(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) צַ֤ו אֶֽת־אַהֲרֹן֙ וְאֶת־בָּנָ֣יו לֵאמֹ֔ר זֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הָעֹלָ֑ה הִ֣וא הָעֹלָ֡ה עַל֩ מוֹקְדָ֨ה עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֤חַ כָּל־הַלַּ֙יְלָה֙ עַד־הַבֹּ֔קֶר וְאֵ֥שׁ הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ תּ֥וּקַד בּֽוֹ׃ (ג) וְלָבַ֨שׁ הַכֹּהֵ֜ן מִדּ֣וֹ בַ֗ד וּמִֽכְנְסֵי־בַד֮ יִלְבַּ֣שׁ עַל־בְּשָׂרוֹ֒ וְהֵרִ֣ים אֶת־הַדֶּ֗שֶׁן אֲשֶׁ֨ר תֹּאכַ֥ל הָאֵ֛שׁ אֶת־הָעֹלָ֖ה עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חַ וְשָׂמ֕וֹ אֵ֖צֶל הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ (ד) וּפָשַׁט֙ אֶת־בְּגָדָ֔יו וְלָבַ֖שׁ בְּגָדִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים וְהוֹצִ֤יא אֶת־הַדֶּ֙שֶׁן֙ אֶל־מִח֣וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֔ה אֶל־מָק֖וֹם טָהֽוֹר׃ (ה) וְהָאֵ֨שׁ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֤חַ תּֽוּקַד־בּוֹ֙ לֹ֣א תִכְבֶּ֔ה וּבִעֵ֨ר עָלֶ֧יהָ הַכֹּהֵ֛ן עֵצִ֖ים בַּבֹּ֣קֶר בַּבֹּ֑קֶר וְעָרַ֤ךְ עָלֶ֙יהָ֙ הָֽעֹלָ֔ה וְהִקְטִ֥יר עָלֶ֖יהָ חֶלְבֵ֥י הַשְּׁלָמִֽים׃ (ו) אֵ֗שׁ תָּמִ֛יד תּוּקַ֥ד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ לֹ֥א תִכְבֶֽה׃ (ס)
(1) Ad-nai spoke to Moses, saying: (2) Command Aaron and his sons thus: This is the ritual of the burnt offering: The burnt offering itself shall remain where it is burned upon the altar all night until morning, while the fire on the altar is kept going on it. (3) The priest shall dress in linen raiment, with linen breeches next to his body; and he will raise the ashes to which the fire has consumed the burnt offering on the altar and place them beside the altar. (4) He shall then take off his vestments and put on other vestments, and carry the ashes outside the camp to a clean place. (5) The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest will make wood burn on it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being. (6) A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out.
- Why does the fire have to keep burning?
- Why does the kohen need to change his clothes?
- What do you think the perpetual fire represents?
(22) Aaron lifted his hands toward the people and blessed them; and he stepped down after offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and the offering of well-being. (23) Moses and Aaron then went inside the Tent of Meeting. When they came out, they blessed the people; and the Presence of the Lord appeared to all the people. (24) Fire came forth from before Ad-nai and consumed the burnt offering and the fat parts on the altar. And all the people saw, and shouted, and fell on their faces.
- What is this first fire?
- Is the Temple a "safe" place?
- How many days of preparation?
It is after that moment of power that Nadav and Avihu will take up the fire that was not commanded and be consumed, just as this first sacrifice was. The fire from above accepts, consumes and takes over the sacrifice. 9:22 happens on the eight day - it is the beginning of the next portion, Shemini - But in our portion we are concerned with something a little less grand: the fire in the altar.
(3) Take words with you and return to Ad-nai. Say to Him: “Forgive all guilt and accept what is good; instead of bulls we will pay with [the words of] our lips.
~ Why is Hosea the most rabbinic of prophets, in this case?
בפסוק היא העולה על מוקדה כו' וביער עליה כו' עצים כו' אש תמיד תוקד כו'. ידוע מדברי קדשו של הבעש"ט כי צריך להיות תמיד נקודה התלהבות בלב איש ישראל. וע"ז נאמר אש תמיד תוקד. המזבח רמז על הלב. ותמיד אינו דייקא בזמן אבל צריך להיות התלהבות על תמיד. וכשמקבל על עצמו בכל לב ונפש שלא ישתנה אז לא תכבה. וכשהתלהבות הוא כראוי ממילא מחשבה רעה העולה על הלב נשרפת בהבל הלב כהמס דונג מפני אש כו'. וע"י שנשרפת מחשבה זרה בהבל הלב בא אח"כ אור חדש. וז"ש על מוקדה כל הלילה כו' אח"כ וביער כו'. כי כך כתיב בברייתו של עולם ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר. כי כך עשה הבורא ית' להיות בא אור הבירור ע"י התערובות כמ"ש יכין וצדיק ילבש. וכפי שריפת מחשבות זרות כך נתחדש לו בבוקר כח חדש דכתיב מחדש בכל יום כו'. אעפ"כ מצוה להביא מן ההדיוט: בבוקר בבוקר. עיין מ"ש בזה בפ' ויקהל בפסוק הביאו נדבה בבוקר בבוקר ע"ש:
Regarding the verse "this is the burnt offering that remains etc and he burns over it etc a perpetual fire shall be kept burning etc" - it is known from the words of the Baal Shem Tov that there needs to be a point of fervor inside the heart of every Jewish person, and regarding this is the verse "a perpetual fire shall be kept burning" - the altar hints to the heart. And the word "perpetual" does not mean in time [eternal] but really regarding the daily sacrifice: when one decides that they are not going to change [their essence] then the fire is not extinguished. And when the fervor is there as needed, it burns up all the extraneous thoughts of a person that come on one's heart "as wax melts at fire [so evil will perish]" (Ps. 68:3). And it is through that burning of extraneous thoughts that a new light comes. And this is why it is written "burns all night long" and after "and he makes burn," just as it is written regarding the creation of the world - there was evening and there was day. This is because the Blessed Creator made the light of clarification come through the mixtures, as it is written "He will prepare it and the righteous will wear" (Job 27:17). And accordingly, the burning of extraneous thoughts brings new strength in the morning, as it is written "makes new Creation perpetually every day." And even though this is a mitzvah for the simple kohen - "morning after morning", connect it with the verse " [the Israelites] continued to bring freewill offerings to him morning after morning" (Exodus 36:3).
- What is the fire in each of us that needs to be constantly burning, according to the Baal Shem Tov?
- What does the fervor need to burn? Why?
- How does the Sfat Emet understand the word perpetual/constant?
(1) Perpetual fire — The redundant word perpetual (תמיד) implies that we use the fire to kindle the lamps (of the menorah) about which it is said, (Exodus 27:20) “to light the lamps continually (תמיד)", this too is from the fire on the outer altar (Yoma 45b).
ברש"י אש שנאמר בו להעלות נר תמיד אף הוא ממזבח החיצון תוקד. הענין הוא דיש אש שורף ואש מאיר וכמו כן באדם התלהבות הלב אל עבודת ה' [והוא בחי' שקלים]. ויש רוגז וכעס ללחום נגד היצה"ר ולשרוף כל תאוות עוה"ז. [וזהו בחי' זכירת עמלק] וב' אלו הם מ"ע ומל"ת. שעליהם נאמר נר מצוה ותורה אור נותנת כח ואש לב' בחי' הנ"ל למצות עשה ולמל"ת. שורף ומאיר. [וזה רמז פרשת פרה חוקת התורה כמ"ש בפסיקתא חביב טהרת פרה ככל התורה ויתבאר לקמן אי"ה]. והגם כי אור המאיר הוא פנימי וחביב יותר לכן הי' מנורה בפנים בהיכל ואש שורף מבחוץ בעזרה. וכ"ז נמצא גם בלב האדם. מ"מ גם אור המנורה ממזבח החיצון תוקד כנ"ל שכל האור תלוי באש השורף כמ"ש סור מרע ועשה טוב:
Regarding Rashi - the fire about which it it written to kindle the lamps continually also comes from the outer altar. The issue is that there is the fire that burns and the fire that illuminates, and so too with the fervor for God's worship in a person's heart [and this is also the aspect of shekalim] and there is anger and fury that can be used to fight against the impulse to evil and against the temptations of this world [and this is also the aspect of Amalek] and those two are the positive commandments and the negative commandments, since it is written "a mitzvah is a candle and the Torah is light" (Prov. 6:23) and that gives strength and fire to the two aspects, positive and negative, to burn and to illuminate. [and this is the hint regarding the red cow, which I will explain later with God's help] And even though the internal light illuminates, it is inside - and it is more beloved, that's why the menora was inside the tent and the fire that burns was outside in the courtyard. And all this is found in the heart of a person. And the light of the menora is from the outer altar, and is kept burning, as we explained, since all light is dependent on the fire that burns, as it is written "turn from evil and do good"(Psalms 34:15).
~ What are the two types of fire spoken by the Sefat Emet in this piece?
~ Do we need both, according to him? Why?
וזהו "זאת תורת העולה", דעולה היה בא על הרהור הלב, ואמר הכתוב זאת תורה העולה, פירוש תבוא למדרגה הזאת שיהיה תורה שלך עולה, פירוש שתכפר על הרהור הלב. "היא העולה על מוקדה" פירוש עוד תפעול התורה ההיא שתלמוד, שתביאך אל אהבה והתלהבות גדול וכנ"ל, שהתורה חשובה כנגד הכל. "על המזבח" ר"ל התורה הזאת היא למעלה מן המזבח, שהקרבנות אינם מכפרים כולם על כל חטא, כי אם כל אחד מכפר על חטא שלו, אבל התורה מכפרת על הכל, ובזה התורה מעולה מן המזבח. "ואש המזבח תוקד בו" ר"ל כמו שהיה בא אש על המזבח מן השמים, כן תוקד התלהבות אש בהצדיק הזה אשר יתנהג כנ"ל. "ולבש הכהן מדו בד" פירוש כאשר יתנהג כנ"ל נקרא הצדיק כזה בשם כהן, וצריך להלביש עצמו מדו בד, ר"ל שצריך לתקן עצמו במדותיו בהתבודדות מחשבתו. "ומכנסי בד ילבש על בשרו" דהיינו שצריך ג"כ התבודדות אחרת לכסות את בשר ערוותו ר"ל תאוותו. "והרים את הדשן אשר תאכל האש" ר"ל שזה בלתי אפשרי שישבר אדם כל מדותיו הנולדים עמו מבטן אמו, רק שצריך להרים אותם אל הקדושה, למשל מי שיש בו מדת כעס יסור מכעס החיצונית ויכעוס על הרשעים, וכן בכל המידות. "ושמו אצל המזבח" פירוש כנ"ל שישים המדה אל הקדושה, דהיינו באם יבא לכעוס או שאר מידה, ישבר עצמו להביא אותה המידה אל הקדושה. "ופשט את בגדיו ולבש בגדים אחרים" ר"ל שאח"כ יבא אל מדרגה יותר עד שיופשט מכל וכל מכל המידות, "והוציא את הדשן מחוץ למחנה" ר"ל שלא יבא לו בשום פעם מהמידות הנולדות עמו כי אם הכל בקדושה רבה.
And this is "this is the Torah of the burnt offering [lit. the offering that goes up]" - the burnt offering is of the misgivings of the heart, and the text says "this is the Torah of the burnt-offering", meaning you have to come to this level, that your Torah goes up, meaning that you will atone for the misgivings of your heart. "This is the burnt-offering on the fire" meaning that you have to act the Torah you learned so as to bring you into love and and a great fervor, since Torah is thought as corresponding to all. "On the altar" that is to say that this Torah is higher than the altar, since the sacrifices do not atone for all people for all sins, since every person atones for their personal sins, but Torah atones for everything [and everyone], and regarding this Torah is better than the altar. "And the fire on the altar is kept burning" meaning just as the fire came from heaven, so too the fervor in the tzadik that behaves in such way will keep burning. "And the kohen will dress linen raiment" that is to say once the tzadik behaves like this they can be called kohen, and he needs to dress linen [mido] that is to say, the tzadik needs to fix their personal characteristics in quiet contemplation. "And linen breeches on his flesh" that is to say that the quiet contemplation also needs to cover the flesh of the private parts, meaning, the desires. "And he will raise the ashes to which the fire has consumed", that is to say that it is impossible for a person to break all the characteristics with which they were born. What they need to do is to raise them to holiness, so for instance if one was born with anger should turn from the expression of outside anger and reserve their anger to the evildoers. And so with all the other characteristics. "And he will put on the altar", that is to say that one should put their characteristics onto holiness, meaning, if one has anger or some other characteristic, they should strive to make that characteristic work towards holiness. "And he will change clothes" - which is when one reaches another spiritual level, one should keep rising spiritually until one has redressed every single one of one's characteristics. "Carry the ashes outside the camp" meaning then the person is able to come to a great holiness, since one does not come to debase oneself through the characteristics one was born with.
~ How does the Noam Elimelech understand our reading? What is the message he wants us to leave with?
איש = man
אשה = woman
אש = fire
י ה = letters of God's name
דריש ר"ע איש ואשה זכו שכינה ביניהן לא זכו אש אוכלתן
§ Rabbi Akiva taught: If a man [ish] and woman [isha] merit the Divine Presence rests between them. But if they do not merit the Divine Presence departs, and then fire consumes them.
- What fire is Rabbi Akiva talking about?
- What do you make of the connection between fire and the Divine? Fire and human beings?
- What does this piece say about the divinity of a healthy relationship between any pairing of individuals?
- When is that fire a good thing? When is it dangerous?
~ Can we return to the hasidic rebbes's ideas regarding fire? How would their ideas work in a healthy couple?