{"id":76183,"date":"2020-06-18T12:03:31","date_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=76183"},"modified":"2020-06-18T12:03:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-18T09:03:31","slug":"does-god-want-sacrifices","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/does-god-want-sacrifices\/","title":{"rendered":"Does God Want Sacrifices?"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[],"acf":{"old_id":"76183","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"506","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Perhaps. But goodness is always more important\r\n\r\n","content":"

This chapter features a call to repentance (1), but the people fail to capitalize on this opportunity. Although He has the capacity \u201cto heal\u201d and \u201cto bind\u201d (2), and although the people express their intent \u201cto pursue obedience to the Lord\u201d (3), the goodness (<\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>) they display is as transient \u201cas morning clouds\u201d and as short-lived \u201cas morning dew\u201d (4). \u201cFor I desire goodness (<\/span>chesed<\/span><\/em>), not sacrifice,\u201d says God, \u201cobedience\u2026 rather than burnt offerings\u201d (6).<\/span><\/p>\n

This last verse has often been cited in the argument that the sacrificial order will not be renewed in a rebuilt Temple with the concomitant elimination of that order from the present liturgy. However, when seen in the context of similar prophetic declarations, it appears to be an expression of preference (God desires goodness <\/span>more than<\/span><\/em> sacrifice) rather than total rejection.<\/span><\/p>\n

The first such declaration was made by Samuel. After King Saul disobeyed his instructions to destroy Amalekite sheep and cattle, he attempted to justify his disobedience by claiming that they had been spared for the purpose of sacrifice. Samuel\u2019s retort was: \u201cDoes the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord\u2019s command? Surely obedience is better than sacrifice, compliance than the fat of rams\u201d (1 Samuel 15:22).\u00a0 There is clearly no complete rejection of sacrifice, just the observation that it takes a backseat to obedience.<\/span><\/p>\n

A similar declaration was made by Jeremiah. In condemning those who sought sanctuary in the Temple while continuing their perverse ways, he stated: \u201cFor when I freed your fathers from the land of Egypt, I did not speak with them or command them concerning burnt offerings or sacrifice. But this is what I commanded them: Do My bidding, that I may be your God and you may be My people; walk only in the way that I enjoin upon you, that it may go well with you\u201d (7:22-23).<\/span><\/p>\n

Ambivalence over the ritual of sacrifice is further reflected in the contradictory positions taken by Maimonides. In the Guide (3:32), he explained sacrifice as a way to sublimate the desire to serve God materially, implying that they have no intrinsic value and would, eventually, be replaced with a purely intellectual form of worship. However, in his Mishneh Torah, describing the Messianic era, he stipulated that \u201c<\/span>all the laws will be reinstated as they were before: sacrifices will be offered, and [the people] will keep the sabbatical and jubilee years in the form they are described in the Torah\u201d (Laws of Kings and their Wars 11:1).<\/span><\/p>\n

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