« This is the meaning of the animal sacrifice offered in the Temple: through it, the animal — symbol of the absence of da‘at (divine awareness) — is elevated to what is human. » (Likutey Halakhot, Rabbi Nathan of Breslov)
In our modern world, the idea of an animal sacrifice can seem disturbing. But Rabbi Nathan helps us understand that the Torah is not vegan: it teaches that an animal is neither a mere object nor a disposable resource — it can be integrated into a spiritual process.
In the Temple, offering an animal was not an act of cruelty, but a profoundly sacred act. The animal symbolizes the instinctive part of our nature, the aspect devoid of da‘at — the divine awareness that elevates a human above mere instinct. By offering it to Hashem, that animal dimension was raised toward the human, toward consciousness and light.
Sacrifices were therefore not acts of violence, but of transformation: from instinct to holiness, from matter to Divine Presence. They remind us that even what seems far from God can be elevated to Him, when approached with intention and purity.
