Vaykira 5786 - Korbanos, Reaching Out to Hashem

Umra has the begins the par coronis. Corbonis are the heart of a hashem. The heart of a ba mikdash and as uh as profound and as important as it is is the difficulty in understanding the reasons behind it. Many many shown him ramban ramb is very famous in giving a very radically different shot. His chat has to do with winning off a very strong him says his own and I'd like to focus on gives a shot. Alpa will try to understand it what we can understand not the cabal of it but the meaning of it that we can understand. So Ramban's words are there's a great it has to do with that says it doesn't say so that there shouldn't be any mo whatsoever for to have any um foothold in it. Maybe you think that he wants he needs food says if I'm hungry I wouldn't tell you everything is mine and so on again says that wherever carbon is mentioned it's mentioned with Kis um now the uh he does the Ramban so Raman discusses this whether or not there are the word is used of there or not and so on but still trying to understand exactly what is the point of this kazal and so on elaborates and Raban speaks about kb being a type of craven aus um and he leaves it at that so it's unclear I mean the pics yes it's kazal do tell us that we don't have any other name mentioned only doesn't really help us get a reason for it and Raman just concludes that the word carbon is not from the word sacrifice but the word craven those closeness and so on so let's try to understand what I think is the meaning behind what what is trying to say and try to understand it in words we can understand it um mitzvah are commandments of to us and we are obligated to do them and if a person does it he's fulfilled his duty and obligation and as such there's a reward there's also the person himself becomes um elevated through it many many good manifestations of the right that he's done when he does a mitzvah. But a mitzvah is inherently telling me to do something for some sort of purpose. The purpose is to help someone. The purpose is to create whatever the purpose is going to do it. If the king tells me to do something, I obviously do it. If the king sends um his uh underling, his his viceroy, his uh governor of the province to tell me what to do, I'm also obligated to do it under the pain of some sort of insubordination of because of if I don't listen to the king's personal um messenger, I am guilty. So the world of mitzvah is tell me what to do. Theoretically it could come through others also. The um the the the Ram says that all prophecy is through a malik and if a prophet tells me something if a prophet told us something he has to do it even though it's it's a mal that told him to do it. That's the world of civuim. That's the the world of mitzvah that there is only one ronistic activity where the it's a very very different almost opposite a type of interaction and that is me going offering something to in terms of acknowledgement. in terms of wanting to get close. Just like always, gifts are a way in which a person um goes and gets closer to someone. So in the world of rnist, there's also a world of gifts and this and this is it. So corbanus is a rnistic activity that is almost the opposite of um the the the the mitzvah mitzvah is initiated by keshu. It's told to me either by keshu or some sort of go between perfect or legitimate. My doing the mitzvah is the result of being told to do it. and as such is a fulfillment of my obligations as a subject. That's the world of um mitzvah carbonos are initiated by me. The the the the para starts with nadovas with a carbonado. Yes, there are carbonis that are obligated if you did some a vera or that sour as such is obligated but really the um the the averas the carbonus that we bring fus are really a subset of carbonus. Secondly, those carbonus that are there as part of the yontiff, the carbonus ceur, they can also be thought of as being similar to the voluntary carbonus. That's simply when you're dealing with a clal as a whole. Well, who's going to volunteer? Um, everybody's going to bring their own carbon sour. That can't be. The only way you can have a structured offering on behalf of is to to mandate it into place on the SIU. But one can also see these carbonus as a is similar in its idea as the other type of carbonus. This type of of religious activity. This type of vert is there not as the expression of subordination but as a desire to reach out and connect. It starts with me and it it it it it's an expression of a craving for closeness. This is very similar to when we give a gift. When we give a gift, we are um uh we're expressing in in word and in and in deed that I desire to come close to such and such a person. That's really what I'm doing. the um so carbonus is the type of vote that I'm expressing the desire to be close when we when we're doing when when we're we're fulfilling our obligations to do things that we've been told to do that rightfully can happen through a messenger also so if I say that such and such a no came and told us to do this and this and that's why I'm doing it and he said in the name of Hashem certainly have to do it but to become close to seek the closeness of someone has to be to the person directly the Rambam when he speaks about how the mistakes of got started he points this out it was the desire of people to sort of respect elevate show appreciation and and things of that nature to God's messengers. Let's try to give uh an analogy that would help us understand it. Um if somebody if somebody sends uh if I'm working for a corporation and the boss sends down somebody to me and says, "Listen, I need you to do this and this. I have to run and do it and it's the right thing to do. If I send a gift to my employer and saying how much I appreciate working at this in this company and it's wonderful and so on, that's that's a nice gesture. But let's say I send a gift to someone else, not in line of his or her work, but I'm doing it because I I want to get around the boss kind of, you know, it's it's something where I'm sort of uh playing a game and I'm uh I'm basically getting on their better side. That's something that's really not appropriate. Um the the the boss is one boss. For a person to try to reach out and connect any one of the elements in the brier that do not have they do not have their own independent um meaning or existence. That's something that's wrong. That's that's that's the beginning of the recognition as if there is some independent alternative entity that's divine. So the um the Ramban is saying it's cra it's it's a unity because the entire Bria so is telling many many many different pieces of Bria to do their job. Every sh gets told what to do. Every animal gets told what to do. Each the these are many many different directives and they almost imply as if there many gods. But when each and every um entity element in this world turns around to says I seek to draw close to you. that brings that means that the entire universe is focused on one point on becoming close and that creates the in so we're looking over here on the Ramban's an understanding of carbonus and it it's an incredible understanding of what the in carbonus is we explained that carbon there are two avote one is commandments that emanate from Hashem spread out and different beings are commanded to do different things sometimes the same sometimes different and following through is recognizing our kadesh who's um rule totality of rule over the world and it as as it comes out we see more and more different um variations of of entities ities that are significant in the world. That's one and that's fine. Then there's a second avod that's very different. That avod is an avod where the entire world turns around to tries to draw close. The most elementary um expression of of a desire to draw close is gift giving. um I give of myself because I want to be bonded to you. So I'm I'm I'm sort of cutting something out of myself expense and giving to you the the it's not as if we're giving to fulfill the need. That's what Ramban brings a if if I'm hungry I will not turn to you to eat. Everything here is mine. So there's nothing here you can give me. It's so it's not giving but it's reaching out to it's each and every part of the Bria reach out. This is what a carbon is all about. It's something which is is meant to reach out. We explained that the carbonus are by and large mostly voluntary. A there's no limit to how many voluntary carbon you can bring those carbonas that come to um to forgive to be to atone for some even though they're mandatory but the point is it's mandatory for me to reach out and reconnect it's sort of the act the act itself is me reaching out it's mandated the carbonus that we bring in holidays that the brings so we try to understand it as being um also in in essence a voluntary thing, but just because when you're dealing with a public, you you can't rely who's who's going to be the one to do it. And therefore we have um therefore carbonas are the expression of us reaching out to that's what says you cannot have any name other than any midh anything but the is a deviation that's the unique that's what's unique about carbonus and what's what it is expressing