יומא 21 — Soncino English Talmud

¹and some say also the sound of Ridya. The Sages prayed for the soul as it leaves the body and achieved the stopping [of that cry]. We have learnt in accord with R. Shila: If one starts out on a journey before keri'ath ha-geber, his blood comes upon his own head! R. Josiah says: [He should wait] until he has crowed twice, some say: Until he has crowed thrice. What kind of cock? The average type. Rab Judah said in the name of Rab: When the Israelites come up to the festivals, they stand pressed together, but they prostrate themselves, with wide spaces [between them], and they extend eleven cubits behind the back wall of the Holy of Holies. What does that mean? — It means that although they extended eleven cubits behind the back wall of the Holy of Holies, standing pressed together, yet when they prostrated themselves, they prostrated themselves with wide spaces [between them]. This is one of the ten miracles which were wrought in the Temple, for we have learnt: Ten miracles were wrought in the Temple: no woman miscarried from the scent of the holy flesh; the holy flesh never became putrid; no fly was seen in the slaughter house; no pollution ever befell the high priest on the Day of Atonement; no rain ever quenched the fire of the wood-pile on the altar; neither did the wind overcome the column of smoke that arose therefrom; nor was there ever found any disqualifying defect in the ‘Omer or in the two loaves, or in the shewbread; though the people stood closely pressed together, they still found wide spaces between them to prostrate themselves; never did serpent or scorpion injure anyone in Jerusalem, nor did any man ever say to his fellow: The place is too narrow for me to stay overnight in Jerusalem. — He started with [miracles in] the Temple and concludes with [those wrought] in Jerusalem! — There are two more [miracles wrought] in the Temple. For it has been taught: Never did rains quench the fire of the pile of wood on the altar; and as for the smoke arising from the pile of wood, even if all the winds of the world came blowing, they could not divert it from its wonted place. But are there no more? Has not R. Shemaya of Kalnebo taught that the fragments of earthenware were swallowed up in the very place [where they were broken]; and Abaye said: The crop, the feathers, the ashes removed from the inner altar and from the candlestick were swallowed up in the very place [where they were taken off]? — The three [referring to] disqualifications were included under one head, hence take off two and add two! But then all [cases of] things swallowed up ought also to be included under one head, so that the count would be one short? — There are also other [miracles], for R. Joshua b. Levi said: A great miracle was wrought with the shewbread, viz., when it was removed it was as fresh as when it was put on, as it was said: To put hot bread in the day it was taken away. But are there no more? Has not R. Levi said: This matter has been handed down as a tradition to us from our forefathers: The place on which the ark stands is not included in the measurement; and has not Rabbanai in the name of Samuel said: The Cherubs were standing by sheer miracle? — The count refers to miracles wrought outside [the Temple], miracles wrought inside are not mentioned. If that be so, what of the shewbread which is also a miracle that happened inside the Temple? — No, that miracle happened outside, for Resh Lakish said: What is the meaning of the passage: Upon the pure table before the Lord; the statement that it is pure implies that it was susceptible to uncleanness.^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ

^ᵃnote:thsr: name of the angel of rain. In Ta'an. 25b his figure is said to be that of a calf, and according to Rashi it is from this fact that it derives its name, thsr being the Aramaic equivalent of aruj a ploughing (ox).
^ᵇnote:Which proves the phrase to mean, cockcrow.
^ᶜnote:One that crows neither too early nor too late.
^ᵈnote:Pressed, squeezed together in the Temple. Rashi would have it as a simile of a ‘floating mass’, immovable in a swaying mob.
^ᵉnote:Lit., ‘House of the Mercy Seat’, v. supra p. 73, n. 5.
^ᶠnote:Another reading has ‘unto our forefathers in etc.’
^ᵍnote:Of new barley offered on the second day of Passover, Lev. XXIII, 10f.
^ʰnote:The first fruits of the wheat harvest offered on Pentecost, ibid. 17.
^ⁱnote:V. Aboth, Sonc. ed., p. 62 notes,
^ʲnote:[Kar-nebo, the city of Nebo. Probably Borsippa, v. Funk, Monumenta I p. 299.]
^ᵏnote:In which flesh of sin-offerings was boiled, and which according to Lev. had to be broken, v. Lev. VI, 21.
^ˡnote:Zeb. 96a.
^ᵐnote:Of the ‘Omer, the two loaves and the shewbread.
^ⁿnote:Broken earthenware, crop, feathers, ashes. Broken earthenware was counted as one and all the other things swallowed up came as under one head, so that if they were all to be placed on one count, there would be one miracle short of the number.
^ᵒnote:Hag. 26b.
^ᵖnote:I Sam. XXI, 7
^ᵠnote:The Cherubim which Solomon made stood on the floor next to the ark, on the right and left, The spread of their wings was twenty cubits, Since the whole room had no more than twenty cubits, the body of the Cherubs, as separate from the wings, was in the room by miraculous provision. The same applies to the ark.
^ʳnote:Lev. XXIV, 6.

²[But surely] it was a wooden vessel, intended for resting, and every wooden vessel intended for resting is not susceptible to uncleanness and sets up a barrier against uncleanness? Rather does this teach us that the table would be lifted up for the gaze of those who came up to the Festivals, with the mark: Behold how beloved you are of God, for it is as fresh when it is taken off as it was when put on, as it was said: ‘To put hot bread in the day it was taken away’. But were there no more [miracles]? Did not R. Oshaia say: When King Solomon built the Sanctuary, he planted therein all kinds of [trees of] golden delights, which were bringing forth their fruits in their season and as the winds blew at them, they would fall off, as it is written: May his fruits rustle like Lebanon, and when the foreigners entered the Temple they withered, as it is written: And the flower of Lebanon languishes; and the Holy One, blessed be He, will in the future restore them, as it is said: It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it? -Permanent miracles he does not include in his count. And now that we have come to this [conclusion], the ark and the Cherubim are also permanent miracles. The Master said: ‘And the [smoke arising from the] pile of wood on the altar’. But was there smoke arising from the pile of wood? Has it not been taught: Five things were reported about the fire of the pile of wood: It was lying like a lion, it was as clear as sunlight, its flame was of solid substance, it devoured wet wood like dry wood, and it caused no smoke to arise from it? — What we said [about the smoke] referred to the wood from outside [of the Sanctuary]. For it has been taught: And the sons of Aaron the priest shall put fire upon the altar — although the fire comes down from heaven, it is a proper thing to bring fire from outside too. ‘Lying like a lion’. But has it not been taught: R. Hanina, deputy high priest, said: I myself have seen it and it was lying like a dog? — This is no contradiction: The first statement refers to the first Temple, the second to the second Temple. But was the fire present at the second Temple?-Surely R. Samuel b. Inia said: What is the meaning of the scriptural verse: And I will take pleasure in it [we-ikabed] and I will be glorified? The traditional reading is ‘we-ikabedah’, then why is the [letter] ‘he’ omitted [in the text]? To indicate that in five things the first Sanctuary differed from the second: in the ark, the ark-cover, the Cherubim, the fire, the Shechinah, the Holy Spirit [of Prophecy], and the Urim-we-Thummim [the Oracle Plate]? — I will tell you, They were present, but they were not as helpful [as before]. Our Rabbis taught: There are six different kinds of fire: Fire which eats but does not drink; fire which drinks but does not eat; fire which eats and drinks; fire which consumes dry matter as well as moist matter; and fire which pushes fire away; fire which eats fire. ‘Fire which eats but does not drink’: that is our fire [water quenches it]; ‘which drinks but does not eat’: the fever of the sick; ‘eats and drinks’: that of Elijah, for it is written: And licked up the water that was in the trench; ‘eats both dry and moist matter’: the fire of the pile of wood; ‘fire which pushes other fire away’: that of Gabriel; and ‘fire which eats fire’: that of the Shechinah, for a Master said: He put forth His finger among them and burned them. [It is stated above], ‘But the smoke arising from the pile of wood, even all the winds of the world could not move it from its place’. But [did not] R. Isaac b. Abdimi Say: ‘On the night following the last day of the [Sukkoth] Festival all were gazing upon the smoke arising from the pile of wood. If it inclined northward, the poor rejoiced and the people of means were sad, because the rains of the coming year would be abundant and their fruits would rot. If it inclined southward, the poor were depressed and the men of means rejoiced, for there would be little rain that year and the fruit could be preserved. If it inclined eastwards, all rejoiced; if westwards all were depressed’? — It merely means that it swayed hither and thither like a tree, but it was not scattered. The Master said: [If it inclined] eastward all rejoiced: westward — all were depressed. There is a contradiction against it: The east wind is always good ‘ the west wind always bad, the north wind benefits wheat when it has grown to one third [of its usual height], and is bad for olives when they are budding; the south wind is bad for wheat which has grown one third [of its normal size] and good for olives when they are budding and R. Joseph or Mar Zutra said, in connection therewith, as a sign: The table was in the north, and the candlestick in the south, i.e., the one [north wind] grows what is good for the table, and the other [south wind] what is good for the candlestick? — This is no contradiction: the former statement refers to us, the latter to them. [^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ

^ˢnote:.muj. The root ‘hazaz’ means to cut off, to divide, to serve as an intervening object.
^ᵗnote:Wooden utensils which are not intended to be moved (as e.g., a table) are not only not susceptible to uncleanness, but they form a barrier against uncleanness, effectively preventing its spread. This is inferred from the passage: And upon whatsoever any of them, when they are dead, doth fall, it shall be unclean; whether it be any vessel of wood, or raiment, or skin, or sack (Lev. XI, 32). In this passage sack and vessel of wood are cited together, hence our Sages infer that just as a sack is movable and moved, so uncleanness can befall only such wooden vessels as are movable and moved; whereas a wooden vessel meant to rest (or have things placed thereon) is different and hence unsusceptible.
^ᵘnote:The table being taken out periodically to be shown to the pilgrims was no longer considered an immovable object and became susceptible to uncleanness, and the miracle consisted in the fact that nevertheless it never actually became unclean,
^ᵛnote:I Sam. XXI, 7.
^ʷnote:Infra 39b.
^ˣnote:Ps. LXXII, 16. Hence there are fruits in Lebanon. But Lebanon was identified with the Sanctuary (Git. 56b), thus the paraphrase of the trees and the winds to create the rustling.
^ʸnote:Nahum I, 4.
^ᶻnote:Isa, XXXV, 2.
^ᵃᵃnote:And therefore not included.
^ᵃᵇnote:Either as the simple text suggests, the fire, majestically, quietly; or, as Rashi has it: ‘It’ refers to a great lump of coal which fell from heaven in the days of Solomon and stayed there until the time of Manasseh; that lump having the form of a lion.
^ᵃᶜnote:Lit., ‘private (man)’ — not part of the altar wood, but wood which was brought in addition and unaffected by the special property of the holy fire.
^ᵃᵈnote:Lev, I, 7.
^ᵃᵉnote:Infra 53a.
^ᵃᶠnote:The first Sanctuary was held in great reverence, itself, its priests, its influence. The second came to be held in disrespect. The above tradition may well reflect the attitude towards both, as crystallized in the Aggada. Therefore the very pile of wood ‘was lying like a lion’ in David's Temple, and appeared ‘lying like a dog’ in the second.
^ᵃᵍnote:Hag. I, 8: Go up to the hill-country and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
^ᵃʰnote:The numerical value of v is five.
^ᵃⁱnote:The first three form one unit.
^ᵃʲnote:I Kings XVIII, 38: Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed . . . and licked up.
^ᵃᵏnote:Pes. 118a, ref. to Dan.III, 27.
^ᵃˡnote:The angels objecting to the creation of man. The angels are of fire, v. Sanh. 38b.
^ᵃᵐnote:V. R. H. 16a: At the Feast of Tabernacles the World is judged through water. V. Ta'an. 2a. Hence the anxiety to watch for the decision from the direction of the wind.
^ᵃⁿnote:Hence they would have to sell them fast, i.e., cheaply.
^ᵃᵒnote:Because it meant average rain, plenty of fruit, without danger of rotting so that the merchants could charge moderate prices.
^ᵃᵖnote:Because it dries up the seeds, and causes famine, v. B.B. 147a. At any rate the smoke moved, which contradicts the statement above.
^ᵃᵠnote:Sc. in the Sanctuary.
^ᵃʳnote:Wheat for the shewbread.
^ᵃˢnote:Oil of the olive.
^ᵃᵗnote:For Babylonia, which is always full of moisture, the east wind is good.
^ᵃᵘnote:For Palestine, which is dry, full of mountains and hills, it is bad.