Torah Down Under

The passuk says in this week’s sedrah (Vayikra 1:2) דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה' מִן הַבְּהֵמָה מִן הַבָּקָר וּמִן הַצֹּאן תַּקְרִיבוּ אֶת קָרְבַּנְכֶם Speak to the benei yisrael and say to them, “If a person from you brings an animal as a korban to Hashem, then you should bring your korban from cattle or from sheep.” Rashi comments on this passuk אדם - למה נאמר, מה אדם הראשון לא הקריב מן הגזל שהכל היה שלו אף אתם לא תקריבו מן הגזל Why does the passuk use the word אדם to refer the person who brings a korban ? To teach you that just as Adam ha’Rishon did not bring a korban from something stolen, because everything belonged to him, so to you, do not bring a korban from something stolen. The gemara says in Succah (30a) says that we learn that a person may not bring a stolen korban from the fact that the passuk says מכם If a person brings from yours, and this is not his - אדם כי יקריב מכם א...

The main avodah for all korbanos is the avodas hadam – the avodah of the blood - which culminates in the zerikah – the sprinkling of the blood on the mizbeach (or the paroches ). For example, if the meat of the korban was lost after the zerikas hadam so that the limbs were not burnt on the mizbeach or the owner and the cohanim were unable to eat the meat, the korban is still kosher as long as the zerikah was done properly. The avodas ha’dam – the service of the blood – consists of four steps: Shechitah – shechting the korban  Kabalah – accepting the blood of the korban in a mizrak (the kli shores which is used to accept the blood)  Holachah – carrying the blood to the mizbeach Zerikah – sprinkling the blood on the mizbeach Generally speaking, if one of the steps in the avodas hadam was passul then the korban is passul . For example if a yisroel accepted the blood instead of a cohen, the korban is passul and this cannot be rectified. However there i...