With the conclusion of Sefer Sh’mos, the Torah has completed the description of the mishkan and all that went in it. Sefer Vayikra, then, begins with the bringing of the korbanos, the sacrifices that were brought in the mishkan.
The Torah states, “אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה , when a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem”. Rashi derives from the words: “ when he will bring” that it implies that the korban we are discussing is not an obligatory offering, but rather a voluntary offering.
The לקוטי שיחות explains that the reason the Torah starts with the voluntary offering is to teach that the most important part of bringing a korban is what's in one’s heart; it's a person’s desire to bring that's important. This is true for the obligatory korbanos, too. For them to have the full effect, the desire must be there. The Torah starts with the voluntary ones to teach that the same desire must be there for all.
This concept is evident later as well, when the Torah discusses the bird offering, which is small and brought by the poor man. The Torah states, ריח ניחח לה , a pleasing fragrance to Hashem. Rashi explains that the reason it says ריח ניחוח both by the poor man's korban and by the rich man's korban is to teach us that, whether one gives an expensive offering or one gives a modest offering, they are equal in Hashem's eyes, as long as their heart is doing it for the sake of heaven. The poor man shouldn't feel that his small donation isn't worth anything, for Hashem counts what's in your heart. If the desire is there to give, the reward is great.
This concept extends beyond korbanos and charity; it also applies to our everyday life. It's said about the אר”י ז”ל that he would often praise his student ר חיים ויטאל on his great deeds and pureness of his soul. Once Reb Chaim came to his Rebbi and said, “how can you praise me so much? I'm nothing compared to the generations before; the smallest of the previous generation was so great that I don't come to his toes. I don't merit such praise”. The אר”י ז”ל answered, “the greatness of a person is not necessarily what one sees or even in the person's actions, rather it's what’s in a person's heart. A person is judged according to the time that he lives and the generation that he’s part of. A small action in this generation is equal to many great mitzvos of the previous generation. In our generation, it's so much harder, for there is so much bad that wasn't present in the previous generations”.
Imagine what he would say nowadays with so many outside distractions and how much bad is on the streets. All of our good intent and our good actions, no matter how small, are of great significance to Hashem.
There is a halacha that one who doesn't have a bris can't go into the bais hamikdash to bring a korban. Rather, he has to send it with a messenger. Every korban needs סמיכה, leaning, that the one who brings it has to put his hands on the animal and lean on it. However, if one brings it through a messenger, there is no leaning. The Chasam Sofer says we see this from our posuk also, from the word “מכם from you”. First, one has to bring a korban from himself, which is the bris mila. Once he has given from himself, he can come to the beis hamikdash and give to Hashem.
This teaches us that even though we might not be the smartest, greatest, or strongest, we have to know that what we do is nevertheless great in Hashem's eyes. As long as we have the desire and our hearts are in the right place, then, no matter what our limitations are, to Hashem we are doing one hundred percent!
The Torah states, “אדם כי יקריב מכם קרבן לה , when a person from among you will bring an offering to Hashem”. Rashi derives from the words: “ when he will bring” that it implies that the korban we are discussing is not an obligatory offering, but rather a voluntary offering.
The לקוטי שיחות explains that the reason the Torah starts with the voluntary offering is to teach that the most important part of bringing a korban is what's in one’s heart; it's a person’s desire to bring that's important. This is true for the obligatory korbanos, too. For them to have the full effect, the desire must be there. The Torah starts with the voluntary ones to teach that the same desire must be there for all.
This concept is evident later as well, when the Torah discusses the bird offering, which is small and brought by the poor man. The Torah states, ריח ניחח לה , a pleasing fragrance to Hashem. Rashi explains that the reason it says ריח ניחוח both by the poor man's korban and by the rich man's korban is to teach us that, whether one gives an expensive offering or one gives a modest offering, they are equal in Hashem's eyes, as long as their heart is doing it for the sake of heaven. The poor man shouldn't feel that his small donation isn't worth anything, for Hashem counts what's in your heart. If the desire is there to give, the reward is great.
This concept extends beyond korbanos and charity; it also applies to our everyday life. It's said about the אר”י ז”ל that he would often praise his student ר חיים ויטאל on his great deeds and pureness of his soul. Once Reb Chaim came to his Rebbi and said, “how can you praise me so much? I'm nothing compared to the generations before; the smallest of the previous generation was so great that I don't come to his toes. I don't merit such praise”. The אר”י ז”ל answered, “the greatness of a person is not necessarily what one sees or even in the person's actions, rather it's what’s in a person's heart. A person is judged according to the time that he lives and the generation that he’s part of. A small action in this generation is equal to many great mitzvos of the previous generation. In our generation, it's so much harder, for there is so much bad that wasn't present in the previous generations”.
Imagine what he would say nowadays with so many outside distractions and how much bad is on the streets. All of our good intent and our good actions, no matter how small, are of great significance to Hashem.
There is a halacha that one who doesn't have a bris can't go into the bais hamikdash to bring a korban. Rather, he has to send it with a messenger. Every korban needs סמיכה, leaning, that the one who brings it has to put his hands on the animal and lean on it. However, if one brings it through a messenger, there is no leaning. The Chasam Sofer says we see this from our posuk also, from the word “מכם from you”. First, one has to bring a korban from himself, which is the bris mila. Once he has given from himself, he can come to the beis hamikdash and give to Hashem.
This teaches us that even though we might not be the smartest, greatest, or strongest, we have to know that what we do is nevertheless great in Hashem's eyes. As long as we have the desire and our hearts are in the right place, then, no matter what our limitations are, to Hashem we are doing one hundred percent!
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