The History of the Divine Service At Altars (59) - The Prohibition of Bamot (36)

In this shiur we will continue to examine the battle at Mikhmash and Scripture's account of the people's sin and Shaul's response to it.

The Meaning of the People's Eating with the Blood and Shaul's Response

Prof. Grintz notes two features of the incident reported in the book of Shemuel with respect to Shaul:

1. Regarding a person who slaughters an animal without bringing it as a sacrifice to the Tent of Meeting, the Torah writes: "Blood shall be imputed to that man; he has shed blood… to the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they offer in the open field" (Vayikra 17:4-5). The words "in the open field" refer to the ground in the wide expanse of the wilderness. In the case of Shaul it is similarly stated: "And the people flew upon the spoil… and slew them on the ground" (I Shemuel 14:32).

2. The people's eating of the spoil takes place at night: "And they slew them there… And Shaul said, Let us go down after the Pelishtim by night, and spoil them until the morning light" (34-36). Sacrifices are not offered at night,[1] and so it is clear that the people's slaying involved non-consecrated animals, and that their sin was not connected to the matter of sprinkling the blood.

What then was the People's Sin?

Let us first say that among the ancient Greeks a distinction was made between two types of gods:

1. The upper gods – were worshipped through the slaughter and offering of an animal on an altar or a bama built on a high place, the animal's neck facing upwards. In general they offered a white animal, like a bull, and the offering was performed during the day.
2. The lower gods – were worshipped through destruction, on the ground itself or in a designated hole,[2] usually in caves or low, dark places, the animal's neck facing downwards. The dead was supposed to rise and tell what was to happen in the future. They usually offered black animals, pigs or rams.  The ceremony was performed at night.

In sharp contrast, the God of Israel lords over the entire universe without distinction ("Creator of heaven and earth, etc."), but many descriptions of God focus primarily on heaven ("the most high God"; Bereishit 14:22-24), "who dwells in the heavens"; Tehilim 132:1, "He dwells on high"; Yeshaya 33:5, "God of heaven"; Daniyel 2:18, and others. Sheol, the underworld, is removed from the area of God's interest. The sacrificial service is performed only during the day.

What is more, Israel's belief system rejected many features of magic, which is performed primarily at night. Slaughtering animals to demons is outlawed – "gods whom they knew not" (Devarim 32:16-17).[3]

Let us go back to the actions of Shaul and the people. Animals are slaughtered at night for the purpose of eating, and a rumor spreads in the camp that the animals are being slain "artza." This can be understood as slaughter "on the ground," in which case Israel's sin was eating meat mixed with blood. But it can also be understood as slaughter "in the direction of the ground," i.e., with the animal's neck facing downwards, in the manner that the Greeks sacrificed to the lower gods.

According to this, the people of Israel acted in the manner of those who sacrifice to demons, in an attempt to appease them, so that they should not take revenge against them for the blood that had been spilled.

It should be remembered that the people of Israel had fasted that day. On the assumption that this was based on a pagan custom to fast, sometimes even for several days, before inquiring of a god or of the deceased (Shaul acted in this manner before inquiring of the woman who was a medium (I Shemuel 28:20), it is possible that after the fact the fast helped spread the rumor that the people were slaughtering to the demons, despite the fact that this was certainly not Shaul's intention from the beginning.

Eating with the blood was done for the purpose of acquiring knowledge about the future: In the period of the wilderness – from the goats who dwelled in the wilderness; and during the period of the conquest and settlement of Eretz Yisrael – from the demons who fall upon the battle fields at the time of nightfall. Thus it is clear why the Ramban relates to this mode of inquiring of God as a betrayal of God.

The Radak explains that the meat was prepared hastily owing to the people's hunger, and therefore they slaughtered the animals on the ground, and because of this the blood did not drain well from the animals. Shaul's solution was to perform the slaughter on a great stone so that the blood would drain better. In the continuation the Radak writes:

The plain meaning of the verses is as we have explained that their sin was on account of the blood in the meat that did not drain out because they slaughtered on the ground.

Shaul "fixes" the slaughter on the ground through the introduction of a large stone on which the animals would be slaughtered.

The Gemara in Zevachim (120a) records a dispute whether the slaughter was of consecrated or of non-consecrated animals. In light of this, there is room to ask whether it is possible that Shaul sought for himself certain priestly privileges (similar to the possibility raised in the past regarding Shaul's failure to wait for Shemuel at Gilgal).

Indeed, Rashi writes (ad loc.):

"This day" – And below it says: "And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night" (v. 34). Our Rabbis disagreed about the matter at the end of tractate Zevachim (120a). Some say that here it was non-consecrated animals, and here it was consecrated animals.

"A great stone" – He made it a bama to sprinkle blood and burn fat on it.

His words appear to be based on Midrash Vayikra Rabba (25):

"…Three years shall it be as uncircumcised to you" (Vayikra 19:23). And it is written: "You shall not eat anything with the blood" (v.26). How is one connected to the other? The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Israel: You wait three years for orla, and yet you do not wait for you wives that they should keep the laws of nidda? You wait three years for orla, and yet for your animals you do not wait until their blood is drained?

And who kept the mitzva relating to blood? Shaul, as it is stated: "Then they told Shaul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood… And Shaul said, Disperse yourselves among the people… And slay them here" (I Shemuel 14:33-34). What is meant by "here"? He said to them: In this way you shall slaughter and eat.

When did the Holy One, blessed is He, reward him? On the day of battle. This is what it says: "So it came to pass on the day of battle, that there was neither [sword nor spear to be] found…" (13:22), and you say: "[But with Shaul and with Yonatan his son] there was found" (ibid.). Who brought it to him? Rav Chaggai said in the name of Rav Yitzchak: An angel brought it to him. And the Rabbis said: The Holy One, blessed is He, brought it to him.

It is written: "And Shaul built an altar to the Lord, that was the first altar that he build to the Lord" (14:35). How many altars did the early ones build – Noach, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe and Yehoshua. And you say: "That was the first altar." The Rabbis say: That was the first among the kings. Rav Yuden says: Because he risked his life for this matter, Scripture ascribes to him as if he were the first to build an altar to the Lord.

The Midrash draws an interesting comparison between the prohibition against eating blood and orla and nidda, and among other things it commends Shaul, who in contrast to the rest of the people waited for the blood to drain (this was a non-consecrated animal, the eating of which is optional), so that it be fit for eating. God rewarded him for his good behavior during the battle against the Pelishtim.

Because of the importance of slaughter which is compulsory in the case of consecrated animals, Scripture ascribes to Shaul the building of the first altar, even though there were others who built altars before him. Slaughtering on a great stone distances the blood from the ground, and thus the place of eating is distant from the place of slaughter.

The Altar Built by Shaul

The Great Stone and the Altar

The Ralbag explains Shaul's building of the altar:

What seems correct to me is that when Shaul commanded that a great stone be rolled to him so that every man slaughter his ox and his sheep upon it, he began to build an altar to the Lord, for he did not build it at night, as he was in a rush to pursue the Pelishtim, but that stone was the beginning of the building, and there he built the altar afterwards. (I Shemuel 14:35)

According to the Ralbag, the great stone upon which Shaul asked the people to slaughter their sacrifices was the foundation of the altar that he later built. This is also the position of Rav Yosef Kara.

Why Did Shaul Build an Altar?

The Ralbag suggests that the purpose of the altar was to commemorate that miracle that had been performed for them and to thank God for all the good that He bestowed upon them. Rav Yosef Kaspi says:

This altar was not for a burnt-offering or a sacrifice, in the manner that it said earlier about Shemuel: "And he built there an altar to the Lord" (I Shemuel 7:17). Scripture thereby alludes that Shaul woke up because of what Shemuel had said to him:  "You have done foolishly" (I Shemuel 13:13). And it is more explicit in the words of Shemuel regarding the sin relating to Amalek.

The Ralbag alludes to the words of Shemuel:

And Shemuel said, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is like the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is like idolatry and terafim. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord He has also rejected you from being king. (I Shemuel 15:22-23)

We mentioned previously that Moshe as well built an altar to commemorate his victory over Amalek (Shemot 14:15), but did not offer sacrifices upon it. And in the book of Yehoshua we learned that the two and a half tribes built an altar on the east bank of the Jordan. This altar was never meant to be used for burnt-offerings or sacrifices, but rather it served as a witness for future generations, that they be unable to argue that the eastern tribes have no part in the God of Israel.

What is the meaning of: "This was the first altar that he built to the Lord" (I Shemuel 14:35)?

Rashi says: "This altar was the first of Shaul's altars." So too Rav Yosef Kara: "It sounds as if he were the first ever to build an altar, but this is impossible to say, for a number of altars were built previously. Rather it means: This was the first altar the he [Shaul] built."

The Radak explains (ad loc.):

This mean: This altar was the first of the altars that Shaul built. As for the sacrifices that he offered at Gilgal, he found there an altar that was already built. And the Midrash states (Vayikra Rabba 25): "'That was the first altar' (14:35). But surely the early ones built many altars. Noach built an altar, Avraham built an altar, Yitzchak built an altar, Yaakov built an altar, Moshe built an altar and Yehoshua built an altar. And you say: 'That was the first altar.' Rav Yuden said: That was the first among the kings." And it is further stated in the Midrash: "This altar he began to build," that is to say, he himself laid down the first stone, and after that the masons built the altar until it was completed.

It seems that precisely at this time it was important to emphasize that this was the first altar that Shaul built. This act is a significant step on the part of Shaul in his service of God, even at a time of war, and when in any event bamot were permitted.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html, In this shiur we will continue to examine the battle at Mikhmash and Scripture's account of the people's sin and Shaul's response to it.