Yoma 58b — the Talmud in English

Mishna:

It is written in the section of “After the Death,” after the completion of the sprinklings before and within and in the Sanctuary:

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

and he shall atone for it, and he shall take from the blood of the bull and from the blood of the goat, and he shall sprinkle upon the horns of the altar round about ] —

this is the golden altar,

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

And how did he give the presentations upon the four horns?

He began

the sprinklings from the horn that was nearest to him, and he would encircle the altar on foot, and upon each horn

he would cleanse

and descend —

That is to say: the manner of giving the blood was in a descending manner: he would dip his finger in the blood, hold the tip of his finger downward, and draw the presentation upon the horn from above downward. For if he held the tip of his finger upward and drew his finger upon the horn from below upward, since the hand was near 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?

And afterward he encircles the altar to his right and gives upon the horn

northwestern, southwestern, southeastern.

The place

of the horn

where he begins

with

the

sprinkling of the blood of the

sin-offering

of the entire year

upon the outer altar,

that is, at the southeastern horn,

there he would complete upon the inner altar,

as we have said.

Rabbi Eliezer says:

He would not encircle the altar; rather,

he would stand in his place and cleanse.

And upon all of them

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

he would give from below upward,

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

; except for

the presentation that he would give upon the horn

that was before him [

the one nearest to him ],

which he would give

upon it

from above downward,

so that the blood would not flow into his tunic.

After he had given from the blood upon the horns of the golden altar,

he sprinkled upon its purity,

an exposed and clear place, free of coals and ashes [thus we conclude in the Gemara]

of the altar

of gold —

seven times,

for the Torah said thus: “And he shall sprinkle upon it from the blood 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 upon the western base of the outer altar, and

if these were the remnants of the blood from the sprinklings of blood

of the outer altar, he would pour it upon 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 given upon the outer altar

would mix

in the ama,

a water channel passing through the Courtyard and one cubit wide [and therefore it is called ama, Rashbam],

and would emerge

through it

to the Kidron Valley,

that is, a valley, as in “an enduring stream” [Rashi, Pesachim 22a] —

and they would be sold to gardeners as fertilizer,

to the owners of gardens, so that they would fertilize their gardens with it. Since they had given money, the sanctity was desecrated and they became non-sacred [Meiri].

And one commits misuse with them,

that is to say: if they did not give money, there is a rabbinic prohibition of misuse with them, but they are not liable for a misuse-offering and do not pay the added fifth [Meiri].

And one commits misuse with them only after they have gone out to the Kidron Valley; but before they go out, one does not commit misuse with them, because they did not enact decrees in the Temple, and this misuse is rabbinic [Rashi, Meila 11a].

Gemara:

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

that is before the Lord, and he shall atone for it.

What does this teach?

But has he not already gone out and sprinkled upon the curtain that is in the Sanctuary [Meiri; and see the note ] and what does “and he shall go out” come to teach us?

Rabbi Nehemiah said:

In order to teach you the place where the koen stands at the time of the sprinklings upon the curtain:

since we find with the bull of the anointed koen and the bull for the unwitting decision of the community [

an anointed koen who erred in one of all the commandments, and likewise a community that erred through the instruction of the court ]

that the koen stands outside the altar

of gold, toward the Courtyard,

and sprinkles upon the curtain while he sprinkles —

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

One might have thought that this too —

the bull and goat of Yom Kippur upon the curtain —

yes,

he stands outside the altar and sprinkles.

Therefore

the verse teaches

after the sprinklings upon the curtain:

“And he shall go out to the altar”,

that is to say: his walking from the curtain to the altar should be like an going out; namely, he should stand inside the altar and sprinkle upon the curtain, and when he completes his sprinklings he should move outward, beside the altar [Meiri] —

We have therefore learned:

where was he

at the time of the sprinklings upon the curtain?

Inside the altar.

Another beraita was taught regarding the bull of the anointed koen:

It is written: “And the koen shall put some of the blood upon 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,” for we already know that this altar stood before the Lord; and

what does it teach by saying:

before the Lord?

Rabbi Nehemiah said: Since we find with the bull and goat of Yom Kippur that the koen stands inside the altar and sprinkles upon the curtain while he sprinkles, one might have thought that this too —

the bull of the anointed koen at the time of the sprinklings upon the curtain —

yes.

Therefore

the verse teaches in the section of the bull of the anointed koen: “And the koen shall put some of the blood upon 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 to say: there is nothing interrupting between it and the curtain that is before the Lord —

and the koen

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

before the Lord,

for the altar interrupts between him and the curtain —

And in that very place itself he would also stand during the sprinklings upon the curtain, for it was not said: “And he shall go out” to the altar

; how then: he stands

also at the time of the sprinklings upon the curtain

outside the altar and

from there he

sprinkles.

We learned in the Mishna:

“He began cleansing and descending,”

from where does he begin? From the northeastern horn,

etc.:

The Sages taught:

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

And the tannaim also disagreed in this dispute in this beraita: whether he went out from the Holy of Holies on the southern side, in accordance with the Sages, or whether he went out on the northern side, in accordance with Rabbi Yose, as will be explained.

He began cleansing and descending. From where does he begin? From the southeastern horn

and encircles the altar to his left, and gives upon the horn

southwestern, northwestern, northeastern — the words of Rabbi Akiva,

unlike the tanna of our Mishna.

And his reason is: when he completed the sprinklings upon the curtain and walked toward the altar in order to sprinkle upon it, he would first encounter the southwestern horn —

For the sprinklings before the curtain had to be performed opposite two and a half cubits of the “place” of the length of the Ark [which stood — in the First Temple — with its length across the width of the House, in the center of the House]. Thus, the southern part of the “place” of the Ark was one and a quarter cubits; and Rabbi Akiva holds that in the Second Temple he would exit the Holy of Holies from the southern opening. And immediately when he reached the beginning of the southern area corresponding to the “place” of the Ark, he would sprinkle upon the curtain —

It follows that he stood one and a quarter cubits south of the centerline of the Sanctuary; whereas the southern side of the altar — whose width was only one cubit, and whose northern side bordered the centerline of the Sanctuary — extended from the koen toward the north by a quarter-cubit. Thus, if he walked toward the altar, he would first encounter the southwestern horn of the altar.

And below it will be explained that he needed to “pass” the altar and stand on its eastern side, and there begin to sprinkle; he would pass from its southern side toward the east and first encounter the southeastern horn, and would begin with it, then return through his left to the southwestern horn and encircle the altar. And below it will be explained why he encircles it to his left.

Rabbi Yose the Galilean says:

He begins

from the northeastern horn,

and encircles the altar to his right, and gives upon the horn

northwestern, southwestern, southeastern,

as in our Mishna.

And his reason is: he holds like Rabbi Yose, that he would exit the Holy of Holies from the north, and would sprinkle upon the curtain opposite the northern part of the place of the Ark. And when he walked toward the altar, which was in the south of the Sanctuary, he would first encounter the northwestern horn, and would “pass” the altar on its northern side and first encounter the northeastern horn, and would begin with it; then he would return through his right to the northwestern horn and encircle the altar.

The place

of the northeastern horn

from which Rabbi Yose the Galilean begins

—

there Rabbi Akiva concludes; the place

of the southeastern horn

from which Rabbi Akiva begins

—

there Rabbi Yose the Galilean concludes.

And we explain:

in any event,

everyone agrees that he begins from the eastern side; but

with that horn

that is on the western side

which he first encountered [

he first encounters it when he comes from the curtain, which is in the west ] —

he does not perform [

he does not sprinkle upon it ].

What is the reason?

But one may not pass over mitzvot; and even without this reason, why is he required to pass over it? [Ritva]

Samuel said:

Since

the verse says: “And he shall go out to

the altar,”

and it means:

until he has exited from the whole altar [

until he passes the entire altar toward the east ].

And we ask:

But according to Rabbi Akiva,

why does he encircle the altar to his left?

Let him encircle it to the right!

Let us say —

Rabbi Akiva, who holds that he encircles it to his left, and Rabbi Yose the Galilean, who holds that he encircles it to his right —

disagree in the matter of the teaching of Rami bar Yehezkel?

For

[Rashash]

Rami bar Yehezkel taught:

The copper Sea

of copper

that Solomon made [

a large immersion pool of water “for the koanim to bathe in it ]:

“It stood upon twelve cattle, [

shaped like cattle ],

three facing

north, and three facing west, [

westward ],

and three facing south, [

southward ],

and three facing east, and the Sea was upon them above, and all their backs were inward [

that is, toward the center ]” —

This teaches you: that all turning [

turnings

in all the early editions and in the early authorities ]

that you turn shall be only toward the right, toward the east [

for an explanation of the wording “toward the east,” see the note ]. Therefore the verse counts from the north toward the west, which is the right-hand direction of one encircling the Sea [Rashi].

The master,

Rabbi Yose the Galilean,

holds the teaching of Rami bar Yehezkel,

and he is required to encircle it to the right;

and the master,

Rabbi Akiva,

does not hold the teaching of Rami bar Yehezkel,

and there is no requirement to encircle it to the right; and below it explains why specifically to the left.

And we reject this:

No; everyone —

both Rabbi Yose the Galilean and Rabbi Akiva —

holds the teaching of Rami bar Yehezkel, and here they disagree in this:

The master,

Rabbi Yose the Galilean,

holds: we derive the inside,

the inner altar,

from the outside,

the outer altar. For regarding giving upon the horns of the outer altar, it is established that he encircles it to the right, as we learned in Zevachim, because of Rami bar Yehezkel; and we derive from it regarding the inner altar [RaL] —

And the master,

Rabbi Akiva,

holds: we do not derive the inside from the outside.

And

we still ask according to

Rabbi Akiva: Granted that he does not derive the inside from the outside

to obligate him to encircle it to the right; nevertheless,

if he wishes thus,

to the right,

let him do so,

and

if he wishes thus,

to the left,

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

And we answer:

Rabbi Akiva could say to you:

Indeed,

by law [

according to the essence of the law ]

with that horn which he first encountered [

with that horn which he first encounters] when he comes from the curtain, which according to Rabbi Akiva is the southwestern horn,

with that one he should perform first [

with it he should have performed first ] —

For

indeed

Reish Lakish said: One does not pass over mitzvot:

one who encounters a mitzva should not pass away from it [and we derive this in the Mekhilta from “And you shall guard the matzot,” and we expound: “And you shall guard the mitzvot”; do not wait for it until it becomes leavened and grows old, Rashi above 33a] —

And why does he not perform

it?

The reason that he does not do so is only

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

and we learn:

until he has exited from the whole altar,

that he has also gone out from opposite the altar and reached its eastern side.

And

therefore:

since he gave upon that horn,

after he gave the blood upon that horn beyond the altar, namely the southeastern horn,

he then returns to that horn upon which he was required to give first,

he returns to that southwestern horn upon which he was initially obligated to give; and therefore the order of his sprinklings was: southeastern, southwestern.