Yoma 38a (לח.) — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

There

there, in the beraita, the intention of the

intermittent writing was:

the words at the beginning of each verse were written in full, while the continuation of the verse was written in abbreviated form.

We learned in the Mishna:

“Miracles were performed for Nicanor’s doors.”

The Sages taught:

What

were the

miracles

that

were performed for his doors?

They said: When Nicanor went to bring

two

doors

of copper

from Alexandria in Egypt

to the eastern gate of the Temple courtyard,

On his return,

when he returned,

a raging sea arose against him—

a storm

that threatened to sink the ship.

The sailors took

one

of them

of the two doors

and cast it into the sea

to lighten the ship so that it would not sink,

but the sea had still not subsided from its fury,

and there was still concern that the ship might sink.

They sought to cast the other one

[the second door] into the sea.

He

[Nicanor]

stood and embraced it,

hugging it,

and said to them: Cast me into the sea with it

so that he would prevent them from throwing it away.

Immediately, the sea subsided from its fury.

And

Nicanor

was distressed over the other one

which had sunk.

When he reached the harbor of Akko,

a miracle occurred for him, and

it appeared and emerged from beneath the sides of the ship.

And some say: A creature that

lived

in the sea swallowed it and then disgorged it onto dry land.

And concerning it,

this door,

Solomon said

in the Song of Songs [1:17]:

“The beams of our houses

[the Temple ]

are cedars; our rafters

[our doors ]

are berotim.” Do not read

[read]

“berotim,” but “berit yam”—a covenant of the sea. “A covenant of the sea” is interpreted as follows: According to the first view in the beraita, the two doors made a covenant in the sea not to separate from one another. According to the second view, “some say,” this refers to a creature that lived in the sea and caused our doors not to sink. [The Maharsha, based on Rashi].

The beraita adds:

Therefore

for this reason,

all the gates that were in the Temple were changed

when the Jews became wealthy

to be

covered with a coating

of

gold,

except for Nicanor’s gates, because miracles were performed with it

[with them],

Ein Yaakov,

miracles.

And they wished to publicize the miracle.

And some say:

They did not cover Nicanor’s doors with gold

because their copper was yellow

polished and gleaming

was,

and resembled gold.

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: The copper called kelonita—

refined

was, and it shone

[gleamed]

like gold.

Mishna:

In the preceding Mishna, people were incidentally mentioned whom the Sages praised for their contributions to the Temple. In our Mishna, people are mentioned whom the Sages censured even though they performed good deeds, because they did not teach them to others.

[It would have been appropriate for them to fear that the honor of Heaven might diminish when these people died, and that others would not know how to do as they had done. Based on the Meiri ].

And these

the Sages mentioned

negatively:

The family

of the House of Garmu

the Sages censured them because they

did not wish to teach the procedure for making the showbread,

which was made like a box open on both sides, and great skill was required in baking and removing it from the oven so that it would not break [or become moldy, Meiri]; the House of Garmu knew this craft but did not wish to teach it to others.

The family

of the House of Avtinas did not wish to teach the procedure for making the incense,

for they knew a herb called “that which raises smoke,” and when this herb was mixed with the ingredients of the incense, the smoke rose straight upward like a staff [and did not turn to the sides], but they did not wish to teach others which herb it was.

Hugras ben Levi

[of the tribe of Levi]

knew a passage of song

a special method for enhancing the voice,

but he did not wish to teach

this matter to others.

Ben Kamtzar did not wish to teach

others

the procedure for writing,

for he knew how to hold four pens between the fingers of one hand and write with them the Name of God [which consists of four letters] simultaneously.

And the Mishna concludes:

Concerning the earlier ones,

who were mentioned in the preceding Mishna with praise,

it is stated

[in Proverbs 10]:

“The memory of the righteous is for a blessing,”

for the righteous are mentioned with praise and blessing.

And concerning these,

who were mentioned in our Mishna negatively,

it is stated

[there]:

“But the name of the wicked shall rot”

[their memory shall not endure. Meiri.]

Gemara:

The Sages taught:

The family

of the House of Garmu were expert in the procedure for making the showbread,

so that it would not break or become moldy. The Sages wished to punish them,

so the Sages sent

messengers

and brought artisans from Alexandria in Egypt

in place of the members of the House of Garmu.

And

the artisans who came from Alexandria

knew how to bake like them,

the bread, even though it was thick.

But they did not know how to remove it from the oven

without breaking it,

like them

[like the family of the House of Garmu],

because these

artisans from Alexandria feared that the bread might stick to the oven and break when they removed it, and therefore they

heated

the oven

from the outside and baked

the bread on top of the oven

from the outside

[so that they could remove it easily and it would not break],

whereas

if

these

the family of the House of Garmu, who knew how to remove the bread without breaking it, they would

heat it from the inside and bake it from the inside.

Therefore,

these—

the artisans from Alexandria, since they baked the bread outside the oven, where there was insufficient heat,

their bread became moldy

whereas

if

these

the family of the House of Garmu, who baked the bread inside the oven,

their bread would not become moldy.

When the Sages heard about this matter

this matter,

they said: Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created, He created for His glory. As it is stated

[Isaiah 43:7]:

“Everyone who is called by My name and whom I have created for My glory”

and since the Holy One, blessed be He, created in the House of Garmu a special talent for baking the showbread, He created this talent for His glory, for the purpose of baking the showbread,

and

therefore

the House of Garmu returned to their place.

The Sages sent to them

messengers to request that they return to their place,

but they did not come. They doubled their wages, and they came,

for initially

each day they would take twelve maneh

from the shekels of the chamber’s collection,

but today

[after they brought them back] they took

twenty-four

maneh as their wages.

Rav Yehuda says:

Initially they would take

twenty-four

maneh as their wages.

And today, forty-eight.

The Sages said to you,

to the members of the House of Garmu:

What did you see that made you not teach

others?

They said to them,

the members of the House of Garmu said to the Sages:

They knew

his family

of the House of my father that this House would ultimately be destroyed.

And they were concerned

lest an unworthy person learn

the procedure for making the showbread

and go and use it to perform idolatrous worship.

And for this matter,

which we will explain immediately, they were

mentioned with praise: Never was refined bread found

[made from thoroughly sifted flour]

in the hands of their descendants

at all, so that

they would not

be suspected, and

people would say

that

from the procedure for making the showbread

that

this

[which was made from thoroughly sifted flour] they

were sustained.

The House of Garmu was strict about this matter in order

to fulfill

the

that which was stated

[Numbers 32]:

“You shall be clear before the Lord and before Israel”

[that is, be clear of transgressing the word of God and of arousing suspicion among Israel].

We learned in the Mishna:

“The House of Avtinas did not wish to teach the procedure for making the incense.”

The Sages taught:

The family

of the House of Avtinas were expert in the procedure for making the incense, but they did not

wish

to teach

others. The Sages wished to punish them,

so the Sages sent

messengers.

And they brought artisans from Alexandria in Egypt

in place of the members of the House of Avtinas.

And

the artisans from Alexandria

knew how to compound—

to prepare

like them

[like the members of the House of Avtinas]

but they did not know how to make the smoke rise like theirs,

for the smoke

of these

of the House of Avtinas

rose like a palm

[standing upright like a palm tree. Rashi, 28b]

and ascended

straight

like a staff,

while the smoke

of these

of the artisans from Alexandria

spread

dispersing

this way and that.

And when the Sages heard about this matter, they said: Everything that the Holy One, blessed be He, created

in the world,

He created for His glory. As it is stated

[Proverbs 16]:

“Everything

[that]

the Lord made is for His purpose,”

and since the Holy One, blessed be He, created an herb that causes the incense smoke to rise straight like a staff, He created this herb for His purpose, for the procedure of making the incense [based on the Maharsha],

and

therefore

the House of Avtinas returned to their place.

The Sages sent them

messengers to ask them to come and prepare the incense,

but they did not come. They doubled

their

wages, and they came.

Initially,

each day they would receive [

from the shekels of the chamber collection ]

twelve maneh

as their wages,

and that day, twenty-four.

Rabbi Yehuda says:

initially,

each day

they would receive

twenty-four

maneh as their wages,

and that day, forty-eight.

The Sages said

to the members of the House of Avtinas:

What did you see that led you not to teach

others?

The members of the House of Avtinas

said:

They knew

the family

of my father’s house that this House [

the Second Temple ]

was destined to be destroyed,

and

they said:

if we teach the preparation of the incense to others, there is concern

that they might teach an unworthy person, who would then go and worship idolatry with it [

in a manner resembling the burning of the incense ].

And for this matter

which we shall explain immediately,

they would mention them [

the House of Avtinas ]

with praise:

Never did a [

bride ]

bride

when she was

perfumed from their houses [

from their daughters ].

And

likewise,

when they married a woman

to their sons

from another place, they stipulated with her

before the marriage

that she not perfume herself,

so that

they would not

be suspected, and

people would say, “It is from the preparation of the incense

that they

perfume themselves.”

And the House of Avtinas was meticulous about this matter, in order

to fulfill

the

that which is stated [

Numbers 32 ]

“And you shall be clean before the Lord and Israel.”

It was taught in a beraita: Rabbi Yishmael said: Once I was traveling along the road, and I encountered one of the descendants

of the House of Avtinas.

I said to him: Your ancestors sought to increase

the

honor of themselves,

since they alone knew the preparation of the incense.

And they sought to diminish the honor of God. [

That is, they were not concerned that they might die and the honor of God would thereby be diminished, in accordance with the words of the Meiri in his commentary on the Mishna ].

Now the honor of God

stands

in its place,

for “the whole earth is still full of His glory” [according to the Maharsha ].

And God diminished

the

honor of them

by causing the Temple to be destroyed.

Rabbi Akiva said: Rabbi Yishmael ben Luga related to me: Once I went out, together with one of the descendants

of the House of Avtinas

to a field to gather herbs, and I saw that he was crying and laughing.

I said to him: Why did you cry?

He said to me:

At

I remembered the honor of my ancestors,

who would compound the incense.

And I asked him:

And why did you laugh?

He said to me:

Because

the Holy One, blessed be He, is destined to restore it to us

when the Third Temple is built.

And I asked him further:

And why did you remember

the honor of your ancestors?

He said to me: I saw

an herb that is

a smoke-raiser [

which my ancestors used in preparing the incense ]

before me.

I said to him:

Show it to me.

He said to me:

We have an oath [

by which our ancestors made us swear ]

not to show it to every person.

Rabbi Yohanan ben Nuri said: Once I encountered an elderly man and a scroll of spices,

a scroll in which the names of the spices of the incense were written [and pictures of the spices were drawn beneath their names. Rashash ].

I said to him: From where

are you?

He said to me: I am from the House of Avtinas.

I asked him:

And what do you have in your hand?

He said to me: A scroll

of spices.

I said to him: Show it to me.

He said to me: As long as my father’s house existed, they would not hand it over to every person. And

if

now [

when there is concern that this tradition may be lost from Israel ]

here it is for you; guard it carefully.

And when I came and related these matters before Rabbi Akiva, he said to me: From now on, it is forbidden to speak disparagingly of these people.

as it is somewhat evident that their intention was indeed for the sake of Heaven [Maharsha ].

From here,

from the incident involving the House of Garmu and the House of Avtinas, whom the Sages sought to remove from their positions but were unable to,

Ben Azzai said

that one can learn from this:

If your intention is for the sake of Heaven do not worry that your employers may dismiss you from your work.

For ultimately,

they will call you by name

to return to your position.

And in your place

which is fitting for your honor

they will seat you.