Yoma 21b (כא:) — the Talmud in English

But surely the Table

is a wooden vessel made to remain in one place—

for it is not used by moving it from its place; rather, it remains fixed in its place.

And every vessel

of wood

made to remain in one place does not contract ritual impurity,

for the verse likened the impurity of wooden vessels to the impurity of a sack: Just as a sack is used when it is moved, whether full or empty, so too a wooden vessel is not considered a vessel for contracting impurity unless it is intended to be moved, whether full or empty.

And

because it does not contract impurity, it also

serves as a barrier against impurity

if it seals an opening so that impurity cannot pass through it. If so, how could the Table become impure?

Rather, this teaches

that the Table was moved because

when

the pilgrims came for the Festival, they

would lift it

in order to show them the heat of the leḥem ha-panim, the showbread.

And

they

would say to them: “See how beloved you are before the Omnipresent,

who performs a miracle for you:

that

the bread remained hot at the time of

its removal, just

as it had been at the time of

its arrangement.

As it is stated: ‘To place hot bread on the day it was taken away.’”

Therefore, this miracle was counted among the ten miracles, since this miracle too was visible from outside.

And we raise another objection:

But are there no more

miracles in the Temple?

But didn’t Rav Oshaya say: When Solomon’s son built

the

Temple, he planted in it all kinds of

trees

of gold, and

these golden trees

would produce their fruits in their proper seasons,

as though they were actual fruit trees?

And when

the wind

blew through them,

the fruits

would fall, as it is stated

in Psalms 72:16:

“Its fruit shall rustle like Lebanon,”

and “Lebanon” refers to the Temple, whose fruits would rustle because of the wind blowing through them.

And when gentiles entered the Sanctuary

to destroy it,

the tree withered,

as it is stated in Nahum 1:4:

“And the flower of Lebanon languished.”

And in the future, the Holy One, blessed be He, will restore them

to their blossoming,

as it is stated

in Isaiah 35:2:

“It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice, even with joy and singing; the glory of Lebanon shall be given to it.”

And we answer:

Miracles that are fixed

in their place, and that do not occur through events and actions performed in the Temple,

the tanna did not count

among his enumeration.

And we conclude:

Now that you have arrived at this

—that the tanna did not count miracles that were permanently established in the Temple—it is also understandable why he did not count the miracles of the place of the

Ark and

the

cherubim,

for these

too are fixed miracles.

The Master said: “And the smoke of the pyre

even if all the winds in the world came and blew against it, they would not move it from its place.”

And we wonder:

Was there smoke

rising from the fire of

the pyre? But isn’t it taught in a beraita: Five things were stated concerning the fire of

the

pyre: It appeared

it

crouching like a lion, and clear

—

like the sun; and it possessed

in its flame

substance,

unlike every flame in the world, which has no tangible substance;

and it consumed

things

that were moist

just as it consumed things

that were dry; and

so

it did not produce smoke.

And we answer: When we say that smoke rose from the fire of the pyre, we are referring to

the

portion of the fire

kindled by a human, and not to the fire that descended from Heaven, concerning which we learned in the beraita that it did not produce smoke.

it was, and not from the fire that descended from the heavens about which we stated in a baraita that it does not raise smoke.

As it is taught in a beraita: The Torah states: “And the sons of

Aaron

the priest shall place fire upon the altar.”

And we learn from this that

even though

the

fire

of the altar

descended from Heaven,

nevertheless,

it is a mitzva to bring

fire also

from a human source,

and to place it beside the fire that descended from Heaven; and this fire produced smoke.

We learned in the beraita that the fire of the pyre appeared

crouching like a lion.

crouching like a lion.

And we challenge this:

But isn’t it taught in a beraita: Rabbi Ḥanina, the deputy High Priest, said: I saw it,

the fire of the pyre, and it appeared

crouching like

the form of a

dog

lying down?

And we answer:

This is not difficult: Here,

where they said that it appeared crouching like a lion,

it was in the First Temple,

where it appeared so;

and here,

where Rabbi Ḥanina, the deputy High Priest, saw it crouching like a dog,

it was in the Second Temple

period.

And we challenge this:

But

if so,

in the Second Temple, was there

fire from Heaven?

But didn’t Rav Shmuel bar Inya say: What is the meaning of that which is written

in the verse, when the prophet said to those who built the Second Temple: “Go up to the mountain and bring wood and build the House,

and I will take pleasure in it and be honored,” says the Lord? Yet we read

said the Holy One, Blessed be He, and behold we read

“and I will be honored” with an additional letter, and what is the reason

with the aleph, and what difference is there

that it

is written

without the additional letter?

Rather, the omission of the letter comes to allude to

these five things that existed between the First Temple and

the

Second Temple,

and these are they:

The Ark, the Ark-cover, and the cherubim,

which were not in the Second Temple after King Josiah concealed them at the end of the First Temple period; and likewise,

fire

from Heaven, which descended upon the First Temple but not upon the Second;

and

the

Divine Presence

did not rest in the Second Temple;

and

also

the Divine Spirit

was not present among the prophets from the beginning of the Second Temple period; and

the Urim and Thummim

that were within the breastplate.

And we answer:

They said: No,

indeed, the fire itself

did exist.

However, its

assistance

in consuming the sacrifices

was not present,

and only the fire added from a human source consumed the sacrifices.

The Sages taught: There are six

types of

fire:

There is

a fire that

consumes but does not drink.

consumes but does not drink.

And there is

a fire that

drinks but does not consume.

And there is a fire that

consumes and drinks, and there is

a fire that

consumes

even things

that are moist, as though they were dry; and there is a fire

that

repels

another fire,

and there is a fire

that

consumes fire.

And we explain:

There is a fire

that

consumes but does not drink; this is

the fire

of ours,

which burns only solid things.

A fire that

drinks but does not consume—

this is the fire that burns within the bodies of

ordinary people with the fever, causing their bodies to dry out and making them need to drink water, without any desire to eat.

A fire that

consumes and drinks—

this is the fire

of Elijah

the prophet, which fell from Heaven upon the altar he built on Mount Carmel and consumed the offering, the wood, the earth, and the stones; and it also drank,

as

it is written

there:

“And it licked up the water that was in the trench.”

consumes and drinks is the fire of Elijah, the prophet, which fell from Heaven onto the altar he built on Mount Carmel and consumed the offering, the wood, the earth, and the stones; it also drank, as it is written there: “And it licked up the water that was in the trench.”

A fire that

consumes

things

that are moist, just as

it consumes things

that are dry—

this is the same fire

of the pyre

of the altar, which consumed even moist flesh, causing it to become like coals.

There is a fire that repels fire—

this is the fire

of Gabriel,

the angel who is the minister of fire. He descended to save Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah when Nebuchadnezzar cast them into the fiery furnace. With his fire, he repelled the furnace’s fire from within and cooled it, while he heated the furnace from outside so that it would burn those who cast them in.

And there is a fire that consumes fire—

this is the fire

of the Divine Presence, as the Master said:

When the Holy One, blessed be He, wished to create the human being, and the angels said before Him, “What is man, that You should remember him, and the son of man, that You should attend to him?”

the Holy One, blessed be He, extended

His

finger between them

and burned them.

We learned in a beraita:

And the smoke of the pyre—even if all the winds in the world

came and blew against it,

they would not move it from its place.

And we challenge this:

But didn’t Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Avdimi say:

Since on Sukkot people are judged concerning water, and on the final Festival day—the day on which the decree concerning the rains that would fall that year was sealed—therefore,

on the evening following the final Festival day of Sukkot,

the people

would all watch the smoke of the pyre,

for it served as a sign, through the direction in which the wind blew it, of how the judgment had been decreed.

If the smoke

leaned toward the north,

because a wind coming from the south was blowing against it,

the

poor would rejoice,

and the

of

landowners

would

be distressed, because

a southern wind causes

the

the rains

rains of

the

year to be plentiful,

excessively so;

and

as a result,

their produce

of the landowners

would rot,

and it would not be worthwhile for them to keep it in storage. Therefore, they would sell it cheaply, and the poor would benefit.

And when

it leaned

the smoke

toward the south,

because a northern wind was blowing against it,

the poor would be distressed and the

of

landowners

would

rejoice, because

a northern wind causes

the

the rains

rains of

the

year to be scant, and

therefore

their produce

of the landowners

would be preserved

well in storage, and they would not sell the produce until the time when prices rose.

And if

it leaned

the smoke

toward the east,

because a western wind was blowing against it,

everyone would rejoice,

because a western wind is balanced and causes rain to fall in the proper amount: There would be an appropriate quantity of grain, and the produce would be preserved properly. As a result, the produce would be sold at an average price, benefiting both the landowners and the poor.

And if

it leaned

the smoke

toward the west,

because an eastern wind was blowing against it,

everyone would be distressed,

because an eastern wind dries out the seeds, prevents rain, and causes a year of drought.

Thus, from the statement of Rabbi Yitzḥak bar Avdimi, it is evident that the smoke of the pyre leaned to the sides because of the winds, which contradicts the beraita we learned, that the winds did not move it from its place.

And we answer:

It would go

the smoke

and come like a palm tree,

like palm trees that sway in the wind,

but it would not be scattered—

the smoke did not disperse because of the wind.

The Master said:

The smoke leaned

toward the east, and everyone would rejoice;

and if it leaned

toward the west, everyone would be distressed. This indicates that a western wind is always beneficial, whereas an eastern wind is harmful.

The Master said: “If the smoke tilted toward the east, everyone rejoiced; and if it tilted toward the west, everyone was distressed.” This indicates that a western wind is always beneficial, whereas an eastern wind is harmful.

And we raise a contradiction: A

wind

from the east is always

it is

beneficial,

whereas a

wind from the west is always harmful.

eastern wind is always beneficial, while a western wind is always harmful.

A northern wind is beneficial

it is

to wheat when

it has already

reached one-third

of its growth, since it no longer requires abundant rain,

and it is harmful

it is

to olives when they are budding,

as they then require abundant rain.

Whereas a

southern wind,

which causes abundant rain,

is harmful

it is

to wheat when it has reached one-third of its growth, and beneficial

it is

to olives when they are budding.

a southern wind, which causes abundant rain, is harmful for wheat when it has reached one-third of its growth, but beneficial for olives when they are forming.

And Rav Yosef said, and some say Mar Zutra:

And your mnemonic for knowing which wind is beneficial for wheat and which for olives is:

the Table

in the Temple, upon which was the showbread made of wheat, was

on

the

northern side,

and

the

Menorah, which was kindled with olive oil, was

in the south. This

northern wind

increases

the growth of the wheat suitable for the Table, which stood on its side.

We have returned to you, chapter “Seven Days.”