Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
Commentary פַּרְשָׁנוּת
There can be more to mitzvot than meets the eye. In some ways, mitzvot are about the actions that have to be done. But mitzvot also help us create a personal connection with God, and that means that what we feel–and what God feels–can matter a lot.
One word in this pasuk about the עֹלָה (olah) might help us understand.
אִם־עֹלָ֤ה קׇרְבָּנוֹ֙ מִן־הַבָּקָ֔ר זָכָ֥ר תָּמִ֖ים יַקְרִיבֶ֑נּוּ
אֶל־פֶּ֜תַח אֹ֤הֶל מוֹעֵד֙ יַקְרִ֣יב אֹת֔וֹ
לִרְצֹנ֖וֹ לִפְנֵ֥י יהוה׃
If their offering is an olah from the herd, it shall be a male animal without a blemish.
They shall bring it to the entrance of the mishkan,
lirtzono before God.
The word “lirtzono” is tricky to translate. It means “for his ratzon,” and ratzon comes from the שֹׁרֶשׁ (shoresh, root) ר.צ.ה, which means:
- to want or desire
- to try to gain somebody’s good favor or forgiveness
- to be accepted
Whose ratzon is this pasuk talking about? Here are two פַּרְשָׁנִים (parshanim, commentators) who understand lirtzono in different ways.
Targum Onkelos (Bavel, 1500 years ago)
לְרַעֲוָא לֵיהּ קֳדָם ה'.
That it be accepted with desire by God.
שֶׁיַּקְרִיבֶנּוּ בִּרְצוֹנוֹ וְלֹא בְּאֹנֶס.
That a person should offer their korban with desire, not by being forced.
- One of these parshanim understands “lirtzono” as “for his ratzon” and one as “for His (God’s) ratzon.” Which is which?
- Could both interpretations be correct at the same time?
- What does it feel like when you’re doing something with a lot of passion and desire, or when you’re doing it without feeling anything on the inside at all? Which one makes you feel more fulfilled?
- Is it meaningful to think that God might also have desires—that God might really want and enjoy our mitzvot? How so?
- Bonus! The final section of the Haggadah (when we sing all the silly songs) is called Nirtza, from this same shoresh. What do you think Nirtza means there? Whose desire does it refer to?
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