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Drash
for Shabbat Vayikra/Zachor This week’s Torah portion Vayikra, is the first portion in the book of Leviticus. In it we find the laws of animal sacrifice. Our parasha explains in quite a bit of detail the right way sacrifices are to be done. Though as a modern person reading it, I cannot help but find these practices to be more than a bit distasteful. So why do we read them each week? For the ancient Israelites these sacrifices represented a way to bring them closer to God. When I was thinking how this relates to today, I thought of Tzedakah. The money that I collect at the bottom of the washing machine I put into our Tzedakah box. Also our clothes that don’t fit anymore or haven’t been worn in the last 10 years go right to the poor or needy. Sounds good but neither really is what we could truly call a sacrifice. The dictionary defines sacrifice as giving up one thing for the sake of the other. Immediately, I thought of my sister. Without her sacrifice we would not have our son. Another sacrifice done the right way for the right reason would be donating blood or a kidney. This is certainly done for altruistic reasons. Or how about all of our friends and family who have taken time to come here this weekend to celebrate our family’s mitzvah, definitely an act of love and caring. Then I considered what many people including myself might consider the biggest sacrifice they have ever made: being a parent. That was the day I found out beyond a shadow of a doubt it was no longer about me. Sacrifice as a parent can come in many forms. An infant quickly lets you know their basic needs come before your own. Your weekends are devoted to your child’s school or extracurricular activities. Sacrifices for the sake of one’s child can come in the form of an afternoon hosting a Chuck E Cheese birthday party or wishing you could feel your child’s pain in their place. These are all voluntary actions and feelings; they involve giving up of one thing for the sake of another, and are done in principle, the right way for the right reason. Being a parent is truly a sacrifice of the heart. However, one does not have to carry someone else’s child, donate a body part or be a parent to become closer to God. Tikkun Olam or repairing the world also involves taking action, doing your best, and giving of your time. Kindness, compassion, generosity, giving of one’s self to help another are all actions that help to repair or improve the world. I challenge each of you to identify sacrifices you can make in your lives for the betterment of others and in return come closer to God. Shabbat Shalom.
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