Tamid 3:4-5
משנה תמיד ג:ד-ה
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Tamid | Chapter: 3
📖 Mishna
Mishna 3:4
משנה ג:ד
Hebrew:
נִכְנְסוּ לְלִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים, וְהוֹצִיאוּ מִשָּׁם תִּשְׁעִים וּשְׁלשָׁה כְלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב. הִשְׁקוּ אֶת הַתָּמִיד בְּכוֹס שֶׁל זָהָב. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא מְבֻקָּר מִבָּעֶרֶב, מְבַקְּרִין אוֹתוֹ לְאוֹר הָאֲבוּקוֹת:
English:
The priests entered the Chamber of the Vessels, where the service vessels required for the daily Temple service were stored. They took out from there ninety-three silver vessels and gold vessels. They then gave the lamb selected for the daily offering water to drink in a cup of gold. Although the lamb was examined and deemed unblemished earlier in the evening, the priests examine it now by the light of the torches.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The retrieval of ninety-three vessels from the Chamber of the Vessels underscores the elaborate infrastructure required for the daily service. Each vessel had a specific function, and all needed to be in place before the service could proceed. The detail that the lamb was given water from a gold cup is particularly striking — even the animal’s preparation was treated with dignity and performed using precious vessels. This may also have had a practical purpose: a hydrated animal would be easier to slaughter and its blood would flow more freely.
The double inspection of the lamb — once in the evening and again by torchlight in the morning — reflects the extreme care taken to ensure the offering was unblemished. A blemished animal would invalidate the entire daily offering, a catastrophic disruption to the Temple service. The use of torches for the morning inspection, when natural light was just beginning, shows that the priests did not rely on assumption. Even though the lamb had passed inspection hours earlier, they verified again, because the stakes of an invalid offering were too high to accept any risk.
Key Terms:
- לִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים (Lishkat HaKelim) = The Chamber of the Vessels, where the ninety-three silver and gold service vessels were stored
- תָּמִיד (Tamid) = The daily offering, a lamb sacrificed each morning and afternoon as a communal obligation
- מְבֻקָּר (Mevukar) = Examined for blemishes; the lamb was inspected twice to ensure its fitness for sacrifice
- אֲבוּקוֹת (Avukot) = Torches used to light the way and examine the lamb in the pre-dawn darkness
Mishna 3:5
משנה ג:ה
Hebrew:
מִי שֶׁזָּכָה בַתָּמִיד, מוֹשְׁכוֹ וְהוֹלֵךְ לְבֵית הַמִּטְבָּחַיִם, וּמִי שֶׁזָּכוּ בָאֵבָרִים הוֹלְכִין אַחֲרָיו. בֵּית הַמִּטְבָּחַיִם הָיָה לִצְפוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מִזְבֵּחַ, וְעָלָיו שְׁמֹנָה עַמּוּדִים נַנָּסִין, וּרְבִיעִית שֶׁל אֶרֶז עַל גַּבֵּיהֶן, וְאֻנְקְלָיוֹת שֶׁל בַּרְזֶל הָיוּ קְבוּעִין בָּהֶן, וּשְׁלשָׁה סְדָרִים הָיָה לְכָל אֶחָד וְאֶחָד, שֶׁבָּהֶן תּוֹלִין. וּמַפְשִׁיטִין עַל שֻׁלְחָנוֹת שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ שֶׁבֵּין הָעַמּוּדִים:
English:
The priest who won the lottery to slaughter the daily offering pulled the lamb, and he would go to the slaughterhouse to slaughter it as the daily offering. And the priests who won the right to take the limbs up to the ramp would go with him. The slaughterhouse was to the north of the altar. Adjacent to it there were eight low stone pillars. And cedarwood squares were affixed upon them, and iron hooks were fixed in the wooden squares. And there were three rows of hooks on each and every one of those wooden squares, upon which the priests would suspend the animal after it was slaughtered. And they would flay the animal’s hide onto marble tables that were positioned between the pillars.
קלאוד על המשנה:
The slaughterhouse (beit hamitbachayim) was located north of the altar, in accordance with the Torah’s requirement that certain offerings be slaughtered on the north side. The Mishna’s description of the physical infrastructure — eight low stone pillars with cedarwood tops, iron hooks in three rows, and marble flaying tables between the pillars — paints a picture of an industrial-scale facility designed for efficient processing of sacrificial animals.
The eight pillars with their hooks allowed multiple animals to be suspended simultaneously, which was essential during busy periods. The marble tables for flaying were positioned between the pillars for a smooth workflow: slaughter, suspension, flaying, and butchering could all proceed in a continuous sequence. The choice of marble for the tables was likely both practical (easy to clean, maintains cool temperature) and aesthetic, befitting the dignity of the Temple. Every element of this space was engineered to serve the dual purpose of functional efficiency and sacred propriety.
Key Terms:
- בֵּית הַמִּטְבָּחַיִם (Beit HaMitbachayim) = The slaughterhouse, located north of the altar
- עַמּוּדִים נַנָּסִין (Amudim Nanasim) = Short or low pillars, the stone supports for the hanging apparatus
- אֻנְקְלָיוֹת (Unklayot) = Iron hooks used to suspend slaughtered animals for flaying
- שֻׁלְחָנוֹת שֶׁל שַׁיִשׁ (Shulchanot Shel Shayish) = Marble tables used for flaying and butchering the offerings