4

Perhaps, I may be overlooking something trivial, here.

Store-bought meat is salted and soaked to drain the blood, prior to it being packaged and sold to the consumer.

Was something like this done in the Bet Hamikdash? I know that many of the animals were slaughtered next to the altar, and the blood was sprinkled on the sides of the altar. But, then, what happened to the meat itself? Was it soaked and salted in a separate area prior to being placed on the altar? Did the Cohen who offered the sacrifice do this, or was this job given to someone else? Were there mashigichim or people supervising the process?

Improve this question
2
  • 2
    Why would it need to be kashered?
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 20, 2015 at 18:37
  • Meat is salted to remove blood, which we Jews are forbidden to consume. Why should Hashem be forbidden to "consume" blood?
    – user13937
    Feb 20, 2017 at 15:56

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
5

Any meat that was burned on the altar was dipped in salt and then put straight on the fire. It was unrelated to the laws of kashering, as we also put straight blood on the altar!

For instance Rambam Laws of Korban Procedures 6:4

כשמנתח אברי העולה, מוליכין את כל הנתחים לכבש, ומולחין אותן שם. ואחר כך מעלין כל האברים לראש המזבח, ומסיר גיד הנשה בראש המזבח, ומשליכו על גבי הדשן שבאמצע המזבח; וזורק כל האברים על האש

An all-burnt offering: take apart the limbs, carry them to the ramp, apply salt to them there; then take all the limbs up to the top of the altar, remove the sciatic nerve while on top of the altar and throw it aside, then throw all the limbs onto the fire.

Similarly for an all-burnt sin offering that's a dove (above 6:21):

וסופגו במלח, וזורקו על גבי האישים

Make it absorb some salt and then throw it onto the fire!

Any meat that a person could then eat would be handed to them, and it was their responsibility to soak-and-salt it (or in some cases, roast it) to remove the blood -- just as everyone until the 1950s (or later) bought salt-it-yourself meat at any kosher butcher shop.

Improve this answer
1

Meat that is grilled directly on a fire does not need to be soaked and salted. This is particularly useful information for those with restrictions on salt intake as they can still eat meat without worrying about the salt.

Improve this answer
8
  • 1
    I don't see how this answers the question. Did you mean this as a comment?
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 20, 2015 at 19:10
  • @DoubleAA It answers the question by stating that since the meat was going to be grilled on an open flame (the mizbe'ach) it did not require kashering.
    – MichaelKatz
    Jul 21, 2015 at 20:31
  • Well that's a wrong answer then. -1
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 21, 2015 at 20:32
  • @DoubleAA How is it a wrong answer? The question was whether the meat on the altar had to be kashered beforehand and my answer was that it does not. Seems straightforward to me.
    – MichaelKatz
    Jul 22, 2015 at 21:31
  • What you wrote has nothing to do with the Mizbeach. That's why it's wrong. "Irrelevant" may have been a better term. Indeed, meat wasn't kashered before being thown up there, and indeed, meat roasted over fire doesn't need to be salted. But I don't see what those have to do with each other.
    – Double AA ♦
    Jul 22, 2015 at 21:40

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .