LEV69 The Kohen Gadol daily flour offering shall not be eaten. As noted, offerings are to awaken the heart of the one who brings them. If the Kohen Gadol would eat of his meal offering, the desired effect on his heart would not be achieved, for it would seem to him that he brought the offering for his own sake, for nourishment. All the more so, were his offering to be eaten by someone else, the desired effect on the Kohen Gadol would not be achieved. Therefore, the Torah commands that his offering be burned on the Altar, and none of it be eaten by anyone.

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LEV71 We must not cause someone embarrassment by referring to his past misdeeds. The Talmud (Yerushalmi Yevomos 8:3) explains that the reason the sin offering and burnt offering were slaughtered in the same place in the Sanctuary was to save sinners from embarrassment. Anyone witnessing someone bringing a sin offering could assume that it was a burnt offering which is brought as a donation and not necessarily as an atonement for a transgression. Using this as a source, the Sages made a regulation that prayer (shmoneh esrai) must be recited quietly in order not to embarrass people who confess their sins during their prayers. (Sotah 32b). This verse teaches us that we must be very careful not to cause someone embarrassment or discomfort because of past misdeeds.

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LEV70 Again and again our Torah emphasizes the dignity and respect that a man must accord his fellow. The Torah is considerate of human feelings even where you would least expect it. During the days of the Temple, for instance, various people brought offerings for different reasons. Some sacrifices were obligatory, some were gifts, and some were brought to atone for sin. In this last category were the hattah (sin–offering), brought for an unintentional transgression; the asham (guilt–offering), brought, for example, for the sin of swearing falsely; and the olah (burnt-offering), sometimes brought for improper thoughts, but it could be brought for other reasons as well, unrelated to sin. Now just imagine what might have happened at the Temple. The person making the offering had to be present, to place his hands on the animal of the sacrifice. Then, if Reuben walked into the Temple with his ashram, everyone would know that Reuben had sworn falsely! Let Simeon enter the Temple with his hattah, and all would realize that Simeon had sinned! Surely the Temple would have become a center of unwarranted public humiliation. Therefore the Torah specifically commands: "In the place where the olah is slaughtered shall the hattah be slaughtered" [this verse]; "In the place where they slaughter the olah shall they slaughter the asham" (Leviticus 7:2). Under this system the spectator would never know whether a particular sacrifice was a voluntary offering or something obligatory in expiation of a sin. This is how the Torah sought to protect the dignity and esteem of man. (Continued at [[DEUT977]] Deuteronomy 20:5 "go back" SINAI1 301-2)

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LEV73 Since th[e] mitzvah [of preserving dignity] is truly important, it will be shown that both the Torah and the rabbis went to great lengths to preserve a person's dignity. The Talmud (Berachot 19b) says that preserving dignity is so important that one may violate a negative mitzvah for the sake of preserving dignity. Later authorities rule that a person may violate any rabbinic (not biblical) injunction in order to preserve dignity (Maimonides, Hilchot Kelayim 10:29). Since most of Jewish practice is rabbinic, not biblical in nature, most practices in Judaism can be violated if doing the mitzvah would necessitate violating a person's dignity. ... The Torah in itself shows its sensitivity to the concept of not embarrassing anyone. [This] verse says that the place to which the burnt offering is brought should be the same place the sin offering "for accidental sins" is brought. The Talmud (Sotah 32b) explains that the Torah was trying to protect the identity of those who brought a sin offering, so that no one could tell by looking at a particular place in the Temple if the people were sinners or not. When the offering of the First Fruits (Bikurim) was brought to the Temple, a number of verses had to be read with the offering. Since not everyone could read, the rabbis (Mishnah, Bikurim 3:7) instituted a rule that there should be permanent readers to read for everyone. It would not suffice merely to have readers for those who could not read since their illiteracy would be obvious. By having a permanent reader, no one would know who could and who could not read, avoiding embarrassment. This is the practice adopted today in most Ashkenazic synagogues for Torah reading. Since most Ashkenazic people today cannot read the Torah with the proper melody, a Torah reader reads for everyone, even those who can read, in order to avoid embarrassment. In the same way, it was the custom to bring food to a shiva house (house of Jewish mourning). However, the poor used to bring in plain baskets while the rich brought in wealthier baskets, which caused embarrassment to the poor. Therefore, the rabbis (Mo'ed Katan 27a) instituted a custom everyone had to bring food in a plain basket to the house of mourning.

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LEV72 Respect and sensitivity to sinners also requires not embarrassing them needlessly. When God designed the Tabernacle (and later the Temple), He commanded Aaron to set up the place of the sin offering in the very same place as the burnt offering [this verse]. Why? The Talmud explains that if there was one particular place that the sin offering were to be offered, then all of the sinners would gather there and all would know that these are transgressors, causing a very embarrassing situation. In order to avoid this, God demonstrated great sensitivity, and commanded the sin offering and burnt offering to be brought from the same spot so that no one would be able to distinguish between these two groups of Jews (Sotah 32b).

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LEV74 One of the Torah's 613 commandments is "You shall be holy" [this verse]. In Nachmanides' Torah commentary, he explains that, to achieve holiness, it is not enough to refrain from doing unholy and wrongful acts, although that indeed is a necessary first stage (we can't be holy while stealing, deceiving others, or engaging in a forbidden sexual relationship). But the second stage, to which all people should aspire, is "to sanctify yourself through that which is permitted to you" (Yevamot 20a). Thus, if we eat permitted food but "eat like a pig," we have not violated Judaism's dietary restrictions, but we have violated the command to "be holy." Similarly, if we refrain from speaking words that could console or inspire another, we have not done anything directly immoral, but we certainly have not obeyed the injunction to "be holy." To achieve holiness, we must strive to do what is permitted--whether it involves eating, speaking to others, or conducting our business--in a way that is holy. Therefore, in any given circumstance in which we are uncertain how to behave, we should ask ourselves, "What would the command to 'be holy' bid me to you do in this situation?"

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LEV75 See [[LEV70]] Leviticus 6:18 place SINAI1 301

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LEV76 Many people assume that the Bible wants children to fear their parents. But the verse that often is translated as commanding fear more accurately means, "Let each man be in awe of his mother and father" [this verse]. Awe is understood by Jewish law as mandating for example, that a child not sit in a chair that normally is reserved for a parent, but not that the child be afraid of the parent.

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LEV77 Burn sacrificial meat that has become “left over.”... the mitzvah contains an allusion to trust in Hashem. One should not be overly concerned about food and save every scrap out of fear for tomorrow. One should have faith that Hashem will provide, as one sees that He commands us to totally burn meat of offerings that is left over beyond the allotted time for eating it. He wants no person or animal to benefit from such meat.

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LEV78 See [[LEV929]] Leviticus 23:30 nefesh TZADIK 621

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