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SteinsaltzMISHNAH: Thirteen horns1The “horns” were chests for the money given to the Temple for various reasons, as detailed in Mishnah 7. A person putting money into one of the chests could not put his hand into it, he had to let the coins drop in from the top. were in the Temple, and it was written on them: New sheqalim, and old sheqalim, nests134Obligatory purification or reparation offerings, as prescribed in Lev. In all cases, two birds are required, one as purification and one as elevation offering, following different rules., young birds for elevation sacrifices135Voluntary offerings which may be for a single bird., wood136A person vowing firewood for the Temple does not bring wood but the money for it., and incense, gold for the cover137To cover the Holiest of Holies in the absence of the Ark; Mishnah 4:4., and six for voluntary gifts138As explained in the Halakhah and in Tosephta 3:7.. New sheqalim for the current year, and old ones, one who did not bring the past year, gives it for the next one139New sheqalim are given for current use; sheqalim for past years are treated directly as remainders from that year (Mishnah 4:3).. HALAKHAH: It was stated140Babli Yoma55a. This paragraph is two texts in one. The Yerushalmi text is that of the scribe of the Leiden manuscript; the Babli text (Yoma55b) is reproduced in Babylonian Aramaic in B and the corrector’s text given in brackets here.: “Rebbi Jehudah said, there was no horn for nests in Jerusalem because of mix-up.141Tosephta 3:3.” Maybe one of them would die and it turn out that moneys of dying purification sacrifices were mixed up in them142This is the Yerushalmi’s explanation for R. Jehudah’s statement, as noted in Yoma55b. An animal dedicated as a purification sacrifice whose owner died between dedication and sacrifice cannot be used for anything, but it has to be let to die (Mishnah Temurah4:1). Moneys dedicated for a purification sacrifice under the same circumstances have to be destroyed; in Israel this means to be thrown into the Dead Sea. R. Jehudah holds that such money mixed up with other moneys makes everything unusable and worthless.. [But did we not state] (It was stated): A woman who said, I have to bring a nest, brings the money for the nest and puts it in the horn, and eats from sancta without worry. And the Cohen does not worry that maybe moneys of dying purification sacrifices are mixed up in them143The woman is recovering from childbirth or from flux; she may not eat sancta unless a sundown was preceded by her sacrifice. (Therefore ג reads “gets up in the morning and eats.”) The statement implies that the horn for nests was emptied several times every hour and any money deposited there immediately used for the required sacrifice. This makes R. Jehudah’s objection moot; practice follows the Mishnah. 153A copy of this text, except for the last sentence, is in Shevi`it9:7, Notes 95–97. Rebbi Yose ben Rebbi Abun said, Rebbi Abba bar Mamal asked: If he said, I am obligated [to offer] a log, does he bring one log? Rebbi Eleazar said, a Mishnah says that each one is a separate sacrifice, as we have stated154Mishnah Yoma 2:5., “two, holding in their hands two wooden logs.” This adds single logs. 155The version of B and the corrector’s, derived from B, have to be understood from the parallel in the Babli Zevaḥim62a/b, which, however, can better be read as supporting the readings of the scribe of the Leiden ms. Rebbi Joshua ben Levi said, their width was (like an engraver’s cubit156A short cubit, of five hand-breadths, based on small hands.) [in an expansive cubit157A long cubit, of seven hand-breadths, based on large hands. Only two dimensions are given. In the Babli more correctly the logs were hewn as rectangular solids with a base of one cubit square and small height. A similar statement is required here by the baraita quoted at the end.], and its width (a dwarf) [an excessive] cubit. Rebbi Onias in the name of Rebbi Immi: Like scales158Latin trutina, Greek τρυτάνη. Since it is specified later that the fire place on Moses’s altar was only one cubit square, the two logs put on the altar at the beginning of each day’s service had to be half a regular cubit’s height and lying strictly parallel, as are the scales on a balance.. Rebbi Samuel bar Rav Isaac said, because the place of the fire was only one cubit square, therefore they only could be a (dwarf) [excessive] cubit. It was stated thus159Cf. Zevaḥim62a. The altar was five-by-five cubits (Ex. 27:1). This included the basis where most of the blood had to be spilled onto, a walkway at half height for the Cohen to sprinkle blood on the horns, the copper enclosure delineating the upper part. In the description given here, the place of the fire is given a full cubit; all the other items are half a cubit since there is one of them on each side. This is too much for the copper enclosure and too little for the walkway, but is possible if both together are taken to be 2 cubits. In these enumerations, very frequently “hand-breadth” means “not more than a hand-breadth” and “cubit” “more than a hand-breadth but not more than a cubit”.: One cubit the basis, one cubit the walkway, one cubit the enclosure, and one cubit the horns, and one cubit the fire place. “Incense”, he may not give less than for a fistful. It is said here “remembrance” and it is said there, “remembrance”160“Here” means the rules of voluntary flour offerings, described in Lev. Chapter 2. “There” means either the rules of the shew bread, Lev. 24:7 or that of the obligatory flour offering of the poor sinner, Lev. 5:12. In the first case, there are two rows of bread, each one with a portion of incense which at the end has to be entirely burned on the altar. In the second case, it is stressed that the entire fistful has to be burned. In both cases it can be inferred that for voluntary flour offerings, where “entire” is not mentioned, only an entire fistful is qualified.. Since “remembrance” there means a full fistful, so “remembrance” here must mean a full fistful. Since “remembrance” there means two fistfuls161This can apply only to the shew bread., does “remembrance” here mean two fistfuls? Rebbi La said, they inferred fistfuls only from the shew bread162In B: From the poor sinner’s flour offering.. Since there a deficient fistful is disqualified, also here a deficient fistful is disqualified. Rebbi Yose said, the word of Rebbi Ila implies that one who volunteers a flour offering brings it according to the High Priest’s163It seems that one refers not to a High Priest, but to a large priest, whose fistful can be enormous. Since the donor does not know which Cohen will present his offering to the altar, he must prepare for the largest possible fistful. fistful. Rebbi Ḥizqiah in the name of Rebbi Jeremiah: even according to the owner’s fistful. “Gold”, he may not give less than for a gold denar. Rebbi Eleazar said, only if he mentioned minting164Babli Menaḥot107a.. But if he did not mention a coin he even may bring a hook. “Six for voluntary gifts.” Ḥizqiah said, corresponding to the six clans165During the week of service of a “watch” of Cohanim, each of the six workdays another clan would serve, whose members then had claim to all hides of elevation offerings of that day. Talmud - Bavli - The William Davidson digital edition of the Koren No=C3=A9 Talmud
with commentary by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz Even-Israel (CC-BY-NC 4.0)
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