What Christians Ask Me about Leviticus

In the yearly cycle of reading the Torah, Jews all over the world have just finished reading Vayikra, the middle book of the Five Books, known in the English-speaking world as Leviticus. Over the years, online, Christians and those raised in a Christian culture have posed a lot of questions about this book, often the same questions over and over. As a public service, let me post some answers.

What's a Levite?

Levi was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Since Jacob was given the additional name Israel by God, the descendants of those twelve sons are called "the Children of Israel" or "Israelites." Each had many descendants, and they became the twelve tribes of Israel. (This is the same family that was earlier called Hebrews and that would later be called Jews. Levites are Jews.)

Why were the Levites special?

In the Torah, the tribe of Levi was put in charge of the portable sanctuary, the Mishkan. Specific families within the tribe had responsibility for different tasks involved in its upkeep (when it was in one place) and in its transportation (when the Israelites were on the move, a/k/a "wandering in the wilderness"). Later, when a stationary Temple was built in Jerusalem, they served there.

What's the difference between a priest and a Levite?

All priests were Levites, but most Levites were temple attendants, not priests. Kohanim, the word we translate as "priest," means Aaron (the brother of Moses and Miriam), his sons, and their descendants. Obviously, they were all member of the tribe of Levi, and the rest of the Levites were their cousins. (Please note that a kohen was not like a Catholic priest: not celibate, not empowered to act on God's behalf, not involved in confession. The kohanim were specialists in sacrificial offerings and in keeping themselves in a state of ritual purity so they could properly make those offerings,)

Why is there a book called Leviticus?

Good question! In Jewish circles, it is called after the first word of the book, Vayikra, "and God called." That's the way all the books of the Torah are named. For instance, Exodus is called Sh'mot, "names," because it begins "These are the names...." (It would be silly to have a book called These!)

English-speakers usually call it Leviticus, from the Latin word that means "Levite stuff." A lot--but by no means all--of the book is instructions to the priest and Levites about how to do their jobs.

Are there still priests and Levites in Judaism today?

Yes, but they do not perform the same function as they used to.

Since the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in the year 70 CE, it has been impossible for priests and Levites to maintain a nonexistent building or to offer sacrifices there, and they are not allowed to do it anywhere else. Some Jews fervently hope for the day when the Temple will be rebuilt and the system of sacrifices will be restored. Others would rather not see it happen, because:

1. One of the holiest sites in Islam now occupies part of the Temple Mount, and destroying it would be a terrible thing (and probably lead to war).
2. We don't see any reason for all those cattle, sheep, goats, and birds to get killed in order to praise God.
3. Both of the above.

In many synagogues today, if a kohen is present he (or, in more liberal synagogues, she) will be the first one called up to the Torah during the service. A Levi will be the second one of the seven called up on Shabbat. This is a vestigial reminder of the roles they used to play.

If the Temple is destroyed and the priests and Levites can't offer sacrifices on our behalf, does that mean that all Jews are damned?

No! This is a complete misunderstanding and a self-serving fiction by Christians trying to claim that they have taken the place of Jews. Damnation is not a concept in Judaism. We do not have to be perfect to be loved by God. And animal sacrifices were never the only way to ask God for forgiveness. Already in biblical times, the prophet Hosea wrote:

Take with you words, and come back to the Lord; say to him, Let there be forgiveness for all wrongdoing, so that we may take what is good, and give in payment the fruit of our lips. https://www.biblestudytools.com/hosea/14-2-compare.html

For the last 2000 years or so, we have had synagogue services that exactly correspond to the daily offerings in the Temple: evening, morning, afternoon, and additional offerings on Shabbat and holidays. That is to remind us (and perhaps, depending on your theology, God) that we continue our relationship with God under changed conditions.

So why should anyone study Leviticus today?

Well, I could hedge and say that there is a lot of content in the book that is not a technical manual for Levites. There are laws about social justice, like leaving the corners of your field for the poor and dispossessed to harvest by right, not charity. There is a holiday calendar. There are the basic laws of kashrut, the Jewish dietary laws. (The much-maligned Pharisees, who democratized the idea of holiness so that it didn't apply only to priests and Levites, elaborated on these laws so that the ordinary act of eating a meal could be like offering a daily sacrifice in the Temple.)

But let me say this straight out: it's worth studying Leviticus for its own sake. 

Simply reading it might not be worthwhile. Too many things are puzzling, meaningless, or abhorrent on first glance when we approach the text with a twenty-first century mindset and in the absence of deep, searching commentary. Fortunately, there's a two-thousand-year tradition of wrestling with the text, and when we become part of that tradition (and you don't have to be Jewish to do so!), we gain historical, political, ethical, and spiritual insights that might or might not be available elsewhere.

I am looking forward to reading Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg's new commentary, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58537835-the-hidden-order-of-intimacy.