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This week, we begin reading the third book of the Torah, Vayikra.  As usual, that’s also the name of the first Parshah of the book.  Vayikra means “and he called” — God calls to Moshe and begins to communicate a long series of rules and laws.  Some seem very modern.  Others seem rather ancient and outdated, but we will discover together what they mean for us today.  Many Parashiot of the book of Vayikra begin with the words “And God spoke to Moshe, saying….”.  Yet this first time has God calling to Moshe, as though Moshe is off somewhere doing something else.
-​Remembering that this is shortly after Moshe has come back from Mount Sinai with the second set of tablets and all of the laws God wants him to deliver, after the whole episode of the golden calf, what do you think Moshe might have been doing that God had to call out to him to get his attention?
 
The laws in this Parshah deal with sacrifices.  
- What do you think a sacrifice is?  Can you think of any examples?
 
In ancient times, the people brought various things — animals, grains, fruit — as donations and sacrifices.  These were meant to honor God, but also to ensure the priests had food, and to atone for sins.  The Torah spells out things that can be brought as sacrifices, and different reasons to bring them.   The word “sacrifice” means to give up something of direct value to you, usually in order to gain something you think may be more valuable but whose value may be indirect or not just for you.  But it’s not a trade of one thing for another — it’s a gift with the hope that giving up something now enables something better in the future.  In baseball, a sacrifice means you’re willing to be called out so that someone else on your team has the chance of advancing to the next base or scoring a run.  
-​Have you ever given up something?  Would you consider it a sacrifice?  Why did you do it?  
-​What other sacrifices can you think of that you or people around you make?  Are there times when you give away something of value (money, food, your time, your possessions)? Why do you do it, and what do you get in return?
-​We no longer bring sacrifices to the temple.  What do we do today to honor God and our Jewish heritage?  To atone for sins?
 
One of the specifications in the Torah is that what is brought as a sacrifice must be the best of its kind — if it’s an animal or a plant, it must be a good specimen.
-​Why do you think this is so?  
-​When we give away used or old things we no longer need, is that a sacrifice?  Why or why not?
 
The Torah then goes on to describe different categories of sacrifices or offerings.  The first is simply a meal offering — flour that is prepared in various ways with oil and seasonings.  What doesn’t go up in smoke to honor God remains to feed the priests.  The other categories are defined as peace offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings.  Over the centuries, our Rabbis have debated exactly what falls into each category.  
-​Just based on the names, what do you think is the difference between a “peace” sacrifice, a “sin” sacrifice, and a “guilt” sacrifice?
-​When you give up something — maybe donating to a charity or someone in need, maybe offering something to a friend or family member, maybe having a privilege taken away from you, maybe giving up something you’d like to do because others want to do something else, why do you do it? Is what you’re giving up a “peace” offering, a “sin” offering, a “guilt” offering, or something else?
 
As the Torah defines them, sin and guilt offerings are to make up for things we have done accidentally or unintentionally.  They are ways of making things right when we have done something that we shouldn't but didn’t mean to.
-​Have you ever done something you shouldn’t have, but didn’t mean to?  If so, how did you know you did it?
-​Did you take responsibility even though it was unintentional?  Did you make amends somehow?
 
As we study the book of Vayikra, even though some of its laws may seem old or irrelevant (like the laws of sacrifices), we will find modern meanings that help us understand our lives and make us better people.  Who knew laws could be so interesting?
 
Shabbat shalom,
Dan