Give It Up

Friday March 20, 2026/2 Nisan Adar 5786/Shabbat Vayikra

אָדָ֗ם כִּֽי־יַקְרִ֥יב מִכֶּ֛ם קרְבָּ֖ן לַֽיהֹוָ֑ה מִן־הַבְּהֵמָ֗ה מִן־הַבָּקָר֙ וּמִן־הַצֹּ֔אן תַּקְרִ֖יבוּ אֶת־קרְבַּנְכֶֽם׃

When any of you presents an animal offering to God you shall choose your offering from the herd or from the flock. (Lev. 1:2)

Hevre/Friends,

“People are animals.” 

Impulsive. Volatile. Greedy. Power hungry. Violent.

Who says so? Everyone. 

About everyone else. 

Sometimes legitimately. Sometimes self-servingly. Defensively.

Poor animals. We give them a bad rap.

But these days, the phrase too often rings true.

This week we begin the book of Vayikra which is all about animals - those sacrificed in service to God. No longer inclined to engage in such rituals, we seek the deeper messages of these practices.  Almost all focus on the meaning of sacrifice/”korban” as an expression of giving up a part of ourselves in order to come closer (“karov”) to God, to our deepest selves.

Rabbi Jonathan Saks, z”l, explained the symbolism of the three terms mentioned in the second verse of our portion: animal, herd, flock. Each reflects one dimension of our baser instincts: survival at all costs, entitlement, conforming/following the crowd. Judaism teaches us to manifest our divine souls by sacrificing or surrendering these dark urges. 

Humans can live inspired by ideas and values like justice and peace, love and beauty, that transcend mere survival. We can distinguish between right and wrong, light and dark, mine and yours. We can stand up for our own beliefs, challenge the status quo, refuse to bow before today’s idols.

So many battles raging.

In combat zones. In city neighborhoods. On social media. In voting booths. In houses of Parliament.  

So many enemies. 

Across the world. Across the aisle. Across the street. Across the table.

So many sacrifices already made. 

Life. Liberty. Security.

So many sacrifices yet to come. 

And yet, so much potential for change. So many dreams just on the horizon. 

Which sacrifices are you prepared to make for them to come true? Which do you feel you have no choice but to make? For whom are you making those sacrifices - for you, for “your people”, or for society at large? Are those those always the same? What happens when they clash?

As we approach our Passover Festival, we enter the paradox of freedom, the profound challenge of Vayikra: to have it all, we must sacrifice some. 

What we relinquish, and what we hold fast to, becomes the essence - the heart - of who we are.

Open this book of Vayikra, the middle book of the five books of Moses, to the middle chapter and to its middle verse - the core of the Torah - and you will find these words:

וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ

Love your fellow as you love yourself. 

Love of self is the foundation for all love. It can’t be forsaken. But it’s our capacity to temper that love and give some of it to others that reveals our greatest human strength. 

Shabbat Shalom,

Dini

Photo by Ronen Avisror