Temple offerings involved more than just bringing a bull, goat or sheep. In Num. 15:1-16, the Torah commands that korbanot be accompanied by wine libations, called nesachim, and grain offerings ("menachot"). What was the purpose of these additional offerings?

The answer to this question may be found in a Talmudic statement comparing the Temple service with our daily recital of the Shema. Rabbi Yochanan taught:

"Reading the Shema without tefillin is like offering an Olah (a burnt-offering) without the grain offering, or a sacrifice without the wine." (Berachot 14b)

What is the connection between an incomplete Temple offering and reciting the Shema while not wearing tefillin?

Engaging All of Our Faculties

The Temple service, Rav Kook explained, was meant to encompass all aspects of creation. Each offering contained elements from each of the four basic realms of the universe — human, animal, vegetable, and mineral. There is the individual bringing the offering (human), the sacrifice (animal), the grain and wine offerings (vegetable), and the altar (filled with earth, from the mineral realm). Without the wine and grain, the offering would lack a component from the world of plants.

Including wine and grain is an important lesson in how we should serve God. We have elevated faculties, such as the intellect and the power of speech, as well as the lower, more physical powers. Just as the Temple service incorporated all aspects and levels of the universe, so too our Divine service should engage all of our God-given natural powers. If we were to serve Him only with our more elevated faculties, we would not attain genuine shleimut and spiritual growth in all aspects of our being.

What does this have to do with saying Shema while wearing tefillin? The Shema proclaims God's unity and the obligation to love Him "with all your heart, all your soul, and all your might" (Deut. 6:5). By reciting these verses while wearing tefillin (as the Shema directs, "Bind these words as a sign on your arm"), we demonstrate that we engage our entire being, even our physical powers, in serving God.

Now Rabbi Yochanan's comparison becomes clearer. Reciting the Shema without tefillin is like offering a korban without the wine and grain. Such a person only utilizes his more refined faculties — his mind and speech — in his service of God. This is like an offering that lacks an element from the lower level of life, from the vegetable realm.

Turn From Evil, Do Good

This explanation also clarifies a puzzling Halacha. The Talmud in Menachot 90b rules that not all korbanot are accompanied by wine and grain. Offerings brought to atone for sins — chatat and asham — do not have nesachim (Mishneh Torah, Ma'aseh HaKorbanot 2:2). Why not?

Our spiritual service may be divided into two components. There are our efforts to avoid evil, as we keep the 365 negative mitzvot; and there are our strivings to draw nearer to God through the 248 positive mitzvot. As the verse in Psalms (34:15) states succinctly: "Sur meira" — turn from evil — "va'asei tov" — and do good.

The concept of serving God with all aspects of our being, even our lower, physical powers, applies specifically to the second category, to our positive efforts for spiritual growth. For this reason, the Talmud (Nedarim 32b) comments that, with the mitzvah of brit milah (circumcision), "God gave Abraham control over all of his 248 organs."  Why 248 organs? This is a reference to the 248 positive mitzvot. With brit milah, even his lowest, most physical nature was fully directed towards that which is good and holy.

With regard to avoiding evil, however, the situation is different. When a person stumbles, his moral and intellectual faculties are responsible for the error. The lower forces do not determine our moral choices, and they are not rewarded or punished for their behavior. The body can digest forbidden food just as well as kosher food. Thus, the service of "sur meira" only reflects the functioning of one's higher faculties.

Now we understand why sin offerings are not accompanied by wine and grain. These korbanot come to atone for our failure to avoid bad choices, and only our intellectual/moral side is at fault. But offerings such as the Olah and holiday korbanot are brought to attain a special closeness to God. They are a positive service of God - "asei tov" — and should be accompanied by grain and wine from the vegetable realm, demonstrating that this service should engage all levels of our existence.

(adapted from Ein Eyah vol. I, p. 72)

Copyright © 2006 by Chanan Morrison