and partake in idolatry simultaneously, the Shabbat reminding us of that. As Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel tells us, "The Sabbath held no danger of deification of the seventh day, of conceiving it to be an angel or spiritual person. Nothing stands between God and man, not even a day." The Sabbath, according to Heschel, "does not represent a substance but the presence of God, His relationship to man[kind]." Whether giving the land rest, providing rest to the poor in meeting needs, ridding the land of the high places, or honoring the Temple, the Shabbat day was a day, weekly or seasonally, to remind Israel of her identity: that is, a priestly nation whose people were to offer themselves to God.

Our Yeshua-faith tells us that we too are to engage in the ways of Temple worship, responding to the presence of God rather than to a place. That is not to be read as an approval of neglecting a worship congregation or community.  Shabbat does not stand between us and God, but rather provides a connection in worship and community.  Yet we are also told that we are the "Temple" of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19) and are to present ourselves as an "offering" to the living God (Rom. 12:1). But what are we offering up? What does it mean to just say "ourselves"? Is the meaning clear? We, like Israel, are giving up and standing up to the life Torah has written on our hearts. The laying on of the hands, as it is stated (Lev. 3:2), is the giving up of what needs to go - giving up our sin, our scars, our doubts, our angers and frustrations, our selfish desires and destructive escapades, or the power that constrains us. How can we sow to the Spirit and from the Spirit reap eternal life other than by keeping the Torah that has been written on our hearts (Jer. 31:33 and Gal. 6:8)? The redeeming power of Hashem works when we offer ourselves, heart, mind and spirit.

The relationship of the Shabbat, offerings, and the sanctuary of God is the heart of the book of Vayikra; it is Israel's relationship to Hashem. Today, as we enter Shabbat, we are reminded that eternal life begins in this present age. God's sanctuary is where His presence dwells, and while that might be in our houses of worship, it is also what has been made alive within us. "Keep my Shabbats and revere My Sanctuary; I am Hashem."