Parashat VaYikra (Joshua Feinstein)

Shabbat Shalom.

My parasha, VaYikra, is all about when you sin unwittingly or wittingly, or when another person points out that you have sinned, you have to suffer a consequence. Usually that consequence is to sacrifice a sheep, goat, or ox, but if you can’t afford those animals, you can sacrifice two turtledoves or two pigeons instead. These animals must be without blemish, or else the offering will not be accepted.

What I wanted to know was, what was the punishment if you did something wrong in early Israel? What did you have to give up, and what were the consequences of that punishment? Why were the punishments so harsh? How is this different from punishment today?

The punishment for sinning, whether it was intentional or not, was sacrificing a sheep, goat, ox, or pigeons. By sacrificing these animals, you are giving up milk, more animals, wool, carrying power, meat, and money, which in the past people used to survive.

In punishment today, however, no matter what the religion is, you are still giving things up that may be important to you. For example, if I were to get detention for whistling in class at my school, which has happened before, that takes away personally from my adventure time before jazz band and my jazz band warm-ups. I prefer to have this time because it gives me something to do, whereas in detention, I just sit there staring blankly at the clock, which is very boring. Why are these punishments so harsh? Both the punishments in the Bible and detention after school set an example to other people not to do that which has been done, otherwise they will face the consequence that has been brought upon the person who sinned in the first place. Back then, in the time of early Israel, if you sacrificed animals, you would most likely tell your friends about it, and they would know not to sin because they needed those animals to survive. Today, with my example, people know not to whistle in class. Otherwise, they will have to sacrifice time after school.

This week, my blessing for us is to learn from our mistakes and those of others, making sure that we do not repeat those mistakes.

Shabbat Shalom.