Perek ו׳ pasuk ה׳ says:
5And the fire on the altar shall burn on it; it shall not go out. The kohen shall kindle wood upon it every morning, and upon it, he shall arrange the burnt offering and cause the fats of the peace offerings to [go up in] smoke upon it. | הוְהָאֵשׁ עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה וּבִעֵר עָלֶיהָ הַכֹּהֵן עֵצִים בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר וְעָרַךְ עָלֶיהָ הָעֹלָה וְהִקְטִיר עָלֶיהָ חֶלְבֵי הַשְּׁלָמִים: |
The Sefer HaChinuch writes: “When God decides to perform a tremendous miracle, He does His best to disguise it and make it appear as if it is a regular occurrence…We find that at the splitting of the Red Sea, the verse wrote that a strong wind blew, in order to give in the appearance of a natural phenomenon. This is also the reason why God commanded the Kohanim to light the fire on the Alter even though it descended from heaven, in order to disguise the miracle in the cloak of the mundane.”
What are other reasons why Hashem commanded the kohanim to make the fire, rather than lighting it Himself?
Rav Bechaya says that it teaches us that when we do our part, Hashem will do His part.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Hashem could have easily lit the fire, He still commanded the Kohanim to light the fire. According to Rav Bechaya, the reason why Hashem commanded this is to display the idea of teamwork.He explains that this conveys the idea that when we do our part, Hashem will do His part.
ReplyDeleteThe Sefas Emes says that the fire refers not only to the fire that burned on the alter, but also to the fire that burned within the heart of the Kohen. It says in Bo that "The fire of the alter shall be lit in him." Therefore, this is a reference to also that second "flame." And only the Kohen can light it because he is the one deciding that he wants to be close with Hashem in his heart.
ReplyDeleteThe Rambam on Vayikra 1:9 says that the point of a Korban is so that the person giving it realizes, in a physical and tangible way, either their gratitude or the magnitude of their wrongdoing. By having the Kohanim light the fire on the mizbeach, Hashem is extending this idea of making Bnei Yisrael internalize their actions. Even the fire which burned the Korbanot was man-made, not a divine creation.
ReplyDeleteThe Germara in Mashechet Ervin Daf 63a says that although Hashem ultimately lights the fire, it is a mitzvah to add a human action to it. According to the Alshich, each soul has a fire of love for Hashem and it is the responsibility and job of the Kohen to keep that fire burning in our souls and in the mizbeach as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Alshich takes a less literal approach to this question. Within the soul of every human there is a fire of love burning from Hashem. The spiritual leader, the Kohen, must feed this fire and keep it going.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Groffman says that hashem told the kohanim to add wood so that it would look like a natural occurence. Really though it is a miracle that hashem performs. Hashems miracles are usually hidden but if we really look we'll be able to see them.
ReplyDeleteHashem did not create fire during the six days of creation. It was created on the night after Shabbos. It is possible that this is the reason he had the Kohanim make their own fire.
ReplyDeleteAriella Rand
ReplyDeleteThe Sefer hachinuch teaches us that Hashem runs the world by doing hidden miracles. He does it in a context that will look like nature. Like for splitting the sea it was a big wind here it is the kohanim putting the wood in the fire. So it looks like the fire is coming from the wood and not Hashem.
This job that the kohanim were given has ultimate value in the total running of the Temple, and therefore it was given to those who are most dedicated to God's service. In fact, the gemara says that the Kohanim were so anxious to take out the ashes, that they instituted a lottery system to stop them arguing about who would get the job!It was not the job that was important, rather the end goal of serving hashem.
ReplyDeleteA midrash says that the constant burning was to bless the Jews as a result for fulfilling the mitzvah.
ReplyDeleteRav Moshe Feinstein says The Kohanim were designated to be the spiritual leaders of our nation. They, being sanctified through their additional laws of purity, were to lead us by example. We were commanded to bring sacrifices at different times of the year to Yerushalayim and to eat certain tithes in Yerushalayim. These frequent visits to Yerushalayim and the ensuing contact with the Kohanim would provide the necessary rejuvenation that we needed.
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ReplyDeleteTetzaveh adds the human aspect: the sanctity of the mishkan is incomplete so long as the mishkan is merely a structure. The kohanim and their service are an integral part of the structure of the mishkan, which is not designed to be an empty structure, furnished only with sacred vessels. The lighting of the ner tamid, which opens parashat Tetzaveh, exemplifies the human activity which transforms a piece of furniture into a functional utensil
Ones own stature can be ignited through his involvement in education and outreach. Ones eternal light symbolized by the fire of the menorah feeds off the fire kindled outside the confines of the mishkan through the active dissemination of torah. To distinguish is to end constant dedication to torah and mitzvot.
ReplyDelete*extinguish
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