[Avodah] A Unique Contribution of Judaism

[Yitzchok Levine]

The following is from the new translation of the Hirsch Chumash.

Bereishis  46  1 Yisrael set out with everything 
that he had and he came to Be’er Sheva, and he 
offered meal offerings to the God of his father Yitzchak.

That is why Korban Shlamim, the “peace offering” of a family life blessed
by God, is a distinctively Jewish offering. The idea of being absorbed
in God, being devoted to God, dawns also on non-Jewish minds. But
the idea that everyday life can become so thoroughly pervaded by the
spirit of God that one can eat and drink and, while doing so, behold
God (cf. Shemos 24:11); the idea that all our family rooms become
temples, our tables altars, and our young men and young women priests
and priestesses – this spiritualization of everyday private life is a unique
contribution of Judaism.

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