Leviticus 27: Give Freely?

After the curses and blessings, the book of Leviticus ends with what seems like a pretty technical chapter. Chapter 27 discusses different cases when someone promises to donate something to the Mishkan or Temple. After chapter 25, it seemed like the book had moved beyond the Mishkan and shifted back to general topics and shifting towards the next step of entering the land. Why is this the last chapter of the book? If anything, this chapter should have appeared earlier on after the discussion of the korbanot. To answer this question, we must return to the very beginning of the book. Leviticus opens with the specific rules regarding bringing a korban. One must select from a specific animal that is a specific number of years old etc. Each korban had its own rules and regulations. But what if someone did not want to follow those rules? What if someone wanted to give their own korban? God answered that question with the death of Aaron’s two eldest sons in the middle of the book. As strict as these rules are, God knows that sometimes one cannot help but want to contribute in their own way. That is what this last chapter is about. After all of the rules set out in the entire book, God ultimately allows for any type of gift. No matter what that gift is, it has value to God. One could even offer to donate their self-worth to the temple and there is a formula for that. God wants the people to contribute in any way they can. They may want to give a specific rule-based korban, but they also may want to give freely of what they have. Everything has worth. Everything has value to God. At the same time, this chapter is informed by the deaths of Ahron’s sons and of the strict rules of the Korbanot. In essence God is balancing the desire of people to give freely with a desire to maintain the rules based worship system that Vayikra outlines. That message is highlighted by the last two verses. “לֹא יְבַקֵּר בֵּין טוֹב לָרַע וְלֹא יְמִירֶנּוּ; וְאִם הָמֵר יָמִיר אֶתּוֹ—וְהָיָה הוּא וּתְמוּרָתוֹ יִהְיֶה־קֹדֶשׁ, לֹא יִגָּאֵל.… אֵלֶּה הַמִּצְוֹת אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה לַי יָ אֶת־מֹשֶׁה אֶל־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּהַר סִינָי.” (ויקרא כ״ז:י׳, ל״ד) “One must not look out for good as against bad, or make substitution for it. If one does make substitution for it, then it and its substitute shall both be holy: it cannot be redeemed/ These are the mitzvot that God gave Moses for the Israelite people on Mount Sinai.” God does not need the people to go searching for the best of the best. God is happy to accept the gift as it is designated. The end of chapter 26 was more specific “These are the laws, rules, and instructions that God commanded…” (26:46), but this final chapter is simply about the “mitzvot.” The mizvot that allow the people to express their love for God in their own way.