Vayikra

Experience your largeness, but at the same time feel your smallness. Talents are gifts endowed to you by G‑d.

The book of Leviticus describes in-detail the Temple service of animal sacrifice. How can we find personal significance in this ancient ritual that was the premier service in the Holy Temple?

This Torah portion speaks about the central role that salt played in all of the Temple sacrifices. In this class, we will see how this prominence carries over into many common Jewish practices.

Topics include: The Zohar’s explanation of the small-sized letter aleph in the first word of this portion, the prohibition of sacrificial fats as a warning against “spiritual obesity,” and sacrifices as the ultimate act of supra-rational altruism.

The name of this week's portion, Vayikra, means "G-d called out [to Moses]." The letter aleph at the end of the word vayikra is written in miniature size in the Torah. What does the small aleph teach us about how to be both great and humble?

The name of this week's portion, Vayikra, describes the unique Divine call to the greatest prophet of all time, Moses. How much do we know about the way G-d communicated with Moses, and what can we learn from it today?