Yoma 68b — the Talmud in English

To the north of Jerusalem.

Because all the procedures of the sin-offering were in the north.

And outside the three camps.

Rabbi Yosei says: At the ash heap they are burned —

It is necessary that the place where they are burned be called “the place of the pouring out of the ash”; therefore, ash is brought there from the altar before the bull and the goat are burned there.

And it follows that the first tanna holds that it is not necessary that one first bring ash there [and therefore Rabbi Yosei needed to disagree with him].

Rava said: Who is the

who is the

tanna

first

who disagrees with Rabbi Yosei [

who disagrees with Rabbi Yosei]?

It is Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov:

For it was taught:

It is stated [Leviticus 4:12] concerning the bull of the anointed priest:

“It shall be burned at the place of the pouring out of the ash”

to teach

that there shall be there [

there]

ash [

that one should first bring ash there]. And the law of burning the bull of Yom Kippur is learned from the burning of the bull of the anointed priest [as above].

Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says:

The verse “It shall be burned at the place of the pouring out of the ash” comes to teach

that its place shall be sloped,

a slope such that, if ash were placed there, it would be poured out.

And it follows that, according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, the verse did not come to teach that there should be ash there, but to teach that its place should be sloped [a slope]. If so, he is the tanna who disagrees with Rabbi Yosei in the earlier beraita, and holds that it is not necessary to first bring ash there.

Abaye said

to Rava: Your words may be rejected:

Perhaps,

perhaps Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov agrees that it is necessary to first bring ash there, and

they disagree only concerning whether its place is sloped [

and in the beraita they disagreed whether an additional condition is necessary—that its place be sloped]. And according to Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov, two conditions are necessary: a. that one first bring ash there; b. that its place be sloped. [And if so, it cannot be proven that the tanna who disagrees with Rabbi Yosei in the earlier beraita is Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov].

The Gemara returns to discuss the law of the one who burns the bull and the goat according to Rabbi Shimon, that they do not render garments impure until the fire has seized most of them.

The Sages taught

in accordance with Rabbi Shimon: It is stated [Leviticus 16:28] concerning the bull and the goat of Yom Kippur: “And the one who burns them shall wash his garments in water.”

And they expounded in the beraita:

“And the one who burns

them” implies that specifically

the one who burns

who is occupied with their bodies

renders garments impure, but not the one who kindles the fire

in the wood.

And not the one who arranges the pyre [

the pile of wood, for the purpose of kindling the fire], for they are not occupied with the body of the bull and the goat.

And who is “the one who burns”?

This is the one who assists at the time of the burning,

who turns the limbs over so that they will be burned more quickly.

And I

could

say that

even after they have become ash

they still

render garments impure

of the one occupied with burning them.

The text therefore says: “them.”

Specifically when he burns

them

when they still exist, they

render garments impure. But once they have become ash, they do not render garments impure [

for they no longer exist in their original form].

Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon says: The bull renders

as long as it is called “a bull.” But if

the flesh has melted

because of the fire, it

does not render garments impure

because it is no longer called “a bull.”

What is the difference between them —

what is the difference between the words of the first tanna and the words of Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon?

There is

a disagreement between them in the case

where it has been scorched,

where the fire has scorched the flesh but it has not yet become ash; according to the first tanna, it still renders garments impure. But according to Rabbi Eleazar son of Rabbi Shimon, this has the status of “the flesh has melted,” and it does not render garments impure because it is not called “a bull.”

Mishna:

When the goat that was sent away reached the wilderness,

they said to him

those standing in the Courtyard

to the High Priest: The goat has reached the wilderness.

So that he could continue with the order of the day’s procedures. And as long as the goat had not reached the wilderness, he was not permitted to begin another procedure. For it is stated [Leviticus 16:22]: “And he shall send the goat into the wilderness,” and afterward it is stated [in verse 25]: “And the fat of the sin-offering he shall burn upon the altar.”

And from where did

those standing in the Courtyard

know that the goat had reached the wilderness?

Watchtowers —

watchtowers

they would make

from Jerusalem until the wilderness.

And

those standing upon them would

wave cloths [

with flags]. At first, the one nearest the wilderness waved, and when the one near him saw him, he too waved, until the one nearest Jerusalem waved; and those standing in the Courtyard saw him

and

they

knew that

the

goat had reached the wilderness.

Rabbi Yehuda said: But surely

even without the watchtowers

they had a great sign:

for

from Jerusalem until Beit

Hadudo,

the beginning of the wilderness , there were

three mil,

and the honored people of Jerusalem who accompanied the High Priest

would walk one mil [

until the first booth]

and return

to Jerusalem that same

mil. And they would wait for the time

of walking a

mil. And

by this

they knew that

the

goat

had reached the wilderness.

Rabbi Yishmael says: But surely they had another sign: A strip of crimson wool [

red wool]

was tied to the entrance of

the

Temple, and when the goat reached the wilderness, the strip became white. As it is stated [

Isaiah 1]:

“Though your sins be like crimson

[like red wool]

they shall become white like snow.”

Gemara:

We learned in the Mishna: Rabbi Yehuda said: But surely they had a great sign, from Jerusalem until Beit Hadudo, three mil, etc.

Abaye said: Infer from this,

that

“Beit Hadudo”

which is “the beginning of the wilderness,” and there “And he shall send the goat into the wilderness” was fulfilled

is located in the wilderness [

it is found there].

And this teaches us,

and Rabbi Yehuda made known to us that even though the goat had not yet reached the cliff, nevertheless

once the

the

goat had reached

the beginning of the wilderness, already

its mitzva has been performed,

and then the High Priest begins to read the passage of the day’s procedures, as explained in the next chapter.

But the Sages hold that only when the goat reached the cliff did the priest begin to read the passage of the day’s procedures.

We have completed the chapter “The Two Goats.”

Mishna:

Part of the mitzvot of the day is the reading of the High Priest from a Torah scroll in the passages of Yom Kippur, after it became known that the sent goat had reached the wilderness:

The High Priest came

to the Women's Court, which was not sanctified with the sanctity of the Court and was not fit for the Temple service,

to read

from the Torah scroll.

If he wished to read in the garments of

the

linen

garments, in which he had performed the services of the day until then —

he reads

while wearing them.

But if not —

he reads in a tunic

a robe

white,

made

from

his money

himself.

The attendant

who served the

synagogue

[which had been on the Temple Mount, near the Court],

would take the Torah scroll and give it to the head

of the

synagogue.

And the head

of the

synagogue

would

give it to the deputy

High Priest.

And the deputy would give it to the High Priest.

And the High Priest would stand and receive it, and read

in the passage of

“After the Death”

the order of the service,

and

in the passage of Emor he would read the passage

“But on the tenth”

in which the mitzva of affliction and the prohibition of labor on Yom Kippur are explained.

And he would roll up the Torah scroll and place it in his lap.

And he would say: More than what I have read before you

in the two passages that I read from the scroll

is written here

[in the Torah scroll, in the passage of Pinhas in the Book of Numbers. And it will be explained in the Gemara why he would say this].

And that same passage of the additional offerings of Yom Kippur in the passage of Pinhas, which begins with

“And on the tenth

of the month, the seventh”

in the Book of Numbers

[Numbers] — he would

read by heart.

And

he would

recite blessings over it,

after the reading of the Torah,

eight blessings:

a.

For the Torah —

the blessing “Who gave us a Torah of truth.”

b.

And for the service —

the blessing Retzeh, which concludes: “Whom alone we shall serve with awe.”

c.

And for thanksgiving —

the blessing “We give thanks to You.”

d.

And for forgiveness of sin —

the prayer “Forgive our fathers on this Yom Kippur.”

e.

And for the Temple

he would recite a blessing

by itself,

in a renewed prayer, which is not said elsewhere, and he would pray in it for the Temple and conclude it: “Blessed is He Who chose the Temple.”

f.

And for Israel

he would recite a blessing

by itself,

in a prayer special to Yom Kippur in the Temple, and conclude it: “Blessed is He Who chooses His people Israel.”

g.

And for Jerusalem

he would recite a blessing

by itself.

h.

And for the priests

he would recite a blessing

by itself,

and conclude it: “Blessed is He Who chose the descendants of Aaron.”

And regarding the rest of the prayer

[it will be explained in the Gemara].

One who sees the High Priest when he is reading —

does not see the bull and the goat that are burned.

And one who sees the bull and the goat that are burned —

does not see the High Priest when he is reading.

And not because he is not permitted

to see both.

Rather, the way was distant

between them,

and the service of both was at the same time

at one moment

as one.

Gemara:

The Gemara infers:

Since it teaches

that the High Priest could read the Torah

in a white tunic of his own —

by implication

you learn from this

that reading —

is not a service.

And

nevertheless

it teaches: If he wished to read in the linen garments —

he reads.

You may conclude from it: The priestly garments —

were given to be benefited from

even with benefit that is not needed for a service!

The Gemara rejects the proof:

Perhaps reading is different, for

it too

is “a need of the service”,

although it is not the service itself.

For we have raised the question: The priestly garments —

whether

were given to be benefited from

also when they are not engaged in a service,

or were they not given to be benefited from?

Come and hear

from the Mishna in tractate Tamid:

They would not sleep

the priests

in sacred garments.

And we must infer:

It is sleep that they did not

sleep in sacred garments, because of the honor of the garments, lest he emit wind while sleeping in them.

But eating

to eat a sacred meal in them,

they eat.

Although eating the sacred food is not included in the service.

And the Gemara rejects:

Perhaps eating is different

the eating of the flesh of sacred offerings, because

“it is a need of the service.”

As it was taught

regarding the eating of sacrificial flesh by the priests [Exodus 29]:

“And they shall eat them, for by them atonement was made” —

this teaches that the priests eat

the flesh of the sin-offering and the guilt-offering,

and the owners attain atonement

through the priests’ eating.

But the Gemara makes another inference:

It is sleep —

that they did not

the priests sleep in priestly garments.

But walking —

they walk

in them even not during the time of the service, although their walking is not a need of the service.

And we reject this:

By law, walking also they do not

walk, since they were permitted to wear priestly garments only for the need of the service.