The History of the Divine Service At Altars (32) - The Prohibition of Bamot (9)

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IN LOVING MEMORY OF
Jeffrey Paul Friedman
August 15, 1968 – July 29, 2012
לע"נ
יהודה פנחס בן הרב שרגא פייוועל
כ"ב אב תשכ"ח – י' אב תשע"ב
ת.נ.צ.ב.ה
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In our previous shiur, we studied the attitude displayed by Pinchas and the rest of Israel towards the construction of the altar by the two and a half tribes. We noted the severity with which they viewed those tribes' actions as they understood them, both because of the damage caused to the unity of the Divine service in Shilo and because of the damage caused to the unity of the entire people of Israel on the two sides of the Jordan River. We then saw the response offered by the two and a half tribes – that the altar was not intended for sacrifice, but rather to serve as testimony to the connection between the two sides of the Jordan in their own generation and in future generations.

In this shiur, we will continue to explore the spiritual reality of the people of Israel at the end of Yehoshua's leadership and through the period of the Judges. We will focus on their service of God, both inside and outside of the Mishkan.

It is important to note that the fact that the Mishkan is located in Shilo during this time does not prevent the people of Israel from assembling in other places. An example of this is the mass gathering of the people of Israel in Shekhem at the end of Yehoshua's life (Yehoshua 24).

The Gathering of all of Israel in Shekhem

This unique gathering takes place in Shekhem.[1] After the people commit themselves to serve God and obey him, Scripture states:

So Yehoshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shekhem. And Yehoshua wrote these words in the book of the Torah of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary (mikdash) of the Lord. And Yehoshua said to all the people, “Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” (Yehoshua 24:25-27)

There is no doubt that this gathering took place specifically in Shekhem because of the essence of the city as the northern gate of Eretz Yisrael, through which both Avraham and Yaakov entered into the land. It is not by chance that this is the site of the making of a covenant – both the covenant of Mount Grizim and Eival (Yehoshua 8) and the covenant described here. This is clearly an assembly for the establishment of a covenant, a statute, and an ordinance, and writing the words in "the book of the Torah of God." The great stone is a witness to what it heard, and it is set up under the oak tree that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

The prophet's use of the phrase "sanctuary (mikdash) of the Lord" when the Mishkan was then found in Shilo requires clarification. The simple explanation proposed by many commentators (Rashi, Radak, R. Yosef Kara) is that they brought the ark to Shekhem. Rashi adduces proof to this from the beginning of the chapter:

And Yehoshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shekhem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God. (Yehoshua 24:1)

What is this gathering before God? The Radak writes in his commentary (ad loc.):

It appears that the ark of God was brought there so that they could make the covenant before the ark, as it says: "And Yehoshua wrote… in the book of the Torah of God." It appears that the ark was there in which the book of the Torah rested.

And Yehoshua gathered them to Shekhem, and not to Shilo, where the ark was. Perhaps he did this on the basis of a Divine command, that they should make the covenant in Shekhem, because that is where Avraham first stayed when he entered the land, as it is written: "And Avram passed through the land to the place of Shekhem" (Bereishit 12:6). And furthermore, because there a great miracle was performed for the patriarch Yaakov, and they should remember it and cleave to God alone.

And furthermore, since the inheritance that Yaakov had in Eretz Yisrael was in Shekhem, for he bought a parcel of land from the sons of Chamor the father of Shekhem, and there Yehoshua said to them, "Remove the foreign gods that are among you," just as Yaakov said to his sons in Shekhem, "Remove the foreign gods that are among you."

According to the Radak, the ark was brought to Shekhem in order to establish a covenant there (perhaps based on a Divine command, even though there is no explicit mention of such a command in the text itself). This was intended as a direct continuation of the actions of Avraham and Yaakov, in the sense of "The actions of the fathers are a sign for the children."

The Radak explains that the gathering took place specifically in Shekhem because it was there that the patriarchs Avraham and Yaakov performed their actions, and not in Shilo, a place that was never visited by the patriarchs. Yehoshua was interested in continuing the actions of the patriarchs through his own acts in the place where the covenant was established.

In this shiur, we will address several questions arise regarding this gathering.[2]

The Writing of "These Words"

The first question is how Yehoshua writes "these words" in the book of the Torah of God. According to the plain sense of the text, "these words" refer to Yehoshua's speech![3]

This is very difficult to accept, as the Torah writes in Devarim (13:1): "Every matter which I command you, observe to do it; you shall not add thereto, nor diminish from it." As the Chinukh explains: "We are forbidden to add anything to the Written Law or the Oral Law" (commandment 454). Is it conceivable that Yehoshua added his words to the people of Israel at the covenant in Shekhem to the original book of the Torah that God gave to Moshe? If this was an emergency measure, it is not explicitly mentioned anywhere in the words of Chazal.

The Tanna'im disagree regarding the content that Yehoshua wrote: "R. Yehuda and R. Nechemia disagree. One says: [He wrote] the [final] eight verses [of the Torah]; and one says: [He wrote] the section on the cities of refuge" (Makkot 11a).

According to the opinion that the reference is to the section on the cities of refuge, the gemara questions the meaning of the words "the book of the Torah of God." The gemara explains: "This is what it means: And Yehoshua wrote in his book these words that are written in the book of the Torah of God." According to the other opinion, Yehoshua wrote the last eight verses in the Torah at the assembly that gathered for the establishment of the covenant in Shekhem.[4]

It is possible that this question as to the content that was written lead Yonatan ben Uziel to present a third opinion. He translates the verse as follows: "And Yehoshua wrote these words and put them with the book of the Torah." In other words, Yehoshua did not write anything in the original book of the Torah. Rather, he wrote what he wrote separately and put his words in the place where the book of the Torah rested. Yonatan understands the letter bet ("And Yehoshua wrote these words b-") not as "in," but rather as "with." Thus the verse means: "And he wrote these words together with the book of the Torah of God." The Radak and the Abravanel understand the verse in a similar fashion.

These are the three main explanations of the verse: Yehoshua wrote the section dealing with the cities of refuge; he wrote the last eight verses in the Torah; or he wrote other matters that are not part of the Torah, but placed them alongside the Torah.

Was a PIllar (Matzeva) Set Up In Shekhem?

            The second question relates to what is written in the book of Yehoshua about setting up a great stone. Is this not a violation of the explicit prohibition: "You shall not set you up any pillar" (Devarim 16:22)?

            As opposed to Rashi, who forbids the setting up of any pillar, the Ibn Ezra writes in his commentary:

"You shall not set you up any pillar" – for idolatry. And the proof is: "Which the Lord your God hates." But a pillar not for idolatry is not forbidden. And the trustworthy proof is found in Parashat Vayishlach.

Since it is clear that Yehoshua set up the stone for the service of God, there is no transgression here of any prohibition according to the Ibn Ezra.

The Malbim (ad loc.) introduces a novel idea:

Since the book of the Torah rested in the ark, [Yehoshua] wished to set aside a place in the sanctuary for his book, so he set up a great hollow stone that should serve as a container and ark for his book.

According to the Malbim, the stone did not serve as a pillar, but rather as a sort of container for Yehoshua's book.

The Abravanel explains the testimony of the stone in a different manner:

The stone was set up in accordance with the custom of the ancients to set up a large stone, so that when people see it, they will remember the words of the covenant and pay attention to them. This is what it says here (v. 27): "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us; for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us." (Abravanel, Yehoshua 24:27)

According to the Abravanel, the stone was to serve as a witness. When the people would see the stone, they would remember the covenant. Accordingly, there is no problem of a pillar here, because the stone was not used in any way in the worship of God.

This leads us to the next question: What are "the words of the Lord" that the stone heard?

The Radak (ad loc.) explains that Yehoshua is telling the people that the words and the covenant "were not made up in my heart, for they are the words of the Lord who spoke with us on Mount Sinai." What we have in Shekhem is a repetition of the covenant entered into at Sinai, now re-enacted at the gate to Eretz Yisrael.

In this context, Yonatan ben Uziel's explanation is quite fascinating:

This stone will serve as testimony for us like the two tablets of stone, for we have set it up as a witness, for the words that are written on it are like all the words that He spoke with us.

In his view, the words were written on the stone itself, and so we are not dealing with a pillar.

Finally, according to R. Zvi Chajes, "you are forced to say that the pillar was an emergency measure."

The Oak that was by the Sanctuary of the Lord

The Torah commands in the book of Devarim: "You shall not plant you an ashera of any tree near the altar of the Lord your God, which you shall make you" (16:21). Was it fitting that there was an oak tree in close proximity to the sanctuary of the Lord in Shekhem?

R. Zvi Chajes argues that the oak tree preceded the sanctuary, and therefore it was not subject to any prohibition.

Targum Yonatan translates the words "tachat ha-ala" ("by the oak") as "techot alta," to which the Radak adds the comment: "This is the doorpost of the gate." According to the Targum, "alta" refers to the doorpost. In other words, Yehoshua set up the large stone by one of the posts upon which the lintel of the gate rested.

Rashi in his commentary to the book of Yechezkel explains why doorposts are called "ala":

"And its posts" ("ve-eilav") – all the "eilim" mentioned here are similar to round trees. They are made of hewn stone and stand in an entranceway, one to the right and one to the left, in place of doorposts. And similarly Yonatan translates: "And the posts of the door moved" (Yeshayahu 6:4) – "ilanot sapaya." They are called "eilim" because they are round like an eila and an alon. (Yechezkel 40:9)

Was There a Sanctuary of the Lord in Shekhem while the Mishkan Stood in Shilo?

The last question that arises in connection with our discussion is how it is possible that there was a sanctuary of the Lord in Shekhem at the same time that the Mishkan stood in Shilo.

 First, it should be emphasized that the text does not mention any offering of sacrifices in Shekhem. What then is meant by the phrase "sanctuary of the Lord" in our passage?

It can be argued, in accordance with the understanding of Rashi and the Radak, that this means that the ark was found there, which fits in well with what is stated at the beginning of chapter 24: "And they presented themselves before God."

When the Torah describes the role assigned to the Kehatites with respect to the carrying of the holy vessels of the Mishkan, it says: "And the Kehatites set forward, bearing the sanctuary" (Bamidbar 10:21). The Ibn Ezra explains (ad loc.): "Bearing the sanctuary – that is, the ark." Similarly, a verse in Divrei Ha-Yamim relates to David's desire to build God's house: "Then David the king stood up upon his feet, and said: Hear me, my brothers, and my people. As for me, I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant for the Lord, and for the footstool of our God, and I had made ready for building" (I Divrei Ha-Yamim 28:2). David calls the Beit Ha-Mikdash by the name "a house of rest for the ark."

Later in that chapter, we read: "Take heed now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary" (v. 10). The plain meaning of "a house for the sanctuary" is a house for the ark. This is because the original meaning of the word "sanctuary" is "ark." "A house for the sanctuary" means "a house for the ark" because the ark is the main vessel for the resting of the Shekhina and the entire structure is called after its primary vessel. Thus, the Radak's position regarding our passage, that the word "sanctuary" should be understood as a reference to the ark, is very reasonable.

The very bringing of the ark to Shekhem and Israel's presenting themselves before God teaches us about the unique importance of the assembly held there for the establishment of the covenant - namely, that it was fitting to be done in the presence of the ark, which had to be brought from Shilo. This also teaches that for special events, it is permissible to remove the ark from its resting place.

The Malbim adopts a different approach, according to which the assembly was actually held in Shilo and not in Shekhem. According to this, there is no difficulty, for the entire event took place in Shilo.

In the next shiur, we will continue to examine the spiritual reality during the period of the Judges while the Mishkan was located in Shilo.

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html, In this shiur, we will continue to explore the spiritual reality of the people of Israel at the end of Yehoshua's leadership and through the period of the Judges. We will focus on their service of God, both inside and outside of the Mishkan. Specifically, we will focus on the gathering held by Yehoshua at the end of his life.