Sukkah 55b — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

All twenty-four priestly watches would go up for the pilgrimage Festival, and all of them would take a share in offering the communal sacrifices.

The number of communal sacrifices was not fixed on every day, since the number of bulls of the Festival, which they would offer each day, decreased from day to day. Therefore, they would divide the service of the communal sacrifices among all twenty-four watches in accordance with the change in the number of bulls from day to day.

On the first Festival day

of Sukkot,

there were thirteen bulls, two rams, and one goat.

And in total, sixteen sacrifices.

They would divide the service of these among sixteen watches, one sacrifice for each watch. And eight watches still remained that had not received a share in the service.

And since

fourteen sheep remained there

[which were fixed each day], they would divide the service of them

among eight

of the

watches

that had not yet offered a sacrifice.

On the first day—

six

watches out of the eight

would offer two each

sheep, and together they offered twelve sheep.

And the remainder

[the two remaining watches] would offer the two remaining sheep,

one each

for each watch.

But

on

the

second

day, on which they offered only twelve bulls, nine watches remained that had not yet offered. Therefore:

Five

watches

would offer two each

sheep, which were ten sheep.

And the remainder

[the four remaining watches] offered the four remaining sheep,

one each

for each watch.

And

on

the

third

day, on which they offered only eleven bulls, and ten watches remained that had not offered—

Four

watches

would offer two each

sheep, which were eight sheep.

And the remainder

[the six remaining watches] offered the six remaining sheep,

one each

for each watch.

On the fourth

day, on which they offered only ten bulls, and eleven watches remained that had not offered—

Three

watches

would offer two each,

which were six sheep.

And the remainder

[the eight remaining watches] the eight sheep,

one each

for each watch.

On the fifth

they offered nine bulls, and twelve watches remained.

Two

of them

would offer two each,

which were four sheep.

And the remainder

[the ten remaining watches]

one each.

On the sixth

thirteen watches remained.

One would offer two

sheep.

And the remainder

[the twelve remaining watches]

one each.

On the seventh,

when fourteen watches remained that had not yet offered, they would divide the fourteen sheep in such a way that

they were all equal—

one sheep for each watch.

But

on the eighth,

when there are not enough communal sacrifices in it to distribute to all the watches—

they returned to casting lots,

to cast a lot among the watches,

as

they cast lots

on

the other

pilgrimage Festivals,

since they do not have a large number of sacrifices to distribute among all the watches.

And thus

they said

on every day of the days of the Festival of Sukkot:

Whoever

offered bulls today—

shall not offer

bulls

tomorrow.

Rather,

he shall offer tomorrow either rams, or a goat, or sheep. And thus they would

return in rotation

through the order of the sacrifices, and a watch that had merited the bulls on one day would offer rams or sheep on the following day. [And there was a fixed order for the watches, as is detailed in Rashi].

And since in total they offered seventy bulls, if we divide them among twenty-four [corresponding to the number of watches], it emerges that all of them return and offer bulls three times, except for two watches that offer bulls only twice [72 = 324].

Gemara:

The Gemara now assumes that on Shemini Atzeret they cast lots among all the watches, as though they were coming to offer at the beginning, and they do not give the two watches that offered bulls only twice the right to cast lots between them as to which watch of the two would offer the bull.

And we raised it:

Let us say that the Mishna—

is Rabbi’s, and not that of the Rabbis.

For

that

was taught: One bull

alone

that comes on the eighth—

it is treated as though it were

at the beginning

of the pilgrimage Festival, and

they cast lots for it

among all the watches,

the words of Rabbi.

And the Sages say:

Only

one of the two watches that did not offer bulls three times—

it is the one that

performs it!

And we answer:

Even if you say it is the Rabbis.

The intention of the Mishna is not to say that they cast lots among all the watches, but only among the two watches that did not offer bulls three times.

The tanna, a sage of the Mishnaic era, used the expression “they cast lots” regarding the drawing of lots between the two divisions. For

is it so

that

two

of the

watches do not need to cast lots,

do they not need to cast lots between them!?

And again we raised it:

According to whom,

according to whose view

does this beraita proceed:

All the watches offer twice and three times, except for two watches, which offer twice and do not offer three times.

Does

let us say it is Rabbi and not the Rabbis, since according to the Rabbis one watch out of the two offers bulls three times, through the bull of Shemini Atzeret!

because according to the Rabbis, one of the two watches offers bulls a third time, through the bull of Shemini Atzeret!

And we answer:

Even if you say it is the Rabbis,

it is so.

And

what is “two watches that did not offer bulls three times”?

“two divisions that did not offer bulls three times” mean?

That

did not offer bulls of the Festival three times, but one of them will return and offer three times on the eighth day.

but one of them will return and offer bulls a third time on the eighth day.

And what does it teach us,

what novelty is there in the words of the beraita? Is the beraita coming to state the calculation, which we can do ourselves?

This it teaches us,

that the tanna repeated in the beraita the novel point stated by the tanna in the Mishna:

Whoever offered bulls today shall not offer them tomorrow, but they return in rotation.

Rabbi Elazar said: These seventy bulls

that they bring during the Festival of Sukkot—

corresponding to whom

do they bring them?

Corresponding to the seventy nations!

For since the entire world is judged on the Festival concerning water, they bring sacrifices to atone for all seventy nations, so that they too may merit water.

The single bull

that comes on Shemini Atzeret—

why

does it come?

Corresponding to

the people of Israel, which is

a single nation,

separate and chosen from the seventy nations.

A parable to a flesh-and-blood king who said to his servants: Make me a great banquet.

And his servants made the banquet for him, and all participated in it.

For the final day

of the days of the banquet,

the king said

to his

beloved:

Now

make me

you alone

a small banquet, so that I may derive pleasure from you,

for only from yours do I have satisfaction.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Woe to the nations who have been lost, and do not

they

know what they have lost.

For

when the Temple was standing—

there was

an altar

upon which they brought seventy bulls during the Festival,

which atoned for them.

And now—

who atones for them!?

Mishna:

At three times during the year,

at the three pilgrimage Festivals,

all the watches

of the

priesthood were equal

among themselves in the distribution of the gifts that reach the priests in the Temple from sacrifices brought on account of the pilgrimage Festival:

Whether

in the offerings of the pilgrimage Festivals

[the intention is not to the portions that are burned on the altar for the Most High, but to the skins of the communal burnt offerings, which are divided among the priests. And likewise to the breast and thigh of the Festival peace offerings, which come on account of the pilgrimage Festival].

And

whether

in the distribution of the showbread

on the Shabbat that occurs during the pilgrimage Festival.

And

on Shavuot

that occurs on Shabbat, on which they also distribute the showbread made of matza, and the two loaves made of leavened dough, they distribute to everyone from both of them.

And

the distributor says to him,

to each one of the members of the watches:

Here is matza

[the showbread],

here is leavened bread,

the two loaves.

And the Mishna teaches that they do not exchange one sacrifice for another, but give each person a portion of each sacrifice, and inform him that he received a portion of both, and not that he received only a portion of one of them.

A watch whose time is fixed

to offer during the pilgrimage Festival

offers the daily offerings, offerings brought in fulfillment of vows and freewill offerings, and the other communal sacrifices

that do not come on account of the pilgrimage Festival.

And

that same watch whose time is fixed during the pilgrimage Festival

offers everything.

What is included by this will be explained in the Gemara.

Gemara:

And we raise a question concerning the expression “all the watches are equal in the offerings of the pilgrimage Festival”:

Behold,

the offerings of the pilgrimage Festivals

are divided only as

they belong to the Most High!

Rav Hisda said:

The intention in “the offerings of the pilgrimage Festivals” is:

What is mentioned in

the sacrifices of the

pilgrimage Festivals.

The Sages taught: From where is it derived that all the watches are equal in the offerings of the pilgrimage Festivals?

The verse states

[Deuteronomy 18:6]: “And when the Levite [the reference is to the priest] comes from one of your gates, where he resides,

and comes with all the desire of his soul

to the place that the Lord will choose,

and he serves.”

We learn from here that every priest has the right to come to serve during the pilgrimage Festival and to merit the gifts that reach him for his service, even though at that time there is a fixed watch.

Could it be even during the other days of the year

that he has

this right?

The verse states: “From one of your gates.”

I said

this right

only

during the pilgrimage Festival,

when all Israel

goes up for the pilgrimage, and as though they

enter through one gate.

That is, they gather in one city.

We learned in the Mishna: All the watches are equal during the pilgrimage Festival in the gifts of the sacrifices

and in the distribution of the showbread.

The Sages taught: From where is it derived that all the watches are equal in the distribution of the showbread

on the Shabbat that occurs during the pilgrimage Festival?