יומא 52 — Soncino English Talmud

¹to go straight ahead [towards the seat of the Divine Presence]. And R. Jose? — Israel is so beloved that Scripture does not wish to burden their messenger. As to R. Judah. let him enter between the candlestick and the wall! — His garments would become blackened. R. Nathan said: Concerning the ‘cubit of partition’. the Sages did not decide as to whether its sanctity was that of the Holy of Holies or of the Holy Place outside of it. To this Rabina demurred: What was their reason? Shall we say because it is written: And the house which King Solomon built for the Lord, the length thereof was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits. [Also] it is written: And the house, that is, the Temple before [the Sanctuary]. was forty cubits long and it is further written: And before the Sanctuary which was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof — so that we do not know whether the [space of] a cubit of the partition was to be deducted from the twenty or the forty, — perhaps it is to be deducted from neither the twenty nor the forty, the account referring only to the free spaces, not to the walls. As a proof [is the fact] that whenever the walls are mentioned, they are mentioned separately, for we have learnt: The Sanctuary was a hundred cubits square and a hundred cubits in height. The wall of the Ulam was five [cubits thick] and the Ulam eleven. The wall of the Sanctuary six, and its interior forty cubits, the partition one cubit and the Holy of Holies twenty cubits, the wall of the Sanctuary six, the cell six and the wall of the cell five! — Rather, the question is whether the sanctity of the partition is as that of the inner part [the Holy of Holies], or the outer part, and this is as R. Johanan reported: Joseph of Huzal asked: [It is written], And a debir in the midst of the house from within he prepared to set there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. The question was asked [in the Academy]: What does Scripture mean to say? [Does it mean] ‘a debir in the midst of the house; from within he prepared to place the ark there’; or ‘a debir in the midst of the house from within’? — But could they have any doubt? Surely it was taught: Issi b. Judah said: There are five verses in the Torah [the grammatical construction of] which is undecided:^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ

^ᵃnote:on the assumption that they were placed between east and west, so that he could walk unhandicapped along the north wall towards the Holy of Holies, the suggestion is offered that it would not be in accord with the reverence due to that sacred place for the high priest to walk straight towards it, ‘feasting his eyes all the time on that most awe-inspiring place, through the opening through which he was to enter, hence R. Meir s view.
^ᵇnote:The high priest, as representative of Israel, is permitted to avoid the weary detour between table and altar and to proceed straight along the north wall towards the Holy of Holies.
^ᶜnote:From the smoke (soot) of the candlestick on the wall.
^ᵈnote:l Kings VI, 2.
^ᵉnote:Ibid. 17.
^ᶠnote:I Kings VI, 20.
^ᵍnote:The hall leading into the interior of the Temple.
^ʰnote:V. Mid. IV. 6 and 7. Hence the question above is answered.
^ⁱnote:E.V. ‘Sanctuary:’ here taken to denote the space between the partition dividing the Holy from the Holy of Holies.
^ʲnote:I Kings VI, 19.
^ᵏnote:According to the first interpretation the cubit partition would be excluded then from the Holy of Holies. Does the ‘from within’ belong to the first part of the verse, referring to the debir or to the second interpretation and refer to the Holy of Holies?

²‘lifted up’, ‘like almond-blossoms’;, ‘tomorrow’, ‘cursed’ and ‘rise up’. It was also taught: Joseph of Huzal is the same as Joseph the Babylonian, and is identical with Issi b. Judah, also with Issi b. Gur Aryeh, also with Issi b. Gamliel, also with Issi b. Mahalalel. What was his real name? Issi b. Akiba! — In the Torah there is no other, but in the Prophets there is. But is there in the Torah no other; surely there is for R. Hisda asked: [It is written], And he sent the young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, [does it mean] of lambs; and sacrificed peace-offerings unto the Lord [namely of oxen]; or [does the word] ‘oxen’ refer to all [sacrifices]? — R. Hisda had indeed his doubts about it, but to Issi b. Judah it was obvious. MISHNAH. THE OUTER CURTAIN WAS HELD BACK BY A CLASP ON THE SOUTH SIDE AND THE INNER CURTAIN ON THE NORTH SIDE. HE WALKED ALONG BETWEEN THEM UNTIL HE REACHED THE NORTH SIDE. WHEN HE REACHED THE NORTH SIDE HE TURNED ROUND TO THE SOUTH AND WENT ON ALONG THE CURTAIN, TO HIS LEFT, UNTIL HE REACHED THE ARK. WHEN HE REACHED THE ARK HE PUT THE PAN OF BURNING COALS BETWEEN THE TWO BARS. HE HEAPED UP THE INCENSE UPON THE COALS AND THE WHOLE HOUSE BECAME FULL WITH SMOKE. HE CAME OUT BY THE WAY HE ENTERED AND IN THE OUTER HOUSE HE UTTERED A SHORT PRAYER. HE DID NOT MAKE THE PRAYER LONG SO AS NOT TO FRIGHTEN ISRAEL. GEMARA. To what are we referring here? If it be the first Sanctuary, was there then a curtain? Again, if it is to the second Sanctuary, was there then an Ark? Surely it has been taught: When the Ark was hidden, there was hidden with it the bottle containing the Manna, and that containing the sprinkling water, the staff of Aaron, with its almonds and blossoms, and the chest which the Philistines had sent as a gift to the God of Israel, as it is said: And put the jewels of gold which you return to Him for a guilt-offering in a coffer by the side thereof and send it away that it may go. Who hid it? — Josiah hid it. What was his reason for hiding it? — He saw the Scriptural passage: The Lord will bring thee and thy King whom thou shalt set over thee, therefore he hid it, as it is said: And he said to the Levites, that taught all Israel, that were holy unto the Lord: Put the holy ark into the house which Solomon, the son of David, King of Israel did build. There shall no more be a burden upon your shoulders now. Serve now the Lord your God and His people Israel. And R. Eleazar said: We derive by analogy between the words ‘there’, ‘generations’ and ‘to be kept’ occurring in these passages! In truth we refer to the second Sanctuary and what does ‘He came to the Ark’ mean? I.e., he came to the place of the Ark. But the text reads: HE PLACED THE PAN OF BURNING COALS BETWEEN THE TWO BARS? — Read [it to mean]: ‘as if it were between the two bars’. HE HEAPED THE INCENSE UPON THE COALS. We learn here in accordance with the view that he heaped it [the incense] up. One [Baraitha] taught: He begins to heap it up on the inner side, which is to him the outer side, whereas another taught: he begins to heap it up on the outer side which is to him the inner side. Abaye said: It is a matter of dispute among Tannaim. Further said Abaye: The view of him who holds he begins to heap it on the inner side, which is to him the outer side, seems logical, for we have learnt: One teaches him: Be careful^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ

^ˡnote:Gen. IV, 7: The meaning could be: If thou doest well (good!) — but thou must bear the sin, if thou doest not well; or the usual interpretation: If thou doest well, there will be forgiving (or lifting up of face); and if thou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door.
^ᵐnote:Ex. XXV, 33: Three cups, made like almond-blossoms in one branch, a knop and a flower, or: Three cups, like almond-blossoms . . . a knop and a flower.
^ⁿnote:Ex. XVII, 9: Go out and fight with Amalek tomorrow; I will stand on the top of the hill, etc.
^ᵒnote:Gen. XLIX, 6, 7: And in their self-will they houghed oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce. Or: And in their self-will they houghed the cursed oxen. Their anger was fierce. (The cursed oxen would thus be an uncomplimentary reference to Shechem, a descendant of Canaan cursed in Gen. IX, 25).
^ᵖnote:Deut. XXXI, 16: Behold thou art about to sleep with thy fathers; and (this people) will rise up. Or: Behold thou art about to sleep with thy fathers and (wilt in future) rise up. This people will go astray after the foreign gods. — Tosaf. s.v. endeavours to account for the curious order of the sentences quoted.
^ᵠnote:Pes. 113b.
^ʳnote:Issi as an abbreviation of Joseph is perfectly possible. Tosaf.
^ˢnote:Judah is called Gur Aryeh (a lion's whelp) in the blessing of Jacob, hence the substitution here, v. Gen. XLIX, 9.
^ᵗnote:V. Pes., Sonc. ed., p. 585. n. 6.
^ᵘnote:Now Joseph of Huzal is here identified with Issi b. Judah and yet among the ambiguous passages here enumerated, the passage which aroused his question (I Kings VI, 20) is not mentioned!
^ᵛnote:Hag. 6b.
^ʷnote:Ex. XXIV, 5.
^ˣnote:I.e., also to burnt-offerings, the meaning depending on the pause: If we pronounce ‘oloth’ (burnt-offerings) at the end of the middle pause, or read on without such pause in the middle.
^ʸnote:V. Ex. XXV, 13f.
^ᶻnote:Just as, on entering, he turned southwards until he reached the Ark, thus as he left, he did not turn his face, but went backwards, with his face toward the Ark (Rashi).
^ᵃᵃnote:In the Sanctuary.
^ᵃᵇnote:V. supra 51b.
^ᵃᶜnote:Ex. XVI, 33.
^ᵃᵈnote:Num. XIX, 9.
^ᵃᵉnote:Num. XVII, 25.
^ᵃᶠnote:I Sam. VI, 8. Hence it is evident that it was placed together with the Ark and the fear was justified that together with the latter these things might be exiled and lost.
^ᵃᵍnote:Deut. XXVIII, 36.
^ᵃʰnote:II Chron. XXXV, 3.
^ᵃⁱnote:That the other objects enumerated were hidden at the same time as the Ark.
^ᵃʲnote:Ex. XXX, 6 and ibid. XVI, 33, the word ‘there’ occurs, justifying the inference that something must occur in both the Ark and the manna; in the passage referring to the latter, Ex. XVI, 33, as well as in the passage referring to the oil for anointing (ibid. XXX, 31) the priests the word ‘generations’ occurs, again indicating some justified inference of something in common; finally, in connection with the manna as well as in the passage about the staff of Aaron the word ‘to be kept’ occurs (Ex. XVI, 33 and Num. XVII, 25). From all these word analogies the inference is drawn that what manna, bottle, oil, staff of Aaron and Ark had in common is that having been placed in or near the Ark, they also were hidden together. Hence the reference in the Mishnah could not be to the second Sanctuary either.
^ᵃᵏnote:He placed it just where the two staves had been in the first Sanctuary.
^ᵃˡnote:V. supra 49b.
^ᵃᵐnote:I.e., he commences to heap up the incense from the inside part of the coal-pan in relation to the Holy of Holies, working outwardly towards his arm. I.e., he commenced to heap up the incense on the outer side of the pan in relation to the Holy of Holies, working towards the inside, away from his arm, with the precaution suggested below.
^ᵃⁿnote:Tamid 33a.