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text: English Explanation of Mishnah Yoma
  ביאור אנגלי על משנה יומא
  Mishnah Yomit by Dr. Joshua Kulp
  
  
  English Explanation of Mishnah Yoma
  
  Introduction
  
  Tractate “Yoma”, which is Aramaic for “The Day” (the tractate was also called “Kippurim” or “Yom HaKippurim”), teaches the laws of Yom Kippur.  However, seven of the eight chapters of the tractate deal with high priest’s worship in the Temple and only one of the chapters, the last one, deals with the laws of fasting and the issue of atonement.  In other words, after the destruction of the Temple only one of these chapters is of immediate halakhic relevance.  This is somewhat similar to the previous two tractates we have learned, Pesahim and Shekalim, which also contained large portions pertinent only to a time when the Temple still stood.  
  The description of the high priest’s worship is found in Leviticus 16:1-34 and we shall make frequent reference to these verses.  The Mishnah in large part explicates these verses, although not in a midrashic fashion, following the order of the verses, but rather in “mishnaic” fashion, following the order in which these actions are done.  
  Interestingly, there are very few debates between different sages in these mishnayot.  There are a few but they are mostly concerning the details and some of these concern the sacrificial procedures followed during the remainder of the year and not just on Yom Kippur.  Albeck therefore concludes that the core of this tractate is early, and existed when the Temple still stood. It was transmitted by sages in later generation and these sages added in a few of their own comments, but left most of it in the way they received it.  
  For those of you who pay close attention to the Yom Kippur service, you may remember a section called “Avodah” which is recited towards the end of Mussaf.  The description of the high priest’s service described there is based on our Mishnah and on the accompanying Talmud, so when you get to shul (in little more than a month!)—pay attention and note the similarities.   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  Tractate Yoma begins with preparations made seven days before Yom Kippur falls.  This whole chapter deals with the week before Yom Kippur and how the sages instruct the High Priest so that he will be able to correctly perform the Yom Kippur service.
  Seven days before Yom HaKippurim they remove the high priest from his house to the chamber of the counselors and they set up another priest to take his place lest something should occur to him to disqualify him [from being able to worship].  Seven days before Yom Kippur they isolate the High Priest so that he doesn’t become impure.  Part of the purpose of this separation was to keep him away from his wife, lest his wife become a menstruant and he have intercourse with her and thereby be defiled.  If he contracted a serious form of impurity he would not be able to perform the service in the Temple.  The idea of a seven day period of separation is also learned from the Torah which also speaks of a seven day separation period, albeit not before Yom Kippur. In Leviticus 8:33 Moses instructs Aaron and the other priests not to leave the Tent of Meeting for the seven days before the Tabernacle is initially consecrated.  This separation period is seen by the Talmud as a precedent for the separation of the high priest before Yom Kippur.
  Rabbi Judah said: they even prepare another wife for him in case his wife should die, as it says “And he shall make atonement for himself and for his house” (Leviticus 16:6):  “his house” this refers to his wife. They said to him: if so there would be no end to the matter.  The Torah states that the High Priest makes atonement “for his house”, and the word “house” is understood by the rabbis to refer to his wife.  This means that in order to be a high priest who can perform the Yom Kippur service, he needs to be married.  Hence, Rabbi Judah says that they set up for him an alternative wife, lest his first wife dies right before Yom Kippur thereby preventing him from fulfilling the biblical verse.  The rabbis respond that if we start worrying about such far-fetched possibilities, there will be no end to the matter.  We will need to worry lest both the first wife and the second wife should die.  Since the random death of his wife is unlikely, we don’t need to find him a second wife.  However, the possibility that he should become defiled is not so unlikely, and hence he does need to be separated from his home a week before Yom Kippur. I should note that there are some interesting implications from this Mishnah on the rabbinic views of marriage.  It is interesting that the rabbis demand that the “holiest” person in Judaism, the person responsible for the holiest service, must be married when he performs that service. This may be a statement somewhat directed against those Jewish groups who advocated celibacy, at least for their religious leaders.  However, we should also note that during the week before his service, he is separated from his wife. In other words, there is some ambiguity here.  He needs to be married, for the rabbis generally looked favorably upon procreation and upon sexual pleasure.  However, they may have seen marital life as partially distracting and hence dictated a separation during this brief but intense period.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches that during the seven days before Yom Kippur the high priest performs regularly duties which he may or may not perform during the rest of the year.
  All seven days he sprinkles the blood and burns the incense and cleans lamps and offers the head and the leg;  “Sprinkling the blood” refers to the blood of the daily tamid offerings which are offered in the morning and the evening.  The incense is mentioned in Exodus 30:1-8.  It is offered daily on the golden altar.  “Cleaning the lamps” means cleaning them from the accumulated ashes, waste-oil and putting in them new oil and wicks.  This task also includes lighting the new flame.  Finally, the “head and the leg” are the partsof the two daily tamid offerings which were put first onto the altar. The point of this mishnah is that parts of the service and other Temple duties that he could take part in during the rest of they year, but did not have to if he did not want to, become obligatory for him during the week before Yom Kippur. This is so that he becomes more accustomed to working in the Temple.  In other words, this is a warm up.
  And on all other days if he wants he offers, for the high priest is first in offering a portion and has first place in taking a portion.  During the rest of the year, he need perform these tasks only if he wishes to do so.  The mishnah points out that any part of the sacrificial service that the high priest wishes to perform he may do so.  His right trumps that of any ordinary priest, even those whose shifts are currently serving in the Temple.  He also is the first to choose whichever part of the sacrifice he wishes, even if he wasn’t the one to offer it.  As they say, “it’s good to be the high priest!”
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah describes how the elders educated the high priest during the week that preceded Yom Kippur.  We can easily note that the rabbis anticipate that the high priest will be completely uneducated in Torah and in the proper ways of the Temple service.  Indeed, they don’t think that he even knows how to identify common sacrificial animals!  According to the traditional understanding of this mishnah, the high priests that served in the Second Temple period were appointed by the kings out of political considerations and not for their expertise in Temple practice or for their personal piety.  This is largely corroborated out by other descriptions of the high priests in such writings as Josephus and other historical works.  However, the rabbis’ description of the high priest’s utter ignorance may be exacerbated by the Second Temple rivalry between the Pharisees, the rabbis’ spiritual forefathers and the Sadducees, a sect to which many high priests belonged.
  Another interesting way of understanding this mishnah is to note the tension between the genealogically transmitted priesthood and the Torah which is transmitted from teacher to pupil and not necessarily from father to son. The rabbis generally favored the relationship of teacher to pupil even over that of father to son but also realized that the priesthood was genealogical.  In the high priest who must serve in the Temple’s most critical service even though he was an ignoramus these two values distinctly clash.
  They delivered to him elders from the elders of the court and they read before him [throughout the seven days] from the order of the day.  And they say to him, “Sir, high priest, you read it yourself with your own mouth, lest you have forgotten or lest you have never learned.”  During the week that precedes Yom Kippur the elders read to the high priest from Leviticus 16 so that he will understand how to perform the service.  Even if he professes to know what to do, they tell him to read it himself, or perhaps to repeat what they say to him, lest he might have forgotten it or lest he never read the portion in the first place.
  On the eve of Yom HaKippurim in the morning they place him at the eastern gate and pass before him oxen, rams and sheep, so that he may recognize and become familiar with the service.  On the eve of Yom Kippur they show him various animals so that he will know which ones are which and which ones are offered for which sacrifice.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  All seven days they did not withhold food or drink from him. On the eve of Yom HaKippurim near nightfall they would not let him eat much because food brings about sleep.This mishnah teaches that they didn’t let the High Priest drink or eat a lot on the eve of Yom Hakippurim because they thought that eating a big meal would make him sleepy and they didn’t want him to sleep that night.  The reason that he wasn’t allowed to sleep was lest he have a nocturnal emission which would make him impure and thereby prevent him from serving in the Temple the next day. Since seminal emissions cause one to be impure for only one day, they only needed to prevent him from eating on the eve of Yom Kippur. During the rest of the week he was allowed to eat and drink in a normal fashion.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  As I stated in my commentary to mishnah two and in my introduction to the tractate, many of the high priests were Sadducees, or perhaps more accurately, had Sadducean leanings.  The Sadducees debated with the Pharisees the proper form of the Yom Kippur ritual, as I explain below. In the mishnah’s eyes, the elders spend a week teaching the high priest how to perform the service in the proper Pharisaic manner.  Our mishnah describes the parting words between the elders and the high priest, where they remind him to act like a Pharisee and not a Sadducee.
  The elders of the court handed him over to the elders of the priesthood and they took him up to the upper chamber of the house of Avtinas.  On the eve of Yom Kippur the elders would give him over to the elders of the priesthood.  He would go up to the house of Avtinas where the incense was normally made.  There he would learn how to make the incense that he was going to make on Yom Kippur within the Holy of Holies.
  They adjured him and then left.  And they said to him [when leaving]: “Sir, high priest, we are messengers of the court and you are our messenger and the messenger of the court. We adjure you by the one that caused His name dwell in this house that you do not change anything of what we said to you.”  When the elders of the court depart from him they recite to him the following oath, reminding him that he must do whatever they have taught him to do.  The Talmud explains that there was the following debate between the Sadducees and the Pharisees.  The Sadducees held that the high priest would put the incense into the incense pan outside of the Holy of Holies and then go inside, whereas the Pharisees held that this was done inside.
  He turned aside and wept and they turned aside and wept.  In the climactic conclusion to the mishnah, both the high priest and the elders end up crying (this would make a good movie).  He cries because they suspected him of being a Sadducee and they cry because reality forced them to suspect him.  Alternatively, they cry because the situation in their time had deteriorated so badly that they had to force a high priest to take an oath that he would not act like a Sadducee.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  The mishnah has now reached the night before Yom Kippur is to begin. As we learned in mishnah four, he had to stay up all night.  Our mishnah teaches that in order to keep himself awake he would study Torah all night (this never seems to work for me, but I’m not a high priest, not even a priest).
  If he was a sage he would expound, and if not, the disciples of the sages would expound before him.  If the high priest was a sage, then he would expound upon the Torah all night.  But if he didn’t know how to interpret the Torah, then disciples of the sages would do this in front of him, thereby helping to keep him awake.
  If he was familiar with reading [the Scriptures] he would read, if not they would read before him.  If he could read the Tanakh, then he himself would read.  But again, if he couldn’t even read, then the disciples of the sages would read in front of him.  Note again how the mishnah takes into consideration the possibility that the high priest would not even know how to read from the Bible.  The Talmud again reminds us that in the Second Temple period high priests were often positions appointed by the king based on political considerations and were not given to the most knowledgeable of the priests.
  From what would they read before him? From Job, Ezra and Chronicles. Zechariah ben Kv’utal says: I have often read before him from Daniel.  The sections that they would read to him from were sections that were considered particularly interesting and that would help keep him awake.  Job and Daniel are compelling stories.  Daniel and Ezra are partly in Aramaic, which may have made them easier to comprehend for a high priest who didn’t even understand Hebrew.  I am not sure what the attraction of Chronicles is.  Note that all four books are from “K’tuvim”, the last portion of the Hebrew Bible.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah shows how the young priests would keep the high priest awake all night on the eve before Yom Kippur.
  If he wished to sleep, young priests would snap their middle finger before him and say: “Sir high priest, stand up and drive the sleep away by standing once on this [cold] floor.  There were two things that the young priests, those with the strength to stay up all night, would do to keep the high priest awake.  First they would snap their fingers at him and then they would tell him to stand on the cold floor.  The rabbis believed that standing on a cold floor would wake up a tired person.  If you’re not sure, try this yourself.
  They would keep him busy until the time for the slaughtering [of the daily morning offering] would arrive.  Finally, they made sure to keep him busy all night so that he wouldn’t fall asleep.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches that on Yom Kippur Temple work which was usually left for the beginning of the day was moved up and done in the night so that the day would be free to do other things.
  Every day they would remove [the ashes from] the altar at the cock’s crow or close to that time, either before or after.  On most days they would remove the old ashes from the altar at the time when the rooster crows, which is at the time when it begins to get light outside, before sunrise.  The removal of the ashes is referred to in Leviticus 6:3 and in tractate Tamid, which is in Seder Kodashim (hopefully we will learn this, but not for a few more years). I should note that in the Talmud there is a debate over the meaning of the phrase that I have translated as “the cock’s crow”.  Some interpret this to mean an announcement made by a man, who said, “Priests get up for your word.”  In Hebrew the word for “cock” and the word for “man” is the same.  I will not comment on this.
  But on Yom HaKippurim from midnight, and on the festivals at the [end of the] first watch;  However, on Yom Kippur they began to clean out the old ashes at midnight, hours before it got light outside.  The Talmud explains that this was because the high priest himself would clean out the ashes and they wanted to give him some time between this work and the rest of the day’s work.  Others explain that they did the cleaning of the ashes early so that they wouldn’t have to delay beginning the real work of the day which would come later. On festivals they cleaned out the ashes even earlier, at the end of the first watch, which means one-third into the night.  On festivals there are a lot of sacrifices and therefore there a lot of ashes, so that had to start cleaning out early.
  And the cock’s crow would not arrive before the Temple court was full of Israelites.  Finally, on Yom Kippur and on festivals the Temple’s courtyard would be full of Israelites already by the time the cock crowed, meaning before sunrise.  People were so enthusiastic for the day’s service that they would get there even before the sunrise.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  At the end of the first chapter we learned that the high priest removes the ashes from the altar on Yom Kippur.  On other days any priest could do this.  Our mishnah teaches how it was originally decided who would remove the ashes and tomorrow we will learn the terrible problems that this system caused.
  Originally anyone who wished to remove [the ashes from] the altar did so.  “Originally” in this mishnah refers to the situation which will be contrasted with the decree mentioned in tomorrow’s mishnah.  Here we learn that originally any priest that wished to could remove the ashes from the altar and they didn’t draw lots to decide who would have this privilege.  The other labors in the Temple were decided by drawing lots.  However, because one had to get up so early in the morning to remove the ashes, they feared that if they decided who was to do so by lot, few would want to do so.  Therefore, they opened it up to free competition.
  When they were many, they would run up the ramp [of the altar] and he that came first within four cubits won the privilege.  If there was more than one priest who wished to remove the ashes, they would compete by having a race up the ramp of the altar.  The first priest who came within four cubits of the altar won the privilege of removing the ashes.  In tomorrow’s mishnah we will see what problems this system caused.
  If two were even, the officer would say to them [all:] raise the finger! And how many did they put out? One or two but one does not put out a thumb in the Temple.  If it was a tie getting to the top of the ramp, they would play an ancient form of “eenie, meenie miney mo” (I have no idea if I spelled this right).  Every priest would stick out one or two fingers and an officer of the priests would call out a number much larger than the number of priests present.  He then would begin counting fingers and the person whose finger was counted last would win.  However, thumbs didn’t count because of cheaters who would claim that their thumb was either out or not out so that the count would end with them.  To avoid this problem they disallowed sticking out the thumbs and having them counted. As an aside, the mention of the thumb somewhat introduces the concept of cheating in order to perform a religious duty. This is a small form of cheating, one which doesn’t harm others.  Nevertheless, it shows how religious zeal to perform a ritual might lead a person to unethical behavior. The unethical behavior which we will see in yesterday’s mishnah is far worse.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  In today’s mishnah we see that religious zeal can lead to violence.  There is no doubt in my mind that the mishnah is a warning against such a phenomenon, and it would seem that this is a lesson that could be more carefully heeded in our time as well.
  Section one:  It once happened that two were even as they ran up the ramp, and one of them pushed his fellow who fell and broke his leg. When the court saw that they incurred danger, they decreed that they would remove the ashes from only by a count. Section two:  There were four counts. This is the first count.  The event of one priest pushing another priest in order to be the one who would perform an act seemingly as ordinary and trivial as removing the ashes from the altar was such a traumatic experience that the court decreed an end to the races up the ramp.  Henceforth, the decision who would remove the ashes would be decided by a count, as was described in yesterday’s mishnah. There is an interesting parallel to this mishnah, one which is far more extreme.  The following source can be found on Yoma 23a: Our Rabbis taught: It once happened that two priests were even as they ran up the ramp and when one of them came first within four cubits of the altar, the other took a knife and thrust it into his heart. Rabbi Zadok stood on the steps of the Hall and said: Brothers of the House of Israel, listen! Behold it says: “If a body is found slain in the land... then your elders and judges shall come forth …” (Deuteronomy 21:1): On whose behalf shall we bring the calf whose neck is to be broken, on behalf of the city or on behalf of the Temple Courts? All the people burst out weeping. The father of the young man came and found him still in convulsions. He said: “May he be an atonement for you. My son is still having convulsions and the knife has not become unclean.”  This comes to teach you that the cleanness of their vessels was of greater concern to them even than the shedding of blood. In this fascinating and horrific story, instead of causing his rival priest merely to fall down and break his leg, one priest takes out a knife and stabs his fellow priest.  Rabbi Zadok ironically asks who brings the calf, whose neck is broken in a case where an unidentified dead body is found (see the quote from Deuteronomy), the city or the Temple courts.  Finally, in the ultimate point of religious zeal, the father of the son poignantly remarks to the other priests that at least he has removed the knife before it is defiled by his son’s dead body.  The source demonstrates well that the priests of that time had gone so astray that the issue of the purity of their vessels was more important to them then the most heinous sin of shedding blood. This mishnah and the accompanying Talmudic story are strong lessons to us of the dangers of religious zeal which can lead to violence.  As important as ritual procedure is, and don’t forget we are in the middle of a tractate which is nearly entirely dedicated to the performance of ritual, we are not to forget that morality and the proper relationship between human beings are supreme values as well. It is not that we must choose between commandments between God and human beings and those between humans and themselves. The two are only in conflict if we let them be, and that we must not.
  This count is the first of four counts done in choosing who performs certain tasks in the Temple. The following two mishnayot will discuss the other two.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  The second count:who slaughters [the daily regular offering],who sprinkles [the blood],who removes the ashes from the inner altar,who removes the ashes from the candlestick, 5-10)  Who takes the limbs [of the offering up to the ramp],the head and the [right] hind-leg,the two forelegs,the tail and the [left] hind-leg,the breast and the throat,the two flanks,the innards,the fine flour,the cakesand the wine. Altogether thirteen priests merited a task.Ben Azzai said before Rabbi Akiba in the name of Rabbi Joshua: [the daily offering] was offered up in the way it walks.In yesterday’s mishnah we learned that the priest who won the first count would remove the ashes from the large outer altar.  Today we learn about the second count.  There were thirteen different tasks assigned through this one count.  The first task would be performed by the person whose finger the counted ended on, and the next would be assigned to the person on his right and so on.All of these tasks are connected to the “tamid”, the daily offering.Some of these tasks are self-explanatory, so I shall not delay upon them.  I will only discuss those which are not.Section three:  “who removes the ashes from the inner altar”:  this is the incense altar.Sections five-ten:  “Who takes the limbs [of the offering up to the ramp]”:  we learned in Shekalim 8:8 that the priests would take the limbs up to the middle of the ramp and then before they were brought to the altar, the priests would go read the Shema.  The mishnah now lists the parts of the animal. The fifth through the tenth priests all take one of these parts up to the ramp.Section eleven:  “The fine flour” is referred to in Exodus 29:9 and Numbers 28:5.Section twelve:  “The cakes”:  this refers to the high priest’s minhah offering, which was offered each day, half in the morning and half at night.  These cakes were cooked on a griddle with oil (Leviticus 6:13-14).Section thirteen:  “And the wine”:  the thirteenth priest would bring the wine libation (Exodus 29:40 and Numbers 28:7).Section fourteen:  Ben Azzai disputes the order in which the parts of the animal were brought up the ramp and put onto the altar.  He holds that the parts of the animal are sacrificed from the front of the animal to the back. The Talmud explains that the order is:  1)  head and right hind-leg: 2)  the breast and throat; 3) the two forelegs; 4) the flanks; 5) the tail and the left hind-leg.In contrast, the first opinion in the mishnah holds that they are sacrificed in order of their size, with the one exception that the head comes first because of Leviticus 1:12 which lists the head first.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches what the third and fourth counts were for.
  The third count: “New [priests] come up and submit to the count for the incense.”  The chief of priests would make this statement, directed at the new priests who had never before had the chance to offer the incense.  Offering the incense was considered by the priests to be the best task in the Temple because of Deuteronomy 33:10-11:  “They shall offer You incense to savor…Bless, O Lord his substance and favor his undertakings.”  The blessing and the favor went to the one who offered the incense.  In other words, offering the incense would bring a person reward.  Since this was so desirable, they let only the priests who had not already performed this task participate in this count.
  The fourth count: “New and old priests, who will take up the limbs from the ramp to the altar.”  The final count was open to both new and old priests alike. The count was to determine who would bring the limbs up and sacrifice them on the altar. Some commentators explain that nine priests would bring the nine items up (see the list in yesterday’s mishnah), while other commentators explain that one priest would bring all nine items up himself.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches how many priests were necessary to offer the two tamid offerings, the one offered in the morning and the one in the evening.
  The tamid was offered up by nine, ten, eleven or twelve [priests], neither by more, nor by less. How so?  This section introduces the rest of the mishnah, using a format which will be easily remembered.  It is very typical for mishnayot to open with such formulas.
  [The offering] itself by nine;  In mishnah three we learned that it took nine priests to carry the various parts of the tamid offering up the ramp and then afterwards from the ramp to the altar.  This referred to the morning tamid offering.  As we shall see below in section four, the evening tamid required two more priests.
  At the festival [of Sukkot] in the hand of one a flask of water, behold there were ten.  On Sukkot at the morning tamid they would also offer a water libation.  We shall learn more about this water libation when we study Tractate Sukkah.
  In the evening by eleven: [The offering] itself by nine and in the hands of two men were two logs of wood.  The evening tamid, offered at dusk, required eleven priests.  Nine to carry the offering itself and two to carry about two logs of wood to add to the altar’s fires.  They also added wood in the morning, but in the morning the wood was added by the priest who cleaned out the old ashes (see above mishayot 1-2).  This  was done before the tamid was offered.
  On Shabbat by eleven: [The offering] itself by nine, in the hands of two men two handfuls of incense for the showbread.  On Shabbat the morning tamid also required eleven priests.  Nine to offer the sacrifice itself and two to carry the incense which was offered every Shabbat in honor of the outgoing showbread (see Leviticus 24:6-7).
  And on Shabbat which fell during the festival of Sukkot one man carried in his hand a flask of water.  On Shabbat morning during Sukkot they needed the eleven as is the case in a normal Shabbat and one more to carry the flask of water.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches how many priests were necessary to offer a ram, meaning a sheep that is two years old.  There are more needed than there are for the tamid which is a sheep in its first year, and therefore lighter.
  A ram was offered by eleven: the flesh by five, the innards, the fine flour, and the wine by two each. The flesh is offered by five just like the tamid, which is a young sheep (see above mishnah three). However, the innards which were heavier required two priests to carry them up the ramp and then to the altar.  There was more flour and wine (see Numbers 15:4-7), therefore two priests carried the flour and two the wine instead of one each, as is the case for the tamid.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  The final mishnah of this chapter teaches that sacrificial bulls, who were far larger than the rams and young sheep mentioned in the previous mishayot, and whose sacrifice required more flour and wine, were offered by twenty-four priests, instead of the nine for a sheep and eleven for a ram.
  A bull was offered by twenty-four: The head and [right] hind-leg: the head by one and the [right] hind-leg by two. The tail and [left] hind-leg:  the tail by two and the [left] hind-leg by two. The breast and neck:  the breast by one and the neck by three. The two fore-legs by two, The two flanks by two. The innards, the fine flour, and the wine by three each.  This section delineates how the twenty-four priests divided up the offering of the bull.
  To what does this refer? To communal offerings. But individual offerings, if a single priest wants to offer [all], he may do so.  This section refers to all of the above mishnayot in which priests divide the task of offering various parts of a young sheep, a ram or a bull.  The mishnah now teaches that this division refers to public offerings, such as the tamid or the musaf (the additional offering).  However, if any of these animals are brought by individuals a single priest may perform all of the tasks himself.  Assumedly, although the mishnah does not state this, the individual who brings the sacrifice is the same one who is allowed to decide which or how many priests offer it.
  But as to the flaying and dismembering [of both communal and individual sacrifices] the same regulations apply.  When it comes to the flaying and cutting up (dismembering) of both communal and individual sacrifices, the same rules apply. This refers to the fact that both of these tasks may be performed by non-priests and do not require any priestly count.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah begins to describe the services performed in the Temple on Yom Kippur. The first thing done was to establish that it was light enough outside to slaughter the morning tamid (daily offering).  This procedure was followed every day as well.
  The officer said to them: “Go out and see whether the time for slaughtering [the morning sacrifice] has arrived.” If it had arrived then he who saw it said: “It is daylight!”  After the second count, the first thing done was that the officer of the priests would tell another priest to go out and see if dawn had broken.  The priest would stand on a high point in the Temple, look out and see if it had yet gotten light.  The tamid offering can be offered as soon as it starts to get light, even before sunrise.
  Matitya ben Shmuel says: “The whole east is light.”  Even unto Hebron?   And he answered “Yes.”  Matitya ben Shmuel was the officer in charge of the counts done in the Temple (see Shekalim 5:1).  He would further interrogate the one who claimed to have seen daybreak.  He wanted to know that a substantial portion of the sky had started to become light.  The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that he mentions Hebron because that is where the patriarchs and matriarchs are buried.  They would begin the day, therefore, by reminding God of the merit accrued to them by virtue of their being descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as Sarah, Rivkah and Leah (Rachel was buried elsewhere).
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  The first half of this mishnah is a continuation of yesterday’s mishnah where we learned how cautious the priests were to ensure that dawn had truly broken before they slaughtered the morning tamid sacrifice.
  The second half of the mishnah proceeds with the descriptions of the Temple service.
  And why was all that necessary? Because once the light of the moon rose and they thought that the east was lit up and slaughtered the continual offering, [and afterwards] they had to take it out to the place of burning.  The reason for all of the strict procedures which we learned in yesterday’s mishnah was that one time it happened that the moonlight was particularly strong and the priests thought that it was dawn. They then sacrificed the morning tamid before they realized their error. Since the tamid was slaughtered at night it was unfit and had to be burned at the “place of burning” where they would burn unfit sacrifices.  They would then have been liable to offer another tamid sacrifice.
  They led the high priest down to the place of immersion.  On Yom Kippur the before they offered the tamid they would lead the high priest down to immerse himself, a requirement of which we will read more in mishnah three.
  This was the rule in the Temple: whoever covers his feet required an immersion, and whoever passed water required sanctification [by washing] his hands and feet.  “Covers his feet” is a euphemism for defecating (See Judges 3:24).  A priest who defecates must fully immerse himself before serving again in the Temple.  However, urinating only requires him to sanctify himself by washing his hands and feet and not his whole body.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches a general principle with regard to immersing before service in the Temple.
  A man may not enter the Temple courtyard or to worship even if he was clean until he immerses himself.  There are actually two requirements in this section.  The first is that one may not enter into the Temple courtyard unless he first immerses himself in a mikveh. The second is that one who is already in the courtyard may not begin to perform the Temple service until he immerses himself.
  Five immersions and ten sanctifications did the high priest perform on that day.  The high priest will change his clothing from his normal priestly wear to special golden clothes and then back again five times during Yom Kippur.  For each change he would need to sanctify his hands and feet by washing them, making a total of ten hand and feet-washings.
  And all in sanctity in the Bet Haparvah with the exception of this one alone.  All of these washings were done in an immersion pool which was on top of a chamber called the “Bet Haparvah”.  The “Bet Haparvah” was within the Temple courtyard. The one exception was the first immersion which we learned about yesterday.  Since this immersion was done before he began the service it was done outside of the Temple courtyard.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah proceeds to outline the precise order of the day’s worship.  We need to remember that on this day the high priest must basically perform all of the work himself.  Hence we will feel throughout this description a sense of his being hurried; after all there is a lot to do.
  They spread out a linen sheet between him and the people.  For modesty’s sake, when he got undressed they would spread out a linen sheet between him and the rest of the people.  The Talmud explains that the reason for the sheet being of linen is to remind him that when performing services that are done only on Yom Kippur he will need to wear all white clothes from linen.  The rest of the year he wears eight garments, four of which are made of gold (as we shall explain below).
  He stripped off [his clothes], went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself.  Now that the sheet is up, he can remove his clothes and go and immerse himself for the first time during the day.  He then dries off and is ready to get dressed.
  They brought him the golden garments, he put them on and sanctified his hands and feet.  The first clothes he wears are the same clothes that he wears all year long, the “golden garments”.  The garments are:  “a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a fringed tunic, a headdress and a sash (Exodus 28:4) and a “frontlet” (v. 36) and “breeches” (v. 42).  In three of them there was some gold, in the breastpiece, the ephod, and the robe (it had golden bells) and the frontlet was made totally of gold.  However, before he puts on his clothes he again washes his hands.  Note however that when he removed his previous clothing he did not wash his hands because at that time he was just wearing his own clothes. From this point until the day’s worship is completed, he will wash his hands both when putting on new clothes and taking off the old ones.
  They brought him the tamid.  After he has put on the clothes, they bring him the lamb to slaughter as the morning tamid offering.
  He made the required cut and some one else finished it for him. He received the blood and sprinkled it.  The high priest begins the slaughtering process by slicing the animal’s neck in a means that renders it “kosher” fit for consumption.  This means he cuts the windpipe and the gullet.  Since there is a lot of service to be done, the high priest immediately receives the blood and sprinkles it.  Someone else completes the slaughtering process so that the priest can be free to do other things.
  He went inside to smoke the morning incense and to trim the lamps;  Having slaughtered the tamid, the high priest now turns his attention to the incense.  He enters into the Temple (the Ulam) where the golden altar is found and turns the incense into smoke (see Exodus 30:7). At the same time he removes the ashes from the menorah (ibid, and see above mishnah 2:3).
  And to offer up the head and the limbs and the griddle cakes and the wine.  He now must bring the head and limbs of the tamid sacrifice up to the altar (above 2:3). He must also offer his own daily minhah offering, which consists of griddle cakes (Leviticus 6:13-14).  Finally, he must offer the wine that always accompanies the tamid offering (see above 2:3).  The mishnah does not mention offering the tamid minhah (grain offering).  Perhaps it is included in the “griddle cakes”, which also come from grain although they are prepared differently.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  The mishnah now makes a note about the precise timing of the morning and dusk incense.
  The morning incense was offered up between the blood and the limbs,  The morning incense is, as we learned yesterday, offered up after the blood of the tamid has been sprinkled on the altar and before the limbs have been offered.
  The dusk [incense was offered] between the limbs and the drink-offerings.  The incense which is offered at dusk (Exodus 30:8) is offered after the limbs of the dusk tamid have been put onto the altar but before the wine of this tamid is offered.
  If the high priest was either old or of delicate health warm water they would heat some water for him and pour into the cold [water], to temper its coldness.  If the high priest cannot handle the frequent immersions because the water is just too cold, they heat up some water on the day before Yom Kippur and put it into the cold water to temper its coldness.  The Talmud explains that they would put some iron rods into the fire on the day before Yom Kippur and then on Yom Kippur put them into the water to heat it up.  We should note that doing this outside of the Temple would be prohibited because of “sh’vut” rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions.  However, in the Temple such prohibitions are waived.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  The tamid offering is now complete and the high priest continues on with the day’s worship.
  They brought him to the Bet Haparvah, which was on holy ground. They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people.  All of the day’s immersions except for the first one were done in a place called “Bet Haparvah” which was in the Temple courtyard (above, mishnah 3).   As he prepares to strip in order to enter the mikveh, they again spread a linen sheet between him and the people.
  He sanctified his hands and his feet and stripped. Rabbi Meir says: he stripped [and then] sanctified his hands and his feet.  According to the first opinion, he first sanctifies his hands and feet by washing them and then strips off the gold clothes that he has been wearing.  According to this opinion, the sanctification is for the sake of the clothes which he is removing.   Rabbi Meir, on the other hand, holds that the sanctification is for the clothes which he is going to put on. Therefore, he first strips off the golden garments and then he sanctifies his hands and feet.
  He went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself.  Now he goes to the mikveh, comes up dries himself off.
  Afterwards they brought him white garments. He put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet.  Finally, he puts on the special white garments worn on Yom Kippur. They are “a sacral linen tunic, linen breeches, a linen sash and a linen turban” (Leviticus 16:4). After having put them on he sanctifies his feet and hands again by washing them. This sanctification is certainly in honor of the clothes that he is now putting on.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah discusses just how expensive were the special linen garments which the high priest wore on Yom Kippur.  Thinking of the high priest wearing very expensive white clothing on Yom Kippur brings to mind the white dress worn by a bride on her wedding day.
  In the morning he would wear Pelusian linen worth twelve minas (1200 dinar/; at dusk Indian linen worth eight hundred zuz, the words of Rabbi Meir.  According to Rabbi Meir the linen clothes that the high priest wore in the morning came from the city Pelusium in Egypt.  This city was in the northern end of the Nile, where the Nile ends and one turns east on route to ancient Palestine or Syria (plug “Pelusium” into Google and you’ll find this info as well!).  The Targum (the Aramaic translation of the Tanakh) translates Ramses into Pelusium. The linen that the high priest wore at dusk was from India and it was slightly less expensive.
  The sages say: in the morning he would wear [garments] worth eighteen minas and at dusk [garments] worth twelve minas, altogether thirty minas.  The sages say that the high priest’s garments were even more expensive than that, the morning garments being worth 1800 dinars/zuz and the dusk garments worth 1200.  We should note that both agree that the morning clothes were worth more than those worn at dusk.
  These [costs] were at the charge of the community and if he wanted to add, he adds more out of his own pocket.  The mishnah now teaches that if the high priest should wish to buy even more expensive clothing, he may do so but it must come out of his own pocket.  His “expense account” which comes from the Temple funds is either 20 mina (2000 zuz), according to Rabbi Meir, or 30 mina (3000 zuz) according to the sages. Should he wish to spend more he must use his own funds.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  The priest is now wearing his special Yom Kippur linen and is prepared to offer the first of the Yom Kippur sacrifices, the bull which atones for the high priest and his house. This is mentioned in Leviticus 16:6, and then again in verse 11.
  He came to his bull and his bull was standing between the Ulam and the altar, its head to the south and its face to the west.  The bull was standing on the northern side of the Temple courtyard, between the Ulam, which is the outermost portion of the sanctuary (the Hechal) and the outer altar, which is to the east of the Ulam.  The head of the bull was facing south but they would turn its face west towards the sanctuary.  In the Talmud they explain that they would put the bull here because some of its blood would need to be sprinkled inside the Holy of Holies and this was as close as they could bring the bull.
  And the priest stands on the eastside facing the west.  The priest would stand on the east side of the bull, with his back to the altar and facing the sanctuary.
  And he lays both his hands upon it and confesses.  The priest would lay his hands on the animal, a practice done for all sin-offerings (see Leviticus 4:29, 33) and then offer up the confession, alluded to in Leviticus 16:6.
  And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30).  The language of the confession does not appear in the Torah and indeed it is not clear at all in the Torah whether the “atonement” mentioned in Leviticus 16:6 is an atonement achieved solely through sacrifice or through a verbal confession.  In any case, the rabbis explain that a verbal confession was made.  During this confession the high priest would explicitly state God’s four letter name (the tetragrammaton) but due to its extreme caution in stating God’s name the mishnah only writes “Hashem” which means “the name.”  We should note that the way we pronounce this name now is not the way it was originally pronounced.  The original pronunciation has probably been lost.  “Yehovah” is certainly not the original pronunciation as it is based on the vowels from the word “Adonay”.
  And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”  When the people heard the explicit pronunciation of God’s name they would respond by blessing God’s holy name. We shall see this ritual of confession and response repeated several times throughout the remainder of the tractate.  Indeed, on Yom Kippur, if you’re still in shul, try to follow along in the “Avodah” service, which comes at the end of Mussaf. You will see many of the elements of these mishnayot incorporated into the service.
  
  Mishnah 9
  
  Introduction
  The high priest now proceeds to the two goats, one which will eventually be sacrificed and one which will be sent to Azazel.
  He then went to the east of the Temple court, to the north of the altar, the deputy high priest at his right and the head of the [priestly] family [ministering that week] at his left.  The high priest now turns to the east of the courtyard, to the northern side of the outer altar.  With him are the deputy high priest and the head of the priestly family whose turn it is to serve in the Temple. The priests were divided up into 24 priestly families, and each served a week in the Temple.  Each division was divided into families, and each family would take one day of the week.  The mishnah refers to the head of the family whose luck it was to have Yom Kippur fall on their day.
  There were two goats and an urn was there, and in it were two lots.  Waiting for the high priest were two goats, as mentioned in Leviticus 16:5 and onwards. They will figure prominently in the day’s service and are perhaps its most famous element.  Next to the two goats was an urn with two lots in it, as mentioned in 16:8.  The lots will be used to determine which goat is sacrificed and which goat goes to Azazel.
  They were of box-wood and Ben Gamala made them of gold and they would mention his name in praise.  The lots were originally made of box-wood until Ben Gamala, who was a high priest, made them of gold.
  
  Mishnah 10
  
  Ben Katin made twelve spigots for the laver, for there had been before only two. He also made a mechanism for the laver, in order that its water should not become unfit by remaining overnight.King Monbaz had all the handles of all the vessels used on Yom HaKippurim made of gold.His mother Helena made a golden candelabrum over the opening of the Hekhal. She also made a golden tablet, on which the portion concerning the suspected adulteress was inscribed.For Nicanor miracles happened to his doors.And they were all mentioned for praise.Since at the end of yesterday’s mishnah we learned that Ben Gamala made the lots out of gold and he was praised for it, today’s mishnah teaches other ornaments that were donated by individuals and for which they were praised.  You can think of this mishnah as an ancient dedication plaque!Section one:  Ben Katin, who was also a high priest, made twelve spigots for the Temple’s laver, a fancy word for sink (see Exodus 30:18-21). The Talmud explains that this was so each of the twelve priests who were offering the tamid (see above, mishnayot 2-3) could have their own spigot.Ben Katin is also credited with another improvement in the Temple, this one also connected to issue of water.  He made a wheel that went into the water cistern which would cause the water in the laver to be connected to the water in the cistern.  The reason for this is that any water left out overnight in a vessel in the Temple is rendered unfit.  Without this wheel, the water left over in the laver would need to be emptied out every morning.Section two:  King Monbaz was king of Adiabene, which is north of Israel, and is now part of Turkey.  He, as well as his brother and mother, are mentioned as converts in Josephus. They ruled in the first century C.E., slightly before the destruction of the Temple.  According to the mishnah, he paid to make the handles of vessels out of gold, in cases such as a knife, where the vessel itself could not be made of gold.Section three:  Monbaz’s mother, who is also mentioned in Nazir 3:6, made a golden candelabrum to stand at the entrance to the Hekhal.Helene also made a golden tablet on which to write the chapter of the Sotah (Numbers 5:11 ff.)  From here the priest could copy the words when he needed to perform the sotah (suspected adulteress) ritual (see v. 23).Section four:  Finally, the mishnah obliquely mentions Nikanor’s doors and the miracles that happened to them.  The Talmud (Yoma 38a) explains:  “What miracles happened to his doors? They say that when Nicanor had gone to bring doors from Alexandria of Egypt, on his return a storm arose in the sea to drown him. They took one of his doors and cast it into the sea and yet the sea would not stop its rage. They wanted to cast the other into the sea. He rose and clung to it, saying: ‘Cast me in with it!’ The sea immediately stopped its raging. He was deeply grieved about the other [door]. When he arrived at the harbor of Acco, it broke through and came up from under the sides of the boat.  Others say: A monster of the sea swallowed it and spat it out on the dry land.”
  
  Mishnah 11
  
  Introduction
  Alas, along with those who were remembered for praise, there were those who were remembered for shame as well.  Interestingly, all of those who were remembered for shame were denounced for the same transgression they refused to teach their secrets to outsiders, thereby preserving for themselves monopolies over how certain things in the Temple were run.  It is clear that the rabbis were incensed by the preservation of such secrets; both for practical and I believe ideological reasons as well.  Practically, their trade was in constant danger of being lost.  Ideologically, it seems to me that the rabbis stood for a certain democratization of knowledge.  With the exception of certain esoteric subjects, the rabbis believed that people should know the oral tradition.  Those who kept its various aspects to themselves were condemning the tradition to be unjustly monopolized and even worse, forgotten.
  And these they mentioned to their shame:Those of the House of Garmu did not want to teach anything about the preparation of the showbread.  The trick with the showbread, according to the Talmud, was to take it off the sides of the oven, where bread was cooked (as is pita today) without it breaking apart due to its size.  The House of Garmu (probably not related to “gourmet” but who knows!) knew how to do this but did not want to teach others.
  Those of the House of Avtinas did not teach to anything about the preparation of the incense.  The incense was a complicated mixture of spices and some other materials which caused it to turn into thick smoke. The House of Avtinas did not want to teach others how they made the incense.
  Hugros, a Levite knew a chapter [concerning] the song but did not want to teach it.  Hugros knew certain tricks on how to improve one’s voice, but to his discredit, did not wish to teach others.
  Ben Kamtzar did not want teach anyone his art of writing.  According to legend, Ben Kamtzar could take four styluses in one hand and write four letters at the same time.
  Concerning the former it is said: “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7); concerning the others it is said: “But the name of the wicked shall rot.”  Concerning those listed in mishnah ten for praise we say “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” but concerning those in our mishnah we say, “But the name of the wicked shall rot”, meaning let their memory be forgotten.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  He shook the urn and brought up the two lots. On one was inscribed: “For the Name”, and on the other: “For Azazel.”The deputy high priest was at his right hand, the head of the [ministering] family at his left.If the lot “For the Name” came up in his right hand, the deputy high priest would say to him: “Sir, high priest, raise your right hand!” And if the lot “For the Name” came up in his left hand, the head of the family would say: “Sir high priest, raise your left hand!”Then he placed them on the two goats and said: “A sin-offering for the Lord!” Rabbi Ishmael said: he did not need to say, “a sin-offering”, but just “for the Lord.”And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”After a brief digression, the mishnah returns to discuss the main subject at hand the Yom Kippur procedure.  We left off in mishnah nine with the high priest standing next to the urn in which were placed the two lots for the two goats.Section one:  The high priest would then shake the urn to mix up the two lots.  The reason to mix them up was that it was considered good luck for the lot on which was written God’s name to come up in his right hand.  On one of the lots was inscribed God’s name, but the mishnah chooses again to use “the Name” instead of God’s four letter name.  This goat would be sacrificed. The other lot had written on it “For Azazel” this goat would be sent to the wilderness.Section two:  This was already described above in 3:9.Section three:   Whoever was on the hand of the high priest which had brought up the lot “For the Name” would tell the High Priest to raise that hand so that the people would know which goat was going where.Section four: Then he would place the lots on the two goats. He would place he lot which came up in his right hand on the goat on the right and the one in his left hand on the goat on the left. When placing the lot upon which was inscribed “For the Name” he would call out “A sin-offering to the Lord”, or according to Rabbi Ishmael just “For the Lord.”   Upon hearing God’s holy name the priests and Israelites observing the ceremony would cry out “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever” the same response we saw above in 3:8.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  After having drawn the lots to determine which goat would be slaughtered and which sent away, the day’s ceremonies continue.
  He bound a thread of crimson wool on the head of the goat which was to be sent away,   and he placed it at the gate where it was later to be sent away, and on the goat that was to be slaughtered [he placed a thread of crimson wool on its neck] at the place of the slaughtering.  After determining the goats, the priest would tie a piece of crimson wool on the sacrificial goat between its horns and then set it near the gate from where it will be later sent into the wilderness.  He would also tie a thread around the neck of the goat which will later be slaughtered.  We have actually already mentioned this piece of wool in Shabbat 9:3 and Shekalim 4:2 and we shall discuss it and its function again in Yoma 6:6, and 6:8.  The Talmud on this mishnah explains that the purpose of these threads was to make sure that these goats didn’t get mixed up with others. They placed the threads in different places so that these two could be distinguished from one another.
  He came to his bull a second time, pressed his two hands upon it and made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house and the sons of Aaron Your holy people, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”  He now comes back to the bull (he was already there at mishnah 3:8) and offers up another confession.  This time the confession is not only for him and his household but for all of the other priests as well. The words of the confession are the same as those in 3:8 above, except here he adds “and the sons of Aaron Your holy people.”
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  In this mishnah the bull is slaughtered and the high priest begins to make preparations for the incense offering.
  He killed it [the bull] and received its blood in a bowl, and he gave it to the one who stirs it up on the fourth terrace within the sanctuary so that it should not congeal.  After making the second confession, he slaughters the second bull and receives its blood in a bowl.  The blood will later be taken to the altar and sprinkled on it.  In order that it shouldn’t congeal until that point, another priest stirs the blood continuously.  This priest is standing on the fourth terrace.  Between the outer altar and the Ulam, which was the entrance to the Hekhal (Sanctuary) there were twelve steps, divided into four groups of three.  The third step of each group was made of specially paved stones and it was called a terrace.  The fourth terrace was the uppermost one, and it was adjacent to the Ulam.
  He took the coal-pan and went up to the top of the altar, and cleared the coals to both sides, and took a panful of the inner glowing cinders, and he came down and placed the coal-pan on the fourth terrace in the Temple Court.  The priest would then take a coal-pan in which he would later turn the incense into smoke.  He would get the ashes from the outer altar in the courtyard.  First he would push the upper layer of ashes aside and take the hot burning cinders.  Then he would come down off the altar and bring the coal-pan with the hot burning cinders up to the fourth terrace, the same place where the blood was waiting.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  On other days he would take out [the cinders] with a silver coal-pan, and empty it into one of gold, but this day he took them out with a golden coal-pan and in it he brought them [into the Hekhal].On other days he would take them up with a coal-pan containing four kabs, and empty it into one containing three kabs, but this day he took them out with one containing three kabs, and in it he brought them in. Rabbi Yose says: on other days he would take them out with a coal-pan containing one se’ah, and empty it into one containing three kabs, this day he took them out with one containing three kabs, and in it he brought them in.On other days the pan was heavy, today it was light.On other days its handle was short, today it was long.On other days it was of yellowish gold, today of reddish gold, the words of Rabbi Menahem.On other days he would offer half a mina in the morning and half a mina in the afternoon, today he adds also his two hands full.On other days [the incense] was finely ground, but today it was the most finely ground possible.Our mishnah teaches seven differences between how the incense was offered on Yom Kippur and how it was offered every other day.  Many of these changes were done to make the work on Yom Kippur easier for the high priest.  The others were done to highlight the importance of the day.Section one:  On other days he would take the cinders off the altar with a silver coal-pan and then transfer them into a gold coal-pan. This was done in order to preserve the gold coal-pan because putting it directly into the fire would damage it.  The Talmud demonstrates from here that the Torah has mercy on Israel’s money and doesn’t require them to consistently make the most expensive expenditures possible (a lesson that I think we would do well to take to heart).  However, on Yom Kippur in order to make things less complicated for the high priest, the coals were removed with gold-pan itself and brought into the Hekhal and later into the Holy of Holies in the same gold-pan.Section two:  On other days he would remove the coals with a coal-pan that held four kav (about 8 liters) of coals and then transfer the coals to a slightly smaller pan which held on three kav.  The extra kav of coals would spill out and they would sweep them away into the water channel in the Temple courtyard.  On Yom Kippur since only one pan was being used he only removed three kav.  Rabbi Yose says that on other days he would remove one seah, which is an equivalent of six kav of coals.  He agrees that on Yom Kippur he would remove only three kav.Sections three and four:  Both of these changes from the daily routine would make the removal of the coals easier for the high priest.Section five:  Red gold was considered more valuable than greenish gold. Therefore it was used on Yom Kippur but not during the rest of the year.Section six:  Every other day the high priest would make two incense offerings, each of incense weighing half a mina, the weight of fifty dinars in coins.  These two incense offerings were done on the incense altar in the Hekhal.  On Yom Kippur because there was a third offering inside the Holy of Holies, he would have to add two handfuls.Section seven:  The daily incense was finely ground but the special incense for Yom Kippur, that which will be brought into the Holy of Holies was ground even finer.  This is because Leviticus 16:12, the chapter concerning Yom Kippur, emphasizes that the incense must be ground fine, which is understood to mean that it must be ground even finer than the regular incense mentioned in Exodus 30:36 which also must be ground fine.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  The mishnah continues to outline the differences between certain procedures during the rest of the year and on Yom Kippur.  The two in today’s mishnah are both related to special practices done to enhance the honor of the high priest.
  On other days the priests would go up on the east side of the ramp and come down on the west side, but this day the high priest goes up in the middle and comes down in the middle. Rabbi Judah says: the high priest always goes up in the middle and comes down in the middle.  The ramp was on the south side of the altar.  The priests would walk up on the east side and walk down on the west side so that they wouldn’t run into each other.  On Yom Kippur in order to emphasize his honor, the high priest would walk up the middle of the ramp.  Other versions of the mishnah read “they would go up the middle and come down the middle”, in which case it refers to the high priest and those other priests who accompany him. Rabbi Judah says that when the high priest goes up and comes down the ramp, he always does so in the middle.  Rabbi Judah here and in the next section seems to be emphasizing that the honor of the high priest is no less during the rest of the year than it is on Yom Kippur.  We might even be able to suppose that for Rabbi Judah the high priest’s import is inherent in his position and perhaps even in his very genes.  He is the high priest and therefore he is honored with special practices. In contrast, for the first opinion in the mishnah the high priest’s import is related to the unique rituals he performs. Since these are mostly on Yom Kippur, his honorific practices are only on Yom Kippur as well.
  On other days the high priest sanctified his hands and feet from the laver, but this day from a golden ladle. Rabbi Judah says: the high priest always sanctifies his hands and feet from a golden ladle.  Usually the high priest would wash his hands from the laver, but on Yom Kippur he used a special golden ladle, again to emphasize his honor and the significance of the day.  Again, Rabbi Judah holds that the high priest does so every day.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  The final mishnah of the chapter continues to deal with differences between Yom Kippur and other days.
  On other days there were four wood-piles there, but on this day five, the words of Rabbi Meir. Rabbi Yose says: on other days three, but on this day four. Rabbi Judah says: on other days two, but on this day three. The topic of this mishnah is how many piles of burning wood were on the outer altar on normal days and on Yom Kippur as well. Rabbi Meir holds that there were normally four wood-piles. The Talmud explains that each pile had its own function.  The first was a large pile on which the tamid and its remnants were offered.  The second was the pile from which cinders were taken to burn the daily incense offering.  The third was to keep an eternal flame (see Leviticus 6:5).  The fourth was to burn the limbs of sacrifices that they had not succeeded in burning during the night. On Yom Kippur they added one more wood-pile from which the high priest would collect the cinders to burn the special incense which he will bring into the Holy of Holies. Rabbi Yose holds that there was no special wood-pile for the limbs that had not been burned during the night. Rabbi Judah holds that there wasn’t a special wood-pile to preserve an eternal flame. Evidently, the other wood-piles were sufficient to ensure that there would always be a flame.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah picks up where we left off in 4:3 above.  The last thing he did there was take the cinders off the altar and rest the coal-pan on the highest terrace leading up from the courtyard to the Hekhal.
  They brought out to him the ladle and the pan and he took two hands full [of incense] and put it into the ladle, a large [high priest] according to his size, a small one according to his size and thus was its measure.  After putting the coal-pan down on the fourth terrace they would give him a ladle in which to bring the incense into the Holy of Holies and a pan in which there was a preparation of incense, made in the house of Avtinas (see 1:5; 3:11).  He would take two handfuls of the incense from the pan and put it into the ladle.  It didn’t matter whether he was large and would therefore take large handfuls or small and therefore would take small handfuls.  The measure of two handfuls was set by Leviticus 16:12.
  He took the pan in his right hand and the ladle in his left hand.  He walked through the Hechal until he came to the place between the two curtains which separated the Holy from the Holy of Holies; between them was [a space of] one cubit. Rabbi Yose says: there was but one curtain, as it is said: “And the curtain shall serve you as a partition between the Holy and the Holy of Holies” (Exodus 26:33).  He would then pick up the coal-pan with the burning embers and begin to walk through the Hekhal until he got to the curtains which separated the Holy (the Hekhal) from the Holy of Holies.  Rabbi Yose says that there was only one curtain.  In any case, the mishnah continues according to the opinion that there were two.
  The outer curtain was looped on the south side and the inner curtain on the north side.  He walked along between them until he reached the north side. When he reached the north side he turned round to the south and went on along the curtain, to his left, until he reached the Ark.  The curtains were folded back on opposite sides; the outer curtain was folded back and held with loops so that it was open on the south while the inner curtain was folded back and open on the north side.  He would enter on the south side and walk to the north, and enter the Holy of Holies and then walk to the south until he got to the Ark.  We should note that there was no Ark in the Second Temple, as we shall see in the next mishnah.  Therefore this mishnah and other references to the ark in the Mishnah are understood by the Talmud as referring to the place where the Ark would have been in the First Temple. In other words, the mishnah refers to the ark as if it is still there even though it knows that it was not.
  When he reached the Ark he put the pan of burning coals between the two poles.  He heaped up the incense upon the coals and the whole house became full with smoke.  Upon reaching the Ark he would place the coal-pan upon its two poles and then pour out the incense onto the coals until the entire Holy of Holies was filled up with smoke.
  He came out by the way he entered and in the outer house he uttered a short prayer.  He did not make the prayer long so as not to frighten Israel.  He would then walk out of the Holy of Holies, never turning his back on it out of reverence for the place.  In the Hekhal he would offer a short prayer. The prayer itself is recorded in the Talmud (Taanit 24b) and it is mostly is concerned with rain and sustenance for the coming year.  Interestingly, the mishnah notes that he would not recite a long prayer so as not to frighten Israel into thinking that something had happened to him in the Holy of Holies.  This was a moment extremely fraught with tension and fear and it seems that the well-being of the high priest was considered a portent for things to come to Israel in the coming year.
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches where the high priest would put the coal-pan in the Second Temple period when there was no longer an Ark.
  With regard to the Ark, we have already learned in Shekalim 6:1-2 that there was a tradition that it was buried somewhere underneath the Temple floor.  Other sages hold that the Ark was taken to Babylonian during the first exile in 586 B.C.E.
  After the Ark had been taken away, there was a stone from the days of the earlier prophets,   called “shtiyah”, three fingers above the ground, on which he would place [the pan of burning coals]. When the Ark was removed, there was a stone in the Holy of Holies that was there from the time of the early prophets.  According to the Talmud, this stone was there from the time of Samuel and David, before the Temple was even built.  “Shtiyah” is usually interpreted as the “foundation stone” for according to Jewish understanding, the world was founded from this point, either physically or spiritually.  The stone was only three fingers high off the ground, but this was sufficient in order to put the coal-pan on it and then turn the incense into smoke.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  In this mishnah the high priest takes the blood from the slaughtered bull and sprinkles the blood within the Holy of Holies.
  He would take the blood from the one who was stirring it, and enter [again] into the place where he had entered, and stand [again] on the place on which he had stood, and sprinkle once upwards and seven times downwards, and he wouldn’t intend to sprinkle either upwards nor downwards but rather like one who cracks a whip.  The high priest now took the bull’s blood from the person who was stirring it to keep it from congealing (see above 4:3).  He then went back into the Holy of Holies and stood in the same place. Leviticus 16:14 reads: “He shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger over the cover (caporet) on the east side; and in front of the cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times.”  The rabbis did not interpret this verse to mean that he sprinkled the blood directly onto the cover of the ark, the caporet.  Rather “over the cover” meant one sprinkle was directed up and the seven that were “in front of the cover” were sprinkled downwards.  The blood from all of the sprinkles was supposed to land on the ground.  The way in which the high priest did this is described as being “like one who cracks a whip.”  This means that the first sprinkling was done by the hand beginning below and cracking upwards and the seven other sprinklings were done with the hand beginning above and moving in a sharp direction below (pretend like you are cracking a whip and you will understand immediately what this means.)
  And thus would he count: one, one and one, one and two, one and three, one and four, one and five, one and six, one and seven.  The first “one” refers to the upwards sprinkling.  When counting the lower seven sprinklings, he would count with each of them the one that he had done above. This was done so that he wouldn’t make a mistake and count the upwards sprinkling with the downwards ones and thereby come up short by one sprinkling.
  Then he would go out and put it on the golden stand in the sanctuary.  When done sprinkling the blood he would leave the Holy of Holies and take the bowl with the blood out and put it on a golden stand made especially for this purpose.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  In this mishnah the high priest slaughters the goat and then sprinkle the blood of the goat inside the Holy of Holies and the blood of both the goat and the bull on the curtain outside the Holy of Holies.
  They would bring him the goat.  He would slay it and receive its blood in a bowl.  This is the goat which was determined by lot to be “For Hashem” as we read in 4:2 above.  He slaughters it and receives its blood in a bowl.
  He entered [again] into the place where he had entered, and stood [again] on the place on which he had stood, and sprinkled once upwards and seven times downwards, and he wouldn’t intend to sprinkle either upwards or downwards but rather like one who cracks a whip.  And thus would he count: one, one and one, one and two, one and three, one and four, one and five, one and six, one and seven. Then he would go out and place it on the second [golden] stand in the Hekhal. Rabbi Judah said: there was only one golden stand there.  He then brings the blood of the goat into the Holy of Holies and does the same type of sprinkling that he did with the bull’s blood (see 5:3).  This is mentioned in Leviticus 16:15.  There is a debate in the mishnah between the first opinion and Rabbi Judah concerning how many special stands were prepared to hold bowls with blood.
  He would take the blood of the bull and put down the blood of the goat, and sprinkle from it upon the curtains facing the Ark outside, once upwards, seven times downward, aiming to sprinkle neither upwards nor downwards, and he wouldn’t intend to sprinkle either upwards or downwards but rather like one who cracks a whip. Thus would he count [as above]. Then he would take the blood of the goat, and put down the blood of the bull, and sprinkle from it upon the curtain facing the ark outside once upwards, seven times downwards [as above].  The beginning of this section goes according to Rabbi Judah who holds that there was only one special stand.  He says that first the high priest picks up the bowl with the bull’s blood in it and then puts down the bowl with the goat’s blood.  According to the first opinion, the high priest first puts down the goat’s blood on its own stand and then picks up the bull’s blood.
  He would take the blood of the bull and put down the blood of the goat, and sprinkle from it upon the curtains facing the Ark outside, once upwards, seven times downward, aiming to sprinkle neither upwards nor downwards, and he wouldn’t intend to sprinkle either upwards or downwards but rather like one who cracks a whip. Thus would he count [as above]. Then he would take the blood of the goat, and put down the blood of the bull, and sprinkle from it upon the curtain facing the ark outside once upwards, seven times downwards [as above].  The next task at hand is to sprinkle blood on the curtain, opposite the place where the ark is (or used to be) in the Holy of Holies.  He does this while standing in the Hekhal, outside of the Holy of Holies.  This is referred to in the second half of Leviticus 16:16.  The same order is followed; first he sprinkles the bull’s blood and then he sprinkles the goat’s blood.
  Then he would pour the blood of the bull into the blood of the goat emptying the full vessel into the empty one.  Leviticus 16:18 states, “he shall take some of the blood of the bull and of the goat and apply it to each of the horns of the altar.”  The rabbis understand this to mean that he mixes the two bloods together.  Therefore he first pours the bull’s blood into the bowl with the goat’s blood and then pours the whole mixture back into the other bowl to ensure that they are mixed well.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  After having sprinkled the blood of the goat and bull inside the Holy of Holies and onto the curtain separating the Hekhal from the Holy of Holies, the priest now turns his attention to the golden altar that is inside the Hekhal.
  “And he shall go out to the altar that is before the Lord” (Leviticus 16:18): that is the golden altar.  The mishnah identifies the altar mentioned in v. 18 with the golden altar inside the Hekhal, upon which the incense is offered.  This is explicit in Exodus 30:10 which in reference to this golden incense altar states, “Once a year Aaron shall perform purification upon its horns with blood of the sin offering of purification; purification shall be performed upon it once a year throughout the ages.  It is most holy to the Lord.”
  He then began to purify [the altar by sprinkling] in downward motion. From where does he begin? From the northeast horn [of the altar], then the northwest, then the southwest, then the southeast. From the place where he begins [sprinkling when offering] a sin-offering on the outer altar, there he completes [sprinkling] on the inner altar.  He now begins to purify the altar by sprinkling blood upon its four horns (corners), going counter-clockwise and starting at the northeast corner.  The mishnah notes that he completes his sprinkling on the southeast corner, the same corner where he begins to sprinkle blood when offering a sin-offering on the outer altar.   This is a sort of mnemonic used by the mishnah to remember which corner is last on Yom Kippur.
  Rabbi Eliezer says: he remained in his place and sprinkled. And on every horn he would sprinkle from below upwards, with the exception of the horn at which he was standing, which he would sprinkle from above downwards.  Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the notion that he walks around the altar while sprinkling on the four horns.  Rather, he remains in his spot.  The whole altar was only one cubit by one cubit wide so sprinkling while standing in place would not have been difficult at all.  On all of the other corners he would reach over and sprinkle with an upward motion.  The exception was the corner where he was standing where for practical considerations he would sprinkle with a downwards motion.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah continues to discuss the sprinkling of the blood on the altar and then teaches what is to be done with the leftover blood.
  Then he sprinkled the top of the altar seven times.  Leviticus 16:19 states, “And the rest of the blood he shall sprinkle on it with his finger seven times.” This means, according to the mishnah, that he sprinkles the blood on the top of the altar.
  And he would pour out the remainder of the blood at the western base of the outer altar.  The remainder of the blood is poured out on the western base of the altar.  This is the same place that the blood of the high priest’s bull (not a Yom Kippur sacrifice) is poured out according to Leviticus 4:7.
  And [the remainder of the blood sprinkled] on the outer altar he poured out at the southern base.  There are other sacrifices that are offered on Yom Kippur on the outer altar (see Numbers 28:7-11).  The blood of these sacrifices is spilled on the southern base of that altar.
  Both mingled in the aqueduct and flowed into Nahal Kidron, and they were sold to gardeners as manure and by using them one transgresses the law of trespass (.  The extra blood from all of the altars flows into the aqueduct that runs through the Temple and then the blood flows out to Nahal Kidron (Wadi Kidron).  The blood, assumedly mixed with some water by this time, would be sold to gardeners to use to fertilize their fields and the proceeds would go to the Temple.  The mishnah notes that one who benefits from this blood without paying for it is guilty of trespassing, which means illegal use of Temple property. The blood retains its holiness even after having flowed out of the Temple.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Concerning every act of Yom Hakippurim mentioned in the prescribed order [in the mishnah]: if he performed one [later] act before an [earlier] one, it is as if it had not been done at all.If he dealt with the blood of the goat before the blood of the bull, he must start over again, and sprinkle the blood of the goat after the blood of the bull.If before he had finished the sprinklings within [the Holy of Holies] the blood was poured away, he must bring other blood, and start over again and sprinkle again within [the Holy of Holies]. Similarly, in the Hekhal and the golden altar, since they are each a separate act of atonement.Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon say: wherever he stopped, there he may begin again.This mishnah basically completes the sacrificial aspects of the Yom Kippur service.  It teaches that the order in which the acts must be performed is precise one act cannot be moved up in front of another.  The mishnah then discusses the consequences if one act is moved up before another.Section one:  The mishnah is adamant that all of the acts that were described in the previous sections be performed in the order in which they were prescribed.  The remainder of the mishnah now explains what he must do if the high priest performed one of the acts out of order.Section two:  If he sprinkled the goat’s blood before he sprinkled the bull’s blood he must start over again and sprinkle the bull’s blood and then the goat’s blood.  The Talmud explains that this refers to the sprinkling done in the Hekhal.  If he sprinkled the goat’s blood inside the Holy of Holies before the bull’s blood, he must sacrifice a new goat because he must sprinkle the bull’s blood inside before he even slaughters the goat.Section three:  If the blood was poured out before he finished sprinkling inside the Holy of Holies, he must go back and slaughter another animal, be it the bull or the goat. This is true even if he already sprinkled six out of the seven times.  In other words, all of the sprinklings must be done with the blood of the same animal. However, if he finished sprinkling inside and was sprinkling in the Hekhal when the blood spilled, he need not go back and redo the inside sprinklings.  The same holds true with regard to the sprinkling on the golden altar in the Hekhal.  Each of these sets of sprinklings is considered independent, such that if one is interrupted the earlier one need not be redone.Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon go a step further.  If the blood is spilled in the middle of a set of sprinklings, he must slaughter a new animal but his earlier sprinklings count.  He begins exactly where he left off.  For Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon each sprinkling is its own entity and hence a sprinkling that has already been performed correctly need not be redone, even if the subsequent ones are done with the blood of a different animal.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  Most of this chapter deals with the goat whose lot was cast “For Azazel” that will be sent out into the wilderness.  However, before the mishnah begins to deal specifically with that goat, it introduces the topic with some general laws concerning the acquisition of the two goats and what happens if one of the goats dies during the day.
  The two goats of Yom Hakkippurim: it is a requirement that they be alike in appearance, in size, in value, and that they be bought at the same time. But if they are not alike they are still valid. If he bought one today and the other tomorrow, they are valid.  The mishnah teaches that the goats should be the same in appearance, cost the same and should be purchased the same day.  In other words, they should be basically indistinguishable from one another.  However, this is only a preference if they are not the same in appearance or they were not purchased on the same day, they are still valid.
  If one of them died before the lot was cast another one is bought for the second one.  The mishnah now discusses various scenarios in which one of the goats dies before it has served its ritual purpose.  If one dies before the lots are cast, then the situation is easily remedied by purchasing a new goat.
  But [if one of them died] after the lot was cast another pair must be bought and he must cast lots for them over again. If the one that ‘For Hashem’ died, he [the high priest] should say: “This one upon which the lot ‘For Hashem’ has fallen stands in its stead.” And if the one that was ‘For Azazel’ died he should say: “This one upon which the lot ‘For Azazel’ has fallen stands in its stead.”  The more complicated scenario is where one dies after the lots have been cast.  In such a case they cannot just buy another goat, because that goat would automatically take the place of the old goat without it ever going through the lottery process.  Rather they buy a new pair of goats and cast lots for them over again.  Then the new goat takes the place of the lost goat if the goat “For Hashem” died, then the new goat which drew the lot “For Hashem” takes its place, and the same if the goat “For Azazel” died.
  The other one is left to pasture until it becomes blemished and it is to be sold and its value goes to the [chest for] voluntary offerings, for the sin-offering of the congregation is not be left to die. Rabbi Judah says: it is left to die.  The mishnah now discusses what to do with the second goat of the new pair. This goat has no function because its place is taken by the living goat from the first pair.  This goat has the status of a sin-offering (see Leviticus 16:5) that cannot be sacrificed.  Usually a sin-offering that cannot be sacrificed is left to die. This situation arises when a person sets aside an animal to be a sin-offering, it is lost, he offers a new one in its place and then the old one is found.  Such an animal is left to die.  Our mishnah teaches that this is only true with regard to the sin-offering of an individual. The goat in our mishnah is communal and therefore it can go out to pasture until it becomes blemished, at which point it can no longer be sacrificed.  Then it is sold and the proceeds go to the Temple. Rabbi Judah disagrees and holds that just as an individually owned sin-offering that can’t be offered is left to die, so too is a communally owned one.
  Furthermore Rabbi Judah said: if the blood was poured away, the goat which is to be sent away is left to die. If the goat to be sent away died the blood is poured.  The mishnah now points out that Rabbi Judah goes even further.  If the blood of the goat “For Hashem” is spilled and therefore can’t be used, and all the more so if the goat dies, the other goat designated “For Azazel” must die as well.  Similarly, if the goat to be sent out to the wilderness dies, the blood of the other goat, the one “For Hashem” must be spilled out.  If the “For Hashem” goat has not yet been slaughtered, it must be left to die.  In other words, Rabbi Judah disagrees with the halakhah in section four which says that if one goat dies then the other may still be used.  He holds that if one dies, the other dies as well.  You might say that their “lots” are inextricably linked!
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  In this mishnah the high priest comes to the scapegoat and makes another confession.  This confession, which is referred to in Leviticus 16:21, is for the sins of the entire people of Israel.
  He then came to the scapegoat and laid his two hands upon it and he made confession. And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! They have done wrong, they have transgressed, they have sinned before You, Your people the House of Israel.  Please, in the name of Hashem (!  Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which your people, the House of Israel, have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30).  The high priest comes to the goat, lays his hands on it and then makes a similar confession to that which he has already made over the goat “For Hashem” and the bull.  There is however, one difference here.  In the second recitation of “Please…” instead of saying “Please Hashem” and reciting the four letter name of God, he says, “Please in the name of Hashem” using the preposition “in” before God’s name.
  And the priests and the people standing in the courtyard, when they would hear God’s name explicated coming out of the high priest’s mouth, would bend their knees, bow down and fall on their faces and say “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!”  The response to this confession is described more vividly than in the previous two confessions.  However, all commentators say that this same response is also to be done for the other confessions as well.  Indeed, in the Yom Kippur liturgy, this response is placed not only after the third (and final) confession, but after the first two as well.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  The mishnah now begins to describe what was done with the goat “For Azazel.”
  They handed it over to him who was to lead it away. All were fit to lead it away, but the priests made a fixed rule not to permit an Israelite to lead it away. Rabbi Yose said: it once happened that Arsela led it away, although he was an Israelite. Whereas the Torah simply states, “And the goat shall be set free in the wilderness” (Leviticus 16:22), the rabbis put forth an elaborate description of the process. The first thing is that the goat is handed over to someone. This person can be anyone, even a non-priest, but the high priests established the practice that only other priests should be honored with this privilege.  On the other hand, Rabbi Yose testifies that one time someone named Arsela lead the goat away and he wasn’t a priest.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah describes the goat leaving the Temple.
  And they made a ramp for him because of the Babylonians, who would pull its hair, shouting to it: “Take it and go out, take it and go out.”  The mishnah describes a ramp on which the goat would leave the Temple courtyard and make his way out of Jerusalem. They had to make this ramp because Babylonians on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem would pull at the hair of the person appointed to lead the goat out of the city in an attempt to hurry him on his way.  The ramp kept the priest leading the goat at a safe distance from the rowdy pilgrims.
  Some of the important people of Jerusalem used to go with him up to the first booth. There were ten booths from Jerusalem to Tzuk [a distance of] ninety ris, seven and a half of which make a mil.  The mishnah mentions ten booths that were set up on the way from Jerusalem to Tzuk, the rock where the goat’s journey will end (as we will see below). On the way to Tzuk, which was ninety ris from Jerusalem (equivalent to 90 mil, or in our terms about 90 km) there were ten booths (sukkot).  The important people from Jerusalem would accompany the goat to the first sukkah, and from that sukkah others would accompany it to the next sukkah and so on until it reached Tzuk.  Between each sukkah was one mil, equivalent to two thousand cubits, the limit which one may walk on Shabbat.  Between the last sukkah and Tzuk were two mil.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah continues to describe the process of people accompanying the goat on its way to the wilderness.
  At every booth they would say to him: here is food and here is water.  The task of accompanying the goat to Zuk was considered so important that they allowed the person accompanying the goat to eat or drink on Yom Kippur.  It seems that this was likely to have been only a gesture, one meant to emphasize the importance of the task.  In reality, the Talmud says that no one ever took them up on their offer.  Furthermore, it is hard to imagine that someone entrusted with such a prestigious religious task would risk his reputation by accepting the offer.  In any case, even in a theoretical sense, this is an incredible allowance by the rabbis.
  And they went with him from booth to booth, except the last one, who would not go with him up to Zuk, but rather stand from afar, and see what he was doing.  The people from each booth would walk with the person accompanying the goat on his way to the next booth.  The one exception was the people from the last booth. Since Zuk was two mils (4000 cubits) from the last booth and one is allowed to walk only 2000 cubits on Shabbat because of the Shabbat border limit, the people from the last booth would accompany the goat only halfway to Zuk.  It is interesting to note that in section one the rabbis let the one accompanying the goat eat and drink on Yom Kippur, an obvious infraction of the biblical commandment.  In contrast, when it came to those who walked from booth to booth, they seem to have forbade even the rabbinic prohibition (as it is usually understood) of walking beyond 2000 cubits on Shabbat.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah concludes the epic saga of the goat sent out to the wilderness. Alas, it will not end well for the goat (so gentle souls imagining the goat being set free to find its family be warned).   However, hopefully the goat’s demise will not be in vain and it will aid in bringing atonement to the children of Israel.
  What did he do? He divided the thread of crimson wool, and tied one half to the rock, the other half between its horns, and pushed it from behind, and it went rolling down and before it had reached half its way down hill it broken into limbs.  When he would reach Zuk, the priest accompanying the goat would divide the crimson wool which was tied to the goat’s horn (see above 4:2) into two sections.  One side he would tie to the goat’s horns and the other side he would tie to the rock.  Mishnah eight below will explain that there was a tradition that when the goat reached the wilderness the crimson wool would turn white, to symbolize God’s cleansing of Israel of its sins.  The Talmud explains that he would tie the thread to the rock so that he could see it turn white. After having tied the thread to the rock, the priest would push the goat off the cliff, where it would die rather quickly.
  He came back and sat down under the last booth until it grew dark.  The priest now finds himself at Zuk with a Shabbat border limit of only 2000 cubits, not enough to reach the last sukkah.  Nevertheless, since it was considered dangerous to remain in the wilderness alone, the rabbis allowed him to walk the 4000 cubits back to the last sukkah.  However, he can’t go any further than that until Yom Kippur is over.
  And from when are his clothes unclean? From the moment he has gone outside the walls of Jerusalem. Rabbi Shimon says: from the moment he pushes it into Zuk.  Leviticus 16:26 says that the one who sent the goat to Azazel must wash his clothes and bathe his body. This implies that his clothes were rendered impure.  Our mishnah asks when is this so and it provides two opinions.  The first opinion is that the clothes are impure from the time he leaves the walls of Jerusalem.  This might imply that the goat has in a certain sense fulfilled its function at this early stage.  Rabbi Shimon holds that the clothes are not impure until the goat has been pushed off of Zuk.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  In this mishnah the high priest returns to the bull and the goat that have already been slaughtered and offers up their sacrificial parts on the altar.
  He [the high priest] came to the bull and the goat that were to be burnt. He cut them open and took out the sacrificial portions and put them on a tray, and them burned them on the altar. He twisted them around carrying poles and took them out to the place of burning.  The priest now finishes the sacrificing of the bull and goat.  He cuts them open, takes out the fats that must offered on the altar, and then he takes the rest of the carcasses out to the “place of burning” where they are completely burnt.
  And from when are his clothes unclean? After they have gone outside the walls of the Temple courtyard. Rabbi Shimon says: from the moment the fire has taken hold of most of them.  Leviticus 16:28 states that he who burned the remnants of the sacrifices must wash his clothes and body because they are impure.  As did yesterday’s mishnah, our mishnah again asks when they become impure.  Again, the first opinion is that once the carcasses have been taken out of the walls (this time the Temple walls), the clothes of the person who is taking them have become impure.  Rabbi Shimon again gives a later time from the time the fire on the altar has taken hold of most of the carcass.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah takes us back to the Temple, where the high priest was waiting to hear if the goat had reached the wilderness and Israel’s sins had been forgiven.  The mishnah
  They said to the high priest: the goat has reached the wilderness. And how did they know that the goat had reached the wilderness?They used to set up scouts and they would wave scarves, and they would know that the goat had reached the wilderness.  According to the first opinion in the mishnah, they knew when the goat reached the wilderness through scouts who would signal back to Jerusalem with scarves that the goat had been pushed off of Zuk by the priests who accompanied him.
  Rabbi Judah said: but did they not have a great sign? From Jerusalem to Bet Hidudo was three mils. They could walk a mil, return the mil, then wait the time it takes to walk a mil, and thus know that the goat had reached the wilderness.  Rabbi Judah says that they didn’t need to rely on scouts; rather they relied on a system of timing how long it would take the goat to get to the wilderness.  Bet Hidudo was the beginning of the wilderness and once the goat had reached this point Rabbi Judah considered the mitzvah of sending the goat to the wilderness to have been fulfilled.  Since Bet Hidudo was only three mils from Jerusalem, all they needed to do was time how long it would take to walk three mils. What they would do is walk a mil (which is to the end of the Shabbat border limit), then turn around and walk back the mil and then wait the amount of time it would take to walk a mil.
  Rabbi Ishmael said: but did they not have another sign! A thread of crimson wool was tied to the door of the Temple, and when the goat reached the wilderness the thread turned white, as it is written, “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).  Rabbi Ishmael says that there is a more symbolic, perhaps even magical way of knowing when the goat had reached the wilderness.  They would tie a crimson thread (similar to the thread tied to the goat’s horns) to the opening of the Temple and when the goat would reach the wilderness the thread would turn white in a literal (perhaps overly literal) fulfillment of the verse from Isaiah in which God promises the people of Israel that he will turn their sins white as snow.  We should note that good manuscripts of the mishnah do not contain Rabbi Ishmael’s words; it is likely that this is an addition to the Mishnah from the Talmud.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  After having sent the goat away, the Yom Kippur rituals continue with the priest reading various verses from the Torah concerning Yom Kippur and reciting some blessings.
  The high priest [then] came to read.  The next step was for the high priest to read the portions of the Torah concerning Yom Kippur.  This is not mentioned in the biblical description of Yom Kippur.  It seems to me that the point of this part of the ritual was to emphasize to both the participants and the observers that everything that the high priest had done was according to the prescriptions of the Torah.  It may also have been intended to make a statement about the importance of the Yom Kippur ritual vis a vis Torah.  It is as if to say that the ritual’s significance is in the fact that it is anchored in Torah.
  If he wished to read in linen garments, he reads, and if not he reads in his own white cloak.  While reading, the high priest can wear either his special linen clothes (see above 3:6) or he may wear a different cloak.  Since the reading is not prescribed by the Torah and is not considered an “avodah” part of the day’s service he need not wear the special garments.
  The synagogue attendant would take a Torah scroll and give it to the head of the synagogue, and the head of the synagogue gives it to deputy high priest, and the deputy high priest gives it to the high priest, and the high priest stands and receives it, and reads, [section] beginning] “After the death …” (Leviticus 16:1-34)   and “But on the tenth…” (Leviticus 23:26-32).  There is a ceremonial passing of the Torah scroll which occurs before the high priest reads it.  The first to take it is the synagogue attendant (chazzan).  As an aside, this mishnah is an interesting reference to a synagogue that was actually adjacent to the Temple Mount.  In 1913 archaeologists found an inscription (see below) on the southern part of the Temple mount which shows that there was a synagogue there while the Temple still stood.  The synagogue attendant passes the Torah on to the head of the synagogue (a position referred to in the inscription).  The head of the synagogue passes it to the deputy high priest, the second in command, who finally passes it up to the high priest.  This procession is clearly meant to pay homage to the high priest. The high priest then reads from the two portions in Leviticus that deal with Yom Kippur.
  Then he would roll up the Torah scroll and put it in his bosom and say, “More than what I have read out before you is written here.”  And “On the tenth …” (Numbers 29:7-11) which is in the Book of Numbers he recites by heart.  The high priest then rolls up the Torah scroll and states to the people that there is more in the Torah about Yom Kippur then that which he has just read. This declaration allows them to know that the passage that he is about to read to them from Numbers is also in the Torah, lest they think he is making it up.  He recites the passage from Numbers by heart in order to avoid having to roll from Leviticus until Numbers.  Although he did have to roll between the two parts of Leviticus, this was less problematic because the portions are close to one another.
  And he recites on it eight benedictions: “For the law”, “For the Temple service,” “For thanksgiving,” “For the forgiveness of sins” and “For the Temple” on its own, and “For Israel” on its own and “For Jerusalem” on its own, “For the priests” on their own and “For the rest of the prayer.”  Finally, he recites eight blessings. The full version of the blessings is not found here; rather the mishnah makes only short references to these blessings.  Some of these are familiar because they are still recited today.  “For the Torah” is the blessing recited before reading the Torah today.  “For the Temple service” is part of the Amidah (the 17th blessing).  “For thanksgiving” is also part of the Amidah (the 18th blessing).  “For forgiveness of sins” is similar to that which is also recited in today’s Amidah (6th blessing).  The other four blessings are unique to the Yom Kippur ritual. In case you might be interested, the following is a translation of the inscription found at the Temple Mount (I found this on the web): “Theodotus, son of Vettanos, a priest and an archisynagogos, son of an archisynagogos grandson of an archisynagogos, built the synagogue for the reading of Torah and for teaching the commandments; furthermore, the hostel, and the rooms, and the water installation for lodging needy strangers. Its foundation stone was laid by his ancestors, the elders, and Simonides.”
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah notes that those who were in the Temple courtyard watching the priest reading the verses was too far from the bull and goat which were being burned outside of Jerusalem.
  He who sees the high priest when he reads does not see the bull and the goat that are being burned, and he that sees the bull and the goat that are being burned does not see the high priest when he reads, not because he was not permitted but because the distance apart was great and both rites were performed at the same time. The mishnah notes that a person is allowed leave the bull and goat and go and listen to the high priest.  The only thing that prevents this is that it is not practical they were both occurring in different places but at the same time.  We might have thought that it would be forbidden to go from one to the other because a person should generally not abandon performing one mitzvah in order to go perform another.  However, in this case this would not be forbidden because those watching the mitzvah being performed are not in the same category as those actually performing it.
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  Our mishnah deals with the sacrifices that have not yet been offered.  So far only three sacrifices have been offered:  the morning tamid, one bull and one goat.  There are still many sacrifices yet left to perform.
  If he read in the garments of linen, he would then sanctify his hands and feet, strip off his clothes, go down and immerse himself, come up and dry himself.  If he read in garments of linen, then he must now wash his hands and feet, undress and go to the mikveh and then put on new clothes.   However, if he read the verses in his own cloak (see mishnah one) then he would have already had to wash his hands and feet before removing the linen clothes and putting on the cloak.  At this point he would need only take off his cloak and go immerse in the mikveh.
  They brought him the golden clothes, he put them on, sanctified his hands and feet, went out, offered up his own ram and the ram of the people, and the seven unblemished, one-year-old-lambs, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Akiba said: these were offered up together with the morning tamid of the morning,  He now puts on the golden garments, the clothes that the high priest would wear during the remainder of the year (see above 3:4).  After putting on the new clothes he must again wash his hands and feet. The mishnah now makes reference to Leviticus 16:24, “Then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making expiation for himself and for the people.”   This is the ram referred to in our mishnah.  According to Rabbi Eliezer he now offers the seven unblemished lambs mentioned in Numbers 29:8, all of which are additional (musaf) offerings.  Rabbi Eliezer holds that these lambs are sacrificed before the bull which is also mentioned in Numbers 29:8, even though in the verse the bull comes first.  This verse also mentions a ram.  Our mishnah identifies this ram with the ram in Leviticus 16:5, which is the “ram of the people.”  In other words, these are not two separate rams, which would bring our total to three, but rather two rams, one which is his (Leviticus 16:3) and one which is the people’s (v. 5).  These are the two mentioned in v. 24 as well.  Rabbi Akiva holds that the seven lambs were sacrificed with the morning tamid and not later in the day, as Rabbi Eliezer claims.
  The bull for the whole burnt offering and the goat which is offered up outside were offered up together with the dusk tamid.  The bull for a burnt offering (Numbers 29:9) and the goat which is a sin-offering (v. 11) are the next to be sacrificed.  This goat is called “done outside” in order to distinguish it from the other sin-offering goat whose blood is spilled inside the Holy of Holies.  These sacrifices are offered before the dusk tamid, which is always the final sacrifice of the day.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  This is the final mishnah that discusses the Yom Kippur ritual.  As we have already noted many times, every time he takes off his clothes he must wash his hands and and immerse in the mikveh.  When he puts on new clothes he has to wash his hands and feet again.
  He then sanctified his hands and feet, stripped off his clothes, went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself. They brought him the white clothes, he put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet. Then he went in to bring out the ladle and the fire-pan.  He now changes his clothes in order to put on the white clothes, which are the special clothes special for Yom Kippur, because he needs to go back into the Holy of Holies to get the ladle with the incense that he left there in 5:1.  It was left there until all of the incense had been burned up.
  He then sanctified his hands and feet, stripped off his clothes, went down and immersed himself, came up and dry himself. They brought him the golden clothes, he put them on, sanctified his hands and feet, and went in to burn up the dusk incense, and takes care of the lamp.  He now puts back on the golden clothes so that he can offer the daily dusk incense offering.  This incense offering was mentioned above in 3:5.  He also takes care of the lamp, a daily chore which we learned about in 1:2.  We should note that some commentators debate whether he offers the dusk tamid sacrifice before or after the dusk incense offering.
  He sanctified his hands and feet and stripped, went down, immersed himself, came up and dried himself. They brought him his own clothes and he put them on.  Finally, the high priest’s exhausting day is over and he may put on his own clothes and go home.
  And they would accompany him to his house. And he would make a day of festivity for his friends whenever he came out of the Holy [of Holies] in peace.  The day doesn’t end with the high priest just walking home alone.  The other priests accompany him to his house and there he makes a big party to celebrate his having successfully entered the Holy of Holies, the closest one can get to God’s presence, and having come out alive. As we have mentioned on many occasions, this was an event that was perceived to be very dangerous and hence the high priest must have been relieved to have survived.  [Perhaps this was the first break-fast! Did they have lox and bagels back then?]
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  The high priest performs the service in eight pieces of clothing, and the common priest in four: in tunic, breeches, a headdress, and a sash.The high priest adds the breastpiece, the ephod, the robe and the frontlet.In these were the Urim and Tummim inquired of. But they were not inquired of except by the king, by the head of the court or by one whom the community needs.This mishnah completes the first seven chapters of Yoma, all of which dealt with the Temple Yom Kippur ritual.Sections one and two: The first two sections of the mishnah outline the difference between the clothes that the high priest wore on normal occasions throughout the year (not on Yom Kippur), and the clothes that a normal priest wore.  The high priest has eight pieces of clothing (see above 3:4) whereas the normal priest has only four pieces.  These are all discussed in Exodus 28Section three:  The Urim and Tummim, the oracular stones used in the First Temple, are only asked questions when the high priest is wearing his eight pieces of clothing.  And not anyone can ask a question of the Urim and Tummim.  Only the king, the head of the court or other high officials of the community may ask questions.  For more information about the Urim and Tummim, how they are understood by modern biblical scholars and how they are understood in the aggadah, I suggest consulting the Encyclopedia Judaica.
  
  
  
  
  
  Mishnah 1
  
  Introduction
  The eighth chapter of Yoma is the chapter that is still relevant in halakhah today.  It discusses how we understand the biblical command to “afflict oneself” (see Leviticus 16:29-31; 23:26-32) as well as the rules and concepts regarding atonement.
  Our mishnah begins this discussion by teaching the five/six prohibitions that all fit under the category of “afflictions.”
  [On] Yom HaKippurim it is forbidden to eat, to drink, to wash, to anoint oneself, to put on sandals, or to have intercourse.  According to the Babylonian Talmud there are five prohibitions (eating and drinking is considered only one prohibition), which are derived from the fact that the root for “afflict oneself” appears five times in the Torah in connection with Yom Kippur.  However, the Yerushalmi understands these as six prohibitions and does not connect them directly with the verses.  These are just how the rabbis understood the meaning of “afflict oneself.”  “Putting on sandals” refers to wearing leather shoes, whether they are sandals or closed shoes.
  A king or bride may wash their face, and a woman after childbirth may put on sandals, the words of Rabbi Eliezer. But the sages forbid it.  In this section we learn that there are some exceptions to the general prohibitions.  A king or a bride may wash their face.  The king must look good in order to garner the respect of his people so we want him to look clean.  The rabbis want the bride to look beautiful for her husband, in order to help solidify the marriage.  They considered the first few days of marriage to be critical and to a certain extent were willing to relax some other prohibitions.  In our case, they allowed her to wash her face.  The woman after childbirth will be bothered by walking on the cold floor and therefore she is allowed to wear sandals.  Although the sages dispute these exceptions, the halakhah is like Rabbi Eliezer. We should note that the mishnah does not allow any exceptions for eating/drinking.  Some commentators derive from here that the prohibitions of eating/drinking are weightier than the others and hence cannot be waived under any circumstance (with the exception of issues of health).
  
  Mishnah 2
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches the minimum amount of food or liquid that one needs to eat or drink in order to be liable on Yom Kippur.  The mishnah is not saying that one is allowed to eat or drink a lesser amount, just that one who does eat a lesser amount is not liable for having transgressed a biblical commandment.
  If one eats [an amount] the size of a large date, like it and its seed, or if he drank [an amount equivalent to a] mouthful, he is liable.  When the Torah prohibits eating and drinking on Yom Kippur it uses the language “afflict” and not the word “eat” or “drink.” According to the rabbis this means that one has violated the biblical commandment only if one eats or drinks an amount of food that satisfies, at least in a minimal way, an average person.  The rabbis hold that this amount of food is the size of a date with its seed, or in the case of liquids, a mouthful.  We should note that normally one is liable for eating an olive’s amount of food (a smaller amount) or a revi’it of liquid (more than a mouthful).  For Yom Kippur the issue is not “what is food” but rather what satisfies.
  All foods add up to make an amount equivalent to a date, and all the liquids add up to make a mouthful.  Food and drink do not add up.  If one eats two different kinds of foods or two different kinds of liquids they do add up to a date/mouthful.  For instance if I eat half of a date’s worth of a cracker and half of a date’s worth of cream cheese, I am liable.  However, food and drink do not add up, so that if I eat half a date’s worth of a cracker and drink half of a mouthful of juice I am not liable
  
  Mishnah 3
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah deals with how many sin-offerings one would be liable for if he ate or drank on Yom Kippur.  The sin-offering is the sacrifice brought for an inadvertent sin.  We have seen a similar type of mishnah in the beginning of the seventh chapter of Shabbat.  As I might have explained there, this is the way that the rabbis define just how many sins a person has committed.
  If he ate and drank in one state of unawareness, he is not obligated to bring more than one sin-offering.  If a person didn’t know that the day was Yom Kippur or he didn’t know that it was prohibited to eat or drink on Yom Kippur and he ate or drank many times during the day, he is only liable for one sin-offering.  This is one sin, since eating and drinking are two aspects of the same prohibitions the commandment to afflict oneself on Yom Kippur.
  But if he ate and performed labor while in one state of unawareness he is obligated for two sin-offerings.  Eating/drinking and performing labor are two different prohibitions.  Therefore if someone does both on Yom Kippur, even in one state of unawareness (for instance, not knowing that it is Yom Kippur) he is still liable for two sin-offerings.
  If he ate foods unfit for eating, or drank liquids unfit for drinking, or drank fish-brine or fish pickling liquid, he is not liable.  In order to be liable for eating or drinking, that which one eats must be food that is fit for eating or liquid that is fit for drinking.  Otherwise, one is not liable.  Note, the mishnah does not say that one is allowed to do so, just that doing so does not incur liability for transgressing a Torah law.  It is still prohibited.
  
  Mishnah 4
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah teaches the rules regarding children fasting on Yom Kippur.
  [With regard to] children: they do not “afflict” them at all on Yom HaKippurim.  Children are not to fast on Yom Kippur.  Note that the mishnah does not say that they are not obligated, but uses stronger language, saying that it is prohibited to make them fast.  In the Tosefta we see that Shammai (the eponymous founder of Bet Shammai) actually wanted his son to fast and the other sages forced him to feed his son.  I do not think that Shammai was crueler than the other sages, nor was he endangering his young son’s life.  One day without food will be discomforting but is unlikely to cause any physical damage. Rather I think that Shammai had a different concept of the observance of the commandments.  For Shammai the Torah commands us to “afflict ourselves” on Yom Kippur and the goal is therefore physical affliction.  Such an affliction can be achieved on a small child, even an infant.  In contrast, the sages understood the affliction as being more inwardly oriented, and hence applicable only to those who know what is going on.  A child can feel hunger, they all do, but a small child won’t know that his hunger is a form of religious observance.  He’ll just scream or if he’s a little older, perhaps whine.  In order to demonstrate that the point of the day is to affect our inner lives and not our physical hunger, the other sages forced Shammai to feed his son.
  But they train them a year or two before in order that they become accustomed to the commandments.  One or two years before a child becomes mature (today we consider this to be at the age of Bar/Bat Mitzvah) the child starts to fast, at least for a part of the day.  At this point the child is beginning to understand the meaning of the day and therefore it is applicable for him to fast.
  
  Mishnah 5
  
  Introduction
  As important as Yom Kippur may be, the value of life precedes the observance of all mitzvot.  Our mishnah teaches that if fasting might cause danger to a person’s life, that person must eat.  I should note that the mishnah is not addressed to the person looking to “cheat the system” by feigning illness and eating on Yom Kippur. With God watching one can’t really cheat the system.  The mishnah is addressing the religious fanatic who might risk his/her own life in order to observe the fast.  The mishnah is not allowing someone to eat it is forbidding them from fasting.
  If a pregnant woman smelled [food on Yom Kippur], they feed her until she feels restored.  Pregnant women are obligated to fast on Yom Kippur, unless they are told by a doctor that they may not.  Contrary to what some people seem to think, there is no blanket exemption.  However, if a pregnant woman gets a craving to eat something because she smelled a certain food, they must feed her until she is satisfied.  Her cravings are seen to be potential matters of life and death.
  A sick person is fed at the word of experts. And if no experts are there, they feed him upon his own request until he says: enough.  A sick person should check with a doctor/expert before he eats or drinks on Yom Kippur.  If they say he must drink or eat than he must do so, even if he doesn’t want to.  The Talmud notes that if the experts say he does not need to eat or drink but he believes that if he doesn’t his life might be endangered, he must eat.  In other words, his own word trumps that of the experts if he wants to eat and they don’t think it is necessary.  However, if he doesn’t want to eat and they think he should, he must eat. In this case, their words trump his. If there are no experts around, then we take him at his word and we must feed him or give him water until he says that he has had enough.
  
  Mishnah 6
  
  Introduction
  After teaching in the previous mishnah that serious health concerns override the observance of Yom Kippur, our mishnah expands this message to include other prohibitions as well if a person’s health is in danger he may do things otherwise prohibited.
  If one is seized by a ravenous hunger, they feed him even unclean things until his eyes light up [and he returns to health].  Here we learn that if a person is overtaken by a ravenous hunger, one that if not satisfied might put him into physical danger, they may feed him anything, even non-kosher food.   As I said in yesterday’s mishnah, this mishnah is addressed to the religious fanatic who would rather endanger his life or the life of another rather than transgress the commandments.  The mishnah is saying that this is prohibited because the value of life is greater than that of the commandments.
  If one was bit by a mad dog, they do not feed him the lobe of its liver. But Rabbi Matia ben Harash permits it.  Here the mishnah expresses a limit to the previous principle.  Evidently, there was a belief in the time of the Mishnah that if one was bitten by a rabid dog, eating its liver-lobe would serve as a cure.  Most rabbis didn’t believe that this “cure” really worked and hence they should not give him the liver-lobe to eat.  Saving a life overrides the commandments, but only if that which is done really has a chance of working.  However, Rabbi Matia permits even this.   There are two different explanations for his opinion.  The first is that Rabbi Matia holds that eating the liver of the rabid dog is really an effective cure. [1 Julius Preuss, Biblical and Talmudic Medicine, p. 196, writes, “To treat the bite of a mad dog, the heathen physicians of antiquity, in general, as well as many primitive peoples today, gave the patient certain pieces of the liver of the mad dog to eat.”  Preuss refers to a number of Greco-Roman authors.  If you wish to try this at home, know that most of them recommend the liver be roasted.  Chopped liver is not recommended.  ]  The other, in my opinion more convincing explanation is that since the bit person thinks this cure is effective, the fact that it offers him psychological relief is enough for Rabbi Matia to permit it.
  Moreover Rabbi Matia ben Harash said: if one has pain in his throat, they may drop medicine into his mouth on Shabbat, because it is a possibility of danger to human life and every potential danger to human life overrides Shabbat.  Rabbi Matia goes a step further and says that anyone who feels pain on Shabbat, and who thinks that the pain might be an issue of life and death, others must give him medicine on Shabbat.  As we learned frequently when we studied Shabbat, medicine is prohibited on Shabbat. Here we learn that this is true only if it is not a potential threat to a person’s life.  If there is danger to one’s life, then it is permitted, and indeed mandated to heal the person on Shabbat.
  
  Mishnah 7
  
  Introduction
  Mishnah seven continues to teach that Shabbat laws are suspended in order to even potentially save someone’s life.
  If an avalanche fell on someone, and it is doubtful whether or not he is there, or whether he is alive or dead, or whether he is an Israelite or a non-Jew, they remove the debris from above him [even on Shabbat].  If we knew that the person was truly under the avalanche, and that he was alive, and that he was Jewish, it would obviously be permitted to remove the debris on Shabbat in order to save him.  Our mishnah teaches that even if we don’t know that these three things are true, we do remove the debris in an attempt to save his life.  This is because, as we learned in yesterday’s mishnah, even the potential to save a life overrides Shabbat. As you may have noted, according to the mishnah, if we knew that the person was not Jewish, we would not save his life on Shabbat.  I will not deny that the mishnah discriminates against non-Jews, but I think that this has to be understood as a reflection of the times.  Jews and Gentiles often did not get along, and Jews experienced a lot of persecution.  Furthermore, the idea of treating all of humanity as equal was not a common idea.  All peoples of the ancient world discriminated against others.  We should not expect ancient rabbis to express the same exact liberal values that we (hopefully) espouse today.
  If they find him alive they remove the debris, but if dead they should leave him there [until Shabbat is over].  If they find that he is alive, they remove all of the debris and do all they can to save his life.  However, if they find that he is dead they must stop the removal and let his body stay there until Shabbat is over.  The saving of a life overrides Shabbat, but removing a dead body from some debris does not.
  
  Mishnah 8
  
  Introduction
  This mishnah discusses how a person can get atonement.  We should note that the Mishnah makes a seamless transition from how atonement was effected when the Temple still stood through sacrifices, to how it is effected after the destruction through atonement and Yom HaKippurim.  In Temple times, Yom HaKippurim itself did not effect atonement; rather Yom HaKippurim was the day upon which atoning sacrifices were offered.  By including repentance with the sacrifices, the Mishnah makes the strong ideological statement that repentance (teshuvah) is as effective as sacrifice, and would work even when sacrifices were no longer possible.  This was certainly a monumental statement for post-Second Temple Jews, one that would have given them great comfort.
  Accordingly, we should note that the Torah doesn’t speak at all about repentance in connection with Yom Kippur.  Our modern conception of Yom Kippur as a day of repentance was shaped by the rabbis. Without their brilliant foresight, Yom Kippur, would probably have been lost.
  The sin-offering and the certain guilt-offering effect atonement.  A “certain guilt-offering” is an “asham” sacrifice offered when a person knows that he has committed a certain type of sin, for instance he denied having stolen something and took a false oath over it.  An “uncertain guilt-offering” is brought when a person thinks he might have done something which he would be liable for karet if he did it intentionally, but isn’t sure if he really did it.  For instance, if he had relations with a woman and he doesn’t know if she was a menstruant or not, he brings an “uncertain guilt offering.”  This type of sacrifice doesn’t effect full atonement, because if he finds out that she really was a menstruant, meaning that he really did transgress, he will have to bring another sacrifice. The rabbis understand that the sacrifice causes the person who brings it to regret his sin and to make up his mind not to sin again.  In other words, sacrifices are like repentance.  Hence they effect atonement.
  Death and Yom HaKippurim effect atonement together with repentance.  Both death and Yom Kippur effect atonement, but only if the person repents either before his death or on Yom Kippur.  This is why convicted criminals who are about to be executed are given a chance to repent before their deaths.  For the rest of us who don’t usually know when we are going to die, we need to repent consistently.
  Repentance effects atonement for light transgressions: [the transgression of] positive commandments and negative commandments. And for severer transgressions [repentance] suspends [the divine punishment], until Yom HaKippurim arrives and effects atonement.  Repentance alone effects atonement for lighter sins, either positive or negative commandments.  For more serious sins, meaning those punishable by karet or by death, repentance alone is not sufficient but rather must be accompanied by Yom Kippur.
  
  Mishnah 9
  
  Introduction
  The last chapter of the tractate continues to deal with the laws of teshuvah.
  One who says: I shall sin and repent, sin and repent, they do not afford him the opportunity to repent. [If one says]: I shall sin and Yom HaKippurim will atone for me, Yom HaKippurim does not effect atonement.  Atonement is granted only to those whose repentance is genuine.  A person who says that he is going to sin and then repent is not granted atonement because this person is trying to “trick” the system.  Similarly, one who says that he is going to sin and then he intends for Yom Kippur to give atone for his sins, does not get atonement.
  For transgressions between man and God Yom HaKippurim effects atonement, but for transgressions between man and his fellow Yom HaKippurim does not effect atonement, until he has pacified his fellow. This was expounded by Rabbi Elazar b. Azariah: “From all your sins before the Lord you shall be clean” (Leviticus 16:30)   for transgressions between man and God Yom HaKippurim effects atonement, but for transgressions between man and his fellow Yom HaKippurim does not effect atonement, until he has pacified his fellow..  The second lesson in our mishnah is perhaps the most important one in the tractate.  Yom Kippur is a ritual through which we repair our relationship with God.  It simply does not work the same way when it comes to our relationship with our fellow human beings. With other human beings we must repair our relationship, ask for their forgiveness and appease their anger at our mistakes.  Only after we have done this does the divinely granted day of Yom Kippur effect atonement for our sins.
  Rabbi Akiva said: Happy are you, Israel! Who is it before whom you become pure? And who is it that purifies you? Your Father who is in heaven, as it is said: “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you and you shall be clean” (Ezekiel 36:25).  And it further says: “O hope ( of Israel, O Lord” (Jeremiah 17:1--just as a mikveh purifies the unclean, so too does he Holy One, blessed be He, purify Israel.  As is typical, the tractate concludes with some words of “aggadah.”  Rabbi Akiva gives a message of hope to all of Israel, telling us how blessed we are that God cleanses us of our sins.  The verses in Ezekiel talk about God’s redemption of the people of Israel, what we usually call the Messianic age.  Rabbi Akiva seems to be alluding to this ultimate cleansing of sin, one in which God will give us a “new heart” (v. 26). Rabbi Akiva also makes a pun on the word “mikveh” in Jeremiah the word in its context means hope, but means “ritual bath” in other places.  God acts as a purifier for Israel, cleansing us both in the here and now and in the redemptive future for which we long. Congratulations!  We have finished Yoma. It is a tradition at this point to thank God for helping us finish learning the tractate and to commit ourselves to going back and relearning it, so that we may not forget it and so that its lessons will stay with us for all of our lives. If you’ve been following along with the Mishnah Yomit schedule then you have just completed Yom Kippur and in a couple of days Sukkot will begin.  We could not have asked for better timing this year!  Yoma contained a long description of how the day’s ritual was carried out in the Temple and it concluded by hinting at a message central to the world of the rabbis.  We no longer have a Temple, but through repentance, through prayer, through study, through acts of loving kindness and through the observance of the commandments we can maintain and repair our relationship with God.  I can’t think of any message more relevant to this time of year. As always, congratulations on learning another tractate of Mishnah.  May you have the strength and time to keep on learning more! Tomorrow we begin Sukkah.