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Qty Price Item Jewish News subscriptions 0 $37.00 each* American Heritage Haggadah Add'I Haggadah Books 0$17.50 each Overnight delivery charge for first book 0 $10.00 Overnight deliveryfor each add] book 0 $5.00 1 FREE Name Address City TOTAL ❑ Payment must be enclosed OR MasterCard ❑ VISA ❑ Charge to my ❑ I'd like to send the subscription as a gift to: Zip State * $49 out-of-state Phone ❑ Exp. Card # Send the free gift to: ❑ Me ❑ Recipient Signature (required) My Name My Address City 90 Phone State Zip Please send all payments along with this coupon to: The Jewish News, P.O. Box 2267, Southfield, MI 48037-9966 or call 810-354-6620, 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. New subscribers only PASS 94 `Those Who Are Pure Engage In Purity' RABBI DOVID S. POLTER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS T he Midrash states: "Rab- bi Asi said, 'Why do we begin a very young child's study of Torah with the Book of Leviticus and not with the Book of Genesis? Because children are pure and sacrificial offerings are pure; let those who are pure occupy themselves with that which is pure." How are we to understand this statement of the Midrash that sacrifices are themselves "pure"? Purity is not the attri- bute that the Torah normally associates with sacrifices which are usually qualified by the adjectives "whole" or "choice." With regard to the sacrifices that were offered before the giv- ing of the Torah, our sages state that all animals, beasts and birds could be offered, so long as they were from species that were "pure," i.e., kosher. We learn this from Noach's sacri- fices which were only of "pure" animals. Although at that time no dif- ference existed between "pure" and "impure" animals with re- gard to the permissibility of their being eaten (i.e., their kashrut), a difference did exist in their intrinsic being, as would later be set out in the Torah. Thus, beginning with Noach, sacrifices before the giving of the Torah bore some relation- ship to the sacrifices of the Jew- ish people after the giving of the Torah. This then is what is meant by saying that sacrifices are pure — in the sense of Noach's use of kosher animals. The ultimate purpose of sac- rifices is to reveal God's essen- tial love for the Jewish people, a love so great that it tran- scends His love for them as students of the Torah. This was expressed to a greater degree in the sacrifices that preceded the giving of the Torah, which were not offered as a result of a directive of the Torah; once they became a spe- cific command of the Torah it was harder to reveal that aspect within them that transcends Torah. The Midrashic statement that children begin their study of the Torah with the Book of Leviticus because "those who are pure should occupy them- selves with that which is pure," will be understood accordingly. There are three general eras in the life of the Jewish people: RABBI POLTER is the spiritual leader of Birmingham I Bloom- field Hills Synagogue I Chabad. (a) the era that follows the giv- ing of the Torah, when Jews perform the Torah and mitzvot, because they are so commanded by God; (b) the era that began with the patriarchs (and lasted until the giving of the Torah) when they fulfilled the precepts "before being so commanded;" (c) even earlier on, beginning with Noach, when there was only a faint connection to the laws of the Torah (at the very least), insofar as it related to "pure" and "impure"). These three eras have their parallels in the spiritual life of each individual Jew in the following manner: (a) after be- coming bar or bat mitzvah, when he or she is obligated to perform the mitzvot; (b) the time the child reaches the age of chinuch, the age at which he Shabbat Vayikra: Leviticus 1:1-5:26 Isaiah 43:21-44:24. or she can be educated in the ways of Torah and mitzvot, preparing for the time he or she will be obligated to perform them; (c) when he or she is still at a very tender age and cannot conduct him or herself accord- ing to the Torah and mitzvot. Even in the last mentioned instance, the tender Jewish child has a relationship with Torah and mitzvot. This is his rightful inheritance. He pos- sesses it in its totality, and its framework is relevant to him. Furthermore, as a child who has no connection to the prac- tical service of Torah and mitzvot, his essential relation- ship to God is more readily apparent; God's intrinsic and essential love for the Jewish people is revealed to a greater extent within a very young child than within someone older. This, then, is the meaning of "letting those who are pure oc- cupy themselves with that which is pure." The intent of sacrifices is to reveal God's essential love for the Jewish people, who are essentially pure, inasmuch as they are rooted in a source that cannot be tainted by impurity. Therefore, these very young and pure children within whom God's love is palpably revealed should engage in the study of that which is itself pure — the study of sacrifices. L1 c/\