One of the reasons why Hashem gave us the mitzvah of bringing korbanos is because in those days, people would worship animals, and not slaughter or eat them, like the Mitzriyim who worshipped the sheep. So Hashem gave us a mitzvah to go and bring Him korbanos from these animals, to separate us from avodah zara. (Rambam)
Chazal teach us that a korban mincha is very beloved by Hashem, since it is brought by a poor man who saved up money to be able to bring a korbon. The seforim teach us that even today, one can bring such a korbon, by being stringent in hilchos netilas yadayim. The word “עני”, which means a poor man, is roshei teivos על נטילת ידיים!
Remez
Even though we don’t have the Beis HaMikdash yet, we can still do the avodah of korbanos through saying one hundred brachos a day with kavanah! This can be seen in the passuk that says אדם כי יקריב מכם. The word מכם is numerical value of 100!
Parsha Story
The Rebbe Reb Shmelke of Nikolsburg was once invited by a talmid to serve as sandak at his son’s bris. The father-in-law of this talmid was a Misnagid. He was opposed to Chassidus and didn’t want Reb Shmelke to be the sandak. He did a terrible thing. Before Reb Shmelke showed up, he quickly went and made the bris when the father didn’t notice. When Reb Shmelke came, it was too late; the baby had had the bris already.
The father of the baby was mortified! But Reb Shmelke was really happy, even more than he was usually at a bris. His talmidim asked him, “Why are you so elated?”
He answered: “When I do a mitzvah, I never know if my kavanos are l’sheim Shomayim. I am always afraid that I didn’t do a good job. But when someone wants to do a mitzvah, and in the end he can’t do it, Hashem considers it as if he did it. Such a mitzvah can have no faults to it!”
In this week’s parsha, we find lots of different levels of korbanos; a wealthy man brings one type of animal, and man of lesser means brings a bird, and a poor man brings a mincha. Chazal teach us that אחד המרבה ואחד הממעיט ובלבד שיכוון לבו לשמים, One can do more and one can do less, as long as one directs his heart to Heaven.
This article was found in Nekuda Tova Issue 75.