I mean, I think I get them, but they seem absolutely absurd to me.
I'm not saying that I don't appreciate symbolism, but symbolism is not to be taken too seriously or acted in real life. Therefore, just because I sinned and I should be punished, doesn't mean I should punish an animal because it symbolizes that it should really be me being punished.
I just don't get how somebody could in any way benefit from Kobranot (besides getting food, if they're allowed to eat it. Are they allowed to eat it? That would be weird. Like, eating the symbol that stands for you and your sins. What is that supposed to mean?).
Korban comes from the root word קרב which means close. Essentially, Korbanot are supposed to be a means of bringing us closer to Hashem. Please, if anyone has a sufficient answer as to how burning an animal and/or incense would make you feel closer to God.
I am satisfied with what the Rambam has to say. He, like me, is not a fan of Korbanot. He said, as many of you have already posted/commented about, that Hashem allowed Bnai Yisroel to give Korbanot as a compromise because Hashem understood that it is difficult to go from one extreme to another. Okay, fine; so they gave Korbanot because it was almost like they couldn't help it- it was normal to them. I still don't understand how Korbanot became so big- why like people were rushing to give Korbanot or why the Mizbeach was a huge part of the Beit Hamigdash, but that's a different story. I feel like they should have slowly gotten off of Korbanot. Since Hashem let them keep it because it was hard to switch from one extreme to another, maybe there should have been a gradual process of using korbanot less and less until they eventually died out. Or some sort of replacement. Something typical of quitting a bad habit like smoking.
What I am not satisfied with is the idea of giving Korbanot in the future. During Navi/Ketuvim class, our teacher has stated that he would give Korbanot and he thinks that one day we will resume with that tradition. I do not mean to seem like I am saying that only he believes this, because apparently a lot of other people think that too. However, I can not even begin to wrap my head around the idea that one day people would give Korbanot again. Forget from a religious perspective- we're in the 21st century (and moving up!)- nobody gives korbanot! We start building alters and bringing Korbanot and the world will look at us like we're loony (even more so than we were before).
So what do you think? Would you ever consider the idea of giving a Korban? Why?
( ^ I don't know what religon this is or what exactly they're doing, but it looks like they're sacrificing something. For lack of a better word, I think Korbanot are weird)
I agree with a lot of what you said.. I don't think I could ever imagine bringing korbanot in our day and age. I think that we are on a such a lower level spiritually than the people who lived during the time of the Beit Hamikdash, which is why the idea of bringing sacrifices in order to create a closer relationship to Hashem seems so foreign to us. Also I think korbanot should be considered one of the chukim of the Torah because it is a concept that we can't even begin to understand despite all the reasoning and explanation offered by the different rabbis and such.
ReplyDeleteRacheli,
ReplyDeleteI don't think sacrificing an animal to Hashem necessarily makes you closer to Him. However, maybe the main focus should be on the fact that you're stopping your regular, mundane life to go to the Beit Hamikdash. When I visit the Kotel, I feel different. It's like there is something so holy inside of me. It's something you just can't put into words. Imagine that feeling and then multiply it by 100. That's probably how one felt when they visited the Beit Hamikdash. Maybe that's the part that is really connecting you to Hashem. No, I do not think about giving korbanot in this day in age. However, I do think about mashiach and the building of the third beit hamikdash which would then lead to the chance to bring korbanot. So maybe that's what we should think about when learning about korbanot. Not how barbaric it is, but rather, how we can improve on ourselves to one day have the merit to visit the Beit Hamikdash and bring a sacrifice to Hashem.
I have all the same problems as you. I think it's just weird. Therefore I have decided to just accept the Rambam's opinion that G-d let the Jews bring korbanot just because they could not have just stopped, as it was a part of their lives. I cannot begin to fathom how this could ever be a part of the world, but it was... I guess we just need to accept it and move on. Because even though G-d knows it's not necessary, the people are just people with the slave mentality, so there was nothing better to do but tell them to do.
ReplyDeleteThere are also religions now that do weird things, aren't there? Or people who live in a weird way? I guess we will just never understand and we should not be judgemental of all of it...
I think that what Alexa said was very insightful.
ReplyDeleteZahava, I don't think that religions these days do such weird things. If anything, I bet a bunch of people think that we do weird things. But I think you are right that it wouldn't be right for us to be judgmental of other religions because we look strange to them too.
But korbanot are a whole other level of strange. That's why I think you're right and it's best that we just stick to the Rambam's opinion.