This sheet on Leviticus 7 was written by Jonathan Posner for 929 and can also be found here
This chapter’s description of the asham, the guilt-offering, is a recipe of rich flavors and instructions on how to prepare the choicest cuts of meat. The sacrifices are about more than feeding God: humans experience these rituals too, and since the goal is to expiate guilt, the aromas are, in part, for the guilty person or their priestly surrogate to reflect on that guilt, and the life changes to come.
Such an exacting cooking process would produce roasted meat nothing short of delicious. At some level, the answers to the questions of which cuts, how they are cooked, and who eats them are arbitrary. The flavors produced by these processes are consistent, and no singular flavor inherently evokes guilt, forgiveness, or gratitude. Rather, the sacrifices assign human emotions to specific flavors. This codifies a natural human process. Aromas and flavors are some of the strongest emotional triggers we have, and the sacrificial system seeks to pass down what these recipes are meant to evoke.
We also learn how to prepare a meal fit for God. The asham opens a world-class meal with deep humility, and infuses the experience with kedushah, holiness, for “it is most holy.” The minhah is translated as “meal offering,” and echoes how Jews traditionally relate to bread—it’s simply not a meal without it. Zevah hashelamim’s translation as “wellbeing-offering” conveys the Hebrew’s emotion. Shin lamed mem suggests wholeness, completeness, and peace. If we are fulfilled, we are at peace, and nothing can be a purer expression of a person’s wellbeing than a celebratory meal.
We have built an ever-richer meal culminating in the zevah. On their own, these aromas and tastes evoke guilt, forgiveness, servitude, and humility. Together, we experience a wholeness, a satisfaction worth blessing.
And these rites are whole-bodied: Taste, smell, and touch are paramount, allowing our relationship to God to remain rich and present not just in our minds, but also in our physical world. Worshipping, communing with God should be a satisfying, active experience both for us and for God.
Jonathan Posner is a trained chef and shochet, and a rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
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