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Command the children of Israel and
say to them: My offering, My food for My fire offerings, a spirit of
satisfaction for Me, you shall take care to offer to Me at its appointed
time.
Numbers 28:2
“You shall
take care” - The Kohanim, Levi’im
and Israelites shall stand over the offerings; hence
they instituted the ma’amdot.
Rashi, based upon the
Babylonian Talmud, Ta’anit 26a
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Rashi’s
comment brings us back to complete our virtual tour of the alleyways of the
Jewish Quarter. For Parashat Naso we toured in the footsteps of
the Levi’im, and Parashat Beha’alotcha in the footsteps of
the Kohanim, we now return to the Quarter in the footsteps of the
Israelites.
Since
the purchase of the daily perpetual sacrifices (t’midim) was financed by
the half-shekels contributed by every adult male Israelite, the Israelites are
the owners of the sacrifices, and therefore offering the t’midim
required presence of all classes of Israelites: Kohanim, Levi’im
and Israelites. In order to facilitate this, in parallel to the twenty-four mishmarot
of Kohanim, the “early prophets” (Samuel and King David [Babylonian
Talmud, Ta’anit 27a]) established
twenty-four “ma’amdot” of Levi’im and Israelites, with each ma’amad
paired with a specific mishmar of Kohanim. When the mishmar’s week to work in the Temple
arrived, the Kohanim and Levi’im ascended to Jerusalem and
Israelites of the ma’amad “Gathered in their own cities, and read the
narrative of creation.” [Mishna, Ta’anit 4:2]
Maimonides
writes that not all the members of the ma’amad “gathered in their own cities,”
but:
Those (living) in Jerusalem or close to it would enter the Temple with the mishmar
of Kohanim and Levi’im of that week; those members of the ma'amad
who (lived) in distant places would gather in the synagogues of their locale.
Laws of Temple Vessels 6:2
From
Maimonides’ wording, it seems that there were not necessarily members of the ma’amad
who resided in Jerusalem. However, Rashi [commentary on the Mishna]
writes that “every ma’amad had members who were set in Jerusalem to be
present at their brethren’s offerings,” implying that each ma’amad
included residents of Jerusalem.
As the mishmarot of Kohanim
worked for one week and rotated on Shabbat, so it was with the ma’amad
of Israelites. The job of the members of the ma’amad was not simple, as
Maimonides defines it:
What would those who gather together - both in Jerusalem and in the
synagogues - do? They would fast on the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and
Thursday of their week. They would not fast on Friday out of respect for Shabbat
and not on Sunday, so they would not make a transition from the pleasure of the
Shabbat to a fast. [ibid. 6:3]
Monday
through Thursday (inclusive) of their week, the members of the ma’mad
fasted (from dawn until stars were visible).
Whether in Jerusalem or in their own
cities, members of the ma’amad did not engage in their own work, but
“Their intention and their purpose was to deal with (Divine) service and
prayer, and their minds and thoughts were focused on the sacrifices.”
[Maimonides Commentary on the Mishna, Ta’anit 4:2]
Aruch haShulḥan heAtid adds
that “The essence of the ma’amad was not the fixed prayers, rather the
supplications, requests and seeking favor which the members of the ma’amad
devoted themselves to at length.” [Laws of Temple Vessels 26:17]
In Maimonides’ opinion, members of
the ma’amad prayed four daily prayers (in addition to the evening
prayer, which takes place after the completion of the daily service in the
Temple):
On every day of the week that was their ma'amad, they would recite
four prayer services: the morning service, the afternoon service, the neilah
service (the “closing service,” similar to the last prayers of Yom Kippur) and
another prayer service between the morning service and the afternoon service
which was additional (and unique) for them. [Laws of Temple Vessels 6:4]
Ra’avad
differs with Maimonides and asserts that the ma’amad did not have an
additional prayer, though he agrees that there was a neilah prayer.
Thus, in Ra’avad’s opinion, there were three daily prayers, not four. Aruch
haShulḥan heAtid proves that Maimonides decided the law in accordance with
the opinion of the Jerusalem Talmud, while Ra’avad follows the Babylonian
Talmud.
As the Mishna notes, the prayers of the ma’amad
included reading the Biblical narrative of creation, this in order to stress
that “(Divine) service constitutes the perfection of existence, and for us,
true service is the sacrifices; as our Sages taught if not for sacrifices,
heaven and earth could not be maintained.” [Maimonides Commentary of Mishna, ibid.]
During the morning and additional prayers, the narrative was read from a Torah
scroll, with three men being called to the Torah, while at the afternoon
prayer, the narrative was recited by heart. [Maimonides Laws of Temple Vessels
6:1] Maimonides follows his approach that the ma’amad prayed four times;
in Ra’avad’s opinion, the narrative was read from a Torah scroll only once
daily.
Not
every Israelite was worthy of being chosen as a member of the ma’amad,
but they “selected Israelites who are fit, upright and sin-fearing.”
[Maimonides, ibid.] Given the function of the ma’amad and its
responsibility as “the agents of all Israel” these criteria are certainly
understandable.
The
above comments highlight the significance of the fact that Parashat Pineḥas
is read during the three weeks of mourning the Temples’ destruction; it is
likely that reflecting on Ma’amdot Yisrael constitutes yearning for the
period of Jerusalem’s greatest glory, the time when the Temple stood.
“Bring
back the Kohanim to their service, Levi’im to their song and
music, and the Israelites to their habitation.” [From the Additional Prayer for
the Festivals] Amen
