Yoma 69a (סט.) — the Talmud in English

And

the reason the Mishna mentioned sleep rather than walking is that

the latter clause was necessary for it

to teach us how the priests conduct themselves with the garments when sleeping: They are permitted to place them beneath their heads, since they are not wearing them, and the garments are not degraded if the priests break wind in their sleep.

And so we learned in the latter clause of that Mishna: The priests

would remove

the priestly garments,

fold

them,

and place them beneath their heads.

And the Gemara infers: From the fact that they

would remove, fold, and place them beneath their heads—

you may conclude: The priestly garments were given to benefit from!

If so, this Mishna explicitly states that it is permitted to benefit from the priestly garments, and we can resolve from here the question of whether it is permitted to benefit from them!

Rav Pappa said: Do not say

that they placed them

beneath their heads; rather, say: Opposite their heads,

near their heads.

Rav Mesharsheya said: You may conclude

from the Mishna, according to Rav Pappa, that it is permitted to place the priestly garments near their heads; likewise, placing

tefillin to the side,

beside a sleeping person,

is entirely acceptable.

Even if he breaks wind, this does not degrade tefillin that are at his side.

The Gemara proves Rav Pappa’s statement:

It is also reasonable that

the priestly garments were placed only

opposite their heads.

For if it enters your mind

that they placed them

beneath their heads

literally, this is impossible.

For

what would you say—

one must reject and rule out such a possibility

because of

the prohibition against deriving benefit from

mixed kinds.

For there is

among the priestly garments an

avnet

containing shatnez, and it is forbidden to benefit from a garment of shatnez even if one does not wear it but merely lies upon it.

And

therefore,

even if we say that they were given

that the priestly garments were permitted

to benefit from

them even when not needed for service—

still, they benefit

the priests

from mixed kinds

when they place their heads on the avnet!

This works according to the one who says

that

the avnet of the High Priest

on Yom Kippur, when he wears white garments, which is made entirely of linen and contains no mixed kinds,

is the avnet of an ordinary priest.

That is, both the ordinary priest’s avnet throughout the year and the High Priest’s avnet on Yom Kippur are made entirely of linen and contain no mixed kinds; the priests can therefore benefit from the avnet, since it contains no mixed kinds.

But according to the one who says

that

the avnet of

the

priest

the

High

on Yom Kippur is made entirely of linen and contains no mixed kinds,

is not the avnet of an ordinary priest,

because the ordinary priest’s avnet is made of a mixture of wool and linen and is shatnez—

what can be said,

how could the priests place it beneath their heads!?

And if you would say

that a garment of

mixed kinds is prohibited only

when

wearing and carrying

it on one’s body,

that is forbidden,

but

lying upon it,

lying on it,

is permitted.

This is not correct.

For

it is taught: [Leviticus 19] “And a garment of mixed kinds, shatnez,

shall not come upon you

”—

but you are permitted to spread it beneath you,

according to Torah law.

But the Sages said: It is forbidden to do so,

because

perhaps one thread

of the shatnez garment beneath him will become wrapped

around his flesh,

and he will transgress the prohibition of mixed kinds.

And if you would say that something separates it,

that he spreads something on the avnet that separates

between and between,

between the avnet and his head, so that there is no concern that a thread from the avnet will wrap around his head.

This too is not correct.

For

didn’t Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi say in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi, who said in the name of Rabbi, in the name of the “holy congregation” in Jerusalem:

Even

if there were

ten mattresses, one atop another, and a

garment of

mixed kinds beneath them—

it is forbidden to sleep upon them.

Rather, you may conclude: They placed the avnet only

only

opposite their heads

and not beneath their heads. And we conclude: Indeed,

And we conclude: Indeed,

you may conclude!

Rav Ashi said: Actually, they placed it beneath their heads

the avnet.

And

regarding the question,

“But he benefits from mixed kinds

” one can say that

the priestly garments are rigid,

and they do not provide warmth; therefore, the prohibition of mixed kinds does not apply to them.

As Rav Huna, son of Rabbi Yehoshua, said: This felt garment

of

Gimda

that is rigid,

of Narsh,

made in the place called Narsh and made from a mixture of wool and linen—

is permitted,

as it is permitted to wear it because it is rigid and does not provide warmth.

The Gemara now brings a proof from a beraita to resolve the doubt whether a priest may benefit from the priestly garments when not performing a service:

Come and hear

a proof from a beraita in which this law is stated explicitly:

For it is taught:

The priestly garments:

A priest

who goes out to the country wearing them—

is forbidden

to wear them outside, even garments that do not contain shatnez, because he uses them in an ordinary manner.

But in the Temple—

both during the service and not during the service—

it is permitted

for him to wear them,

because the priestly garments were given to benefit from.

And the Gemara concludes: Indeed,

you may conclude!

And we inquire:

And

outside the Temple,

in the country—

does he not

wear them?

But it is taught

in the Scroll of Fasts:

On the twenty-fifth

of Tevet—

it is the day of Mount Gerizim.

One may not eulogize

on it.

It was the

day on which

the

Cutheans asked Alexander the Great to destroy the House of our God, and he granted it to them.

They came and informed

this matter

to Shimon HaTzadik.

What did he do?

He put on priestly garments, wrapped himself in priestly garments, and the distinguished men of Israel

went

with him, carrying torches of fire in their hands.

The entire night

these

men

of Alexander the Great and the Cutheans with him

walked on one side, while those

—Shimon HaTzadik and the distinguished men of Jerusalem—

walked on the other side, until the pillar of dawn arose.

When the pillar of dawn arose, he said to them

Alexander the Great:

Who are these people?

They said to him: These are

Jews who have rebelled against you.

When they reached Antipatris, the sun rose, and they encountered one another.

When they reached Antipatris, the sun shone forth, and they encountered one another.

When

Alexander the Great

saw Shimon HaTzadik, he descended from his chariot and bowed before him.

His men said to him: Is it fitting that

a

great king such as you bow before this Jew?

He said to them: The image of this man’s likeness

goes

before me, victorious, in my “House of War.”

Alexander the Great said to them

the Jewish delegation:

Why have you come?

They said

to him: Is it

possible

that the

House

of the

Temple, in which they pray for you and your kingdom that it not be destroyed, should

mislead Gentiles into destroying it!?

He said to them: Who are these people

who wish to mislead me?

They said to him: These Cutheans, who stand before you.

He said to them: They are delivered into your hands.

Immediately they pierced their heels and hung them from the tails of their horses, dragging them over thorns and briers until they reached Mount Gerizim,

where their Temple had stood.

When they reached Mount Gerizim—

they plowed it and sowed it with vetch, just as they had asked

to do

to the House of our God.

And they made that day a festival.

This proves that Shimon HaTzadik went out in priestly garments, and that it is permitted to go out in them beyond the Temple!

We answer with two explanations:

If you wish, say—

these were not sanctified priestly garments; rather, they were merely

fit for priestly garments,

but had not been sanctified.

And if you wish, say—

[Psalms 119] it was permitted to do so for the sake of saving the Temple, by virtue of

“It is a time to act for the Lord

” for the sake of Heaven—

they have violated

the commandments of

Your Torah!”

We learned in the Mishna:

The attendant of the synagogue takes the Torah scroll

and gives it to the head of the synagogue, and the head of the synagogue gives it to the deputy, and the deputy gives it to the High Priest.

And the Gemara infers:

You may conclude

from the fact that the head of the synagogue and the deputy are honored in the presence of the High Priest, that

honor is accorded to a student

even

in the presence of his teacher!

Abaye said:

This is not a proof. Rather,

the entire

matter is

because of the honor of the High Priest.

It demonstrates the many authorities subordinate to him. We learned in the Mishna:

And the High Priest stands,

receiving the Torah scroll from the deputy.

And we inquire: Since it teaches that now, when he receives the Torah scroll, he stands,

by inference

you learn

that

until then

he

was

sitting.

And this is impossible. For: