Tamid 33b — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

a.

When the High Priest entered to bow

in the Sanctuary after the burning of the incense,

three

priests were

holding him.

One at his right, one at his left, and one at the precious stones

that were in the breastplate! [Rosh. And in the Rambam it is stated: at the onyx stones that were on the shoulder-straps of the ephod].

And when the appointed officer heard

the

sound of the footsteps of the High Priest [

through the golden bells in the robe], when

he was leaving

the Sanctuary after he had finished bowing,

he raised the curtain for him

that was before the entrance of the Sanctuary.

For the curtain was spread over the entrance while the High Priest was entering the Sanctuary. For it is honor for the High Priest that it be concealed behind him when he is alone with his Creator. [Tosafot Yom Tov. And some explain that this refers to the curtain of the Hall].

And before

the High Priest

entered

and bowed and left.

And afterward

his brother priests entered, bowed, and left.

b.

The three

priests who had engaged in the service of burning the incense [the one who burned it, the one who had won the right to the coal-pan, and the one holding the ladle]

came and stood on the steps of the Hall

that descended to the Courtyard.

The

two

first [

who had won the right to remove the ashes from the inner altar and the Menora] stood on the steps of the Hall,

to the south of

those three

brother priests

who had now stood there on the northern side. For the north is more important, since there the most holy sacrifices are slaughtered; therefore, there stood the burners of the incense, which is the more important service. [Rosh].

And five vessels were in their hands

of these five priests:

The tanei in the hand of one —

the one who removed the ashes from the inner altar.

And the kuz in the hand of one —

the one who removed the ashes from the Menora.

And the coal-pan in the hand of one —

the one who brought in the coals for the incense.

And the bazakh in the hand of one —

the one who burned the incense.

And the ladle and its cover in the hand of one —

the one assisting the burner.

And

from there

they blessed the people with one blessing!

For they would recite all three verses of the Priestly Blessing together. Since they do not answer Amen in the Temple.

Although they would answer in the Temple after the blessings, “Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever,” in the Priestly Blessing they did not answer thus, because it is only to bless Israel.

But in the country they recite it,

the Priestly Blessing, in

three blessings.

For they interrupt between verse and verse by answering Amen. But

in the Temple,

where they do not interrupt, they recited it in

one blessing.

There was another distinction in the Priestly Blessing of the Temple:

in the Temple they would pronounce the Name as it is written,

with yod-he-vav-he.

And in the country

they would pronounce it

by its designation,

with alef-dalet-nun-yod.

Likewise,

in the country,

when the priests bless the people, they

raise their hands level with their shoulders,

and no more. But in the Temple they would raise their hands

above [

over]

their heads!

For the Divine Presence rests above the joints of their fingers.

And so did all the priests in the Temple,

except the High Priest, who does not

raise

his hands above the forehead-plate!

For since the Explicit Name is written on it, it is not fitting that he raise his hands above it.

Rabbi Yehuda says: The High Priest, too, raises his hands above the forehead-plate!

As it is stated: “And Aaron raised his hands toward the people and blessed them.” And the expression “raising” implies above the head.

c. The High Priest serves in the Temple with any service that he wishes, without a drawing of lots.

And

when the High Priest wished to burn

the limbs of the daily offering upon the arrangement,

he would ascend the ramp, and the deputy

would ascend

at his right.

And when

the High Priest reached

the

middle of the ramp,

and had already become weary from the ascent,

the deputy took hold of his right hand and raised him

to the top of the ramp.

And the nine priests who had won the right to the limbs of the daily offering stood on the ramp, one after another, with the limbs in their hands.

And the

priest

first

handed him

the head and the leg. And he rested upon them

the High Priest [and this is not the laying on of hands of sacrifices, for that applies only while the sacrifice is alive, but rather it is a manner of honor, to show that the service of the High Priest is important. Menahot 62b],

and cast them

onto the arrangement.

Afterward

the

priest

second handed the first

the

two forelegs

of the daily offering, and the first

gave them to the High Priest.

For it is a manner of honor for the High Priest that he receive all the limbs from the hand of one priest.

And

he rested

upon them

and cast them.

And

the second withdrew

from there and went away.

And so did

all the priests

hand him

to the first

all the remaining limbs

that were in their hands, and he gave them to the High Priest, and

he rested upon them and cast them

upon the arrangement.

And whenever he wished, he would rest

upon them, upon the limbs, and

the

priests

other

who had won the right to them

would cast

them onto the arrangement.

And when he finished burning,

the High Priest came

to

circumambulate the altar

for the pouring of the wine, which follows the burning.

From where did he begin

his circumambulation? —

From the southeastern corner!

For the ramp stood to the south of the altar. And when he reached the top of the altar, he turned to the right [for every turning that you turn should be to the right], and it follows that he encountered the southeastern corner first. And from there he continued to the

northeastern corner.

And from there to the

northwestern corner.

And from there

to the southwestern corner,

where the bowls were into which they poured the wine.

Only a High Priest who wished to pour would circumambulate in this way, because he did not hold the wine in his hands until he reached the place of pouring. And there, the one who had won the right to the pouring handed the wine to the High Priest. But when the priest who had won the lot was pouring himself, he would not circumambulate from the right. For in that case the wine would become smoky from the smoke of the arrangement as he walked around it. And smoky wine is unfit for libations. Rather, immediately upon ascending to the altar, he would turn to his left, to the southwestern corner, and pour there. [Zevahim 63].

They gave him

to the High Priest

wine to pour!

For that priest who had won the right to bring the wine up to the altar turned to his left and handed him the wine.

The discussion before us deals with every priest who pours, and not specifically with the pouring of the High Priest.

And

the deputy stood on the corner

of the altar,

and the cloths [

the banners]

were in his hand,

to wave them at the time of the pouring.

And

two priests stood

on

the table of the fats,

on which they would place the fats of the sacrifices before burning them. And it was higher than all the tables in the Courtyard.

And two trumpets were in their hands.

And when they saw the deputy standing on the corner,

they sounded, they gave a teru'a, and they sounded,

in order to inform the musicians that they should pay attention to the cloths in the deputy’s hand, to see them when they were waved.

Afterward the two trumpeters descended from there

and came and stood beside Ben Arza,

who was appointed over the song.

One

stood

to his right and one to his left.

The priest bowed [

bent down]

to pour

the wine, and

the deputy then waved

at that time

the cloths.

And this was the sign to begin the song. For “song is recited only over wine”!

And Ben Arza struck the cymbal [

a musical instrument],

and the Levites spoke in song.

And the song was composed of three sections. And when

they reached

the Levites

the

end of

a section

, they sounded

the trumpets, a sounding, a teru'a, and a sounding.

And the people bowed

in the Courtyard.

For each section

they sounded

a sounding,

a teru'a and a sounding, and

for each sounding

they bowed

a bowing.

This is the order of the daily offering for the service of the House of our God.

May it be Your will that it be rebuilt speedily in our days, Amen!

d.

The song that the Levites would recite in the Temple.

On the first day they would recite: “To the Lord belongs the earth and its fullness, the world and those who dwell in it”!

Because this day is the beginning of the work of Creation, and on this day He acquired His world, and watches over and rules His world [Rosh Hashana 31a].

The Vilna Gaon, in the name of the Zohar, explained that the song of each day refers to His “day” in the world that He created, which is one thousand years, and for each thousand years a separate song was recited. See note 3.

On the second they would recite: “Great is the Lord and exceedingly praised, in the city of our God, His holy mountain”!

Because then He divided His works: the upper waters were divided from the lower waters, and He ruled over them, and He was exalted and sat upon His throne of glory [there].

On the third they would recite: “God stands in the congregation of God; among the gods He judges”!

Because then He revealed the world [through the utterance “Let the waters gather”] by His wisdom, and prepared everything for His service. [There].

On the fourth they would recite: “God of retributions, Lord, God of retributions, appear”!

Because of the sun and the moon that were created on this day, from whose worshippers He will in the future exact retribution [there].

On the fifth they would recite: “Sing joyfully to God our strength, sound a shout to the God of Jacob”!

Because then birds and fish were created, to praise His Name [there].

On the sixth they would recite: “The Lord has reigned; He has clothed Himself with majesty; the Lord has clothed Himself; He has girded Himself with strength”!

Because then His work was completed, and He ruled over them.

On Shabbat they would recite: “A psalm, a song for the day of Shabbat”!

For it is

a psalm, a song for the future to come, for the day that is entirely Shabbat and rest, for the life of the worlds!

For the day of the Holy One, blessed is He, is one thousand years, as it is written: “For a thousand years in Your eyes are like yesterday, which has passed.” And the day of Shabbat corresponds to the seventh millennium. And the world will exist for six thousand years, and one [in the seventh millennium] will be desolate. And then “the Lord alone will be exalted on that day” will be fulfilled. Therefore they recite this psalm on Shabbat .

We shall return to you, Chapter “When the High Priest,” and the tractate Tamid is concluded