Tamid 33a (לג.) — the Talmud in English

And the bazakh

[a small pan] in which the incense was placed

was

placed

inside

the large shovel,

when it was

[the bazakh]

full and heaped with incense.

They placed it inside the large shovel, because it was heaped with incense. If some of it spilled while he was walking, it would fall into the large shovel.

And it had a cover

for the shovel.

And something resembling a bell

[a ring]

was upon it

[upon the cover]

above,

and through it he would carry and remove the cover.

For the purpose of offering the incense, it was necessary to bring with it into the Sanctuary a pan filled with coals.

The one who merited

the task of taking these coals

in the pan took

the

silver pan,

[which held four kav,]

and ascended to the top of the altar

the outer one.

And he cleared the coals

of the outer coals, which had gone out,

to this side and that,

until he reached the inner coals, which glowed from one side to the other,

and took four kav of coals from them.

He descended

from the altar

and poured the coals

from the silver pan

into

a pan

of gold,

which held three kav. Initially he did not take the coals in a gold pan because it would become diminished through the heat of the fire; and the Torah spared the money of Israel.

While he was pouring them,

about

a kav of the coals

spilled from it

to the side, beside the golden pan, leaving approximately three kav of coals in the golden pan for the offering of the incense.

And he would sweep them

the spilled coals

into the channel

through which the water flowed in the Temple courtyard .

And on Shabbat,

when doing this is prohibited because of extinguishing [and although it is a labor not required for its own purpose, it is prohibited by rabbinic decree],

he would place the pashtaker over them

so that the kohanim’s feet would not be burned by the coals.

And

the

pashtaker was a large vessel,

and it

held

within it

half a kor

[half a kor].

And it had two chains.

One chain

with which he

[the kohen] would

pull it

when it was full of the altar’s ashes, as he

descended

with it from the altar.

And

one chain

with which he

[the second kohen accompanying him]

held it from above so that it would not roll away!

For its bottom was not flat; rather, it was made like a cauldron.

And

for

three purposes the

pashtaker

was used:

They would place it over the coals

on Shabbat, as stated.

And

they would place it

over a creeping creature

found in the Temple

on Shabbat!

So that no one would become impure through it and be prohibited from remaining in the courtyard. For on Shabbat it could not be removed because of the prohibition of muktzeh .

And

likewise

they would lower the ashes in it from the altar,

to remove them outside the Temple. [The details of removing the ashes have already been explained in the second chapter.]

When the kohanim who had won the incense and the pan

reached the area between the Sanctuary and the altar, one

of the

kohanim took the magrefa

[a vessel in the Temple, not the same magrefa with which they raked the ashes, and not the musical instrument called a “magrefa.” Tosafot Yom Tov],

and threw it between the Sanctuary and the altar

so that it would make a sound when it fell, and all the kohanim would come to prostrate themselves in the courtyard after the incense had been offered.

The magrefa made a tremendous sound, to the point that

no one in Jerusalem could hear another person’s voice because of the sound of the magrefa.

And

for

three purposes this

magrefa

was used:

1. Every

kohen who heard its sound knew that his fellow kohanim were entering to prostrate themselves

at the completion of the incense service, and he ran and came and prostrated himself

with them.

2.

And a Levite,

when

he heard its sound,

he

knew that his fellow Levites were entering to sing

at the time of the wine libation,

and he ran and came

and joined them.

3.

And the head of the ma’amad

of that week [for corresponding to each priestly division there was a ma’amad of Israelites in the Temple; however, the Rosh wrote “head of the paternal division”], when he heard its sound,

would station

all the

impure

kohanim of that paternal division, whose day of service it then was,

at the eastern gate

of the Women’s Courtyard [but from there inward, those who had immersed that day were not permitted to enter. Tosafot, Pesaḥim 82a]! So that everyone would know that they were not serving because of their impurity, and would not suspect them of deliberately refraining from service because they did not wish to lose time from their work. [Or, so that they would be shamed for failing to take care not to become impure. This is the subject of a dispute in Pesaḥim 82a. ]

We have completed Chapter ‘The Supervisor Said to Them’

Mishna:

1.

When they began

the priests carrying the incense and the coal pan

ascending the steps of the Entrance Hall

on their way to the Sanctuary,

those who had won the privilege of removing the ashes from the inner altar and the Menora would precede them

in order to enter the Sanctuary.

The one who had won the privilege of removing the ashes from the inner altar,

and had already removed them earlier,

entered

now

and took the basket

in which he had previously placed the ashes from the altar, from the floor of the Sanctuary.

And he prostrated himself!

At the completion of the service he would prostrate himself, like a servant who serves his master, who takes leave and departs.

And he departed

from the Sanctuary.

The one who had won the privilege of removing the ashes from the Menora,

and had already prepared five lamps before the sprinkling of the daily offering,

entered

now to prepare the remaining two lamps. [For the blood of the daily offering interrupts between the preparation of the five lamps and that of the two lamps, as stated above.]

If

he found

the

two

the

eastern lamps

the

burning,

he extinguished and

prepared

them [he removed the wick and oil, cleaned the lamp, and placed new wick and oil in it]

—the

lamp

eastern

[the one farthest to the east],

and left the western one

[the second from the east]

burning.

Since

from it he would kindle

in the afternoon

the

rest of the lamps of the

Menora.

And concerning it is stated: “To raise a perpetual lamp.” He would place in it the same measure of oil as in the other lamps, and nevertheless it would burn until evening. This was testimony that the Divine Presence rested among Israel.

And although “lamps” is written, and the preparation of the lamps requires no fewer than two, nevertheless they would leave it burning without removing its ashes, in order to publicize the miracle.

However, this miracle occurred during the time of Simeon the Righteous. But after his death, it would sometimes be extinguished in the morning, like the other lamps. And at that time, when the miracle did not occur—if

they found

the western lamp

extinguished,

they prepared it

as well, and

kindled it from the altar of the burnt offering!

So that it would be ready in the evening, enabling them to kindle the entire Menora from it.

When he had completed preparing the lamps,

he took the kuz

in which he had placed the ashes of the Menora,

from

the

second

step

above

the stone before the Menora [where it had previously been placed, from the time he completed preparing the five lamps before the service of the daily offering],

and prostrated himself and departed

from the Sanctuary.

2.

The one who had won the privilege of

bringing the

coal pan

of coals for the incense,

piled

[heaped]

the coals upon the altar

within,

and spread them

[flattened them]

along the edges of the coal pan

that was in his hand, on the altar, so that they would be spread over a broad area, thereby causing the incense to burn more quickly and reducing its smoke.

And he prostrated himself and departed.

3.

The one who had won the privilege of offering the incense would take the bezikh

containing the incense,

from within the spoon

in which it had been placed.

And he would give it to his beloved or to his relative,

who entered the Sanctuary with him to assist him in this. His beloved would pour the incense from the bezikh into the cupped hands of the one offering it. And if

some of it spilled

[of the incense]

into

the spoon, he would also

give it to him

his beloved

into

his

cupped hands.

Since he had never offered the incense before [for no priest would offer the incense twice, as stated], they would

teach him: Take care

when you scatter the incense

not to begin

scattering it over the coals

nearest you.

Rather, begin from the far side, and from there draw your hands back while scattering the incense, until you finish with the coals nearest you. This was so

that you would not be burned!

For if you began scattering from the side nearest you, the smoke of the incense would rise, and your hands would be burned as you continued scattering outward.

He began by spreading them,

scattering the spices of the incense,

and departed

immediately from the Sanctuary.

The one offering the incense would not offer it until the supervisor said to him: Offer the incense!

And

if the

the

priest

the

High

was offering the incense,

the supervisor would say to him: My master, High Priest, offer the incense!

The reason for this is that during the offering of the incense, no person was permitted to be in the Sanctuary, nor even between the Entrance Hall and the altar. The supervisor would warn everyone to withdraw from there. Afterward, he would instruct him to offer the incense.

All

the

people

withdrew from between the Entrance Hall and the altar.

And

then

he offered

the incense,

and prostrated himself and departed.

We have completed the study of you, Chapter “They Began Ascending”