{"id":75355,"date":"2020-05-30T22:00:12","date_gmt":"2020-05-30T19:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=75355"},"modified":"2020-05-31T09:56:16","modified_gmt":"2020-05-31T06:56:16","slug":"the-lamp-that-is-tamid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-lamp-that-is-tamid\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lamp That Is Tamid\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Chapter 38 of Ezekiel described the future battles of Gog, and chapter 39 tells of Gog\u2019s ultimate defeat. The defeat will be total, and instead of conquering the land of Israel, the soldiers of Gog will be buried in the land. Ezekiel says that \u201cthe House of Israel shall spend seven months burying them\u201d (verse 12) in order to give glory to God, who arranged their defeat.<\/span><\/p>\n

This process will require a special crew of workers, as described in verse 14:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cAnd they shall appoint men to serve permanently, to traverse the land and bury any invaders who remain above ground, in order to cleanse it. The search shall go on for a period of seven months.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hebrew word rendered here as \u201cpermanently\u201d is <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em>. In modern Hebrew <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is generally translated as \u201calways.\u201d However, that is not the only opinion as to the correct meaning. Others say that it is better translated as \u201cregular\u201d (recurring at uniform intervals) and not \u201cperpetual\u201d or \u201ceternal.\u201d So according to this opinion, a better translation of the verse in Ezekiel would be, \u201cThey shall appoint men in regular employment\u2026\u201d\u00a0 The burial of the dead was to be done every day, not to be done perpetually (as evidenced by the seven-month limitation.)<\/span><\/p>\n

The dispute over the meaning of <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em> impacts our understanding of other phrases using the word. For example, the <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em> offering (Numbers 28:2), is often translated as \u201ccontinuous offering.\u201d But a better translation may be \u201cregular burnt offering,\u201d since the prominent characteristic was that it was brought regularly, twice each day, not that it was continually offered on the altar.<\/span><\/p>\n

Another phrase, one that is still in use today, is <\/span>ner tamid<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i> This phrase is used in Exodus 27:20 and Leviticus 24:2 to refer to the menorah lit each evening. The menorah is only meant to be lit from evening to morning, so <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em>\u00a0can\u2019t mean \u201ccontinuous\u201d, but rather \u201cregular.\u201d This is the opinion of Rashi and Ibn Ezra on Exodus 27:20.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, Ramban disagrees with Rashi. Based on an earlier midrash, he says that the <\/span>ner tamid<\/span><\/em>\u00a0was a perpetually lit lamp, and the fire from it was used to light the menorah each night.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even though the meaning of \u201cregular\u201d seems to fit the plain meaning of the verses here, the concept of <\/span>ner tamid<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>being an eternal lamp, that would never be extinguished proved to be much more popular. To this day, such a lamp is hung above or near the ark in synagogues, and remains always lit.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time of this writing, we are living in an unprecedented situation where most synagogues are closed world-round. It is certainly comforting to know that the eternal lamp remains lit, even if we cannot see it ourselves. But we all hope to return to a time when <\/span>tamid<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0can mean \u201cregular,\u201d and we can return to visiting the synagogue at the standard intervals that we were always accustomed to.<\/span><\/p>\n

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