Parshas Vayikra talks about the karbanos, the sacrifices, that the Jews were commanded to bring in the times of the mishkan and the beis hamikdash.
Look into the first pasuk in Parshas Vayikra. How many times do you find the letter “hei” in this pasuk? That’s right, five times. Why five? The five “hei”’s are symbolic of the chamishei chumshei Torah, the five books of the Torah.
Now, how many words are there in this pasuk? Right again, nine words. This is the same number of words as the pasuk “Anochi Hashem elokecha,” the first of the aseres hadibros, the ten commandments.
What is the connection between the first pasuk in the parsha of karbanos and the five books of the Torah and the first of the ten commandments?
This comes to teach us that when one learns Torah, it is as if he sacrificed all the karbanos. Imagine that! Some karbanos are situation specific, and cannot be brought by any person at any time. But the words of Torah are universal, and can be accessed and enjoyed by every Jew on his level. When a Jew learns the words of Torah, it brings a tremendous pleasure to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, to the extent that it is likened to bringing all the karbanos that are enumerated in Vayikra!
(Bal Haturim)
