From human to animal to personal acts of atonement
SAN DIEGO — With Yom Kippur upon us, it is the time when most people reflect on all the wrong they have done and seek forgiveness. It is customary for people to call or send letters of apology to others. In ancient times, Yom Kippur was accompanied by ritual animal sacrifice, rest from work, and fasting (see Leviticus 16 and 23). This was first done in the wilderness with Moses and his tabernacle, then later at the First and Second Temples.
The First Temple was built around 957 BCE by King Solomon and destroyed around 586 BCE by Babylon. The Second was modestly built around 350 BCE by Jewish exiles and later completely refurbished around 4 CE by King Herod the Great. Herod’s construction was a massive undertaking that took over forty years from start to finish. Unfortunately, in 70 CE, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans.
As there is no more physical Temple or Tabernacle to do sacrifices at, most people have symbolic atonement via confession.
“Bring your confessions, and return to the LORD. Say to Him, ‘Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, for we offer You the sacrifices of our lips’” (from Hosea 14).
While there are some zealots anxiously awaiting the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem [with accompanying animal sacrifices], there are others who not only don’t want sacrifices to return but who don’t even think they are necessary.
“I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know Me more than I want burnt offerings” (from Hosea 6).
“To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice” (from Proverbs 21).
“You do not desire a sacrifice, or I would offer one. You do not want a burnt offering. The sacrifice You desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O G-d” (from Psalm 51).
“What can we bring to the LORD? Should we bring him burnt offerings? Should we bow before G-d Most High with offerings of yearling calves? Should we offer Him thousands of rams and ten thousand rivers of olive oil? Should we sacrifice our firstborn children to pay for our sins? No, O people, the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your G-d” (from Micah 6).
One might argue that G-d wants true repentance more than sacrifice. A common example of this is in 1 Samuel 15 when King Saul disobeyed G-d and then tries to make up for it with sacrifices. Then the prophet Samuel utters the famous line: “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Relationship with G-d is the most important relationship one can have, but it is a relationship nonetheless and relationships take work. A husband cannot abuse a wife, gift her a dozen roses, then expect reconciliation to magically appear. In the same way, someone cannot just sin then expect their relationship with G-d to be restored with a slice of the knife to an animal’s throat. Or, in the case of today’s post-Temple era, one who sins cannot reconcile back to G-d simply by praying three times a day, going to shul, and heartlessly doing obligatory mitzvot.
“And so the LORD says, ‘These people say they are Mine. They honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. And their worship of Me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote” (from Isaiah 29).
Some go so far as to say that G-d never even wanted sacrifice to begin with. This presupposes the logic that one who obeys G-d has no need to sacrifice but also leaves the door open to ponder who really came up with sacrifice in the first place.
“This is what the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, the G-d of Israel, says: Take your other sacrifices and eat them yourselves! When I led your ancestors out of Egypt, it was not burnt offerings and sacrifices I wanted from them. This is what I told them: ‘Obey me, and I will be your G-d, and you will be My people. Do everything as I say, and all will be well!’ But my people would not listen to me” (from Jeremiah 7).
To really dig deep into that mystery, a timeline of history helps. Historians estimate that Abraham lived around 2000 BCE and that the Exodus from Egypt happened around 1400 BCE. We know that idolatry and sacrifice—particularly human sacrifice—is as old as time. The Mayans were an ancient society with human sacrifice, and they date as far back as 2600 BCE. It is safe to assume that ancient Hebrews were exposed to some sort of paganism and human sacrifice in their era by surrounding peoples.
From the dramatic story in Genesis 22 where Abraham almost sacrifices his son Isaac before divine intervention stops him, there is no mention of hesitation from Abraham. When miraculously provided with a ram, Abraham sacrifices that in place of his son Isaac. No doubt shaken up, Isaac got to live another day. One can’t help but wonder if Abraham and others in his time were familiar with human sacrifice and thought of it as one of many acceptable ways to serve G-d. Nevertheless, this story is a turning point in history, particular for Jews. Unlike other ancient civilizations, Jews did not sacrifice children—they instead sacrificed animals.
But if G-d doesn’t really need sacrifice as some prophets attest, why was it commanded at all in the Torah? Was it just a way to get an ancient people away from human sacrifice? Like braces or physical therapy, lasting and drastic change occurs best over time instead of rapidly. This would be the same logic some theologians hold when it comes to holy wars of the past. Were holy wars a brutal reflection of ancient people who simply used G-d as a means for their destruction, no different from the arsonist who tells the courts that “G-d told me to do it”? Or were they a roundabout way to slowly bring humans to the Hebrew G-d? To dissect this idea, it is important to understand the religious climate of centuries ago. Whereas today many people are atheist and need convincing that any higher power exists, ancient peoples had no problem believing in gods. This is why paganism flourished across the globe. Most pagan societies had no problem acknowledging the Hebrew G-d…they just had a problem acknowledging the Hebrew G-d as the only One True G-d. To ancient pagans, the Hebrew G-d was just one of many gods they worshipped.
So how could G-d prove Himself as the One True G-d to ancient pagans? Unfortunately, centuries ago, that was through war. When one nation fought in the name of their god(s) and the Hebrew people fought in the name of their G-d, whoever won the battle would be declared to have the supreme G-d.
“Then the man of G-d went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the LORD says: The Arameans have said, ‘The LORD is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the LORD” (from 1 Kings 20).
“It is true, LORD, that the kings of Assyria have destroyed all these nations. And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands. Now, O LORD our G-d, rescue us from his power; then all the kingdoms of the earth will know that you alone, O LORD, are G-d” (from 2 Kings 19 and echoed in Isaiah 37).
Is there a divine reason for suffering? Could ancient holy wars really have been a way to bring ancient peoples to the One True G-d? As painful as it is for any living being to suffer, is it a price to pay for something greater?
“Do you think that I like to see wicked people die? says the Sovereign LORD. Of course not! I want them to turn from their wicked ways and live” (from Ezekiel 18).
“Others were given in exchange for you. I traded their lives for yours because you are precious to Me. You are honored, and I love you” (from Isaiah 43).
As heart wrenching as it is for any animal to die, was it a price to pay for putting an end to human sacrifice? Just as modern society no longer uses holy wars to determine which of the gods is supreme, maybe—just maybe—animal sacrifice is no longer needed as a deterrent from human sacrifice. Throughout history mankind has been searching for the tangible. From idols of wood/stone that represented gods to holy wars that represented gods’ power to human/animal sacrifice that represented atonement, people have been searching for something to do, see, and hold onto. And like a parent that gets down on the level of a child to explain things, maybe G-d has stooped to our level throughout history to explain things in the only ways we could understand at the moment. My wish for this Yom Kippur is that we would no longer need to look to anything but rather rest in the quiet stillness of trust and faith.
“Be still and know that I am G-d” (from Psalm 46).
*
Teresa Konopka is a freelance writer based in San Diego.