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