Yoma 35b — the Talmud in English

Meitivі,

the members of the academy raised an objection against the statement of our Mishna [that the morning garments were more valuable than those of the evening], from the words of the prophet Ezekiel:

It is stated in Ezekiel [44:19], concerning the service of the High Priest on Yom Kippur: "

And when they go out to the outer courtyard ... they shall remove their garments [the white garments]] ...

and they shall put on other garments."

That is, when they return and enter the Holy of Holies to remove the ladle and the coal pan, they shall put on other white garments.

And we know this matter from a halakha given to Moses at Sinai [above, 32a], and Ezekiel came and attached [strengthened] this matter, establishing it in Scripture.

And the end of the verse is:

"And they shall not sanctify the people with their garments"

[The Gemara cites the verse through its end, even though this sentence is a matter in itself and has no connection to our discussion. And this is its explanation]: And when they go out to the people, that is, outside the Temple courtyard, they shall not wear sacred garments [Ritva in explaining Rashi].

And we learned from the words of the prophet that when the High Priest enters in the afternoon to remove the ladle and the coal pan, he wears "other" garments.

And we considered this matter:

What

is the prophet's intention in emphasizing and saying, "And they shall put on other garments," rather than simply saying, "And they shall put on garments"?

Is it not

that he intended to say that

"other"

means different and

more valuable than them,

than the first ones that he wore in the morning?!

And from here there is an objection against the statement of our Mishna [where we learned that the morning garments were more valuable than those of the afternoon]! And we answer:

No! "Other"

means

inferior to them

[to the first ones that he wore in the morning], because the service of the morning is more important, since he offered sacrifices for atonement. But the removal of the ladle and the coal pan does not come for atonement, but to clear out the Holy of Holies, for it is not honorable that vessels should remain there.

We learned in the Mishna that the white garments of Yom Kippur come from sacred funds. And if he wishes to add [more than thirty maneh according to the Rabbis, and more than twenty maneh according to Rabbi Meir], he adds from his own.

Rav Huna bar Yehuda taught

a beraita.

And some say

[others state it] in the name of

Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda: After the service of the

communal

sacrifices has ended, the

High

Priest whose mother made him a tunic

[from his money or from her money]

wears it and performs in it the service of an individual

alone.

That is, a service in which there is no need for the public, namely, the removal of the ladle and the coal pan, which was performed only for the honor of the place of the Holy of Holies [and it was called the service of an individual because this service was imposed upon the High Priest, to clear the place. Rashi].

Provided, however, that he transfers it

the High Priest

to the public.

Since, in the end, the service is partially a service of the public [Rashi; Ritva].

And we object: Since the High Priest transfers it to the public,

it is obvious

that he can serve in it?!

And we answer:

Lest you say

that perhaps you would say,

let us be concerned

[let us fear]

that perhaps he will not transfer it properly,

that perhaps he will not wholeheartedly resolve to give it to the public. And we should prohibit him from serving in it.

It teaches us

the tanna taught us in the beraita that we are not concerned about this, and he is permitted to serve in it.

And in passing, since we learned in the beraita, "a High Priest whose mother made him a tunic," the Gemara brings the following incidents [Tosefta, chapter 1]:

They said about Rabbi Yishmael ben Pavi

the High Priest,

whose mother made him a tunic worth one hundred maneh, and he

would

wear it and perform in it the service of an individual, and transfer it to the public

before serving in it.

They said about Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum, whose mother made him a tunic worth twenty thousand

[twenty thousand] maneh,

and his fellow priests did not allow him to wear it, because

it was made of fine threads, to such an extent

that he appeared naked.

And we object:

Could he be seen

—could his flesh be seen through the tunic?!

But the Master said

the tanna in a beraita [below, 71b]: Priestly garments concerning which it is stated that they were made of shesh [linen],

their thread

was

sixfold

[and the tunic was made of shesh], and if so, how could they see his flesh through garments so thick?

Abaye said

an answer: As an analogy,

like wine in a glass vessel,

like wine in a glass vessel, for even though the glass is thick, the wine can be seen through it. Similarly, the garments of Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum were made of bright and transparent linen, until his flesh could be seen through them.

Having mentioned the wealth of Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum [whose mother made him a tunic worth twenty thousand maneh], the Gemara brings another beraita, which mentions his wealth:

The Sages taught:

A poor person, a wealthy person, and a wicked person

who follows after his desires

come to judgment

in the future for neglecting Torah. And the court on high can find them liable in judgment and demonstrate to them that they could have occupied themselves with Torah.

And the beraita proceeds to explain:

a.

To the poor person, they say: Why did you not occupy yourself with Torah?

If

the poor person

says: I was poor and occupied with my livelihood,

and I could not occupy myself with Torah,

they say to him: Were you ever poorer than Hillel

who was utterly impoverished and occupied himself with Torah?!

For so

they said about Hillel the Elder: Every single day he would work

to earn his livelihood,

and earn a terapeyk

[a coin worth half a dinar. And it is a sela of the state. Rashi].

Half of it he gave to the guardian of the

house of study

in order that he allow him to enter to study Torah from Shemaya and Avtalion,

and half of it

he spent

for his livelihood and the livelihood of the members of his household.

One time he did not find

work

from which to earn money

in order to pay,

and the guardian of the house of study did not allow him to enter.

Hillel went up

to the roof,

and hung himself and sat at the edge of

the

skylight

[a window in the roof, through which light entered the house of study]

in order to hear the words of the living God from the mouth of Shemaya and Avtalion.

They said: That day was the eve of Shabbat. And it was the season of Tevet, and snow fell upon him from the heavens.

When dawn broke

[of Shabbat morning],

Shemaya said to Avtalion: Every day the house is illuminated

[lit],

but today it is dark. Perhaps it is a cloudy day.

washed him and anointed him

They looked out

with their

eyes, and saw the form of a person in the skylight.

They went up and found three cubits' height of snow upon him. They uncovered him

they removed the burden of snow from upon him,

and washed him and anointed him

with oil,

and seated him opposite the fire.

They said: This man is worthy

in his frozen condition—

that Shabbat be violated for him.

and I was unable to engage in Torah study,

b. To the

wealthy person

who comes to judgment in the future,

they say to him: Why did you not occupy yourself with Torah?

If he says: I was wealthy, and I was occupied with my property,

and I could not occupy myself with Torah,

they say to him: Were you ever wealthier than Rabbi Elazar

ben Harsum?!

For so

they said about Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum: His father left him one thousand towns on the mainland, and opposite them one thousand ships at sea.

And every single day

he would

take a sack of flour upon his shoulder

for sustenance.

And he would travel from town to town, and from province to province, to study Torah.

One time his servants found him

who lived in one of the towns belonging to him, but they did not recognize him. And they thought that he was one of the town's inhabitants.

And they made him perform

they forced him to perform

forced labor,

the work of the master of the town, which was imposed upon its inhabitants.

He said to them: Please, let me go, and I will go study Torah.

They said to him:

We swear an oath by the

life of Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum,

the master of the town,

that we will not let you go

from here until you perform the work imposed upon you according to the law of a resident of the town. [

He went and gave them a great deal of money so that they would let him go.

This is the version in Ein Yaakov].

And throughout his life

of Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum,

he did not go

to his servants

and see them

how they worked.

Rather, he

would

sit and occupy himself with Torah all day and all night.

c. And the beraita explains the law of the wicked person:

The wicked person

who follows after his desires,

they say to him: Why did you not occupy yourself with Torah?

If he said: I was handsome, and I was occupied with my inclination.

They say to him: Were you ever as handsome

[and as occupied with your inclination] more

than Joseph?!

For so

they said about Joseph the Righteous: Every single day

Potiphar's wife would entice him with words. The garments that she put on for him

in order to seduce him

in the morning, she did not put on for him in the evening.

And likewise,

the garments that she put on for him in the evening, she did not put on for him

in the

morning.

She said to him: Listen to me

for the sinful act.

He said to her: No.

She said to him: I shall imprison you in the prison.

He said to her

[based on Psalms 146]:

"The Lord releases those who are bound."

She said to him:

I shall bend your stature.

He said to her [based on Psalms there]:

"The Lord straightens those who are bent."

She said to him:

I shall blind your eyes.

He said to her:

"The Lord opens the eyes of the blind"

[Psalms there].

She gave him one thousand talents of silver to listen to her, to lie with her, to be with her.

But he did not wish to listen to her.

And why is it stated [Genesis 39:10], "And he did not listen to her, to lie beside her, to be with her," in repetitive wording?

"to lie with her"

that is,

in this world.

"to be with her"

that is,

in the World to Come.

And now the beraita summarizes its words:

It is found:

Hillel obligates the poor

who did not study Torah in law.

Rabbi Elazar ben Harsum obligates the wealthy.

And

Joseph obligates the wicked.

Mishna:

The Mishna begins to arrange the services of the day performed in white garments.

He came

the High Priest

to

his bull,

the sin-offering bull belonging to him.

And his bull was standing between the Hall and the Altar,

in the north of the courtyard [as is demonstrated in the Gemara].

Its head

of the bull was turned

southward,

and its tail northward.

And its face

was inclined

westward [they inclined its head to the side, until its face was toward the west] in the direction of the Sanctuary.

its head was turned to the side, so that its face was toward the west] toward the Sanctuary.

And the priest

the High

was standing in the east,

his back toward the east

and his face toward the west. And he placed both his hands upon it, and confessed.

And thus he would say

in his confession:

Please, Hashem [here the High Priest would pronounce the Name according to its writing, yod he vav he ]:

here the High Priest would pronounce the Divine Name as it is written, yod-heh-vav-heh ]:

I have committed iniquity, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my household.

Please, Hashem!

Please forgive, for the iniquities, and for the transgressions, and for the sins, that I have committed iniquity, and have transgressed, and have sinned

before You, I and my household.

For You have promised us to forgive us today,

as it is written in the Torah of Moses Your servant

[Leviticus 16:30]:

"For on this day He shall forgive

you, to purify you from all your sins."

And they—

those standing in the courtyard, when they heard the Name issuing from the mouth of the High Priest—

would answer after him

with prostration. Tiferet Yisrael ]:

"Blessed be the Name of the glory of His kingdom forever and ever."