Sacrificial Worship:
The pupil has already been made familiar with the prophetic views on sacrifice (see People of the Book, vol. iii). Here follow some opinions of the Rabbis as to its relative place in Judaism:
"The humble-minded is considered by God to have offered all the sacrifices, for it is said that the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit."
"Acts of justice are more meritorious than all the sacrifices. Unless the mind is purified, the sacrifice is useless; it may be thrown to the dogs."
"He who engages in the study of the Law, requires neither burnt offering nor meal offering."
"A day in thy courts is better than a thousand," Psalm lxxiv. is thus explained: God said to David, "I prefer thy sitting and studying before me to the thousands of burnt offerings which thy son Solomon will offer on the alter."
"He who prays is considered as pious as if he had built an altar and offered sacrifices upon it."
"As the Altar wrought atonement during the time of the Temple, so after its destruction, the Table of the home."
With the abolition of sacrifice, the Paschal Lamb was indicated only in a symbolic way by a lamb bone on the Passover table.
R. Jochanan b. Zakkai asked his disciples: "Find out what is the best thing to cultivate." The first replied a generous eye; the second, a loyal friend; the third, a good neighbor; the fourth, prudence and foresight; the fifth, Eliezar, a good heart. "I consider R. Eliezar's judgment best, for in his answer all of yours are included."
Theme for discussion:
Whether the Temple's fall suspended or abolished animal sacrifice is a point of difference between Judaism's two schools today.
