Why the Altar Blessed the Land and the Exile Lost Its Bounty

"And this is the thing that you shall do to them" etc. (Exodus 29:1). "Take one young bull" — through purchase and not from robbery — "and two rams" (ibid.): a ram from here and a ram from there, and the bull in the middle. Why three against three? Corresponding to the three adornments of the world. The bull corresponds to Abraham: "And Abraham ran to the herd" (Genesis 18:7). "And two [unblemished] rams" (Exodus, ibid.) correspond to Isaac and Jacob. "And unleavened bread" (Exodus 29:2): by their merit Abram baked the bread. Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said: When the offerings were being brought near, a se'ah of Arbel produce would yield a se'ah of fine flour, a se'ah of meal, a se'ah of coarse flour, a se'ah of bran, a se'ah of husks, a se'ah of cheese-like grain; but now a person crushes a se'ah of wheat to grind, and he brings out only what he crushes and a little more. Why? Because the showbread was abolished. And how good were the offerings that were brought near upon the altar for them, for whatever was brought near of its kind would bless its kind. Rabbi Chiyya bar Abba said: Even the very foundation of the altar was made only for the atonement of Israel. Why is its name called mizbe'ach (altar)? Mem, for it forgives (mochel) the iniquities of Israel; zayin, for it is a good remembrance (zikaron) for Israel; bet, for it is a blessing (berachah) for Israel; chet, for it is life (chayyim) for Israel. The unleavened bread and the showbread would bless the bread, and the first-fruits would bless the fruits of the tree. It happened with Rabbi Yonatan ben Elazar, who was sitting under a fig tree, and the fig tree was full of beautiful figs. Dew came down and the figs drew in honey, and the wind kneaded them in the dust. A goat came and was dripping milk into the honey. He called the disciples and said to them: Come and see a sample resembling the World to Come. And all this — why? Because the offerings were being brought near. It happened with a certain scribe who would go up to Jerusalem every single year, and the people of Jerusalem recognized that he was great in Torah. They said to him: Take fifty gold pieces every year and dwell among us. He said to them: I have one vine, and it is more beautiful to me than all of them, and it produces for me three harvests every year, and six hundred barrels it produces every year — the first produces three hundred, and the second two hundred, and the third one hundred — and I sell them for very high prices. And all this praise belongs to Jerusalem, because of the libation of wine that they would offer. Once it was abolished, all these benefits were withheld. And you find that once Israel was exiled to Babylon, Ezra would say to them: Go up to the Land of Israel; but they did not want to. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: When you offered the showbread, you would sow little and bring in much, but now you have sown much and bring in little — "you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk" (Haggai 1:6) — since the libation of wine was abolished. "You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm" (ibid.) — since the priestly garments were abolished. The prophet said: "Though the fig tree shall not blossom" (Habakkuk 3:17) — since they abolished the first-fruits. "And there is no produce on the vines" (ibid.) — since they abolished the libations. "The yield of the olive fails" (ibid.) — since the olive oil for the light was abolished. "And the fields yield no food" (ibid.) — what is u-shedemot? "And the beasts of the field" (u-shedei behemot) — since they abolished the firstlings. "The flock is cut off from the fold" (ibid.) — since they abolished the daily offerings. "And there are no cattle in the stalls" (ibid.) — since they abolished the bulls. Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel said: From the day the Temple was destroyed, there is no day that does not have a curse in it, as it is said: "And God is angry every day" (Psalms 7:12). But in the World to Come the Holy One, blessed be He, restores the blessings that He used to bestow, as it is said: "But you, O mountains of Israel, you shall shoot forth your branches and yield your fruit to My people Israel, for they are at hand to come" (Ezekiel 36:8).