Tamid 3:8-9
משנה תמיד ג:ח-ט
Seder: Kodashim | Tractate: Tamid | Chapter: 3
📖 Mishna
Mishna 3:8
משנה ג:ח
Hebrew:
מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל שַׁעַר הַגָּדוֹל שֶׁנִּפְתָּח. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל הַמַּגְרֵפָה. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל הָעֵץ שֶׁעָשָׂה בֶן קָטִין מוּכְנִי לַכִּיּוֹר. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל גְּבִינִי כָּרוֹז. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל הֶחָלִיל. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל הַצֶּלְצָל. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִין קוֹל הַשִּׁיר. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ שׁוֹמְעִים קוֹל הַשּׁוֹפָר. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, אַף קוֹל שֶׁל כֹּהֵן גָּדוֹל בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא מַזְכִּיר אֶת הַשֵּׁם בְּיוֹם הַכִּפּוּרִים. מִירִיחוֹ הָיוּ מְרִיחִים רֵיחַ פִּטּוּם הַקְּטֹרֶת. אָמַר רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן דִּגְלַאי, עִזִּים הָיוּ לְבֵית אַבָּא בְּהַר מִכְוָר, וְהָיוּ מִתְעַטְּשׁוֹת מֵרֵיחַ פִּטּוּם הַקְּטֹרֶת:
English:
From Jericho the people would hear the sound indicating that the large gate had been opened. From Jericho the people would hear the sound produced in the Temple by the instrument that had the form of a shovel. From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the wood that ben Katin crafted into a mechanism of pulleys for the Basin. From Jericho the people would hear the voice of Gevini the Temple crier, who would proclaim in the Temple each day: Arise, priests, to your service, and Levites to your platform, and Israelites to your non-priestly watch. From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the flute that was played in the Temple twelve days each year. From Jericho the people would hear the sound of ben Arza clashing the cymbals in the Temple. From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the song of the Levites in the Temple. From Jericho the people would hear the sound of the shofar that was sounded several times each day in the Temple. And some say that in Jericho the people would hear even the voice of the High Priest at the moment that he mentioned the ineffable name of God on Yom Kippur. From Jericho the people would smell the fragrance emanating from the preparation of the incense in the Temple. Rabbi Elazar ben Diglai said: There were goats belonging to my father that grazed in the cities of Mikhvar, located at a distance from Jerusalem, and they would sneeze from the fragrance of the preparation of the incense that they smelled.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This is one of the most evocative passages in all of the Mishna. The repeated refrain “From Jericho they would hear…” creates a litany of sounds and smells that traveled from the Temple to the city of Jericho, some 25 kilometers away in the Jordan Valley. The sounds listed include the great gate opening, the shovel-instrument, ben Katin’s pulley, Gevini the crier’s announcement, the flute, the cymbals, the Levitical song, and the shofar. Some say even the High Priest’s pronunciation of God’s name on Yom Kippur could be heard.
While these claims may be hyperbolic or miraculous, they convey a profound theological point: the Temple’s presence radiated outward, reaching far beyond Jerusalem’s walls. The service of God was not confined to the Temple Mount but filled the entire land with its sounds and fragrances. Rabbi Elazar ben Diglai’s testimony about his father’s goats sneezing from the incense fragrance at distant Mikhvar adds a charming, personal touch to this cosmic claim. The passage also serves as a summary of the Temple’s acoustic landscape — nearly every sound mentioned here has been described earlier in the tractate.
Key Terms:
- מַגְרֵפָה (Magrefa) = A shovel-shaped instrument that produced an enormously loud sound when thrown
- גְּבִינִי כָּרוֹז (Gevini Karoz) = Gevini the crier, the Temple official who announced the start of daily duties each morning
- צֶלְצָל (Tzeltzal) = The cymbals struck by ben Arza to signal the beginning of the Levitical song
- פִּטּוּם הַקְּטֹרֶת (Pitum HaKetoret) = The preparation/compounding of the incense, whose fragrance reportedly traveled great distances
Mishna 3:9
משנה ג:ט
Hebrew:
מִי שֶׁזָּכָה בְדִשּׁוּן מִזְבֵּחַ הַפְּנִימִי, נִכְנַס וְנָטַל הַטֶּנִי וְהִנִּיחוֹ לְפָנָיו, וְהָיָה חוֹפֵן וְנוֹתֵן לְתוֹכוֹ, וּבָאַחֲרוֹנָה כִּבֵּד אֶת הַשְּׁאָר לְתוֹכוֹ וְהִנִּיחוֹ וְיָצָא. מִי שֶׁזָּכָה בְדִשּׁוּן הַמְּנוֹרָה, נִכְנַס וּמָצָא שְׁנֵי נֵרוֹת מִזְרָחִיִּים דּוֹלְקִים, מְדַשֵּׁן אֶת הַשְּׁאָר וּמַנִּיחַ אֶת אֵלּוּ דּוֹלְקִין בִּמְקוֹמָן. מְצָאָן שֶׁכָּבוּ, מְדַשְּׁנָן וּמַדְלִיקָן מִן הַדּוֹלְקִים, וְאַחַר כָּךְ מְדַשֵּׁן אֶת הַשְּׁאָר. וְאֶבֶן הָיְתָה לִפְנֵי הַמְּנוֹרָה וּבָהּ שָׁלשׁ מַעֲלוֹת, שֶׁעָלֶיהָ הַכֹּהֵן עוֹמֵד וּמֵטִיב אֶת הַנֵּרוֹת. וְהִנִּיחַ אֶת הַכּוּז עַל מַעֲלָה שְׁנִיָּה וְיָצָא:
English:
The priest who won the right of the removal of ash from the inner altar entered through the Sanctuary gate, and he took the basket with him and placed it before him on the floor between him and the altar. And he would take handfuls of ashes from upon the altar and place them in the basket. Ultimately, when only a small amount of ashes remained on the altar, the priest swept the rest into the basket, and placed the basket back on the Sanctuary floor, and emerged from the Sanctuary. The priest who won the right of the removal of ash from the Candelabrum entered the Sanctuary. And if he found in the Candelabrum the two easternmost lamps, the second of which is called the western lamp, still burning, he would first remove the ashes and the burned wicks from the rest of the lamps and place them in the jug, and place new wicks and oil in those lamps. And he would leave these two lamps burning in their own place. If he found that the two easternmost lamps were extinguished, he would remove the ashes and the burned wicks from them and kindle them from the lamps that were still burning. If none were still burning, he would kindle them from the fire on the outer altar. And afterward, the priest would remove the ashes and the wicks from the rest of the lamps. And there was a stone in front of the Candelabrum and in it there were three stairs upon which the priest would stand and prepare the lamps for kindling. Since the Candelabrum was eighteen handbreadths high, it was necessary for the priest to stand on an elevated surface to reach the lamps. And after he placed the ashes and the wicks from the five westernmost lamps in the jug, he would place the jug on the second stair of that stone, and then he emerged from the Sanctuary. When the priest later returned to prepare the two easternmost lamps for kindling, he would remove the jug with the ashes from the Candelabrum, and together with the priest removing the basket with the ashes from the inner altar would pour the ashes from the jug and the basket at the side of the altar.
קלאוד על המשנה:
This mishna describes the inner sanctuary work in precise detail. The priest assigned to the inner altar entered, placed the basket on the floor, and scooped the ashes by hand — not with a tool, but with his bare hands, an act of intimate service. He would work from the edges inward, sweeping the remainder into the basket at the end. The procedure was methodical and respectful, treating even the residue of yesterday’s incense as something to be handled with care.
The Candelabrum (menorah) service was more complex because it involved maintaining an active flame. The priest had to assess which lamps were still burning and which had gone out, then clean and prepare the extinguished lamps while preserving the burning ones. The two easternmost lamps received special treatment — they were left burning to serve as a source of fire for relighting the others. The stone step-stool in front of the Candelabrum (with three stairs) was a practical necessity, as the menorah stood eighteen handbreadths (about 1.5 meters) tall. The priest would leave the jug of ashes on the second step as a temporary holding spot before eventually removing it from the Sanctuary.
Key Terms:
- מִזְבֵּחַ הַפְּנִימִי (Mizbe’ach HaPenimi) = The inner altar, also called the golden altar, used exclusively for burning incense
- מְנוֹרָה (Menorah) = The seven-branched Candelabrum in the Sanctuary, kindled daily
- הַטָּבַת הַנֵּרוֹת (Hatabat HaNerot) = The preparation/cleaning of the Candelabrum lamps, including removing old wicks and ash
- נֵר מַעֲרָבִי (Ner Ma’aravi) = The western lamp (second from the east), which served as the source flame for relighting the menorah