Thought for the Week:

Why do we start the children with Leviticus and not with Genesis? The Holy One, Blessed be He, said, "Since the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, let the pure come and occupy themselves with things that are pure." (Leviticus Rabbah 7:3)

Commentary:

When Yeshua was five years old, He began to study the book of Vayikra. In the days of the Master (and even in modern Judaism) the formal religious education of a child begins at the age of five, and it begins with the study of Leviticus. It is somewhat puzzling for us to think that little children should be forced to study the dreadful laws of blood and sacrifice which constitute the first chapters of Leviticus. We wouldn't even impose a serious study of Leviticus upon our seminary students, much less our five-year-olds.

The reason for our aversion to Leviticus is largely b…