The History of the Divine Service at Altars (58) – The Prohibition of Bamot (35)

In this shiur we will continue our study of the worship of God during the period that the great bama stood in Nov and in Giv'on. In the previous shiur we began to examine the battle at Mikhmash, and we will continue that examination in this shiur.  We will deviate slightly from the question of "the Divine service at altars," and consider the Divine service in its most general sense.

"And Shaul said to the Priest, Withdraw Your Hand"

The Meaning of the Verse

The Radak (I Shemuel 14:20) explains:

He said to the priest, Withdraw (esof) your hand, because there is no time now not to go to war, for we see that God is with us, as all the multitude of the Pelishtim are melting away…

The meaning of "Esof your hand" is like "And he gathered (va-ya'asof) up his feet " (Bereishit 49:33), that is, he should gather up his hands to himself, and refrain from opening the Urim ve-Tumim and making inquiry through them.

And Yonatan translated "esof yadkha" as "draw the efod near"… Perhaps the translator's understanding is: Draw it near to the ark and put it away.

The Radak makes several points:

1. We are not dealing with a tactical withdrawal, but rather with an assessment that God would help the people of Israel. There is no need to inquire whether there will be Divine assistance, as it is clear that there will be. The term asifa implies: refrain from opening the Urim ve-Tumim.

2) Yonatan translates the phrase as "Draw the efod near," that is, to inquire by way of the Urim ve-Tumim.[1]

A similar understanding is found in the words of Ri Kara: "It seems to me that he told him to put away and gather up the Urim ve-Tumim in the Choshen, because he was afraid of the noise of the Pelishtim which went on and increased, for it was already stated: 'Bring the ark of God here.'" The Urim ve-Tumim were put away out of fear of the approaching Pelishtim.

Shaul's Attitude Toward the Priesthood and Prophecy

Shaul's words can also be understood as a show of scorn and irreverence for the priest. In the middle of the inquiry put to the Urim ve-Tumim, Shaul stops the priest. It would seem that he understands that the Urim ve-Tumim are subject to the decision of the king, as the Torah explicitly states: "And he shall stand before Elazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of the Urim before the Lord; at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation" (Bemidbar 27:21).[2]

According to this understanding, Shaul reconfirms his decision to offer a sacrifice at Gilgal. He subordinated prophecy by substituting himself for Shemuel, and now he subordinates the priesthood by stopping the Urim ve-Tumim.

Measure for Measure

Later in the campaign, Shaul asks to make an inquiry by way of the Urim ve-Tumim:

Then said the priest, Let us draw near here to God. And Shaul asked counsel of God, Shall I do down after the Pelishtim? Will You deliver them into the hand of Israel? But He answered him not that day. (I Shemuel 14:36-37)

It may well be that there is here an instance of measure for measure. When he should have inquired of God, Shaul stopped the priest and did not wait for the priest to receive an answer through the Urim ve-Tumim. Now, when we wants to make an inquiry and know what is truly God's will, God does not answer him.[3] This difference strikingly illustrates Shaul's attitude toward inquiring of God by way of the Urim ve-Tumim.[4]

This behavior is clearly presented here in contrast to Yonatan's attitude toward God in all of his heroic deeds.

Eating with the Blood

The Severity of the Prohibition

Later in the campaign we read:

And the people flew upon the spoil, and took sheep, and oxen, and calves, and slew them on the ground: and the people did eat them with the blood. Then they told Shaul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, You have transgressed: roll a great stone to me this day.

And Shaul said, Disperse yourselves among the people, and say to them, Bring me here every man his ox, and every man his sheep, and slay them here and eat; and sin not against the Lord in eating with the blood. And all the people brought every man his ox with him that night, and slew them there. And Shaul built an altar to the Lord: that was the first altar that he built to the Lord. (I Shemuel 14:32-35)

Exhausted from the fasting and the fighting, the people of Israel fly upon the spoil and hastily eat "with the blood" – they eat the meat in the place where the blood of the slaughtered animals was shed, a practice that is forbidden because of the prohibition: "You shall not eat anything with the blood; neither shall you use enchantment, nor observe times" (Vayikra 19:26).

This is a severe prohibition, which is mentioned by the prophet Yechezkel as one of the causes of the exile and as an expression of betrayal: "Therefore say to them, Thus says the Lord God; You eat with the blood, and lift up your eyes toward your idols, and shed blood: and shall you possess the land?" (33:25).

The Meaning of the Prohibition

How are we to understand the prohibition against eating with the blood?[5]

The commentators who interpret the text according to its plain sense connect the prohibition against eating with the blood to the continuation of the verse. The Rashbam writes:

According to the plain sense, the matter is learned from its context: "Neither shall you use enchantment, nor observe times." Here too they would be acting in accordance with the laws of the nations, who eat at the grave of a person who was killed, for witchcraft so that he not take revenge, or some other witchcraft, as we say about a nail from the one who was crucified.

The prohibition against eating with the blood is also a prohibition connected to witchcraft and sorcery.

The Rambam, in his Guide of the Perplexed, compares the prohibition to practices found in other religions, and especially that of the Sabians. He explains that the prohibition forbids eating in close proximity to the place where the blood of a slaughtered animal fell to the ground, a practice that was observed in order to connect with the demons:

Know that the Sabians held that blood was most unclean, but in spite of this used to eat it, deeming that it was the food of the demons and that, consequently, whoever ate it fraternized with the demons so that they came to him and let him know future events, according to what the multitude imagine concerning the demons.

There were, however, people there who considered it a hard thing to eat of blood, this being a thing abhorrent to the nature of man. Accordingly they used to slaughter an animal, collect its blood in a vessel or in a ditch, and eat the flesh of this slaughtered animal close by its blood. In doing this they imagined that the demons partook of this blood, this being their food, whereas they themselves ate the flesh. In this way fraternizing was achieved, because all ate at the same table and in one and the same gathering. Consequently, as they deemed, these demons would come to them in dreams, inform them of secret things, and be useful to them.

All these were opinions that were in those times followed, favored, and generally accepted; the multitude did not doubt of their truth.

Thereupon the Law, which is perfect in the opinion of those who know it, began to put an end to these inveterate diseases. Consequently it prohibited the eating of blood, putting the same emphasis on this prohibition as on the prohibition of idolatry. For He, may He be blessed, says: "I will set My face against that soul that eats blood"… And it commands pouring the blood of every beast that is slaughtered, even if it was not offered up in sacrifice; it says: "You shall pour it upon the earth as water." Thereupon it forbids gathering around the blood and eating there, saying: "You shall not eat with the blood." (Guide of the Perplexed III, 46)

The Rambam connects the reason for the prohibition against eating blood and the reason for the prohibition against eating with the blood to the same idea – the need to fraternize with demons for magical purposes.

The Seforno as well writes in his commentary (ad loc.): "All these were ways to know future events, veering from the paths of pure spirit and prophecy to the paths of an impure spirit."

The Chizkuni explains that murderers would eat bread at the grave of the victim so that his blood avengers not take vengeance against them: "You shall not use enchantment to eat with the blood, that is, at the grave of the murdered person, so as to be saved, so that vengeance not be taken from you, as this is an Emorite practice."

The Ramban begins by citing the position of Rashi, based on the Gemara in Sanhedrin,[6] but then he brings his own position, which is similar to that of the commentators cited above:

According to the plain sense of the text, this is a type of witchcraft or sorcery, as the matter is learned from its context. They would spill the blood and collect it in a ditch, and the demons would assemble there, in their imagination, and eat at their table to inform them of future events.

And when [the people of] Israel were with Shaul in that camp, they were very afraid of the Pelishtim, and Shaul did nothing without inquiring with the Urim ve-Tumim, as it is stated: "Let us draw near here to God." And the people would inquire of the demons or with magic to know their way and their actions, and they would eat with the blood in order to do this. Therefore the verse states: "Then they told Shaul, saying, Behold, the people sin against the Lord, in that they eat with the blood. And he said, You have transgressed." That is to say: Surely God has brought you great deliverance today, and yet you inquire not of God. This is a transgression.

The Ramban adopts the position of the other Rishonim that the prohibition falls into the category of witchcraft. Shaul clarifies the situation in the appropriate manner by way of the Urim ve-Tumim, whereas the people make inquiry through demons and witchcraft, by eating with the blood.

 

(Translated by David Strauss)

, full_html, In this shiur we will continue our study of the worship of God during the period that the great bama stood in Nov and in Giv'on. In the previous shiur we began to examine the battle at Mikhmash, and we will continue that examination in this shiur. We will deviate slightly from the question of "the Divine service at altars," and consider the Divine service in its most general sense.