The History of the Divine Service at Altars (55) – The Prohibition of Bamot (32)

In this shiur we will continue to examine the ritual acts that were performed outside the Mishkan during those years that it was located first in Nov and later in Giv’on.

The Building of an Altar by Shemuel

At the end of the chapter dealing with the revolution led by Shemuel with regard to the eradication of idol worship, the text summarizes Shemuel's work as follows:

And he went from year to year in circuit to Bet-El, and Gilgal, and Mitzpa, and judged Israel in all those places. And his return was to Rama; for there was his house, and there he judged Israel; and there he built an altar to the Lord. (I Shemuel 7:16-18)

We learn from here that Shemuel does not stay in one place, but rather he judges the people of Israel in their places of residence. According to Scripture, this circuit repeats itself from year to year in all places.[1]

Shemuel returns regularly to his own city Rama, the site of his ancestral residence and his permanent home, where he judges Israel. The term "shafat" in its broad sense refers to leadership, and in its narrow sense relates to judgment and justice.

Chazal state in the Gemara in Shabbat (56a) that Shemuel traveled on a circuit reaching all the places where the people of Israel lived and judged them in their own cities. The appointment of his sons as judges in Be'er-Sheva in his old age might indicate the he too used to visit there.[2]

On the face of it, Scripture seems to present Shemuel who goes in a circuit to Bet-El, Gilgal, and Mitzpa, in contrast to his sons who establish their permanent place of residence in Be'er-Sheva. There is another contrast between Shemuel, who judges Israel justly, and his sons who accept bribes: "But they turned aside after unjust gain, and took bribes, and perverted justice" (I Shemuel 8:3).[3]

Chazal learn that the seat of justice must be juxtaposed to the altar from the juxtaposition of the respective passages regarding justice and the altar in Parashat Mishpatim and in Parashat Shoftim.[4] This juxtaposition teaches that righteous judgment is also part of the Divine service.

What is the altar that Shemuel built "to the Lord"? Perhaps it refers to the bama mentioned in the story of Shaul's search for the donkeys:

And as they went up the hill to the city, they found some girls going out to draw water, and they said to them, Is the seer here? And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before you: make haste now, for he came today to the city; for the people are making a sacrifice today in the high places: as you come into the city, you shall find him, before he goes up to the high places to eat: for the people will not eat until he comes, because he blesses the sacrifice; and afterwards those that are invited eat. Now therefore go up; for about this time you shall find him. And they went up into the city, and when they were come into the city, behold, Shemuel came out towards them, to go up to the high place (bama). (I Shemuel 9:11-14)

            The bama clearly stands in a central location in the city, where the people gather and Shemuel blesses the sacrifice.[5] It is reasonable to assume, then, that the site of the bama is the site of the altar.

Bama

What is the meaning of the term bama?

In the Torah, the word bama refers exclusively to pagan bamot: "And I will destroy your high places (bamoteikhem)" (Vayikra 26:30), which is juxtaposed to idols; "The high places (bamot) of Arnon" (Bemidbar 21:28); "The high places (bamot) of Ba'al" (Bemidbar 22:41).

Bamot built to God are not mentioned in the Torah by that name. Neither is that term mentioned in the books of Yehoshua and Shoftim.

The term first appears in this sense in the book of Shemuel (I Shemuel 9). Rav Hoffman in his commentary (Devarim 12:8-14) raises the possibility that the practice of service at bamot became prevalent only after the ark was taken captive at the time of the destruction of Shilo when bamot were permitted. This proposal is exceedingly reasonable.

In practice, the bamot that were used in the worship of God continued to exist even after the construction of the Temple by Solomon, despite the fact that they were forbidden then by law, and this continued even during the reigns of righteous kings. This was true until Chizkiyahu, who removed the bamot, and Yoshiyahu, who destroyed all the bamot in the country.

As for the meaning of the term bama, the prevalent opinion used to be that the primary meaning of the term is a high place.[6]  The high location may be connected to the pagan practice of establishing their houses of worship in high places (perhaps based on the belief in the sanctity of the hills and the mountains as the homes of the gods), for which reason they were called by the term bama. From there the designation was used also for the bamot that were erected for the sake of the God of Israel.[7] This seems to be the opinion of the Ramban, who writes in his commentary:

The bama was like a mountain. They made it from a pile of earth, on which an altar was built to offer sacrifices upon it, for anything high and elevated is called by that term…. (Ramban, Devarim 16:22).

Tur-Sinai argues that the original meaning of the term bama was "corpse." To support his position he notes that even in the valleys there were ritual sites called by the term bama (e.g., Yirmeyahu 7:32: "And they have built the bamot of Tofet, which is in the valley of Ben-Hinom," in a valley, and not in a high place).

Tur-Sinai understands that the meaning of the term bama evolved as follows: corpse, grave, ritual site, based on the assumption that initially sacrifices offered to the dead were the foundation of the ritual performed at bamot. It is clear that in practice the place served for the offering of sacrifices in general, and therefore a bama was in its essentials similar to an altar upon which offerings were sacrificed.

The Bama in the City of Rama

As stated above, in the city of Rama a bama was located in a central location, from which there may have been a view of the entire city. Later in the chapter (vv. 22-23) it says: "And Shemuel took Shaul and his servant, and brought them into the dining chamber." This indicates that a chamber was reserved there for those who ate of the offering.

The Radak writes there about the word "bama":

Every instance of the word bama in this and similar passages Yonatan renders as: "the place of feasting" (beit ascharuta), because there were peace-offerings that are eaten by all people after the burning of the fats and the sprinkling of the blood, and the townspeople would prepare the sacrifice for eating in the place of feasting which they built for that time, because bamot were permitted at that time, after Shilo was destroyed and the Mishkan was in Nov. And every place of eating was called a "mesiba" because they sat down to eat there…. (Radak, I Shemuel 9:12)

The Portion that Shemuel Gave to Shaul

After Shaul and his servant are brought to the dining chamber reserved for the bama, and they are given the most distinguished place among those that were invited, Shemuel asks the cook to bring the portion which he had told him to set aside, and give it to Shaul:

And the cook took up the thigh, and that which was upon it, and set it before Shaul. And [Shemuel] said, Behold that which is left is set before you; eat; for it has been kept for you for this appointed time, when I said, I have invited the people. So Shaul did eat with Shemuel that day. (I Shemuel 9:24)

We will turn now to a side discussion regarding the portion that Shemuel had asked should be prepared and set aside for Shaul.

"The thigh" – regarding a peace-offering, after dealing with the fat and the breast, it says: "And the right thigh shall you give to the priest for a heave-offering from the sacrifices of your peace-offerings. He among the sons of Aharon, that offers the blood of the peace-offering, and the fat, shall have the right thigh for his part. For the wave breast and the heave shoulder have I taken of the children of Israel from off the sacrifices of their peace-offerings and have given them to Aharon the priest, and to his sons their fixed portion forever from among the children of Israel" (Vayikra 7:32-34). The thigh is given to the priests by the Israelite who offers a peace-offering.

"That which was upon it" – this is the meat that rests on the thigh. In Avoda Zara (25a), the Tanna'im disagree about which piece this is:[8]

Rabbi Yochanan said: The thigh and the tail. And what does "that which was upon it" mean? The thigh which is adjoined by the tail.

            Rabbi Yochanan expounds the word aliya (with an ayin) as if it were written with an alef, so that it means tail. The animal's hind leg is comprised of three parts – the knee, the thigh and the pelvis. The tail is connected to the pelvis which is supported by the thigh; it is considered one of the choicest parts of the animal.[9]

And Rabbi Elazar said: The thigh and the breast. And what does "that which was upon it" mean? The placing of the breast upon the thigh when these have to be formally waved.

When a peace-offering is sacrificed, the meat of the breast is placed on the right thigh, and together they are waved towards all four directions, up and down. "And that which was upon it" refers to the placing of the breast on the thigh.

And Rabbi Shemuel bar Nachmani said: The thigh and the cap. What does "that which was upon it" mean? The cap which is above the leg.

The cap rests on the thigh, and covers the bone that is above it.

These are the three views cited in the Gemara to explain in practical terms what portion was prepared by Shemuel for Shaul.

The Portion Given at the Bama by Shemuel to Shaul

As stated, we are dealing with a peace-offering, and nevertheless Shemuel gives Shaul the thigh and the tail, even though he is not a priest. The reason is that we are dealing with a lesser bama, and the obligation to give the breast and the thigh to a priest (and so too to wave them) only applies in the Temple or at a great bama (Zevachim 117a-119b).

The Ra'avad explains here that even though this was a lesser bama, since these parts are waved and given to a priest in the Temple and at a great bama, Shemuel gave them to Shaul in "a manner of distinction," an expression taken from the world of sacrifices.[10]

The Ralbag (ad loc.) offers a similar explanation:

Shemuel designated an attractive portion for Shaul to indicate distinction and royalty, and for this reason he set before him the shoulder and that which is upon it.

The Sacrifice at Bet-El

In the framework of Shaul's anointment as king and the signs given to him by the prophet Shemuel to Shaul, it says:

Then shall you go on forward from there, and you shall come to the oak of Tavor, and there shall meet you three men going up to God to Bet-El, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine; and they will greet you and give you two loaves of bread; which you shall receive from their hands. (I Shemuel 10:3-4)

It is very reasonable to assume that there was a bama or an altar in Bet-El, and that it was an important place of worship, not only during the patriarchal period (by Yaakov), but also during the days of Shemuel. It is clear then why it is specifically Bet-El that Yaravam chooses as a spiritual alternative to Jerusalem.

The Radak writes as follows about the Bet-El mentioned in connection to Shaul's journey:

This is Luz which Yaakov called Bet-El; there was an altar there that was built by Yaakov, and when bamot were permitted, they would sacrifice there. That house was holy, and people would come to pray there all the time in the merit of Yaakov, and so Yaakov said: "It shall be God's house" (Bereishit 28:22).

Even though the Midrash has a different approach here, that which we have written it what is evident according to the plain meaning of the verses. For Bet-El was always a holy place and the site of an altar, and people would come to pray there. And it was a place of prophecy, as it is stated: "And this is the gate of heaven" (Bereishit 28:17). And Hoshea said: "And there he would speak with us" (Hoshea 12:5). And Yonatan renders: "Going up to God" as: "Going up to worship before God to Bet-El."

The three men bring with them:[11]

1. Kid-goats for peace-offerings, apparently because there is special fondness for such offerings, as we see from Rivka who brought Yitzchak kid-goats (Bereishit 27:9).[12]

2. Bread for meal-offerings, perhaps loaves that accompany thanks-offerings. It is reasonable to assume that the bread had not yet been consecrated as an offering.

3. Wine for libations.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html, In this shiur we will continue to examine the ritual acts that were performed outside the Mishkan during those years that it was located first in Nov and later in Giv’on.