Vayikra

Sefer Vayikra opens with the laws of the korbanot — the offerings. Almost the whole book. The word korban comes from the root karov — to draw near. The whole sacrificial system was, etymologically, an architecture of approach. We did not bring an animal to give something away. We brought it to come close. The fire and the smoke and the careful detail were a technology of nearness. Cordovero, in Tomer Devorah, understands this as the underlying work of every middah he treats. Mercy closes distance. Patience closes distance. Forgiveness closes distance. To work on a middah is, finally, to make oneself someone who can be near another, and let another be near to us. The work of marriage is the work of being close — and every middah we cultivate is a way of doing it.