Tamid 29b (כט:) — the Talmud in English

And anyone who voluntarily donated

gold to the Temple and wished for it to be placed in the Sanctuary would have it fashioned into a

leaf,

or a grain or a cluster

of gold, and

bring

it

and hang

it

on it.

And

Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Tzadok, said: There was an incident

in which they needed to move it from one place to another,

and three hundred kohanim were assigned to it

in order to carry it and

move it,

because of the weight of the gold that it contained.

This too is an expression of exaggeration. For if it had contained that much gold, it would have broken. Rabbi Elazar, son of Rabbi Tzadok, intended only to convey that a great deal of gold was donated there.

Curtain —

this is

as we learned in a Mishna: Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Ha-Segan: The curtain

of the Sanctuary

was one handbreadth thick, and it was woven on seventy-two strands.

[For they twisted each warp thread from seventy-two strands. Commentary of the Vilna Gaon.]

And each

[and on every]

strand

was twisted from

twenty-four threads.

This was because it was made from four types of material: tekhelet, purple wool, scarlet wool, and linen. The thread of each type was doubled sixfold. It follows that each braid of the warp consisted of 1,728 threads. This is why its thickness reached one handbreadth.

And

the length

of the curtain

was forty cubits, and its width was twenty cubits.

For this curtain separated the Sanctuary from the Holy of Holies. The height and width of the Sanctuary were likewise of these dimensions .

And

the weaving work of

820,000 young women

was

performed !

Since they wished to make it in a state of purity, young women who had not yet reached the age of menstruation worked on it.

And two

curtains

were made

in the Second Temple

each year.

These two curtains took the place of the one-cubit partition that had existed in the First Temple.

In the First Temple, the partition between the Holy of Holies and the Sanctuary was made of a stone wall one cubit wide. In the Second Temple, they could not do this, because the height of its Sanctuary was forty cubits. [The commentator wrote that its height was one hundred cubits; however, Rashi in Bava Batra 3a and the Tosafot Yom Tov, chapter 5, mishna 1, emended the text to read that its height was forty cubits.] A wall of such height could not stand if it were only one cubit wide. Nor could they make it wider, because of the principle that “everything was in writing,” and it is forbidden to alter the dimensions written there. Therefore, they made two curtains in place of that wall, leaving space between them. The curtains together with the intervening space occupied a width of one cubit.

And because the curtains became blackened from the smoke of the incense, they made new ones every year [Rosh].

And three hundred kohanim

would

immerse it,

because of its great size ! This too is an expression of exaggeration.

We learned in the Mishna:

They began bringing split logs to arrange the pyre. But are all types of wood

fit for the pyre? All types of wood are fit except olive wood and grapevine wood.

And we raised a difficulty:

These

woods—

what is the reason they were not

fit?

Rav Pappa said: Because

olive wood and grapevine wood

have knots

[there are knots in them]! Because of the water contained in the knots, they do not burn well and produce smoke. And this is not the honor of the Omnipresent.

Rav Aḥa bar Yaakov said:

In addition to this reason, there is another reason why they did not bring olive wood and grapevine wood

because of the settlement of Eretz Yisrael.

If they burned them on the pyre, they would not find grapevines for wine, or olive trees for oil with which to anoint, and Eretz Yisrael would be destroyed.

Meytivi:

It is written with regard to the wood of the pyre:

“Upon the wood that is upon the fire.”

And we interpret this: Bring

wood that readily becomes

[is quickly burned into]

fire! And what is it? Wood that burns well, that has no knots and burns continuously;

that is, pieces of wood split well, without knots that are of the category

“knotted from within,”

where the knot extends and enters into the wood. Only branches of a young tree are fit, as the Mishna teaches: “young fig branches.” Since it is young, it burns quickly.

But are all types of wood fit for the pyre? All types of wood are fit for the pyre, except olive wood and grapevine wood.

But they were accustomed to use these: young branches of a fig tree, of a nut tree, and of an oil tree.

Rabbi Eliezer adds: Also those of the carob tree, oak, palm, carob, and sycamore

—are unfit for the pyre!

And he concludes the difficulty:

Granted, according to the one who says

that they are disqualified only

because they have knots,

one can say that

this is the point of disagreement

between Rabbi Eliezer and the first tanna:

One

[Rabbi Eliezer]

holds:

the carob tree, oak, and their equivalents

although they do not have internal knots

[their knots do not enter within them], nevertheless,

since they have external knots

[on the outside],

we do not bring

wood from them for the altar.

And the other

[the first tanna]

holds: Since they do not have internal knots \-

even though they have external knots,

we bring wood from them.

But according to the one who says

that

because of the settlement of Eretz Yisrael

they also do not bring olive wood and grapevine wood, why does the first tanna disagree with Rabbi Eliezer? Is it that

a palm tree does not involve the concern for the settlement of Eretz Yisrael?

But it too produces fruit, and it is obvious that for this reason its cutting for the altar should be prohibited.

And we answer:

He can say to you

—that other authority:

And according to your reasoning,

instead of raising the difficulty against me from the beraita, raise it against me from the Mishna, which teaches: “young branches of a fig tree.” Is it that

a fig tree does not involve the concern for the settlement of Eretz Yisrael,

and how can we permit bringing wood from it for the altar?

Rather,

necessarily,

what can you say?

It is speaking of a fig tree that does not produce fruit

and, if so, with regard to a

palm tree as well,

let us establish that it is

a

palm tree

that does not produce fruit.

Therefore, it does not involve the concern for the settlement of Eretz Yisrael. Rabbi Eliezer disqualifies it only because it has knots, whereas the first tanna holds that anything not knotted from within is not disqualified.

And we raise a difficulty:

But is there a fig tree that does not produce fruit?

And we answer:

Yes! As Rahava.

For Rahava said: One brings

saplings from

white fig trees

[white], which are inferior,