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The Fire of the Altar
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The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being.
Leviticus 6:5
Fire came forth from before יהוה and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces.
Leviticus 9:24
The sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire on the altar and lay out wood upon the fire;
Leviticus 1:7
§ The Gemara asks:
And
with regard to
the smoke of the arrangement,
is it so that
even if all the winds in the world come and blow it, they do not move it from its place
and it rises directly heavenward?
Didn’t Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Avdimi say: At the conclusion of the final day of the festival
of
Sukkot
,
everyone looks to the smoke of the arrangement of wood;
if the wind blew from the south and the smoke
tends toward the north,
the
poor were glad and the homeowners were sad…
Yoma 21b:10
16 "and the fire of the altar shall be kindled thereby": Whence is it derived that the fire of the inner (incense) altar is to be kindled only from that of the outer altar? From: "the fire of the altar shall be kindled thereby." Whence is it derived that the same applies to the fire (i.e., the coals) of the coal pan (which were brought into the holy of holies for the burning of the incense of Yom Kippur) and to the (fire of) the menorah? It follows, viz.: "Burning" is stated in respect to the inner altar, viz…
Sifra, Tzav, Chapter 1 16
7) (Vayikra 6:5) ("And the fire upon the altar shall burn thereby; it shall not be extinguished. And the Cohein shall kindle wood on it every morning. And he shall arrange the burnt-offering upon it. And he shall cause to smoke upon it the fats of the peace-offerings.") R. Yehudah said: Whence is it derived that the kindling of the fire is to take place only on top of the altar (and not by means of splinters kindled below)? From: "And the fire upon the altar shall burn thereby." R. Yossi said: Whence is it derived that a wood pile is provided for the sustenance of the fire? From "And the fire…
Sifra, Tzav, Chapter 2 7-11
When Solomon finished praying, fire descended from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the L
ORD
filled the House. The priests could not enter the House of the L
ORD
, for the glory of the L
ORD
filled the House of the L
ORD
. All the Israelites witnessed the descent of the fire and the glory of the L
ORD
on the House; they knelt with their faces to the ground and prostrated themselves, praising the L
ORD
, “For He is good, for His steadfast love is eternal.”
II Chronicles 7:1-3
§ The mishna states:
On every
other
day, there were four arrangements
of wood
there,
upon the altar, but on this day there were five.
The Sages taught
in the
Tosefta
:
On every
other
day there were two arrangements
of wood on the altar,
but
on
this day
there were
three: One,
the
large arrangement; and one,
the
second arrangement
for coals
for the incense; and one,
the additional arrangement of wood,
which they add on that day
for the incense that is burned in the Holy of Holies…
Yoma 45a:7-11
It is a positive commandment for there to be fire continuously burning on the altar, as [Leviticus 6:6] states: "A continuous fire shall burn on the altar." Although a fire descended from heaven, it is a mitzvah to bring from ordinary fire, as [
ibid.
1:7] states: "And the sons of Aaron, the priests, shall place fire on the altar."
Mishneh Torah, Daily Offerings and Additional Offerings 2:1
To not extinguish the fire upon the altar:
To not extinguish the fire upon the altar, as it is stated (Leviticus 6:6), “A perpetual fire shall burn on the altar, it shall not be extinguished.” I have written from the roots of the commandment, above in the positive commandment of “A fire shall burn.” And the root of the commandment of the fire to burn it and not to extinguish it are one, and there is no need to repeat it.
Sefer HaChinukh 133:1-2
AND THE FIRE OF THE ALTAR SHALL BE BLAZING IN IT. Scripture is stating that it should burn on the altar during the whole night, it being a positive commandment that the priests should put on at daytime a lot of wood in order that it should not be burnt up completely and the fire [should not] become extinguished from it [during the night]. In my opinion, that which He said,
Fire shall be kept burning upon the altar continually; it shall not go out
, is a commandment directed to the priests to keep fire burning continually upon the altar, just as He said…
Ramban on Leviticus 6:2:3
20) (Vayikra 9:24): "And a fire came forth from before the L–rd": When they saw a new fire descending from on high and lapping up upon the altar the burnt-offering and the fats, they opened up their mouths in song. And of that moment it is written (Tehillim 33:1): "Sing joyfully, you righteous ones, in the L–rd. Praise (of the L–rd) becomes the just."
Sifra, Shemini, Mekhilta DeMiluim II 20
ויקחו בני אהרן נדב ואביהוא, before the fire had emanated from the Holy of Holies they each took his own pan planning to offer incense on the golden altar, seeing that this offering precedes (timewise) the disposal of not totally burned leftovers from the previous day’s sacrificial meat. They placed “alien” fire on these pans, something which had not been commanded by Moses to be done on this day. Even though on ordinary days the rule of “the sons of Aaron will place in these pans fire on the altar” (Leviticus 1,7) was in effect, this rule did not apply to the day of inauguration…
Rashbam on Leviticus 10:1:1
Rabban Gamaliel said: Israel also slandered the Holy One, blessed be He, (by) saying: Wilt thou say that He has power to feed us in the wilderness? as it is said, "Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, he smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed" (Ps. 78:19, 20). The Holy One, blessed be He, heard that they slandered His Glory, || and from His Glory, which is a consuming fire, He sent against them a fire which consumed them round about, as it is said…
Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 53:2-3
HALAKHAH:
What is Rebbi Meïr’s reason?
And the fire on the altar shall be lit there, you shall not extinguish
, that is the arrangement which keeps the fire.
And the Cohen shall burn on it
, that is the arrangement for disposal of limbs and fat.
And arrange on it the elevation sacrifice
, this is the main arrangement.
And burn as incense on it the fats of the well-being sacrifices
, this is the incense. Rebbi Yose does not have the arrangement for disposal of limbs. Rebbi Jehudah does not have the arrangement which keeps the fire…
Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 4:6:2-3
The Torah prohibits the fire on the altar to be extinguished: “A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, it shall not go out” (Leviticus 6:6). With regard to this prohibition, an amoraic dispute
was stated:
With regard to
one who extinguishes the fire of
the coals that are taken with
the coal pan
for the incense on Yom Kippur
or
the fire
of
the coals that are taken in order to light
the candelabrum, Abaye said: He is liable. Rava said: He is not liable.
…
Yoma 46b:4-7
And thou shalt overlay it with brass (Exod. 27:2).
R. Judah the son of Shalum stated: Moses had said to the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the Universe, You told me to make an altar of acacia-wood and to overlay it with brass, and You said also:
A fire should burn perpetually unto Me on the altar
(Lev. 6:6). But will not the fire penetrate the overlay and burn the wood? The Holy One, blessed be He, replied: Moses, normally this does happen, but think of the angels of glowing fire who are near Me, and of the treasures of snow and hail that I possess…
Midrash Tanchuma, Terumah 11:1-8
ותצא אש מלפני ה' ותאכל על המזבח את העולה, “Fire emanated from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering on the Altar, etc.” Now, on the eighth day of the Tabernacle being inaugurated with various animal sacrifices all of which had been offered in order to atone for the sin of the golden calf, heavenly fire descended to accept these offerings. This fire remained a constant phenomenon until the generation of Solomon when he built the Holy Temple. (Zevachim 61). In fact it did not cease until that Temple was destroyed…
Rabbeinu Bahya, Vayikra 9:24:1-2
“They shall remove the ashes from the altar and spread a cloth of purple wool over it. They shall place upon it all its utensils with which they serve upon it the fire-pans, the forks, the shovels, and the basins, all the utensils of the altar; and they shall spread upon it a covering of the hide of a
taḥash
, and place its staves” (Numbers 4:13–14).
The bronze altar that stood in the Courtyard, they would remove the ashes from upon it and would spread a cloth of purple wool to separate between it and the utensils that are placed upon it…
Bamidbar Rabbah 4:17
(Lev. 1:7:) “And the sons of Aaron the Priest shall put fire upon the altar, and they shall lay wood in order upon the fire.” (
Tamid
2:3:) All of the trees are proper for [altar] firewood except the vine and the olive.Why? Because they produce excellent fruit. See, you have learned that by virtue of sons, fathers are honored. (Lev. 2:5:) “And if [your offering] is a meal offering on a griddle.” [But] it is also written (in Exod. 2:7), “And if [your offering] is a meal offering in a pan.” (
Men
…
Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra 5:1
Related
ראו גם
Fire
Fire-Offerings
Parashat Tzav
Wood for the Sacrifices
Sacrificial Rite
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