Product Code Database
In Judaism, the ' (), also spelled ' or ', is any of a variety of Sacrifice described and commanded in the Torah. The plural form is ', ', or '.
The term primarily refers to sacrificial offerings given by humans to God to show homage, win favor, or secure pardon. The object sacrificed was usually an animal that was ritually slaughtered and then transferred from the human to the divine realm by being burned upon an altar. Other sacrifices included , which were made from flour and oil instead of meat.cf.
After the destruction of the Second Temple, sacrifices were prohibited because there was no longer a Temple in which to offer them—the only location permitted by Halakha and biblical law for sacrifices. The offering of sacrifices was briefly reinstated during the Jewish–Roman wars of the second century CE.
When sacrifices were offered by the Israelites and, later, early Jews, they were offered as a fulfillment of the mitzvot (commandments) enumerated in the Torah. According to Orthodox Judaism, the coming of the prophesied Messiah will not vacate the requirement for Jews to keep the 613 commandments. When the Temple is rebuilt (as the Third Temple), sacrificial offerings will resume.
While some were offered as part of routine atonement for transgressions, their role was strictly limited. In Judaism, atonement can be achieved through means other than sacrificial offerings, including repentance, tzedakah (charitable giving), and tefillah (prayer).Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:3-8
The Septuagint generally translates the term in Koine Greek as δῶρον]], , θυσία]], , or προσφορά]], . By the Second Temple period, Hellenistic Jewish texts use korban specifically to mean a vow. The New Testament preserves korban once as a transliterated loan-word for a vow, once also a related noun, κορβανάς (), otherwise using δῶρον, θυσία or προσφορά and other terms drawn from the Septuagint. Josephus also generally uses other words for 'offering' but uses for the vow of the (Antiquities of the Jews 4:73 / 4,4,4) and cites Theophrastus as having cited a korban vow among the Tyrians ( Against Apion 1.167 / 1,22,4).S Zeitlin Korban The Jewish Quarterly Review, 1962 - JSTOR "Josephus, in Against Apion, who endeavored to ... Greek world was acquainted with the Judaeans, wrote that, "The laws of the Tyrians forbid men to swear foreign oaths, among which he Theophrastus enumerates some others and particularly that called korban, which oath ..."
served a variety of purposes. Many were brought purely for the purpose of communing with God and becoming closer to God, or in order to express thanks, gratitude, and love to God.
While some were offered as part of the atonement process for sin, this role was strictly limited. Standard sin-offerings could only be offered for unintentional sins; according to the rabbis, they could not be offered for all sins, but only for unintentional violations of some of the most serious sins.Mishnah, Kritot 1:1-2 In addition, generally had no expiating effect without sincere repentanceMishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:3,6 and restitution to any person who was harmed by the violation.Mishnah, Yoma 8:9 In the absence of sacrifices, atonement can still be achieved through means such as repentance, Jewish prayer, or giving .
The slaughter of an animal sacrifice is not considered a fundamental part of the sacrifice, but rather is an unavoidable preparatory step to the offering of its meat to God; חידוש הקורבנות בעידן המודרני thus, the slaughter may be performed by any Jew, while the other stages of the sacrifice could only be performed by priests.Mishnah Zevachim 3:1
The Torah contains many laws regarding sacrifices. Every regular weekday, Sabbath, and many Jewish holidays had their own unique offerings.James E Smith The Pentateuch Page 392 2006 "Leviticus 23 presents in chronological order a list of "the Lord's appointed feasts.... Special offerings were presented each day of the feast." Sacrificial procedures were described in detail. Sacrifices were only to be offered by the (hereditary priesthood), whom the Hebrew Bible describes as descendants of Aaron who meet certain marital and ritual purity requirements.Henry W. Soltau, The Tabernacle, the Priesthood, and the Offerings, 1972
Sacrifices were offered in varying locations. Before building the Temple in Jerusalem, when the Israelites were in the desert, sacrifices were only to be offered in the Tabernacle. After the invasion of Canaan, sacrifices were also permitted at High place in any location until the nation's enemies had been defeated and the people lived securely, after which sacrifices were supposed to be centralized again. However, in practice the bamot were still used even in the secure monarchic period, and the Bible sometimes criticizes Israelite kings for allowing this., , etc. Sacrifices outside the main sanctuary are recorded at Beit Shemesh,1 Samuel 6:14–15 Mizpah,1 Samuel 7:9 Ramah,Samuel 7:17; 9:11–24 Gilgal,I Samuel 10:8; 11:15;13:9 and Bethlehem,1 Samuel 16:2–5 among other locations.
After the entry to Canaan, the main sacrificial centre was initially at Shiloh. Under Saul the main center of sacrifice was Nob,1 Samuel 21:1 and the following verses. though private offerings continued to be made at Shiloh.2 Samuel 15:12 David created a new sacrificial center in Jerusalem at the threshing floor of Araunah,Also known as Ornan; 1 Chron. 21:23–26 adjacent to Jerusalem, to which he moved the Ark.2 Samuel 6:17–18; 1 Chronicles 16:2, 40Encyclopaedia Judaica | second edition | vol 17 | sacrifice | pg 645 | Anson Rainey According to the Hebrew Bible, after the building of Solomon's Temple, sacrifices were only to be carried out there. After Solomon's Temple was destroyed, sacrifices were resumed when the Second Temple was built, until the Second Temple was also destroyed in 70 CE.Baruch A. Levine In the presence of the Lord: a study of cult and some cultic terms 1974, Page 99: "The Bible gives evidence of two modes of sacrifice in ancient Israel: 1) Altar sacrifices, of which at least some part was consumed by the altar fire, or was burnt as incense, and 2) Offerings placed before the deity and ..."
However, while rejecting the value of sacrifices accompanied by unjust behavior, the same prophets promised an eventual reconciliation between God and a more moral people of Israel, and proclaimed that the reestablishment of sacrifices would be a sign of this reconciliation.Jacob Chinitz, "Were the Prophets Opposed to Sacrifice?", Jewish Bible Quarterly 36 (April-June 2008):2 Thus sacrifices have a place in their visions of eventual redemption:
Types of sacrifice include:
Sacrifices offered on specific occasions include:
Sacrifices connected to one's personal status or situation include:
Other sacrifices include:
Procedures connected to sacrifices include:
The Talmud provides extensive details not only on how to perform sacrifices but how to adjudicate difficult cases, such as what to do if a mistake was made and whether improperly performing one of the required ritual elements invalidates it or not. The Talmud explains how to roast the Passover offering, how to dash blood from different kinds of sacrifices upon the altar, how to prepare the incense, the regulatory code for the system of taxation that financed the priesthood and public sacrifices, and numerous other details.
In contrast, many others such as Nahmanides (in his commentary on Leviticus 1:9) disagreed. Nahmanides cites the fact that the Torah records the practices of animal and other sacrifices from the times of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and earlier.Klein, Reuven Chaim (2021). Weaning Away from Idolatry: Maimonides on the Purpose of Ritual Sacrifices", Religions 12:5. Indeed, the purpose of recounting the near sacrifice of Isaac was to illustrate the sublime significance and need of animal sacrifices as supplanting the abomination of human sacrifices. (2025). 9781947857292, Kodesh Press. ISBN 9781947857292
Through a non-all encompassing view of the ritual life of " as it is presented in the book of Genesis, the evolving philosophical theology that seems to underlie the modes of worship that he develops over time ... is reconstructed." Abram's building of a number of altars without mentioning that he sacrificed animals on them, and that for most of these occasions, he "called out in the name of God" is interpreted by Lebens as theologically stating that God's desires are sated without animal sacrifices. Noting that not all these altar building occasions were accompanied by call-outs, and that call-outs also took place on returns, in Everlasting Dominion, American Old Testament scholar Eugene H. Merrill attributes a multipurpose nature to the altars, in which Abram was participating in only one:
Nonetheless, Abram also engaged in the covenant of the pieces which was based on a divine set of promises accompanied by obligations and an animal sacrifice ritual to the extent that it physically symbolized irrevocability. Likewise, in Hebrew, the verb meaning to seal a covenant translates literally as "to cut.""Circumcision." Mark Popovsky. Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Ed. David A. Leeming, Kathryn Madden and Stanton Marlan. New York: Springer, 2010. pp.153-154. Furthermore, to measure the general importance given to animal sacrifice preceding Abram in Genesis, in the story of Cain and Abel the only differentiator mentioned leading God to "have not respect ... unto Cain and to his offering" was Abel's "firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof" as opposed to Cain's "fruit of the ground." Then, starkly contrasting a diminutive effect resulting from Abram's altar building and call-outs, animal sacrifice was institutionalized in the era of Moses in the Book of Numbers 28:1-30:1. The schedule of obligatory sacrifices included two daily lamb burnt-offerings. However, the physical participation of God in the consumption of sacrificial offerings is debatable. The seeming all-time peak occurred with his conclusive victory as Yahweh when Elijah challenged worshippers of the Canaanite deity Baal to pray for fire to light their respective bull animal sacrifices.
Rabbinic Judaism was forced to undergo a significant development in response to this change; no longer could Judaism revolve around the Temple services. The destruction of the Temple led to a development of Jewish observance in the direction of text study, prayer, and other practices, which were seen to varying extents as substitutes for the Temple service. A range of responses is recorded in classical rabbinic literature on this subject:
In the Babylonian Talmud, a number of sages opined that following Jewish law, doing charitable deeds, and studying Jewish texts is greater than performing animal sacrifices:
Nonetheless, numerous texts of the Talmud stress the importance of and hope for eventual re-introduction of sacrifices, and regard their loss as a tragedy. Partaking of sacrificial offerings was compared to eating directly at one's Father's table, whose loss synagogue worship does not entirely replace. One example is in :
Another example is in :
Conservative Judaism disavows the resumption of . Consistent with this view, it has deleted prayers for the resumption of sacrifices from the Conservative , including the morning study section from the sacrifices and prayers for the restoration of qorbanot in the , and various mentions elsewhere. Consistent with its view that priesthood and sacrificial system will not be restored, Conservative Judaism has also lifted certain restrictions on , including limitations on marriage prohibiting marrying a divorced woman or a convert. Conservative Judaism does, however, believe in the restoration of a Temple in some form, and in the continuation of and Levites under relaxed requirements, and has retained references to both in its prayer books. Consistent with its stress on the continuity of tradition, many Conservative synagogues have also retained references to Shabbat and Jewish holiday , changing all references to sacrifices into the past tense (e.g. the Orthodox "and there we will sacrifice" is changed to "and there they sacrificed"). Some more liberal Conservative synagogues, however, have removed all references to sacrifices, past or present, from the prayer service. Siddur Sim Shalom, a common siddur in Conservative synagogues in North America, provides both service alternatives.
Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism disavow all belief in a restoration of a Temple, the resumption of , or the continuation of identified Cohens or Levites. These branches of Judaism believe that all such practices represent ancient practices inconsistent with the requirements of modernity, and have removed all or virtually all references to from their prayer books.
References to sacrifices in the Orthodox prayer service include:
In Nusach Ashkenaz, this section includes the following:These are the only sections that appear in the original Nusach Ashkenaz, see for example the siddur of Rav Eliya Bochur from the 16th century.
In a later period, some communities began to add the following (all or some of the paragraphs):
According to some classical rabbinic sources hold that most or all sacrifices will not be offered: "In the future all sacrifices, with the exception of the Thanksgiving-sacrifice, will be discontinued."Leviticus Rabbah 9:7, Tanchuma Emor 14
Maimonides and Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, despite some claims, believed that sacrifices would be resumed in the messianic era. The Korbanot However, Kook believed that sacrifices could only be resumed once there was "an open appearance of the holy spirit in Israel".Igrot Reayah 4:24: אי אפשר לנו לגשת למעשה הקרבנות בלא הופעה של רוח הקדש גלויה בישראל. Rabbi Hayim David HaLevi suggested that the future sacrificial service might be limited to grain-offerings, with no animal sacrifices being performed.Hayim David Halevi, Torat Haim, Vayikra, p.19-20 He based this assertion, which he called "highly novel", on which speaks only of future mincha offerings, as well as the assumption that the word mincha refers to grain-offerings, as it usually does. However, according to other interpretations, mincha can also refer to animal sacrifices. Dictionary: מִנְחָה
According to a minority opinion in the Talmud, in the future the Torah's commandments will be nullified.Niddah 61b Interpretations of this statement differ as to which commandments will be nullified, for whom, and at what stage (for example, Rashba ruled that commandments are nullified for a person after they have died but never for the living).Rashba, chiddushim to Niddah 61b Some kabbalistic sources envision a messianic era when the natural order will drastically change, and animals will be on a human level, at which point no animal sacrifices will be offered.
Orthodox Judaism holds that in the messianic era, most or all of the korbanot will be reinstituted, at least for a time.
Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism hold that no animal sacrifices will be offered in a rebuilt Temple at all.
During the early 20th century, Israel Meir Kagan advised some followers to set up special for married students known as that would specialize in the study of the korbanot and study with greater intensity the sections of the Talmud in order to prepare for the arrival of the Jewish Messiah who would oversee the rebuilding of the original Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem that would be known as the Third Temple. His advice was taken seriously and today there are a number of well-established Haredi Judaism institutions in Israel that focus solely on the subject of the , , and the needs of the future Jewish Temple, such as the Brisk tradition and Soloveitchik dynasty.
Halakhic issues
In the 1800s a number of Orthodox rabbis studied the idea of reinstating on the Temple Mount, even though the messianic era had not yet arrived and the Temple was not rebuilt. A number of responsa concluded that within certain parameters, it is permissible according to Jewish law to offer such sacrifices. The debate on this topic involves numerous complex halakhah questions, among them: מפתח לטענות בעד ונגד חידוש עבודת הקרבנות בזמן הזה
Efforts to resume sacrifices
A few groups, notably the Temple Institute and the Temple Mount Faithful, have petitioned the Israeli government to rebuild a Third Temple on the Temple Mount and restore sacrificial worship. The Israeli government has not responded favorably. Most Orthodox Jews regard rebuilding a Temple as an activity for a Jewish Messiah as part of a future Jewish eschatology, and most non-Orthodox Jews do not believe in the restoration of sacrificial worship at all. The Temple Institute has been constructing ritual objects in preparation for a resumption of sacrifices.
References in non-rabbinic sources
New Testament
In the New Testament, Jesus is reported in Mark 7:11 as criticising the practice of dedicating possessions as Corban.
Josephus
The Jewish historian Josephus mentions the word Corban in his history The Jewish War, written in the first century CE. Josephus records (2.9.4) that the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate expended the money given to the temple treasury as Corban on the construction of an aqueduct. This action caused a riot, which Pilate violently suppressed.
See also
Notes
Bibliography
External links
|
|
