דף 37

And from where is it derived that the confession must begin with the word please? It is stated here: Atonement, and it is stated there, just before Moses’s plea following the sin of the Golden Calf at Horeb: “Perhaps I may secure atonement for your sin” (Exodus 32:30). Just as there, the prayer includes: “Please, this people is guilty of a great sin” (Exodus 32:31), so too here, the term please should be used. And from where is it derived that the Yom Kippur confession includes the name of God? It is stated here: Atonement, and it is stated with regard to the heifer whose neck is broken: “Atone, O God, for Your nation of Israel whom You redeemed, and do not let guilt for the blood of the innocent remain among Your people Israel, and they will be atoned of bloodguilt” (Deuteronomy 21:8). Just as there, with regard to the heifer, the name of God is mentioned, so too here, the name of God is mentioned.

Abaye said: Granted, the obligation to include the name of God in the confession at Horeb cannot be derived from the heifer whose neck is broken, since what was, was. The sin of the Golden Calf predated the mitzva of the heifer. However, you should derive that the confession in the ritual of the heifer whose neck is broken requires use of the term: Please, from Horeb, where Moses employed that term. And if you say that is so, and the term: Please, should be employed, didn’t we learn in a mishna that the priests say: “Atone, O God, for Your nation, Israel” (Deuteronomy 21:8), while the mishna does not state the term please. Apparently, the formula of confession during the ritual of the heifer is not derived from Horeb. The Gemara says: It is indeed difficult why that is not derived.

§ The mishna continues: And the priests and the people who were in the courtyard respond after he recites the name of God: Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom forever and all time. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi says the following with regard to the verse: “When I call out the name of the Lord, give glory to our God” (Deuteronomy 32:3). Moses said to the Jewish people: When I mention the name of the Holy One, Blessed be He, you give Him glory and recite praises in his honor. Ḥananya, son of the brother of Rabbi Yehoshua, says that proof for the practice is from a different source: “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7). The prophet, Solomon, said to the Jewish people: When I mention the Righteous One of all worlds, you accord Him a blessing.

MISHNA: The priest then came to the eastern side of the Temple courtyard, farthest from the Holy of Holies, to the north of the altar. The deputy was to his right, and the head of the patrilineal family belonging to the priestly watch that was assigned to serve in the Temple that week was to his left. And they arranged two goats there, and there was a lottery receptacle there, and in it were two lots. These were originally made of boxwood, and the High Priest Yehoshua ben Gamla fashioned them of gold, and the people would mention him favorably for what he did.

Since the mishna mentions an item designed to enhance the Temple service, it also lists other such items: The High Priest ben Katin made twelve spigots for the basin so that several priests could sanctify their hands and feet at once, as previously the basin had only two. He also made a machine [mukheni] for sinking the basin into flowing water during the night so that its water would not be disqualified by remaining overnight. Had the water remained in the basin overnight, it would have been necessary to pour it out the following morning. By immersing the basin in flowing water, the water inside remained fit for use the next morning.

King Munbaz would contribute the funds required to make the handles of all the Yom Kippur vessels of gold. Queen Helene, his mother, fashioned a decorative gold chandelier above the entrance of the Sanctuary. She also fashioned a golden tablet [tavla] on which the Torah portion relating to sota was written. The tablet could be utilized to copy this Torah portion, so that a Torah scroll need not be taken out for that purpose. With regard to Nicanor, miracles were performed to his doors, the doors in the gate of the Temple named for him, the Gate of Nicanor. And the people would mention all of those whose contributions were listed favorably.

GEMARA: From the fact that it says in the mishna that the priest comes to the north of the altar, it can be learned by inference that the altar itself does not stand in the north but in the south of the courtyard. The Gemara asks: In accordance with whose opinion is the mishna? The Gemara answers: It is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov, as it was taught in a baraita that from the verse: “And he shall slaughter it on the side of the altar northward before God” (Leviticus 1:11), it is derived that the entire north side should be vacant. The altar is in the south, and the north is vacant. This is the statement of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov.

The Gemara asks: But isn’t the first clause, the previous mishna, as explained above, in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Shimon, who holds that the altar was partially in the north? The Gemara rejects this assertion: The entire mishna, including the first clause, is in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov. Emend the previous mishna and teach it as referring to the space adjacent to the area between the Entrance Hall and the altar and not actually the space between them, north of the altar, where everyone agrees that it is the north.

§ The mishna states that the deputy High Priest stands to the right of the High Priest, and the head of the patrilineal family is to his left. Rav Yehuda said with regard to the laws of etiquette: One who walks to the right of his teacher is a boor, in that he hasn’t the slightest notion of good manners. The Gemara asks: Didn’t we learn in the mishna that the deputy, who is like a student to the High Priest, is to the right of the High Priest, and the head of the patrilineal priestly family responsible for the Temple service that day is to his left?

And furthermore, it was taught in a baraita: Three people who were walking on the road should not walk in single file but should walk with the teacher in the middle, the greater of the students on his right, and the lesser of them to his left. And so too do we find with the three ministering angels who came to Abraham: Michael, the greatest of the three, was in the middle, Gabriel was to his right, and Raphael was to his left. Apparently, a student walks to the right of his teacher.

Rav Shmuel bar Pappa interpreted it before Rav Adda: He does not walk next to his teacher as an equal, but walks slightly behind him so that he is slightly obscured by his teacher. The Gemara asks: But wasn’t it taught in a baraita: One who walks next to his teacher is a boor; one who walks behind his teacher, allowing his teacher to walk before him, is among the arrogant. The Gemara answers: He does not walk directly beside him but slightly to his side and slightly behind his teacher.

§ The mishna continues: And there was a lottery receptacle in the east of the courtyard there, and in it were two lots. The Sages taught the following in a baraita with regard to the verse: “And Aaron shall place lots on the two goats, one lot for God and one lot for Azazel” (Leviticus 16:8). Lots is a general term; they may be fashioned from any material, as the Torah does not specify the material of which they are made.

One might have thought that he should place two lots on this goat and two lots on that goat; therefore, the verse states: “One lot for God and one lot for Azazel” (Leviticus 16:8), meaning there is only one lot here for God, and there is only one lot here for Azazel. Likewise, one might have thought he should place the lot of God and the lot of Azazel on this goat, and the lot of God and the lot of Azazel on that goat; therefore, the verse states: One lot for God, i.e., there is only one lot here for God, and there is only one lot here for Azazel. If so, what is the meaning when the verse states lots, in the plural, since each of the two goats has one lot not two? It is to teach that the two lots should be identical; that he should not make one of gold and one of silver, or one big and one small.

It was taught in the baraita that the lots may be fashioned from any material. The Gemara asks: This is obvious, considering that the Torah does not designate a particular material. The Gemara answers: No, it is necessary only due to that which was taught in a baraita: Because we find with regard to the High Priest’s frontplate that the name of God was written upon it and it was made of gold, one might have thought that this lot, too, should be made of gold since it has God’s name on it. Therefore, the verse states: Lot, lot, twice to include other materials and not exclusively gold. It includes lots made of olive wood, and includes lots made of walnut wood, and includes lots made of boxwood.

§ The mishna continues: The High Priest ben Katin made twelve spigots for the basin. It was taught: Ben Katin did this so that twelve of his fellow priests, who are occupied with sacrificing the daily offering as explained above, could sanctify their hands and their feet simultaneously. It was taught: In the morning, when the basin is full, one sanctifies his hands and his feet from the spigots fixed at the top of the basin because the water level is high. And in the afternoon, when the water level is low, he sanctifies his hands and his feet from the spigots fixed at the bottom.

The mishna continues with regard to ben Katin: He also made a machine for sinking the basin. The Gemara asks: What is this machine? Abaye said: It is a wheel with which he lowered the basin into the pit.

The mishna continues: King Munbaz would contribute the funds required to make the handles of all the Yom Kippur vessels of gold. The Gemara asks: If he wanted to donate money to beautify the Temple, he should have made the vessels themselves of gold, not just the handles.