Vayikra 2022

This week’s Torah portion, Vayikra/”And He Called” (Leviticus 1:1-6:7), launches us into the book commonly known as Leviticus, but in Hebrew also called Vayikra!  It details the 5 types of offerings (olah/burnt, minchah/meal, shelamim/peace, chatat/sin, and ‘asham/trespass) to be brought to the completed Tabernacle and the launching of the Tabernacle service.  From previous studies, its quite clear that the physical Tabernacle as His sole dwelling place, the Levitical priesthood, and the sacrificial system are all a result of Israel’s refusal of what is originally offered and intended at Sinai – a return and restoration to the Edenic condition of Adam prior to the fall where Israel would become the living Tabernacle or dwelling place, and a nation of priests!  With that foundation, we must then ask what do the details of the Tabernacle’s protocol reveal regarding Israel’s status while waiting to be returned and restored?