Why does the Torah go into so much detail about Korbanot? Most people nowadays fall asleep when the Parsha goes into detail about the Mishkan construction and the sacrifices. We even see in the Haftorah for Tzav, taken from Yirmiyahu, that Hashem didn’t command the forefathers with sacrifices. All He asked was that they hear His voice, and that alone will form the foundation for a G-d-nation relationship. Yeshayahu before him spoke of the futility of the nation’s multitude of sacrifices, "lama li rov zivcheichem," if not rooted in a deeper commitment to Hashem.<\/p>\n
So why do we have Korbanot? Because we asked for them. The Rambam explains that Bnei Yisrael had been exposed to so much idolatry, particularly in Egypt, and they grew accustomed to worship via sacrifice. Like sexuality, Hashem doesn’t command us to abstain unequivocally. Instead, He recognizes the temptation, and instructs us to carefully practice, following His rules. By laying down a framework for worshiping Hashem with sacrifices, He grants us opportunities to behave appropriately while satisfying our idolatrous desires.<\/p>\n
The message here is that the customer is not always 100% right. The customer must be treated with respect, and shouldn’t be turned away empty-handed. But what would’ve happened if Hashem didn’t give us specific laws of sacrifices? If we had the green light to offer whatever, wherever and however we wanted, or if it had been forbidden completely, I can imagine chaos would’ve ensued. Customers and clients often have less of an understanding than the business person in certain areas, and must be guided along with instruction and boundaries, taking everyone’s best interest into consideration. It’s not a good moral practice, but helping a client succeed despite their insistence on another path is good for future business.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Why does the Torah go into so much detail about Korbanot? Most people nowadays fall asleep when the Parsha goes into detail about the Mishkan construction and the sacrifices. We even see in the Haftorah for Tzav, taken from Yirmiyahu, that Hashem didn’t command the forefathers with sacrifices. All He asked was that they hear … <\/p>\n