Commento su Esodo 27:5

כרכב המזבח THE COMPASS OF THE ALTAR — כרכב is a surround. Anything which encompasses an object all the way round is called כרכב, just as we read in the Talmudical section beginning with the words הכל שוחטין (Chullin 25a): The following come under the description of unfinished wooden vessels — all such as have still to be polished and to be rounded off (ולכרכב; i. e. making a rim by hollowing out the centre). This is similar to the practice of making rounded grooves in the boards that form the sides of chests and wooden chairs. For the altar too he made a hollowing round about — its width was a cubit — in its wall for ornamentation. It was made at the end of three cubits of its height (measuring from the top of the altar). This is according to the view of him who says (cf. v. 1): its (the altar's) height was twice its length. And if you ask how, then, can I explain the statement, “and the height thereof shall be three cubits” I reply, that this gives the measurement from the edge of the surround upwards. This surround served only as an ornamentation, but a surround for the priests to walk upon when officiating the copper altar had only on its top within its horns (running from one horn to the other). Thus we read in Treatise Zevachim 62a: What is the כרכב? The sunken space between one horn of the altar and the other, this being a cubit in width, and, from that space inward (towards the centre of the altar) a space of another cubit upon which the priests could walk right round the altar, thus making a surround two cubits in width. These two cubits were called כרכב. The criticism is there made to this definition: But is it not written, “[and thou shalt put it (the grate)] under the compass of the altar beneath” — which statement teaches us that the כרכב was on the side of the altar and not on its top since the covering formed by the grate was beneath it? Whereupon the Talmud replies (lit., the replier replies), that in fact there were two surrounds, one for ornamentation (that below) and another (on the top) for the priests that they should not slip off when walking round. The one on the side of the altar was intended for ornamentation, and beneath it they put the grate as a covering and its width reached to the middle of its (the altar’s) height, measuring this from the ground. It also served to mark the middle of its height separating the two halves of the altars side upon which were put respectively the sacrifical blood which had to be sprinkled above (on the upper part; this was the blood of a חטאת) and the blood which had to be sprinkled below (that of עולה ,שלמים and אשם). Corresponding to this there was made for the altar in the “Eternal House” (the Temple at Jerusalem) a sign consisting of a red line (Zevachim 53a; Mishnah Middot 3:1). As to the ascent (כבש — the inclined plane) upon which they went up to the top of the altar, it is true that Scripture does not expressly mention it in this section but we have it already implied in the statement in the section beginning with the words מזבח אדמה תעשה לי (Exodus 20:21—23): “Thou shalt not go up by steps [unto my altar]” — i. e. thou shalt not make steps on its ascent, but thou shalt make an unbroken ascent, — this tells us that it had such an ascent. — So do we read in the Mechilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 20:23:1). — For the altar of earth there spoken of is identical with the altar of copper described here and it was called an altar of earth because they used to fill the hollow space within it (within its coppered walls) with earth at every place where they encamped in the wilderness. This ascent was on the south of the altar, its top standing away from the altar just a hair’s breadth (i. e. almost touching the altar). Its foot reached to the cubit adjacent to the hangings of the court on the south, (i. e. it was one cubit distant from those hangings of the enclosure). This latter statement is according to him who holds that its height (that of the altar) was ten cubits, whilst according to him who holds that the command, (v. 1) “and three cubits shall be the height thereof” is to be taken literally (cf. Rashi on v. 1) the length of the ascent was only ten cubits, for since the altar was lower the slope leading to its top could not be a very long one. So did I find in the Boraitha דמ"ט מדות (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 419). And as regards this statement that it stood away from the top of the altar just a hair’s breadth, in Treatise Zevachim 62b they (the Rabbis) derived it from a Biblical text.

כרכב המזבח, ledges which are common to all vessels made of wood, as our sages confirm in Chulin 25 “these are wooden vessels in their original unfinished state that are not susceptible to ritual impurity; any such vessel or instrument that is not fit for intended for scraping the scales off fish, etc.”

כרכב. A narrow projection running about halfway up the wall of the altar. It enabled the priests to walk there and reach the upper parts of the altar. It was immediately above the netting. This expression is also used in the Talmud when discussing the ritual rulings pertaining to the sacrificial service. (Chulin 25)

Between the raised projections. . . Meaning: It was a little farther in [toward the altar’s center] than the four projections.

V. 5. Es soll dieses Siebnetz von dem כרכב bis zur Hälfte des Altars hinabreichen. Wir haben כרכב Vorsprung übersetzt. Es scheint wie קרקע von רקע, so auch כרכב von רכב abzuleiten sein. רכב: heißt auf einer Unterlage sich befinden, diese Unterlage selbst heißt: מרכב ,רֶכֶב und ,מרכבה, z.B. der Wagen. (Bei der Mühle hieß der Mühlstein רכב Der Analogie nach sollte man glauben, der untere, feste, heiße רכב, und der obere, bewegliche, die Friktion bewirkende ריחים, man hält jedoch allgemein רכב für den oberen). Wie wir bei den allgemeinen Betrachtungen noch näher sehen werden, bestand der Altar aus zwei, eigentlich drei wesentlichen Bestandteilen. Es waren eigentlich drei auf einander geschichtete Quadrate, von denen jedes untere in Länge und Breite das darauf folgende übertraf. Im zweiten Tempel war die Basis eine Elle hoch und zweiunddreißig Quadratellen breit, darauf stand ein Würfel von fünf Ellen Höhe und dreißig Quadratellen, auf welchem wieder sich ein Würfel von drei Ellen Höhe und achtundzwanzig Quadratellen erhob. Dieser letzte, drei Ellen hohe Würfel, auf dessen Oberfläche sich dann die vier קרנות eine Elle hoch erhoben, der eigentliche Altar, הראל, ruhte somit auf einer Unterlage, die nach allen vier Seiten eine Elle weiter hervorstand, und eine eine Elle breite Umgebung des Altars bildete, auf welcher derselbe umschritten werden konnte, und daher סובב genannt wird. Sie heißt im Texte כרכב, weil der obere Teil, der eigentliche Altar auf ihr ruhte. (Nach רבי war dieser סובב an dem Altare Mosche nicht ein wirklicher Vorsprung, sondern nur durch eine Verzierung angedeutet (Sebachim 62 a).

כרכוב המזבח, “the ledge of the altar.” Rashi comments that we have learned this from the Talmud in Zevachim, folio 62, where the question is posed: “which was the Carcov?” The answer given is that it was a ledge protruding one cubit from the wall of the altar above the mesh, running from one corner of the altar to the next and that there was a space 1 cubit wide underneath it where the priests would walk. Every corner of the altar was surrounded by this walkway one cubit high and one cubit wide, and these are what are called: “the corners of the altar.” On the other hand, the four corners of the altar on top of its platform were cubes one cubit high. The space between them, according to Rashi, was called Carcov.

עד חצי המזבח, in order to make a separation between the blood which had to end up on the top of that altar, and that which would be absorbed by the netting surrounding the altar at the top of the lower half of the altar. For the sake of easy recall remember that the blood of bird offerings that were known as עולת העוף had to reach the top of the altar, whereas the blood of offerings known as חטאת העוף, sin offerings consisting of a bird, had to be sprinkled or smeared against the lower half of the altar at the netting. All these details have been spelled out in Zevachim 53.

For its hollow was filled with earth. . . In order to offer sacrifices upon it.

עד חצי המזבח, bis zu fünf Ellen Höhe vom Boden. Das Siebnetz war somit eine Elle breit.