Arakhin 13a (יג.) — the Talmud in English

Harem came,

who was after him in the First Temple,

and took his portion and the portion of his colleagues—six,

as stated above.

And likewise Pashhur, and likewise Immer;

all of them were arranged according to the lottery.

The prophets stipulated among themselves that even if

the priestly division of

Jehoiarib,

which was

the first of the divisions

in the First Temple,

were to ascend

from the exile,

Jedaiah would not be displaced from his place. Rather, Jedaiah would remain primary,

and all of his divisions would have precedence [except that at that time they would make five instead of six]]

and Jehoiarib would be subordinate to it.

And it would serve during Jedaiah’s sixth week.

And it follows from this that Jehoiarib did not ascend. And it is not applicable to say, with regard to the Second Temple, “the division of Jehoiarib.” And just as that which is written in the beraita, and likewise in the second one, was not stated with regard to the division of Jehoiarib,

but rather with regard to the rest,

so too, it is possible to say that it was stated with regard to the year following the Sabbatical year only concerning the other matters.

Rav Ashi said:

Actually, “and likewise in the second one” was stated also with regard to the year following the Sabbatical year. And concerning your objection that the year of the destruction was itself a Sabbatical year, this is not difficult, because

those six

first years of the construction of the Temple,

until Ezra ascended and sanctified

the Land of Israel,

were not counted

for them

in the count of the years. They began counting yovel and shemitta only in the seventh year after its construction. Thus, the total number of years in which yovel and shemitta were counted during the Second Temple was only 414 years. Four hundred of them amount to eight yovel periods, leaving fourteen years, which are two shemitta periods. It follows that the year of the destruction, which came after them, was the year following a Sabbatical year.

And from where do we know that Ezra did not ascend until six years had passed?

As it is written: “At that time [אז, בשנה הראשונה לכורש]

the work of the House of God that is in Jerusalem ceased

until the second year of the reign of Darius, king of Persia.” Thus, construction began in the second year of Darius,

and it is written: “And it was completed [נשלם]

this House on the third day of the month of Adar, which was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.”

And the tanna taught: At that time, in the following year, Ezra ascended, together with his exiles. As it is written: “And he came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was the seventh year of the king.”

Thus, there were six years between the beginning of the construction and Ezra’s ascent: the construction lasted five years, and he ascended only in the following year.

And we return to explain

the body

of the beraita above:

The Jewish people counted seventeen yovel periods from the time they entered the Land until they left it. But you cannot say that they began counting from the time they entered, for if you say so, it follows that the Temple was destroyed at the beginning of a yovel period, and you cannot find a way to fulfill

that which is written:

“In the fourteenth year after the city was struck.”

Rather, deduct from them the seven years during which they conquered the Land and the seven years during which they apportioned it, as these years are not included in the count.

And we ask: This

seven

years was the period

during which they conquered the Land— from where do we know this?

And we answer: From that

which Caleb said: “I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the Land, and now, behold, I am eighty-five years old.” And the Master said: In the first year

after their departure from Egypt,

Moses made the Tabernacle;

in the

second year, the Tabernacle was erected and he sent the spies. When Israel crossed the Jordan

and entered the Land,

how old was Caleb? He was seventy-eight. [דְהַיְנוּ בֶּן ע"ח]

that is, seventy-eight years old. They entered thirty-eight years after the spies were sent, and he was then sixty-[unclear: the source is truncated at this point] years old.

When the inheritances were apportioned [שאז הסתיים הכיבוש]

when the conquest was completed,

Caleb

Caleb

said: “I am eighty-five years old.” It follows

that between their entry and the completion of the conquest there were

seven

years

during which they

conquered.

And we ask: And this

that seven

years was the duration

of the apportionment— from where do we know this?

And we answer:

If you wish, say: Since they conquered for seven years, they apportioned the Land for seven years 87 .

And if you wish, say: Since you cannot find

a yovel occurring

“fourteen years after the city was struck” [כדמוכח לעיל]

as demonstrated above, unless we say that they conquered for seven years and apportioned the Land for seven years. For the 850 years from their entry until the Temple was destroyed constitute seventeen complete yovel periods, and in order to fulfill the verse in Ezekiel it is necessarily required to subtract fourteen years from the count, namely, the seven years of conquest and the seven years of apportionment.

Mishna:

One may not have fewer than six lambs that have been examined

for physical defects

in the Chamber of Lambs

in the Temple, which are

the amount

of the sacrifices required

for Shabbat and the two days of Rosh HaShana

together.

And one adds

to them

without limit,

as there is no upper limit.

One may not have fewer

than two trumpets

for sounding during the offering of the sacrifices,

and nine lyres

for the song.

And one adds

to them

without limit.

And the cymbal,

one

alone

was used in the song, and no more.

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: “One may not have fewer than six lambs.” We had thought that

“for Shabbat and the two days of Rosh HaShana”

is meant precisely: If Shabbat and Rosh HaShana occur one after the other, six lambs examined for defects must be prepared on the eve of Shabbat, because on Shabbat and a Festival one cannot take them and examine them for defects.

And we challenge this:

The daily offerings and the additional offerings

of Shabbat and Rosh HaShana together are

very numerous;

how, then, are only six sufficient? For besides the two daily offerings on each day, there are another sixteen sheep for the additional offerings.

And we answer:

The tanna

on every day

is speaking generally. And he is referring only to the daily offerings.

The examined lambs are for their needs.

And what is the meaning of “for Shabbat and the two days of Rosh HaShana”

that the Mishna teaches?

It is merely a sign,

indicating that just as the number of daily offerings on these three days is six, so there must be that number in the chamber every day.