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EAST TO THE MOUNT OF
OLIVES
By
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David (Greg Killian)
This study represents the first connection that I
have been able to find between Yom HaKippurim, the red
heifer, and all of the sin sacrifices offered on behalf of
the whole congregation of Israel with the death of Yeshua.
The connection is the “place”.
I intend to show that the goat for
HaShem and the Kohen Gadole’s (High Priest’s) bull were both
burned, along with ALL of the other sin sacrifices, offered
on behalf of all Israel, in the same location where Yeshua
was crucified. I presumed that Yeshua fulfilled all these
sacrifices, I just could not see how. Now, I have a glimmer.
East is
the direction that starts the day as the sun’s light shines
from the east to the west. East is the source of light!
Therefore, in the Torah, east is a spiritual direction,
first and foremost. It is not a physical direction.
First, I
would like to mention a few of the things that happened “in
the east” in order to highlight the fact that “east” is an
important direction.
Those who
go east are going away from HaShem.
TO
THE EAST – AWAY FROM HASHEM
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Man expelled eastward out of
the Garden. Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24.
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Cain lived east in Nod ("to
move"). Bereshit (Genesis). 4:16
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The Tower of Bavel was built
in the east. Bereshit (Genesis) 11:2
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Lot traveled FROM the east
towards Sodom. Bereshit (Genesis).13:11.
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Cherubim are in the east.
Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24.
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The ten tribes were taken
eastward as captives. I Melachim (Kings) 17:6.
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The two tribes were taken
eastward into captivity II Melachim (Kings) 25:21.
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The Shechinah Glory of HaShem
withdrew eastward.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 10:18-19
& 11:22- 23.
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The penalty for sin was east
of the Temple altar. Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:1- 12,
1:16, Yechezkel (Ezekiel)43:21, Bereans (Hebrews)
13:11-12
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East of the Dead Sea will be
a place of foul smell and burying from the battle of
Gog and Magog. Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 39:11.
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TO THE WEST – TOWARDS HASHEM
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Yom HaKippurim blood
sprinkled eastward on mercy seat.
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 16:14
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Tribes on the East go first.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 10:5
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Judah camped here. Bamidbar
(Numbers) 2:3 (74,600)
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Moses and Aaron camped here.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 3:38
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Mt.
of Olives was a place where people worshipped
HaShem.
2 Shmuel (Samuel) 15:30-32
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THE MOUNT OF OLIVES – AS CLOSE AS WE CAN GET
TO HASHEM
Mt. of Olives will be split on the
Day of HaShem. Zechariah 14:1-5
Mashiach (Messiah) ascended into heaven from
the Mt. of Olives. II Luqas (Acts) 1:9-12 Red heifer burned on the Mount of
Olives. Middoth 1:3
Look
carefully at these examples. Notice that whenever we go to
the east we are moving away from HaShem! When Adam was
expelled from the garden,
[1] where he walked with HaShem,
he is cast out of the presence of HaShem and moved further
east, further from ‘The Light’. The Cherubim
[2] were placed
at the eastern gate because when man moves towards HaShem
(travelling west) he will encounter the eastern gate.
Cain
killed Abel and is sent even further to the east as his
crime distances him from HaShem. Then Lot separated from Avraham,
[3] whom HaShem loved, he moved himself to the east. He
moved himself away from The One to whom HaShem spoke. He
moved himself away from ‘The Light’. When our sins forced
the Shechinah to leave the Temple, the Shechinah also went
east to go into exile with us. In every case, going east
means to move away from HaShem and to move away from ‘The
Light’.
Going to
the east is not a good thing. Those who go east are going
away from HaShem. Coming
from the east, by going west, we move closer to HaShem.
Going from the east, towards the west, is to move closer to
HaShem.
Now, let’s
examine Yeshua’s death and the reasons behind it. Since the
location is important, I will be making note of those events
which indicate location. Keep in mind that my goal is to
connect the sin sacrifices, for all Israel, with the
sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross.
A
blasphemer was to die "outside the camp":
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 24:10-16
"Now the son of an Israelite mother and
an Egyptian father went out among the Israelites, and a
fight broke out in the camp between him and an Israelite.
The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name with a
curse; so they brought him to Moses. (His mother's name was
Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri the Danite.) They put him
in custody until the will of HaShem should be made clear to
them. Then HaShem said to Moses: "Take the blasphemer
outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their
hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.
Say to the Israelites: 'If anyone curses his God, he will be
held responsible; Anyone who blasphemes the name of HaShem
must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him.
Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the
Name, he must be put to death."
Yeshua was condemned for blasphemy:
Matityahu
(Matthew) 26:63-66.
"But Yeshua remained silent. The high
priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living
God: Tell us if you are the Mashiach, the Son of God." "Yes,
it is as you say," Yeshua replied. "But I say to all of you:
In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the
right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of
heaven." Then the high priest tore his clothes and said, "He
has spoken blasphemy! Why do we need any more witnesses?
Look, now you have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?"
"He is worthy of death," they answered."
Yeshua
died outside the city gate and outside the camp, which was
the penalty for blasphemers. He died in a place removed from
HaShem and His Presence:
Bereans
(Hebrews) 13:9-14
"Do not be carried away by all kinds of
strange teachings. It is good for our hearts to be
strengthened by grace, not by ceremonial foods, which are of
no value to those who eat them. We have an altar [1] from
which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to
eat. The high priest carries the blood of animals into the
Most Holy Place as a sin offering, but the bodies are burned
outside the camp. And so Yeshua also suffered outside the
city gate [2] to make the people holy through his own blood.
Let us, then, go to him outside the camp [3] bearing the
disgrace he bore. For here we do not have an enduring city,
but we are looking for the city that is to come."
So, where is this altar? On the Mount of Olives?
[1]
Mipkad-alter on the slopes of Mount Olives
[2] which city gate? The Golden
gate (Eastern gate) facing east and towards Mount Olives
[3] The camp is the particular
area considered holy about 300 yards (275 meter) from the holy place
WHERE IS "OUTSIDE THE CAMP"?
Well, let's look at an event which
took place "outside the camp". Notice that the bull is
burned "outside the camp" while the blood is sprinkled
towards the front of the Tent of Moed:
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 19:1-9
"HaShem said to Moses and Aaron: This is a
requirement of the law that HaShem has commanded: Tell the
Israelites to bring you a red heifer without defect or
blemish and that has never been under a yoke. Give it to
Eleazar the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp and
slaughtered in his presence. Then Eleazar the priest is to
take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven
times toward the front of the Tent of Meeting. While he
watches, the heifer is to be burned--its hide, flesh, blood
and offal. The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop and
scarlet wool and throw them onto the burning heifer. After
that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself
with water. He may then come into the camp, but he will be
ceremonially unclean till evening. The man who burns it must
also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will
be unclean till evening. "A man who is clean shall gather up
the ashes of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean
place outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite
community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for
purification from sin."
The Mishna
says something very interesting about this event:
Middoth 2:4
All the walls that
were there on the Temple Mount were high, with the exception
of the eastern wall, so that the Priest who burned the red
heifer stood on top of the Mount of Olives and was able to
see directly into the entrance of the Sanctuary when the
blood was tossed.
Middoth
1:3 The surrounding wall of the whole quadrangle of the
Temple area of the Temple mount had five gates, namely the
two Chuldah Gates (named after the prophetess) on the south
that served for entrance and exit to the Temple Mount, the
Kiphonos Gate on the west that served for entrance and exit,
the Tadi Gate on the north which served no purpose, the
Eastern Gate whereon the Castle of Shushan was sculptured
through which the High Priest who burned the red heifer and
all the priests that assisted therewith went forth to the
Mount of Olives (the Mount of Installation).
From this
we see that outside the camp, in this case, meant on the top
of the Mount of Olives. This is also interesting because the
Kohen on the top of the Mount of Olives could see the Kohen
(priest) in the holy place.
WHEN YESHUA DIED, NOTICE WHAT PEOPLE SAW:
Luqas
(Luke) 23:44-48
"It was now about the sixth hour, and
darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, For
the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was
torn in two. Yeshua called out with a loud voice, "Father,
into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this,
he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had
happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous
man." When all the people who had gathered to witness this
sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went
away."
Matityahu (Matthew) 27:50-54
"And
when Yeshua had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up
his spirit. At that moment the curtain of the temple was
torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the
rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many
holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out
of the tombs, and after Yeshua' resurrection they went into
the holy city and appeared to many people. When the
centurion and those with him who were guarding Yeshua saw
the earthquake and all that had happened, they were
terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!"
Marqos
(Mark) 15:37-39
"With a loud cry, Yeshua breathed his last.
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to
bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of
Yeshua, heard his cry and saw that he so cried out, he said,
"Surely this man was the Son of God!"
I believe
that the only way that they could say that the curtain was
torn at the same “moment” that Yeshua died, was to see it.
What made the centurion say that this was "the Son of God"?
If the centurion knew how thick the curtain was and how
important the curtain was, he might very well understand the
significance.
He surely did not think that the fact that
Yeshua died and cried out would make him the Son of God! So,
the only place "outside the camp" where the curtain could be
see was on the Mount of Olives, in the same place where the
red heifer was burned by a Kohen (priest) who was not Kohen
Gadole (High Priest). Incidentally, this also helps us to
see that this would have been the same place where Stephen
was stoned. Notice:
II Luqas
(Acts) 6:7-15
"So the word of God spread. The number of
disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number
of priests became obedient to the faith. Now Stephen, a man
full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and
miraculous signs among the people. Opposition arose,
however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as
it was called)--Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the
provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with
Stephen, But they could not stand up against his wisdom or
the Spirit by whom he spoke. Then they secretly persuaded
some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of
blasphemy against Moses and against God." So they stirred up
the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They
seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. They
produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never
stops speaking against this holy place and against the law.
For we have heard him say that this Yeshua of Nazareth will
destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down
to us." All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked
intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the
face of an angel.."
II Luqas
(Acts) 7:51-59
"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised
hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always
resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your
fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who
predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have
betrayed and murdered him-- You who have received the law
that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed
it." When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed
their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit,
looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Yeshua
standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see
heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of
God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the
top of their voices, they all rushed at him, Dragged him out
of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses
laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.
While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "The Lord
Yeshua, receive my spirit."
Notice where the Yom HaKippurim bull and goat were burned:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 16:26-27
"The man who releases the goat as a
scapegoat must wash his clothes and bathe himself with
water; afterward he may come into the camp. The bull and the
goat for the sin offerings, whose blood was brought into the
Most Holy Place to make atonement, must be taken outside the
camp; their hides, flesh and offal are to be burned up."
Notice what else went "outside the
camp". The ordination offering:
Shemot
(Exodus) 29:10-14
"Bring the bull to the front of the Tent
of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons shall lay their hands on
its head. Slaughter it in HaShem's presence at the entrance
to the Tent of Meeting. Take some of the bull's blood and
put it on the horns of the altar with your finger, and pour
out the rest of it at the base of the altar. Then take all
the fat around the inner parts, the covering of the liver,
and both kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the
altar. But burn the bull's flesh and its hide and its offal
outside the camp. It is a sin offering."
The Tent
of Moed (Meeting):
Shemot (Exodus) 33:7-11
"Now Moses
used to take a tent and pitch it outside the camp some
distance away, calling it the "tent of meeting." Anyone
inquiring of HaShem would go to the tent of meeting outside
the camp. And whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the
people rose and stood at the entrances to their tents,
watching Moses until he entered the tent. As Moses went into
the tent, the pillar of cloud would come down and stay at
the entrance, while HaShem spoke with Moses. Whenever the
people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to
the tent, they all stood and worshipped, each at the
entrance to his tent. HaShem would speak to Moses face to
face, as a man speaks with his friend. Then Moses would
return to the camp, but his young aide Yehoshua (Joshua) son
of Nun did not leave the tent."
This place where they worshipped is interesting because of:
II Shmuel
(Samuel) 15:29-32
"So Zadok and Abiathar took the ark of God
back to Jerusalem and stayed there. But David continued up
the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was
covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered
their heads too and were weeping as they went up. Now David
had been told, "Ahithophel is among the conspirators with
Absalom." So David prayed, "HaShem, turn Ahithophel's
counsel into foolishness." When David arrived at the summit,
where people used to worship God, Hushai the Arkite was
there to meet him, his robe torn and dust on his head."
From the
above pasukim we can see that when we want to move closer to
HaShem, we move towards the west. When we arrive at the
Mount of Olives, we have moved as close to HaShem as we can,
given the sin in our lives.
Unintentional sin by the priest:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:3-12
"If the anointed priest sins, bringing
guilt on the people, he must bring to HaShem a young bull
without defect as a sin offering for the sin he has
committed. He is to present the bull at the entrance to the
Tent of Meeting before HaShem. He is to lay his hand on its
head and slaughter it before HaShem. Then the anointed
priest shall take some of the bull's blood and carry it into
the Tent of Meeting. He is to dip his finger into the blood
and sprinkle some of it seven times before HaShem, in front
of the curtain of the sanctuary. The priest shall then put
some of the blood on the horns of the altar of fragrant
incense that is before HaShem in the Tent of Meeting. The
rest of the bull's blood he shall pour out at the base of
the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to the Tent of
Meeting. He shall remove all the fat from the bull of the
sin offering--the fat that covers the inner parts or is
connected to them, Both kidneys with the fat on them near
the loins, and the covering of the liver, which he will
remove with the kidneys-- Just as the fat is removed from
the ox sacrificed as a fellowship offering. Then the priest
shall burn them on the altar of burnt offering. But the hide
of the bull and all its flesh, as well as the head and legs,
the inner parts and offal-- That is, all the rest of the
bull--he must take outside the camp to a place ceremonially
clean, where the ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood
fire on the ash heap."
Unintentional sin by the WHOLE community of Israel:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:13-21
"If the whole Israelite community sins
unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of
HaShem’s commands, even though the community is unaware of
the matter, they are guilty. When they become aware of the
sin they committed, the assembly must bring a young bull as
a sin offering and present it before the Tent of Meeting.
The elders of the community are to lay their hands on the
bull's head before HaShem, and the bull shall be slaughtered
before HaShem. Then the anointed priest is to take some of
the bull's blood into the Tent of Meeting. He shall dip his
finger into the blood and sprinkle it before HaShem seven
times in front of the curtain. He is to put some of the
blood on the horns of the altar that is before HaShem in the
Tent of Meeting. The rest of the blood he shall pour out at
the base of the altar of burnt offering at the entrance to
the Tent of Meeting. He shall remove all the fat from it and
burn it on the altar, And do with this bull just as he did
with the bull for the sin offering. In this way the priest
will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
Then he shall take the bull outside the camp and burn it as
he burned the first bull. This is the sin offering for the
community."
The ashes of all burnt offerings:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 6:8-11
"HaShem said to Moses: Give Aaron and his sons this command:
'These are the regulations for the burnt offering: The burnt
offering is to remain on the altar hearth throughout the
night, till morning, and the fire must be kept burning on
the altar. The priest shall then put on his linen clothes,
with linen undergarments next to his body, and shall remove
the ashes of the burnt offering that the fire has consumed
on the altar and place them beside the altar. Then he is to
take off these clothes and put on others, and carry the
ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially
clean."
The ordination sin offering:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 8:13-17
"Then he brought Aaron's sons forward, put tunics on them,
tied sashes around them and put headbands on them, as HaShem
commanded Moses. He then presented the bull for the sin
offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on its
head. Moses slaughtered the bull and took some of the blood,
and with his finger he put it on all the horns of the altar
to purify the altar. He poured out the rest of the blood at
the base of the altar. So he consecrated it to make
atonement for it. Moses also took all the fat around the
inner parts, the covering of the liver, and both kidneys and
their fat, and burned it on the altar. But the bull with its
hide and its flesh and its offal he burned up outside the
camp, as HaShem commanded Moses."
The sin offering for the people:
Vayikra (Leviticus) 9:7-11
"Moses said to Aaron, "Come to the altar and sacrifice your
sin offering and your burnt offering and make atonement for
yourself and the people; sacrifice the offering that is for
the people and make atonement for them, as HaShem has
commanded." So Aaron came to the altar and slaughtered the
calf as a sin offering for himself. His sons brought the
blood to him, and he dipped his finger into the blood and
put it on the horns of the altar; the rest of the blood he
poured out at the base of the altar. On the altar he burned
the fat, the kidneys and the covering of the liver from the
sin offering, as HaShem commanded Moses; The flesh and the
hide he burned up outside the camp."
Think of
the "camp" as the Garden of Eden, the place where HaShem
puts His Presence. Think of the camp as the Tabernacle or
the Temple. Notice who is "outside the camp" now:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 13:40-46
"When a man has lost his hair and is
bald, he is clean. If he has lost his hair from the front of
his scalp and has a bald forehead, he is clean. But if he
has a reddish-white sore on his bald head or forehead, it is
an infectious disease breaking out on his head or forehead.
The priest is to examine him, and if the swollen sore on his
head or forehead is reddish-white like an infectious skin
disease, The man is diseased and is unclean. The priest
shall pronounce him unclean because of the sore on his head.
"The person with such an infectious disease must wear torn
clothes, let his hair be unkempt, cover the lower part of
his face and cry out, 'Unclean! Unclean!' As long as he has
the infection he remains unclean. He must live alone; he
must live outside the camp."
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 5:1-4
"HaShem said to Moses, "Command the
Israelites to send away from the camp anyone who has an
infectious skin disease or a discharge of any kind, or who
is ceremonially unclean because of a dead body. Send away
male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they
will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them." The
Israelites did this; they sent them outside the camp. They
did just as HaShem had instructed Moses."
Notice
that the sacrifices that went "outside the camp" were the
sacrifices which dealt with the sin of the House of Israel.
These are the same sins that Mashiach came to deal with!
This connects Mashiach to Yom HaKippurim. The people who
were "outside the camp" were the people who were an
illustration of sin and the effects of sin. The Mishna also
notes that the EAST side of the Beit HaMikdash (The House of
the Holy One - The Temple) was dealt with as a holy place:
Berachoth
9: 5
"A man must not behave with levity opposite the East
Gate because it faces towards the Holy of Holies."
It is also
noteworthy that the Mount of Olives (הר הזתים) is outside
the EASTERN gate. If we view Jerusalem as the Garden of
Eden, then the Cherubim was stationed at the EAST gate:
Bereshit (Genesis) 3:24
"After he drove the man out, he
placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a
flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to
the tree of life."
Why didn't
HaShem have cherubim on all four sides? Were the walls too
high? was there only the gate where the water came out?
Consider that when the Temple stood there was an arched
walkway from the east gate to the Mount of Olives. This
walkway was designed to prevent uncleanness when going to
the Mount of Olives. Clearly, when we are attempting to draw
near to HaShem, we will move towards the west and encounter
the eastern gate first. The eastern gate is the access point
for those who are moving closer to HaShem.
So why
does HaShem put Cherubim at the eastern gate? To preserve
Gan Eden until we are ready, until we have repented of our
sins. This "clean place" was spoken of
in some of the scriptures we have already looked at:
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 4:11-12
"But the hide of the bull and all its
flesh, as well as the head and legs, the inner parts and
offal-- That is, all the rest of the bull--he must take
outside the camp to a place ceremonially clean, where the
ashes are thrown, and burn it in a wood fire on the ash
heap."
Vayikra (Leviticus) 6:11
"Then he
is to take off these clothes and put on others, and carry
the ashes outside the camp to a place that is ceremonially
clean."
Bamidbar
(Numbers) 19:9
"A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes
of the heifer and put them in a ceremonially clean place
outside the camp. They shall be kept by the Israelite
community for use in the water of cleansing; it is for
purification from sin."
This study
was designed to show a relationship between ALL of the sin
sacrifices offered on behalf of ALL Israel, with the
sacrifice of Yeshua on the cross. I believe that this is an
important step in understanding how Yeshua fulfilled these
important sacrifices.
Conversely, coming towards HaShem is depicted as Westward:
Abram was called from Ur to
journey westward Bereshit (Genesis) 11:31.
The tribes returned from captivity
going west. II Melachim (Kings) 17:6 & 25:21.
The Holy
of Holies was in the west end of the Tabernacle, as well as
the First and Second Temples, as it will be in future Third
temple. Therefore, coming to the presence of God with the
Ark of the Covenant was only possible by going west from the
east Bamidbar (Numbers) 3:38,
Vayikra
(Leviticus) 16:14, and Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:1-5.
Yechezkel (Ezekiel) saw the Glory
of HaShem returning westward Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:1-5.
The wise
men went west to find the baby Yeshua Matityahu (Matthew)
2:1-2.
The Mashiach will come from the
east going west to enter the Temple as King of kings and
Lord of lords. Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 44:1-3 and Rev. 19:11-16.
The blood
(of the bullocks used as sacrifices) was used westward in
the Temple, while the flesh was burned to the east on the
Mount of Olives. Vayikra (Leviticus) 4:7, 11-12, Vayikra
(Leviticus) 1:16, Yechezkel (Ezekiel) 43:21, and
Heb.13:10-12.
The Red
Heifer was offered on the Mount of Olives, but its ashes
were taken west into the Presence of HaShem. Bamidbar
(Numbers) 19 & Vayikra (Leviticus) 16:27.
The
Children of Israel entered the Promised Land over the Jordan
River from the east towards the west. Yehoshua (Joshua) 3.
The westerly direction in
Scriptures indicates moving towards HaShem, a redemptive
process. Going to the east indicates movement away from
HaShem.
The altar
in the Temple is different from the altar on the top of the
Mount of Olives.
Among the
greatest codifiers of Jewish Law is the Rambam (Rabbi Moshe
Maimonides). He writes [4]:
"The Altar
is in a very precise location, which may never be changed."
He then goes on to tell that the Altars that Avraham, Noach,
Kayin, Hevel, and Adam sacrificed on were all on this exact
location. Offering a sacrifice on any other location is
considered to be a grave sin and a desecration.
Yeshua also used the Mount of Olives for praying:
Yochanan
(John) 22:39
"And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to
the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him. 40
And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that
ye enter not into temptation. 41 And he was withdrawn from
them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 42
Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me:
nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
Finally,
Rashi, on Bereshit 4:16, offer the following insight into
the “east”:
to the
east of Eden --There his father was exiled when he was
driven out of the Garden of Eden, as it is said (3:24) “and
He stationed at the east of the Garden of Eden, etc., to
guard” the way of approach to the Garden, from which we can
learn that Adam was there. And we find that the easterly
direction always offers asylum for murderers, as it is said
(Deut. 4:41): “Then Moses separated, etc.” [three cities of
refuge]in the direction of the sunrise”-[Mid. Devarim
Rabbah, Lieberman, p.60; Tan. Buber ad loc.]. Another
explanation: בְּאֶרֶץנוֹד means that wherever he went, the
earth would quake beneath him, and the people would say, “Go
away from him; this is the one who killed his brother” [Mid.
Tan., Bereishith 9].
This study
was written by:
Rabbi Dr. Hillel ben David
(Greg
Killian).
Comments
may be submitted to:
Rabbi Dr. Greg Killian
4544 Highline Drive SE
Olympia, WA 98501
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