Parsha Talk Vayikra 5786 2026

We begin a new book this Shabbat, Va-yiqra [Leviticus], which is also the name of the parashah [Leviticus 1:1-5:26]. The rabbis call the book torat kohanim. In his JPS Commentary, Baruch Levine discusses the double meaning of the phrase: it is both the teaching for the priests and the teaching of or by the priests. The book is at once an instruction manual for priests and a distillation of priestly teaching. While many people find this book inaccessible, I love it! In particular, our parashah deals with the principal sacrifices brought by the individual: the olah [burnt offering], minhah [grain...