Yoma 21 – Miracles

Since the previous page mentioned Festivals, the Talmud continues with the details. When the Jews would come to the Temple on pilgrimage, they were crowded together so that each person stood straight as a beam, and at times his feet were occasionally lilted off the ground. However, when they had to prostrate themselves and confess their mistakes, miraculously, the space between them increased. There were four steps between each other – and this was one of the ten miracles that regularly occurred in the Temple.

The Talmud discusses the other miracles with their particulars, excluding some and adding others to the list. For example, the Bread of Vision remained piping hot after it was left on the Temple table for a week: since the verse literally said, “to put bread, warm, on the day, it (the old one) is taken off,” we move the comma and understand that it was “warm on the day it was taken off.”

Another miracle was that king Solomon planted all types of fine fruit trees made of gold, and they produced fruit at the right times. This is mentioned in the phrase “May its fruit rustle like that of Lebanon,” and “Lebanon” always means the Temple. When the wind blew on them, the fruit would fall off, the priests gathered them and made their living from the profits. When the soldiers entered to destroy the Temple, the trees withered, but in the future, God will restore them since it says, “It will blossom abundantly... the glory of Lebanon will be given to it.”

Art: Fruit Tree in Blossom By Carl Fredrik Hill

Yoma 20 – Chasing away sleep

If during the night of Yom Kippur, the High Priest started to doze off, the young priests would snap fingers loudly in front of him and say, “Our Master High Priest, please stand up and do an exercise on the floor,” and thus they kept him awake all night. Prominent people of Jerusalem would not sleep and would make their voices heard to support the High Priest.

Abba Shaul said, “They adopted this practice also in the provinces, except that they used the time for frivolities.” Elijah the Prophet met Rav Yehudah and told him, “You ask why the Messiah is not here yet? It is Yom Kippur, yet how many virgins lost their virginity this night in Nehardea!” Rav Yehudah asked, “And what does God say about it?” Elijah answered, “Sin waits at the door (that is, I, God, created the desire for illicit relations.).” Rav Yehudah asked again, “And what does the Accuser say? Elijah told him, “Accuser has no say on Yom Kippur.” The Gematria of Accuser (Satan) is 364, and on Yom Kippur, which is the day 365, he has no power.”

Normally, they would start the Temple service by taking away some ashes from the Altar at the rooster's call. On Yom Kippur, when more had to be done, they started at midnight. There was more to do at the festivals, and then they started the service after the first third of the night had passed.

Art: The Rooster By Edwin John Alexander

Yoma 19 - The oath of the High Priest

Just before the Yom Kippur, the Sages of the Sanhedrin would turn the High Priest over to the Sages from among the priests. They would administer an oath, “Our Master High Priest, we adjure you, by the Name of He who makes His Presence dwell in this Temple, that you will not change a thing from the proper service.” After that, he would turn away and cry - because they suspected him of being a deviant. They would also turn away and cry. Why? - because anyone who suspects a righteous one will be punished. 

Throughout the night of Yom Kippur, he would not sleep. Rather, if he was a Sage, he gave a lecture, and if not, scholars lectured him. If not, he would read from the Scriptures, or they would read to him. What did they read? - even action-filled “Chronicles” to keep his attention. Often he did not even know Hebrew, and they read the book of Daniel, which was in the vernacular (Aramaic).

Art: La Leçon de Lecture (The Reading Lesson) by Léon-Augustin L'hermitte

Yoma 18 - Wife for a day

In the seven days before Yom Kippur, the Sages would read the Torah portion of Yom Kippur in front of the High Priest. Then they would say, “Master High Priest, please read it back to us, for perhaps you forgot or never learned." How could it be that he never learned? – In the times of the Second Temple, the position was bought for money. 

On the last day, they would show him all the animals to be used for sacrifices, except for the goat brought as a sin offering for all Jews – lest he becomes despondent thinking of it.

On the last day, they also did not give him much food, for food leads to sleep, and too much of it might cause him to becomes ritually impure through seminal emission. They also did not feed such foods as etrog, eggs, fat meat, and wine – for the same reason.

In general, a guest should take precautions not to soil the linen he sleeps on, or the host's garments, if he wears them – lest they see it and think less of him. The Sages were very careful to maintain this sort of purity, and for this, they would announce, “Who will be a wife for a day for me?” when they were visiting a remote location.

This, however, leads to many questions. How could they marry wives in many places – what if their children, not knowing each other, will intermarry? – Those Sages were famous, and their progeny would know where they came from. Another problem: a prospective wife needs to go to a mikveh seven days in advance, so how can they choose anybody on the spot? – The answer is that they would send a messenger to announce their intent a week in advance. Alternatively, we can say that they only secluded with the woman of their choice but did not have relations, thus obviating all of the above questions. But if that is so, how did it help? – One who potentially has a wife (“a bread in his basket”) cannot be compared to one who does not.

Art: A Footman Sleeping by Charles Bargue

Yoma 17 – The right-of-way for the High Priest

On all the days of the year other than Yom Kippur, the High Priest does not do the regular daily Temple duties – unless he wants to. In that case, he has the right to say, “I will offer this burnt offering,” or “I will offer this flour offering,” or “I will eat this sin-offering,” and so on.

For more special offerings, he is entitled to a portion of it. For example, he can have one lamb of the two brought on Shavuot. The special “Bread of Vision,” which induced mystical visions, was distributed among the Kohanim on every Shabbat. Of these twelve loaves of bread, he takes four or five. Now, this division is not logical. In the first case, he was entitled to exactly half, and in the second – to less than half. Also, what does “four or five” mean?

However, in this rule, we have a mixture of different opinions. First, one says that the High Priest can have up to half of the total - based on the Torah's phrase, “To Aaron and his sons,” which is understood as “half to Aaron and half to his sons.” Another opinion is that he takes less than half – that is the “four or five” out of twelve. However, it could also be that all agree that he takes less than half; as far as one loaf on Shavuot – it would not be polite to break it. There is also an opinion that two of the twelve loaves of bread of vision are given as a reward for the closing of the gates, and the remaining ten are divided between the rest – this explains the “four” as less than half of ten.

Art: The Pet Lamb by J. Hardwicke Lewis

Yoma 16 - Where exactly was the Altar placed?

When the deputy Kohen would burn the Red Heifer, he had to do it on the Olive Mount, right across the entrance to the Temple building. This is required by the Torah, and we understand from here that he had to actually see the entrance. This was only possible if the eastern wall of the Temple was somewhat lower than the other walls. The Talmud is interested in whose opinion this is. It answers that it could only be Rabbi Elazar ben Yakov since only according to him, that wall’s foundation was high enough for the problem of visibility to arise.

But perhaps this is the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah, since, according to him, the gates' geometry would allow this direct view? - No, it could not be him, because according to Rabbi Yehudah, the Altar was exactly in the middle of the Courtyard and would obstruct the view. Thus, by combining the limitations imposed by the rules of burning the Red Heifer and the Altar position, the Talmud finds who was the author of the rulings we are learning here in Yoma and in the Tractate Midot, which concerns the exact sizes of everything in the Temple.

Art: Jerusalem From The Mount Of Olives by Frederic Edwin Church

Yoma 15 - Attention to detail

Earlier, in describing the order of the day of the High Priest in preparation for Yom Kippur, we mentioned that he would “burn the incense and prepare the Menorah.” We can assume that every day the service follows this order. If so, we have a problem: the order of the Tractate “Tamid” service, which is specifically dedicated to Temple procedure, is listed differently: first the Menorah and then the incense.

Rabbi Yochanan explains that the two are written by different authors and that Rabbi Shimon HaMitzpah is the author of Yoma. Every teacher of the earlier times (before 200 C.E) is entitled to his opinion on the basic facts, and if they differ - we have two aspects of truth, only we don’t know how to reconcile them.

But even within one Tractate, Yoma, we also have a contradiction! We will later learn that the lots by which it was decided which Kohen gets which service also go in the order of menorah - then incense. Abaye explains that too: cleaning the seven branches of the Menorah was done in two steps: first the five branches, and then the remaining two. The incense was brought in between these two steps. Thus we see that the order could indeed be described differently, and depending on which part of the services you are talking about, the cleaning of the Menorah could occur before the incense or after it. The key Torah phrase here is “when he prepares the lamps, he shall bring the incense.” This phrase is explained differently by Abba Shaul and the Sages. The Talmud continues to point out and reconcile contradictions in the order of the service.

Art: Cleaning The Swords by Hermanus Koekkoek

Yoma 14 – What does the High Priest do for seven days?

Normally the High Priest is not doing regular services. However, on Yom Kippur, he will be performing them all by himself, so for the seven days of sequestration, he practices these services daily: he throws the blood of the sacrifices, burns the incense, prepares the lamps, and offers the head and the hind leg of the daily offering.

Whoever wrote down this ruling, it was not Rabbi Akiva. Why not? Because it would contradict his other ruling: for all seven days, they would sprinkle the High Priest with the ashes of the Red Heifer to remove any possible impurity of the dead he might have contracted. According to Rabbi Akiva, this sprinkling has an amazing property: it purifies only the impure ones, but if someone is pure in the first place, then the ashes make him impure until the end of the day. Thus, according to Rabbi Akiva, the High Priest would be impure every day and unable to perform any service.

From where does Rabbi Akiva derive this most strange fact? – From the words of the Torah, “And the pure will sprinkle upon the impure.” The Torah could have said “upon him,” why did it have to again emphasize that he was impure? – To tell us that the impure becomes pure, but the pure becomes impure. The Sages say that it would be totally illogical, and as far as the words “on the impure” – they learn a different law from it. But how does Rabbi Akiva answer the logic argument? He says, “Even Solomon could not understand it, as he said, “I wanted to become wise, but it is beyond me.”

Art: The Judgement of Solomon by Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Yoma 13 – Another wife for the High Priest

Just as they prepare a substitute Kohen for the High Priest, they prepare a substitute wife for him – if his wife will die. Since the Torah said, “He will atone for himself and his house (euphemism for wife)” - he must have one – this is the opinion of Rabbi Yehudah. The Sages, however, say that if so, they would have to prepare another wife, and another wife, and so on, to no end – therefore, conclude the Sages, they don't prepare a second wife for him.

The second wife, however, leads to some complications. First, he is not married to her. The Talmud suggests that he should marry her. But then he has two wives, and the Torah said to atone “for his house,” not “for his houses.” Then he should divorce her! - If so, he has no substitute wife! Rather, what we mean is that he should divorce her conditionally: if she does not die before the end of Yom Kippur, the divorce takes effect retroactively from the time it was given. Thus, if she does not die, it transpires that he only had one wife, and if his present wife dies, he has a substitute. But what if she does not die (the divorce takes effect), and his present wife does die, and he is left without any wife during Yom Kippur!

After considering a few more conditional divorces, the Talmud decides to make it dependent on her action (if she goes into a synagogue, she is divorced) and then on his action. Finally: he divorces both wives conditionally: to one, he says, “This is your divorce (Get) on the condition that your fellow wife does not die,” and to the other - “This is your Get on the condition that I enter a synagogue.” 

Art: Self-Portrait with His Wife, by Jan de Baen

Yoma 12 – Another High Priest

While the High Priest spent his seven days in solitude preparing for Yom Kippur, another Kohen was designated as standby for the contingency that the High Priest would become disqualified for services. This could be due to a seminal emission on the night of Yom Kippur or to some other ritual impurity. In that case, the designated Kohen would become a High Priest and perform the service.

However, how is this possible? Normally, a Kohen becomes a High Priest by either being anointed with special oil or by donning the eight garments of the High Priest, with the appearance of gold, and additional items such as a breastplate and tzitz. The third way to be consecrated for High Priest's work would be to perform a service specific to him. In sum, he should do something special that only a High Priest can do.

In the Second Temple, there was no anointing oil. After the first morning sacrifice, the High Priest would take off his “golden” garments and dress in pure white linen and become indistinguishable from a regular Kohen in the Temple. Thus, if a disqualification were to occur now, there seems to be no way to consecrate the standby Kohen. Rav Adda said, “His belt is different, since it is of pure white linen, while that of a regular Kohen is of colored wool together with linen.” This advice only works if the belt of a regular Kohen is indeed different, but there are varying opinions on that. Abaye suggested, “Let him dress up in golden garments and turn some parts of a burning sacrifice – which is also a special service!” Rav Pappa said, “Any service that he does makes him the High Priest because only a High Priest can perform service on that day.” The last advice seemed like a loophole, but Rav Pappa found a precedent that served as proof.

Laundress Carrying Linen by Edgar Degas

Yoma 11 - Mezuzah for all

Since the Torah said, “Write the words about God on the doorposts of your house and on your gates,” we understand that just as the gates of your house are included, so too the gates of your courtyards, provinces, and cities. However, just as a house, it should be inhabited. For example, strictly speaking, a synagogue requires a mezuzah only if the sexton (gabbai) lives there.

Would a storehouse require a mezuzah? Some say that they do not require a mezuzah because it is not “your house” but an animal’s. Others say that it is “your house,” that is, a house belonging to you, and thus requiring a mezuzah. All agree that a bathhouse does not need one.

What about such a gate that is straight at the bottom but oval at the top? Rabbi Meir says that it still needs a mezuzah, while the Sages say that it does not. What is the point of contention between them? Rabbi Meir applies the principle of “we view it as if straightened out,” that is, if we were to remove the extra material at the arch and make the doorposts go straight, wouldn't it require a mezuzah? - so even now, it does. But the Sages disagree with the principle of “we view it as if straightened out.”

Art: Yellow Bath House And Sailboat, Bellport, Long Island by William Glackens

Yoma 10 – Mezuzah for the High Priest

God's presence was more palpable in the First Temple than in the Second one. One reason for it is that the Jews did not go up en masse to the Land of Israel – this is the opinion of Resh Lakish. However, Rabbi Yochanan disagrees and says that even if they had gone, it would not help – based on the phrase “God will beautify Greece, but His Presence will be with the sons of Shem.”  Although the Persians, who are considered the descendants of Greece, built a beautiful Temple, God's presence still dwelt only in the First Temple, which was built wholly by the Jews. The Talmud then discussed the fates of the states and nations based on their role in the building or destruction of the Temple.

Did the chamber in which the High Priest lived for seven days before Yom Kippur have a mezuzah? Some say that a mezuzah was required there only for those seven days, but they still kept it throughout the year, lest they forget to put it on, or lest the people say that the High Priest is locked in a prison. Others say even those seven days are a disagreement: even though the High Priest did not choose to live there but was forced to, it is still considered a valid dwelling that needs a mezuzah – so say the Sages. In contrast, Rabbi Yehudah says that it was not considered a proper dwelling, and the mezuzah was not required. All agree, though, that practically it still was there.

Art: In prison By Rembrandt Van Rijn

Yoma 9 – High Priesthood for sale

At first, the chamber to which the High Priest was sequestered before Yom Kippur was called “The chamber of the nobles,” but later, it became known as "The chamber of the administrators." This was because the High Priests of the first Temple were of greater stature.

In fact, during the 410 years of the First Temple, there were a total of eighteen High Priests, which makes for 22 years in service on average. However, during the Second Temple, when they would buy High Priesthood with money, there were 300 of them during the 420 years of the Temple. If you subtract the forty years of service of Shimon the Righteous, eighty of Yochanan the Great, ten of Rabbi Ishmael, and eleven of Elazar ben Charsom, you will see that the majority of the High Priests did not live out one year of their service.

During the First Temple, bloodshed, immorality, and idol worship were abundant, yet only the Temple's roof was destroyed, and that only for seventy years. However, during the Second Temple, when ostensibly they were learning Torah and doing good deeds, the Temple was razed to the ground and is still not rebuilt. Why is that? – Because they slandered each other in secret and transgressed in secret. However, Resh Lakish presents another view: the later generations are greater because they still learn Torah with all the hardships.

Art: Gossip at the stile By Valentin Walter Bromley

Yoma 8 - Tzitz

Tzitz is the golden head plate worn by the High Priest. It fixes the defects of the sacrifices so that even those sacrifices that were not normally acceptable become so with the help of the Tzitz. This is expressed by the Torah as follows, “So that Aaron will bear the sin of the sacred offerings.”

However, which offerings could the Tzitz make kosher? If the priest bringing it wanted to eat it in the wrong place, it “would not be acceptable,” and if he even wanted to eat it at the wrong time, it “would not be considered.” Thus, the only problem that the Tzitz could fix was the offering that became ritually impure.

Did the Tzitz have to be on the forehead of the High Priest to be effective? That depends on the understanding of the word “always (Aaron will wear it).” You can understand that whenever Aaron wears it, it is effective, but not otherwise. Or, you can say that “always” means “constantly when possible,” but even when it is not possible to wear it (such as during sleep), it still works. The Talmud tries to resolve its earlier question, whether the laws of purity are completely abrogated or if they only allow a few exceptions, using the laws of Tzitz, but alas, Tzitz allows both interpretations. Incidentally, from Tzitz, we derive that one who wears tefillin must be constantly mindful of them.

Art: Yemeni Jew, 1914 National Geographic Magazine.

Yoma 7 – Is everything permitted?

Previously we mentioned that if all priests are ritually impure, they can bring sacrifices in the state of impurity. However, does this mean that everything is permitted and that the laws of purity are temporarily abrogated, or perhaps we only make an exception where we have to? For example, if the priest shift who is serving this week is completely impure – on the first point of view, they would do the service, but on the second point of view – another group of the priest, from a different week, would be invited. Rav Nachman represents the first, more lenient point of view, and Rav Sheshet – the second, more stringent.

First, the Talmud limits the disagreement: if there are foods that need to be eaten, such as two loaves on Shavuot, everybody agrees that we look for ways to do it in purity. Also, when the sacrifice can be brought at any time, they wait until the priests become pure again. Thus, the disagreement only exists for holidays, such as Passover. Then, the Talmud finds an earlier disagreement, between Rabbi Yehudah and Rabbi Shimon, on the same question. This points to the fact that the argument cannot be resolved. Rather, its roots go back to much earlier times.

As a practical matter, Rambam rules that not everything is permitted: the rules of purity are not abrogated, but only an exception is taken in specific cases. Thus, when it is possible to find a way to maintain the purity, it should be done.

Art: The Argument by William Henry Knight

Yoma 6 - Why do we separate the High Priest, again?

Earlier, we mentioned that for seven days before Yom Kippur, the High Priest is separated into a special chamber, where they teach him the order of the services. Why do we do this?

The Talmud asks, what kind of question is that? We already explained: according to Rabbi Yochanan, this is derived from the dedication ceremony, and according to Resh Lakish - from the giving of the Torah. The Talmud then rephrases: why do we separate him from his “house,” that is, from his wife? Let her go together with him!

The Talmud answers that there may be a doubt about her being ritually impure because of the menses and dismisses that: are we talking about non-observant people? Of course not! Rather, the doubt may arise my accident, later, after they had relations. If so, we should likewise be concerned that someone will die in his presence, and we should not allow him any human contact at all! The answer is that the ritual impurity of the dead is different: if most of the priests (and in our case, if the High Priest, the only one who can lead the Yom Kippur service) are ritually impure with the impurity of the dead, the service can proceed. Alternatively, the answer is that people normally don’t die suddenly in one's presence, so the Sages were not concerned about this possibility.

Art: The Dead Body of Wallenstein by Von Piloty Karl Theodor

Yoma 5 - How important was the first Temple service?

Obviously, the first service, called Inauguration, or “miluim” in Hebrew, was important in that it allowed all subsequent services to proceed, but how important was it? What would happen if one skipped an element of it? Rabbi Chanina and Rabbi Yochanan argue about this, with one of them saying that absolutely every element was important and missing it would invalidate the entire service. The other one says that acts that would not be essential in the future could be skipped at the Inauguration.

For example? - Leaning. One has to lean on every sacrifice with all his weight and declare the reason for it. If one does not, his service is inferior, even though it still counts. And how do we know that leaning may be omitted? - Because the Torah said, “And he will lean and be forgiven.” However, we know that only the blood of the sacrifices achieves forgiveness. This is a hint that leaning on the sacrifice is required, but it does not invalidate it if not done.

Thus, one of the Sages holds that leaning at Inauguration was essential. Which one? The Talmud finds that in arguing with Rabbi Yochanan, his opponent mentioned that all Inauguration elements were essential. Since Rabbi Yochanan did not deny it, we know that this was his point of view too.

Another question: in what order did Moses dress the first Kohanim, Aharon first, and then the sons, or all at the same time? The Talmud first objects that whatever happened already happened, and we don’t need to discuss it. It says that even if we need it for the future, Elijah, the prophet, will tell us. Finally, it concludes that this is a valid question and finds two Sages who disagreed about it.

Art: Two women leaning on a gate by Edgar Degas

Yoma 4 - What is Yom Kippur like?

Earlier, we learned that Yom Kippur is compared to the Temple dedication. Just as there, the priests stayed in the Temple for seven days, so must the High Priest prepare for Yom Kippur by seven days of separation. This, however, is the opinion of Rabbi Yochanan. Resh Lakish compares Yom Kippur to the giving of the Torah. Just as Moses was covered by the cloud for six days, everyone who is to enter Divine presence must prepare for this by being alone.

Their disagreement is about how to understand the phrase of the Torah, “And the glory of God rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it (or him) for six days.” The words “Vaykasehu” can be understood as “covered it (the Mount)” or “covered him (Moses).” If God's glory covered Moses, then we can learn from here the behavior before Yom Kippur. But if it covered the cloud - then we cannot learn anything from it. Also, this difference in understanding leads to different dating of the giving of the Torah, the holiday of Shavuot (sixth or seventh of Sivan), and to a different understanding of the relationship between God and Moses: when God called to Moses, then, if the cloud was covering Moses, it signified the need to come close to God and receive the Torah. If, however, the cloud was covering the Mount, then, when God called to Moses, he was emphasizing that of all the Jews, He wanted to talk only to Moses.

Art: Moses by Carlo Dolci

Yoma 3 - What is so special about Yom Kippur?

Earlier it was said that just as the Levites spent seven days near the Tabernacle, separated from all, for the consecration, so too there will be a yearly event requiring separation for seven days, and that event is Yom Kippur.

But what is special about Yom Kippur? Why not say that this seven-day separation has to precede any sacrifice? And if you tell me that we don’t know which Kohen will be doing the service, I will answer that maybe the whole group serving in the Temple on a specific week should require solitary confinement beforehand? - The Talmud answers that it is better to compare consecration, which was done only on a specific day, the eighth day of the service, to Yom Kippur, which is also only once a year, as opposed to sacrifices which are brought every day.

The Talmud then tries to connect the seven-day separation to other holidays, such as Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Rosh HaShanah - and disproves such connections, giving a specific reason. For example, other holidays occur three times a year, but Yom Kippur - only once. Finally, Ravina finds a reason that works in every case: Yom Kippur is special because all of its services were performed by the High Priest. This can only be compared to the first consecration, which was completely done by the first High Priest - Aharon.

Art: Separated by Istvan Farkas 

(Istvan Farkas: 1887, Budapest - 1944, Auschwitz)

Yoma 2 - Staying alone

Seven days before Yom Kippur, they take the High Priest away from his house and his wife and lead him to the Chamber of Parhedrin, where he will spend the next seven days in solitude and in preparation for the service.

Since all of Yom Kippur's services will be done by him, and they are kosher only if performed by a High Priest, this additional measure of separation was required to prevent even an unlikely possibility of him becoming ritually impure for the service.

There was yet another event in the life of a High Priest when a seven-day separation was required, and that was before burning of the Red Heifer to provide ashes for the purification from a dead body. Both had their source in the Torah and were connected to the Levites' initial consecration for the services, when they likewise spent seven days near the Tabernacle, separated from the rest. Back then, the Levites did it "to do" "atonement." For the future, "to do" refers to the Red Heifer and "atonement" to Yom Kippur.

Art: Solitude by Marc Chagall

Shekalim 22 – Temple curtain and shekalim today

The curtain in the Temple was one hand-breadth thick; it was woven with the thread of seventy-two strands; it was twenty amot (about 30 feet) by forty (about sixty feet); it was made at the cost of 820,000 gold coins, and another reading has it that 82 maidens were weaving it; it was replaced twice a year, and three hundred Kohanim were needed to hold it. Some say that 300 Kohanim was just an exaggeration, and perhaps this refers also to the cost. The Talmud also discussed how it was ritually purified in a mikveh and how other utensils were purified.

The mitzvah of shekalim applies only in the time of the Temple. What happens if one designates his shekel as the Temple shekel offering? – Even though the mitzvah does not apply, the shekel does become consecrated. What is he to do, seeing that there is no Temple where it can be used? – He must drop it in the Dead Sea. In truth, any sea will do, except that no boats were traversing the Dead Sea, and therefore there was no danger that the coins deposited there would be found and used. In the other seas, the coins have to be ground first.

Art: The Dead Sea with the mountains of Moab by Gustave Bauernfeind

Shekalim 21 - Found spittle

When people were able to keep the laws of ritual purity, they were careful if they found spittle, for perhaps it came from someone (a zav) whose spittle would make a person ritually impure. However, in Jerusalem, people kept a higher standard, so spittle found there was considered pure - this is Rabbi Meir's opinion. Rabbi Yose, however, says that this depends on traffic. In the time of the festivals, when ritually pure people occupied the center of the streets, spittle found in the center was pure, but one on the sides - impure. On other days it was the reverse. The Talmud then discusses knives found on the way down to a mikveh, and on the way up from it, at different times and for different types of knives.

Rav Bisna wanted to know if the blood of killed animals makes one ritually impure and what amount of it, and he posed this question to Rav Bivi. However, Rav Bivi did not answer and even spurned Rav Bisna. Rav Bivi' colleague, Rav Zerika, asked him, “Is it because he asks you a question that you spurn him?” Rav Bivi replied with the phrase from the Torah, “Your life will hang in suspense” - is one who only has provisions for a year, and “you will not be sure of your life” is one who eats from hand to mouth and buys his food from the baker daily. Rav Bivi said that it applied to himself. This is why he did not have the presence of mind to answer.

Art: A partridge, a dead duck, a pitcher, two knives, a loaf of bread and hens, on a forest floor By (after) Ferdinand Phillip De Hamilton

Shekalim 20 - Found animals

If one found an animal in Jerusalem's environments, then in the times of the Temple, it was most certainly an offering that got lost. If so, we need to determine what kind of sacrifice it was. If it is a male, we assume that it is a burned offering, but if it is a female, it is a peace offering. But why?

Granted that a female animal cannot be brought as a burned offering, we can assume it is a peace offering. But a male animal can be brought as a peace offering; why do we assume that it is a burned offering? The Talmud suggests a few explanations: we are really talking about a one who consecrates money, not an animal, or the teacher doesn’t mean that we really bring it as an offering, or maybe we exchange its designation. In the end, the Talmud finds all of them lacking. Finally, Rabbi Yakov suggests the following: the court makes a stipulation that if a sacrificial animal is lost, then its designation by the owner becomes invalidated retroactively, and now it transpires that it always was a burned offering.

The Talmud then discussed other similar conditions that the Court made for the betterment of society. For example, if one finds an animal like the one above and returns the find to the Temple, it used to be that he would be required to bring the libations to go with it. On hearing this, people started leaving the found animals in place. The Court then stipulated that the money for the libations (wine and flour) should come from the communal funds, that is, shekalim.

Art: Landscape With Animals And A Drover Resting By A Tree by Dirk van Bergen

Shekalim 19 – Found coins

While putting money into the collection chests we discussed before, one could err and drop them on the floor. If such coins are later found near the chests, we need to know what to do with them – because they had been designated for a specific purpose. The rule is like this: if, for example, the coins were found next to the “Shekalim” chests, we assume that they are for shekalim. If they were found closer to the adjacent “voluntary offerings” chest, we assume that they are for that purpose. If they are exactly in the middle, we take the more stringent view and put them in the voluntary offerings. Thus “close to” is a ruling principle, but we take the most stringent possibility into account in cases of doubt.

In general, other coins found in Jerusalem, which might be designated for some special purpose, are governed by similar principles. For example, if coins are found next to animal dealers, we assume they have the tithe's holiness. This is because the people used to bring their tithe money to Jerusalem and buy grain or animals for their meals. Most likely, they did not have the chance to spend all the money and dropped the coins. However, if the coins are found on the Temple Mount, we assume they have no designation since we have no reason to assume otherwise. The majority of coins in the world are not designated for anything special.

Art: The gold-weigher by Salomon Koninck

Shekalim 18 - Thirteen tables

There were thirteen tables in the Temple, each serving a specific purpose. Eight of them, made of marble, were used for skinning and washing the sacrifices before burning them. Among others, one was of marble, and on it, they would place the Bread of Vision ready to be brought into the Temple; inside the Temple, the bread lay on a golden table, and after a week of staying inside, but still fresh and warm, it was taken outside and put on another golden table, to be distributed among the priests. Why did they not put it back on the marble table? - Because of the rule that we bring things up in their level, try to never take them down. Another question: why put the bread on a table of marble; wouldn’t silver be more dignified? The answer is that yes, it would be, but silver warms up, and the bread may spoil. But didn’t we say that there was a miracle with this bread anyway, and it would not spoil or cool down?  Also true, but we try not to rely on miracles.

There were also thirteen collection chests in the Temple, called “Shofarot,” because they were in the form of a shofar, wide at the bottom and narrow at the top, to prevent people from taking money out of them while pretending to donate. They were for shekalim, new and old, and for various sacrifices. The “old shekalim” means someone’s obligation from last year - which cannot be used for this year but has to go into a separate chest and be used for the needs of Jerusalem instead.

Art: Still Life with Melon, Peach, Fruit-Filled Compote and Glass of Wine on a Marble Table Top By William Mason Brown

Shekalim 17 - Bow down thirteen times

When one visited the Temple, he had to bow down (actually, completely prostrate himself on the floor) thirteen times against each of the thirteen gates. The gates each had a name and some - a story connected to them. This, however, is the opinion of Rabbi Abba, but the Sages say that there were only seven gates. If so, what were the thirteen prostrations for - since the Sages agree to that fact? - The Sages say that after the Greeks made thirteen breaches in the Temple inner wall, and then the Hashmonaim (in the time of Chanukkah) repaired them, the thirteen bowing down commemorated that fact.

One of the Temple's gates was called “The Water Gate,” because, in the future, a spring of water will issue at this place from Jerusalem. The Talmud described how it will happen: from the Holy of Holies, the stream will be like the antennae of the smallest snail; then like locusts’ antennae, and by the time it goes out and connects to the rivers, lakes, and seas of Israel, it will be so powerful that a mighty vessel won’t cross it.

Back to the subject of Temple destruction, when Nebuchadnezzar came up to Israel, the Sanhedrin went out to ask him if the time for Temple destruction had arrived. He told them to give out their king. They told the king Yehoyachin about it, and the latter took the keys of the Temple and threw them to Heaven, from where they did not come back; and some say that a hand came to receive it. When the nobles saw it, they went to the roofs and jumped off there to their death. This is what Isaiah said, “Why have you all gone to the rooftops?”

Art: Daniel Before Nebuchadnezzar by Salomon Koninck

Shekalim 16 - Thirteen

There were a few items in the Temple with the count of thirteen: thirteen collection chests, thirteen tables, and thirteen places where people would prostrate themselves - only the members of the family of Rabban Gamliel prostrated fourteen times when visiting the Temple because they had a family tradition telling them where the Ark was hidden.

There was once a Kohen working in a wood chamber who noticed that one of the floor's stones was higher than the others. He went to tell his colleagues about the possible location of the hidden Ark, but he has not completed his statement and died.

The Talmud described various theories where the Ark was hidden and whether it was taken away to Babylon or not. Some say that there were two Arks, one permanent in the Temple and the other one taken to wars. In contrast, others maintain that there was only one Ark. It also describes the various opinions on the size of the Ark and the position of the whole and broken Tablets inside of it.

Anointing oil made by Moses miraculously extended its use for generations. Jewish kings were anointed with it if there was a disagreement about the next king, but otherwise, the anointment was not necessary; the High Priests, however, always had to be anointed.

The Torah that Moses received from God was of black fire on white fire, as in verse, “He brought the fire of a religion to them from His right hand.”

Art: The Reception of the Ambassadors of the Thirteen Swiss Cantons by Adam Frans van der Meulen

Shekalim 15 – The chamber of secrets

One who brought a sacrifice in the Temple would first go to the administrator over tokens (Yochanan), pay the money for the oil and wine required with his sacrifice, and receive a token. He would then take the token to the administrator over the supplies (Achiya) and receive the proper amounts. In the evening, Yochanan and Achiya would meet and reconcile the tokens and the money. If any money was lacking, Yochanan had to repay his own because of the rule that “Temple always has precedence.” There were four types of tokens for various groups of sacrifices.

There were two chambers in the Temple, the chamber of secrets and the chamber of tools. People who wanted to give charity would put the money in the chamber of secrets, and the descendants of good families who lost their wealth would come and secretly take it from there. The Talmud tells a few stories about the importance of giving charity and acting wisely so as not to embarrass the recipient. One of such stories: Rabbi Chama was strolling among the synagogues of Lod, and he told his colleague, Rabbi Hoshaya, “See how much money did my ancestors sink into these beautiful synagogues!” To this, Rabbi Hoshaya replied, “See how many lives did your ancestors sink! Were there no people struggling to study Torah that they could have supported instead?!”

The chamber of tools – anyone who wanted to donate an implement to the Temple would put it in this chamber, and every thirty days, the priests would open it and use the tools that could be used directly, while the rest was sold for the upkeep of the Temple.

Art: A Business Secret by Isidor Kaufmann

Shekalim 14 – The knowledge of foreign languages

One of the Temple's administrators we mentioned before, Petachia, was really Mordechai of the Purim festival. Still, he is called Petachia (one who opens) because he knew all foreign languages (denoted as the symbolic number of 70 languages). Moreover, he could understand what people meant when they would mix these languages together.

Mordechai was one of the members of the High Court or the Sanhedrin. All judges in the Sanhedrin had to know 70 languages to understand the witnesses directly, not through an interpreter. Still, at least two judges needed to be able to also speak the languages. If they had four such judges, it was called an outstanding Sanhedrin. We should mention here that Shekalim is part of the Jerusalem Talmud. Babylonian Talmud has a more lenient opinion – that all judges together needed to know the majority of languages.

Another administrator was Nechunia, the digger of wells. He went to great lengths and expense for this, and there are miracle stories of his daughter being saved from drowning; nevertheless, his son died of thirst in a desert. This illustrates that God is exacting with the righteous. Gevini was the Crier, and his announcements were heard for miles around. Hugras the Levi was a conductor and a singer, and he had the ability to sing multiple notes simultaneously.

The Talmud also describes the families of incense makers and Temple bakers who kept their professional secrets and the checks and balances instituted in the Temple and in general for those with authority over the congregation, especially in money matters.

Art: The Language of the Fan by Jules Joseph Lefebvre