Silver and Gold
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver.
The ultimate objective of the Temple service is hashra'at Shechinah, to bring down “The Divine Presence” into our physical world. Our God has no physical existence that we can comprehend so this goal is clearly connected to the unique phenomena of divine inspiration and prophecy to the Prophet. God's Presence in the Temple parallels, on the national level, the indwelling of a prophecy in the mind of a prophet. In particular, the Olah offering is completely burned on the altar, and corresponds to the highest level of communication between us and our God. It is a sublime level in which the material things, which are of no consequence are consumed just as material things, which are of no consequence to our Creator cannot exist in His Presence. As the altar fire utterly consumes the physical aspect of any offering, so too, this type of spiritual encounter completely transcends (consumes) our physical existence.
By examining the Olah service, we can gain insight into the prophetic experience.
Beyond the Physical Realm: The daily Tamid offering was completely consumed by fire on the altar during the night.
But what was done with the ashes?
The following day, a kohen placed one shovelful of ashes next to the altar. To dispose of the rest, he changed into less important clothes and transported the ashes to a ritually clean spot outside the camp. Thus, we see that the Olah service involved three different locations, with descending sanctity: The fire on top of the altar. Next to the altar, where a shovelful of ashes was placed. A ritually clean place outside the camp for the remaining ashes.
Three Levels
The prophetic experience is like a blaze of sacred flames inside the human soul that is similar to the burning bush of Moses, which burned but was never consumed. This is a divine interaction that transcends ordinary life. This extraordinary event corresponds to the first stage, the nighttime burning of the offering in the fire of the holy altar. However, the prophet wants to extend the impact of this lofty experience so that it can make its mark on his character traits and inner life. This effort corresponds to the placement of some of the ashes, transformed by the altar's flames, next to the altar. This is a secondary level of holiness, analogous to those aspects of life that are close to the holy itself, where impressions of the sacred vision may be stored in a pure state. The lowest expression of the prophetic vision is in its public revelation.
Informing the people of the content of God's message, and thereby infusing life and human morality with divine light. This takes place at a more peripheral level. Outside the inner camp, bordering on the domain of secular life, the kohen publicly brings out the remaining ashes. Even this area, however, must be ritually pure, so that the penetrating influence of the holy service can make its impact. For the sake of his public message, the kohen-prophet needs to descend somewhat from his former state of holiness, and change into lesser clothes. In the metaphoric language of the Sages, "The clothes worn by a servant while cooking for his master should not be used when serving his master wine" [Shabbat 114a].
The Constant Altar Fire The Torah concludes its description of the Olah service by warning that the altar fire should be kept burning continuously: "The kohen will kindle wood on it each morning" [Lev. 6:5]. Why mention this now? Precisely at this juncture, after the kohen-prophet has left the inner nucleus of holiness in order to attend to life’s temporal affairs, he must be aware of the constant fire on the altar. Despite his involvement with the practical and mundane aspects of life, the holy fire continues to burn inside the heart. This is the unique characteristic of the altar fire: from afar, it can warm and uplift every soul of the Jewish people. This sacred fire is a powerful, holy love that cannot be extinguished, as it says, "Mighty waters cannot extinguish the love; neither can rivers wash it away" [Song of Songs 8:7].
Yet, it is not enough for the holy fire to burn only in the inner depths of the heart. How can we ensure that its flames reach all aspects of life, and survive the "mighty waters" of mundane life? The Torah's concluding instructions present the solution to this problem: "The kohen will kindle wood on it each morning." What is the purpose of this daily arrangement of kindling wood? Wood represents “humanity” so as Torah orders our lives, new logs of wood placed in order nourish the altar's holy flames. We find a similar expression of daily spiritual replenishment in Isaiah 50:4: "Each morning He awakens my ear to hear according to the teachings." Just as renewal of the altar's hearth each day revives the holy fire, so too, daily contemplation of God’s wonders and renewed study of His Torah rejuvenates the soul. This renewal energizes the soul, giving strength for new deeds and aspirations, and awakening a new spirit of life from the soul's inner fire.
Uplifting both our spiritual and physical aspects
The most important ceremony in the sacrificial service is dashing the blood around the foundation of the altar. What is the meaning of this ritual? The blood represents the soul. Dashing the blood on the altar fulfills the primary goal of the offering - cleansing and purifying the soul. "It is the blood that atones for the soul." [Lev. 17:11]
This service elevates the foundations of our spiritual side. However, there is a lower aspect of life, residing closer to our physical side, our basic life-force. This aspect of life also needs to be elevated. We seek to refine even our physical tendencies and traits. This refinement comes from the powerful yearning to be close to God that flows through the entire nation by way of the holy service. For this reason, the Torah emphasizes: "It is the (same) Olah". The same Olah offering that elevates and ennobles the soul, also refines our baser character traits. While the soul is uplifted when the blood is dashed around the altar, the lower life-force is elevated when the offering is burned on the altar's hearth. The holy Temple fire refines and purifies our physical nature.
Why is the offering burnt at night?
During the night, our corporal side is dominant. The noble light of the soul is diminished. During this hour of spiritual fatigue, the altar's holy fire burns and purifies the offering's physical remains. The nocturnal service ensures that life will not sink into the depths of crass materialism. The offering is burnt until daybreak. When morning arrives, our soul awakens with all of its strength and light. It is ready to stand before God, alive and vibrant, in renewed splendor.