Tamid 31b (לא:) — the Talmud in English

3. The

first

priest held it by the

head and the right

leg.

The head in his

hand

right.

And its snout

of the lamb faced

upward.

above,

His forearm

of the priest,

and

it was found that

its horns

of the lamb were held

between his fingers.

And

he carried the head with

the place of slaughter facing upward, and the fat placed over it

to cover it, out of respect for what is Above.

And the

right leg

was placed

in his left hand

of that same priest.

And

the

place where its skin

of the leg [the place from which they began removing the skin, which is the outer side of the leg] held

toward the

side

outside.

He held the inner side, where it had been cut from the body, facing himself, since the place of the cut is disgraceful and therefore it is concealed.

The priest

second

held it

with both hands.

The hand

of the right

held

the

hand

in his right, and

the hand

of the left in his left!

For this is the manner that expresses their importance, as the right is more important than the left.

And the places where their skin had been were facing outward.

The priest

third

held

the tail [

tail],

and the

left leg. He held

the tail

in

in his right hand.

And the fat tail

attached to the tail, when it was

hanging down,

the priest held

between his fingers.

And

also

the finger of the liver, and the two

the

kidneys [and the four ribs], attached

to it,

to it.

And the

left leg

was placed

in the

hand

of his left

of that same priest,

with the place where its skin had been facing outward.

And the priest

fourth

held

the breast and the shoulder. The breast in his

hand

right, and the shoulder in his left hand,

since the breast is more important than the shoulder.

And

the

four ribs

of the lamb attached to the shoulder, he held

between two of his fingers. [

He also held the shoulder and the breast with the places where their skin had been facing outward. But it was unnecessary to state this explicitly, since if the ribs were between his fingers, it necessarily followed that the outer side was facing outward.]

The priest

fifth

held

both

the

flanks.

The flank

of the right in his right hand, and the left in his left hand. And the places where their skin had been [

their outer sides, from which the skin had been removed]

faced outward.

The priest

sixth

held

the innards,

which were

placed in a bowl [

a palm-shaped vessel], since they were not a single piece, they placed them in a vessel.

And

the

legs with their backs uppermost.

They were burned together, as it is written: “He shall wash the innards and the legs with water, and the priest shall burn it on the altar.”

The priest

seventh

held

a

tenth of an ephah of

fine flour,

for the meal-offering offered together with the daily offering.

The priest

eighth

held

the griddled cakes!

Although they were not offered on account of the daily offering, but were made for the meal-offering of the High Priest, since the time for burning them was between the meal-offering of the daily offering and the libations, they brought them up together with the daily offering.

And the priest

ninth

held

a

quarter of a hin of

wine,

for the libations of the daily offering.

All

these priests

went

and placed them—the limbs—on the ramp,

from halfway

up the

ramp and downward,

on its western side, on its lower sixteen cubits. For after the burning of the incense, they still had to carry the limbs to the top of the altar. If they now brought them up to the upper part of the ramp, the importance of the subsequent carrying would not be discernible.

Likewise, they placed them only

on its western side, on its eight western cubits, in order to clear the eight eastern cubits for the priests’ ascent up the ramp to the top of the altar. This was because the arrangement on which they burned the daily offering was on the eastern side of the altar.

of the ramp, in its eight western cubits, in order to leave the eight eastern cubits clear for the priests to ascend the ramp to the top of the altar. This was because the arrangement on which the daily offering was burned was on the eastern side of the altar.

And they salted them,

for they placed salt on the limbs and on the meal-offering , as it is written: “With all your offerings you shall offer salt” .

And

when they had finished bringing the limbs up to the ramp, they

descended

from it

and came to the Chamber of Hewn Stone to recite

the recitation of

Shema

in the morning.

It is proper to recite the Shema before burning the incense and the daily offering, so that by virtue of its recitation their offering would ascend as a pleasing fragrance.

Gemara:

The tanna: The hand and leg

of the daily offering were tied to each other,

like the binding of Isaac, son of Abraham,

in order to recall the merit of the binding [commentary of the Vilna Gaon].

We learned in the Mishna:

They did not tie the lamb.

And we raise an objection concerning this:

What is the reason

that they did not tie all four of its legs together?

Rav Huna and Rav Ḥisda

gave reasons for this.

One

of them

said: Because

this involves

disgracing sacred offerings,

as one treats them in an ordinary manner. For this is the practice of lamb merchants when they display them for sale.

And one said: Because

anyone who ties the offering

follows the practices of the nations,

as it is their practice to tie the sacrifice when they offer it before idolatry.

And we explain:

What is the difference between them,

between these two reasons?

There is a difference between them—

where

he tied it

the daily offering

with silk [

a silk cloth, which is expensive and fine].

Alternatively:

where he tied it

with a golden thread [

a gold thread]. For if the reason is disgrace, that does not apply in these cases, and it would be permitted to tie it with them. But the reason involving the practices of the nations applies even in these cases, and it is forbidden to tie it with them.

We learned there: There were ten tables in the Temple [

in the courtyard].

Eight

tables

of marble, in the slaughterhouse,

north of the altar, beside the rings,

on which they rinsed the innards

of the offerings.

And additionally,

two

tables stood

on the west side of the ramp.

One

of them

was of marble, and one

of them

was of silver. On

the table

of

the

marble,

they

placed the limbs

of individual burnt-offerings before bringing them up to the altar. Sometimes only one priest would offer them; he would place them on the table and bring them up one by one, in succession.

And on

the table

of

the

silver,

they placed the ninety-three

sacred

of the

vessels

that they had brought out at the beginning of the day from the Chamber of Vessels, as stated above in the third chapter.

And

there were also

in the Hall, which was before the Sanctuary,

tables:

two inside

the Hall,

near [

adjacent to]

the entrance to the House [the Sanctuary],

for the showbread—a

marble table,

and a

golden table.

On

the table

of marble, they placed the showbread on it

after it was baked,

by

the

route of its entry

to the table in the Sanctuary, until they placed it upon that table.

And on

the table

of gold,

they placed the showbread on Shabbat,

at the

time of

its departure

from the table in the Sanctuary, until its bowls of frankincense were burned, after which they would divide it among the priests of the division to eat it.

They did this because

one elevates in holiness and does not lower! Since the showbread had already been placed on the golden table, they did not subsequently lower it to a less important table. Rather, they placed it on a golden table even when it was taken out.

Since the showbread had already been placed on this golden table, they did not subsequently lower it to a less important table. Rather, they also placed it on a golden table when it was removed.

And

there was one more table

of gold

that was

inside

the Sanctuary; it was the table of Moses mentioned in the work of the Tabernacle.

Upon it

was placed

the showbread continually,

from one Shabbat to the next!

There were therefore thirteen tables in all, which were in the entire Temple. [And there were another ten tables made by Solomon in the Sanctuary, but they are not counted here because they placed nothing upon them.]

And we raise an objection concerning this:

Now,

we have an established principle

“There is no poverty in a place of wealth,”

and all the acts of the Temple were performed with wealth and grandeur. If so,

why did they make

a

marble

table for the bread when it entered ?

Let them make

a table for it upon its entry

of silver or of gold.

Rav Ḥinnana said in the name of Rav Asi, and Rav Asi

said it

in the name of Rabbi Shmuel bar Rabbi Yitzḥak:

They placed it upon a marble table when it entered

because it [

gold and silver] causes the bread to ferment and heats it, thereby hastening its spoilage.

We learned in the Mishna: The daily offering

of the morning was slaughtered at the northwestern corner.

And the afternoon offering was slaughtered at the northeastern corner!

And we raise an objection concerning this:

From where are these matters derived,

that the morning offering was slaughtered in the west and the afternoon offering in the east?

Rav Ḥisda said: For the verse states, “Two each day

a continual burnt-offering.” And we interpret: “Each day”—

opposite the day!

That is, opposite the sun, in the place illuminated by the day. In the morning, when the sun is in the east, it illuminates the western part of the courtyard, which is opposite it. But the eastern side is shaded by the walls of the courtyard, and the sun does not illuminate it there. In the afternoon, when the sun is in the west, it illuminates the eastern side, which is opposite it, but not the west.

It was taught likewise: “Two each day”

is written. And we interpret it:

opposite the day!

You say opposite the day, or is it only

the verse’s plain meaning, namely, two daily offerings that are

the obligation of the day?

This cannot be said. For

when it says, “You shall make one lamb in the morning, and the second lamb you shall make in the afternoon, the obligation of the day”

has already been

stated. How, then, do I understand “two each day”?—

it must mean

“opposite the day.”

How so?

The morning daily offering

was

slaughtered at the northwestern corner, at the western

ring, in the

second

row from the altar.

And

the daily offering

of the afternoon was slaughtered at the northeastern corner, at

the

ring

on the eastern side, in the

second

row from the altar. [Above, in the words of the Mishna, the reason why they did not slaughter at the first ring was explained.]

Alexander of Macedon asked the Elders of the South ten questions.