...The term “animal sacrifice” conjures an image of primitive pagan worship—of superstitious offerings to the gods, of blood and gore and savage cults. Yet when performed according to the prescriptions and parameters of the Torah, it is actually an extremely powerful ritual designed to make the act of slaughtering meat as elevated and spiritually conscious as possible. Depending upon the type of sacrifice, certain portions of the animal are burnt on the altar while others become food for the kohanim and for those who brought the offering...Their whole point was to make a jolting statement of truth that would impress itself upon the consciousness of all participants and transform their relationship to G-d...This was a profoundly conscious act of preparing food that would later be eaten by those involved...

...Since our daily prayers replace the Temple sacrifices we can learn how to approach prayer by understanding the logistics and deeper significance of the sacrificial service. What does it mean to offer oneself on the altar through prayer? The ritual is a gestalt where each one of us plays all the roles. We are the kohen who performs the sacrifice, we are the animal whose blood gets dashed against the altar, and we are the fire that transmutes flesh into light...

...Now we are ready to walk through the ritual of korban and translate its steps into psychological terms. Coded in this series of actions are the deepest secrets of transformation. Change is an elusive quantity. Everyone desires it, most commit to it at frequent (if not daily) intervals, but few can sustain it. The cycle of day as marked by the sacrificial service, is a succinct and potent paradigm for making change permanent...

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