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Week 32 - Sunday- 2 July 2000

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 7

He came to the bullock and the goat that were to be burned. He tore them open and took out their sacrificial portions, he put them in a tray and burned them on the Altar. He twisted them around carrying-poles [mikla'ot] and took them out to the place of burning. And from when on are the garments rendered unclean? From when he went outside the wall of the Temple Courtyard. Rabbi Shimon says, From when the fire has seized the greater part of them.

Kehati

After the High Priest had given over the Scapegoat to the person who led it away (see 6:3, above), He came to the bullock and the goat that were about to be burned - i.e., the bullock and the goat form whose blood he had already sprinkled in the Holy of Holies (see 5:3-6, above), and whose bodies were hanging on poles in the slaughtering place. He tore them open and took out their sacrificial portions - the fats the sacrificial portions in a tray - one of the service vessels, and he burned them on the Altar - in the Temple Courtyard. The Gemara explains that his does not mean that he offered them up now, at this point, for he was still wearing the white garments, and he offered them up only after he put on again the gold garments and offered his ram and the ram of the people, as it is written, "And Aaron shall come into the Tent of Meeting and shall put off the linen garments... And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place and put on his other vestments, and come forth, and offer burnt-offering and the burnt-offering of the people... And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn upon the altar" (Lev. 16:23-25); the mishnah should read, "to burn them," instead of "and he burned them up," i.e., he put them in a tray in order to burn them afterwards in due course on the outer Altar.

He twisted them around carrying-poles - one version reads maklot (instead of "miklaot"), "on staves," i.e., after he put their sacrificial portions in the tray, he twisted them around poles like plaits: four people, two in front and two in back would carry two poles on which the bullock and the goat were suspended intertwined. They were whole, with their skins, flesh, and their dung, with only their stomachs torn open to extract the sacrificial portions (Rashi). According to Rambam and Hameiri he would cut them up into large pieces, which were intertwined, but he had neither removed their skin nor dismemeberd them, and he placed them on two poles which were carried by four people,

And took them out - i.e., he handed them over to be taken out, to the place of their burning - i.e., Bet Hadeshen (place of the ashes), which was outside Jerusalem, as it is written, "And the bullock of the sin-offering, and the goat of the sin-offering, whose blood was brought in to make atonement in the holy place, shall be carried forth outside the camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their flesh, and their dung (Lev. 16:27). It is written, "and he that burns them shall wash his clothes" (ibid., v. 28), which leads the mishnah to ask: And from when on are the garments - of the people who deal with their removal to the place of the ashes - rendered unclean?

From when he went outside the wall of the Temple Courtyard as it is written, "shall be carried forth outside the camp; and they shall burn..."; a baraita quoted in the Gemara teaches: "There (in the case of the other sacrifices that are burnt) you give them three camps, i.e., they must be burnt outside three camps, i.e., the Temple Courtyard, the Temple Mount, and Jerusalem), while here you give them (i.e., take them outside) one camp (do we not learn the law of the bullock and the goat of Yom Kippur from that regarding the other sacrifices that are burned, that these are also burned outside the three camps)? If so, why is it written, 'outside the camp' (implying one camp)? To teach you that when he went outside one camp (outside the Temple Courtyard), the garments of the people dealing with this have been rendered unclean (i.e., the clause "shall be carried forth outside the camp" refers to the uncleanness of the garments, and not to the burning itself).

Rabbi Shimon says, From when the fire has seized the greater part of them - the clothes of those engaged in the removal to the place of the ashes are rendered unclean only after they have begun the actual burning, from the time most of the portions have caught fire, as it is written, "And he that burns them shall wash his clothes" (ibid.), meaning when he actually burns them; As for the passage "shall be carried forth outside the camp," Rabbi Shimon learns from it another law (see the Gemara). The halakhah does not follow Rabbi Shimon.

YOMA: CHAPTER 6 : MISHNA 8

They said to the High Priest, "The goat has reached the wilderness." And whence did they know that the goat had reached the wilderness? They would set up relay stations, and they waved with scarves, and they knew that the goat had reached the wilderness. Rabbi Yehudah said, But did they not have a great sign?! From Jerusalem to Bet Hiddudo three mils; they could walk a mil, return a mil, and wait the time it takes to walk a mil, and thus know that the goat had reached the wilderness. Rabbi Yishmael says, But did they not have another sign?! A thread of crimson was tied to the door of the Sanctuary, and when the goat reached the wilderness the thread would turn white. As it is written, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1:18).

Kehati

They said to the High Priest, "The goat has reached the wilderness" - for he was not permitted to begin another part of the service until the goat had reached the wilderness, as it is written, "and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness" (Lev. 16:22), and then (ibid. 25), "And the fat of the sin-offering shall he make burn" (Rashi). And whence did they know that the goat had reached the wilderness? They would set up relay stations - along the entire route they erected observation posts in which observers were stationed, and they waved with scarves - to one another, and they knew that the goat had reached the wilderness - when the observer standing closest to the peak saw the person leading the goat pushing it from the peak, he waved to his fellow, who passed on the signal until it reached Jerusalem.

Rabbi Yehudah said, But did they not have a great sign!? From Jerusalem to Bet Hiddudo three mils - Bet Hiddudo was a place at the beginning of the wilderness, where the Scapegoat was lead to the peak. In Rabbi Yehudah's opinion, the obligation of letting the Scapegoat go was fulfilled when the goat reached the wilderness, even before reaching the peak. Now, since the distance from Jerusalem to Bet Hiddudo was three mils, they could walk a mil - to accompany the person leading the goat, as it was taught, "Some of the notables of Jerusalem accompanied him until the first booth" (6:4, above), return a mil, and wait the time it takes to walk a mil, and thus know that the goat had reached the wilderness - and the High Priest could continue his service.

Rabbi Yishmael says, But did they not have another sign?! A thread of Crimson was tied to the door of the Sanctuary, and when the goat reached the wilderness the thread would turn white - as a sign that atonement had been granted for the sins. As it is written, "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" - as thus they knew that the obligation of letting the goat go had been fulfilled. A baraita quoted in the Gemara (67b) states: "At first they used to tie a thread of crimson on the door outside the Sanctuary. If it turned white - they rejoiced; if it did not turn white - they were sad and ashamed. They then decided to tie it on the door inside the Sanctuary. But they still would look, and if it turned white - they rejoiced; if it did not turn white - they were sad. They then decided to tie half of it on the rock, and half of it between its horns." Rabbi Yishmael's question cited in this mishnah refers to the original practice, whereas the First Tanna refers to the situation after the institution of the last regulation, as was also taught above (mishnah 6); he therefore holds that they stationed observers on the way, who would wave with scarves to one another announcing that the goat had reached the wilderness (Tosefot Yom Tov). Some versions of the mishnah omit Rabbi Yishmael's words.

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