The Golden Altar

Ritual Objects

The Golden Alter (Mizbeach Hazahav), which is also known as the Altar of Incense, is located within the Temple shrine and is used for burning incense.

Notable Sources

All Sources

The Sacred Service of the Golden Altar

TANAKH

The rituals and prohibitions associated with the Golden Altar highlight the importance of purity and devotion in the service of God. The Torah provides specific instructions for Aaron regarding the daily burning of incense, the prohibition against offering anything else, and the annual purification ritual with the blood of the sin offering.

On it Aaron shall burn aromatic incense: he shall burn it every morning when he tends the lamps, and Aaron shall burn it at twilight when he lights the lamps—a regular incense offering before יהוה throughout the ages. You shall not offer alien incense on it, or a burnt offering or a meal offering; neither shall you pour a libation on it. Once a year Aaron shall perform purification upon its horns with blood of the sin offering of purification; purification shall be performed upon it once a year throughout the ages. It is most holy to יהוה.

Exodus 30:7-10

The Consequences of Improper Incense Burning

COMMENTARY

One of the kings of Judah was divinely punished for inappropriately burning incense on the Incense Altar. While the reason of the punishment is not described in the Book of Kings, Rashi, the renowned 11th-century French biblical commentator, explains the events based on the account given in the Book of Chronicles.

Adonoy brought a plague upon the king. It is explained in Divrei Hayomim that he entered the Temple to burn incense on the Incense Altar.

Rashi on II Kings 15:5:1

The Perils of Pride in Sacred Service

MIDRASH

The story of King Uzziyahu illustrates the consequences of pride and improper conduct, especially in sacred matters. The Sifra, an early halachic midrash on Leviticus, uses the example of King Uzziyahu's punishment to teach the importance of humility and the dangers of arrogance.

9) R. Shimon b. Elazar says: Plague-spots come also because of pride. For thus do we find with Uzziyahu (king of Judah), viz. (II Chronicles 26:16) "But when he grew strong, his heart grew proud to (the point of) corruption. And he rebelled against the L–rd his G d, and he came into the sanctuary of the L–rd to burn incense on the incense altar (II Chronicles 26:17) And there after him Azaryahu the Cohein and with him Cohanim of the L–rd, eighty strong (II Chronicles 26:18) And they stood over Uzziyahu the king, and they said to him: 'It is not for you, Uzziyahu, to burn incense to the L–rd…

Sifra, Metzora, Section 5 9

Incense Lottery Explained

GUIDES

The special lottery system for burning incense on the Golden Altar was designed to ensure that the material blessing associated with this task was spread among as many different priests as possible. The Babylonian Talmud, in tractate Yoma, discusses the Yom Kippur rituals and the equitable values reflected in the lottery system for burning incense, as explained in this contemporary introduction to the tractate.

The privilege of burning incense on this inner altar was assigned though a special lottery, in which only first-timers were allowed to participate. This is because of the tradition that whoever performed this task would be materially blessed, and it was desired to spread this blessing around to as many different priests as possible.

Introductions to the Babylonian Talmud, Yoma, Summary of Perek II 4

The Spiritual Role of the Inner Altar

KABBALAH

The Golden Altar was one of two altars that were used in the Temple rite for different purposes. The Zohar, a foundational work of Jewish mysticism, discusses the different placement and roles of the two altars, and why the Golden Altar is referred to as an altar, despite having no sacrifices brought upon it.

R. Simeon further discoursed on the verse: “And thou shalt make an altar (mizbeah) to burn incense upon” (Ex. 30, 1). ‘This verse’, he said, ‘raises a problem, for we find that there were two altars, namely, the altar of burnt-offering and the altar of incense, the former the outer altar and the latter the inner one. Now, why was the altar of incense called mizbeah (lit. slaughtering-place), seeing that it had no connection with animal slaughter? The explanation is that this altar was efficacious in defeating and subduing the numerous powers of the “other side”…

Zohar, Vayakhel 41:471-472

The Ritual of Sprinkling Blood

MISHNAH

The specific procedure of sprinkling blood on the Incense Altar during Yom Kippur is a central and intricate part of the High Priest's service, reflecting the gravity and sanctity of the day. The Mishnah Yoma provides detailed instructions on the High Priest's movements and actions during this ritual, including Rabbi Eliezer's unique opinion.

It is stated: “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord, and make atonement for it; and he shall take of the blood of the bull, and of the blood of the goat, and place it upon the corners of the altar round about” (Leviticus 16:18). This altar is the golden altar, since the outer altar is not before the Lord in the Sanctuary. He began to cleanse the altar, sprinkling the blood downward. From where does he begin? He begins from the northeast corner, and proceeds to the northwest corner, and then to the southwest corner…

Mishnah Yoma 5:5

The Symbolism of the Tabernacle's Furnishings

COMMENTARY

The furnishings of the Tabernacle are sacred objects that provide an opportunity to learn from every detail of their design and arrangement. Rabbeinu Bachya, a medieval Jewish commentator, explores the symbolic meanings and practical lessons of the Tabernacle, emphasizing their spiritual significance.

It is worth knowing that the sequence in which the furnishings of the Tabernacle are reported here was also the sequence in which the furnishings of Solomon’s Temple were constructed. The Ark was positioned in the Holy of Holies, on the far side of the dividing curtain, פרוכת. The table was positioned on the near side of that curtain on the north side of the heychal. The lampstand was positioned on the south side of the heychal, whereas the altar for incense, the “golden” altar, was positioned between the two former, slightly forward towards the entrance of the Tabernacle…

Rabbeinu Bahya, Shemot 37:1:2

The Ritual of the Incense Offering

TALMUD

The detailed procedure of the priest's actions with the coals offers a glimpse into the meticulous rituals of the ancient Temple service. Tractate Tamid provides a narrative account of the daily Temple service, including the specific steps taken by the priests during the incense offering.

MISHNA 6:2 The priest who won the right to bring the coal pan filled with coals to the inner altar for the burning of the incense first piled the coals on the inner altar and then flattened them, distributing them evenly on the altar with the bottom of the coal pan. And when he finished distributing the coals, he prostrated himself and emerged from the Sanctuary. MISHNA 6:3 The priest who won the right to burn the incense would take the smaller vessel containing the incense from within the spoon…

Tamid 33a:10-13

Solomon's Sacred Craftsmanship

TANAKH

The holy implements, originally made by Bezalel and other artisans during the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness, were remade when King Solomon built the First Temple. The Book of Chronicles, as well as the Book of Kings, describes the grandiose wealth and artistry that went into Solomon's Temple and its sacred vessels, including the Gold Altar.

And Solomon made all the furnishings that were in the House of God: the altar of gold; the tables for the bread of display;

II Chronicles 4:19

Incense in Rhyme

LITURGY

Descriptions of the Temple rituals have been included in many places in the liturgy. This stanza from a Selichot prayer describes in rhyming couplets the procedure for the incense offering followed by the kohanim during the Temple service.

Another kohain spread the burning coals with the back of the censer; he bowed and withdrew. Another heaped the incense on the coals from the center of the Altar outwards; they taught him to spread them in this manner so that his arms should not be burned.

Selichot Nusach Polin, Erev Rosh Hashana 25:17

Incense Offering Exclusivity

HALAKHAH

The daily incense offering in the Temple had strict regulations. In his monumental 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides details the exclusive purpose of the Golden Altar, and the punishment for using it for anything outside its prescribed function.

The incense offering is offered on the Golden Altar in the Temple each day. No other entity is offered on it. If one offered any incense other than this or offered this incense, but it was donated by an individual or a group, or one offered a sacrifice on it, or poured a libation on it, one is liable for lashes, as [ibid.:9] states: "You shall not offer upon it foreign incense, a burnt offering, or a meal offering."

Mishneh Torah, Vessels of the Sanctuary and Those Who Serve Therein 2:11

Incense First

SECOND TEMPLE

The altar of incense held a place of special honor and precedence in ancient Jewish worship. Philo of Alexandria, a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher, emphasizes the priority and significance of offering incense over other offerings.

[276] And therefore the altar of incense receives special honour, not only in the costliness of its material, its construction and its situation, but by taking every day the earlier place in subserving the thanksgiving which men render to God. For it is not permitted to bring the victim of the whole-burnt-offering outside until the incense has been offered inside at the first glimpse of day.

On the Special Laws, Book I 51:4

The Placement of the Incense Altar

HALAKHAH

The dimensions and placement of the incense altar are a part of the planning and design of the Tabernacle and each of the two Temples. In his 12th-century legal code, the Mishneh Torah, Maimonides details the exact location of the incense altar relative to other sacred objects in the Temple.

The incense altar was one cubit by one cubit square. It was placed in the Sanctuary, exactly [midway] between north and south, between the Table and the Menorah, towards the outside. These three were all placed beyond the first third of the Temple building, in front of the Parochet, which divided the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies.

Mishneh Torah, The Chosen Temple 3:17

The Twice-Daily Incense Offering

MUSAR

The Torah commands priests to offer incense twice daily. Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horowitz’s 17th-century work, Shenei Luchot HaBerit, includes the daily incense offering in his listing of commandments.

Commandment 104 commands the priests to offer incense twice a day, daily, for the Torah says: "On it Aaron shall burn incense; he shall burn it mornings and at twilight" (30,7).

Shenei Luchot HaBerit, Torah Shebikhtav, Tetzaveh, Ner Mitzvah 6

The Placement of the Sacred Altar

JEWISH THOUGHT

The physical description and placement of this sacred object within the Sanctuary is relevant for understanding the layout and significance of the Tabernacle and the anticipated Third Temple. Rabbi Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller explains in detail the design of the Temple according to Ezekiel's vision and earlier commentaries.

In Parshas VeAtah Tetzaveh, the Golden Altar is described: “Its height will be two cubits…. It will have four horns and a gold border.” The Golden Altar was placed in the Sanctuary exactly halfway between the Table and the Menorah, positioned slightly to the east, as Rashi states in Parshas Terumah. There, Rashi states that all three were placed within the inner half of the Sanctuary.

The Third Beit HaMikdash 55:2

The Holy of Holies, Ephraim Moses Lilien 1922. Source:E. M. Lilien, eine künstlerische Entwickelung um die Jahrhundertwende.

Relatedראו גם

Incense

Sheetsדפי מקורות

Related Sheets