“If a soul shall offer a mincha offering to Hashem, his offering shall be fine flour, and he shall pour oil and put frankincense upon it.” (Shmos 2:1)
This is the only time where the person bringing a sacrifice is referred to as, “nefesh,” a soul. Other places it speaks of a person, a man or a woman, etc. Here, however, it is different.
Rashi quotes the Gemara in Menachos (104b) where R’ Yitzchak says, “Why does the Torah change the terminology to “soul”? For the Holy One Blessed Be He says, “Who brings a voluntary offering of flour? A poor man. I will consider it as if he has sacrificed to Me his soul.””
Elsewhere, the Torah speaks of not withholding wages, and paying on time, because the worker risks his life for his money, and it uses the word “nefesh.” (Devarim 24:15) Again, the poor man exchanges his life for money, so when he gives of his possessions to Hashem, Hashem considers that as if he has offered his very soul. But perhaps there is a caveat.
When this man brings his offering, the Torah says it must be fine flour. The coarse grain must be ground and sifted to produce a refined product. It must have aromatic oil and spices. So too, must the person refine himself and beautify his actions before Hashem.
The Netziv in Haamek Davar relates that the grain offerings atone for poor character traits. (He also discusses how moods play a role in one’s behavior.) Based on this understanding, it is logical that the offering should be something that was coarse and became refined, because that is what we are to do with ourselves.
When a person makes an offering to Hashem, he must do it wholeheartedly. A grudging or cynical approach is counterproductive. Often, a person who is poor feels put upon, or unloved, by Hashem. He brings an offering, but if it’s less perfect, he feels that should be accepted and appreciated just as much as a much better offering. Remember Kayin, who offered mediocre produce as a korban and Hashem dismissed it? That is the same message, that if we wish to offer to Hashem, it must be the best possible under the circumstances.
It's not sufficient to give and say, “I gave.” Rather, one must do everything he can to make it pleasing and fine. Then, Hashem will look at it and say, “This person has offered to Me his very soul.”
An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the home-building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his family. The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house. The carpenter’s heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.
When the carpenter finished his work and the boss came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter with a big smile. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."
What a shock! What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, the carpenter would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the home he had built none too well. So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized, we would have done it differently.
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
