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LEVITICUS | 1:2 offering — LEV13 An outstanding contemporary Rabbi has captu...

LEV13 An outstanding contemporary Rabbi has captured how men should be regarded as different from an animal in analyzing one [this] Torah verse. The verse uses three different words for the types of animals to be sacrificed: "Behema," an animal, "Bakar," cattle, and "Tzon" flock. Each of these represents an aspect of life common to both man and animal. "Behema," as noted above, represents the animal born with instincts to live and survive. Man, too, has instincts. But if man uses all of his efforts merely to survive, like an animal, this person has not distinguished himself as a human being. "Bakar," cattle, is a word that reminds us of "Boker," the dawn, when light breaks through the night. Bakar has the ability to break through barriers by stampeding without recognizing boundaries. The human being who acts like Bakar and does not respect boundaries--boundaries between pure and impure, between holy and profane-- has not risen above the animal. Finally, the Tzon, the flock, has a "flock mentality," acting a certain way because every other animal is doing so, without any individuality. The human who constantly gives into peer pressure and does not think for himself or herself has not risen above the animal either (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of England, Covenant and Conversation, Vayikra 5771).

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Source KeyAMJV
Verse1:2
Keyword(s)offering
Source Page(s)97
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