Reeh 12:13 · unit 3

TT #51 · Parashas Reeh · First Aliyah · Passuk 12:13

The Complete Passuk

הִשָּׁ֣מֶר לְךָ֔ פֶּֽן־תַּעֲלֶ֛ה עֹלֹתֶ֖יךָ בְּכָל־מָק֥וֹם אֲשֶׁ֖ר תִּרְאֶֽה׃

Take heed to yourself lest you offer your burnt-offerings in any place that you see.

Chabad.org — 12:13

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to Sifrei.

Sefaria — Sifrei Devarim

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text
אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה – בְּכָל מָקוֹם אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה אִי אַתָּה מַעֲלֶה, אֲבָל אַתָּה מַעֲלֶה בְּכָל מָקוֹם שֶׁיֹּאמַר לְךָ הַנָּבִיא, וּכְדֶרֶךְ שֶׁהֶעֱלָה אֵלִיָּהוּ בְּהַר הַכַּרְמֶל.

English: “That you see” — In any place that you see you may not offer, but you may offer in any place that a prophet tells you to, in the manner that Eliyahu offered on Mount Carmel.

On the daf / in context: The general prohibition admits a temporary prophetic exception when required for the needs of the hour, as in Eliyahu’s contest with the prophets of Baal.

Type of Learning

Derash on the verse (Sifrei) — the prophetic exception to the ban on outside offerings.

What Is Learned

A prophet may authorize a temporary offering outside the chosen place when the need of the hour requires it, as Eliyahu did on Mount Carmel.