A Sign From the Heavens with Peculiar Appeal to Yours Truly
October 17th, 2008BBQ in Space?
Interesting story on Drudge today: space smells of fried steak. Suits worn in space come back carrying the smells of steak and hot metal. Kind of makes you wonder
Yesterday I was thinking about the temple in Jerusalem. They sacrificed a huge number of animals there, and many of them were cattle. And–correct me if I’m wrong–a lot of these animals were eaten afterward.
So wouldn’t going to the temple be a lot like going out for barbecue? It must have smelled wonderful in Jerusalem, all the time. Seriously. How could it not have, with all those cattle and sheep being roasted?
Space is in the heavens, and so is that fried-steak smell. Here’s a question for you religious scholars: is this where the aroma from the temple ended up?
October 17th, 2008 at 3:58 PM
I’ve never wanted to go to space before.
October 17th, 2008 at 4:16 PM
Worn suits smell like steak? Hmm. People are steak. There’s probably a connection.
October 17th, 2008 at 4:49 PM
Most types of offerings could and should be eaten. Certain types were eaten by the kohanim (priest) only, or by a specific kohein. Other types were eaten by the person offering the sacrifice and his family, friends, and guests (particularly the poor who could not afford sacrifices themselves).
Olah: Burnt Offering
Perhaps the best-known class of offerings is the burnt offering. It was the oldest and commonest sacrifice, and represented submission to God’s will. The Hebrew word for burnt offering is olah, from the root Ayin-Lamed-Heh, meaning ascension. It is the same root as the word aliyah, which is used to describe moving to Israel or ascending to the podium to read from a Torah scroll. An olah is completely burnt on the outer altar; no part of it is eaten by anyone. Because the offering represents complete submission to God’s will, the entire offering is given to God (i.e., it cannot be used after it is burnt). It expresses a desire to commune with God. An olah could be brought from cattle, sheep, goats, or even doves. Gentiles were allowed to bring an olah in our Temple, unlike the rest of the kinds of qorbanot, which were reserved for Jews alone within the Temple itself; it should be remembered, however, that Gentiles are permitted to build their own place for qorbanot, and offer them to God themselves, and are promised reward for this meritorious behavior.
Zebach Sh’lamim: Peace Offering
A peace offering is an offering expressing thanks or gratitude to God for His bounties and mercies. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is zebach sh’lamim (or sometimes just sh’lamim), which is related to the word shalom, meaning peace or wholeness. A representative portion of the offering is burnt on the altar, a portion is given to the kohanim, and the rest is eaten by the offerer and his family; thus, everyone gets a part of this offering. This category of offerings includes thanksgiving-offerings, free will-offerings, and offerings made after fulfillment of a vow. Note that this class of offerings has nothing to do with sin, and could properly be brought by the most righteous of the righteous.
Chatat: Sin Offering
A sin offering is an offering to atone for and purge a sin. It is an expression of sorrow for the error and a desire to be reconciled with God. The Hebrew term for this type of offering is chatat, from the word “chayt”, meaning missing the mark. A chatat could only be offered for unintentional sins committed through carelessness or ignorance, not for intentional malicious sins. The size of the offering varied according to the nature of the sin and the financial means of the sinner. Some chatatot are individual and some are communal. Communal offerings represent the interdependence of the community, and the idea that we are all responsible for each other’s sins. A few special chatatot could not be eaten, but for the most part, for the average person’s personal sin, the chatat was eaten by the kohanim.
Asham: Guilt Offering
A guilt offering is an offering to atone for sins of stealing things from the altar, for when you are not sure whether you have committed a sin or what sin you have committed, or for breach of trust. The Hebrew word for a guilt offering is asham. When there was doubt as to whether a person committed a sin, the person would bring an asham, rather than a chatat, because bringing a chatat would constitute admission of the sin, and the person would have to be punished for it. If a person brought an asham and later discovered that he had in fact committed the sin, he would have to bring a chatat at that time. An asham was eaten by the kohanim.
Food and Drink Offerings
A meal offering (minchah) represented the devotion of the fruits of man’s work to God, because it was not a natural product, but something created through man’s effort. A representative piece of the offering was burnt on the fire of the altar, but the rest was eaten by the kohanim.
There are also offerings of undiluted wine, referred to as nesekh.
October 17th, 2008 at 5:01 PM
Is this a clever recruiting ploy by NASA?
I ask this because I recently read somewhere that there’s a declining interesting in becoming an astronaut due to lack of missions and such.
So if my hunch is correct, then NASA must be looking to discourage vegans from becoming astronauts. They must be on to something…
October 17th, 2008 at 5:29 PM
Steak and hot metal? Apparently God uses Lodge cast iron skillets, too.
October 18th, 2008 at 1:57 AM
TC,
I saw that too. I think you’re on to something. Space sounds delicious.
October 18th, 2008 at 4:47 AM
Talk about a barbecue – right now we are in the midst of Sukkot, a festival during which, in ancient times, a staggering number of animals were sacrificed – far more than at any other time of year.
Good eating…none of those pesky PETA folks around then!
October 18th, 2008 at 7:35 PM
This post seriously creeped me out: my *very* first thought was the book “How to Serve Man ***” …a Twilight Zone episode that ended with the revelation that the *** part of the book title was “On A Platter”.
I was ten or so. The nightmares recurred for years. Ick.