Relationship Between Vayikra 1-5 and 6-7/2

Relationship Between Vayikra 1-5 and 6-7

Exegetical Approaches

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Complement Vayikra 1-5

The  laws of Vayikra 6-7 complement those in Vayikra 1-5.  The directives of Vayikra 1-5 focus on the bringing and preparation of the sacrifice, while the laws of Chapters 6-7 focus on the apportioning of the sacrifices.

Sources:RambanVayikra 6:2Vayikra 6:18Vayikra 7:38About R. Moshe b. Nachman, perhaps Akeidat YitzchakVayikra Peirush 6About R. Yitzchak Arama,¹ AbarbanelVayikra 6 IntroductionVayikra 6:13Vayikra 7:22About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel, SefornoVayikra 6Vayikra 7About R. Ovadyah Seforno, HaKetav VeHaKabbalahVayikra 6:2Vayikra 7:37About R. Yaakov Mecklenburg, ShadalVayikra 6:2About R. Shemuel David Luzzatto, R. S.R. HirschVayikra 6:1About R. Samson Raphael Hirsch

Target of the command – The laws of Vayikra 1-5 are directed at lay Israelites ("דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל") who bring the sacrifices,² while the commands of Vayikra 6-7 are aimed at the priests ("צַו אֶת אַהֲרֹן וְאֶת בָּנָיו") who apportion them. This accords with the focus of each unit.

Order of the sacrifices – The sacrifices in Parashat Vayikra are listed according to the level of obligation mandating their offering, while those of Parashat Tzav are ordered according to whom each is apportioned. Again, this is in line with the theme of each unit.

• Thus, Vayikra 1-5 moves from voluntary offerings (Olah, Minchah and Shelamim) to obligatory sacrifices brought as atonement for sin (Chatat and Asham).³
• In contrast, Parashat Tzav moves from קדשי קדשים to קדשים קלים.  The Olah is listed first as it is offered totally to Hashem.⁴  The Minchah and Chatat follow as there are examples of each which are for God exclusively⁵ and others that are shared also by the priest.⁶ The Asham, which is always divided between Hashem and the priest, comes next, while the unit closes with the Shelamim which is shared also by the lay Israelite.⁷

Sacrificial procedure – On the whole, Vayikra 1-5 details the sacrificial procedure for each offering, while Vayikra 6-7 does not. This is logical if we assume that Vayikra 6-7 revolves mainly around the allocating of the portions and not the dynamics of the offering itself. This position, though, must explain two exceptions to the rule: the Minchah whose procedure is mentioned in both units, and the Asham, whose protocol is mentioned only in Vayikra 6-7:

• The Minchah – As the Minchah is a meal offering which does not require slaughter, sprinkling of blood, or the like, its preparation is basically equivalent to its allotment between the altar and the priest, and so it is mentioned in both units.⁸
• The Asham – It is not clear, according to this position, why the Asham's sacrificial procedure is not mention in Vayikra 1-5, where expected.

Reasons for bringing the offerings – As expected, only in Parashat Vayikra do the verses explain why the various sacrifices are brought, listing the sins and circumstances which mandate bringing a Chatat or Asham.

Subtypes of sacrifices listed – As Vayikra 1-5 focuses on the bringing of the sacrifice, it is only these verses which distinguish between the different animals which can be brought for each sacrifice and the various types of meal offerings.⁹

Minchat Kohen Mashiach and ShalmeiTodah – Both the Minchah of the Kohen Mashiach and the Thanksgiving Offering, a type of Shelamim, are mentioned only in Parashat Tzav.  This position would explain that since each of these has certain laws regarding the allocation of the sacrifice that distinguish it from other offerings in its category,¹⁰ they needed to be mentioned individually as a contrast to the other similar offerings.¹¹  They are omitted from Parashat Vayikra because this distinction is irrelevant there, as the unit does not focus on the apportioning of the sacrifice.¹²

Guiding word - "זֹאת תּוֹרַת" – This phrase repeats throughout the unit of Vayikra 6-7,¹³ yet never appears in Vayikra 1-5.  As the phase is often understood to mean "procedure",¹⁴ this is somewhat surprising considering that it is specifically in Parashat Vayikra that most of the sacrificial procedures are enumerated. However, translated literally, the words "זֹאת תּוֹרַת" simply mean "this is the teaching" or "laws of..." and, as such, in context, might refer to the laws of allocating each sacrifice.¹⁵

Offering of the Ashes and eternal fire – As the process of removing the ashes has nothing to do with the lay Israelite's bringing of the sacrifice, it is not mentioned in Vayikra 1-5.  Moreover, as the ashes highlight how the entire offering had been given to Hashem, it is appropriate to the discussions of Parashat Tzav.

Ohel Moed vs. Har Sinai – It is not clear why one set of laws would be given at Har Sinai and the other in the Ohel Moed. Ramban¹⁶ attempts to explain that really the two phrases refer to the same place, the Tabernacle.¹⁷  When the verses speaks of Mt. Sinai, it means in front of the mountain,¹⁸ where the Ohel Moed was stationed.¹⁹

Miluim – This approach must explain why the miluim are mentioned in the closing sentences of Vayikra 7 if those sacrifices are not mentioned in either Parshat Vayikra or Parashat Tzav.

Supplement Shemot 29

The laws of Vayikra 6-7 supplement the laws regarding the Miluim in Shemot 29, adding laws specific to the priest which were relevant not only for this ceremony but for future generations as well. The laws of Vayikra 1-5 are detached from the ceremony of the Miluim and focus on laws governing the individual's bringing of sacrifices throughout the generations

¹ Akeidat Yitzchak speaks at length about how Vayikra 6-7 revolve around the allocation of the sacrifices to the priest. However, he does not say explicitly that this is why this unit is separated form Vayikra 1-5.

² As such, too, the phrases "וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי" and "אָדָם כִּי" repeat numerous times (see Vayikra 1:2, 2:1, 4:2, and 5:1) in the unit.

³ This subdivision also explains why there is a new heading in Chapter 4:1 (וַיְדַבֵּר י״י אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר.); it serves to divide the obligatory offerings from the voluntary ones.  The two sections are further distinguished by different guiding words.  Throughout the first section the various offerings are repeatedly described as "אִשֵּׁי י״י" or "אִשֵּׁה רֵיחַ נִיחֹחַ לַי״י", while in the second section, we are repeatedly told: "וְכִפֶּר עֲלֵהֶם הַכֹּהֵן... וְנִסְלַח לוֹ".

⁴ Only the skin is given to the priest.

⁵ The Minchah of the Kohen Mashiach (Vayikra 6:12-16) and the internal Chataot (Vayikra 6:23) are given totally to Hashem.

⁶ One might have thought that within the discussion of Menachot and Chataot, the first sacrifices mentioned would have been those which are given to Hashem exclusively, yet the opposite is true.  This is likely because the majority of these sacrifices are partaken of also by the priest, while those which are given totally to Hashem are the exception, not the norm.  It is even possible that they are only mentioned here to serve as a contrast to those sacrifices from which the priest eats.

⁷ The Shelamim's unique status as קדשים קלים would explain why there are several concluding verses (Vayikra 7:8-10) which separate it from the previous discussion.  In addition, as it is this only offering of which an Israelite might partake, there are two sections, each with a new opening, (Vayikra 7:22-27 and 7:28-34) aimed at them specifically, warning that they may nonetheless not eat the portions meant for Hashem or the priest.

⁸ This position might also suggest that since the Minchah of the Kohen Mashiach is distinct in being given exclusively to Hashem, it was important to elaborate by the discussion of the regular Menachot so it would be clear that these are divided between the altar and priest. As such, more details than usual are provided regarding the procedure itself, as this clarifies what is given to whom.

⁹ Vayikra 7:9-10 does mention the various types of Menachot, but only as part of a summary statement.  It does not, though, delve individually into the laws of each.

¹⁰ As opposed to most Menachot which are divided between the altar and the priest, this Minchah is given totally to Hashem.  The Thanksgiving Offering is unique in that it is accompanied by loaves of bread, unlike other Shelamim offerings.  These loaves are also given to the priest, and thus the offering is discussed here.

¹¹ See Akeidat YitzchakVayikra Peirush 6About R. Yitzchak Arama.

¹² We would not have expected the sacrifices of the newly anointed priest to be found in Parashat Vayikra regardless, as those chapters revolve around the lay Israelite and his bringing of sacrifices, while this offering is unique to the priest. [According to Chazal, the verses refer not only to the inaugural offering of every priest but to the daily minchat chavitin, which was brought by the High Priest.  Regardless, the sacrifice is never brought by a layman.]

¹³ See Vayikra 6:2, 6:7, 6:18, 7:1,7:11,and 7:37.

¹⁴ See its usage in Vayikra 12:7, 13:59, 15:32, Bemidbar 5:29 and Bemidbar 6:13.  In each o fthese cases the verse either introduces or concludes the description of a purification process or other cultic procedure.

¹⁵ See ChizkuniVayikra 7:37About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach, Akeidat YitzchakVayikra Peirush 6About R. Yitzchak Arama and SefornoVayikra 6Vayikra 7About R. Ovadyah Seforno who appear to understand the phrase in this manner. For example, Akeidat Yitzchak writes, "זאת תורת וחוק הראוי לינתן למקריב העולה".

¹⁶ This is one of three explanations that he brigns.  He also notes Chzal's understanding that the verse only mentions Mt. Sinai to teach that all the laws were originally taught to Moshe on the mountain and then repeated again in the Tabernacle.

¹⁷ One could have also suggested the opposite, that both phrases refer to Mt. Sinai, and that when Vayikra 1:1 speaks of the Ohel Moed, it is referring to Moshe's personal tent which was set up at the mountain (see Shemot 33:7-11). The advantage of this reading is that it allows one to suggest that all the laws of the sacrifices might have been commanded before the erection of the Tabernacle.  As these laws were to be utilized as soon as the Tabernacle was erected (sacrifices were brought during the dedication itself), it is logical that they were relayed earlier.

¹⁸ Ramban points to Bemidbar 10:33 and Devarim 1:6 which similarly mention the "mountain" but really refer to the area surrounding it.

¹⁹ He further suggests that verse 38 mentions "במדבר סיני" rather than "בהר סיני" for this very reason - to teach that the laws were not said on the mountain itself, but in its vicinity in the Wilderness.