Yoma 45 – Two, three, or even four pyres on the Altar?

The High Priest proceeds with the Yom Kippur service, which in some aspects differs from the daily one: every day, they used a silver shovel to scoop up coals – in order not to waste money had it been from gold. However, today he uses a golden one throughout, and a light one at that – to preserve his strength because it is a hard day for the High Priest, who is fasting like everybody. Every day a Kohen burned half of the incense in the morning and a half in the afternoon, but today the High Priest prepares two handfuls of incense to burn in the Holy of Holies.

There are differences in walking and washing the hands – for the honor of the High Priest. Finally, every day there were four pyres on the Altar, but today five, with the fifth added for the coals to burn the incense. The number of pyres is actually a disagreement: all agree that there were at least two, one of the sacrifices and another one for the daily incense, according to the verse “it is a burned offering on the flame on the Altar... and the (other) fire of the Altar shall be aflame.” Some say, though, that there is an additional pyre to maintain the large pyre. Finally, those who require the fourth pyre say that it was used to burn the limbs of the sacrifices not consumed at night.

Art: An old man warming his hands over coals by (after) Jacob Cornelisz Van Oostsanen