Yoma 69a — the Talmud in English

And

the reason the Mishna mentioned sleep and not walking is that

the final clause was needed for it

to teach us how the priests conduct themselves with the garments during sleep: they are permitted to place them beneath their heads, since they are not wearing them, there is no disgrace to the garments if the priests emit wind in their sleep.

And so we learned there in the final clause of the 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 from it: The priestly garments were given to be benefited from!

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

Rav Pappa said: Do not say

that they place them

beneath their heads, but rather say: opposite their heads,

near their heads.

Rav Mesharsheya said: You may conclude from it

from the words of the Mishna, according to Rav Pappa, that it is permitted to place the priestly garments near their heads, that also placing

tefillin to the side

at the side of a sleeping person

is well and good.

For even if he emits wind, this is not a disgrace to the tefillin at his side.

And the Gemara proves according to Rav Pappa:

Here too, it is reasonably clear that

the priestly garments are placed only

opposite their heads.

For if it enters your mind

that they place them

beneath their heads

literally — this cannot be.

For

and let it come out for me

that one must exclude and disqualify such a possibility,

because of

the prohibition of benefiting from

mixed species.

For there is

among the priestly garments

a belt

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

And

therefore,

even if it is indeed the case that they were given

even if we say that the priestly garments were permitted

to be benefited from

even not for the need of a service —

but they benefit

the priests

from mixed species

when they place their heads on the belt!

This works according to the one who says that

that

the belt of the High Priest

on Yom Kippur, when he wears white garments, is made only of linen, without mixed species,

this is the belt of an ordinary priest.

That is to say, both the belt of an ordinary priest throughout the year and the belt of the High Priest on Yom Kippur are made only of linen, and there is no mixed species in it; the priests can well benefit from the belt, since there is no mixed species in the belt.

But according to the one who says that

that

the belt of

the

the

the

High Priest

on Yom Kippur is made only of linen, without mixed species,

this is not the belt of an ordinary priest,

since the belt of an ordinary priest is made of a mixture of wool and linen and is mixed species —

what is there to say,

how do the priests place it beneath their heads!?

And if you would say that a

that a garment of

mixed-species garment is forbidden only

when wearing and spreading it

in wearing and placing it

on his body

is it forbidden,

but

in spreading

for lying upon it,

it is permitted.

This is not correct.

For

and it was taught: [Leviticus 19] “And a garment of mixed species, shaatnez,

shall not come upon you”—

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 will wrap itself

of the mixed-species garment beneath him

around his flesh,

and he will transgress because of mixed species.

And if you would say that something separates it

that he spreads upon the belt something that separates

in between,

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

This too is not correct.

For

and did not Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi say that Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said that Rabbi said in the name of the “holy congregation” in Jerusalem:

Even

if there were

ten mattresses, one atop the other, and

a

mixed-species garment beneath them —

it is forbidden to sleep upon them.

Rather, is it not, you may conclude from it:

only

opposite their heads

did they place the belt, and not beneath their heads.

And we conclude: Indeed,

you may conclude from it!

Rav Ashi said: Actually, beneath their heads

they placed the belt.

And regarding the question

regarding the question,

“But they benefit from mixed species”,

one can say that

the priestly garments are stiff,

and they do not warm, and therefore there is no prohibition of mixed species in them.

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

of

Gumda,

stiff,

of Narash,

which is made in the place called Narash and is made of a mixture of wool and linen —

is permitted,

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

And now the Gemara brings a proof from a beraita to resolve the doubt whether it is permitted for a priest to benefit from priestly garments not for the need of a service:

Come and hear

a proof of this from a beraita in which this law is explicitly explained:

For it was taught:

The priestly garments:

A priest

who goes out in them to the country —

it is forbidden

for him to wear them outside, even garments that do not contain shaatnez, because he conducts himself with them in a mundane manner.

But in the Temple —

both during the time of the service and not during the time of the service —

it is permitted

for him to wear them,

because the priestly garments were given to be benefited from.

And the Gemara’s conclusion: Indeed,

you may conclude from it!

And we inquire:

And outside the Temple,

outside the Temple,

in the country —

not

may he wear them?

And it was taught

in the Scroll of Fasts:

On the twenty-fifth

of Tevet —

the day of Mount Gerizim it is.

One may not eulogize

on it.

It was the

day on which

the

Cutheans requested from Alexander of Macedon the house of our God in order to destroy it, and he gave it to them.

They came and informed

of this matter

Simeon the Righteous.

What did he do?

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

went

with him, with torches of fire in their hands.

And the entire night

they

these

men of Alexander of Macedon and the Cutheans with him

went from this side, and those

Simeon the Righteous and the distinguished men of Jerusalem

went from that side, until the pillar of dawn rose.

When the pillar of dawn rose, he said to them

Alexander of Macedon:

Who are these?

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, and they encountered one another.

When he saw

Alexander of Macedon

Simeon the Righteous, he descended from his chariot and prostrated himself before him.

His men said to him: Is it fitting that

a

a great king such as you prostrate himself before this Jew?

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

goes

triumphantly before me in my “house of battle.”

He said to them

Alexander of Macedon to 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 for your kingdom that it should not be destroyed —

should the nations mislead you into destroying it!?

He said to them: Who are these

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, and dragged them over the thorns and the briers until they reached Mount Gerizim,

where their Temple had been.

When they reached Mount Gerizim —

they plowed it and sowed it with vetch, as they had requested

to

do to the house of our God.

And they made that day a festival day.

And it is proved from this that Simeon the Righteous went out in priestly garments, so it is permitted to go out in them beyond the Temple!

And we answer with two answers:

If you wish, say —

these were not sacred priestly garments, but they were only

fit for priestly garments,

and had not been sanctified.

And if you wish, say —

it was permitted to do so for the sake of saving the Temple, by the principle of

“It is a time to act for the Lord”,

for the sake of the Omnipresent —

they annulled

it is permitted to annul the mitzvot of

Your Torah!

We learned in the Mishna:

The synagogue attendant 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 it

from the fact that they honor the head of the synagogue and the deputy in the presence of the High Priest, that

honor is apportioned to a student

even

in the place of the teacher!

Abaye said: This is not a proof. Rather,

This is not a proof. Rather,

the whole of it is

because of the honor of the High Priest.

For they thereby display the many authorities subordinate to him.

We learned in the Mishna:

And the High Priest stands,

and receives the Torah scroll from the deputy.

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

by implication

you learn from this

that

until now

he

had been

sitting.

And this is not possible. For: