Leviticus Analysis Essay

Sacrifice is a multifaceted practice than almost never has one simple and straight forward interpretation. Gary E. Kesslar, the author of Studying Religion, discusses how sacrifices can have a series of different connotations. Kesslar considers that it is difficult to pinpoint a direct and obvious reason for any sacrifice, but explains that there are several forms of motivation behind these ceremonies, which are thanks giving, substitution, channeling violence, reenacting rituals, or communicating with the divine(94). In Leviticus there are sacrifices preformed by Moses for the Lord that like all sacrifices, serve multiple functions, so much so that it is impossible to categorize the rituals preformed as having strictly one purpose. The sacrifice of valuables such as animals and food, the use of a scapegoat, and the burning of offerings to be received by God, mark the rituals of Leviticus as thanks giving, substitution, and communication. The very nature of what is being sacrificed in Leviticus and how it is sacrificed demonstrate that a large part of this ritual, but not the only component of it, is thanks giving. Kessler defines thanks giving as the practicing of presenting a gift of value to the divine both out of gratitude of those preforming the sacrifice, as well in the hope of future gifts from the divine. An example of thanks giving is Leviticus is the sacrifice of the ram of burnt offering. In this part of the ritual Moses brings a ram forward as commanded by the Lord. The ram, unlike in other parts of the sacrifices, carries no symbolic meaning and is not acting as a scapegoat. After the ram is killed, Moses cleans it with water, and “turned all of the ram into smoke. That was a burnt offering for a pleasing odor, an offering by fire to the Lord” (Levit 164). This is only one part of the ceremony, but it can be clearly understood that this section of the sacrifice is intended exclusively as thanks giving and as a means to deliver the gift of the ram to the Lord. Later on in the rituals of Leviticus Moses again makes an offering of bread, cake, and a wafer and presents it to God in the same manner as the ram. While these components of the ritual are not reflective of its entire purpose or function, their prevalence makes it clear that thanks giving is a core purpose to this ceremony. Substitution, also referred to as scapegoating, is another central theme in the sacrifices of Leviticus. According to Kessler substitution is the act of providing something or someone in place of one’s self to the divine. Kesslar considers the self to be the ultimate sacrifice, but discusses how “mass suicides does not contribute to the survival of the species.” (94) In place of this ultimate sacrifice, Kesslar argues that a reasonable replacement can be found, and that the society can transfer “sins, pollution, corruption, shame, and guilt” before it is sacrificed and thus purify the group that has preformed the sacrifice. To this affect, Moses’s ritual, which uses a bull is form of scapegoating. Moses and his people have transferred their sin onto the bull and are sacrificing it so as to absolve and purify themselves. In other words they are making themselves pure by killing the bull. Unlike the ram, which was burnt as an offering, the bull of sin offering was burned in a fire outside of the camp, not in the ceremonial fire since it was not intended as a gift for God. There is no other way to describe this component of the ritual other than as a substitution. The last main theory as to why these specific practices in Leviticus occur is Kessler’s theory of communication. Communication, perhaps the most general of Kessler’s theories, claims that sacrifice is a form of a communication between man and God. It can be seen though out Leviticus that this is perhaps the overarching theme of the sacrifices, but is not the main function of it. It is nature of all

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