animal sacrifices today

[nitemarehippygirl]

hello...

i've tried looking this up but i mostly get a bunch of christian stuff. i also asked a jewish friend of mine, but she just gave me a blank stare. lol :p

what has replaced blood sacrifices in modern times?

surely modern jews have not lessened their sins to such a remarkable degree that mere prayer and repentence suffices, when in the hebrew bible, sacrifice was clearly very common? also, the reason for offering varies... from peace offerings to guilt offerings...getting closer to god and pleasing god. god finding pleasure in the fragrance of the burnt flesh, etc. what's replaced that?
the other argument i have found is that modern jews are without a proper temple to offer their sacrifices in. it follows that when the messiah comes, the temple will be provided for sacrificial purposes.

so do jews want to be able to do animal sacrifices today?
(the orthodox, perhaps?)

thank you for the info..... sorry if it's been asked before and i missed the thread.


peace! :)

[Aerosolhalos]

I could be wrong, but I believe sacrifices were only to be made in the Temple which was of course destroyed. Without the proper venue for it to take place, no one even worries about the role of animal sacrifice.. I do think I once read a radical traditional group in rural areas of Israel that sacrificed lambs and demanded the reconstruction of The Temple in Jerusalem tho.

[nitemarehippygirl]

so pretty much, lack of a place to do sacrifices is the reason...
thanks for the info aerosolhalos

[the dauer]

Lack of a place is indeed part of the reason. Most of the Jews in the world wouldn't want to go back to sacrificial times. Prayer also does replace offerings according to a rabbinic reading of the prophet who says we will give offerings of our lips. And that's not the only thing that replaces it. Also acts of lovingkindness.

According to Rambam, that is Maimonides, everyone at that time was used to worshipping via offerings in temples and it is man's nature to stick with what he's accustomed to, so in order to help man accept the Torah at that time He only got rid of the idolatry, but allowed a Temple and offerings. Rambam actually goes on to suggest that if he had done away with offering and just had people praying, it would be like a prophet saying, "God has given you a Law forbidding you to pray to Him, to fast, to call upon Him for help in misfortune. Your worship should consist solely in meditation without any works at all."

So it's unclear where he was going, whether or not he meant that will be the final stage, or at least one past spoken prayer, according to him, but that's what he said.

But the original reason was definitely the lack of a Temple. The replacement is prayer, tzedakah, acts of lovingkindness, the list is endless.

There's a rebbe, I forget which one, who said that if you're hungry and you start eating, and you really get into your food, really enjoying it, and you stop while you're in the middle like that, it's greater than a qorban at the beit hamikdash, at the Temple in Jerusalem. So there's a lot that's been said in different ways.

Shalom u'vracha,
peace and blessings

Dauer