Ramban Al haTorah

Let's look into the Ramban's hakdama to Sefer Vayikra.

הספר הזה הוא תורת כהנים ולוויים, יבאר בו ענין הקרבנות כולן ומשמרת המשכן. כי כאשר היה ספר אחד בענין הגבורות והגאולה ממנו והשלימו בענין אהל מועד וכבוד השם אשר מלא את המשכן, צוה בקרבנות ובשמירת המשכן שיהיו הקרבנות כפרה להם ולא יגרמו העונות לסלוק השכינה.

So the Ramban here is sort of filling in the missing piece for what we had discussed in conjunction with his hakdama to Parshas Teruma. So for the Rambam, the purpose and therefore the definition of the Beis Hamikdash is מוכן להיות מקריבים בו קרבנות. So obviously that there is no question as to what the hakravas korbanos, the business of Mikdash as it were is gufe, the purpose of Mikdash. Mashe'ein kein according to the Ramban that the purpose of Mikdash is Veshachanti Besocham, is to be an address for the hashra'as hashchina. So how does the daily business of Mikdash, which is korbanos, how does that fit into the picture? So that's what the Ramban answers that the korbanos which are a source of kapara, so they're a preventive that

ולא יגרמו העונות לסלוק השכינה. וצוה בכהנים הנגשים אל השם שיתקדשו, שהזהיר על טומאת מקדש וקדשיו וגם שלא יהרסו לעלות אל השם כמו שאמר דבר אל אהרן אחיך ואל יבוא בכל עת אל הקודש מבית לפרוכת אל פני הכפורת אשר על הארון ולא ימות כי בענן אראה על הכפורת כאזהרת פן יהרסו אל השם לראות ונפל ממנו רב.

Which the Ramban earlier, I'm not sure if we, I think maybe we didn't read these few lines in the Ramban back there in Parshas Teruma together. Ramban in Parshas Teruma highlighted the parallel, the parallelism between the psukim which describe the hashra'as hashchina on at Matan Hasinai with the hashra'as hashchina of Mishkan Mikdash, and here the Ramban is following through on that parallelism right and the Ramban is saying. saying that similarly the azharos as to how one approaches the makom hamikadosh, the makom hamikdash, you have the same parallelism, that just as everyone needed to be tahor by Maamad Har Sinai, just as there were gevulin for people as to where they could go, where they couldn't go, so all of that is duplicated in terms of mikdash.

ואחר כך יגביל המשכן כהגבלת סיני בהיות שם כבוד אלהי ישראל. והנה רוב הספר הזה בקרבנות.

Again, as we discussed in when looking at the hakdama to Sefer Shemos, so the Ramban explains that the division of Torah into Chamisha Chumshei is that each of the sefarim has its thematic unity. So Vayikra is Toras Kohanim. The kohanim are the ones who are responsible for avodas hakorbanos.

והנה רוב הספר הזה בקרבנות בתורת הקרבן והמקריבים ובמקום שיתקרב בו. ויבואו בו קצת מצוות נגררות עם אלה. כי מתחילה צוה בקרבנות הנדבה ואסר החלב והדם בעבורם.

Right, so interesting. The Ramban says the pshat in issur chelev vadam is because since chelev vadam is the ikar of what goes on the mizbeach in korbanos, so by behemas chullin it's off limits. The chelev vadam is restricted for hakrava. So if it's a behemas kodshim, if it's a korban, so then it's put on the mizbeach. If it's a behemas chullin, so then it's assur. But the issur of chelev vadam by behemas chullin derives from the fact that that's the ikar in terms of the achilas mizbeach by korbanos.

ואחרי כן צוה בקרבנות החטא ונגרר אחר זה להזכיר המאכלים האסורים בעבור שהם מטמאים והאוכל או הנוגע בהם בכל קודש לא יגע ואל המקדש לא יבוא. ואם נכנס שם בטומאה יהיה חייב קרבן עולה ויורד שהזכירו כבר.

So this, I think we spoke about, I don't recall. So Ramban says so why is it that in parshas Shmini you have basically the dinim of kashrus? So how does that find its place in Toras Kohanim in korbanos? So the Ramban's answer at first glance seems to be a stretch. Now it's true that these animals are also mitamei, but certainly our primary association, it would seem to be the most significant core then is the fact that there's an issur achila. So it's almost as if the connection to Toras Kohanim is rather tenuous. So ela mai, the psukim are very meduyak like the Ramban because the way the Torah expresses the issur... is by saying tme'im hem lachem. Right? The Torah doesn't say, when the Torah lists again, if you have the animal which doesn't have the two simanim, so the Torah doesn't, it's not a category, the way we refer to it is not, because this is the way the Torah refers to it, as not a behema asura, it's referred to as a behema tme'ia. So the tumah, the Ramban says, highlights, he's not saying, right? I think he would have objected to that formulation. Ramban is just the highlighting, he's just taking out his highlighter and highlighting a word in the pasuk that the tumah is the source of the issur achila. It's assur b'achila because it's because it's tamei. The issur derives from the tumah. If that's the case, so then the dinei tumah shebo are not sort of additional, the dinei tumah again, which are the connection to Toras Kohanim because of their implications for Mikdash and achilas kodshim, the dinei tumah shebo are not additional and somewhat secondary dinim. No, but that's the, that's the crux of the issur.

והוצרך להזכיר תורת המצורע ומשפטי היולדת והזב והזבה לחייבם בקרבן ולהזהיר עוד מטומאתם כאשר אמר בסופם, והזהרתם את בני ישראל מטומאתם ולא ימותו בטומאתם בטמאם את משכני אשר בתוכם. ונגרר אחר זה שיזהיר על העריות כי משכבם מטמא ועוונם יקראו טומאה.

Same vort as by the ma'achalos assuros. Right? טומאה כתיב בה כעריות that again, the Torah, the issur arayos is rooted in tumah, which is why גורמת לסילוק השכינה ולגלות. Tumah and hashras hashchina are mutually exclusive. That's why again a tamei can't come into Mikdash. Tumah and hashras hashchina are mutually exclusive. The again, the just as by ma'achalos assuros, the issur derives from the from the tumah shebo. So so too by arayos the issur derives from the tumah shebo.

ועוד כי השוגג בהן מחויב חטאת שהזכיר כבר ואם נפש אחת תחטא בשגגה. ואחרי כן הזכיר מצוות השבת ומועדי השם בעבור הקרבן כמו שאמר אלה מועדי השם להקריב אשה להשם.

So here too the Ramban sensitizes us to, again it's thanks to the lens that the Ramban provides, it's pshuto shel mikra. But it's a gevaldigge chiddush otherwise, but l'maise it is pshuto shel mikra. How does parshas hamo'ados come into Sefer Vayikra? So you'll say because on the mo'ados there's korbanos musaf. But again, that seems to latch on to one element of many in Yom Tov and sort of give it primacy by saying, no, hilchos Yom Tov belongs in Toras Kohanim because on Yom Tov one of the things you do is you makriv korbanos. Again, it seems to disproportionately focus on the din of hakravas korbanos. But that's where the Ramban says, no, but the Torah itself says that's the ikar of Yom Tov. אלה מועדי השם להקריב אשה להשם. What do you have the yamim tovim for? You have the yamim tovim to bring, it's not that you have Yom Tov, once it's Yom Tov, once it's Yom Tov, so we'll also have korbanos musaf. No, the Torah says l'hakriv. And the lamed here is as it sometimes means in order to, right? להקריב אשה להשם. Bezman hazeh, we're missing the ikkar of Yom Tov. We're missing the ikkar of Yom Tov.

וברוב פרשיות הספר הזה ידבר בהן עם הכהנים, דבר אל אהרן ואל בניו, צו את אהרן ואת בניו. ובפרשת קדושים קצת מצוות לבני ישראל, ובהן נגררות עם ענייני הקרבנות או בדומה להם, ובמבוא המפורש בהשלמת תורת הקרבנות.

Let's stop here.