נדפס לעילוי נשמת הרה"ת יהושע בן שמחה בונים בראנשטיין
This week’s Torah portion discusses the laws of the burnt offering and the obligation that the sacrificial parts be totally consumed on top of the altar within a certain time frame. In discussing the specific parameters of this law, we gain insight into the “burning” of our own pleasures, physical and spiritual.
This week’s parsha continues the discussion of the laws of sacrifices. The opening verses deal with the laws that concern the burnt offering:
Text 1
And the Lord spoke to Moshe, saying, command Aharon and his sons, saying, this is the law of the burnt offering: That is the burnt offering which burns on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn with it.
Vayikra 6:1-2
Rashi makes the following comment on the verse and explains that the above wording indicates that the offering may be burnt throughout the night.
Text 2
This passage comes to teach us that the burning of [sacrificial] fats and parts [of an animal] is valid throughout the entire night [following the day it is offered up].
Rashi, ibid
Menachos 72a.
While the Talmud states that the kohanim would indeed attempt to burn the fats and the limbs during the daytime—being that this was the actual time for the burning—in truth, they had all night for it to be consumed.
This is the law as it is biblically—that one may burn offering until the following day.
In practice though, there are two opinions regarding the time limit of this offering. The argument is based on the following Mishna:
Text 3
From what time may one recite the Shema in the evening? From the time that the priests enter [their house] in order to eat their terumah until the end of the first watch. These are the words of R. Eliezer. The Sages say until midnight. R. Gamliel says until the dawn. Wherever the Sages say until midnight, the precept may be performed until dawn comes up. The precept of burning the fat and the [sacrificial] pieces too, may be performed untill dawn comes up. Similarly, all [the offerings] that are to be eaten within one day may be lawfully consumed until the coming up of dawn. Why then, did the Sages say “until midnight?” In order to keep a man far from transgression.
Mishna, Berachos 2a
Rashi there, is of the opinion that although the Mishna discusses the burning of the fats in the above text, it only mentions this mitzvah (commandment) in passing—in regards to those things whose time limit is until dawn.
The Sages’ decree though, of “until midnight,” stated at the end of the Mishna, is only regarding the recitation of the Shema, and not in regard to the burning of the fats and limbs.
Rambam (Maimonides) though, is of the opinion that the Sages indeed enacted an edict that one should not burn these fats as well, past midnight.
This can be seen in the following statement of Rambam:
Text 4
The limbs of the burnt-offerings may be offered on the fire of the altar until dawn. In order to distance [a person] from inadvertent transgression, our Sages declared that the fats and the limbs of the burnt-offerings should only be offered on the fire of the altar until midnight.
Rambam, Masei HaKorbanos 4:2
Rambam is of the opinion that the injunction of the Sages to prevent transgression applies to the burning of the limbs and fats as well, while Rashi is of the opinion that this restriction was only said regarding the recitation of the Shema but not enacted concerning burning the fats and limbs.
Rashi’s reasoning
The reason why Rashi differs from the Rambam is because the Torah explicitly stated that the sacrifice “burns on the altar all night until morning.” Being that the Torah explicitly permitted that the sacrifice may burn on the altar the entire night, the Sages had no right to limit that time until midnight.
Text 5
The Sages do not have the ability to prohibit something that the Torah explicitly said was permitted. The Sages only have the ability to be stringent in a situation where there is no prohibition or permission explicit in the Torah. However, when there is explicit permission in the Torah, they may not.
Turei Zahav, Yora Deah 117:1
Since Rashi observed that the Torah explicitly permits the burning of the fats until dawn, he understood that the Sages’ prohibition “until midnight,” could not have possibly been said concerning the burning of the fats.
According to this rule though, the opinion of Rambam is not understood:
Why is Rambam of the opinion that one may only burn the fats and the limbs until midnight to prevent transgression, if the Sages were, in fact, unable to prohibit that which the Torah explicitly permitted?
Two forms of consumption
This can be understood through prefacing the comparison that the Talmud makes between the eating of the korban (sacrifice) by man and the consumption of the sacrifice atop the altar.
When the Torah discusses the prohibition regarding not leaving any of the sacrifice uneaten after a prescribed time, the Torah says:
Vayikra, 7:18.
“And if any of the flesh of his peace offering is to be eaten on the third day, it shall not be accepted; it shall not count for the one who offers it; [rather,] it shall be rejected, and the person who eats of it shall bear his sin.”
The Hebrew words that the Torah uses for the expression “is to be eaten,” are “ha’achol yei’achol,” employing a double expression of the root word meaning “eat.” The Talmud understands this double language in the following way:
Text 6
If [any of the flesh...] is it to be eaten [on the third day . . . it shall be an abhorred thing]: Scripture refers to two eatings—eating [of the sacrifice] by man and eating [of the sacrifice] by the altar.
Talmud, Zevachim 13b
From the comparison of the eating of man and the consumption of the altar, it is understood that the laws of one apply to the other.
Concerning the offerings eaten by the kohanim (priests), there is a commandment for them to eat the portion of certain offerings on the day that it was brought, and not to leave these over for the next day.
Text 7
And the flesh of his thanksgiving peace offering shall be eaten on the day it is offered up; he shall not leave any of it over until morning.
Vayikra 7:15
The kohanim were instructed to eat the sacrifice on the day that it was offered and not leave it over any of it until the following morning.
Through partaking of the sacrifice during the night, there are then two things that are accomplished:
A) The positive commandment to eat from the sacrifice is fulfilled.
B) Eating the sacrifice during the day on which it was brought prevents the prohibition of leaving it over until morning.
The difference between these two ideas is as follows:
Concerning the positive commandment to eat from the sacrifice, just like any other mitzvah, it must be fulfilled in a specific manner. The mitzvah of eating the korban has various parameters, in which case, if one is lacking in any of these, they are not fulfilling the mitzvah.
However, regarding the second aspect of eating the sacrifice during the daytime, i.e., in order to prevent that there be anything that is leftover, it makes no difference in what manner the korban was eaten, as long as there is nothing that remained of it.
In a similar way to there being two aspects regarding the human consumption of a korban, so too, there are two elements concerning the altar’s consumption of the sacrifice:
A) The service of burning the fats and limbs atop the altar.
B) The aspect that burning these parts prevents that there be anything leftover from the sacrifice.
Accordingly, it can be said that this is the reason why one should preferably burn these fats during the daytime and not at night.
The Talmud states:
Text 8
R. Shimon said, “Come and see how precious a precept is in its proper time! For the burning of the fat and limbs is valid the whole night, yet they did not wait until nightfall.”
Talmud, Menachos 72a
The reason why it is preferable to burn the fats and the limbs during the daytime, although the burning throughout the night is valid is as follows:
Because there are two specific aspects regarding the burning of the fats—the service and the prevention of leftovers—there are specific laws concerning each.
The service of burning the fats and limbs should to be done specifically during the day. This is similar to the rest of the services performed in the Temple, which were all done during the daytime.
However, there is as well the second aspect of burning the fats and limbs of the sacrifice, in that it prevents any leftovers. This aspect which is only preventive and is not an actual service does not need to be done during the daytime and can be done throughout the night.
Answering Rambam
The question was posed above regarding Rambam’s opinion of this prescribed time. He believed that the Sages mandated the burning of the fats and limbs by midnight (in order to prevent transgression). However, being that the Torah explicitly stated that one may burn these portions of the animal until dawn, how can Rambam hold this view? Is there not a rule that the Sages may not prohibit something that was explicitly permitted in the Torah?
In light of the above explanation concerning the dual purpose of burning the fats however, the question on Rambam’s view can now be understood.
The principle that the Sages cannot prohibit something that the Torah explicitly permitted is only applicable when the topic in discussion concerns an actual mitzvah. Meaning to say, that if the Torah said that something should be done, the Rabbis cannot say that one mustn’t do it.
However, if the Torah is merely permitting that one may do something during the night, and there is no mitzvah to actually perform it at that time, then the Sages can stipulate an earlier time, and instruct that one must complete it before midnight.
Concerning the burning of the fats and limbs there are two aspects: 1) burning the fats as a mitzvah, i.e. the service of the burning, which must be done preferably during the daytime, and 2) burning the fats to prevent that there be nothing left over from the sacrifice the following day.
It is regarding the second purpose of burning the fats—to prevent any leftovers—that the Sages stated that it should be burned by midnight.
Because this aspect is preventative and not a mitzvah, the Sages were able to add to the prohibition and limit the time of burning to midnight, although the Torah explicitly stated that one is permitted to burn these portions until dawn.
A personal sacrifice
All aspects of the Torah have a lesson to be learned in one’s service of G-d. So too, the concept of burning the fats of the sacrifice atop the altar has a lesson in one’s service of G-d as well.
Ramban (Nachmanides) explains that the idea that an animal sacrifice atones for an individual is, since, as the person is bringing his offering he is to think, that in truth, all that is being done with the animal should be done to him. G-d, however, through his kindness, exchanged his life for the life of the animal.
Text 9
It is because man’s deeds (of the sin) are fulfilled through the vehicle of thought, speech and action, that G-d commanded that when a person sins, he should: lean his hands on the animal correlating to action, verbally repent, paralleling speech and he should sacrifice atop the altar the innards and the kidneys, which are the tool of thought and lust... so that man should think when he does all these things, that he sinned towards his G-d with his body and his soul and that it is fitting that his blood be spilled, and his body burnt—were it not for the kindness of the Creator, Who took a substitute [for him].
Ramban, Vayikra 1:9
From his commentary it is understood, that when one burns the fat of the sacrifice on top of the altar, it is representative of the person sacrificing his own pleasures to the Almighty.
Text 10
And the priest shall cause it to [go up in] smoke on the altar, consumed as a fire offering, [with] a pleasing fragrance. All fat belongs to the Lord.
Vayikra 3:16
