This sheet on Leviticus 3 was written by Marc Gitler for 929 and can also be found here
Our chapter introduces a new sacrifice, the “shelamim.” The rabbis translated “shelamim” as peace offering (“shelamim” from the root “shalom”) because it is divided between all parties. The blood and fats are burned on God’s altar, the chest and hind legs are given to the priests, and the rest of the meat and the skin to the person/s who brought the sacrifice. A shelamim results in everyone walking away with something, and that spreads peace.
Not that they should walk away: the medieval commentator Rabbi Yosef Bechor Shor adds that the way of peace is that everyone sits together and eats. This simple idea, sitting together to break bread, is one with a long and troubled history in the Tanach. Many generations earlier Jacob didn’t invite his exhausted brother Esau to sit with him and eat, but rather traded some lentil soup for Esau’s birthright. His children were able to sit together and eat, but only after they stripped Joseph of his coat of many colors and threw him into a pit.
The brothers were unable to speak peacefully with Joseph, any conversation would end with a fight or argument, and so finally with him out of the way they sit and peacefully picnic together. I always wondered about this meal. Did they eat within earshot of the pit? Did they hear his screams and cries? His desperate pleas to save him from a painfully slow death of starvation? They imagined they had finally achieved peace, but in time they would be the ones suffering due to famine whereas Joseph had control of all the food in the world.
Sadly, sitting together and eating is complex for too many Jews today as well. Whether it be the kashrut wars between different agencies, Jewish community dinners that don’t serve kosher food, or people who will not eat at the home of friends or relatives because the food isn’t kosher enough, there are too many instances where eating divides rather than unites.
The shelamim serves as an incredible model. Our communities should aspire to lofty goals like shalom (peace) and shleimut (wholeness) but the only way that will allow for more people to sit together and eat, despite profound religious differences, is through personal sacrifice.
Rabbi Marc Gitler works for 929 North America
929 is the number of chapters in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, the formative text of the Jewish heritage. It is also the name of a cutting-edge project dedicated to creating a global Jewish conversation anchored in the Hebrew Bible. 929 English invites Jews everywhere to read and study Tanakh, one chapter a day, Sunday through Thursday together with a website with creative readings and pluralistic interpretations, including audio and video, by a wide range of writers, artists, rabbis, educators, scholars, students and more. As an outgrowth of the web-based platform, 929 English also offers classes, pop-up lectures, events and across North America. We invite you to learn along with us and be part of our dynamic community.
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