TEXTUAL PROBLEMS OF LEVITICUS 1:1

The Book of Leviticus, the third book of the Pentateuch, deals primarily with priests and animal sacrifices. The book contains some of the most obscure and irrelevant (for our times) texts in the Hebrew Bible, while featuring many of the loftiest ethical teachings like Lev.19. 

The first chapter begins with a verb, Vayikra “He called.” The verse literally reads, “He called Moses, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting …when any of you present  an offering (of cattle ” (Lev.1:1). The syntax is unusual. From the rest of the verse we learn that the one who called was God. Furthermore, the letter ALEF at the end of the first word, vayikra , is often written in a smaller size than the other letters. The reason is not known. According to Samuel D  Luzzatto (19^th cent.) , when the last letter  of a word (for ex. Alef in vayikra ) is the same letter found at the beginning of the next word (el , Alef and Lamed “to”), one character often serves for both. This interpretation ,however, does not solve the problem, because the letter Alef still appears in both words, even though the first is smaller. On the other hand, Rabbenu Asher ben Yehiel (14^th cent. Toledo), in his commentary, offers a midrashic solution saying that the small size of the letter reflects the humility of Moses. If he was one, so should we be. ( On the other hand, the large ALEF at the beginning of the word ADAM in I Chr.1:1, is seen as Adam’s arrogance). 

During the medieval times, commentators were puzzled by the unusual form of this opening. In fact, Rashbam (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, 12th cent. CE, France) suggested that this verse really follows Ex.40:35, found in the last chapter of the Book of Exodus, where Moses, we are told, could not enter the Tent of Meeting because of the divine cloud that had settled upon it. 

Furthermore, we do not know the original purpose of animal sacrifices in the ancient Near East. Often, the animal was slaughtered and burned on an altar,  and the meat was given to the priests to eat it. Some say, this was a means of feeding the gods who smelled the vapors emanating from the burned animal ; others stress the value of propitiation or reverence. The consumption of the flesh of the animal somehow created a communion between the divinity and human beings. When the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, a rabbinic Mitzvah (“commandment”) system, along with prayers, replaced the old sacrificial cult. 

We also do not know exactly what this “Tent of Meeting” (ohel moed) looked like. There are various biblical traditions about it. In the book of Exodus, chapter 33, it is described as a tent placed outside of the Israelite encampment. In other priestly texts it receives a much wider description as an enclosed courtyard that contained an altar of burn offering. 

“The Lord called to Moses” (Lev. 1:1): Using this text as a prompter, Rabbi Akiba (2^nd cent. CE) taught a lesson of morality. He said: Better that they should tell you to go up, than they should tell you to go down (Lev. Rabba 1:5-6).  That is wisdom applicable to all.