Zevakhim 112 The history of the sacrificial cult

Today, January 5, 2026 marks the conclusion of the sixth year I’ve been studying daf yomi. Only another year and a half of study until I can cross my daf yomi project off my bucket list. My journey through massekhet Zevakhim has almost reached his conclusion. In a matter of a week we will finish our massekhet and begin massekhet Menakhot which deals with the minkha offering. Dappim TB Zevakhim 12 and 13 contain one of the few Aggadah discussions in the entire massekhet the rabbis were really focused on the minutia of the sacrificial cult even though the Temple had been destroyed hundreds of years before and there’s been no sacrifices since 70 CE when the Romans destroyed the Temple.

Daf TB Zevakhim 112 recounts the history when private altars, bamot, were permitted and when the sacrificial cult was centralized. The penalty of slaughtering and sacrificing an animal on an altar outside of Jerusalem when the Temple of Jerusalem stood was kareit.

“Until the Tabernacle was established, private altars were permitted and the sacrificial service was performed by the firstborn. And from the time that the Tabernacle was established, private altars were prohibited and the sacrificial service was performed by the priests. Offerings of the most sacred order were then eaten within the curtains surrounding the courtyard of the Tabernacle in the wilderness and offerings of lesser sanctity were eaten throughout the camp of Israel. When the Jewish people arrived at Gilgal private altars were permitted, offerings of the most sacred order were then eaten within the curtains, and offerings of lesser sanctity were eaten anywhere.  

“When they arrived at Shiloh, private altars were prohibited. And there was no roof of wood or stone there, i.e., in the Tabernacle in Shiloh; rather there was only a building of stone below and the curtains of the roof of the Tabernacle were spread above it. And the period that the Tabernacle was in Shiloh was characterized in the Torah as “rest” in the verse: “For you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God has given you” (Deuteronomy 12:9). Offerings of the most sacred order were then eaten within the curtains in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting, and offerings of lesser sanctity and second tithe were eaten in any place that overlooks Shiloh.

"When Shiloh was destroyed (see I Samuel 4:18), the Jewish people arrived with the Tabernacle at Nov, and later at Gibeon, and private altars were permitted. Offerings of the most sacred order were then eaten within the curtains in the courtyard of the Tent of Meeting, and offerings of lesser sanctity were eaten in all the cities of Eretz Yisrael.

“When the Jewish people arrived at Jerusalem and built the Temple during the reign of Solomon, private altars were prohibited, and private altars did not have a subsequent period when they were permitted. And the Temple in Jerusalem was characterized as “inheritance” in the verse: “For you have not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the Lord your God has given you.” Offerings of the most sacred order were then eaten within the curtains, i.e., in the Temple courtyard, and offerings of lesser sanctity and second tithe were eaten within the walls of the city, whose legal status was that of the Israelite camp in the wilderness.” (Sefaria.org translation)

According to the Bible, here is the timeline the Mishnayot are describing. When Joshua enter and conquered the land of Israel, the altar remained in Gilgal for 14 years. From Gilgal, the Tabernacle moved to Shiloh and remained there for you 369 years. 57 years intervened between the destruction of Shiloh and the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. During this time period the Tabernacle moved first to Nov. After King Saul destroyed Nov for aiding David, the Tabernacle moved to Gibeon.

This means that private altars were permitted only for 71 years! A blip of time the history of the Jewish people.