Babylonian Talmud

Rodkinson 1918 — source 6, scan section 19

cause it is written [Deut. xxxiii. lo], " They shall put incense before thee," and in the next verse, " Bless, O Lord, his sub- stance " ? Then it should not be due to incense alone, since at the end of the tenth verse it is also written, " and whole burnt sacrifice upon thy altar. " He answered him: A burnt-offering is frequent (besides being a daily sacrifice, it was offered by many individuals, and all could not get rich), but incense is not frequent. Rabba said: You will not find a young scholar who decides questions in Law, who should not be of the tribe of Levi or Issachar. Levi, as it is written [ibid.]: "They (the tribe of Levi) shall teach thy ordinances unto Jacob; and Issachar, because it is written [i Chron. xii. 32]: "And of the chil- dren of Issachar, those who had understanding of the times." But why not also Jehudah ? As it is written [Ps. Ix. 9] : " Judah is my lawgiver." I mean, to deduce the traditional TRACT YOMAH (DAY OF ATONEMENT). 37 sayings from the written Law (this can only do those of Levi and Issachar). R. Johanan said: For the evening daily offering, lots were never drawn ; he who had drawn the lot for that of the morning performed this service also. MISHNA: [The parts of] the daily sacrifice are offered [ac- cording to circumstances] by nine, ten, eleven, twelve — no less and no more. How so ? Itself by nine. During the Feast [of Booths] one carries a pitcher of water; thus it is ten. Toward evening by eleven, itself by nine, and two carrying two measures * of wood. On Sabbath by eleven, itself by nine, and two having in their hands two spoonfuls of frankincense for the showbread. On the Sabbath which occurs in the middle of the Feast [of Booths], one carrying a pitcher of water [added to the eleven]. GEMARA: Said R. Abba, according to others Rami b. Hama or R. Johanan : Water must be offered during the Feast of Tabernacles only with the morning daily offering, but not with that of evening. This we deduce from the Mishna which states: When the Sabbath occurs during the festival, one is added for carrying water. If water had to be offered with the evening offering also, then it would occur on another day of the festival than a Sabbath, as two carry measures of wood, and a third would be needed for carrying the water (and twelve were needed). We have learned in a Boraitha: R. Simeon b. Jochai said: Whence do we deduce that the daily evening offering requires two measures of wood, carried by two priests ? Since it is writ- ten [Lev. i. 7], " And (they shall) lay the wood in order," and as this cannot occur in case of the morning daily offering, as it is written [ibid. vi. 5], " The priest shall burn wood upon it every morning, and he shall lay in order upon it the burnt-offering," we must suppose, then, that what has been said before, applies to the daily evening offering. R. Hiya taught: The lots amounted sometimes to thirteen, sometimes to fourteen, or fifteen, or sixteen (fourteen on the Feast of Tabernacles, for the pitcher of water; fifteen on the Sabbath; sixteen for the Sabbath during the Feast of Taber- * The Hebrew terra is Gizrin — piTJ. After Jost, we have translated it in Sheka- lim, VI., /., p. 28, " cords " ; but as it is too heavy for two men to carry two cords of wood, we have here translated only " measures," and according to all commentators on the Mishna it is a certain measure of wood for the altar, unknown to us. 38 THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD. nacles). But did we not learn, seventeen ? That Boraitha is not according to R. Eliezer b. Jacob, but according to R. Jehudah. MISHNA: A ram was offered by eleven: the flesh by five; the entrails, fine flour, and wine by two, respectively. A bull is offered by twenty-four: the head by one, the hind leg by two, the tail by two, and the [left] hind leg by two ; the chest by one, the windpipe by three, the two forelegs by two, the two flanks by two ; the entrails, fine flour, and wine by three, respec- tively. This refers to public sacrifices. . A private sacrifice could be offered, if one chose, by one. In respect of skinning and cutting to pieces, both [sacrifices] are equal [private or public, both may be skinned, etc., by a stranger]. GEMARA: We have learned in a Boraitha: The flaying and cutting into pieces may be performed by a layman. Said Hez- kiah: Whence do we deduce this ? Because it is written [Lev. i. 7]: " And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar." Hence only the fire must be put by priests, but the flaying may be done by others. But this verse is needful for its own sake, how can it be deduced from it ? Said R. Simeon b. Ashi: I once heard how Abayi explained it to his son as follows: It is written [ibid. 5]: ''He shall kill." A layman is meant. How is this known ? Because it is written [Num. xviii. 7], " And thou and thy sons with thee shall keep your priesthood," one might say, that the slaughtering is also meant. Therefore it is written : " And he shall kill the young steer before the Lord, and the sons of Aaron the priest shall bring near the blood." From this we see that all that precedes the bringing near of the blood may be done by a layman. And it is also written [Lev. iii. 2] : " And he shall lay his hand . . . and kill it." From this it can be deduced that the layman who has laid his hand upon it may kill it. [Rashi explains, that all this is stated in a Mlshna elsewhere, and Abayi explained to his son that what Hezkiah had said is in accordance with that Mishna.] Now let us see: We have con- cluded that from the sprinkling of the blood onwards all must be performed by priests ; and the fire is put upon the altar later. Why is it then necessary to say that Aaron's sons should do it ? This is to exclude the flaying and cutting into pieces, which, though they come after the sprinkling of the blood, may be done by a layman. It was taught: R. Assi in the name of R. Johanan said: If a layman has put the two measures of wood on the altar, he is TRACT YOMAH (DAY OF ATONEMENT). 39 liable to capital punishment, as it is a service belonging to the following day (and not the final service of the night). Rabba op- posed: According to this supposition (that it is a service of the day), a lot had to be drawn ? Rabba has forgotten what we have learned above, that he who drew the lot to lift the ashes, also obtained the privilege to arrange the measures of wood. Said Mar Zutra, according to others R. Ashi: How can it be said it is a service of the next day ? Did we not learn further in the Mishna: "Go and see whether it is time to slaughter" ? If the arranging of the wood was also a service of the next day, why was not this mentioned likewise (for if it were done when