זבחים 62 — Soncino English Talmud

¹or over cellars. R. Joseph said: Is that not which was taught: And they set the altar upon its bases, [which means] that they attained to its final measurements? But surely it is written, And all this [do I give thee] in writing, as the Lord hath made me wise by His hand upon me, even all works of this pattern? Rather said R. Joseph: They found a text and interpreted it: Then David said: This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt-offering for Israel: [this intimated that the altar was] like the house: as the house was sixty cubits [in length], so were there sixty cubits for the altar. As for the Temple, it is well, for its outline was distinguishable; but how did they know [the site of] the altar? — Said R. Eleazar: They saw [in a vision] the altar built, and Michael the great prince standing and offering upon it. While R. Isaac Nappaha said: They saw Isaac's ashes lying in that place. R. Samuel b. Nahman said: From [the site of] the whole House they smelt the odour of incense, while from there [the site of the altar] they smelt the odour of limbs. Rabbah b. Hanah said in R. Johanan's name: Three prophets went up with them from the Exile: one testified to them about [the dimensions of] the altar; another testified to them about the site of the altar; and the third testified to them that they could sacrifice even though there was no Temple. In a Baraitha it was taught, R. Eleazar b. Jacob said: Three prophets went up with them from the Exile: one who testified to them about [the dimensions of] the altar and the site of the altar; another who testified to them that they could sacrifice even though there was no Temple; and a third who testified to them that the Torah should be written in Assyrian characters. Our Rabbis taught: The horn, the ascent, the base and squareness are indispensable; the measurements of its length, breadth and height are not indispensable. How do we know it? — Said R. Huna, Scripture saith, ‘The altar’, and wherever ‘the altar’ is said it is indispensable. If so, are the laver, according to Rabbi, and the terrace, according to R. Jose son of R. Judah, also indispensable, because it is written, And thou shalt put it under the karkob [ledge] round the altar beneath, and it was taught: What was the karkob? Rabbi said: It was the laver; R. Jose son of R. Judah said: It was the terrace! — Yes [it is indeed so], for it was taught: On that day the horn of the altar was damaged, and they brought a lump of salt and stopped it up. Not because it was [now] fit for service, but that it should not appear damaged, for every altar which lacks a horn, ascent, base and squareness is invalid. R. Jose son of R. Judah said: The same applies to the terrace. Our Rabbis taught: What was the karkob? [A strip] between one horn and another horn a cubit [in breadth], where the priests walked. Did then the priests walk between one horn and another? — Rather say: and there was [a strip of] a cubit where the priests walked. But it is written, Under the karkob round it beneath, reaching halfway up! — Said R. Nahman b. Isaac: There were two, one for ornamental purposes, and the other for the priests, that they should not slip. ‘The measurements of its length, breadth, and height are not indispensable.’ Said R. Mani: provided that it is not smaller than the altar made by Moses. And how much is that? — Said R. Joseph: One cubit [square]. They ridiculed him: [quoting the text, And thou shalt make the altar . . . ] five cubits long, and five cubits broad! Said Abaye to him: perhaps the master meant the place of the pile? — The master [sc. yourself], who is a great man, knows what I meant, he replied. Then he dubbed them24^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^ˡ^ᵐ^ⁿ^ᵒ^ᵖ^ᵠ^ʳ^ˢ^ᵗ^ᵘ^ᵛ^ʷ^ˣ

^ᵃnote:But that did not exclude the possibility of its being hollow.
^ᵇnote:Ezra III, 3.
^ᶜnote:R. Joseph had once fallen sick, and on his recovery it was found that he had forgotten many of his earlier teachings and traditions. Here he states that his assertion that because the heavenly fire helped them a larger altar was unnecessary was incorrect, the real reason being as he proceeds to explain. — ‘They attained its final measurements’ means that it was revealed to the builders of the second altar (the ‘Men of the Great Assembly’) exactly which site was sacred for the altar, this knowledge having been withheld from Solomon when he built the first altar.
^ᵈnote:I Chron. XXVIII, 19. ‘All this’ refers to the plans of the first Temple with all its appurtenances. Thus it had all been divinely revealed to Solomon too, which contradicts the former statement.
^ᵉnote:The Men of the Great Assembly were guided by a text in their decision to enlarge the altar.
^ᶠnote:Ibid. XXII, 1.
^ᵍnote:An area of sixty cubits square was sacred for the altar, and they might build it anywhere within that. Nevertheless, they did not need it so large, and therefore they enlarged it merely according to their requirements.
^ʰnote:They could easily ascertain, from a study of the ruins, what had been sanctified for each part of the Temple.
^ⁱnote:Or, the smith.
^ʲnote:According to legend Isaac was bound, and the substitute ram sacrificed, on the very site of the altar, and the ashes were still there.
^ᵏnote:Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
^ˡnote:Because the sanctity of the Temple had hallowed the spot for all time.
^ᵐnote:I.e., the square form of Hebrew now in use. V. Sanh. (Sonc. ed.) p. 119. notes.
^ⁿnote:The def. art. implies that only when it is exactly as specified (in the place where the def. art. is used) is it an altar. The horns: the horns of the altar (Lev. IV, 18); the base: the base of the altar (ibid. 30); squareness: the altar shall be four square (Ex. XXVII, 1); the ascent: in front of the altar (Lev. VI, 7)’ ‘in front’ being the ascent to the altar.
^ᵒnote:Ex. XXVII, 5.
^ᵖnote:Thus ‘the altar’ is written in connection with these.
^ᵠnote:When ‘a certain man’ poured out the water of libation over his feet; v. Suk. 48b.
^ʳnote:This includes the case where they are damaged.
^ˢnote:There was a kind of trench between the ma'arakah, i.e., the place on the altar where the sacrifices etc. were burnt, and the edge of the altar. This trench was two cubits wide, including one cubit between the horns and one cubit where the priests walked (Rashi, as emended by Sh. M.).
^ᵗnote:Ibid. XXXVIII, 4. Scripture states that the network grating around the sides of the altar was under the karkob. This implies that the karkob was on the wall of the altar; for if it was on the top surface, a grating on the sides could not be described as under it.
^ᵘnote:There was an ornamental ledge on the side of the altar, and a trench on the top, to provide a firm foothold for the priests.
^ᵛnote:Ex. XXVII, 1.
^ʷnote:Where the sacrifice was burnt. For of the five cubits two cubits had to be deducted on all sides for the strip between the horns and the pathway for the priests, leaving an area of one cubit square for the place of the pile.
^ˣnote:Who had ridiculed him.

²‘the children of Keturah’. The sons of R. Tarfon's sister were sitting before R. Tarfon. Thereupon he quoted: And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Johani. Said they to him: ‘Keturah’ is written. Then he dubbed them ‘the children of Keturah’. R. Abin b. Huna said in R. Hama b. Guria's name: The logs which Moses made were a cubit long and a cubit broad, and their thickness was that of the instrument for levelling off the top of a se'ah. R. Jeremiah observed: [It was measured] with a stumped cubit. Said R. Joseph: Is not that which was taught: Upon the wood that is on the fire which is upon the altar: [this intimates] that the wood must not project at all beyond the altar? We learnt elsewhere: There was an ascent at the south [side] of the altar, thirty-two [cubits] in length by sixteen cubits in breadth. Whence do we know it? — Said R. Huna: Scripture saith, And he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward; [this intimates] that the side must be in the north and the front in the south. Yet say: the side in the north and the face in the north? — Said Raba: Throw a man on his face. Said Abaye to him: On the contrary, let the man sit upright? — It is written, [The altar shall be] rabua’. But surely that is required [to teach] that it must be square? — Is then meruba’ written? And on your reasoning, is then rabuz written? Rather, rabua’ is written, which implies both, Now, a Tanna infers it from the following. For it was taught. R. Judah said: And the steps thereof shall look toward the east: every turning which you take must be rightward to the east. Yet say: must be leftward to the east? — You cannot think so. For Rami b. Ezekiel recited: The sea which Solomon made ‘stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: [this teaches that] every turning which you take must be to the right, eastward. But that is required for its own purpose — If so, why must ‘looking toward’ be repeated? R. Simeon b. Jose b. Lakunia asked R. Jose: Did R. Simeon b. Yohai maintain that there was a space between the ascent and the altar? — And do you not maintain so? he replied. Surely it is said, And thou shalt offer thy burnt-offerings, the flesh and the blood: [this intimates that] just as the blood requires throwing, so does the flesh require throwing? I assert that he stood at the side of the place of the pile and threw it, he answered. Said he to him: When he threw, did he throw on to a burning pile or on to a pile that was not burning? Surely on to a burning pile, and there it would be impossible [to do otherwise]. R. Papa said: [It must be] like the blood. Just as [in the case of the] blood, the air-space above the pavement interposed, so [in the case of the] flesh, the air-space above the pavement interposed. Rab Judah said: Two small stairways branched off from the [major] ascent, by which one turned to the base and to the terrace. and these were separated from the altar by a hairsbreadth, because ‘round about’ is said. Whilst R. Abbahu quoted rabua’[foursquare]. Now, both ‘round about’ and ‘rabua’’ must be written. For if the Divine Law wrote ‘round about’ [only].I would say that it can be circular; therefore the Divine Law wrote rabua’. Whilst if the Divine Law wrote rabua’ [only], I would say that it could be long and narrow; hence the Divine Law wrote ‘round about’. We learnt elsewhere: The ascent and the altar were sixty-two [cubits]. But they were sixty four? — Hence it is found that it overhung a cubit of the base and a cubit of the balcony. 39^ʸ^ᶻ^ᵃᵃ^ᵃᵇ^ᵃᶜ^ᵃᵈ^ᵃᵉ^ᵃᶠ^ᵃᵍ^ᵃʰ^ᵃⁱ^ᵃʲ^ᵃᵏ^ᵃˡ^ᵃᵐ^ᵃⁿ^ᵃᵒ^ᵃᵖ^ᵃᵠ^ᵃʳ^ᵃˢ^ᵃᵗ^ᵃᵘ^ᵃᵛ^ᵃʷ^ᵃˣ^ᵃʸ^ᵃᶻ^ᵇᵃ^ᵇᵇ^ᵇᶜ^ᵇᵈ^ᵇᵉ^ᵇᶠ^ᵇᵍ^ᵇʰ^ᵇⁱ^ᵇʲ^ᵇᵏ

^ʸnote:Gen. XXV, 4. You are indeed Abraham's descendants, but not his true Jewish descendants through Isaac and Jacob.
^ᶻnote:In silence. So he misquoted a verse in order to evoke a comment.
^ᵃᵃnote:Ibid. I. The last word of course is wrong.
^ᵃᵇnote:Rashi: ignoramuses, who could not discuss halachah.
^ᵃᶜnote:Emended text (Sh. M.). Cur, edd. Abaye.
^ᵃᵈnote:Two logs were placed on the altar fire pile for the morning tamid (q.v. Glos.) and the evening tamid; v. Yoma 26b.
^ᵃᵉnote:A se'ah was a measure. In buying and selling corn this measure was filled, and the top or pile was levelled down by a stick, called a ‘strike’. — Sh. M. observes that as the place of the pile itself on Moses’ altar was only one cubit square, these logs must have been stood endways upon it, with wood chips between to assist the fire to catch on.
^ᵃᶠnote:I.e., rather shorter than a cubit. ‘Aruch reads gerumah instead of gedumah, which reverses the meaning: with a generous cubit, i.e., slightly more than a cubit. This makes the difficulty that follows more plausible.
^ᵃᵍnote:Lev.I, 8.
^ᵃʰnote:I.e. beyond the place of the pile. Rashi: why then must it be a stumped cubit; it could be exactly a cubit? Tosaf. and Sh. M.: how then can it be a ‘generous’ cubit? — The objection remains unanswered.
^ᵃⁱnote:That it had to be on the south side.
^ᵃʲnote:Ibid. 11.
^ᵃᵏnote:Yerek, translated ‘side’ literally means ‘thigh’, hence the legs. Thus the altar must be like a man lying with his legs stretched northward and his face in the south. The side of the altar having this ascent would naturally be the front.
^ᵃˡnote:Like a man sitting upright.
^ᵃᵐnote:It must be like a man lying face downward-hence the face in the opposite direction to the legs.
^ᵃⁿnote:E.V. ‘foursquare’. Ex. XXVII, 1. He connects rabua’ with raba’, to lie down, and interprets: the altar shall be like a man lying down.
^ᵃᵒnote:Which definitely means square and nothing else.
^ᵃᵖnote:Which equally means lying down and nothing else.
^ᵃᵠnote:Square and lying down.
^ᵃʳnote:Ezek. XLIII, 17.
^ᵃˢnote:The text refers to the altar, and is interpreted to mean that the altar must be so constructed that when the priest, standing by the altar, has to turn round the side, he will turn right, and go eastward. That is possible only if the ascent is at the south.
^ᵃᵗnote:Which would necessitate the ascent on the north.
^ᵃᵘnote:II. Chron. IV, 4.
^ᵃᵛnote:Since the order here is first north and then west, and when a man is facing the north, he must turn right in order to go to the west.
^ᵃʷnote:To describe the position of the oxen.
^ᵃˣnote:In each case. The word literally means ‘turning toward’, and the repetition is interpreted as in the text.
^ᵃʸnote:The ascent did not come right up to the altar, but left a gap between.
^ᵃᶻnote:Deut. XII, 27.
^ᵇᵃnote:I.e., dashing against the altar.
^ᵇᵇnote:On to the altar. Consequently, a priest standing at the top of the ascent could not place the flesh on the altar, but had to throw it, which implies that there was a gap.
^ᵇᶜnote:This would not necessitate a gap.
^ᵇᵈnote:Since the wood was burning, the priest obviously could not go right up to it, but had to stand at a distance and throw it. But in that case, since it was impossible to do otherwise, no text would be required. Hence the text must teach that there was a gap between the ascent and the altar, not that there was one between the priest and the pile.
^ᵇᵉnote:Which would not be the case if he stood at the side of the pile.
^ᵇᶠnote:Which implies that it must be possible to encompass the altar itself, even if only by drawing a thread about it. But if the ascent actually joined the altar, this could not be done.
^ᵇᵍnote:Which likewise implies that the altar stood, unattached, as a square edifice.
^ᵇʰnote:I.e., I could translate rabua’= rectangular, but not necessarily square.
^ᵇⁱnote:Implying that all its sides must be equal.
^ᵇʲnote:Since each was thirty-two.
^ᵇᵏnote:Cf. supra 54a.