Bones and Sinews Burn Only While Still Joined to the Flesh

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 445:1

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"And the priest shall burn the whole toward the altar" (Leviticus 1:9) — to include the bones, the sinews, the horns, and the hooves. One might think even if they had separated; therefore Scripture says, "And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood" (Deuteronomy 12:27). If flesh and blood, one might think he should strip off the sinews and bones and bring up only the flesh to the altar; therefore Scripture says "and he shall burn the whole." How then? While joined, let them go up; if they separated, even if they are atop the altar, let them come down — these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. And the Sages say: "And the priest shall burn the whole" — to include the bones, sinews, horns, and hooves, even if they separated. Then how do I uphold "And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood"? To tell you: consumed flesh you do return, but consumed bones and sinews you do not return. Rabbah said: They taught this only where they separated after the tossing of the blood; but if they separated before the tossing, the tossing comes and renders them permitted, even to make from them a knife handle.

Themes

SacrificeTempleOral Torah

Continue Reading

Yalkut Shimoni on TorahWhere Exactly the Limbs Rest Upon the Altar WoodThe Torah commands that the limbs of the burnt offering be set "upon the wood" of the altar fire. But Scripture is sparing with its words, and the sages refusedYalkut Shimoni on TorahRinsing in Any Water and Burning Upon the Altar's TopHow much water does it take to rinse the inwards of an offering? Elsewhere in the Torah, ritual washing demands a full ritual bath, forty se'ah. Here the sages Yalkut Shimoni on TorahLoaves Are Blended With Oil and Wafers Anointed Like a Greek Letter KafTwo breads, two ways of meeting the oil. The Torah says the loaves are "blended" and the wafers "anointed," and the Sages would not let those two verbs blur intYalkut Shimoni on TorahWhy a Sacrifice Must Be Offered For Its Own SakeHow do we know that an offering must be slaughtered with the right intention, for the very purpose it was set apart to serve? The rabbis draw it from a single wYalkut Shimoni on TorahWhere the Peace-Offering May Be Slaughtered at the Tent of MeetingThree times in the chapter the Torah says of the peace-offering, "and he shall slaughter it." Nothing in Scripture is mere repetition, so the Sages set out to fYalkut Shimoni on TorahWhich Offerings May Be Set Burning As the Sun Goes DownSome gifts to God are creatures of the night. The limbs and the fat-pieces of a burnt offering could be laid on the fire as the sun went down and left to smolde