Tamid 26b (כו:) — the Talmud in English

We learned in the Mishna:

The House of Avtinas and

the

House of the Spark

had upper chambers!

They raised a dilemma before them:

Were the

upper chambers actually

, like all upper chambers built above houses, with the house beneath them designed for use?

Or perhaps,

there was no house built beneath them; rather, they were built upon pillars or on an elevated area in the courtyard. And the reason they were called upper chambers was

that they were elevated

above the ground of the courtyard,

like upper chambers

, since the priests’ watch had to be conducted in an elevated place.

And we resolve it:

Come and hear, as we learned:

One of the gates

on the

side of the

north

side of the courtyard was

the Gate of the Spark.

And it was like an open colonnade

open,

that was

with an upper chamber built above it

. The priests kept watch there. Since all three places

where the priests kept watch

had to be

above

. But all twenty-one places where

the Levites

kept watch were not in an elevated place, but

below

, at ground level .

Part of the House of the Spark was built within the courtyard, but

it had an opening to the unconsecrated area!

to a place on the Temple Mount that did not possess the sanctity of the courtyard.

It is explicitly taught, then, that it was an actual upper chamber.

And we inquire:

From where are these matters derived

, that the priests keep watch above and the Levites below ? And we answer:

As the Sages taught:

It was said to Aaron the priest: “And also your brethren, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, bring near with you

that they may join you and minister to you

, while you and your sons with you are before the Tent of the Testimony”—

the verse is speaking of your service

your own service;

[the service] of yours!

It is speaking of the Levites participating in the priests’ service and subordinating themselves to them.

And from where

do you say that “

the verse is speaking of your service

,”

or perhaps

it is not

the service of yours of which the verse speaks,

but their service

—the service of the Levites, such as song and carrying? And this would be the meaning of the verse: You shall perform the principal service at the altar, and they shall join you and “minister to you” through their service, namely, carrying the vessels of the Tabernacle.

That cannot be said.

For

when it says

afterward, “

And they shall join you and keep watch

over the charge of the Tent of Meeting, for all the service of the Tent” [the Gemara’s version is:

“for all its vessels and for all its service,”

but this is not found in the verse],

then

this verse has already stated

their service

.

Then how do I understand

the verse, “

But certainly,

the verse is speaking of your service

! There is no priestly service in which the Levites participate other than keeping watch. And since the verse uses the expression “join,” it indicates that the Levites are subordinate to the priests in this service and do not keep watch at the same height as they do.

How so?

The priests keep watch above and

the

the Levites

keep watch

below

.

We learned in the Mishna:

The Chamber of the Hearth was domed

. And it was a large chamber

, and it was the third place where the priests kept watch.

And we challenge this:

And

since

was there only one watch for the Chamber of the Hearth?

And we raise a contradiction:

We learned:

There were two gates in the Chamber of the Hearth.

One gate,

one

was

was open

outward,

to the ḥeil

[the part of the Temple Mount adjacent to the courtyard, which possessed sanctity in its own right],

and

one gate,

one

whose inner side

was open to the courtyard.

And

Rabbi Yehuda said: At

the

gate through which they entered

the courtyard,

the courtyard, there was a small wicket

[opening]

for it.

Through it

they

entered

every night

to inspect the courtyard!

As is stated below, before the removal of the ashes they would inspect the courtyard to see whether everything was in order. Since they did not wish to open the courtyard doors before the time of the daily offering, they entered through the wicket.

This is difficult: For every gate of the courtyard intended for entry and exit, a watch is required. And since there were two gates there, should two watches not be required!?

Abaye said: Since

the two gates of the Chamber of the Hearth

stood opposite one another

, one facing the other, and they were also close to one another [Rosh], therefore

one watchman sufficed for them. For that watchman

could see

[see]

this way, and could see

this way, and saw

also

that way

, and see both of them at once.

We learned in the Mishna:

It was surrounded by rows of stones!

And we inquire: “

Rows of stones

”—

what

are they?

And we answer:

They were cuttings of benches

[hewn stones]. They projected from the wall.

They would ascend by means of them

to the row of stones above them, which were also made like

benches

and served as a place for lying down.

It might have entered our minds that, after they built the wall, they would hew the stones in this manner.

And we challenge this:

Were stones split

in the courtyard? But it is written: “And when the House was being built,

whole stones

were brought as it was built”—they built each stone in its entirety: just as it was brought from the mountain, so they built it. They did not add to or adjust it at the site of the construction.

Abaye said: They were prepared

before they brought these stones into the courtyard .

And initially they brought

, before the construction, two types of stones:

small stones

for the upper row,

and large stones

for the lower row.

As it is written: “

Stones of ten cubits and stones of eight cubits.” The two cubits between the lower row and the row above it served as a bench.

We learned in the Mishna:

We learned in the Mishna:

The elders of the paternal house slept there

, on the rows of stones!

And we inquire:

Why

did they sleep there?

Let them bring beds

into the Chamber of the Hearth and sleep on them.

And we answer:

It is not proper conduct to bring beds into the Temple.

We learned in the Mishna:

The young priests

would sleep,

each

on

his garment on the ground!

And we inquire:

Why there

, at the beginning of the Mishna,

are they called

the young priests who kept watch there

“young men,”

and

whereas

here are they called

“

young priests

”?