Tamid 27b — the Talmud in English

Indeed, we do not find kilayim in any of the garments of an ordinary kohen, except in the belt. For the belt of the High Priest certainly contained kilayim, since it was made of turquoise wool, purple wool, and scarlet wool [which are kinds of wool], and linen [which is flax]. And if the belt of the ordinary kohen was like that belt of the High Priest, it too contained kilayim. And the tannaim dispute this matter.

And he says:

This works out well according to the one who says “

The belt of the ordinary kohen was not the same as the belt of the High Priest,”

but was made only of linen; it is well possible to say that they placed it beneath their heads. For it did not contain kilayim.

But according to the one who says “

The belt of the ordinary kohen was the same as the belt of the High Priest”—

what is there to say?

But it contained kilayim, and lying on it is prohibited. Rather, it is necessarily the case that the Mishna teaches: “opposite their heads.”

And if you would say

to reject this, that kilayim is prohibited

when worn,

as it is written, “You shall not wear shaatnez,”

and

so too

when placed upon [

when it is raised onto his body]

it is prohibited,

as it is written, “A garment of kilayim, shaatnez, shall not be placed upon you.” But

beneath you [

to fold them beneath him] and lie upon them,

it is well permitted,

and it is permitted.

This cannot be said.

For

it was taught:

It is written, “A garment of kilayim, shaatnez,

shall not be placed upon you.”

It is specifically prohibited in the manner of being placed upon one.

But you may spread it

as a garment of kilayim

beneath you

and lie upon it! For kilayim is not prohibited by Torah law when lying upon it.

But the Sages said: It is prohibited to do so,

as a safeguard,

lest one thread become wrapped

from the kilayim garment

around his flesh.

And once the thread rises onto his body, it is the manner of being placed upon him, and he transgresses the prohibition by Torah law.

And since in any event lying upon it is prohibited rabbinically, it is again necessary that the priests placed them opposite their heads, and not ממש beneath them.

And if you would say

to reject this,

that

there was

something interrupting between them [

between the heads of the priests and the belt], so that in such a case there is no concern that a thread from the belt would become wrapped around their flesh,

this cannot be said.

For

Rabbi Sheshet said that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that Rabbi Yosei ben Shaul said in the name of the holy community in Jerusalem: Even ten mattresses, one atop the other, with kilayim beneath them,

and all ten mattresses interrupt between the one lying and the kilayim below—

it is prohibited to sleep upon them!

And here too the Sages issued a decree, on account of lying upon the kilayim themselves.

Rather, infer from it

that they did not place them beneath their heads, but

opposite their heads.

And we conclude:

Infer from it!

And if you wish, say:

Actually, you cannot infer it from here. Rather, they placed them beneath their heads. And the Mishna is speaking

of those

priestly garments

that do not contain kilayim!

The tunic, the cap, and the trousers, which were made only of linen.

Rav Ashi said:

Even with regard to the belt it is possible to say that they placed it beneath the head. For the entire reason for the prohibition against lying upon kilayim is that we are concerned lest a thread rise from them onto his flesh, as we said. And even the raising itself is prohibited only if there is benefit in it. For it is written “you shall not wear,” and it is written “it shall not be placed upon you.” And we compare them to one another, for the raising must resemble wearing. Just as wearing involves benefit, so too raising that involves benefit. Rather, ordinarily we are concerned lest a thread become wrapped around his flesh and he become warm through it, and it turns out that he benefits from the raising of the kilayim. But

the priestly garments are hard,

and he is not warmed through them. Therefore they did not decree against lying upon them, for there is nothing about which to be concerned.

And as

Rav Huna, son of Rav Yehoshua, said: This namta gamda [

a compressed and hard felt garment]

that

comes from a place called

Neresh—

is permitted

when lying upon it, and there is no reason to decree against it on account of raising. For one is not warmed and does not benefit from raising it.

Come and hear: The priestly garments—

the kohen

who goes out in them to the country

is prohibited

from wearing them, because he treats them as ordinary garments.

And in the Temple —

both during the service and not during the service—

it is permitted

to wear them .

Because the priestly garments were given for benefit from them!

The court made a stipulation concerning them, and they consecrated them initially on that condition.

Infer from it,

that in the Temple wearing them is permitted, and there is no misuse of sacred property in them, even not during the service.

And we raise an objection:

And

but in

the country is it not

permitted to wear them?

But it was taught: On the twenty-fifth of Tevet, it is the day of Mount Gerizim,

and it was established as a festival with regard to

not eulogizing

on it, because of the miracle that occurred on it.

As it is stated in Yoma, in the chapter “The High Priest Came.”

It was

the day on which the Cutheans sought

to destroy

the House of our God, from Alexander of Macedon.

And he gave them permission.

They came and informed Shimon the Righteous.

What did he do? He put on priestly garments and wrapped himself in priestly garments.

And men of distinction of Israel

joined

him.

And torches of fire

were

in their hands.

And throughout the entire night, these [

Shimon the Righteous and the distinguished men of Jerusalem]

were walking on this side, and those [

Alexander of Macedon and his entourage]

were walking on that side.

Until dawn rose.

Once dawn rose,

Alexander saw them from a distance.

He said to them,

Alexander to his men:

Who are these?

They said to him:

These are

the Jews who rebelled against you!

When they reached Antipatris, the sun shone.

And they encountered

there

one another.

When he saw Shimon the Righteous, Alexander descended

from

his chariot and prostrated himself before him.

His men said to him:

“

A great king such as you prostrates himself before this Jew?”

He said to them: The image of the likeness of this man,

goes

before me and conquers

my enemies

in my house of battle!

And therefore it is fitting for me to prostrate myself before him.

Alexander said to them,

to Shimon the Righteous and his companions:

Why have you come

to appear before me?

They said to him:

Is it

possible

that

a house in which they pray for you and for your kingdom that it not be destroyed should be misled by idolaters to destroy it?

He said to them: Who

are

these

who wish to destroy it?

They said to him: These Cutheans who are standing before you

are those who wish to destroy it!

He said to them: Behold, they are delivered into your hands

to do with them whatever you wish!

Immediately they pierced their heels and hung them by the tails of their horses.

And they dragged them over thorns and thistles until they reached Mount Gerizim,

where the Cutheans’ Temple had been.

When they reached Mount Gerizim, they plowed it and sowed it with vetch.

And

just as

the Cutheans

had sought to do to the House of our God,

so they did to the place of their idolatry.

And on that day they made it a festival,

because of that miracle.

In any event, it teaches that Shimon the Righteous put on priestly garments and went out with them to the country. And the beraita teaches that it is prohibited to wear them in the country.

And we answer:

If you wish, say,

they were not actual priestly garments. Rather, he put on garments

suitable for priestly garments,

and made like them.

And if you wish, say:

They were priestly garments. But when one comes to perform an act for the sake of the Holy One, blessed is He, it is permitted to violate a matter of Torah. As it is written:

“It is a time to act for the Lord”—

“They have nullified Your Torah”!

We learned in the Mishna:

If a seminal emission happened to one of them,

he goes out and proceeds along the circuitous passage.

It supports

this Mishna

for Rabbi Yohanan.

For

Rabbi Yohanan

said:

The tunnels that run beneath the Temple [and are not open to the courtyard but only to the Temple Mount, Pesahim 86a]

were not consecrated!

Not with the sanctity of the courtyard and not with the sanctity of the Temple Mount.

And from the fact that they arranged for one who had a seminal emission that tunnel, through which he would go to the immersion house, and that he should not go out through the Temple Mount, we learn that the tunnels were not consecrated with the sanctity of the Temple Mount.

And

Rabbi Yohanan further said:

One who has had a seminal emission is sent outside the two camps!

For it is prohibited for him to remain either in the courtyard, which is the camp of the Divine Presence, or on the entire Temple Mount, which is the camp of the Levites.

We learned in the Mishna:

And the lamps were burning on both sides,

and a bathroom of honor. And this was its honor: if they found it locked, it was known that there was a person inside.

Rav Safra was sitting in the bathroom.

Their bathroom did not have a door. Rather, it was their custom that if a person wished to enter, he would snort [make a coughing sound], and if another person was inside, he would snort back to him. And in this manner he knew whether there was a person inside or not. And this is a way of modesty.

Rabbi Abba came and snorted to him.

He said to him,

Rav Safra:

Let the Master enter!

He said to him,

Rabbi Abba:

You have not yet ascended [

you have not yet gone up]

to Seir ,

and already you have completed the words of

the people of

Seir,

and you behave with their lack of modesty ? [ For the Persians who sat among them are modest in the bathroom.]

And is it

not so that we learned: If they found it locked, it was known that there was a person!? Is it to say [

to inform]

that he should not go

there as long as another person is found inside. And you should have snorted toward me and not told me to enter.

And Rav Safra, who said, “Let the Master enter,” reasoned:

Perhaps

Rabbi Abba

is in danger,

if he does not relieve himself immediately.

As it was taught: Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel says:

When a person needs to relieve himself, and he holds back his orifices and returns them into his abdomen, that

returning pillar brings a person to dropsy [

an illness that causes his belly to swell]! And a

channel

of urine

that returns

to the body because he delays casting it out

brings a person to jaundice!

Rav said to Hiyya his son, and likewise Rav Huna said to Rabbah his son:

When it

becomes dark [

at the beginning of the night],

prepare yourself

and accustom yourself to attend to your needs.

And

likewise when it

becomes light [

at the beginning of the day],

prepare yourself

to attend to your needs.

So that you will not distance yourself

to go to a bathroom in the fields. For sometimes, by distancing yourself, you will hold back your orifices and come into danger. But during these two periods, when people are not commonly found, you can relieve yourself near the house.

And he further said to him:

Sit and uncover!

First sit, and afterward uncover yourself and attend to your needs. And do not uncover yourself while standing. And when you have finished, first

cover

yourself

and

afterward

stand!

And do not stand while you are still uncovered. And this is because of modesty, so that he will not be seen uncovered.

And he further said to him: When you drink from the cup, first

rinse

it,

and

afterward

drink!

And when you finish drinking,

rinse

it again,

and

afterward

put it down [

place it] in its place! And although one must rinse the cup after drinking, in any event do not rely on this when you come to drink from it—that the one who drank from it previously already rinsed it—for perhaps it happened that he did not rinse it. And you will turn out to be swallowing his saliva.

And this matter applies to wine, for one should not pour it out, because of disrespect for food. But

when you drink water,

and afterward you wish to give the cup to others so that they may drink from it, you need not rinse it. Rather,

pour from it

a little, to remove the saliva on the rim of the cup,

and afterward give it to your student

so that he may drink from it. For with water there is no issue of disrespect for food in pouring it out, and this is preferable even to rinsing.

And not specifically his student; rather, he stated a novelty. You might have thought that since he is his student, he is not fastidious and it would not be repulsive to him; he therefore teaches us this.

As it was taught: A person should not drink water and give

the remnants

to his student unless he has poured some from it! And an incident

occurred with

a certain man who drank water without pouring any from it, and gave it to his student.

And that student was fastidious.

And he did not wish to drink, and died of thirst.

At that time they said: A person should not drink water and give it to his student unless he has poured some from it!

Rav Ashi said: Therefore, this student who pours

from the cup

before his master,

is acting properly,

and there is no insolence in it [

brazen conduct]. For he cannot drink without doing so, and he will come into danger.

And Rav and Rav Huna further said to their sons:

Every matter

that you eat, and saliva comes into your mouth,

do not spit

it

before your teacher!

As we say in Eruvin 99a: One who spits before his teacher is liable to death!

Except [

outside]

for squash [

pumpkin]

and porridge,

which it is permitted to spit out after eating them, because

they resemble a lead wick,

molten, boiling lead that burns the body,

they resemble.