Shabbat Table Topics – Parashat Vayikra/0/he
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נושאים לשולחן שבת – פרשת ויקרא
תפילה או קרבנות?
Set up a debate at your Shabbat table regarding the ideal form of worship. Is prayer or sacrifice a better model?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of each system?
- How would repentance be different if, instead of confessing sins with your heart and mouth, one needed to also bring a sin-offering? How might giving a tangible object, rather than merely speaking words, affect one's relationship with Hashem? Is gift giving more or less valuable than speech?1
- להרחבה, ראו מטרת הקרבנות, ועיינו באיך כל אחד מרמב"ם ורמב"ן view the relative values of prayer and sacrifice.
דרך לכפר על חטאים
ר' יוסף בכור שור observes that having some form of an atonement process is absolutely critical for ensuring that people are motivated to behave properly. If there were no purification process, people would remain mired in sin, and would have much less incentive to avoid future sins.
- Do you agree, or does knowing that such an atonement process exists make it easier to sin, as one knows that there is a safety net upon which to rely?
- ר"י בכור שור does not explain why the atonement process had to be accomplished specifically through animal sacrifice.רמב"ן suggests that in watching the animal slaughtered, a person is forced to recognize that it should have been his blood which was spilled had it not been for Hashem's mercy. This knowledge should prevent him from sinning further. What other advantages does the sacrificial procedure provide? להרחבה, ראו מטרת הקרבנות.
טעמי המצוות
In debating the role and value of sacrifices, commentators display their differing attitudes towards the purpose and nature of mitzvot as a whole. Some of the questions they touch upon include:
- האם אפשר להציע מטרה מעשית או תועלתנית למצווה, או לחשוב שיש מצוות שיסודן בוויתור של ה' לחולשות האדם? במלים אחרות, האם מצוות התורה בהכרח מייצגות אידיאל שיש לשאוף אליו, או שמא ייתכן שהן מגיבות לטבע האדם ולצרכים שלו?
- Are all of the Torah's laws equally relevant and useful to all generations, or is it possible that some were meant mainly for a particular time period?
- How does looking into the reasoning behind a particular commandment make it more meaningful? What are the dangers of doing so?
- למספר נושאים הדנים בעקרונות אלו, ראו מטרת המשכן, מטרת הקרבנות, מטרת פסח מצרים, מחצית השקל – למניין או למשכן?, צרעת, ומטרת דיני אשת יפת תאר.
עוד...
לעוד נושאים בפרשה, ראו: רשימת נושאים – פרשת ויקרא.
