Gittin 34

This is the "G" in the six cases abbreviated Y A L K G M where the law follows Abaye against Rava.

Yoma 35 - Why everyone should learn Torah

One should always study Torah, even if he is as poor as Hillel, as rich as Rabbi Elazar the Millionaire, or as beautiful as Yosef. What are those stories?

Hillel had no savings. His daily earnings were spent: half went to the salary of the guard of the study hall, and the other half he spent for his family sustenance. Once he did not find work and could not pay the guard. But he could not bear to be away from the study hall, especially on Friday night when they studied Kabbalah. So, he went up on the roof and stayed there listening until he was covered by a pile of snow. They discovered him on Saturday morning by his shadow in the window and saved him.

Rabbi Elazar ben Charsom was rich - his father left him a thousand cities, a thousand ships, and corresponding estate. Nevertheless, he would package a pack of flour and go from place to place seeking more Torah knowledge. Once his own servants caught him and wanted to make him work for their master. They have not recognized him because he never occupied himself with business, and they did not know him. He gave them a lot of money and was released to continue on his learning quest.

Yosef - the wife of Potifar, by the name of Zuleikah, would dress up for him in different garments every day, morning and evening. When that failed, she threatened to imprison him, torture him, or blind him. She invited her friends, gave them knives to cut fruit, and they all cut their fingers looking at Yosef, who walked in. (In the end, he did marry her, but in the following reincarnation.)  See this story re-told by the poet Jami.

Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by  Guido Reni  (1575–1642)

Yoma 34 - The second immersion

At this point, the High Priest starts the service that is specific to Yom Kippur. For that, he needs simple white linen vestments. First, however, he needs to immerse himself in a mikveh. That will be his second immersion of the day.

They bring him into the chamber called "Parvah" (after a magician who once dug a tunnel there), and it was in the Temple Courtyard area and spread a linen garment between him and the people. He washes his hands and feet from the washbasin, undresses, and goes into the mikveh. Then he ascends and dries himself. They bring his white vestments. He puts them on, then washes his hands and feet from the washbasin again.

The garments are white and not golden to emphasize humility, but they are of the finest quality. The vestments used in the morning were of Egyptian linen worth 1,200 zuz, and in the afternoon -  from Indian linen, worth 800 zuz. Some say they were even more expensive. This money came from the public treasury, but he could if he wanted to add his own funds.

Art: Linen Industry by William Hincks

Yoma 33 - Order of the sacrifices

The order of the daily morning service in the Temple is studied in detail, explaining why each step precedes another. This order is listed by Abaye, using the tradition that he received from his teachers and following the version of Abba Shaul. The daily morning prayer consists of four parts. Those who read it without omitting the first part will find this passage familiar.

On the Altar, there were two pyres of wood that the priests had to arrange every morning, a big one for the sacrifices, and a small one, for the ambers to burn the incense. The large one preceded the small one. Then came the separation of some ash from the Inner Alter, which preceded the cleaning of the five lamps of the Menorah. There were seven branches in the Menorah, but the preparation of the Menorah had to be broken into two phases. So first, they cleaned the five lamps and then, after an interruption, the remaining two. This interruption was provided by the slaughter and the throwing of the blood of the morning sacrifice. Then came the incense - which was before the burning of the sacrifice limbs - which was before the "mincha" flour offering.

Art: SENTINEL AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE TEMPLE MOUNT, JERUSALEM by Gustav Bauernfeind, 1883

Yoma 32 - Five immersions and ten washings of hands and feet

"Five immersions and ten washing of hands and feet" in the Yom Kippur service done by the High Priest - that was a rule about which all agreed. Therefore, everyone's interpretation had to fit these counts.

For example, let us analyze this phrase, "Aaron shall then go into the Communion Tent, and take off the white linen vestments that he wore when he entered the [inner] sanctuary. He shall leave [these vestments] there." It could not possibly mean what it says. Why would Aharon remove his clothes in the Holy of Holies and leave them there? Rather, "leaving them there" means that he cannot use the same garments for the next Yom Kippur. If so, what is Aaron coming to do in the Holy of Holies?

The answer is that the earlier the High Priest went there to bring in the incense. Then, he left the ladle and the coal-pan there. Now he is going back to retrieve these. The phrase "Aaron shall go into the Communion Tent..." is out of order, but it makes a necessary interruption, adds two changes of vestments, and brings the total number of immersions from six to ten. An immersion accompanies every change of vestments.

Art: Washing hands by Bernhard Keil (1624-1687)

Yoma 31 - The golden vestments

When the High Priest is doing a service specific to Yom Kippur, he wears pure white vestments with no distinctions of the High Priest. But when he is doing a service that is the same as through all year, he must wear the eight special garments.

Now, in the order of Yom Kippur service, he will be making the daily sacrifice and other services that are the same as throughout the other days of the year, so he dons the "golden vestments" of the High Priest.

He undresses, goes into the mikveh, gets out, and dries himself up, to remove any water and dirt. They bring his golden vestments, and he dons them. Then he sanctifies his hands and feet by washing them from the washbasin. They bring him the daily offering. He makes a cut big enough to validate ritual slaughter but then lets another priest complete the slaughter and receives the blood - because all the services of the day should be done by him. He then throws its blood on the Alter and performs the other morning services such as meal-offering and the burning of the sacrifice's limbs.

If he was old or delicate, they warm up the mikveh for him, on the eve of Yom Kippur, enough to take away the chill.

Art: Abraham and Melchizedek by Juan Antonio de Frías y Escalante (1633-1670)