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The Non-Jew's Korban

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The Non-Jew's Korban בס“ד Parshat Emor 17 Iyar, 5777/May 13, 2017 Vol. 8 Num. 33 This issue of Toronto Torah is graciously sponsored by Shloimie and Annie Romberg z”l רויזל מרים בת יששכר דב הכהן for the yahrtzeit of Shloimie’s grandmother Rose Troster z”l פרענדל דינה בת יוסף and Shloimie’s aunt Fanny Weiner The Non-Jew’s Korban Rabbi Baruch Weintraub After Parshat Kedoshim taught us how Why write “a man” twice? The answer is to walk a very fine line. On one hand, to sanctify ourselves in the different to be found in the words of Rabbi Akiva the non-Jew’s spiritual effort is areas of life, the first half of Parshat (Menachot 73b): “’A man, a man’ – to acknowledged and sanctified; the Torah Emor deals with the holiness of the include non-Jews who may vow and emphasizes that his sacrifice is as holy Mikdash, those who serve in it, and volunteer burnt sacrifices as Israelites as any other, and therefore we must the sacrifices brought therein. In this can, but not peace offerings”. If so, we ensure that it is not blemished, as our context, the Torah teaches us the can now understand why the Torah offerings are supposed to be prohibition against bringing a separated the two types of korbanot unblemished. All nations are welcome blemished animal as a korban. This regarding blemishes: to teach us that in the house of G-d. On the other hand, law is presented in a very peculiar non-Jews can only bring burnt we must not turn the Beit HaMikdash way: instead of simply stating that no offerings. into a shared and combined effort. The blemished animal may be brought for peace offering, which represents a joint a sacrifice, the Torah separates the However, this answer is far from contribution of the owner, the kohen prohibitions against bringing satisfying. After all, why would the and the altar, is reserved for Jews only. blemished animals for wholly-burnt Torah connect what would seem to be As the Jews told the Samaritans, “It is offerings (korban olah) and for peace- completely different issues: the ban on not for you and for us” – we must keep offerings (korban shelamim) into two bringing blemished animals, and the our special spiritual character. different passages (22:18-20, 21-22). conditions under which a non-Jew can What is the message conveyed to us sacrifice? The question only deepens if As with many other teachings of the through this seemingly redundant we note that an explicit prohibition Torah, it is easy to fall into one repetition? against taking blemished sacrifices from sweeping position: either to completely non-Jews appears a few verses later. reject the ability of non-Jews to serve One answer is suggested by the (22:25) our G-d, ignoring both their being Seforno. (ad loc.) If the prohibition created in G-d’s image and the reality of would have been written only once, we To answer these questions, we shall G-d as the creator of all, or to may have thought that the burnt consider a different one: why, according completely equate their relationship to offering was excepted, for it is given to Rabbi Akiva, can non-Jews bring G-d with ours, failing to recognize the voluntarily, and therefore its laws are burnt offerings but not peace offerings? special status of the Jewish People as less strict. Alternatively, maybe peace- We encounter a similarly puzzling “G-d’s firstborn son”. Our parshah offerings would be the exception, due distinction when we contrast Shlomo’s challenges us to hold to a much more to their lower state of holiness. prayer at the inauguration of the first complex view – sanctifying the korban of Therefore, the Torah specifies that Beit HaMikdash, asking G-d to heed the others, and yet holding fast to the role both must be unblemished. request of the non-Jew coming from a of a “priestly kingdom and a holy far land (Melachim I 8:41-43), and the nation”. Our Sages’ understanding of this Jews’ openly hostile rejection of the parshah may hint at a different lesson. Samaritans’ offer to assist them in [email protected] They made an interesting observation: building the second Beit HaMikdash, “It in the verse speaking about burnt is not for you and for us to build a offerings, the Torah uses a double House for our G-d, but we ourselves term – “A man, a man, from the house shall build.” (Ezra 4:2) of Israel or from the strangers among Israel who offers up his sacrifice…” Our tradition, it seems, is instructing us OUR BEIT MIDRASH ROSH BEIT MIDRASH ABBI ORDECHAI ORCZYNER R M T SGAN ROSH BEIT MIDRASH RABBI JONATHAN ZIRING AVREICHIM DAM RIEDMANN ARON EREZ A F , Y P CHAVERIM ISAAC BUSHEWSKY, URI FRISCHMAN, NADAV GASNER, SHIMMY JESIN, BJ KOROBKIN, YOSEPH LEVI, ZACK MINCER, RONI PEREZ, JOSH PHILLIP, JACOB POSLUNS, DAVID RIABOY, MORDECHAI ROTH, ARIEL SHIELDS, DAVID SUTTNER, DAVID ZARKHINE Find our upcoming shiurim on-line at WOMEN’S BEIT MIDRASH MRS. ORA ZIRING, MRS. ELLIEZRA PEREZ www.torontotorah.com CHAVEROT YAKIRA BEGUN, NOA BORDAN, MAYTAL CUPERFAIN, MIRA GOLDSTEIN, KAYLA HALBERSTADT, LEORA KARON, RIVKA SAVAGE, KAYLA SHIELDS, ARIELA We are grateful to SNOWBELL, SARAH WAPNER, MIRIAM WEISS Continental Press 905-660-0311 Book Review: With Perfect Faith Adam Friedmann With Perfect Faith: Foundations of of the physical world, the Torah, and explaining how they differ from, or Jewish Belief philosophy as a whole. Therefore, any agree with Rambam’s perspective. Rabbi J. David Bleich, Editor critical review of the thirteen principles Ktav Publishers (1983) needs to consider not only the basic The book is entirely in English, making text, deriving from Rambam’s the sources accessible to those who About the Editor Commentary to the Mishnah, but also cannot understand them in their Rabbi Dr. J. David Bleich serves as a Rambam’s other writings and the original languages, either Hebrew or Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshiva University’s writings of other medieval Jewish Judeo-Arabic. The only, slight, Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. philosophical thinkers. The goal of this inconvenience in this regard is that the He is also the head of the latter’s Yadin volume is to provide the source translations used for the citations are Yadin Kollel for training rabbinical material for just that kind of analysis. not the most up to date, meaning the judges. In addition, he has taught English itself is somewhat stilted. philosophy, particularly ethics, at both Content, Structure, and Style the undergraduate and graduate levels The volume opens with a general Final Thoughts in Yeshiva University’s various schools, introduction from Rabbi Bleich about This volume is a valuable resource for and is a regular lecturer at its Cardozo the value of dogma in Judaism. The anyone who seeks to move beyond the School of Law. Rabbi Bleich has first section of the book takes up this basic understanding of the Thirteen published prolifically on both halachah theme, including the full text of the Principles towards a deeper grasp of and philosophy. Thirteen Principles, as well as the intellectual context in which selections from other thinkers who Rambam made his dogmatic claims. Concept of the Book range from agreeing in part with Rabbi Bleich’s introductions serve to Rambam’s Thirteen Principles of Faith Rambam’s list, to rejecting the tie the various sources together, have become a foundation for Jewish existence of “Jewish dogma” offering a potential explanation of philosophical discussion. However, altogether. Following this are thirteen Rambam’s ideas. These can serve as Rambam was not the only thinker to chapters, one for each principle, which the basis for one’s own thinking on the develop a systematic approach to the include selections from other great subject, which can be developed bases of our beliefs and he was not the medieval Jewish thinkers such as through a thoughtful reading of the first to discuss the range of Rabbis Yosef Albo, Sa’adia Gaon, book overall. philosophical topics which relate to Yehudah HaLevi, Abarbanel, and those thirteen principles. Furthermore, others. Each chapter is introduced by [email protected] Rambam’s words do not appear in Rabbi Bleich, who provides framing for vacuum; they reflect his understanding the passages that are quoted, Israel’s Chief Rabbis: Rabbi Benny Elon Yaron Perez Rabbi Binyamin (Benny) Elon Rabbi Elon and his wife, author Emunah Elon, established 5715 (1954) - 5777 (2017) Beit El Press, through which he personally published a Chief Rabbi, Kibbutz Shluchot (1978-1982) commentary to Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook’s Ma’amar haDor. He also established Tov Ro’i Press, which published Rabbi Binyamin Elon’s father was Rabbi Dr. Menachem Elon, Rabbi Kook’s commentary to the Talmud. Rabbi and a legal scholar and judge who served as Vice President of Rabbanit Elon have six children; his son Uri created a Israel’s Supreme Court. Rabbi Binyamin Elon was born in popular television series, Shtissel. Jerusalem and learned in Yeshivat Mercaz haRav; he was ordained in 1978, and he was appointed Chief Rabbi of In 2014, Rabbi Elon suffered a relapse of cancer, but he Kibbutz Shluchot in Northern Israel. Rabbi Elon taught in continued his public activities until his passing last Friday. Machon Meir, Ateret Kohanim and Birkat Moshe (Maaleh In 2016, he received the Moskowitz Prize for Zionism, and Adumim), among other yeshivot. In 1990, Rabbi Elon worked an interviewer asked him, “What is the most important with Rabbi Hanan Porat to establish Yeshivat Beit Orot on message you would like to convey today?” Rabbi Elon Mount Scopus; he served as the first Rosh Yeshiva, for six replied, “Nothing is more important than family continuity, years.
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