Ibn Ezra on Leviticus 1:1

ויקרא. מצאנו ברית יחיד בעבור שני דברים גם יתכן להיות מצוה אחת בעבור דברים רבים כמצות העולה והקרבן כי בתת כל חלק בעתו ימלט החלק שיש לו חלק לעולם הבא על כן פירוש לכפר לתת כופר והעד מתחלת כי תשא על כן כתיב פן יפגענו בדבר גם יש בעולות סודות לעתידות גם יתבונן מכל קרבן סוד התולדות והחטאות והמצות להחיות מורי התורה. וטעם ויקרא אל משה אחר ולא יכול משה שהכבוד קראו מאהל מועד שיבוא שם ושם ידבר עמו והכבוד לפנים מהפרכת ושם היה משה נכנס כי כן כתוב וזה טעם ותמונת ה׳‎ יביט. וטעם להזכיר הקרבנות קודם המצות כי השכינה תשוב אל מקומה אם לא ישמרו תורת העולה וכן היה וחלילה חלילה להצטרך לעולה וכן כתוב אם ארעב לא אומר לך רק יש לו סוד: In the name of God who commandsthat a fire offering be brought before him.I begin to explain the book And The Lord Called Unto Moses.¹Vat. Ebr. 38. This poem is omitted in the printed editions of I.E.
AND THE LORD CALLED. We find two reasons for the covenant made with an individual.²Hebrew, berit yachid. The reference is to the covenant of circumcision that God made with Abraham (Gen. 17:9). The commentaries on I.E. differ as to what these two reasons are. Scripture tells us that circumcision is a sign that the Lord will be God to Abraham and his seed after him (Gen. 17:7). I.E. believes that circumcision is also a sign not to act promiscuously. I.E. writes, “The excision of the foreskin of the flesh is a sign of the covenant between man and his creator not to defile one’s soul by engaging in an act of sexual intercourse that is not in accordance with the way of truth” (Yesod Morah, (Strickman translation, p. 102). It is also possible for one commandment to have many reasons. The commandment regarding the burnt offering and the sacrifice³The other sacrifices. are examples of the latter, for when the officiant offers each part⁴Of the sacrifice. in its proper time, then the part⁵The person. The individual Jew is a part of the people of Israel and of the human species. Hence I.E. refers to the individual as a part. which has a part⁶A portion. in the world to come is saved.⁷According to I.E. the sacrificial animal serves as a substitute for the celebrant. “All these acts are performed in order that when they are done, a person should realize that he has sinned against his God…and that his blood should really be spilled and his body burned, were it not for the loving-kindness of the Creator, Who took from him a substitute and a ransom, namely, this offering, so that its blood should be in place of his blood, its life in place of his life, and that the chief limbs of the offering should be in place of the chief parts of his body” (Nachmanides, Chavel translation, Lev. 1:9, p. 21). Therefore the meaning of le-khapper (to make atonement) (v. 4) is to give ransom. The opening of the Torah portion Ki Tissa⁸Ex. 30:11-16. is proof.⁹That le-khapper means to offer a ransom, for we read there that each male Israelite was to give a half shekel as a ransom for his soul (kofer nefesh) (Ex. 30:12). Scripture goes on to say, that there be no plague among them. Scripture therefore reads, lest He¹⁰God. fall upon us with pestilence¹¹If we do not sacrifice to God. (Ex. 5:3). There is also a secret¹²In addition to the one just given. regarding the future in the burnt offering.¹³When accepted by God, it ensures one’s future (Weiser). One can also learn from each sacrifice the secret of nature.¹⁴The sacrifices inspire the celebrant. His mind is opened to study the secrets of nature. The purpose of the sin offering¹⁵Whose flesh was eaten by the kohanim. and the unleavened bread¹⁶From a thanksgiving offering (Lev. 7:14) or a meal offering (Lev. 2:3; 7:9). Our text reads ve-ha-matzot. Vat. Ebr. 38 and some editions read veha-manot (and the portions), i.e., the portions of the sacrifices which are to be eaten by the kohanim. is to sustain the teachers of the Torah.¹⁷The kohanim, who teach Torah to the Jewish people. See Lev. 33:10; Mal. 2:7. The reason And the Lord called unto Moses follows And Moses was not able to enter¹⁸The sanctuary. (Ex. 40:35) is that the Glory¹⁹God’s glory. called to Moses from the tent of meeting and told him to come there, and there He would speak with him.²⁰The end of the Book of Exodus tells that when the construction of the tabernacle was concluded, Moses could not enter the tabernacle because God’s glory filled it. (Ex. 40:35). Leviticus picks up where Exodus leaves off and tells us at its opening, And the Lord called unto Moses; that is, God invited Moses to the tabernacle. The Glory was on the other side of the curtain²¹The parochet which separated the Holy of Holies from the holy. The Glory was in the Holy of Holies. and Moses entered there.²²Into the Holy of Holies. The latter is clearly stated in Scripture.²³Ex. 25:22. This is the meaning of and the similitude of the Lord doth he behold (Num. 12:8). The reason Scripture mentions the sacrifices before the commandments²⁴The Book of Leviticus opens with the laws dealing with sacrifices and then goes on to legislate laws of purity, prohibited sexual relations, interpersonal relations, etc. I.E. raises the question why the laws dealing with the sacrifices are given priority. is that God’s presence will return to its place²⁵In heaven. See Hos. 5:15, I (God) will go and return to My place. if Israel does not keep the law of the burnt offering.²⁶Hebrew, olah. The latter came to pass.²⁷The destruction of the temples, which resulted in the cessation of the burnt offering, signified the removal of the manifestation of God’s presence over Israel (Weiser). Far be it from God to require a burnt offering.²⁸For His own purposes. Scripture clearly states, If I were hungry, I would not tell thee…(Ps. 50:12).²⁹The verse continues, For the world is mine…Do I eat the flesh of hulls or drink the blood of goats? These two verses completely dispel the idea that the sacrifices were food for God. On the contrary, it³⁰The burnt offering. has a secret meaning.³¹According to I.E. the burnt offering causes “a power from on high to rest on man,” Gen. 8:21 (Vol. 1, p. 119).