Sunday, October 9, 2011

Out of Order?

In our last class, Mrs. Perl briefly gave us an idea of what we were learning next, now that we have (finally) finished our discussion on korbanot. Perakim 9-17 discuss the Mishkan/Beit Hamikdash. The first topic is the dedication of the Mishkan. Bnei Yisrael brought korbanot for 7 days and on the eighth it was dedicated. This was crucial for Bnei Yisrael because it was a time for them to reconnect and reignite their relationship with Hashem. The Mishkan served as a physical center for Bnei Yisrael to reach out to Hashem.
Now-here is my question...
Shouldn't this come BEFORE the discussion of the korbanot?! It just makes more sense. Sefer Vayikra should start with the dedication of the Mishkan and then discuss korbanot, sacrifices which one brings to the mishkan. Also, in the discussion of korbanot in the first 8 perakim of Sefer Vayikra, parts, areas, and vessels of the Beit Hamikdash are mentioned. Therefore, it would make more sense to introduce what the mishkan is and have it dedicated before explaining the process of how the korban is brought. To further strengthen this argument, I will refer back to Rabbi Leibtag's article on Parshat Vayikra. He says that in Sefer Shemot, the torah explains how to build the mishkan and Sefer Vayikra explains how to use the mishkan. If Sefer Shemot discusses how to build the mishkan and concludes with the story of its assembly, doesn't it make more sense for the dedication of the mishkan to come right after and therefore begin Sefer Vayikra.

1 comment:

  1. I will give you the short, classic answer: The Torah might not be in chronological order.

    Honestly, I also think it makes no sense for it to be that way, but I'm sure we will learn why it is as everything in the Torah has a purpose.

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