Il n'y a pas de différence entre un grand bamah (monticule sacrificiel) et un petit bamah mais pesachim (offrandes de Pessa'h). [Ceci, quand les bamoths étaient autorisés. Un grand bamah est un monticule sacrificiel de la congrégation, comme celui de Nov et Giveon. Un petit bamah est celui que chaque individu fait pour lui-même. Pessa'him et toutes les (offrandes) comme les pesachim, c'est-à-dire les offrandes obligatoires ayant un temps fixe, comme les temidim et les moussafim, (sont offertes sur un grand bamah, mais pas sur un petit); mais les offrandes obligatoires n'ayant pas de temps fixe, comme le taureau de l'oubli de la congrégation et les chèvres pour l'idolâtrie (involontaire) n'étaient pas offertes même sur un grand bamah.] C'est la règle: tout ce qui est voué et donné peut être offert sur un (petit) bamah; tout ce qui n'est pas juré et donné ne peut être offert sur un 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.
