No hay diferencia entre una gran bamah (montículo de sacrificio) y una pequeña bamah pero pesachim (ofrendas de Pesach). [Esto, cuando los bamoth fueron permitidos. Una gran bamah es un montículo de sacrificio congregacional, como el de Nov y Giveon. Una pequeña bamah es aquella que cada individuo hace por sí mismo. Pesachim y todos (ofrendas) como pesachim, es decir, ofrendas obligatorias que tienen un tiempo establecido, como temidim y mussafim, (se ofrecen en una gran bamah, pero no en una pequeña); pero las ofrendas obligatorias que no tienen un tiempo establecido, como el toro de olvido de la congregación y las cabras por idolatría (involuntaria) no se ofrecieron ni siquiera en una gran bamah.] Esta es la regla: lo que se promete y se dona puede ofrecerse en un (pequeño) bamah; lo que no se ha prometido y donado no se puede ofrecer en una bamah.
Bartenura on Mishnah Megillah
אין בין במה גדולה – it is dealing with the time when [personal] altars are permitted. The large altar is the communal altar, which was in Nob and Giv’on.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Megillah
Introduction
Before the Temple in Jerusalem was built it was permitted to build personal altars and offer sacrifices on them. At this time period there were also communal altars. The personal altars are called “small altars” whereas the communal altars are called “great altars”. The “great altar” is referred to in I Kings 3:2, “The people, however, continued to offer sacrifices at altars, because up to that time no house had been built for the name of the Lord. The king went up to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for that was the great altar…”
Our mishnah outlines the differences that existed in this time period between great, communal altars and personal, small altars.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Megillah
לבמה קטנה – of each and every individual person, for everyone would make an altar for himself.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Megillah
There is no difference between a great altar and a small altar except for the pesach offering. An individual cannot sacrifice the pesah at his own altar, but rather must bring it to the communal altar. The Talmud explains that not only the pesah cannot be offered at the small altar, but all mandatory sacrifices as well. This is illustrated in the next section’s general principle.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Megillah
אלא פסחים – and everything that is like the Passover sacrifices, that is, the obligations which had the set time for them like Passover; like, for example, the daily offerings and Musaf/additional offerings. But obligations that do not have for them a fixed/set time, such as the bullock for an unconscious sin of the community, and the goats for idolatry, even on the large altar they would not have been offered.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Megillah
This is the general principle: any animal which can be brought as a vow-offering or a freewill offering may be brought on a [small] altar, any animal which is not the object of a vow or a freewill-offering may not be brought on a [small] altar. Only voluntary offerings can be offered at a small altar. Mandatory offerings, such as the tamid, the musaf, the pesah, sin-offerings, guilt-offerings, holiday-related offerings and others, must be brought to the central altar.
