Continued from Chapter 10b
(Leviticus 17:11)
Fulfilling the Torah’s requirements
Christians argue that the multiplicity of biblical laws makes it impossible for one to have a proper relationship with God based on those laws because no one person could possibly fulfill all of the Torah’s requirements. But, this conclusion involves a misunderstanding as to the goal of the Torah. In its entirety, it is addressed not to the individual but to the community. The individual is expected to carry out such laws, which come within the scope of his or her life.
The Torah is a source of directives available to guide a Jew’s life, to the extent that situations arise to which such directives may apply. There was never any intention on the part of God, however, that any one person attempt to carry out all enactments of the Torah. For example, some laws apply to only certain individuals. But, even more significant, the Torah, itself, shows what is to be done when one is not able to fulfill an obligation specified by the commandments—the atonement system.
The nature of biblical sacrifice
Christians mistakenly believe that without a blood sacrifice the Jewish people can have no assurance that their sins are forgiven. Their reasoning is based on Leviticus 17:11: “It is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul.” The Christian presumption is that where there is no blood there is no atonement. They assume that the fasting and repentance of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, cannot give any assurance of sins forgiven. They insist that God will only accept an offering of a blood sacrifice to atone for one’s sins.
Finally, the Christian misunderstanding of the text is compounded by the claim that there can be no salvation without the supposedly atoning blood of Jesus. Jesus, by his death and supposed sacrifice for humanity’s sins, is said to have made atonement for all who believe in him, and so there is no longer any need for a Temple or a sacrifice or a priesthood. Following the death of Jesus, it is alleged, the Temple was destroyed, and the priesthood abolished, since they were no longer needed. Jesus was now to be the unblemished lamb that would bear away the sins of the world. Read in context, Leviticus 17:11 is part of a passage whose major emphasis is not on how to secure general atonement from sin, but is concerned mainly with the specific prohibition against consuming blood. “And whatever man of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn among you, who consumes any blood, I will set My face against that person who consumes blood, and will cut him off from among his people. For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes an atonement for the soul. Therefore, I say to the children of Israel, ‘No one among you shall consume blood, nor shall any stranger who sojourns among you consume blood.’”
However, in presenting the prohibition against consuming blood the biblical text provides significant information concerning sacrificial animal offerings. In the case of animal offerings, the blood of the sacrifice serves as the atoning agent, not another part of the body. Blood symbolizes the life of the animal and, as such, it is given as a means by which to atone for sins. To fully understand how Christians have misinterpreted Leviticus 17:11, let us first investigate the nature of the physical and spiritual contents of the Temple atonement system. The physical sacrifice portion is an unblemished clean animal, while the spiritual sacrifice portion is a repentant mental attitude expressed through sincere prayer. The ceremonial service of the biblical sacrificial system serves as a reminder that the consequences of unrepentant sin leads to suffering and even death. It serves as an external symbol of an inner understanding expressed through the act of prayer, the service of the heart. A prerequisite of prayer is that one who prays does so with “clean hands.” That is, it must be done with sincerity and repentance and with the intention of seeking inner change. To those who offer insincere prayer God declares, “And when you spread forth your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; also when you make many prayers, I will not hear; your hands are full of blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean, put away the evil doings from before My eyes, cease to do evil” (Isaiah 1:15-16). God knows when a person is sincere in his/her supplications and answers accordingly.
Offering sacrifice is only part of the Temple process of atonement. Sins were not automatically removed when an animal was slaughtered on the altar, as if something took place that made the individual’s own moral actions irrelevant. Rather sacrifice symbolically connected the worshiper to God, thereby providing the external basis for effective repentance. Nevertheless, sacrifice is not an alternative to contrite repentance. Sincere confessionary repentant prayer must always accompany atonement even with a blood sacrifice offering. Atonement is not granted to the sinner by virtue of the sacrifice alone, without the accompanying act of confessionary repentance. The confession of sin (vidui) is an essential part of repentance (Leviticus 5:5, Numbers 5:7). Even where the Torah mandates a specific offering there cannot be atonement without an oral confession. As long as a person refuses to acknowledge his wrongdoing, he cannot repent sincerely.
Sin cannot be erased by the mere observance of the technical rite of blood sacrifice. The penitent sinner must perceive the sacrifice as though he were offering himself as the victim on the altar. True atonement lies in the “broken spirit” and “contrite heart” of the penitent (Psalms 51:18-19; 16-17 in some versions). The sinner must face the gravity of his guilt and act to relieve its burden. He does this by putting his two hands between the horns of the sacrifice and pressing down with all his strength on the animal. This leaning was performed on all personal sacrifices by the individual bringing it and was accompanied by a confession (B.T. Yoma 36a). By actually laying his hands on the animal prior to slaughter and expressing his feelings in words of confession the sinner obliterates and consumes his sinful pride, just as the sacrificial offering burns and is to be consumed on the altar. The awareness of guilt is the first step. Remorse over past actions must be followed by a resolution for change in the future; only then is the way open to full repentance. In any event, atonement comes directly from God and is, in fact, an act of divine grace.
Continued
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