וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם: (ויקרא א א-ב).
God summoned Moshe and spoke to him from the tent of meeting, saying:
Speak to Bnei Yisrael, and say to them: If one [אדם] from among you should bring an offering of livestock to God, you shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock. (Lev. 1:1-2)
Sifra, Vayikra Dibbura d'Nedavah, Section 2: How is an offering made?1
If one from among you should bring an offering – Could this be an obligation? It is therefore written, "If one … should bring an offering" therefore, this is voluntary.2
An offering to God – he must sanctify it before offering it up; these are the words of R. Yehudah.3 R. Shimon said: from where is it derived that one should not say: "To God, a burnt-offering," "To God, a meal-offering," "To God, a peace-offering," but instead should say, "A burnt offering to God," "A meal offering to God," "A Peace-offering to God?" It is therefore written, "an offering (korban) to God." Now is this not a kal vachomer?4 If with respect to what is destined to be sanctified, the Torah states that the name of Heaven is to be mentioned only after "korban" – how much more so must the name of Heaven not be mentioned in vain!5
Vayikra Rabbah, Section 2: A selection of comments on 'One' and 'Bnei Yisrael'
1: Speak to Bnei Yisrael, and say to them: If one from among you should bring an offering of livestock to God – "The son who is dear to me, Ephraim;" there are ten who were called 'dear': Torah, and prophecy, and wisdom, and knowledge and foolishness, and wealth, and the righteous, and the death of the pious, and piety, and Israel […] how do we know that Israel were called 'dear'? As it is written, "The son who is dear to me, Ephraim" – Israel remains dear to me.6
4: Speak to Bnei Yisrael – R. Yudan in the name of R. Yishmael b. Nahman: This is analogous to a king who had an undergarment. He would instruct his servant to fold it and shake it out and take care of it. The servant said: Sire, of all the garments you have, why is this the only one you concern yourself with? The king responded: this is the one closest to my body. So too Moshe said to God: King of the Universe, of the seventy nations of the world, why do you only send me to command Israel; "instruct Bnei Yisrael," "Speak to Bnei Yisrael," "Tell Bnei Yisrael?" God said: because they are closest to me, as it is written, "For as a belt is bound around the waist of a man [so I bound all the people of Israel]" (Jer. 13:11).7
6: R. Yehoshua of Sahnin in the name of R. Levy said: even the Torah honored Israel when it said: "if one from among you should bring an offering." In contrast, when the Torah speaks of something shameful it doesn't say, 'one from among you who might have leprosy in his flesh,' but instead says, "one who might have a swelling or a rash…" (Lev. 13:2).8
7: R. Berakhya said: God told this person:9 Son of Adam, your offering shall be like the offering of Adam; everything belonged to him, and he could not bring a stolen offering; similarly, you shall not bring a stolen offering. If you do so, "This will please God more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves" (Ps. 69:32).10
12:11 You shall bring your offering from the herd or from the flock – Blessed is God who counts himself among the early pious ones: Adam sacrificed a bullock on his altar, as it is written, "This will please God more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves" (Ps. 69"32); Noah followed the Torah's instruction, as it is written, "and Noah built an altar for God" (Gen. 8:20); Avraham kept the entire Torah, as it is written, "because Avraham listened to me…" when he sacrificed a ram; Yitzhak […]; Yaakov […]; Yehuda […]; Yosef […] – they all kept the Torah of their own accord, even before it was given. Therefore, God loved them wholly, and compared their names to his own. The verse says about them, "Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of God" (Ps. 119:1).12
9: If one (אדם) from among you should bring an offering (Lev. 1:2) – why does the verse [use the word אדם to describe the one sacrificing] instead of stating איש as it is written elsewhere, "Speak to all the congregation of Israel … and let them take a lamb for the household of every man (איש)" (Ex. 12:3); here too the verse should say, 'Let each man (איש) take cattle!'13 Why does it say instead אדם? In order to include the convert.14
From among you – to distinguish from the gentile, who may only offer a burnt-offering.15 R. Shimon b. Gamliel said: Seven regulations were set by the Sanhedrin, and this was one of them: a gentile who came from across the sea who would bring wine for his offering can offer his wine with the offering; but if he did not bring wine to pour on the offering, wine is brought for his offering from public funds.16
8: One (אדם) from among you who might bring an offering – The word אדם is a term of endearment, and brotherhood, and friendship. When God spoke to Ezekiel he called him 'son of Adam' – the son of worthy people, son of righteous people, son of charitable people, son of those who humble themselves to honor God and to honor Israel all their lives.17
Another idea: What is 'son of Adam'? This is similar to a human king, whose wife and sons rebelled against him, and he banished them from his house. He then sent for one of her sons and told him: son of so-and-so, come and I will show you my home and my dwelling apart from your mother. Have I any less glory with your mother outside it? This is similar to Ezekiel […] God showed him His entire chariot, and told him: Son of Adam, is this my glory, since I elevated you above all the nations of the world?18 Have I any less honor, or my home any less glory? Perhaps you might say I have no one to worship me? I have 496,000 angels who stand and sanctify my name daily from sunrise to sunset and say, "Holy, holy, holy" and "Blessed is God's honor from his place!"19 Not to mention seventy tongues in the land.20 And why do you act in such evil, inappropriate ways? […] But what can I do, but act for the sake of my great name, which was placed upon you, as it is written, "But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being profaned in the eyes of the nations" (Ez. 20:9).21
Midrash Agaddah, Vayikra, Parashat Behukotai, 27: No Human Sacrifice!
[…] at that time, God was angry [at Yiftach]; he said: if a dog or a pig would have emerged from the house, would you have sacrificed it to my name? So what did God do? He gave his daughter the idea to come out toward him, in order to teach all subsequent people who take an oath the laws of oaths, as it is written, "and behold, his daughter was coming out toward him" (Judg. 11:34).22 When Yiftach saw her, he said, "oh my daughter, you have done me in" (11:35). When he wanted to offer her as a sacrifice, his daughter said: oh father, I was coming out to express joy that you vanquished God's enemies, and now you want to slaughter me? Does the Torah state that Israel are to offer a human sacrifice? Does it not say, "If one from among you should bring an offering of livestock to God," and not a human sacrifice? She told him: Amend your ways, for you are mistaken! But he told her: "My daughter, I have made an oath that the first one to come out of my home will be slaughtered for God. She said: But can an oath always be kept? Yaakov proves that this is not so, since he took an oath and said, "I will give you a tenth of anything you give me" (Gen. 28:22), but God gave him 12 sons and one daughter; and did he sacrifice even one of his children to God? When the righteous Hannah took an oath and said, "And I shall give him to God all the days of his life" (1Sam 1:11), did she then sacrifice her son to God? She brought all these proofs, but he would not accept them.23
Shabbat Shalom!
Mehalkei Hamayim
Mayim Achronim: Additional factors in the offering of sacrifices may be derived from the story of Kamtza and Bar Kamtza. In that story, Rabbis refused to accept a sacrifice from the emperor because it had a blemish, ignoring the important factor of maintaining peace with the monarchy. This decision led to the destruction of the Temple. Another midrash that minimizes the law against accepting sacrifice from non-Jews is the following story of R. Yossi b. Halafta:
Psikta Rabbati, Addendum 1, Section 1: Ox or Sheep
The Rabbi teaches us: Do we accept a sacrifice brought by a non-Jew? The Rabbis taught that a non-Jew can offer donations, but not sacrifices, because their sacrifices are unacceptable to God, as Shlomo said: "The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable" (Pro. 21:27). Once a gentile asked R. Yossi b. Halafta: why do you not accept our sacrifices? Does it not say, "From the place the sun rises to the place it sets my name shall be great among the nations; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the nations" (Malachi 1:11)? R. Yossi responded: You read what suits you and do not read that which does not. When Bilaam and Balak wanted to offer sacrifices to God he would not accept them, as it is written, "Will God be pleased with thousands of rams…" (Micha 6:7), as it is written, "and Hashem your God did not wish to listen to Bilaam" (Deut. 23:6) […] He said, surely the Torah was referring to the wicked, for God rejects even the offering of a wicked Jew. Moreover, why are you citing prophets instead of the Torah itself!24 R. Yossi responded: You are correct that this is an explicit verse: […] "Nor shall you accept any such animals from a foreigner to offer as food to your God; since they are mutilated" (Lev. 22:25), but I will accept sacrifices from Israel, as it is written, "An ox or a sheep or a goat…"25