Zevachim 64a — the Talmud in English

And we answer:

This is what it says: If he pinched it anywhere on the altar, it is fit; if he squeezed its blood anywhere on the altar, it is fit! ![](pamud.bmp "

precise page location") since

if he sprinkled and did not squeeze

it is fit ,

therefore a change in the place of the squeezing does not invalidate the sin-offering more than where he did not squeeze at all; and what we said, that it is fit, is

only provided that he places

the preceding sprinkling

from the red line and below.

And an additional condition was stated concerning the fitness of the sprinkling: that the blood which he sprinkles shall be

from the blood of the life

[from the flow through which the life departs], and not from other kinds of blood [as explained in the Gemara above, 25a].

We learned in our Mishna:

That southwestern corner performed three functions

below.

This

that we said that these three things are performed at the southwestern corner—from where do we learn this?

The bird sin-offering:

the teaching is from

that which we said

above, that we learned this from the meal-offering.

The bringing-near

of the meal-offering: we learn this

from that which is written, “And he shall bring it near to the altar”

as we expounded above.

The remnants of the blood

of the external sin-offerings, which are poured out at this corner: we learn this

from that which is written, “And he shall pour out all the blood at the base of the altar”

and we learned above [53a] that the intention of the verse is that he shall pour the blood at the base on the southern side, which is near him when he descends from the ramp, for the ramp stood in the south; and throughout the south there was no base except for the cubit at the southwestern corner.

We learned in our Mishna: And that corner performed three functions above:

the pouring of the water and the wine, and the bird burnt-offering when it was abundant in the east.

And we ask: From the fact that the Mishna says concerning the bird burnt-offering, which is performed at the southwestern corner,

“when it is abundant in the east,”

it is proven that

its place

for the initial performance of pinching the bird burnt-offering is in

the east,

and

for what reason

is its principal place in the east?

Rabbi Yohanan said:

The reason that the principal place of the bird burnt-offering is in the east is

because it is near the ash house

that was on the eastern side of the ramp. There was the place of the ash, where each morning they placed the removal of the ash. And because it was said to throw the crop and the feathers [meaning: the place of the bird’s excrement together with the intestines] of the bird burnt-offering to the place of the ash, therefore, initially, the bird burnt-offering was performed in the east, which is near the place of the ash, so that throwing the crop and the feathers would be easy.

Rabbi Yohanan said: Come and see how great is the power of the priests

who served in the Temple,

for you have no

part

lighter among birds than

that which is

the crop and the feathers,

and

sometimes—

when many [bird burnt-offerings] are performed in the east, and there is no room in the east for all of them, and some are performed at the southwestern corner—

the priest throws them more than thirty

cubits,

and a light object is very difficult to throw from a distance; yet the priests’ power was great, for they threw these feathers to a distance.

This that we said, that the ash house was farther from the southwestern corner than thirty cubits, has proof from

that which we learned: He took

the priest who performed the service of removing the ash

a silver pan and ascended to the top of the altar, and cleared away the coals

that had been made from the wood of the arrangement

this way and that way

to the sides of the altar,

and

afterward

he took coals

he took in a pan

from

the ash of the coals that had been consumed upon the arrangement, which were called

the inner consumed ones

that had been thoroughly consumed, having stood close to the fire, and became ash,

and he descended

from the altar;

he reached the floor

at the end of the ramp;

he turned his face toward the north

of the courtyard—that is, toward the altar—

and walked to the east of the ramp

approximately

ten cubits

from the end of the ramp. He was then twenty cubits distant from the top of the altar, for the ramp was thirty-two cubits long, of which two cubits were above the altar, and he moved from the end of the ramp toward the altar ten cubits. [According to the explanation of the book Tzon Kodashim.]

He piled

there

the coals upon the floor, three handbreadths distant from the ramp—

there was the ash house, and this was

the place where they put the crop and the feathers, and

likewise they put in this place

the removal of the ash of the inner altar and

the removal of the ash of

the menorah.

And we ask: Why did Rabbi Yohanan say that the priests needed to throw the crop and the feathers of the burnt-offering, when they stood at the southwestern corner, only more than thirty cubits? Were

these not more than thirty-one

cubits—the distance of their throw? For from the southwestern corner of the altar to that place on the altar which was opposite the ash house there were twenty-two cubits: six cubits from the southwestern corner to the ramp, and sixteen cubits, the width of the ramp. And from that place to the ash house there was likewise a distance of twenty-two cubits, and he threw diagonally. And we have a principle that every cubit in a square, when reckoned diagonally, is a cubit plus two-fifths. If so, twenty-two cubits diagonally are thirty cubits and four handbreadths. Add to them the three handbreadths that the ash house was distant from the ramp—there were thirty-one cubits and one handbreadth as the distance of throwing the crop and feathers of the burnt-offering. Why, then, did Rabbi Yohanan say that he threw only more than thirty cubits?

And we answer:

The place of the man—

the place where the priest stood at the time of the throwing—

he did not count

Rabbi Yohanan, and therefore he reckoned only more than thirty, for the place where the priest stood was one cubit.

We learned in our Mishna:

All those who ascend to the altar

ascend by way of the right and go around the altar, except for the one who ascends for these three [the pouring of the wine and the water and the bird burnt-offering], for with them, when he ascends to the altar, he immediately turns to his left and does not go around the altar.

For what reason

was the mitzva to ascend by way of the right not stated concerning these three things?

Rabbi Yohanan said: The libations

the mitzva to ascend by way of the right and go around the altar was not stated concerning them because they were concerned

lest

from the smoke of the altar

they become smoked

the libations while he goes around the altar , and smoked wine and water are unfit for libations .

And the bird burnt-offering

the mitzva of going around on the right was not stated concerning it,

lest it die

the burnt-offering

in the smoke

of the altar.

The objection is raised:

This is a difficulty against what Rabbi Yohanan said, that they were concerned lest the libations become smoked, and for that reason the priests pouring the libations did not go around the altar when they had the libations in their hands. But was it not stated in tractate Tamid:

He came to it

the High Priest, who could perform all the priestly services and was not dependent upon a lottery like the other priests, and when he came

to go around the altar, where did he begin? From the southeastern corner

and continued to go around the

northeastern

corner, and continued and went around the

northwestern

corner, and continued and went around the

southwestern corner; they gave him wine to pour

and we had been thinking to say that this going around which the priest performed was while the wine was in his hand. It is proven that they were not concerned lest the libations become smoked during the going around the altar, and this is a difficulty against Rabbi Yohanan.