Excerpted From a Ma’amar by the Tolna Rebbe שליט"א
אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה' – “If a person among you offers a sacrifice to G-d...” (1:2)
The Or Ha’chaim Ha’kadosh makes a remarkable comment about this pasuk, explaining what it comes to teach us:
עוד ירמוז לצוות את אנשי חיל להשתדל לקרב לבבות עם בני ישראל לעבודת ה' .
It further alludes to a command to “men of valor” to strive to draw the hearts of the nation of Benei Yisrael to the service of Hashem.
Bringing a fellow Jew closer to Hashem, the Or Ha’chaim writes, is called a קרבן לה', because sin creates distance between a person and Hashem, such that drawing a person away from sin has the effect of bringing him close – קרוב – to Hashem. The Torah thus commands that an אדם – a term that refers to the distinguished members of the nation, as the Zohar (Tazria 48) teaches – should offer a korban מכם – from those who have sinned and distanced themselves from HKB”H, by working to bring them back. A person who brings such a “korban,” the Or Ha’chaim explains, never needs to bring another sacrifice, because the Mishna in Pirkei Avos (5:18) teaches, כל המזכה את הרבים, אין חטא בא על ידו – “Anyone who brings merit to the public does not come upon sin.” One who works to bring his fellow Jews back to observance is guaranteed not to sin, and he thus will never have to bring a sacrifice. Hence, the Torah introduces the subject of korbanos by telling us that אדם כי יקרב מכם קרבן לה' – the great spiritual leaders bring sinners close to Hashem, and this is their korban, such that they do not need to offer animal sacrifices.
The pasuk then proceeds to speak of others, who are not among the מזכי הרבים, and must therefore occasionally bring animal sacrifices: מן הבהמה מן הבקר ומן הצאן תקריבו את קרבנכם.
It emerges from the Or Ha’chaim’s comments that the greatest of all korbanos is כי יקריב מכם, bringing one’s fellow Jew closer to Hashem, leading him to love Hashem and to attach himself to Hashem. Indeed, the prophet Micha (6:7) tells us that sacrifices are not the ideal that Hashem wants from us: הירצה ה' באלפי אילים ברבבות נחלי שמן. The true “korban” that Hashem wants from us is bringing close those souls who have drifted away. Instead of feeling content with one’s own spiritual achievements, with his own avodas Hashem, he is to take time away from his endeavors to help his fellow Jews who have sinned and rebelled, and try to bring them back to their Father in heaven.
In memory of Sidney Teichman, אלכסנדר סנדר דניאל בן שמואל ז"ל, a close chasid of the Rebbe שליט"א
* Delivered on Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Vayikra, 5763 (2003). Adapted into English by David Silverberg.
Rav Chaim Ben-Attar, c. 1696-1743.
