One of the most ubiquitous scenes in Israel are Israelis throwing barbeques on Yom HaAtzmaut, so many Israelis that they even will set them down in the middle of an island on the highway for lack of room anywhere else.

I am not the first to note the (instinctive) connection between the development of this custom and the sacrifices we used to offer in the Beit HaMikdash.

In fact, before the Temple was centralized, people used to offer sacrifices everywhere – in other words - barbeques.

Outsiders apparently tend to see sacrifices as some primitive throwback to idolatry, yet it was anything but.

What is a sacrifice?

It is many things, but one thing it certainly is, is the elevation of a mundane process (slaughtering, cooking, and eating) into something more sublime.

It is an expression of gratitude to G/d and recognition that not everything is ours, even when we think it is, and we have to return something back to the Giver, if when it is not something needed by the recipient.

But think about it, the Beit Hamikdash was more than just a Steak House.
Picture what was going on there.

There was a house band (the Leviim) that would sing and play in the courtyard – even on Shabbat.

People would come to offer their sacrifices and hear their favorite music as the dinner was cooked and served.

I was thinking that during Elul they probably played a variation of “Knocking on Heaven’s Door”, Nissan was of course “Smoke on the Water, Fire in the Sky”, and in Bayit Shlishi I won’t be surprised to hear a variation of “Lola” on Purim.

Simchat Beit HaShoeva must have been like a Music Festival with different bands in different sections of the courtyard.

Of course the house band changed every month so it never got boring, and I’m sure each Cohen Gadol had his favorites tunes that set the tone for his tenure. I little more of the Ramones for Ezra, while Aharon preferred Billy Joel.

And once your animal was slaughtered and freshly cooked, you sat down to eat with your family, perhaps with the new fruits if the season was right. The music of Kol Achai for your listening pleasure.

And the scene! Imagine the Inbal (formerly the Laromme) Hotel on the first night of Sukkot or Pesach. Nothing compared to what was going on around the Beit HaMikdah. Friends meeting, eating meals together, and celebrating whatever they were celebrating.

And elevating their meals and evening whether personal or national into something more than just physical into something holy and meaningful.

Personally, I can’t wait until the third Beit HaMikdash is rebuilt.