Struggling to find Meaning when learning about Animal Sacrifice

I love studying Torah. I love the layers of meaning in every word, phrase, and sentence. I love that it is a way to try to understand how G-d thinks, to the extent that any human can understand such a thing.

Even “boring” parts of the Torah can be meaningful. I don’t really have to know how to build a mishkan, but learning about the work and care put into it, and that even this work stopped on Shabbat, is meaningful. I don’t remember how many people were counted in the censuses, or the names of the tribal leaders, but it is wonderful that every person counted.

But animal sacrifice… I find that to be a challenge. What meaning can a modern Jew find in animal sacrifice, especially given that, when the Second Temple was destroyed, it was replaced with prayer? (Whether prayer itself is meaningful is not the topic of this Torah Though, though an interesting subject).