Adam with a Capital A

Speak  to the Children of Israel and explain  to them

if  any  man  (adam) of  you would bring  an  offering

near unto God, from animals, from the herd and from

the flock shall you bring your offerings.   Leviticus 1:2

Our Sages read the word adam as a proper noun, Adam, referring to Adam haRishon, the first human being, and derive a halacha from their reading: a prohibition against sacrificing a stolen animal. Just as Adam brought sacrifices from his own possessions (since God had given him the entire world), so too subsequent generations may sacrifice only from their own possessions.

We can derive a philosophical lesson from our Sages’ reading, in addition to the halachic point. When Adam offered his first sacrifice, he was still alone in the world, when he constituted all of humanity. He could not wait for others to initiate offerings to God, but necessarily had to be the first to act. Similarly, Adam’s descendants, when they serve God, should not wait for others to initiate and then follow, but must take the lead. One must fill his obligations, whether or not others do.

When an individual fulfills his responsibility, it can serve as a model for others. Thus, our verse begins with the singular “any man” and concludes with the plural “you (plural) shall bring your offerings.”