יהוה called to Moses (1:1). Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 7.3 addresses the custom of beginning children’s education with the book of Leviticus, asking why study commences with Leviticus instead of Genesis. The response is that “children are pure and the sacrifices [described in Leviticus] are pure; let those who are pure study that which is pure.”
יהוה called to Moses (1:1). “Vayikra,” the opening word of Leviticus, ends with an alef that in Torah scrolls is inscribed smaller than the other letters in the word. A number of commentators seek a reason for this. One argues that the small alef recalls the word adam (human being), and reminds individuals to “make themselves small,” that is, to avoid arrogance. Another sees a play on the word aluf (leader), spelled using the same letters as the word alef: Moses, who was extremely close to God, maintained his humility. A third commentator explains that the Torah does not include an exhortation to be humble because were humility to be commanded, it would no longer be humility. Rather, the commentator concludes, every person should cultivate true humility (Itturei Torah on Leviticus 1:1, IV, 1998, pp. 7–8).
Several commentators note that this is the only time in the Torah that the verb “to call” precedes the verb “to speak.” They point out that at the end of Exodus, Moses was unable to enter the Tent of Meeting when the cloud symbolizing God’s presence descended (40:35). Vayikra begins with God’s call to Moses, indicating that Moses had achieved permission to come before the divine Presence (Rashi and Rashbam on 1:1).
from the Tent of Meeting (1:1). One rabbi notes that until now, God had spoken to Moses in open places—such as the burning bush in the wilderness, Midian, and Sinai, where God’s presence was public and without bounds. Thus “a (lowly) maidservant saw at the Sea of Reeds what even the prophet Ezekiel was not privileged to see.” However, once the Tent of Meeting was erected, God chose concealment over openness. This is a sign of divine modesty, since what is private is seen by God as more precious (Itturei Torah on 1:1, IV, p. 8). According to Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 4 (ed. Buber, II, p. 475), God chose to leave the high heavens and descend to the earth, to the Tent of Meeting, for love of Israel.
When any of you presents an offering…to יהוה (1:2). This portion discusses a variety of ritual sacrifices. A number of interpreters take this opportunity to consider “sacrifice” in a broader, less material sense. Remarking on the Hebrew word for “presents an offering” (yakriv), one commentator says, “When we want to draw close (I’hitkarev) to God, we must offer something of our own, that is, our ‘evil inclination.’” Another suggests that this verse calls upon individuals to offer God their innermost strength and will, to submit to God, and to dedicate all of their acts to the service of God (Itturei Torah on Leviticus 1:2, IV, p. 10).
One commentator on this verse cites BT Kiddushin 40b, “Those individuals who perform a single mitzvah draw themselves and the entire world toward righteousness.” Responding to the mixing of the singular and the plural verb forms in Leviticus 1:2, another interpretation urges that we each acknowledge that we realize our full potential through our bonds to the community of Israel (Itturei Torah on 1:2, IV, p. 11).
You shall lay a hand upon the head of the burnt offering (1:4). While the Rabbis exempted women from the legal obligation to lay hands upon one’s burnt offering, some rabbis permitted them to participate in this mitzvah “if they choose” (BT Rosh Ha-Shanah 33a; Vayikra Rabbah 1.7). This view is one of those cited within the contemporary halachic community in support of expanding women’s roles in ritual.
The bull shall be slaughtered…and Aaron’s sons, the priests, shall offer the blood (1:5). The first verb of this verse is impersonal, and it mentions the priests only after the animal has been killed. Citing these details of wording, the Rabbis validated animal slaughter by any lay person—male or female—whether for a sacrificial offering or for purely human consumption (Midrash Sifra; BT Z’vachim 32a; see also Mishnah Z’vachim 3:1, Chulin 1:1). Late medieval historical sources document that Jewish women were slaughtering animals for kosher meat (sh’chitah) in various parts of Europe as a matter of course; in Italy, they did so from at least the Renaissance into the 20th century.
When a person presents an offering of meal to יהוה (2:1). Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 5 (ed. Buber, p. 475) notes that this is the only instance in the prolonged discussion of sacrifices in which the word for “person” is nefesh instead of ish (man) or adam (human being). The midrash says that the meal offering is a poor person’s donation, brought by an individual who cannot afford to present an animal or bird sacrifice. According to this view, God responds to the offering of the poor “as if that individual had offered his or her own life (nefesh).”
—Dvora E. Weisberg