A Curious Student’s Guide to the Book of Leviticus

Judaism has always found meaning in the sacrificial rites, called avodah or service in Hebrew. For more than twelve hundred years, beginning with the Mishkan (the Tabernacle) in the Sinai wilderness and continuing through both the First and Second Temple periods, animal sacrifice was the principal form of communal service of God for the Jewish people. This all came to an abrupt end with the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans in 68 CE, and the Jewish people turned to prayer as their p