Mizbeach (Menachos 97A). The Gemara says that today, when we have no Bais Hamikdosh, our tables atone for us. The word “tzafona” (north) hints to the desire for money, which the pasuk (Iyov 37:22) says comes from “the north”.
Thus, we see from this pasuk that one who sanctifies himself in these three areas can overcome the yeitzer hara and draw close to Hashem.
Olah Atones for Haughtiness:
The Tzemach Dovid explains this pasuk by quoting the words of Chazal that a Korban Olah atones for haughtiness. He explains that haughtiness is called “Olah” because a haughty person thinks he is “high” and superior to others. Therefore, the atonement for this sin is to bring a Korban Olah to Hashem as a sign that the only One who is truly high and above all others is Him.
He goes on to say that usually when one sins, it is clear that he has done wrong and needs to do teshuva. If one is a baal gaivoh, however, it is unclear to him that he is doing anything wrong and he doesn’t think he has anything to atone for. Therefore, the Torah says that the Olah needs to be skinned, meaning that the first part of the avodah of removing gaivoh is to reveal that the sin exists. Once that is done, the sin can be “cut into pieces”, meaning that since it infected every part of the part, every portion needs to be rectified.
Bringing a Korban to Lower the Haughty:
In truth, every aspect of bringing a korban is for the purpose of causing a person to lower himself and cease being haughty.
The Apta Rov zy”a once revealed to his students that in a previous gilgal, he was member of a group of kohanim who served in the Bais Hamikdosh. He related a story that occurred when he was a member of that group of kohanim: There was a distinguished resident of Yerushalaim named R’ Groinem who accidentally committed a sin and needed to bring a Korban Chatas. He went to the marketplace to purchase an animal for the korban. Since all the cattle sellers knew that male animals are used for Korban Olah and females are used for Chatas, when R’ Groinem asked for a female, they realized that it was meant to be a Korban Chatas and asked, “How could it be that a man like you, R’ Groinem, has to bring a Chatas?”
He then had to lead the animal through the streets of Yerushalaim to the Bais Hamikdosh, and everyone he met asked the same question. This was all extremely embarrassing for him. When he finally arrived at the entrance to the Bais Hamikdosh, the animal ran away. He had to chase it through the streets until he caught it, which caused him even more embarrassment.
After all of this, no kohen wanted to be the one to offer his korban. The rule is that the kohanim eat the korban and the owner receives his atonement, but no kohen wanted to eat the meat of a korban that was brought for a sin. It took much convincing until he found one kohen who agreed to offer the korban.
The sign they had to know if the korban was accepted by Hashem was if the smoke formed the shape of a lion. If it formed the shape of a dog, it was a sign that it had not been accepted. When R’ Groinem’s korban was placed on the fire, the smoke formed the shape of a dog. He began to cry bitterly and he said, “If my teshuva was not complete, I ask to include in my korban all the embarrassment I endured on the way, from the time I purchased the sheep until I actually offered it as a korban.”
He continued to cry until the smoke changed to the shape of a lion, as a sign that his teshuva had been accepted.
It Will Lead to Destruction:
My grandfather, Rav Mordchele of Nadvorna zy”a, in his Sefer Maamar Mordechai, writes a piece of advice for a person who has desires for luxuries and honor and wants to get rid of this obsession. He writes that such a person should think about where this will lead. Chazal say (Avos 4:21) that jealousy, desires and honor remove a person from the world. When a person thinks about this, the desire for honor will leave him.
This is hinted to in this pasuk. The “yoseres” is a hint to the desire for “extras”, i.e., luxury and honor. “Klayos” is a hint to “kilyon”, destruction. This means that the way to cut away this desire is to remember that it will lead to destruction.
Shabbos Atones Like Korbanos:
Sefer Tiferes Shlomo writes that the first of the words “l’ashama bah”, whereby one may commit a sin, can be an acronym for “l’Keil asher Shabbos m’kol hamaasim b’yom hashvi’i”, to the G-d who rested from all actions on the seventh day.
Chazal say (Shabbos 118B) that anyone who keeps Shabbos has all his sins forgiven. This means that Shabbos atones for a person like a korban. Therefore, the concept of Shabbos is hinted to in the portion of korbanos. This teaches us that even in times when we cannot bring a korban, we can still receive atonement through keeping Shabbos.
