"You shall make the Altar of acacia wood, five cubits in length and five cubits in width - the Altar shall be square - and three cubits its height." (Shmot 27,1)

While at the end of Parshat Yitro it is written "An altar of earth shall you make for Me" (Shmot 20,21). Are these two verses speaking of the same Altar?

According to its literal meaning the text can be interpreted such that the Altar which is referred to immediately after the gathering at Har Sinai refers to the period of "Heter Bamot"; that is, it was permissible then to erect an altar in any spot and to sacrifice on it individual sacrifices, indeed the continuation of this verse (Shmot 20,21) "where I permit My Name to be mentioned I shall come to you and bless you" strengthens this simplistic understanding, as compared to the Altar mentioned in our Parsha which is to be integrated with the other vessels of the Mishkan, and is meant for public sacrifices.

But this is not the interpretation of the Halacha as brought down by Rambam (Sefer HaMitzvot, Mitzvat Asei 20) which states that, according to the verse at the end of Parshat Yitro, "This is a commandment for all generations to build an altar which will be connected to the Land without the possibility of mobility (as it was in the period of the desert)". So also, this explanation appears in the Mechilta of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai: for there on this above mentioned verse we find the following: "When you enter the Land make yourself an Altar which is connected to the land."

It turns out, that we have been commanded to erect in Eretz Yisrael a stone Altar specifically because of its steadiness and permanence to the Land. Possibly, the idea which lies behind this ordinance is found in the sayings of our Rabbis Z"L : "Any one who is buried in Eretz Yisrael is as if he is buried under the Altar; for one Torah verse says: 'an Altar of earth you shall make for Me' and another Scripture states (Devarim 32, 43): 'and His Land will atone for His people'" (K'tuvot 111a); Also, "Anyone who is buried in Eretz Yisrael is as if he is buried under the Altar, for all of Eretz Yisrael (from the aspect of its holiness) is acceptable for an Altar and any one who is buried beneath the Altar is as if he is buried under the Throne of Honor" (Ethics of Rabbi Natan, Chapter 21, sign 41).

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Shalom Horowitz

Rabbi Horowitz is a Rav Mechanech at the Ulpana Girls Academy - Kiryat Arba

Please address your questions or comments to the Ulpana Girls Academy - Kiryat Arba