The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the mighty.
(GY:W ARQYW) ‰.BREB HTYCXNW RQBB HTYCXM DYMT HXNM TLS HPAH TRYsE ...WYNBW IRHA IBRQ HZ‰
“This is the offering of Aharon and his sons... a tenth of an epha of fine flour, always, half in the morning and half in the evening.” (Vayikra 6:13)
As the Torah goes through the various korbanos, it comes to the korban mincha. In most cases it is a voluntary offering, serving the purpose of finding favor in Hashem’s eyes.
The Kohain Gadol, however, had a daily obligation to bring this korban mincha from the day he was anointed as the Kohain Gadol. Regular Kohanim had the obligation of bringing this korban on the first day they did the Avoda, and it was called the Minchas Chinuch, representing the preparation for Hashem’s service. The first time a Kohain or Kohain Gadol served, they brought 1/10th an epha of flour for their offering.
Going forward, as the Kohain Gadol brought this Korban each day, there was something unusual about it. As we see, the Torah says that half (1/20th of an epha) was brought in the morning, and half in the evening. That is different from what the other Kohanim brought. Then, we learn in Mesechta Menachos that the Kohain could not bring 1/20th of an epha from home and offer it in the morning, and bring another 1/20th in the afternoon. He had to offer the first half from a complete measure, then wait for evening and offer the other half.
If, in the interim, the remainer become impure, he would bring another 1/10th of an epha, offer half of that in the evening, and dispose of the remainder. The half being offered had to come from a whole measure.
Why did the Kohain Gadol have to split his offering, and why did the half have to come from a whole measure, if he only needed the remaining 1/20th for the afternoon offering?
The Korban Mincha atoned for negative character traits, and the Kohanim were supposed to help the Jewish People rise above their base natures. Therefore, all Kohanim offered a Mincha at the outset, to atone for their own negative traits and urge them to work on them. The Kohain Gadol needed to do this every day, and dividing the offering in half offered an extra level of atonement through reflection.
The Kohanim witnessed when the Jews came to bring sin offerings. They saw them bring offerings to come close to Hashem, or when they were thankful for a special salvation. In other words, they witnessed Jews at all stages of their personal journeys.
When the Kohain brought half in the morning, he recognized his job wasn’t done. Then, he understood the challenges of protecting the remainder throughout the day, and if it was ruined, he started over. This instilled in him the softness of heart to give the Jews a chance to make their mistakes and come back from them, and it was a message he needed to hear every single day. Isn’t it one we would do well to hear also?
R’ Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev once came across a man in shul who was rushing through the davening and mumbling so much that his speech was unintelligible. He walked over to the man and made some garbled sounds. “I’m sorry,” said the fellow, “but I didn’t understand you.” Replied R’ Levi Yitzchak, “That’s what you sound like when you daven. You should speak more clearly so Hashem can understand what you are saying.”
“That’s not really necessary,” replied the man. “When an infant makes unintelligible sounds, its father and mother know what each sound means. One means it is hungry, another that it needs to be held. Hashem is our Father and He understands us even if no one else does.”
R’ Levi Yitzchak, well known for his love of Jews, was taken aback by this man’s answer and a rush of warmth surged through him. This answer made him ecstatic and he embraced the man warmly for the insight he had been given.
©2024 – J. Gewirtz
