Талмуд к Шмуэль А 7:9

Shimon the Righteous was one of the last surviving members of the Men of the Great Assembly. He would say: The world stands on three things: on the Torah, on the Temple service, and on acts of kindness.
On the Torah. How so? It says (Hosea 6:6), “I desire kindness, not a well-being offering (zevach), and the knowledge of God [which comes from studying Torah] more than burnt offerings (olot).” From here we learn that the burnt offering is more beloved than the well-being offering, because the burnt offering is entirely consumed in the fires, as it says (Leviticus 1:9), “The priest shall turn the whole thing into smoke on the altar.” And in another place (I Samuel 7:9), it says, “Samuel took one milking lamb, and offered it to be consumed, as a burnt offering to the Eternal.” And the study of Torah is more beloved before the Omnipresent God than offerings, for if a person studys Torah, he comes to have knowledge of the Omnipresent God, as it says (Proverbs 2:5), “Then you will understand the awe of the Eternal and you will discover the knowledge of God.” From here we learn that when a sage sits and expounds before the congregation, Scripture considers it as if he brought fat and blood upon the altar.
If two Torah scholars are sitting and laboring in the Torah, and a bridal or funeral procession passes by, if there are already enough people participating, these two should not leave their studying; but if not, they should get up and offer words of Torah and praise to the bride, or escort the dead.

The following words are written without a waw,¹At the end of the word. but are to be read with the waw: and offered it;²1 Sam. 7, 9. said;³ibid. 19. Here and in the other verses which are cited the kethib is the singular and the ḳerë the plural. and [they] said;⁴ibid. XII, 10. and they spoke;⁵1 Kings 12, 7. shall they take away;⁶2 Kings 20, 18. and let them deliver;⁷ibid. XXII, 5. and eat;⁸Isa. 37, 30. together;⁹Jer. 48, 7, yaḥdaw to be read for yaḥad. and they shall profane it;¹⁰Ezek. 7, 21. and they offered;¹¹Ezra 3, 3. was made;¹²Dan. 5, 21. and took upon them;¹³Esth. 9, 27. Hananiah;¹⁴Added by GRA and H. The name Hananiah indicates Neh. 3, 30 where the text omits the waw at the end of ’aḥaraw (after him). Malchijah.¹⁵Indicating ibid. 31 where the waw at the end of ’aḥaraw is also omitted. The reverse of this [occurs in the following words]:¹⁶A superfluous waw is written but not read. my feet;¹⁷2 Sam. 22, 34; the kethib is ‘his feet’. [Although not included here, in the preceding verse my way is ‘his way’ in the kethib.] throw her down;¹⁸2 Kings 9, 33. [The added waw is due to dittography and superfluous.] and … commanded;¹⁹ibid. XVI, 15. The kethib means ‘commanded him’. straight before him;²⁰In Ezek. 46, 9 where the verb shall go forth is written as plural but to be read as singular. the fountain gate;²¹In Neh. 3, 15 where the kethib is ‘they set up’ and the ḳerë (he) set up. and called him;²²In 1 Kings 12, 3. The reference is to the word which follows which is plural in the kethib and singular in the ḳerë. and he assembled;²³ibid. 21. Here the reference is to the first verb was come which is written as plural but to be read as singular. took.²⁴In 2 Kings 14, 13. The reference is again to the verb came with the singular to be read for the plural in the text.

HALAKHAH: ⁵⁴⁰Corrector’s addition, inserted at the wrong place since this paragraph is a direct continuation of the preceding one, showing that at all times a prophet may legally build an altar separate from the official sanctuary. As noted in N. 537, Deuteronomy nowhere declares that only one sanctuary is tolerated, but only that the place of sacrifices must have been chosen by the Eternal. The high cost of official worship as demanded in Num. 28–29 automatically restricts permanent worship to one place, making any additional place used on the authority of a recognized prophet a temporary matter. Rebbi Joḥanan bar Marius understood it from the following⁵⁴¹Jos. 8:30. Since the altar on Mount Ebal was built at the time when the Tent and Moses’s altar were at Gilgal, this proves that at this time secondary public altars were not forbidden.: Then Joshua would build an altar for the Eternal, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal. Not only Mount Ebal, from where Shilo⁵⁴²That several official and private altars were permitted after the destruction of Shilo.? Samuel took a milk lamb and brought it up totally as elevation offering for the Eternal⁵⁴³1S. 7:9.. Rebbi Abba bar Cahana said, three sins were permitted for Samuel’s sheep: It and its hide⁵⁴⁴In Lev. 1:6 it is decreed that an elevation offering is burned without its hide. Babli Zevaḥim 120a., and deficient in time⁵⁴⁵This is not spelled out in the verse. No lamb may be sacrificed on an official altar if it is not at least 8 days old; Lev. 23:27., and he was a Levite⁵⁴⁶He was a descendant of Qoraḥ, and only descendants of Aaron may officiate at a public altar.. Rebbi Yose said, if about this it implies nothing, since Rebbi Abba bar Cahana said, seven sins were permitted for Gideon’s bull⁵⁴⁷Jud. 6:25–27. The stones had been used for an altar of Baal, therefore they were forbidden for all usufruct together with the wood of the Asherah tree. They could have been used only by direct commandment from God. That the bull had been worshipped as a deity is deduced from the involved language in the verse, where a single bull is called “second” to show that two sins were committed with it. (Babli Temurah 28b.) That sacrifices are permitted only during daytime is deduced from Lev. 7:38 (Halakhah 2:5). In Gideon’s time the sanctuary of Shilo was in existence.: Disqualified stones, and Asherah wood, and separated, and worshipped, and night, and outsider, and altar prohibition. He who wants may understand it well from that by Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman: When he returned to Rama, for there was his house, and there he judged Israel, and there he built an altar for the Eternal⁵⁴⁸1S. 8:17, after the destruction of Shilo.. It is written⁵⁴⁹1S. 9:24., the cook lifted the thigh and what was on it and put before Saul, etc. Rebbi Samuel bar Naḥman said, the thigh and meat⁵⁵⁰The thigh belongs to the officiating Cohen (Ex. 29:27–28); Saul could have received it only if no Cohen was officiating at the altar. Babli Avodah zarah 25a, Zevaḥim 119b.. Rebbi Joḥanan said, the thigh and the fat tail⁵⁵¹The fat tail is to be burned on the altar, Lev. 3:9.. Rebbi Eleazar said, the thigh and the breast⁵⁵⁰The thigh belongs to the officiating Cohen (Ex. 29:27–28); Saul could have received it only if no Cohen was officiating at the altar. Babli Avodah zarah 25a, Zevaḥim 119b., as Rebbi Eleazar said, the thigh and the breast belong to the Cohanim at a public altar but to the owner at a private altar. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rebbi Eleazar: The hide of the elevation sacrifice belongs to the Cohanim at a public altar<sup>552</sup>In Lev. 7:8 it is decreed that the hide belongs to the officiating Cohen. Since a non-Cohen was shown to be able to officiate at a private altar, the hide belongs to the owner. Babli Zevaḥim 119b. but to the owner at a private altar. Rebbi Ze`ira in the name of Rav Jeremiah: The contribution of a thanksgiving sacrifice⁵⁵³The officiating Cohen’s part of the breads accompanying the sacrifice, Lev. 7:14. belongs to the Cohanim at a public altar but to the owner at a private altar. Rebbi Joḥanan asked, is the night qualified at a private altar⁵⁵⁴Since on an official altar sacrifices are possible only during daytime, Halakhah 2:5.? Rebbi Eleazar answered, is it not written,⁵⁵⁵1S. 14:34. It is stated in the verse that the slaughter was in the night; in v. 35 it is stated that Saul built an altar. Saul said, disperse under the people and tell them, every man shall bring to me his ox, etc. And it is written⁵⁵⁶1S. 14:33, they engaged in pagan slaughter., they told Saul saying, behold the people are sinning against the Eternal by eating on the blood, etc. How is this? The night for profane {slaughter}, and the day for sacrificial. When Rebbi Joḥanan heard this, he said, well did Rebbi Eleazar teach us⁵⁵⁷That the verse emphasizes profane slaughter during nighttime. Babli Zevaḥim 120a..