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Week 30 - Monday - 19 June 2000

YOMA: CHAPTER 3 : MISHNA 5

The morning incense was offered between blood and the limbs; that of the afternoon – between limbs and the libations. If the High Priest was old or frail, they warmed for him warm water and poured it into the cold, to abate its coldness.

Kehati

The morning incense – which was offered every morning (see Ex. 30:7), was offered between the sprinkling of the blood of the daily offering and the offering of its limbs – the Gemara explains that since in the passage concerning the incense, it is written "in the morning, in the morning" (twice), whereas regarding the daily offering only "in the morning" – (once) the incense precedes the limbs. The Gemara also explains that "between blood and the limbs," is not meant literally, for the trimming of the two lamps was performed between the burning of the incense, and the offering of the limbs, and, therefore, the offering of the incense actually occurred between the blood and the lamps. However, the mishnah does not purport to teach the order of the tasks, but only to stress that the offering of the limbs did not occur immediately after the sprinkling of the blood, because the incense was burned between these two tasks, and the trimming of the lamps also occurred in this interval as explained above;

That of the afternoon – the incense which was offered each afternoon (ibid., v. 8), was offered between the offering of the limbs of the daily afternoon offering and the libations – the offering of its libations, i.e., the offering of the fine flour and the libations of the wine. The Gemara learns this from the passage in the Torah, "as the meal-offering of the morning, and as the drink-offering thereof" (Num. 28:8) – just as in the morning meal-offering, the incense precedes the libations, so, too, in the afternoon, the incense precedes the libations. And since it is not written, "as the limbs of the morning," but rather "the meal-offering of the morning," we learn that the afternoon incense precedes the meal-offering, but not the limbs.

If the High Priest was old or frail – and cannot endure the coldness of the water in which he immerses himself they warmed for him water before Yom Kippur and on Yom Kippur poured it into the cold – water in the mikveh, to abate its coldness – of the water – a baraita quoted in the Gemara states that they would warm Yom Kippur thick iron bars leaving them on the fire until the next day, and at the time of the immersion they would remove them from the fire, and put them in the water. This action is prohibited only Rabbinic law (as shevut) which does not apply in the Temple (see Yoma 34b). They were also permitted to heat water on Yom Kippur eve, take it of the fire on Yom Kippur, and pour it into the mikveh (Hameiri).

SHEKALIM: CHAPTER 3 : MISHNA 6

They brought him to Bet Haparvah, which was in a holy place. They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people. He sanctified his hands and his feet, and he stripped off. Rabbi Meir says, He stripped off, he sanctified his hands and his feet. He went down and immersed, he came up and dried himself. They brought him white garments, he donned, and he sanctified his hands and his feet.

Kehati

They brought him to Bet Haparvah – as explained above, Bet Haparvah is a chamber in the Temple Courtyard (named after its builder) which had a mikveh (ritual bath) on its roof. After the offering of the morning tamid (and the Musaf sacrifices of the respective day), when the High Priest had to begin the service of the day (i.e., the special service for Yom Kippur), he would go up to the roof of Bet Haparvah in order to undergo his second immersion there, which was in a holy place – for it was taught above that all the immersions (except the first) had to be performed in a holy place, as it is written, "And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place" (Lev. 16:24).

They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people – see above (mishnah 4). He sanctified his hands and his feet – because of the removal of his garments, and he stripped off – the gold garments. Rabbi Meir says, First he stripped off – his garments, and afterwards he sanctified his hands and his feet – for according to the opinion of Rabbi Meir, the two sanctifications, one preceding, and the other following the immersion, are in honor of the garments that he puts on. Therefore he sanctifies his hands and his feet only after he takes off the garments. The law is not in accordance with Rabbi Meir.

He went down and immersed – this was the second immersion of the day, he came up – from the mikveh, and dried himself – with the sheet. They brought him the four white garments – the tunic (ketonet), breeches (mikhnasayim), girdle (avnet), and mitre (mitznefet) (Lev. 16:4), in which the High Priest performed the special Yom Kippur service, he donned – the white garments,

And he sanctified his hands and his feet – in honor of donning the garments. The Gemara states that even Rabbi Meir admits that after the immersion he first puts on the garments and afterwards he sanctifies his hands and his feet, as it is written, "or when they come near to the Altar...so they shall wash their hands and their feet" (Ex. 30:20-21), i.e., they approach the altar directly after sanctifying their hands and feet, having donned the garments before. This is the third sanctification.

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