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This week’s portion opens with the ritual laws of a woman who gives birth, but the bulk of the content discusses the identification, quarantine and purification of the metzorah, or leper. Unlike the medical affliction, Biblical tzaraat, or leprosy, can also affect clothing or buildings.
This portion is a busy one. It details at length the special service Aaron and his four sons brought in the Tabernacle for the first time, following the seven day period of inauguration. It tells of the tragic demise of Aaron’s elder two sons, Nadab and Abihu, and what happens in the aftermath of their deaths. Finally, the portion closes with a lengthy explanation of the laws of permitted and forbidden animals for consumption, known as the Kosher laws.
Our portion provides additional details regarding the sacrificial rites discussed in last week’s portion. God instructs both the priests and the people, via Moses, on proper conduct with the various offerings they may encounter.
The portion of Vayikra opens where the book of Exodus left off; after God’s glory descends to the Tabernacle, Moses cannot enter, therefore God has to call to him to come forward. The portion, like most of the book of Leviticus, continues with a detailed accounting of several sacrificial services. It begins by looking at the voluntary offerings brought by the people under various circumstances, then continues by discussing the mandatory offerings required under different conditions.
This week’s portion is often read together with the previous portion, Vayakhel. Besides the mathematical inevitability of some years having an extra Saturday, Jewish tradition prescribes a leap month be added seven times over a 19-year cycle so that Passover always falls in the spring. On shorter years, certain Torah portions are traditionally grouped together, while on longer years, they are read separately.
The portion of Vayakhel is often read together with the following portion, Pekudei. They deal with the fulfillment of the instructions from the last three portions regarding the Tabernacle. In the portion of Vayakhel, Moses collects donations from the Children of Israel, and with those contributions the Tabernacle parts are constructed. Vayakhel contains a description of building the Tabernacle’s constituent parts.
This action-packed portion contains the final instructions for building the Tabernacle. It also relates the events of the Sin of the Golden Calf. Following the sin, Moses pleads with God to maintain His relationship with the Children of Israel as it had been until that point. God commands Moses to carve a new set of tablets and He reiterated highlights of His law to the people. At the end of the portion, Moses finally descends from Mount Sinai, his face aglow with holiness.
This portion continues the themes of last week’s portion, describing the clothing the priests must wear to serve in the Tabernacle, the process by which they are to be consecrated, and the offerings they must bring, both when they are appointed and on a daily basis thereafter. It ends with a description of the Altar of Incense which Moses is commanded to build.
The portion of Terumah deals with the plans for the construction of the Tabernacle, God’s portable Temple in the desert. The Tabernacle will become the focus of most of the rest of the book of Exodus. It was constructed in the second year after the Exodus and remained in use even after the people entered the Holy Land. It was destroyed during the time of Eli the Priest, not long before King Saul came to the throne.
This week’s portion leaves the narrative behind and focuses instead on Torah law. It deals extensively with case law between man and man, but also includes a number of laws between man and God. It is concerned with justice and righteous behavior. As the Israel Bible points out, the juxtaposition of the case law in our portion with the religious obligations of the Ten Commandments at the end of the last portion, teaches that religion requires not only faith, but ethical conduct, as well.
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The Israel Bible will succeed in helping readers of Tanakh better understand its geographical context and better perceive some of its contemporary resonances.
Assistant Professor of Jewish Philosophy and Bible, Yeshiva University
When you open The Israel Bible and see… lessons about Israel, you see that Israel is the Torah’s main theme and begin to understand the major role that it plays.
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Jews and Christians share a biblical heritage, and The Israel Bible shows even more clearly that this is the land God chose for the Jewish people.
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