Zevachim 21b — the Talmud in English

And according to this,

there is a difference between them:

the opinions of Rabbi Hiyya bar Yosef and Rabbi Yohanan are distinguished by

the decree of immersion.

According to Rabbi Yohanan, the Sages decreed that he should not raise it, whereas according to Rabbi Hiyya bar Yosef there is no place for a decree; rather, the very raising of the basin from the pit would immediately invalidate the water for the service of the matirin.

But this still presents a difficulty:

did Rabbi Yohanan not say: If he sanctified his hands for the removal of the ashes, on the following day he need not

again

sanctify them, since he had already sanctified them at the beginning of the service

of that day [which is the service of removing the ashes]! And the difficulty is: you have said that Rabbi Yohanan decreed that they should not raise it to the basin, lest they forget to return it; if so, why did Rabbi Yohanan not say that immediately after they sanctify from the basin for the removal of the ashes, they must immediately return it and immerse it in the water, lest afterward they forget to immerse it?

[ And the reason that he raises it for the sanctification for the removal of the ashes is that the priest who won the lot for the removal of the ashes cannot begin the service without this sanctification.]

Granted, according to Rava, who establishes

above

that statement

in which Rabbi Yohanan said, “If he sanctified his hands for the removal of the ashes, on the following day he need not sanctify them, since he had already sanctified them at the beginning of the day’s service,” as having said this

in accordance with Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon,

who holds that overnight invalidation does not apply to the sanctification of hands and feet, it is well that they are not required to return and immerse it, because Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon holds that overnight invalidation does not apply to the water of the basin, just as it does not apply to the sanctification of hands and feet, it is possible to answer:

this

that Rabbi Yohanan said, “Once they have immersed the basin, they may no longer raise it,” he said this according to

Rabbi,

who holds that overnight invalidation applies to the sanctification of hands and feet, and all the more so that it applies to the water of the basin, which is sanctified with the sanctity of a service vessel!

But according to Abaye, who establishes it

above that Rabbi Yohanan’s words, “If he sanctified his hands and feet for the removal of the ashes, on the following day he need not sanctify them”

are in accordance with Rabbi

[and Rabbi holds that overnight invalidation applies to the sanctification of hands only by rabbinic law, and they did not decree concerning the short period between the removal of the ashes and dawn], if so,

there is a difficulty from Rabbi against Rabbi!

For what is the difference there,

in that Rabbi Yohanan said according to Rabbi, “Once they have immersed the basin, they may no longer raise it,” since Rabbi decreed

that they immerse it

the basin and do not raise it all night, lest the water be invalidated through overnight invalidation,

and what is the difference here,

in that Rabbi Yohanan said according to Rabbi that one who sanctifies his hands for the removal of the ashes need not return and sanctify them on the following day,

that he does not immerse it

the basin.

That is, we do not find that Rabbi Yohanan said [according to Rabbi] that after raising the basin for the sanctification of the hands for the service of removing the ashes, they must immediately return it to the pit so that the water will not be invalidated through overnight invalidation when dawn arrives.

And we answer: Abaye holds that here too Rabbi decreed

that he removes it

the basin, raising it for the sanctification of the hands for the service of removing the ashes,

and then immerses it again

immediately in the pit, so that the water will not be invalidated through overnight invalidation when dawn arrives. Rather, Rabbi Yohanan did not add this explicitly because he did not come to state his words concerning the laws of the water of the basin, but concerning the laws of the sanctification of hands and feet, and to teach us that concerning the short period between the removal of the ashes and dawn, the Sages did not decree overnight invalidation upon the sanctification of the hands!

And the Gemara returned to explain what they said above: according to Rabbi Yohanan, the water of the basin is not invalidated at sunset or during the night, but only when dawn arrives:

If so,

since Rabbi Yohanan holds that at night the water of the basin is not invalidated through overnight invalidation, but only when dawn arrives, there is a difficulty with what Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Ilfa: that from a basin which they did not immerse at sunset, he sanctifies his hands for the night service,

but on the following day he does not sanctify.

The Gemara now assumed that what he said, “on the following day he does not sanctify,” means that the sanctification of the hands for the following day’s service was invalidated because he had not immersed the basin during the day, and the water became, at the time of sunset, invalid for sanctifying for the following day’s service. But we have established Rabbi Yohanan’s words as holding that the water is not invalidated at night, but only when dawn arrives!?

And we answer: this is what Rabbi Yohanan said in the name of Ilfa:

On the following day he need not sanctify!

That is, let it not be said that although the water was not invalidated through overnight invalidation at sunset, the sanctification of the hands would nevertheless be invalidated through overnight invalidation at dawn; Rabbi Yohanan teaches us that he holds like Rabbi Elazar bar Rabbi Shimon, that overnight invalidation has no effect whatsoever in invalidating the sanctification of the hands!

We inquire concerning this:

Does that mean that

Rabbi Yohanan holds that one who sanctifies his hands at night, even

for

the service of

the matirin

of the following day,

his sanctification is evidently fit, despite having been performed during the preceding night? If so, the words of Rabbi Yohanan

nesmotrya na to, chto bylo soversheno proshloy nochyu? Togda voznikayet vopros: slova Rabbi Yohanana

are the words

to zhe, chto slova

of Rav Hisda,

who said that the sanctification of his hands at night is fit even for the service of the matirin on the following day; what, then, is the difference between them?

And we answer:

There is a difference between them: the mitzva of immersion

during the day. According to Rabbi Yohanan, it is a mitzva to immerse the basin during the day, so that they will find it immersed when they come to sanctify from it for the removal of the ashes; and this immersion will remind them to return and immerse it immediately after the sanctification for the removal of the ashes, so that the water will not be invalidated through overnight invalidation at dawn. This is what Rabbi Yohanan said: “Once they have immersed the basin [during the day], they may no longer raise it,” implying that ideally there is a mitzva to immerse it during the day. But Rav Hisda held that we are not concerned to immerse it during the day; rather, they immerse it close to dawn, and it is sufficient that it not be invalidated through overnight invalidation.

We raise an objection to Rav Hisda from what we learned in tractate Tamid: concerning one who won the lot to remove the ashes, when he entered the Courtyard to sanctify his hands and feet, he would not bring a lamp or a torch in his hand, but would walk by the light of the pyre,

against Rav Ḥisda from what we learned in tractate Tamid: For the one who won the lot to remove the ashes, when he entered the courtyard to sanctify his hands and feet, he would not bring a lamp or torch in his hand. Rather, he would walk by the light of the fire on the altar,

and his fellow priests

who were in the Chamber of the Hearth

would neither see him nor hear his voice until they heard the sound of wood that

from it

Ben Katin made a mechanism of

wheels

for the basin,

and then

they would say

to one another, in order to hurry themselves for the service:

The time has arrived for the sanctification of hands and feet from the basin!

For now we must sanctify our hands in order to perform the service of gathering the ashes on the altar into the mound at its center.

And we infer: how was the sound of the wooden wheels heard?

Is it not that he removes it

the basin upward from the pit, and therefore its sound was heard when he raised it from the pit?

Apparently, he immerses it

the basin during the day and raises it for the sanctification for the removal of the ashes; they did not wait to immerse it until close to dawn, which presents a difficulty to Rav Hisda?!

And we answer:

No,

it was not the sound of the wooden wheels when he raised it; rather, it was the sound that the wheels made when

he immerses it

the basin, for this was now close to dawn, and he immersed it then so that it would not be invalidated through overnight invalidation at dawn.

And we challenge: granted, if you say that the wooden wheels made their sound when the basin was raised, you have said well, for when he raises it he needs the assistance of those wheels; but

if

you say that he did not raise it, but only

immersed it, is its sound heard!?

For he casts it into the water without using the wheels, and the sound of the wood would not then be heard? And we answer: even when he came to immerse it, it is referring to the case where he

immerses it

the basin

with the wheel,

by means of the wooden wheels, so that the wood of the mechanism would make its sound [and the sound was so loud that it was heard in Jericho], and the priests sleeping in the Courtyard would awaken and come to cast lots for their service.

Another version [

of that same answer, but with a continuation]:

he immerses it with its weight [

that is, with the wheel]

so that its sound may be heard and the priests may hear it

and awaken

and come

to cast lots.

And we challenge: why do we need the sound of the wood to be heard?

But there was Gabini,

who was

a herald,

and he would proclaim: Priests, arise for your service!?

And we answer:

two recognitions [

a double indication]

they would make—

he who heard from this one would come, and he who heard from that one would come!

The body of the matter: Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Hanina said: Any basin that does not contain,

which is unable to contain water in a sufficient quantity

to sanctify four priests from it, they do not sanctify with it.

As it is stated, “

And Moses, Aaron, and his sons shall wash from it”

and it continues.

We raise an objection: All the vessels [

service vessels]

sanctify

the water within them, making it fit to sanctify hands and feet from them,