זבחים 88 — Soncino English Talmud

¹how may one sprinkle the blood of a disqualified sin-offering of a bird, as it has the status of having descended, [and] how could one sprinkle the blood of other disqualified [sacrifices]? — He contacts [the blood] [with the wall of the altar]. Is that haza'ah? it is draining; is that zerikah? it is pouring out; moreover, is that the way of haza'ah and zerikah? — Said R. Ashi: If he held it on top of the altar, that would indeed be so; the question arises where he [the priest] stands on the ground and suspends it [the blood] on a cane? what then? The question stands over. MISHNAH. THE VESSELS FOR LIQUIDS SANCTIFY LIQUIDS, AND THE MEASURES FOR DRY MATTER SANCTIFY DRY MATTER. A LIQUID VESSEL DOES NOT SANCTIFY DRY MATTER, NOR DOES A DRY [MEASURE] SANCTIFY A LIQUID. IF HOLY VESSELS WERE PERFORATED AND THEY CAN BE USED FOR THE SAME PURPOSE AS WHEN WHOLE, THEY SANCTIFY [WHAT IS PLACED IN THEM]; IF NOT, THEY DO NOT SANCTIFY. AND ALL THESE SANCTIFY ONLY IN THE SANCTUARY. GEMARA. Samuel said: They learnt [this] only of the measures, but the basins sanctified, for it is said: Both of them filled with fine flour. Said R. Aha of Difti to Rabina: But that was a moist meal-offering? — He replied, The proof is from the dry parts thereof. Alternatively, a meal-offering is dry in comparison with blood. Samuel said. The service vessels sanctified only when whole, full, and through the inside. Others state it: They sanctify only when whole, full, and within. Wherein do they differ? — They differ in respect of the overflow of measures. In a Baraitha it was taught: They sanctify only when full, whole, through the inside and within. R. Assi said in R. Johanan's name: They learnt this only where he [the priest] does not intend to add thereto; but if he intends adding thereto, each portion becomes holy in turn. It was taught likewise: [Both of them] filled [with fine flour]: ‘filled’ means complete. Said R. Jose: When is that? When he does not intend to add [thereto]; but if he intends to add [thereto], each portion becomes holy in turn. A LIQUID VESSEL DOES NOT SANCTIFY etc. Rab-others state R. Assi-said: They do not sanctify to be offered, but they sanctify [it] to be disqualified. Others recite it in connection with the following: You may not bring meal-offerings, drink-offerings, and the meal-offering of an animal [sacrifice], or the first-fruits, from a mixture; and it goes without saying from ‘orlah and kil'ayim of the vineyard. If one did bring [such], it is not sanctified. Said Rab — others state, R. Assi — : It is not sanctified to be offered, but it is sanctified to be disqualified. Our Rabbis taught: When holy vessels are perforated, you may not melt them nor melt lead into them. If they were damaged, you may not repair them. If a knife was damaged, you may not smooth out the damage; if it slipped out [of its haft], you may not replace it. Abba Saul said: There was a knife which caused terefoth in the Temple, whereupon the priests decided by vote to hide it. Our Rabbis taught: The priestly garments were not sewn but woven, as it is said, of woven work. If soiled, they might not be washed with natron or with ahal. But you may wash them in water? — Said Abaye, This is what he means: If they [merely] needed water, you may wash them [even] with natron or ahal.^ᵃ^ᵇ^ᶜ^ᵈ^ᵉ^ᶠ^ᵍ^ʰ^ⁱ^ʲ^ᵏ^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

^ᵃnote:If one pinched the bird on the altar with an illegitimate intention, it is disqualified; as soon as he lifts it in order to sprinkle the blood, it is as though he had taken it down from the altar, and such may not be taken up again. Hence the blood could not be sprinkled.
^ᵇnote:According to R. Gamaliel who maintains that if the blood of disqualified sacrifices ascended the altar, it must not descend. But sprinkling is done from a distance, so that the blood passes through the air-space of the altar.
^ᶜnote:Not from the distance.
^ᵈnote:Haza'ah and zerikah are two words for sprinkling, the latter denoting a sprinkling with greater force than the former. — If he does not sprinkle the blood from the distance, it is not sprinkling at all.
^ᵉnote:Even if this could be called sprinkling, it is certainly not the manner in which sprinkling is done.
^ᶠnote:The above argument proves nothing. For when the man stands on the altar and holds the blood or the bird in his hand, the air-space is certainly as the altar itself, for the fact that he is standing on it gives the blood etc. the same status as though it were on the altar.
^ᵍnote:E.g. the plates and basins for blood, wine and oil.
^ʰnote:There were two dry measures, an ‘issaron (tenth part of an ephah) and half an ‘issaron: the first was used for measuring all meal-offerings, while the second was used for the High Priest's daily morning and evening meal-offerings (v. Lev. VI, 12 seq.).-Rashi and Tosaf. give different reasons why the Mishnah speaks of liquid vessels and dry measures.
^ⁱnote:The Temple court.
^ʲnote:Only the liquid measures, of which there were seven, do not sanctify dry matter. The reason is because these were only fit for measuring, and had been anointed (whereby they were sanctified) for this purpose only.
^ᵏnote:Though meant primarily for liquids, they could also be used for meal.
^ˡnote:Num. VII, 13. ‘Both’ included a basin, which was normally used for liquids.
^ᵐnote:V. ibid.: with fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering.
^ⁿnote:Lit., ‘it is necessary only for the dry parts’. — Mingling could not be so thorough as to leave no dry parts at all, yet these too were sanctified by the basins.
^ᵒnote:For which the basins were normally used.
^ᵖnote:They must contain as much as is required, e.g., if flour for a meal-offering is placed in them, there must be at least an ‘issaron.
^ᵠnote:But if flour is heaped up on the outside of a service vessel, it is not sanctified.
^ʳnote:Rashi: in the Temple court.
^ˢnote:When a measure is overfilled, so that there is a brim, the Rabbis disagree as to whether the overflow is sanctified (Men. 90a). He who maintains that only the inside sanctifies, holds that the overflow is not sanctified.
^ᵗnote:That it sanctifies only when full.
^ᵘnote:Lit., ‘the first, the first is holy’. Every little quantity is sanctified as it is poured into the vessel, and it remains sanctified even if it was not full eventually.
^ᵛnote:Containing the necessary measure (v. n. 10, p. 416); only then is it sanctified.
^ʷnote:If meal is placed in a liquid vessel, it is sanctified in so far that if it is then carried out of the Temple court or touched by a tebul yom (q.v. Glos.), it is disqualified from being used henceforth for a meal-offering.
^ˣnote:I.e., which accompanied an animal sacrifice or the first-fruits.
^ʸnote:A mixture of terumah and hullin.
^ᶻnote:V. Glos. and Deut. XXII, 9. A meal-offering or drink-offering can certainly not be brought from these, which are forbidden to all, including priests. But it may not be brought even from a mixture of terumah and hullin, which is permitted to priests, though priests consume the meal-offering, because what is brought must be permitted to all.
^ᵃᵃnote:It does not count simply as hullin but as sanctified meal which had become unfit, having been sanctified by the service-vessel in which it was placed, and therefore it must be burnt.
^ᵃᵇnote:I.e., melt the metal around the hole to close it up.
^ᵃᶜnote:For the same purpose.
^ᵃᵈnote:More extensively.
^ᵃᵉnote:I.e., if the edge is heavily notched it may not be re-ground.
^ᵃᶠnote:It frequently became slightly notched and was inadvertently used, thus making the sacrifices terefah. — Terefoth is used loosely for nebeloth.
^ᵃᵍnote:They were woven directly into garments, not first into cloth and then sewn together.
^ᵃʰnote:Ex. XXVIII, 32.
^ᵃⁱnote:V. Sanh. (Sonc. ed.) p. 330, n. 5.
^ᵃʲnote:A substance used as soap. — The reason for all these is that it savours of poverty to repair or cleanse them for Temple use.
^ᵃᵏnote:Surely not; that too savours of poverty and is moreover inefficient.
^ᵃˡnote:Lit ,’if they were brought to water.’ — i.e., they were only slightly soiled.

²If they needed natron or ahal, you may not wash them even in water. Others maintain: You may not wash them at all, because there is no poverty in the place of wealth. Our Rabbis taught: The robe [me'il] was entirely of blue, as it is said, And he made the robe of the ephod of woven work, all of blue. How were its skirts [made]? Blue [wool], purple wool and crimson thread, twisted together, were brought, and manufactured into the shape of pomegranates whose mouths were not yet opened and in the shape of the cones of the helmets on children's heads. Seventy two bells containing seventy two clappers were brought and hung thereon, thirty six on each side. R. Dosa said on the authority of Rabbi Judah: There were thirty six, eighteen on each side. R. ‘Inyani b. Sason said: As there is a controversy here, so is there a controversy in respect to leprous plagues. For we learnt: The appearances of plagues, R. Dosa b. Harkinas said: They are thirty six; Akabia b. Mahalallel said: They are eighteen. R. ‘Inyani b. Sason also said: Why are the sections on sacrifices and the priestly vestments close together? To teach you: as sacrifices make atonement, so do the priestly vestments make atonement. The coat atones for bloodshed, for it is said, And they killed a he-goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. The breeches atoned for lewdness, as it is said, And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover the flesh of their nakedness. The mitre made atonement for arrogance. How do we know it? — Said R. Hanina: Let an article placed high up come and atone for an offence of hauteur. The girdle atoned for [impure] meditations of the heart, i.e., where it was placed. The breastplate atoned for [neglect of] civil laws, as it is said, And thou shalt make a breastplate of judgment. The ephod atoned for idolatry, as it is said, Without ephod there are teraphim. The robe atoned for slander. How do we know it? — Said R. Hanina: Let an article of sound come and atone for an offence of sound. The headplate atoned for brazenness: of the headplate it is written, And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, whilst of brazenness it is written, Yet thou hadst a harlot's forehead. But that is not so, for surely R. Joshua b. Levi said: For two things we find no atonement through sacrifices, but find atonement for them through something else, and they are bloodshed and slander. Bloodshed [is atoned for] by the beheaded heifer, while slander [is atoned for] by incense. For R. Hanania recited: How do we know that incense atones? Because it is said, And he put on the incense, and made atonement for the people. And the school of R. Ishmael taught [likewise]: For what does incense atone? For slander: let that which is done in secret come and atone for an offence committed in secret. Thus slander contradicts slander, and bloodshed contradicts bloodshed? — There is no difficulty: bloodshed does not contradict bloodshed: In the one case the murderer is known, in the other the murderer is unknown. If the murderer is known, he is liable to death? -It means [where he committed murder] deliberately, but was not warned. Slander too does not contradict slander: Here it was done in secret; there it was done in public. [^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^ᵇˡ^ᵇᵐ^ᵇⁿ^ᵇᵒ

^ᵃᵐnote:Even if slightly soiled.
^ᵃⁿnote:Tekeleth, wool dyed with a peculiar blue, now no longer obtainable.
^ᵃᵒnote:Ibid. XXXIX. 22.
^ᵃᵖnote:Overripe pomegranates open up slightly.
^ᵃᵠnote:I.e., in front and behind.
^ᵃʳnote:Sh.M. reads: Rabbi.
^ᵃˢnote:Lit., ‘the appearances of plagues’.
^ᵃᵗnote:They disagree as to how many colours render these plagues leprous and unclean.
^ᵃᵘnote:Immediately after discussing the burnt-offering, meal-offering, sin-offering, and peace-offerings (Lev. VII), Scripture speaks of the priestly garments (VIII, 1 seq.)
^ᵃᵛnote:Gen. XXXVII, 31. This was a sign that later the coat would make atonement, even as dipping (Heb. tebillah, in later Hebrew denoting ritual immersion for purification) symbolised atonement.
^ᵃʷnote:Ex. XXVIII, 42.
^ᵃˣnote:On top of the head.
^ᵃʸnote:It was placed at the level of the heart.
^ᵃᶻnote:Ibid., 15.
^ᵇᵃnote:Hos. III, 4. Where there is no ephod, there is the unatoned-for sin of teraphim (idols). — E.V.: without ephod or teraphim.
^ᵇᵇnote:Sc. the robe, which was fringed with bells.
^ᵇᶜnote:Ex. XXVIII, 38.
^ᵇᵈnote:Jer. III, 3.
^ᵇᵉnote:Lit., ‘from another place.’
^ᵇᶠnote:V. Deut. XXI, 1-9.
^ᵇᵍnote:Num. XVII, 12.
^ᵇʰnote:None was present when the incense was offered.
^ᵇⁱnote:Slander is first related in private and then it spreads.
^ᵇʲnote:Then the coat makes atonement, so that the whole community should not be divinely punished.
^ᵇᵏnote:Then the beheaded heifer makes atonement.
^ᵇˡnote:And until he is executed the community is not forgiven.
^ᵇᵐnote:On ‘warning, (hathra'ah) v. p. 372, n. 1. He could not be executed in that case.
^ᵇⁿnote:Then the incense atones.
^ᵇᵒnote:Then the robe atones.