How to Read Leviticus?

Letviticus (Vayikra in Hebrew) is the third book in the Torah and probably the most ignored of the five. Why? Some people would call it "boring". They would say, "Leviticus is just laws. There are no stories." I find it insane to say that Leviticus can not compare to the other books of the Torah. Leviticus is perhaps the most important. This third book is the beginning of the Jewish ethics system. Jewish law does not stop with the Ten Commandments. In the Torah, there are 613 commandments, most of which are found Leviticus. As we start our exploration of Leviticus for this year, we must keep in mind some simple reading strategies for studying ancient law.

While reading Vayikra, there are a few questions that readers should ask themselves. First of all, reader should always ask: "Why is this law here?". Some Jews believe the Torah is entirely the word of God, but most liberal Jews believe that later authors wrote the Torah. Either way, the laws had to be carefully constructed for this book. Most laws look a little peculiar to us. A majority of the Torah's laws are about farming. Why? Israel was an agricultural society. Many laws are written in the Torah for those who cultivate the land. Other laws are in Leviticus as a basis for the Jewish moral code. It is obvious not to steal or kill, but Vayikra gets into every ethical detail.

Another question one has to ask is "How can I apply this law to my everyday life?" While most of us are no longer farmers, many of the laws intended for them still have meaning. For example, a farmer's guide to planting the land teaches us to have faith and discipline before God. The Kashrut (dietary laws) have the same intention. Studying law does not mean to pick and choose the "easy" laws, but to look at every practice and incorporate it in some shape or fashion into our modern world. When reading Leviticus these two questions will make everything a little simpler.