Illustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
What's going on here? מַה זֶה?
Every day, the כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל (kohen gadol, high priest) brought a קָרְבַּן מִנְחָה (minhah sacrifice)—half in the morning, and half in the evening (Vayikra 6:13). Abarbanel offers many reasons why the kohen gadol brought this korban. Here are a few:
- Minhah was the most affordable korban because it was made from flour, not an animal. The kohen gadol brought a minhah to make sure that people who were poor would feel confident bringing this kind of sacrifice. After all, it was good enough for the kohen gadol!
- Sometimes, people might have felt embarrassed when they had to bring a korban, especially if it was related to a sticky personal situation. Seeing the kohen gadol offering his own sacrifice every day would make others more comfortable bringing theirs.
- The kohen gadol needed to secure God’s forgiveness before he could help others to get forgiveness. (Like on an airplane, when the instructions are to put on your own oxygen mask before trying to help other people!)
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