Usually, when one transports a sheep to the market for sale, he binds all of its legs together, to prevent the sheep from running away. However, it would be disgraceful for the morning lamb sacrifice, so instead they bound it in the manner of the binding of Isaac: the right foreleg with the right back leg, and the left foreleg with the left back leg, except that in the case of Isaac his hands and feet were bound behind his back.
There were multiple rings in the floor of the Temple, between the Altar and the Temple Hall, because the slaughter had to be done “in front of God,” which meant opposite the Hall entrance. Each group of the Kohanim had a ring assigned to them, and each group served for a week about two times a year. However, for the morning sacrifice all groups used the same ring, near the northwest corner of the Altar, because the sacrifice had to be slaughtered in a sunlit area. The daily afternoon sacrifice was slaughtered, correspondingly, using the ring in the northeast corner.
The ring itself was used to immobilize the sacrifice before slaughter. The sheep was positioned with its head pointing to the south, its face to the west, while the slaughterer was to the east of the sheep, with his face to the west. They would hang the lamb using a hole in its knee, not like the butchers who break its leg, then they would skin, dismember, wash, and salt the lamb, and carry the pieces to the Altar.
Art: Theo van Sluys - Sheep And Chickens In A Farm Interior
No comments:
Post a Comment