The Arizal's Kavanot in Korbanot—How to Atone for the 3 Cardinal Sins

The Arizal's Kavanot in Korbanot—How to Atone for the 3 Cardinal Sins

Rabbi Yohanan ben Torta said: “Why was the First Temple destroyed? Because of three transgressions (three sins): עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה - “avodah zarah” - idolatry, worship of foreign gods; גִּלּוּי עֲרָיוֹת - “gilui arayot” - adultery; שפִיכוּת דָמִים - “shefichut damim” - bloodshed, the spilling of innocent blood. What caused the destruction of the Second Temple? People were too אוֹהֲבִין אֶת הַמָּמוֹן (ohavin et ha-mamon)—they loved money and wealth (greed), and שׂוֹנְאִין אִיש אֶת רֵעֵהוּ (sone'in ish et re'ehu)—they hated one another and harbored baseless enmity. This teaches us that baseless hatred and one person's hatred of another are as grave a transgression as idolatry, adultery, and the spilling of innocent blood combined. The Maharal says that the First Temple was sustained by the strength of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the strength of their lofty spiritual qualities. When the Jewish people committed the three cardinal sins mentioned above, it caused irreparable damage to the holiness of the Temple. Each of the Patriarchs was distinguished by one especially elevated quality, and these three qualities were stricken by the three cardinal sins. Kavanot In the siddur, in the morning prayer of Shacharit, in the Korbanot section, at the end of the prayer “Akedah” and before the prayer “Eizehu Mekoman,” we find the following pasuk: וְשָׁחַ֨ט אֹת֜וֹ עַ֣ל יֶ֧רֶךְ הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ צָפֹ֖נָה לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְזָרְק֡וּ בְּנֵי֩ אַהֲרֹ֨ן הַכֹּהֲנִ֧ים אֶת־דָּמ֛וֹ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב - “Ve-shachat oto al yerech hamizbe'ach tzafonah, lifnei Ado-nai, ve-zarku bnei Aharon hakohanim et damo al hamizbe'ach saviv” - (the sacrificial animal must be slaughtered before the L-rd beside the northern side of the altar, and the sons of Aaron, the kohanim, shall sprinkle its blood around the altar). The Ari HaKadosh teaches that we recite this pasuk twice a day in the morning prayer. Whoever recites this pasuk with kavanah nullifies all sins, including the three cardinal sins for which the First Temple was destroyed: “shefichut damim,” “gilui arayot,” and “avodah zarah.” וְשָׁחַ֨ט אֹת֜וֹ - “Ve-shachat oto” - corresponding to “shefichut damim” (bloodshed—the spilling of innocent blood); עַ֣ל יֶ֧רֶךְ הַמִּזְבֵּ֛חַ - “Al yerech hamizbeach” - corresponding to “gilui arayot” (adultery, forbidden sexual relations, incest); צָפֹ֖נָה - “Tzafonah” - corresponding to “avodah zarah” (idolatry). There is also an opinion that “tzafonah” provides deliverance from all sins connected with money, “mamon” (all kinds of financial manipulation), as it is said: “mitzafon zahav ye'eteh” (from the north comes gold). (Job 37:22) The Mekubalim say that when a Jew prays Korbanot in the Beit Knesset, a malach ascends above him and protects him from all mekatrегim (accusers), bringing him good fortune for the entire day. (Based on a lesson by Rabbi Yitzchak Cohen, a student of “Matok Mi-Dvash”)