Yoma

How is ‘four or five’ to be taken? — According to the Sages who say:1 The incoming Mishmar2 took six and the outgoing group took six, and there is no fee for the locking of the Temple gates,3 the division is in respect of the twelves loaves. Deduct one from a half, that makes five. Whereas according to R. Judah who says: The incoming Mishmar takes seven, of which two are the fee for locking the Temple gates, and the outgoing division takes five; the division is in respect of ten4 loaves, take one off the half, thus he takes four. Raba said: The whole teaching is in accord with Rabbi, but he is of the opinion of R. Judah.5 How then does ‘four’ come in? He should take five? That is no difficulty: In the one case there is a Mishmar which6 delayed in the Sanctuary, in the other there is no such Mishmar. If there be a Mishmar which delayed,7 so that he would take four of them, the division is in respect of eight loaves; if there is no Mishmar which had delayed, one ought to divide ten, so that the division is in respect of ten loaves, he would take five loaves. If so, then, can Rabbi say: Always five? — That is, indeed, a difficulty. MISHNAH. THEY DELIVERED TO HIM ELDERS FROM THE ELDERS OF THE COURT AND THEY READ BEFORE HIM [THROUGHOUT THE SEVEN DAYS] OUT OF THE ORDER OF THE DAY.8 THEY SAID TO HIM, SIR HIGH PRIEST, READ YOU YOURSELF WITH YOUR OWN MOUTH, PERCHANCE YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN OR PERCHANCE YOU HAVE NEVER LEARNT. ON THE EVE OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT IN THE MORNING THEY PLACE HIM AT THE EASTERN GATE AND PASS BEFORE HIM OXEN, RAMS AND SHEEP, THAT HE MAY LEARN TO KNOW AND BECOME FAMILIAR WITH THE SERVICE. THROUGHOUT THE SEVEN DAYS THEY DID NOT WITHHOLD FOOD OR DRINK FROM HIM. BUT ON THE EVE OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT NEAR NIGHTFALL THEY WOULD NOT LET HIM EAT MUCH BECAUSE FOOD BRINGS ABOUT SLEEP. GEMARA. It is quite right that [they assume] perchance he has forgotten, but that he never learnt, do we ever appoint men of that type? Surely it has been taught: And the priest that is highest among his brethren,9 that means he should be highest among his brethren in strength, in beauty, in wisdom, and in riches. Others10 say: Whence do we know that if he does not possess [any wealth], his brethren, the priests, endow him?11 To teach us that it says: ‘And the priest who is great by reason of his brethren’,12 i.e., make him great from what his brethren have?13 -R. Joseph said: That is no difficulty. One refers to the first Temple, the other to the second, for R. Assi said: A tarkabful14 of denars did Martha,15 the daughter of Boethus give to King Jannai16 to nominate17 Joshua ben Gamala as one of the high priests.18 ON THE EVE OF THE DAY OF ATONEMENT IN THE MORNING: A Tanna taught: Also the he-goats. Why has our Tanna not taught he-goats? — Since they are meant for sin[-offerings], he might feel discouraged. If it be so: does not a bullock,19 too, come for a sin[-offering]? — Since that comes for himself and his brethren the priests, [there is this advantage] that if there be one among his brethren the priests with whom there is something the matter, he would know it and bring him back to repentance, but would he know that with all Israel? Rabina said: This is what the popular proverb means: If your sister's son has been appointed a constable, look out that you pass not before him in the street.20 THROUGHOUT THE SEVEN DAYS THEY DID NOT WITHHOLD etc. It has been taught: R. Judah b. Nakussa said: One fed him [cakes] of fine flour and eggs in order to produce [speedy] elimination. They answered him: Thus you will induce the more excitement.21 It has been taught: Symmachus said in the name of R. Meir: One does not feed him either A'B'Y,22 and some say, neither A'B'B'Y,22 and some say neither white wine. Neither A'B'Y, i.e., neither Ethrog [citron], nor Bezim [eggs], nor Yayin yashan [old wine]. And, according to others, no A'B'B'Y, i.e., neither Ethrog, nor Bezim, nor Bassar shamen [fat meat], nor Yayin yashan, some say neither white wine because white wine induces levitical impurity in man.23 — Our Rabbis taught: To one afflicted with gonorrhoea one assigns food or too many kinds of food as the cause24 of an attack of gonorrhoea. Eleazar b. Phinehas says in the name of R. Judah b. Bathyra: One does not feed him25 either H'G'B'Y or G'B'M, or any other thing that induces impurity. Neither H'G'B'Y, i.e., neither Halab [milk], nor Gebinah [cheese], nor Bezah, nor Yayin: nor G'B'M, i.e., neither megrisen shel pul [soup of pounded beans] , nor Basar shamen,, nor Muries26 . ‘Nor any other matters [foods] that induce impurity’ — What is that meant to include? — It is meant to include what our Rabbis taught: Five things induce impurity in man, they are as follows: garlic, festival starts on a Sunday, the guest priests would have to arrive in Jerusalem on the Friday before, since travel on the Sabbath is forbidden. Similarly, if the festival closes on Friday, the priests would have to stay over the Sabbath in Jerusalem. Hence, in either case, they share equally in the shewbread with the priests of the division in service in that particular week. If however, the festival started on a Monday, so that the guest priests might have arrived on Sunday, but instead came on Friday already; or, if the festival closed on Thursday, so that the priests might have returned on Friday, but stayed in Jerusalem until Sunday, such ‘delaying’ divisions (or guest divisions) were allotted only two loaves whilst the remaining ten loaves were divided between the incoming and outgoing weekly divisions. the high priest would receive but four. (do for him). for Agrippa II, v. Josephus Ant. XX, 9, 4, and Derenbourg, Essai, 248ff.] seven days from the day it happened before he would be pure again, but now he can continue his original count.