Yoma 58b (נח:) — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

It is written in the passage concerning the service of Yom Kippur, after the completion of the sprinklings performed inside the Holy of Holies and in the Sanctuary:

“And he shall go out to the altar” before the Lord

[“and make atonement for it, and he shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and place it on the horns of the altar round about”]—

this is the golden altar,

which stood in the Sanctuary. Its height was two cubits, and its length and width were one cubit by one cubit.

And how did he place the offerings of blood on the four horns?

He began

the sprinklings with the horn that was nearest to him, and he circled the altar on foot; and on each and every horn he

purified

and descended—

That is to say: The manner of placing the blood was downward. He would dip his finger into the blood, hold the tip of his finger downward, and draw the offering on the horn from above downward. For if he held the tip of his finger upward and drew his finger on the horn from below upward, since his hand was close to him, while the altar was two cubits high and the horn was above his hand [Rashi below, 59a], the blood would flow into the sleeve of his tunic.

From where

from which horn

does he begin? From the northeastern horn;

afterward he circles the altar to his right and places the blood on the

northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern horns.

The place

of the horn

from which he begins

when performing

the

sprinkling of the blood of the

sin-offering

throughout the year

on the outer altar—

that is, the southeastern horn—

is where he completed the service on the inner altar,

as we have said.

Rabbi Eliezer says:

He did not circle the altar; rather,

he stood in his place and purified it.

And on all of them,

the three horns that were distant from the place where he stood at the time of the sprinkling,

he would place the blood from below upward.

He was not concerned that the blood might fall into his tunic, since his hand was distant from him

; except for

the offering that he placed on

the horn that was before him

[the one nearest to him],

which he would place

on it

from above downward,

so that the blood would not flow into his tunic.

After he had placed some of the blood on the horns of the golden altar,

he sprinkled on its purity,

a clear, unobstructed place free of coals and ashes [as is concluded in the Gemara]

of the

golden altar,

seven times.

For this is what the Torah says: “And he shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times, and purify it and sanctify it from the impurities of the Children of Israel.”

And he would pour the remainder of the blood on the western base of the outer altar, and

if these were the remnants of the blood from the sprinklings

of the outer altar, he would pour them onto the southern base

of the outer altar.

These,

the remnants of the blood of the bull and the goat,

and these,

the remnants of the blood of offerings whose blood is placed on the outer altar,

would be mixed

in the ama,

a water channel running through the Temple courtyard and one cubit wide [and it is therefore called an ama, Rashbam],

and would flow

through it

to the Kidron Valley,

that is, a valley, as in “a perennial stream” [Rashi, Pesahim 22a]—

and would be sold to gardeners as fertilizer,

to owners of gardens, who would fertilize their gardens with it. Since they paid money for it, its sanctity was thereby removed and it became non-sacred [Meiri].

And one commits misuse with them,

that is, if no money had been paid for them, there is a rabbinic prohibition of me'ila; but one is not liable to bring a me'ila-offering and does not pay the additional fifth [Meiri].

And one commits misuse with them only after they have flowed out to the Kidron Valley. Before they flow out, one does not commit misuse with them, because the Sages did not enact decrees in the Temple; and this me'ila is rabbinic [Rashi, Me'ila 11a].

Gemara:

The Sages taught: “And he shall go out to the altar”

before the Lord, “and make atonement for it.”

What does the verse come to teach?

Had he not already gone out and sprinkled on the curtain in the Sanctuary [Meiri; see the note below]? What does the word “go out” come to teach us?

Rabbi Neḥemya said:

It comes to teach you where the priest stood while performing the sprinklings on the curtain:

Since we find concerning the bull of the anointed priest and the bull for the unwitting communal sin

[a bull brought by an anointed priest who erred in one of the mitzvot, and likewise by the community that erred in following a ruling of the court]

that the priest stands outside the altar

of gold, toward the courtyard,

and sprinkles on the curtain while he sprinkles—

Could one say that this too—the bull and goat on Yom Kippur, when sprinkling on the curtain—

could likewise

stand outside the altar and sprinkle?

Yes:

he stands outside the altar and sprinkles.

Therefore,

the verse comes to teach,

after the sprinklings on the curtain:

“And he shall go out to the altar,”

meaning that his movement from the curtain to the altar should be in the manner of going out. Thus, he stands on the inner side of the altar while sprinkling on the curtain, and when he completes his sprinklings he moves outward toward the altar [Meiri]—

We have therefore learned

where he was

at the time of the sprinklings on the curtain:

on the inner side of the altar.

Another beraita was taught concerning the bull of the anointed priest:

It is written: “And the priest shall place some of the blood on the horns of the altar of the incense of spices,”

“before the Lord”,

which is in the Tent of Meeting. It should have said only “the altar of the incense of spices,” since we know that this altar stood before the Lord.

What does

“before the Lord” come to teach?

Rabbi Neḥemya said: Since we find concerning the bull and goat of Yom Kippur that the priest stands on the inner side of the altar and sprinkles on the curtain while he sprinkles, could one say that this too—

the bull of the anointed priest during the sprinklings on the curtain—

is so?

Therefore

the verse comes to teach,

in the passage concerning the bull of the anointed priest: “And the priest shall place some of the blood on the horns of the

altar of the incense of spices before the Lord, which is in the Tent of Meeting,”

to teach you:

the altar

is what stands

before the Lord—

that is, nothing intervenes between it and the curtain that is before the Lord—

but the priest

himself, when he sprinkles on the altar, does not stand

before the Lord,

since the altar intervenes between him and the curtain.

And he would stand in that very place also for the sprinklings on the curtain, since the verse does not say, “And he shall go out to the altar.”

How then is this to be understood? He stands

even while performing the sprinklings on the curtain

outside the altar, and

from there he

sprinkles.

We learned in the Mishna:

“He began by purifying and descending,”

from where did he begin? From the northeastern horn,

etc.:

The Sages taught:

We learned above, on 51b, that according to the Sages there were two curtains between the Holy and the Holy of Holies, and the opening of the outer curtain was on the southern side. According to Rabbi Yosei there, there was only one curtain, and its opening was on the northern side.

The tanna'im of this beraita likewise disagree concerning this matter: whether he emerged from the Holy of Holies on the southern side, in accordance with the opinion of the Sages, or whether he emerged on the northern side, in accordance with Rabbi Yosei, as will be explained.

“He began by purifying and descending. From where did he begin? From the southeastern horn,”

and he circled the altar to his left and placed the blood on the

southwestern, northwestern, and northeastern horns—these are the words of Rabbi Akiva,

unlike the tanna of our Mishna.

His reason is that when he completed the sprinklings on the curtain and walked toward the altar in order to sprinkle on it, he first encountered the southwestern horn.

For the sprinklings before the curtain had to be performed opposite the two and a half cubits of the length of the “place” of the Ark [which, in the First Temple, stood with its length across the width of the building, at the center]. The southern portion of the “place” of the Ark was therefore one and a quarter cubits. Rabbi Akiva holds that in the Second Temple he emerged from the Holy of Holies through the southern opening; and as soon as he reached the beginning of the southern area corresponding to the “place” of the Ark, he sprinkled on the curtain.

It follows that he stood one and a quarter cubits south of the central line of the Sanctuary. The southern side of the altar, however, was only one cubit wide, while its northern side bordered the central line of the Sanctuary; thus it extended one quarter-cubit northward from the priest. Consequently, if he walked toward the altar, he would first encounter the southwestern horn of the altar.

It will be explained below that he had to “pass” the altar and stand on its eastern side, and begin the sprinklings there. He would pass from its southern side toward the east and first encounter the southeastern horn, where he would begin; then he would return by way of his left to the southwestern horn and circle the altar. It will be explained below why he circles it to his left. Rabbi Yosei the Galilean says: He begins from the northeastern horn

and circles the altar to his right, placing the blood on the

northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern horns,

as in our Mishna.

His reason is that he agrees with Rabbi Yosei, who holds that he emerged from the Holy of Holies on the northern side, and sprinkled on the curtain opposite the northern portion of the place of the Ark. When he proceeded toward the altar, which was in the south of the Sanctuary, he first encountered its northwestern horn. He “passed” the altar on its northern side and first encountered the northeastern horn, where he began; then he returned by way of his right to the northwestern horn and circled the altar.

northwestern, southwestern, and southeastern corners,

as in our Mishna.

The place,

the northeastern horn, from which Rabbi Yosei the Galilean begins, is the place where Rabbi Akiva ends; the place, the southeastern horn, from which Rabbi Akiva begins,

is the place

where Rabbi Yosei the Galilean ends.

And we explain:

In any event, everyone agrees

that he begins on the eastern side. But

with regard to that horn

on the western side

that he encountered first—

[that he encountered first] when coming from the curtain, which was in the west—

he does not perform

[he does not sprinkle on it].

What is the reason?

For surely one may not pass over mitzvot; and even without this reason, why should he be required to pass over it [Ritva]?

Shmuel said:

Since

the verse says: “And he shall go out to”

the altar,

it implies:

until he has emerged from the entire altar

[until he has passed the entire altar toward the east].

We raise an objection:

But according to Rabbi Akiva,

why does he circle the altar to his left?

Let him circle it to the right!

Shall we say—

that Rabbi Akiva, who holds that he circles to his left, and Rabbi Yosei the Galilean, who holds that he circles to his right,

disagree concerning the teaching of Rami bar Yeḥezkel?

But according to Rabbi Akiva,

For Rami bar Yeḥezkel taught

[Rashash]:

The bronze Sea

made by Solomon,

a large ritual bath of water “for the priests to bathe in”:

“It stood on twelve oxen,

[in the form of oxen],

three facing north and three facing west,

[westward],

and three facing south,

[southward],

and three facing east; and the Sea was above them, and all their hindparts faced inward,”

[that is, toward the center]—

From this you learn: every turning

turns

[as in all the old editions and the early authorities]

only by way of the right, toward the east

[see the note for an explanation of “toward the east,”

below].

Therefore the verse arranges its enumeration from north to west, which is the right-hand direction of one circling the Sea [Rashi].

The master,

Rabbi Yosei the Galilean,

holds the teaching of Rami bar Yeḥezkel,

and therefore requires circling to the right.

And the master,

Rabbi Akiva, does not hold the teaching of Rami bar Yeḥezkel, so there is no requirement to circle to the right; and below the Gemara explains why he specifically circles to the left. And we reject this: No; everyone— both Rabbi Yosei the Galilean and Rabbi Akiva— holds the teaching of Rami bar Yeḥezkel, and here they disagree about this:

One master,

Rabbi Yosei the Galilean,

holds: We derive the inner

altar

from the outer

altar. For concerning placement on the horns of the outer altar, it is established that one circles to the right, as we learned in Zevaḥim, because of the teaching of Rami bar Yeḥezkel; and we derive from there the rule for the inner altar [Ra'ah].

And the other master,

Rabbi Akiva,

holds: We do not derive the inner from the outer.

But

we still ask Rabbi Akiva:

Granted that he does not derive the inner from the outer,

and therefore does not require him to circle to the right; nevertheless,

if he wishes to do so,

by circling to the right,

let him do so,

and

if he wishes to do so,

by circling to the left,

let him do so. Why did Rabbi Akiva say that he circles specifically to the left?!

And we answer:

Rabbi Akiva could say to you:

There is,

as a matter of law,

with regard to the horn

that he encountered first,

[the horn he first encountered when coming from the curtain, namely, the southwestern horn according to Rabbi Akiva],

that is where he should perform first

[that is where he should first have performed the service]—

For

Reish Lakish said: One does not pass over mitzvot:

one who encounters a mitzva must not pass it by

[and this is derived in the Mekhilta from “And you shall safeguard the matzot,” expounded as “And you shall safeguard the mitzvot”: do not wait until it becomes leavened and old, Rashi above, 33a].

And why does he not perform

the service there? The reason he does not do so is only

because it is written: “And he shall go out to the altar,”

and we learn from this:

until he has emerged from the entire altar,

meaning that he has emerged even from the area opposite the altar and has reached its eastern side.

[the corner he first encounters when coming from the curtain, which according to Rabbi Akiva is the southwestern corner],

he should perform the application first

[he should have performed the service there first] —

And

therefore:

since he has given

on

that horn,

after he has placed blood on that horn beyond the altar, namely, the southeastern horn,

he returns to that horn on which he was initially required to place the blood:

he returns to the southwestern horn, on which he was initially obligated to place the blood. Thus, the order of his sprinklings was: southeastern, then southwestern.

until he has exited from the entire altar,

meaning that he must move even beyond the area opposite the altar and reach its eastern side.

And

therefore:

Once he has made the application at that corner,

after applying the blood to that corner on the far side of the altar, namely, the southeastern corner,

he returns to that corner where he was initially required to place the blood,

he returns to the southwestern corner, on which he was initially obligated to apply the blood. Therefore, the order of his sprinklings was: southeastern, then southwestern.