Kindling the Candelabrum
In connection with the instructions regarding how to fashion the Candelabrum, God told Moses, while he was still on Mount Sinai, what type of oil would be used for the lamps. “You, Moses, will later command the Israelites to bring you olive oil that is clear, i.e., that never had any sediments. This is the oil produced from the olives when they are first crushed in a mortar, before they are pressed or ground. Only such oil may be used for illumination, i.e., for the lamps of the Candelabrum. Olive oil produced by pressing or grinding may, however, be used for other purposes in the Tabernacle. Whoever lights the lamps of the Candelabrum must take care to kindle the lamp until the wick catches and the flame continues to burn by itself. The lamps are to be lit regularly, every afternoon.

Aaron and his sons will set up the lighting apparatus in the Tent of Meeting, i.e., the Tabernacle, outside the Curtain concealing the Ark of Testimony, filling the lamps with enough oil so they will burn from late afternoon until morning before GOD. They are to use half a log of oil each night; this is enough to burn through the long winter nights, and it does not matter if the lamps burn past dawn on shorter nights. Providing this daily supply of oil will be an eternal duty of the Israelites throughout their generations, whenever the Tabernacle or Temple is standing.

The Priests’ Garments
You must draw your brother Aaron to you from among the Israelites, together with his sons, to minister to Me as priests – Aaron, and with him Nadav, Avihu, Eleazar, and Itamar, the sons of Aaron.

Once they have become a separate clan, you must initiate them all into the priestly office and Aaron into the office of high priest. This will be accomplished by clothing Aaron’s sons in the priestly garments and Aaron in the garments of the high priest. Therefore, you must have skilled artisans make sacred vestments for your brother Aaron, for dignity and splendor.

You must speak to everyone who is wise of heart, in whom I have invested a spirit of wisdom, and they must make Aaron’s vestments to consecrate him to minister to Me.

These are the vestments that they must make for the high priest, as will be detailed presently: a Breastplate, an Ephod, a Robe, a Tunic of recessed checkered knit, a Turban, and a Sash for the Tunic. In addition to these six articles of clothing, they must make him a Forehead-plate and linen trousers. They must make these eight sacred vestments for your brother Aaron and four of them for each of his sons, as will be detailed further on, so that they may minister to Me.

The artisans must take some of the gold, the turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, and the linen you received as donations from the people – and use them to make these garments.

The Ephod
The Ephod is an apron-like garment designed to endow the high priest with a superior degree of royalty and modesty, commensurate with his greater holiness. It is tied by a belt around the waist and covers the lower half of the body, in the back and partly in the front, from the waist down to the heels. The artisans must make the Ephod out of threads composed of 28 strands: there must be four gold threads, one twined with six threads of turquoise wool, one twined with six threads of purple wool, one twined with six threads of scarlet wool, and one twined with six threads of twined linen. It must be made with a woven design, i.e., with a different design on either side of the fabric.

It must have two shoulder straps attached to its top at its two visible ends as seen from the back, i.e., directly under the shoulder blades (even though the apron itself extends around the hips and covers part of the front of the legs). They must be woven separately out of the same material as the Ephod and then attached by sewing. These straps must extend upward over the shoulders and hang down on the chest.

The belt that fastens it and that is above it must be made like it, of one piece with it and not woven separately and later attached to it. The fabric of the belt, as that of the apron and the shoulder straps, must also be woven out of threads twined of 28 strands: one gold thread twined with six threads of turquoise wool, one gold thread twined with six threads of purple wool, one gold thread twined with six threads of scarlet wool, and one gold thread twined with six threads of twined linen.

You must have the artisans take the two rectangular onyx stones and engrave on them the names of the 12 sons of Israel –

six of their names on one stone, and the remaining six names on the second stone – in the order of their birth. Have them spell Benjamin’s name with both yud’s (as it was spelled when the name was first given), so that there will be 25 letters on each stone.

You must have them engrave the two stones with the names of Israel’s sons as precisely and clearly as a signet ring is engraved by a jeweler, and you must have them encase these stones in gold settings.

You must then have them affix the two stones to the upper ends of the shoulder straps of the Ephod as stones of remembrance of the righteousness of the sons of Israel. Thus Aaron must carry their names on his two shoulders before GOD, that is, whenever he enters the Sanctuary, as a remembrance and source of merit for the people.

In order to affix the onyx stones to the upper ends of the Ephod’s shoulder straps, you must have the artisans make gold settings in which to encase the stones. These settings will then be attached to the shoulder straps.

Besides serving as settings for the onyx stones, these settings will also anchor the Breastplate to the Ephod from above, as will be described presently, for you will also have the artisans make two braided chains of pure gold, which they will affix at the upper edge of the Breastplate, and you will fasten these braided chains to the gold settings affixed to the upper ends of the shoulder straps of the Ephod.

The Breastplate
Have the artisans make a Breastplate, to be worn on the high priest’s chest. Aaron merits this garment because he rejoiced in his heart when you were elevated above him to the status of the people’s leader. The breastplate atones for miscarriage of justice. Also, as will be explained presently, when a specially-made parchment is inserted into it, it will serve as an oracle through which I will make My will known. For both these reasons, the Breastplate will be known as ‘The Breastplate of Judgment.’ It will be a piece of fabric two spans (= 1 cubit) long and one span (= ½ cubit) wide, of woven design, i.e., with a different design on either side of the fabric. You must make it of the same 28-strand fabric as the Ephod is made: one gold thread twined with six threads of turquoise wool, one gold thread twined with six threads of purple wool, one gold thread twined with six threads of scarlet wool, and one gold thread twined with six threads of twined linen.

It must be square when folded over, a span long and a span wide.

Once folded over, you must have the artisans set it with gems mounted in gold settings attached to the fabric. There must be four rows of rectangular-shaped gems: The first row must comprise a carnelian, an emerald, and a topaz.

The second row: a red garnet, a sapphire, and a diamond.

The third row: a zircon, an agate, and an amethyst.

The fourth row: an aquamarine, an onyx, and a jasper. Each setting must be made to fit the stone set in it, so that the four rows of stones be fully encased in gold in their mountings.

The gems will bear the names of Israel's sons, all 12 by name; each one’s name must be engraved as on a signet ring, for all 12 tribes. In order for the Breastplate to function as an oracle, the entire Hebrew alphabet must be on the stones, but the names of the tribes do not include all the letters of the alphabet. To rectify this situation, have the names of the patriarchs – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – engraved on the first stone above Reuben’s name, and the words for ‘The Tribes of Yeshurun’ engraved on the last stone under Benjamin’s name.

You must have the artisans make two pure gold chains, braided like cords, for attaching the top edge of the Breastplate to the shoulder straps of the Ephod, as follows:

You must have them make two gold rings for the Breastplate and attach the two rings to the two upper corners of the Breastplate.

You must have them run the two gold braids through these two rings on the upper corners of the Breastplate.

Then, have them attach the two ends of each of the two braids to the two gold settings that you must have had them affix toward the front of the shoulder straps of the Ephod.

In order to anchor the bottom of the Breastplate so it does not swing back and forth on the high priest’s abdomen, you must have them make two additional gold rings and attach them to the two lower corners of the Breastplate, i.e., the corners of its edge that faces the Ephod. (The lower edge of the Breastplate may be spoken of as ‘facing the Ephod’ since the apron-part of the Ephod winds forward to cover part of the front of the high priest’s legs, and thus its side-edges are directly underneath the side-edges of the Breastplate.) The rings must be attached to the inner fold of the Breastplate.

You must then have the artisans make a third set of two gold rings and attach them to the outer edge of the lower ends of the two shoulder straps of the Ephod, i.e., next to where the straps are joined to the top of the Ephod’s back. Have them attach the rings a little above the belt of the Ephod, such that they are level with the rings attached to the bottom of the Breastplate.

They must link the bottom of the Breastplate by its rings to the rings of the Ephod with a cord of turquoise wool, so that the Breastplate be connected to the top of the belt of the Ephod. The Breastplate must not come loose from the Ephod, and it is forbidden for anyone to loosen it.

By wearing the Breastplate and its engraved stones, Aaron will carry the names of Israel’s sons on the Breastplate of Judgment over his heart when he enters the Sanctuary, as a constant remembrance before GOD.

You must place a parchment inscribed with God’s Name into the fold of the Breastplate of Judgment. This parchment will be known as ‘the urim and tumim,’ since it makes the Breastplate into a shining [or] and precise [tamim] oracle: it will cause the letters of the tribal names inscribed on the stones set in the Breastplate to light up in sequence, spelling out the answers to questions of national importance posed by the king or leader. Placed inside the fold of the Breastplate, the urim and tumim will be over Aaron’s heart whenever he comes before GOD, i.e., into the Sanctuary. Thus attired, Aaron must carry the instrument of judgment for the Israelites over his heart every time he enters the Sanctuary and stands before GOD. The Breastplate serves as an oracle only by virtue of the urim and tumim. Nonetheless, it is not an integral component of the Breastplate; if it is missing, the high priest is still considered fully and properly attired despite the fact that the Breastplate cannot function as an oracle.

The Robe
You must have the artisans make the Robe, to be worn under the Ephod and girded by it. The Robe must be made entirely out of turquoise wool. The threads used to weave the Robe will be made of 12 strands of turquoise wool.

The edge of its top opening must be folded inwards: all around its opening there must be a woven hem, as with the collar of a coat of mail. This is so that it not be torn, for it is forbidden for anyone to tear it.

On its lower hem you must have them make hollow spheres shaped like not overripe, egg-shaped pomegranates, made of intertwined threads of turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, all around its lower hem. Have them make gold bells to hang between them, all around:

a gold bell and a pomegranate, a gold bell and a pomegranate, all around the lower hem of the Robe. Put 36 bells and 36 pomegranates on the front of the Robe and the same number on the back.

It must be worn by Aaron when he performs the Divine service. Its sound must be heard when he enters the Sanctuary before GOD and when he leaves. Thus, the high priest must take care to wear the Ephod, Breastplate, and Robe when he enters the Sanctuary so that he not die, because entering the Sanctuary without even one of these three vestments is punishable by death by the heavenly court, even if he leaves without having performed any priestly rites.

The Forehead-Plate
You must have the artisans make a Forehead-plate of pure gold, two fingerbreadths wide and extending from ear to ear across the forehead. Have them emboss the words ‘Holy unto GOD’ on it as on a signet ring by pressing the letters into the back of the plate so they protrude from its front. Due to its holiness, the Name of God should be given precedence, so write it above the word for ‘Holy unto.’

Have them make three slots in the plate: two at each end and one in the middle, at the top. Have them thread three cords made of turquoise wool through these slots, and tie them together at the back of the head. In this way, you must place the Forehead-plate over a cord of turquoise wool at these three locations. The middle cord must pass over the Turban, preventing the plate from slipping lower than the high priest’s forehead. The Forehead-plate must be placed below the front of the Turban, leaving enough space for the high priest to wear head-tefilin in between it and the Forehead-plate.

The Forehead-plate must be worn on Aaron’s forehead, and by wearing it Aaron will effect atonement for the following specific sin regarding the sacred offerings that the Israelites consecrate, i.e., for any of their holy gifts: if any of these offerings had become ritually defiled but their blood was nonetheless applied to the Altar, the Forehead-plate will neutralize the effect of the defilement and the offerings will still be valid and effective. The Forehead-plate must always be on Aaron’s forehead when he is officiating as high priest, and he must remind himself at all times that it is on his forehead by touching it periodically, but it assures them of GOD’s favor in this way only when he is wearing it, or, from another perspective, even when he is not wearing it.

The Other Garments
You must have the artisans make a linen Tunic of recessed checkered knit. You must have them make a linen Turban, and you must have them make an embroidered Sash out of twined linen and turquoise, purple, and scarlet wool, with which to gird the Tunic.

You must make tunics similar to Aaron’s for his sons. You must make them sashes for their tunics, but unlike Aaron’s Sash, you must make these out of linen only. You must make them hats for dignity and splendor, but less elaborate than his Turban. The tunics must be tailored to fit each priest.

You yourself must dress your brother Aaron and his sons along with him in these vestments, plus the trousers about to be mentioned.” Moses had to dress them himself because this was an integral part of investing them in the office of the priesthood – which only he could do, as mentioned above. “You must anoint them, inaugurate them, and sanctify them, and they must minister to Me as priests.

And make them all linen trousers to cover their nakedness, reaching from the waist to the thighs. Nothing should interpose between the trousers and the priest’s body. There are thus four vestments for the ordinary priest (a tunic, a sash, a hat, and trousers) and eight for the high priest (the Ephod, the Breastplate, the Robe, the Tunic, the Sash, the Turban, the Forehead-plate, and the trousers).

All these vestments must be worn by Aaron and his sons whenever they enter the Tent of Meeting or approach the outer Altar to serve in the Sanctuary or in the Courtyard, so that they not bear a sin and die, for officiating as a priest without wearing full priestly attire is punishable by death. This is a rule for Aaron and for his offspring after him for all time.”

The Installation Rites
“This is what you must do to Aaron and his sons to consecrate them to minister to Me as priests: Take one young bull as a sin-offering, to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf, and two rams without blemish, one as an ascent-offering and the other as the installation-offering.

Besides the animals, take 30 loaves of unleavened bread: 10 loaves of unleavened bread made out of a batch of flour cooked in boiling water, baked, and then fried in half a log of olive oil; 10 unleavened loaves made out of a batch of flour kneaded with a quarter of a log of olive oil and then baked; and 10 flat unleavened cakes baked without oil but smeared with a quarter of a log of olive oil after they have been baked. Brush the oil on the flat cakes in the form of the Greek letter lambda (Λ), which is an angled form of the Hebrew letter kaf (כ), the initial of the word for ‘priest’ (kohen, כהן). You must make them all out of fine wheat flour.

You must place them all in a single basket and bring them in the basket, together with the young bull and the two rams, into the courtyard of the Tabernacle.

You must bring Aaron and his sons into the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and immerse them in the water of a mikveh.

You must then take the vestments, and dress Aaron in the trousers, the Tunic, the Sash, the Robe of the Ephod, the Ephod, and the Breastplate, and girdle him by tying the two ends of the belt of the Ephod together.

You must then place the Turban on his head, and over the Turban you must place the middle cord of the holy diadem, which is the Forehead-plate, and then fasten this middle cord to the two end-cords at the nape of his neck.

You must then anoint the Tabernacle and everything inside it with the anointing oil, and dash this oil seven times on the Altar and anoint it and its vessels. You must then take the anointing oil and pour some of it on his head, and anoint him by, with your finger, putting some more of this oil on each of his eyelashes and drawing the oil on the top of his head across his forehead and connecting it to these two points, forming the same design used to brush the breads used in the offering, the Greek letter lambda (Λ).

You must bring forth his sons and dress them in their trousers and tunics.” The trousers are not mentioned explicitly because their primary purpose is for modesty rather than for investiture into the priesthood per se.

“You must gird them with sashes – Aaron after dressing him in his Tunic, and his sons after dressing them in their tunics – and put on their hats. By dressing them in the priestly vestments, you will install Aaron and his sons into their duties and make the priesthood theirs as an eternal right.

You must then offer up the following three sacrifices, officiating as the high priest, while Aaron and his sons act as the ones on whose behalf the sacrifices are offered up. First, you must offer up the bull as a sin-offering. You must bring the bull before the Tent of Meeting, and Aaron and his sons must lean their hands forcefully on the bull’s head.

You must slaughter the bull before GOD, i.e., anywhere in the eastern half of the Courtyard of the Tabernacle, outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. This is in opposition to ordinary sin-offerings, which must be slaughtered only north of the Altar. When you slaughter it, collect its blood in a basin.

You must then ascend the ramp of the Altar and take some of the bull’s blood and put it on the Altar’s protrusions with your finger. You must then descend the ramp and spill all the remaining blood onto the base of the Altar.

You must ascend the ramp again, and take the entire membrane of fat covering the bull’s innards, i.e., its stomach, the diaphragm with part of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them, and burn them on the Altar.

You must burn the flesh of the bull, together with its hide and its waste, outside the camp. Despite all the differences between it and an ordinary sin-offering, it is still considered a sin-offering.

The First Installation Ram
You must then take the first ram and offer it up as an ascent-offering. Aaron and his sons must lean their hands forcefully on the ram’s head.

But while an ordinary ascent-offering must be slaughtered north of the Altar, you must slaughter this ram anywhere in the eastern half of the Courtyard. When you slaughter it, collect its blood in a basin. You must then take its blood and, standing on the ground, dash it from the basin onto the lower half of the Altar twice, at its northeast and southwest corners. Thus, the blood will be visible on all its four sides, and thus be considered to be encircling it.

You must cut the ram into sections, wash its innards and legs, and ascend the ramp and place the innards and legs on the top of the Altar together with its other pieces and its head.

You must burn the entire ram on the Altar; it is an ascent-offering to GOD. Thus, as opposed to the sin-offering, this ascent-offering will be a fire-offering brought in order to please GOD.

The Second Installation Ram
You must then take the second ram and offer it up as an installation-offering, a special variation of a peace-offering. Aaron and his sons must lean their hands forcefully on the ram’s head.

You must slaughter the ram, collecting its blood in a basin, take some of its blood with your finger, and place it on the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of Aaron’s right ear and on the middle of the ridge of the antihelix of each of his sons’ right ears, as well as on the lower sections of their right thumbs and on the lower sections of their right big toes (i.e., the parts covering the proximal phalanges). You must then, standing on the ground, dash the remaining blood from the basin onto the lower half of the Altar twice, at its northeast and southwest corners, such that the blood will be considered to be encircling it.

You must take some of the blood that is on the Altar and some of the anointing oil, mix them together, and dash some of the mixture with your finger on Aaron and his vestments, as well as on his sons and his sons’ vestments along with him. He and his vestments, together with his sons and his sons’ vestments, will thus be consecrated.

You must take from the second ram the portions removed from all rams brought as peace-offerings in order to be burned on the Altar: the fat on the small intestine, the tail beginning at the kidneys, the fat covering the innards – i.e., the fat on the omasum and the reticulum, the diaphragm with some of the liver, and the two kidneys with the fat on them. In addition, however, you must also take the right hind midleg, which is usually given to the priest to eat, for this is a ram of installation. It is similar to a peace-offering in that the priest, the Altar, and the persons on whose behalf the sacrifices are being offered up all receive portions, as will be explained.

You must also take one loaf of the 10 loaves of unleavened bread kneaded with olive oil, one loaf of the 10 loaves of unleavened ‘oil bread,’ and one flat cake of the 10 unleavened cakes from the basket of unleavened bread that is before GOD.

You must place all of this on the palms of Aaron and on the palms of his sons, and you must place your hand underneath theirs. You must then wave it, i.e., move it forwards and backwards in all four directions, and then upward and downward, submitting it to Me as the Master of the World in all directions. This makes it a wave-offering before GOD. The horizontal movements will neutralize destructive winds, and the vertical movements will neutralize destructive dews.

You must then take all this from their hands and you must burn it on the Altar, after having burned the first ram as an ascent-offering. Although only part of it will be burnt on the Altar, burning these parts renders it a fire-offering to GOD, to please GOD.

The Breast and the Thigh
You must then take the breast of Aaron’s installation ram and wave it as you waved the burnt portions, making it a wave-offering before GOD. This breast will be your portion as officiating priest.

By doing this, you will sanctify the breast of all peace-offerings in that they should be taken as a wave-offering, and the right hind midleg of all peace-offerings in that they should be taken as a raised-offering, just like the breast and right hind midleg that were waved and raised from the installation ram of Aaron and his sons.” (Both the breast and the right hind midleg are both waved and raised, so the terms “wave-offering” and “raised-offering” may be applied to both.)

“This breast and midleg will be an entitlement for Aaron and his sons from the Israelites for all time. Once the fat parts of the peace-offering have been burned, the remainder of the meat will belong to those who brought the offering, and the breast and midleg to the officiating priest. For this breast and midleg is a contribution. It will be a contribution from the Israelites, taken from their peace-promoting feast-offerings as their contribution to GOD.

Aaron’s sacred vestments will belong to those of his descendants after him who succeed him as high priest, in order for them to become dignified and installed by donning them if the anointing oil is for some reason unavailable. They need not repeat the entire installation process being described now.

The descendant of Aaron who takes his place as high priest – and who is thus the only one permitted to enter the Tent of Meeting to serve in the inner chamber of the Sanctuary by performing the Yom Kippur rites – must in such circumstances simply wear the vestments of the high priest for seven consecutive days, and that will suffice to invest him in this office. If a son of the previous high priest is qualified for the position, he should succeed his father.

The Meat
Returning to the instructions for the installation rites: You must take the remainder of the ram of installation and cook its flesh in a holy place, i.e., inside the Courtyard.

Aaron and his sons must eat the ram’s meat, as well as the bread that is left in the basket, anywhere in the Courtyard outside the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

They must eat the remainder of this ram and this bread, by which atonement will have been secured for them for anything they may have done in the past that would be inconsistent with their priesthood, and they will thereby be installed and sanctified. A layman may not eat the remainder of this ram and bread, for they are in the category of superior holiness and therefore holy beyond offerings in the category of lesser holiness.

A further restriction: If any meat of the installation offering or of the bread is left over until morning, you must burn the leftovers in fire. It may not be eaten over the course of two days as may an ordinary peace-offering, for it is holy, i.e., in the category of superior holiness.

You must do thus to Aaron and his sons, according to all that I have commanded you. If you omit anything, the installation process will be invalidated. You must install them by repeating these rites once a day for seven consecutive days. They may not leave the Tabernacle precincts during these seven days.

Atoning for the Altar
Besides serving to install the priests, the young bull that you must sacrifice each day as a sin-offering will also atone for the Altar, in case stolen materials were donated and used in the construction of the Tabernacle or the Altar. When you put some of the blood of this sin-offering on the protrusions of the Altar, as described previously, you will bring it atonement. You must also anoint it every day, to sanctify it, as you anointed the bread and the priests: by smearing anointing oil over it in the form of the Greek letter lambda (Λ).

For these same seven consecutive days you must make atonement for the Altar and sanctify it, thus making the Altar holy of holies relative to the ordinary facets of creation. Whatever sacrificial meat or fat touches the Altar, i.e., is brought to the Altar’s top, will become sanctified and must be burned on it, even if it is technically disqualified – provided that this disqualification occurred after the animal had been brought into the Courtyard.

The Daily Offerings
This is what you must offer up on the Altar during the installation week in addition to the installation offerings: two lambs in their first year, every day, regularly, as ascent-offerings.

You must offer up the first lamb in the morning, and you must offer up the second lamb in the afternoon.

Together with the first lamb offered up as an ascent-offering, you must offer up a supplementary grain-offering consisting of one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour kneaded with a quarter of a hin of olive oil. You may use the oil produced from the olives when they are first crushed in a mortar, but you may also use the inferior oil produced when the olives are subsequently pressed or ground. Only lighting the lamps of the Candelabrum requires the first oil crushed from the olive. In addition to the grain-offering, offer up a libation consisting of a quarter of a hin of wine. Stand on the top of the Altar and pour this wine into a silver jug with a hole in its bottom, letting the wine run down the side of the Altar to the ground.

You must offer up the second lamb in the afternoon; you must offer up with it the same type of grain-offering and libation as those of the morning. The two ascent-offerings and grain-offerings will be a fire-offering pleasing to GOD. These grain-offerings are considered ‘a fire-offering pleasing to God’ because they are to be completely burned on the Altar, unlike typical grain-offerings, only a portion of which is burnt on the Altar.

Throughout your – i.e., the Jewish people’s – future generations, this must be a regular ascent-offering before GOD, offered up outside the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. I refer to the Tabernacle as ‘the Tent of Meeting’ for two reasons: first, because I have designated it as the place where I will convene with the people through you, their representative, in order to speak to you there;

and second, it is there that I will convene with the Israelites when they gather there to pray to Me and to hear the messages I convey to them through you. The Tent of Meeting will thus be sanctified through My glory, i.e., My presence, which will be felt there. It will also be sanctified by the rapturous death of My most honored associates.” Moses thought this meant that either he or Aaron would die when the Tabernacle was inaugurated, but in fact it referred to Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu.

“I will sanctify the Tent of Meeting and the Altar, and I will sanctify Aaron and his sons to minister to Me as priests.

I will dwell in the midst of the Israelites and I will be their God.

They will thereby recognize that I am GOD, their God, who brought them out of Egypt so that I may abide in their midst; I am GOD, their God.”

The Inner Altar
After discussing the priestly vestments and installation rites, God returned to giving Moses the instructions regarding the Tabernacle: “You must have the artisans make an Altar for burning incense; you must have them make it of acacia wood.

It must be square, one cubit long and one cubit wide, and two cubits high; its protrusions must be an integral part of it. Whereas the cubit in all other cases will measure six handbreadths, the cubit used for the length and width of the Inner Altar will measure only five handbreadths.

You must have them overlay it with pure gold – its top, its walls all around, and its protrusions – and you must have them make a gold rim for it all around. This rim will signify the dignity due the priests.

You must have them make two sets of two gold rings for it below its rim; you must have them make these rings on each of the two corners of its two opposite sides. They will serve as holders for the two poles with which it is to be carried.

You must have them make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold.

You must have them place it in front of the Curtain that hides the Ark of Testimony, directly in front of the Cover that lies over the Ark containing the Tablets of Testimony, which is where I will convene with you.

Aaron must burn spice-incense upon it. He must burn it every morning, when he cleans out the residue of oil and soot left from the previous night in the lamps of the Candelabrum.

Aaron must also burn incense on it when he kindles the wicks of the lamps in the afternoon – a continual, twice-daily offering of incense before GOD throughout your generations.

You must not burn upon it any other incense, i.e., any voluntary incense offerings, nor any ascent-offering or grain-offering whatsoever, nor may you pour any libation upon it.

The only use it will have other than for burning incense is this: Once a year, on Yom Kippur, Aaron must make atonement for inadvertent defilement of the Tabernacle and its offerings by placing sacrificial blood on this Altar’s protrusions. Once a year, throughout your generations, he must make atonement on it with the blood of the atonement sacrifice, i.e., the bull and goat specified for this purpose. The reason you must not burn any other incense or offer up any sacrifices on this Altar is because it is holy of holies unto GOD, i.e., its holiness surpasses even that of the Outer Altar. This Altar is designated solely for burning the daily, obligatory incense, and therefore, burning anything else on it profanes it. In contrast, the Outer Altar is designated for more general use.”