Parshas VaYikra

This week's sidra is Parshas VaYikra, the first of the 3rd book of the Pentateuach, otherwise known as Leviticus. VaYikra means, "And he called", refering to G-d's communication with Moshe from between the Cherubim who adorned the Cover for the Ark of Testimony. This Parsha almost exclusively concerns itself with the laws of the various temple sacrficies, ranging from voluntary "elevation" offerings, to several types of sin offerings, including both animal and meal (i.e. cake) sacrifices. This sets the tone for the entire book, the most technical of the 5 Books of Moses, centering around laws of the Tabernacle. This may explain why the book begins with a conjunction, "And", in order to connect it to the end of the second book, the Book of Shemos, with concluded with the construction of the Tabernacle. Shemos also began with the same conjuction, which we explained connects it to the first book, the Book of Bereishis, which describes the Creation of the world. Therefore, one could say that the Torah also means to make an essential connection between the Creation (and its purpose and fulfillment) and the performances of the services in the Tabernacle.
The obvious question to be asked is, of course, what makes these sacrifical offerings so important, as to actually fulfiill the intent of the entire Creation? To understand this, first we should explain the concept of the animal sacrifice itself, which was first brought by infamous brothers Kain and Able. The Torah tells us that Kain brought "some fruits of the land", while Able brought "from the firstborn, from the choicest", and that G-d "turned" to Able's, but not to Kains. This instigated Kain's anger, leading to the murder of his brother (also a first). The lesson here is clear, that, at least with regards to animal sacrifices, G-d desires the best.
To understand this more clearly we can preface with a teaching on the mitzvah of tzedakah (often translated as charity, it literally means "righteousness"): It is said that the mitzvah of tzedakah is equal to all the other mitzvas in the Torah (for Jews and Gentiles), because while other mitzvahs only use one part of the body (for example tefillin are placed on the arm and head), when somebody works to earn money and then gives away the sweat of his brow for the sake of no reward, he is, so to speak, giving away a part of his whole body and being with which he toiled. Similarly, when Able took his choice flock and placed them on an altar for consumption in fire, he was giving away a part of himself. This further explains why today the practice of giving tzedakah has replaced the animal sacrifices in gaining atonement for sins.
This also can explain one of the more perplexing verses in our parsha, which describes the offerings as "a pleasant aroma before G-d". The actual aroma would have been quite foul, and, furthermore, what does it mean to say that G-d "enjoys" the physical aroma of anything in this world? Rashi, the authoritative 11th century commentator, therefore explains that the verse more acurately means "a spirit of contentment, that I spoke and My Will was carried out". In other words, the practice of animal sacrifices represents the ultimate stage in man's "service" of the divine; that he should do something that completely denies logic, and which actually causes him physical (monetary) damage simply because G-d Almighty desires it. The Torah further emphasizes this by placing the voluntary sacrifices ahead of the obligitory sacrfices (which seemingly have a purpose, in terms of repentance), and therefore closer to the Book of Bereishis, and the Creation of the World.
Although nowadays we have no Temple, one can still apply the lesson of the sacrificial services in their lives, by practicing tzedakah and good deeds with a sense of physical and emotional investment; to sacrifice a piece of our body and the feelings of our hearts. It is written about the inexpensive meal (cake) offering, that a "soul" brings it, as opposed to a "man". Since the intent of the meal offering was to make the Temple services accessible even to the poor, the Torah means to teach us that when a poor person brings even a small offering, Hashem considers it as if he brought "his very soul". So to with us, who are "spiritually poor", any offering we make will surely be accepted as if we had brought "our very souls". With Pesach arriving soon, this is an espeically propitious time for tzedakah and good deeds, conforming with the tradition of "Wheat Money", collected to buy matzos for those families in need. I encourage everybody to make an effort to participate in this important mitzvah, and help bring G-d's Creation closer to perfection.