Leviticus 6: Is This Burning an Eternal Flame?

“אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה. וְהָאֵשׁ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּחַ תּוּקַד־בּוֹ לֹא תִכְבֶּה, וּבִעֵר עָלֶיהָ הַכֹּהֵן עֵצִים בַּבֹּקֶר בַּבֹּקֶר, וְעָרַךְ עָלֶיהָ הָעֹלָה, וְהִקְטִיר עָלֶיהָ חֶלְבֵי שְׁלָמִים” (ויקרא ו׳:ה׳–ו׳).“The fire on the altar shall be kept burning, not to go out: every morning the priest shall feed wood to it, lay out the burnt offering on it, and turn into smoke the fat parts of the offerings of well-being. A perpetual fire shall be kept burning on the altar, not to go out” (verses 5–6). This verse is most known nowadays as the source of the ner tamid placed above the ark in shuls. We will see later that the fire on the altar actually had divine origin. In fact, the two eldest sons of Aaron are thought to have died because they attempted to start the fire on the altar instead of waiting until the fire descended from heaven. Why would ה׳ command the people to keep the fire burning if the fire had a divine origin? It would have been easier for ה׳ to simply have this fire stay alight. ה׳ must have been trying to provide a special message to the people, and one that continues a theme that began from the moment of the Exodus. ה׳ does not want his people to be fully reliant on miracles. Miracles are necessary at certain moments, for sure, but not an essential part of the service of ה׳. ה׳ specifically wants man to be a partner in life. Adding logs to a miraculous fire is the perfect metaphor for this. Seeing such a miracle could make someone complacent. Why should people work toward worship and devotion of ה׳ when there’s an eternal flame just sitting there? Every day the priests had to bring wood to the altar as a reminder of this partnership. The smoke itself has many midrashim, one midrash says that the smoke itself would miraculously remain in a straight column to the sky no matter what. However, another Midrash explains that there was a special weather protective dome that the priests would place over the altar to protect it from the harsh weather of the wilderness. The Midrash’s tale of the iron dome over the fire is not about the ingenuity of the Israelites in the wilderness. It is about the care that the people took to protect something that should not have needed protecting. ה׳ could simply keep his fire lit without any help, but it is ה׳’s wish that his people partner with him to keep ה׳’s flame alight eternally.