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Parash 24 Vayikra (He called) Vayikra/Leviticus 1:1-5:26

Synopsis – Adonai calls to Moshe from the Tent of Meeting, and communicates to him the laws of the korbanot, the animal and meal offerings brought in the Sanctuary. These include: The "ascending offering" (olah) that is wholly raised to Adonai by the fire atop the Altar; Five varieties of "meal offering" (minchah) prepared with fine flour, olive oil and frankincense; The "peace offering" (shelamim), whose meat was eaten by the one bringing the offering, after parts are burned on the Altar and parts are given to the Kohanim (priests); The different types of "sin offering" (chatat) brought to atone for transgressions committed erroneously by the High Priest, the entire community, the king, or the ordinary Jew; The "guilt offering" (asham) brought by one who has appropriated property of the Sanctuary, who is in doubt as to whether he transgressed a divine prohibition, or who has committed a "betrayal against Adonai" by swearing falsely to defraud a fellow man.

This being the Shabbat before Purim, on which we celebrate the foiling of Haman the Amalekite's plot to destroy the Jewish people, the weekly Parshah is supplemented with the Zachor reading (Deuteronomy 25:17-19) in which we are commanded to remember the evil of Amalek and to eradicate it from the face of the earth.