Why Did the Temple Require Animal Sacrifices?

I would like an explanation about the sacrifices in the Temple. After all, serving God is through prayer, repentance, Torah study, and so on. Why was there a need to slaughter animals and offer them on the altar?

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From a technical point of view, sacrifices are not so different from ritual slaughter for food, where the meat of an animal is eaten. Sheep, for example, are consumed by people regardless, and in nature they are eaten by predators. Judaism teaches us how to elevate even these basic physical acts of this world and infuse them with divine purpose and meaning.

Human beings are physical creatures who need to eat and drink. What makes Judaism unique compared to other religions is that it does not negate the material world, nor does it glorify physical desire for its own sake. Instead, it sanctifies the physical by channeling it toward God.

Other religions took extremes. Some glorified desire and reduced spirituality to something secondary, while others denied physicality altogether, leading to apathy or even sin. Judaism offers the balanced path: to use the material world in a way that uplifts, not corrupts.

For example, when a Jew makes a blessing over meat with intention and gratitude, and uses a meal for a mitzvah purpose — thanking the Creator for the pleasure granted, this transforms a physical act into a spiritual one. In the same way, sacrifices provided a unique avenue for spiritual elevation.

The Purpose of Sacrifices

It is obvious that God Himself has no need for sacrifices. Anyone who thinks that a sacrifice is some kind of “gift” for God is mistaken, for God is infinite and owns everything. As the prophet Samuel said to King Saul (Samuel I, 15): “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, to listen than the fat of rams.” And Jeremiah (7:22) records God saying: “I did not speak with your fathers, nor did I command them on the day I brought them out of Egypt concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices, but this I commanded them: Obey My voice.”

Sacrifices were not for God, but for us. When a person brought a sacrifice, he would reflect that he himself ought to be the one on the altar because of his sins. That emotional identification with the sorrow and humility, brought atonement.

The word korban (sacrifice) comes from the Hebrew root karov — “to draw near”, because its essence is about closeness to God. A sacrifice offered as if God “needs it” is worthless. But one offered with the intention of humbling oneself before God and using it as a way to draw nearer, that is the true korban.

Sacrifices combined both physical and emotional self-giving. They were the most tangible expression of love for God, requiring an actual offering of something valuable and dear.

Today, without a Temple, we cannot bring sacrifices. We long for the rebuilding of the Third Temple, to restore this deep form of closeness. In the meantime, our prayers take the place of sacrifices. Our daily prayers are therefore structured to correspond to the morning and afternoon sacrifices, as they are the closest substitute we have.

Animals and Human Purpose

Animals exist for human purpose and spiritual growth. Without human beings, animals would not have been created. Most sacrifices were eaten after slaughter, just like meat today. The difference is that when meat was offered as part of a sacrifice, the act gained profound spiritual significance.

In that sense, sacrifices sanctified and elevated the physical world itself, aligning even the act of eating with the highest purpose of closeness to God.