Body and Soul

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

In introducing the sacrifices, our verse uses the word adam, a man, while in connection with the ḥataot, sin offerings, the verse chooses the word nefesh, soul, as we read in Leviticus 4:2.

It has been noted that, on the face of things, the wording should be the opposite. It is the soul, the spiritual force, which strives to bring man closer to God (which is the purpose of the karbanot), and it is man, the physical force, which sins.

My father explained that the Torah here teaches us that body and soul are intertwined and united. The physical and spiritual components of human beings are reciprocally related. When man sins, it has an impact on his soul as well as his body. Conversely, when man seeks closeness to God, not only his soul is elevated, but his physical being as well becomes pure and holy.

The Hebrew wording of the verse can be understood as “when a man brings of you a korban,” meaning he must bring of his own. Too many people are generous with other’s possessions and wealth willing to, and will urge others to make offerings. The Torah, in its choice of words, teaches that one must not tell others to bring until he has brought of his own. One cannot be generous with another’s pocketbook.