Mishnah Yoma
משנה יומא
The Mishna with Obadiah Bartenura by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein
http://www.sefaria.org/shraga-silverstein

Mishnah Yoma



Chapter 1

	Seven days before Yom Kippur the high-priest is separated from his house to the cell of falhedrin. [For all the services of Yom Kippur are kasher only with him, it being written in respect to Yom Kippur (Leviticus 16:32): "And the priest shall make atonement, who shall be anointed." And this separation is derived from what is written in respect to the seven days of consecration, viz. (Ibid. 8:33): "And from the door of the tent of meeting you shall not go out seven days," followed by (34): "As He did on this day, the L rd has commanded to do, to make atonement for you," which our rabbis expounded: "to do" — this alludes to the (procedure with the) red heifer; "to make atonement for you" — this alludes to the Yom Kippur service, viz.: The priest who burns the red heifer and the priest who performs the Yom Kippur service must both be separated from their houses for seven days, as Aaron and his sons required separation on the seven days of consecration. ("to the cell of falhedrin":) The appointees of the king are called "falhedrin." And because the high-priests in the second Temple after Shimon Hatzaddik would pay to serve in the high-priesthood, and, because they were wicked, would not last out their year and would be replaced every twelve months as the king's appointees were — for that reason this cell was called "the cell of the falhedrin."] And another priest is designated "stand-by" [to be high-priest] in the event of his becoming unfit [through keri (an emission) or through uncleanliness (tumah).] R. Yehudah says: A "stand-by wife" is also designated for him in the event that his wife dies, it being written (Leviticus 16:6): "And he shall make atonement for himself and for his house" — his "house" is his wife. Whereupon they said to him: If so, there is no end to the matter! [i.e., If you are apprehensive as to her dying, there is no end to the matter. For perhaps this one, too, (the "stand-by") will die! Rather, with tumah, which is common, we are apprehensive, for which reason we designate another priest as a stand-by. With sudden death, which is not common, we are not apprehensive, for which reason another woman is not designated as a stand-by. The halachah is in accordance with the sages.]
	All seven days he sprinkles the blood [of t'midim to accustom himself to the sacrificial service], and he smokes the incense, and he tends to the lamps. [He cleans them of the ashes of the burnt-out wicks], and he offers up the head and the foot (of the tamid)]. And the other days, if he wishes to sacrifice [any offering that he desires], he does so [and the men of the watch cannot stop him]. He is first to sacrifice [any] portion [that he desires], and he is first to take a portion. [In the distribution of kodshim (consecrations), he takes any choice portion he desires. This, with the kodshim of the altar; but with those of the border (i.e., outside of Jerusalem), both a high-priest and a regular priest share equally.]
	Certain elders of the elders of beth-din were assigned to him, who read to him [all seven days] in the order of the day (of atonement) [in Leviticus 16]; and they said to him: "Our lord, the high-priest, read it with your mouth, lest you have forgotten it or not learned it." [This was necessary in the second Temple, when unqualified high-priests were appointed by the ruling powers. But in the first Temple, they appointed only the greatest of the priests: in wisdom, in beauty, in strength, and in wealth. And if he were not wealthy, his fellow priests would "elevate" him from what was theirs, viz. (Leviticus 21:10): "And the priest who is greater than his brothers" — Make him great from what appertains to his brothers.] On the morning of Yom Kippur eve, they would stand him at the eastern gate, and they would pass before him bullocks, rams, and sheep in order to familiarize him with the service. [He would give thought to the beasts passing before him to impress upon himself the halachoth of the order of the day.]
	All seven days they did not keep food and drink from him; but as it started getting dark on Yom Kippur eve, they did not permit him to eat much, for eating is sleep-inducing. [They did not permit him to eat much even of those foods which do not cause one to become heated, and they kept from him entirely those foods which increase heat and semen, such as milk, eggs, meat, oil, old wine, and the like.]
	The elders of beth-din [who had taught him the order of the day] delivered him to the elders of the priesthood [to teach him the (service of) the incense handfuls, viz. (Leviticus 16:12): "…and his full handfuls of incense of spices, etc.", a difficult service], and they took him up to the chamber of Beth Avtinas [the makers of the incense, those who crushed it and compounded its spices], and they beswore him [not to be a Sadducee, i.e., not to prepare the incense on the coal-pan on the outside (in the sanctuary) and bring it inside (in the holy of holies), For they expound (Leviticus 16:2): "For with the cloud shall I appear upon the ark cover" — With the cloud of smoking incense (prepared on the outside) shall he (the high-priest) come, and then I shall appear upon the ark cover. And this is not so, for it is written (Ibid. 13): "And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the L rd" (in the holy of holies).], and they took their leave of him, saying: "Our lord, high-priest, we are the emissaries of beth-din, and you are our emissary and the emissary of beth-din. We beswear you in the name of Him who reposed His name in this house, that you not alter one thing of all we have told you." He goes to a side and cries [that they suspected him of being a Sadducee], and they go to a side and cry [that they suspected him, the master having said (Shabbath 97a): "One who suspects the innocent is smitten in his body."]
	If he is a sage, he expounds [on halachah the entire night of Yom Kippur so that he not fall asleep and see keri (an emission)], and if not [i.e., if he is a disciple, but not a sage, able to comprehend halachic discourse, but unable to expound], then Torah scholars expound before him. If he is accustomed to read in Scripture, he does so; if not, they read before him. What do they read? Sections from Job, Ezra, and Chronicles, [which hold one's interest and ward off sleep]. Zecharyah b. Kevutal said: Many times I read before him in the Book of Daniel.
	If he started nodding, the pirchei kehunah (the young priests) would strike before him with the (etzba tzreidah) [("pirchei kehunah":) Youths, whose beards have just begun to sprout (lifroach) are called "pirchei." ("etzba tzreidah":) the finger near the thumb. "tzreidah" = "tzarata deda" ("this one's match), i.e., the match of the thumb, which adjoins it. They would join the thumb to the finger nearest it, and release it with a snap so that the high-priest not fall asleep], and they would say to him: "Our lord, high-priest, stand [on your feet] and remove (hafeg) it [your warmth] once on the [marble] floor," [the coolness of the feet dispelling drowsiness. "hafeg" = "remove," as in (Beitzah 14a): "mefigin ta'aman" ("their flavor is removed")], and they would keep him thus occupied until the time for the slaughtering (of the morning tamid).
	Every day the ashes would be removed from the altar at the call of the gever ("gever" - "rooster" or "man" appointed to rouse the priests) [He (a priest) scoops out the ashes, whether much or little, with a coal pan, and deposits them on the east of the ramp, where they are absorbed in place. (This marked the beginning of the morning service)] or close to it [close to the call of the gever], before or after. On Yom Kippur, [he removes the ashes] from midnight [in consideration of the weakness of the high-priest. Because the entire service devolved upon him, he had to rise earlier.]; and, on festivals, from the first watch. [For there were many Jews and many offerings and an abundance of ash at the wood-pile, whence it had to be removed to a place in the middle of the altar called "tapuach" ("apple"), where a great heap of ash was piled up in the form of an apple. They, therefore, had to rise earlier, and they rose from the first watch, which is a third of the night.] And the call of the gever was not heard [on festivals] until the azarah (the Temple court) was filled with Jews [who brought their offerings to be sacrificed immediately after the morning tamid.]

Chapter 2

	In the beginning, whoever wished to remove the ashes from the altar did so. [Any priest from one patriarchal house who wished to remove the ashes in the morning did so, without a lottery.] And when they [those who wished to remove the ashes] were numerous, [one saying: "I shall do it"; the other: "I shall do it," this was the procedure:] they would run up the ramp [of the altar, which was thirty-two cubits long], and whoever was first to enter the four [upper] cubits [of the ramp, near the top of the altar], earned the right [to remove the ashes; this was their lot.] And if two reached it at the same time, [neither one of them was awarded the service, but all of the priests participated in a lottery. And what was the lottery?], the [lottery] superintendent said to them: "Put out your fingers!" [Each one would show his finger, it being forbidden to count Jews. Therefore, they had to put out their fingers, so that the fingers be counted and not the men. What was the procedure? They would stand around in a circle and the superintendent would come and take the turban from the head of one of them, the count beginning from him. Then everyone would put out his finger and the superintendent would call out a number — "one hundred" or "sixty" — much higher than the number of priests standing there, saying that whoever the count ended at would be awarded (the service). He would then start to count from the one whose turban he had taken and keep on counting fingers, going round and counting until the end. Whoever the count ended at would be the awardee. This was the procedure for all of the lotteries in the Temple.] And what would they put out? One or two (fingers), [one, if he were healthy; two, if he were ill (one who is ill not being in complete control of his fingers, so that when he puts out one, its "neighbor" joins it. The two fingers are counted as one.)] And a thumb is not put out in the Temple [because of the "deceivers." When the count was close to ending and they saw with  whom it would end, the one standing in front of him would put out two fingers so that he would be counted twice and the count would end with him. And the superintendent would not be aware (of the deception), for one can move his thumb so far from his index finger, that they appear to be the fingers of two men, something that cannot be done with the other fingers.]
	Two (priests) were once running neck to neck up the ramp, when one of them pushed his neighbor, who fell and broke his leg. When beth-din saw that there was risk in this, they instituted that the removal of the ashes be awarded only by lottery [as described above]. There were four lotteries there (in the Temple). [They would assemble for lotteries four times a day, and not conduct all at the same time, in order to raise a din four times, there being a large crowd in the azarah. And this is to the honor of the King, viz. (Psalms 55:15): "In the house of G d we went resoundingly!"] This is the first lottery.
	The second lottery: Who slaughters [the tamid?] Who sprinkles? [etc. All of these services were assigned with one lottery. The one with whom the count ended, as we explained, was awarded. He sprinkled the blood upon the altar after receiving it in the sprinkling bowl (the sprinkler being the receiver), and the one next to him would slaughter (the tamid). And even though slaughtering precedes receiving of the blood, still, because the service of sprinkling is greater than that of slaughtering (slaughtering, as opposed to sprinkling, being kasher with a non-priest, the mitzvah of the priesthood obtaining from receiving on), because of this the first in the lottery was awarded sprinkling and the one next to him, slaughtering. The one next to him removes the ashes from the (inner) altar; the one next to him removes the ashes from the menorah, and so on.] Who removes the ashes from the inner altar? Who removes the ashes from the menorah? Who brings the limbs up the ramp? The head and the [right] leg [with one priest], the two forelegs [with a second priest], the tail and the [left] leg [with a third priest], the breast [the fat of the breast facing the ground, cut on either side, without the heads of the ribs] and the gerah [the place where it brings up gerah (cud), i.e., the throat, to which are attached the windpipe, with the liver and the heart], the two rib cages, the entrails, the flour, [the breast and the gerah, with a fourth; the two rib cages, with a fifth; the entrails, with a sixth; the flour [an issaron for the meal libation of the tamid) with a seventh], and the chavitin [a half-issaron for the meal-offerings of the high-priest, which is offered every day with the t'midim. viz. (Leviticus 6:13): "…half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening," with an eighth], and the wine [three logs for the tamid libation, with a ninth]. Thirteen priests were awarded hereby [(through this lottery) the thirteen priestly services enumerated here according to the order of the Mishnah.] Ben Azzai said before R. Akiva in the name of R. Yehoshua: It [the tamid] is sacrificed in the manner of its walking [in its lifetime. The first tanna holds that the choicer parts are offered first, and Ben Azzai holds (that it is offered up) in the manner of its walking: the head and the foot, the chest and the gerah, the two forelegs, the two rib cages, the tail and the (hind) leg. The halachah is not in accordance with Ben Azzai.]
	The third lottery: "Whoever is new to the incense, come to the lottery!" [Thus would they proclaim in the azarah, viz.: Let those who had never offered up the incense come to participate in the lottery. They would not allow one who had already done so to do so again because it confers wealth (upon those who offer it), viz. (Deuteronomy 33:10-11:) "They shall place incense before You … The L rd shall bless his wealth." Because every priest who offered up the incense derived wealth and blessing from it, they allowed no one to repeat it so that all would be given an opportunity for wealth and blessing.] And the fourth (lottery): "New and old!" [i.e., Those who had won the lottery before and those who had never won, come and join the lottery.] Who shall take up the limbs from the ramp to the altar? [When they brought the limbs from the slaughterhouse, they did not take it to the altar, but placed it on the upper half of the ramp towards the east. They would then conduct a new lottery: Who shall take them up thence to the altar? They would do so by reason of (Proverbs 14:28): "In the multitude of the people is the glory of the King."]
	The tamid is offered up with nine (priests) [The reckoning is from the time of the bringing of the limbs on], (sometimes) with nine, with ten, with eleven, with twelve — never less (than nine), never more (than twelve). How so? It itself [every day], with nine: [six for the limbs and the entrails, as mentioned above (2:3), one for the flour, one for the chavitin, one for the wine]; on the festival (Succoth) [when two libations were required, one of wine and one of water], in the hand of one (priest), a flask of water — making ten; the afternoon (tamid), with eleven: it itself, with nine; and two (priests) with two logs in their hands [to add to the wood of the wood pile, viz. (Leviticus 1:7): "And they shall arrange wood upon the fire." If this does not refer to the morning tamid, of which it is already written (Ibid. 6:5): "And the priest shall kindle wood on it every morning," understand it as referring to the afternoon tamid, two logs being added.]; on the Sabbath, with twelve: it itself, with nine; two with two censers of frankincense accompanying the showbread; and, on the Sabbath in the midst of the festival (Succoth), in the hand of one, a flask of water.
	A ram is offered up with eleven (priests): the flesh with five [as with the flesh of the (tamid) lamb], the entrails, the flour [two esronim, with two priests], and the wine, with two each.
	A bullock is offered up with twenty-four (priests): the head and the leg — the head with one and the leg with two; the tail and the leg — the tail with two and the leg with two; the chest and the gereh — the chest with one and the gereh with three; two forelegs, with two; two rib cages, with two; the entrails, the flour, and the wine, with three each. When is this so? [that all of these priests are required for each beast, and a lottery is required]? With communal offerings. But with individual offerings, if he [one priest] wishes to offer it [all] up [and without a lottery], he may do so. The flaying and cutting of both [individual and communal offerings] are alike. [They may be performed by a non-priest, not requiring a Cohein.]

Chapter 3

	The superintendent [the adjutant high-priest] would say to them: "Go out [on a high place in the Temple] and see if the time of slaughtering has arrived, [slaughtering being pasul (unfit) at night, it being written (Leviticus 19:6): "On the day that you slaughter, etc."] He who sees it says: "Barkai!" [The morning has shone forth (hivrik).] Matitya b. Shmuel says: (He says:) "The face of all the east is alight." [This is later than the "Barkai" of the first tanna. The halachah is in accordance with Matitya b. Shmuel.] [Those standing below ask: "Has the light reached] until Chevron?" And he says: "Yes." [This, to invoke the merit of the patriarchs (who are buried in Chevron)].
	And why was all this necessary? For it once happened that the light of the moon shone forth and it seemed as if the east was alight (with the sun) and they slaughtered the tamid and (after becoming aware of their error) they took it out to be burned. [This did not occur on Yom Kippur, for the light of the moon does not shine close to sunrise on Yom Kippur, which falls out in the first third of the month, but (this occurred) at the end of one of the months, when the moon shines close to sunrise. This error occurred, and, fearing that on Yom Kippur a similar error might occur, they required all this.] They would then take the high-priest down to the mikveh. [This is independent (of what precedes). It reverts to (3:1): "…'until Chevron?' And he says: 'Yes.'" After he said: "Yes," they would take the high-priest down to the mikveh, for he had to immerse before he slaughtered the tamid. This rule obtained in the Temple: Whoever "covered his legs" [(a euphemism for defecation)] required immersion; whoever passed water required laving of hands and feet.
	One may not enter the azarah for service [(not necessarily service)], even if he is clean, without immersing, [this following a fortiori, viz.: Now if the high-priest, who changes from holiness to holiness — from an outer service to an inner service and from an inner service to an outer service (requires immersion) — one who comes from his house, from non-holiness to holiness, how much more so should he require immersion!] Five immersions and ten lavings are performed by the high-priest on that day (Yom Kippur). And all (of the immersions) are in holiness (i.e., in the mikveh of) [the lishkah of] Beth Parvah, except for this one, [the first (entering the azarah), which was in chol (non-holiness), at the Water Gate, near his lishkah].
	They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people, [so that he remember that the service of the day was in linen garments (for he was accustomed to serving the entire year in golden vestments).] He undressed, went down and immersed, ascended and dried himself. They brought him the golden vestments. He donned them and laved his hands and his feet [from the laver. For all of the clothes changes of the day required laving for doffing and laving for donning. But this first immersion (where the doffing was that of non-priestly clothing) did not require laving of hands and feet for the doffing.] They brought him the tamid. He cut it, [the greater part of the two (slaughtering), signs, incipient slaughtering], and another finished the slaughtering al yado. [For the receiving of the blood is kasher only with the high-priest, so that he had to hasten to receive it. ("al yado":) "for him"; or else, "after him," "close to him," as in (Nechemiah 3:10): "Ve'al yado hechzik, etc."] He received the blood and sprinkled it. He went in to burn the incense of the morning, to adjust the lamps, to offer up the head, the limbs, the chavitin, and the wine.
	The incense of the morning was offered up between the blood and the limbs. [Not exactly, for we learned above: "He received the blood and sprinkled it. He went in to burn the incense, to adjust the lamps, and to offer up the head and the limbs" — whence it is seen that the incense was offered up between the blood and the lamps, and not between the blood and the limbs. The tanna does not come to apprise us now of the exact order of the offerings, but only to stress that the sprinkling of the blood and the offering up of the limbs did not come one after the other, for the incense intervened, as did the adjusting of the lamps after the (burning of the) incense before the offering up of the limbs.] (The incense) of the afternoon (was offered up) between the limbs and the libations. If the high-priest were old or delicate, they would heat water for him [on Yom Kippur eve] and place it in the cold [hollow of his mikveh], so that the cold be [somewhat] dispelled. (see Bartenura on 1:7)
	They brought him to Beth Haparvah [(It was built by a sorcerer called Parvah and was called by his name)], which was in holy ground. [For this second immersion and all of the others except the first required holy ground, viz. (Leviticus 16:24): "And he shall bathe his flesh in water in a holy place."] They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people. He laved his hands and his feet and undressed. R. Meir says: He [first] undressed and [then] laved his hands and his feet. [The halachah is not in accordance with R. Meir.] He went down and immersed, ascended and dried himself. They brought him white garments [tunic, breeches, girdle, and mitre (Leviticus 16:4), which were worn for all the inner services. And the outer services, such as the (offering up of) temidin and mussafin, were (performed) in golden garments, in which he officiated the entire year. Between each change he required immersion and two lavings of hands and feet from the laver.] He donned them and laved his hands and his feet.
	In the morning, he wore pilusin [fine, thin linen from Ra'amses. (Targum Yerushalmi: "Ra'amses" = "Pilusa"] of twelve maneh, and in the evening, hindvin [from India], of eight hundred zuz. These are the words of R. Meir. The sages say: In the morning he wore (vestments) of eighteen maneh, and, in the evening, of twelve maneh — all together, thirty maneh. [The tanna combines them to apprise us that if he deducted from (the value) of the morning vestments and added to those of the afternoon, it is of no consequence.] These come from the congregation. If he wishes to add, he does so from his own (pocket) [on condition that he make the addition a gift to the Temple.]
	He came to his bullock, which stood between the Ulam and the altar [The entire north of the azarah is kasher by (Torah) law for the bullock to stand in, all of it being called "before the L rd"; but they stood the bullock between the Ulam and the altar close to the sanctuary in consideration of the weakness of the high-priest, that he not have to exert himself to carry the sprinkling bowl far.], its head to the south and its face to the west. [By right, its head should have been towards the sanctuary on the west, and its back to the altar, but because it might evacuate (in which instance it is demeaning for its orifice to face the altar), it was placed with its head to the south and its tail to the north, this being more appropriate. The middle of its body was between the Ulam and the altar and its head was turned so that it faced west.] And the priest stands in the east [i.e., his back to the east] and his face to the west, and he places his two hands upon it and confesses. And thus did he say: "Ana Hashem" ("I beseech You, O L rd") — "I have transgressed, I have offended, I have sinned before You — I and my house — Ana Hashem, atone, I beseech You, for the transgressions, and the offenses, and the sins that I have transgressed, and offended, and sinned before You — I and my house, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh Your servant (Leviticus 16:30): 'For on this day He shall atone for you, etc.'" And they answer after him: "Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever."
	He came to the east of the azarah, to the north of the altar, the adjutant high-priest at his right and the head of the patriarchal house at his left, and there the two goats stood [For they did not bring the goats between the Ulam and the altar when they wished to place the ballots upon them; but they stood in the azarah until the time of slaughtering.], and there was a kalpi there [a hollow wooden box], and in it two ballots of box-wood [a fine wood]; and Ben Gamla [Yehoshua b. Gamla, when he was appointed high-priest] made them of gold, and he received honorable mention.
	Ben Katin [a high-priest] made twelve spouts for the laver, for there were only two. [He did this so that the twelve priests who had won the lottery of the morning tamid could wash at the same time. And even though there were thirteen, as stated above (2:3), he did not make a spout for the slaughterer, for slaughtering is kasher with a non-priest.] And he also made a muchni for the laver [a wheel to sink it into a well so that its water be connected to the well and] so that its water not be rendered unfit by standing overnight. King Monbaz made all the handles of the Yom Kippur vessels of gold. Hilni, his mother, made a golden candelabrum for the entrance of the sanctuary. She also made a golden tablet with the section of sotah (a woman suspected of infidelity) inscribed thereon. Miracles were wrought with the doors of Nikanor [Nikanor went to Alexandria, Egypt, to bring doors (for the Temple). As he was returning, a tidal wave threatened to overturn his boat, at which they (the sailors) took one of the doors and cast it into the sea to lighten the load. As they were about to cast the other one in, Nikanor said to them: "Cast me in with it!" — whereupon the fury of the sea immediately abated. When they reached the harbor of Acco, it (the first door) surfaced from beneath the hull of the boat.], and he [Nikanor] received honorable mention.
	And these are mentioned to their dishonor: Beth Garmo refused to teach (others) the preparation of the show-bread. [The other artisans did not know how to remove it from the oven without breaking it, it being in the form of an open chest.] Beth Avtinas refused to teach the preparation of the incense. [They knew of a certain herb called "ma'aleh ashan" ("the smoke raiser") which, when added to the spices of the incense, would cause the smoke of the incense to rise as a column and not to sway in different directions.] Hugras b. Levi was expert in cantillation, but refused to teach it. Ben Kamtzar refused to teach his writing skills. [He would tie four pens to his four fingers and write the tetragrammaton at one time.] Of the first ones [Ben Gamla, Ben Katin, Monbaz, his mother, Hilni, and Nikanor] it is written (Proverbs 10:7): "The remembrance of the righteous one for a blessing."]; and, of the last ones [Beth Garmo, Beth Avtinas, Hugras b. Levi, and Ben Kamzar] it is written (Ibid.): "And may the name of the wicked rot!" [And even though Beth Garmo and Beth Avtinas gave a reason for not teaching others, viz., perhaps the skill would be learned by an unworthy person, who might use it in the service of idolatry, their defense was not accepted by the sages.]

Chapter 4

	He shook the kalpi [He shook it and snatched a ballot quickly from the kalpi (see 3:9). Why "snatching"? So that he not deliberately "feel out" the ballot with the (L-rd's) name and take it in his right hand (it being an auspicious sign when it came up in his right hand)]. And he brought up two ballots, [one in his right hand; the other in his left. The goats stand, one on his right side; the other on his left. He places the ballot that came up in his right hand on the right-hand goat, and the ballot that came up in his left hand on the left-hand goat.] On one of them (the ballots) it was written: "to the L-rd," and on the other: "to Azazel." The adjutant high-priest stood on his right hand, and the head of the patriarchal house, on his left. If the ballot to the L-rd comes up in his right hand, the adjutant high-priest says to him: "My lord, high-priest, raise your right hand." And if the ballot to the L-rd comes up in his left hand, the head of the patriarchal house says to him: "My lord, high-priest, raise your left hand." He places the ballots on the two goats and says: "To the L-rd, a sin-offering." [He pronounced the tetragrammaton as it is written.] R. Yishmael says: He did not need to say: "a sin-offering," but only: "To the L-rd." [The halachah is not in accordance with R. Yishmael.] And they would answer after him [when he pronounced the Name]: "Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever."
	He tied a tongue of scarlet wool to the head of the sent-away goat and stood it at the gate through which it is sent; and to the goat to be slaughtered, [he tied a tongue of scarlet] at its slaughtering site [i.e., its neck. (And now they would not come to confuse it with the sent-away goat — the one, having it tied to its head; the other, to its neck. And both would not be confused with other goats, having tongues of scarlet tied to them, while the others did not.)] He would come to his bullock a second time, place his hands upon it, and confess: And thus would he say: "Ana Hashem" ("I beseech You, O L rd") — "I have transgressed, I have offended, I have sinned before You — I and my house, and the sons of Aaron, Your holy people — Ana Hashem, atone, I beseech You, for the transgressions, and the offenses, and the sins that I have transgressed, and offended, and sinned before You — I and my house, and the sons of Aaron, Your holy people, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh Your servant (Leviticus 16:30): 'For on this day He shall atone for you, to cleanse you of all of your sins; before the L rd you shall be cleansed.'" And they answer after him: "Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom forever." [Our Mishnah is in accordance with R. Meir, who derives his formulation from (Leviticus 16:21): "And he shall confess over it all the transgressions (avonoth) of the children of Israel, and all their offenses (pisheihem) of all of their sins (chatotham)." But the sages differ, saying: "avonoth" are willful sins; "peshaim" are rebellious ones; "chatoth" are unwitting sins. (Is it conceivable that) after confessing over willful and rebellious sins he confesses again over unwitting ones! Rather, he says: "I have sinned, I have transgressed, I have offended." And thus, David says (Psalms 106:6): "We have sinned together with our fathers; we have transgressed; we have been wicked." The halachah is in accordance with the sages. As to Moses' saying (Exodus 34:7): "He forgives transgression, offense, and sin" — thus did Moses say before the Blessed One: "When the children of Israel sin and repent, regard their deliberate sins as unwitting ones."]
	He slaughtered it (the bullock) and received its blood in the sprinkling bowl. He gave it to the one who stirred it [(so that it not congeal in the interim of his performing the incense service)] on the fourth row (of tiles) of the sanctuary. [It cannot be understood as the fourth row in the sanctuary, from the entrance of the sanctuary inwards, for it is written (Leviticus 16:17): "And no man shall be in the tent of meeting when he comes to make atonement, etc." It is to be understood, then, as the fourth row of (i.e., from) the sanctuary; that is, the fourth row in the azarah as he leaves the sanctuary to the azarah. He counts the rows and places it on the fourth row, where the one who stirred it was standing, it being impossible to do so within the sanctuary, as explained.] (and he stirs it) so that it not congeal. He took the coal pan and went up to the top of the altar and he turned coals back and forth and scooped out some of the well-burnt inner coals. He went down and placed them on the fourth row in the azarah. [He scooped out the coals and placed the coal pan there, leaving it there until he took the handful of incense and placed it into the ladle, after which he brought the ladle and the coal pan inside (the sanctuary).]
	Every day, he (the officiating priest) would scoop out (coals) [When he would scoop out coals from the second wood pile of incense to bring them to the inner altar for the incense offering of morning and evening], (he would scoop out coals) with (a coal pan) of silver and spill them into one of gold [and he would not scoop them out with one of gold, for the scooping out of coals wears out the pan, and the Torah "pitied the money of Israel."], but today (Yom Kippur), he (the high-priest) scooped them out with one of gold and brought them in therewith [so as not to tire the high-priest to spill them from vessel to vessel.] Every day, he would scoop them out with one of four kavin and spill them into one of three kavin, but today, he scooped them out with one of three kavin and brought them in therewith. R. Yossi says: Every day, he would scoop them out with one of a sa'ah and spill them into one of three kavin, but today, he scooped them out with one of three kavin and brought them in therewith. Every day it was heavy [i.e., its wall was thick], but today, it was light [its wall was thin]. Every day, its handle was short, but today, it was long [so that the high-priest could use his arm for support]. Every day, the gold one was yellowish, but today, it was reddish [parvayim gold, so called because it looked like the blood of bullocks (parim)]. These are the words of R. Menachem. Every day, he would offer up a pras [half a manah] in the morning and a pras in the afternoon, but today, he would add a full handful. Every day, it (the incense) was (ground) fine, but today, it was extra fine. [For it is written (Leviticus 16:12): "…and his full handfuls of incense (ground) fine." Why need this be stated? Is it not already written (Exodus 30:26): "And you shall crush it fine"? To apprise us that on Yom Kippur it must be extra fine.]
	Every day, the priests would ascend on the east of the ramp [As the master said: "Let all your turnings be to the right," which is to the east. For the ramp was in the south (of the altar), so that ascending on the east of the ramp, one would be turning right.], and they would descend on the west, but today, the high-priest would ascend in the middle and descend in the middle, [in point of his eminence, to show that he is like "a member of the Household," walking wherever he desires, as opposed to the other priests, who are not permitted to do so.] R. Yehudah says: The high-priest always ascends in the middle and descends in the middle. Every day, the high-priest would lave his hands and feet from the laver, but today, he would do so from the golden ladle. R. Yehudah says: The high-priest always laves his hands and feet from the golden ladle.
	Every day there were four wood piles there [on the outer altar. There were four wood piles on which fire was kindled: one, the large wood pile on which the tamid was sacrificed; another, the second wood pile from which fire was taken for the altar of the incense; a third, the wood pile of the perpetuation of the fire, that fire never fail from the altar; and the fourth, the wood pile of the limbs and the fat-pieces of the afternoon tamid, which (limbs) had not been consumed from the evening and which had not been burned the entire night. They are burned in this wood pile. And on Yom Kippur another wood pile is added from which are taken the coals for the incense (offering) in the holy of holies.] These are the words of R. Meir. R. Yossi says: Every day, three; and today, four. [For there are three verses in this regard: (Leviticus 6:2): "…upon its fire-wood on the altar all the night until the morning." This is the large wood-pile. (Ibid. 5): "And fire of the altar shall be kindled thereby." This is the second wood pile, of the incense. (Ibid. 5): "And the fire upon the altar shall burn thereby; it shall not be extinguished." This is the third wood pile, of the perpetuation of the fire. And R. Yossi does not hold that there is a fourth wood pile for unconsumed limbs and fat-pieces, holding that these are burned at the sides of the large wood pile.] R. Yehudah says: Every day, four; and today, three, [R. Yehudah not holding that there is a third wood pile for the perpetuation of the fire. As to: "And the fire upon the altar shall burn thereby; it shall not be extinguished," he expounds that as meaning that one who lights small pieces of wood with which to kindle the large wood pile should not light them on the floor and bring them up to the altar, but should light them on the top of the altar. The halachah is in accordance with R. Yossi.]

Chapter 5

	They took out for him [from the lishkah of vessels] the ladle and the (incense) pan, and he took full handfuls and put them into the ladle, the taller (priest) relative to his size; the shorter, relative to his. And this was its measure. [As it was measured outside, thus was it measured inside. Just as outside, he took full "handfuls," literally, not in a vessel, so inside, when he spilled the incense from the ladle into his hands, he did not spill it with a vessel made to the measure of his handfuls, but into his hand itself.] He took the coal pan in his right hand and the ladle in his left hand. He walked in the sanctuary until he came between the two curtains dividing the holy from the holy of holies, a cubit between them. [Because they were in doubt at the time of the second Temple whether the partition dividing the holy from the holy of holies in the first Temple, which was a cubit thick — since they were in doubt as to whether that cubit was considered as the interior (the holy of holies) or the exterior (the holy), they made two curtains, one on the exterior, one on the interior, a cubit between them, that cubit being accounted the partition.] R. Yossi says: There was only one curtain there, it being written (Exodus 26:33): "And the curtain shall divide for you between the holy and the holy of holies." The outer curtain was clasped from the south, and the inner curtain was clasped from the north. [The rabbis who differ with R. Yossi say this, holding that "And the curtain shall divide for you, etc." obtained in the mishkan (the desert sanctuary) alone. ("clasped":) Its edge was doubled on the outside, and it was held by a golden clasp, so that it could be opened from the south.] He walked between them [He entered from the clasp on the south and walked between them] until he reached the [clasp on the] north. When he reached the north [and he entered the holy of holies], he turned his face south [to walk between the poles (of the ark), in the middle (of the holy of holies). For the poles reached until the curtain, one (pole) end being on the west; the other, on the east; one (pole) being at the head of the ark on the north; the other, at its head on the south.] He walked to his left with the curtain [For when one walks from north to south, his left is to the east, and the curtain was in the east, so that his left was "with the curtain"] until he reached the ark [the place of the ark, not the ark itself, there being no ark in the second Temple.] He placed the coal pan between the two poles, released the incense upon the coals, and the entire house was filled with smoke. He went out the way he had entered [not turning his face to leave, but walking out backwards, facing the ark.], and he prayed a short prayer in the outer house (the sanctuary) [viz.: "May it be Your will, O L rd my G d, that if this year is hot, let it be rainy; may the kingdom not pass from the house of Judah; may Your people Israel not be dependent upon each other for a livelihood, nor upon others; and may the prayers of the wayfarers (that it not rain) not present themselves before You."] And he would not be long in praying so as not to alarm Israel, [who might fear that he had died].
	After the ark was removed (at the destruction of the first Temple) — there was a stone there (in the holy of holies), from the time of the first prophets, "shethiah," by name [so called because the world was founded ("nishtath") from it by the L rd. "shethiyah" = "foundation."] It was three fingers higher than the ground, and above it he placed the (coal pan).
	He took the blood from the one stirring it, entered where he had entered before [in the holy of holies], stood where he had stood [between the poles], and he sprinkled from it, one above and seven below. And he did not direct his sprinkling, neither above, [so that the one, above, land on the upper point of the kaporeth (the ark cover)] nor below, [so that the seven, below, land across its diameter; for the drops did not touch the kaporeth, but fell to the ground], but (he sprinkled them) as a "lasher," [who begins between the shoulders and works his way downwards. In like manner, he so executed his sprinklings that they fell on the ground in a row, one beneath the other.] And thus would he count: "One," "one and one," "one and two," "one and three," "one and four," "one and five," "one and six," "one and seven." [For if he did not count the first upper sprinkling independently and all seven below, sometimes he might err and count the first sprinkling together with the seven below, counting the first one below as "two." And it is not to be entertained that he count the first one above together with the seven below and count until eight. For it may be that it is a mitzvah to treat the lower sprinklings as a unit of seven and not as part of eight.] And he placed it (the sprinkling bowl) on the golden base in the sanctuary.
	They brought him the goat. He slaughtered it and received its blood in the sprinkling bowl. He entered where he had entered and stood where he had stood, and he sprinkled from it, one above and seven below. And he did not direct his sprinkling, neither above nor below, but as a "lasher." And thus would he count: "One," "one and one," "one and two etc." He went out and placed it on the second base in the sanctuary. R. Yehudah says: There was only one base there. He took the blood of the bullock and put down the blood of the goat. [This is the conclusion of the statement of R. Yehudah to the effect that there was only one base — so that he had to take the blood of the bullock first in order to put down the blood of the goat on the base previously occupied by the first.], and he sprinkled from it on the curtain facing the ark from the outside, [it being written (Leviticus 16:16): "And thus shall he do for the tent of meeting"], one above and seven below. And he did not direct, etc. And thus would he count, etc. He took the blood of the goat and put down the blood of the bullock, and he sprinkled from it on the curtain facing the ark from the outside, one above and seven below, etc. He poured the blood of the bullock into the blood of the goat, [as it is written concerning the placings (of the blood) on the altar (Ibid. 18): "And he shall take of the blood of the bullock and of the blood of the goat" — of the blood of both, together], and he put the full in the empty [i.e., He then poured from the full sprinkling bowl into the empty one so that the bloods would mix well.]
	(Leviticus 16:18): "And he shall go out to the altar which is before the L rd." This is the golden altar. He began, cleansing and descending. [This tanna holds that the priest walked to each corner (projection) so that every placing was on the corner before him and near him. This is the intent of "cleansing and descending." That is, he would apply the blood from top to bottom. For if he applied it from bottom to top on the corner before him, the blood would drip into his sleeve and soil his clothing.] From where does he begin? From the northeast corner. (Then he continued) northwest, southwest, southeast. The place that he began with the sin-offering on the outer altar, there he finished (the blood applications) on the inner altar. R. Eliezer says: He stayed in his place and cleansed, applying (the blood) on all of them from bottom to top, except for the one immediately in front of him, where he applied it from top to bottom. [R. Eliezer holds that the priest stands in one corner, whence he makes the applications on all of the corners. (For the entire altar was only one cubit square.) Since the three (other) corners were not right next to him, he could apply it from bottom to top without soiling his clothing — as opposed to the corner directly in front of which he was standing. He could not curve his fingertips downwards and apply it from bottom to top; for if he did so, the blood would drip into his sleeve. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Eliezer.]
	He sprinkled on the "pureness" of the altar seven times. [After he finishes all the applications on the corners, he sprinkles upon it seven times, as it is written (Leviticus 16:19): "And he shall sprinkle upon it of the blood with his finger seven times." ("the pureness of the altar":) its exposed place. He moves the ashes and the coals aside and sprinkles on the gold of the altar.] And what was left over of the blood, he spilled on the western foundation of the outer altar. And that of the outer altar [i.e., what was left of the blood of the outer sin-offerings], he spilled on the southern foundation. Both of them [the outer and the inner bloods which were spilled on the altar of the burnt-offering, fell from the foundation to the floor and] intermixed in the amah [a duct in the azarah] and emptied into the stream of Kidron. It is sold to garden owners as fertilizer and it is subject to me'ilah (abuse of consecrated matter). [It is forbidden to benefit from it without payment (to the Temple)].
	The entire Yom Kippur service [i.e., all of the services which he performs in the white garments, within (the holy of holies) and the sanctuary, which are mentioned in order (in our Mishnah)] — if he performed one service (out of order) before another, he has done nothing. If he sprinkled the blood of the goat before that of the bullock, he must go back and sprinkle the blood of the goat after that of the bullock. And if before finishing the applications within (the holy of holies), the blood spills out, he must bring other blood and repeat the sprinklings from the beginning within. And so with the sanctuary. [If he performed a part of the sprinklings on the curtain and the blood spilled out, he must bring another bullock and begin those sprinklings again (but he need not repeat the sprinklings within)]. And so with the golden altar, for each is an atonement in itself, [wherefore, if it were completed, it is completed]. R. Elazar and R. Shimon say: From the place where he stopped, there he begins [i.e., Even if that atonement were not completed, he need not repeat that part of it which he already performed. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Elazar and R. Shimon.]

Chapter 6

	The two goats of Yom Kippur — it is their mitzvah that they be alike in appearance, in stature, in value, and in being taken at the same time. [("in appearance":) both white or both black. ("and in stature and in value":) For there are three verses in this regard, viz. (Leviticus 16:5): "And from the congregation of the children of Israel he shall take two goats," (Ibid. 7): "And he shall take the two goats," (Ibid. 8): "And Aaron shall place on the two goats." Since "goats" connotes two, why need it be repeated "two," "two" "two," three times? To teach us that they be alike in appearance, stature, and value.] But even if they are not alike, they are kasher. If he took one today and the other the next day, they are kasher. If one of them died — if it died before the lot had been cast, a mate is taken for the second; and if after the lot had been cast, a different pair is brought and the lot cast from the beginning. And he says (if the one "to the L rd" had died): "This one, for whom the lot came up 'to the L rd,' is in its place." And (if the one "to Azazel" had died): "This one, for whom the lot came up 'to Azazel,' is in its place." And the second one grazes until it sustains a blemish, and it is sold, and its monies go for gift (offerings). [If the one "to Azazel" died, so that now we have two "to the L rd," one that remained from the first pair and one from the second, atonement is made with one of them and the second one grazes. Similarly, if the one "to the L rd" died, so that now we have two "to Azazel," one of them is sent away and the second grazes. It is the second one of the second pair that grazes until it sustains a blemish, and the second of the first pair that is sacrificed if it is "to the L rd," or sent away if it is "to Azazel." For living animals are not "pushed away." And though they underwent a period of unfitness (when their mate died), this is subject to amendment by the provision of a new mate.] For a communal sin-offering is not caused to die (by not being fed). [For sin-offerings' being caused to die obtains only with individual sin-offerings; but the Yom Kippur goats are communal sin-offerings, viz. (Leviticus 16:5): "And from the congregation of Israel he shall take two goats for a sin-offering." (A "dead sin-offering" is one that is pent up in a house and kept there until it dies.)] R. Yehudah said: It is caused to die. And R. Yehudah said further: If the blood [of the goat "to the L rd"] spilled out, the sent-away goat is to die, [for the mitzvah of the (sprinkling of the) blood has not been performed. And, in respect to all the services performed in the white vestments, both inside and outside, "statute" is written, making them categorical requirements. He must, therefore, bring other blood, and this is impossible except through casting a (new) lot. And since R. Yehudah holds that living animals are "pushed away," the first sent-away goat is to die.] If the sent-away goat died, the blood is to be spilled out. [Even though, according to all, "sending away" is not a categorical requirement (i.e., the other services are valid even if it were not sent away), for "statute" connoting a categorical requirement is written in respect to what the priest does in the linen vestments and not in respect to what is done by the "appointed man" (with the sent-away goat), still, it (the above ruling) is derived from Scripture, viz. (Leviticus 16:10): "It shall be stood living before the L rd to make atonement over it." How long must the sent-away goat stand living? Until the time of the sprinkling of the blood of its mate — the implication being that if it died before that, the blood atonement does not obtain, for which reason it (the sprinkling of the blood) must be repeated. And this is impossible without casting a (new) lot; so two (new) goats are needed and the first is "pushed away." (For all agree that slaughtered animals are "pushed away")].
	He came to the sent-away goat [After he had completed the blood sprinklings of the bullock and the goat, the high-priest came to the sent-away goat in the place where he had stood it, at the gate through which it is sent], and he placed his two hands upon it and confessed. And thus would he say: "Ana Hashem" ("I beseech You, O L rd") — "They have transgressed, they have offended, they have sinned before You, Your people the house of Israel. Ana, by the Name, atone, na, for the transgressions, and for the offenses, and for the sins that Your people Israel transgressed, and offended, and sinned before You, as it is written in the Torah of Mosheh Your servant (Leviticus 16:30): 'For on this day He shall atone for you to cleanse you of all of your sins; before the L rd you shall be cleansed.'" And the Cohanim and the people who stood in the azarah, when they heard the Name (the tetragrammaton) fully pronounced, issuing forth from the mouth of the high-priest, would bow down and prostrate themselves, and fall on their faces, and say: "Blessed is the name of the glory of His kingdom forever."
	He gave it to the one appointed to lead it away. All are kasher to lead it away, but the Cohanim made it a fixed practice [for a Cohein to do so] and they [a beth-din of Cohanim] did not allow an Israelite to lead it away. R. Yossi said: Once, Arsela, who was an Israelite, led it away.
	And they made him [the sender] a ramp [out of the azarah and out of the city] because of the Babylonians, who would tear his hair, saying: "Take it and go! Take it and go!" [and do not keep our sins ("embodied" in the goat) here anymore!)] Some of the eminent men of Jerusalem would accompany him to the first succah. [They made succoth for him on the way and men went to dwell there before Yom Kippur, to accompany him from succah to succah.] There were ten succoth from Jerusalem until the peak (from which it was thrown), ninety ris [from Jerusalem until the peak], seven and a half [ris] to each mil. [I heard it rendered as "ros," with a vav, 266 steps, as per the gematria of "ros" — so that seven and a half ris is found to be two thousand steps less five, approximately, the tchum Shabbath (the Sabbath bound). Nine ris are twelve mil.]
	At each succah, they would say to him: "Here is food; here is water." [They said this only to relieve him. For one who has "bread in his basket" is not so hungry as one who does not have bread in his basket. But no one ever had need of it (the food)]. And they would accompany him from succah to succah, except the last of them, who would not accompany him to the peak, but would stand from afar and observe him. [For from Jerusalem until the first succah was a mil. And there were ten succoth. And between succah and succah there was a mil. So that from Jerusalem until the last succah there were ten mil, leaving two mil from the last succah until the peak. They would accompany him a mil (as per the Sabbath bound), stand from afar, and observe him.]
	What did he do? He divided the crimson tongue. Half he tied on a rock and half between its horns. [He would not tie the whole crimson tongue on the rock lest it whiten immediately before the goat was pushed and, from the joy of its whitening (indicating that their sins had been forgiven), he come to forget the mitzvah of pushing (it down), assuming that the mitzvah had already been completed in that the tongue had whitened. And he would not tie the whole tongue between its horns, lest in being pushed, it would bend its head beneath its body in falling backwards, so that the tongue could not be seen whitening, which would sadden all of Israel. Therefore, he tied half to the rock (where it would not whiten until the entire act had been completed), so that when he tied half between its horns, though it might whiten immediately, he would not neglect to push it off, being preoccupied with it.] He pushed it backwards and it rolled down, not reaching the middle of the mountain before it had been torn limb from limb. Then he would return and stay in the last succah until nightfall. [And even though one who leaves the tchum even with the permission of the sages may go only two thousand cubits from the place he was authorized to go, he was permitted (to go back twice that distance), being afraid to remain in the desert after dark.] And from when do his clothes become unclean? [it being written (Leviticus 16:26): "And he who sends the goat to Azazel shall wash his clothes."] From the time he leaves the wall of Jerusalem. R. Shimon says: From the time he pushes it off the peak. [The halachah is not in accordance with R. Shimon.]
	He came to the bullock and the goat (which were to be) burnt. [After the high-priest gave the sent-away goat to the sender, he came to the bullock and the goat awaiting burning] and cut them open and removed their eimurin (devoted portions), placed them on a tray [of the ministering vessels] and burned them on the altar. [The meaning cannot be that he burned them now, for he was dressed in the white vestments, in which he still had to read the section of the day. It is to be understood, rather, as: He placed them on a tray in order to burn them afterwards, when their time arrived, after he had immersed and donned the golden vestments.] They twined them (the bullock and the goat) on poles [whole, with their hides and flesh and excreta. Only, their stomachs had been slit open to remove their eimurin.], and they were taken out to be burned [outside of Jerusalem]. And from when do they cause the clothes [of those occupied with them] to become unclean? [viz. (Leviticus 16:28): "And he who burns them shall wash his clothes, etc."]. From the time they are taken outside the wall of the azarah. R. Shimon says: From the time the fire "takes" in their greater part. [The halachah is not in accordance with R. Shimon.]
	They said to the high-priest: "The sent-away goat has reached the desert," [it being forbidden to begin another service until the goat reaches the desert, viz. (Leviticus 16:23): "And he shall send out the goat in the desert," followed by (25): "And the fat of the sin-offering shall he burn."]. How did they know that the goat had reached the desert? They would erect dorchiyoth [big, high stones, one atop the other], and they [the watchers, stood there and] waved their scarves (one to another, at the sighting), so that they knew when the goat had reached the desert. R. Yehudah said: Did they not have a substantial sign (for its having reached the desert)? From Jerusalem until Beth Chadudo [the beginning of the desert] was three mil, [R. Yehudah holding that once the goat arrives there the mitzvah has been performed, even though it has not reached the peak. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Yehudah.] They would walk a mil, return a mil, wait (the amount of time it would take to walk) a mil, and they knew that the goat had reached the desert. [As stated above (6:4): "Some of the eminent men of Jerusalem would accompany him to the first succah" (a mil from Jerusalem) — so that when they returned (a mil) and waited the amount of time it took to walk a mil), they knew that the goat had reached the desert.] R. Yishmael says: Did they not have another sign? A tongue of crimson was tied at the entrance of the sanctuary, and when the goat reached the desert, it would whiten, viz. (Isaiah 1:18): "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow."

Chapter 7

	The high-priest came to read [the section of the day]. If he wishes to read in the linen vestments [in which he performed the service of the day], he does so, [it being permitted to wear the priestly garments even when not performing the priestly service in them, the priestly garments being given for enjoyment]; and if not, he reads in his own white frock, [the reading of this section not being part of the priestly service.] The sexton takes the Torah scroll and hands it to the head of the assembly, [who makes all the congregational designations: who reads the maftir, who recites the shema, who reads the prayers. The Torah scroll is handed from one to the other to enhance the dignity of high-priest, to show that there are stations much below him.] The head of the assembly hands it to the adjutant high-priest; the adjutant high-priest hands it to the high-priest, and the high-priest rises and receives it, [the implication being that till now he was sitting — whence we infer that he reads it in the ezrath nashim. For if in the ezrath Yisrael, or, much more so, in a place of greater sanctity, it is forbidden to sit, only kings of the Davidic house being permitted to sit in the azarah, viz. (II Samuel 7:18): "And King David came, and he sat before the L rd.], and he reads standing "Acharei moth" (Leviticus 16:1-34) and "Ach be'asor" (Ibid. 23:26-32). [For it is permitted to skip in the (reading of the) Torah in one theme if it (the second part) is close enough not to require the translator to pause. But if the translator finishes translating the verse that the reader has read before the scroll can be rolled to the next part, it is forbidden, for the congregation is thereby made to wait, and this is not in keeping with the dignity of the congregation]; then he rolls up the Torah scroll and places it under his arm, and he says: "More than I have read before you is written here" (in this scroll). [(He says this) so as not to bring the Torah scroll (from which he read) into "disrepute"; for (otherwise) when they see him reciting the third section by heart, they might think that the (first) Torah scroll was missing that section.] And "Uve'asor" in Numbers (29:7), he reads by heart. [For it is too far from "Achrei Moth" and "Ach be'asor" to reach before the translator has finished translating. Therefore, he cannot roll the scroll to that part because of the dignity of the congregation. And he cannot have a different Torah scroll brought, for this might lead people to impute a blemish to the first, saying that it is defective.] And he makes eight blessings over it: over the Torah, [two blessings, one before and one after, as in the synagogue], over the service and over the thanking, ["Retzeh" and "Modim"], over the pardoning of sin ["Selach lanu"], over the Temple in itself, [that the Shechinah repose therein], over Israel in themselves, over the Cohanim in themselves, [that they be blessed and that their offerings be graciously received], and over the rest of the prayer. [The gemara explains: "Imploration, song, and petition before You on behalf of Your people Israel, who are in need of salvation"; (and he concludes:) "Blessed are You, O L rd, who hearkens to prayer."]
	One who sees the high-priest reading does not see the bullock and the goat being burned; and one who sees the bullock and the goat being burned does not see the high-priest reading. Not that he is not allowed to, but that the distance was great and both did not take place at the same time. [For we might have thought that a man observing one service was not permitted to leave off watching to go to see another, it being forbidden to "pass over" a mitzvah; and observing a service is a mitzvah, by reason of (Proverbs 14:28): "In the multitude of people is the King's glory." We are, therefore, apprised that this is not called "passing over" a mitzvah, for he is not occupied in its performance.]
	If he read in the linen vestments, he laved his hands and feet, undressed, went down and immersed, ascended and dried himself. They brought him the golden vestments. He donned them, laved his hands and feet, went out and "did" his ram and the ram of the people, and the seven unblemished one-year-old lambs. These are the words of R. Eliezer. [The rationale of R. Eliezer: His ram and the ram of the people, the eimurin of the sin-offering and the taking out of the ladle and the coal pan — all of these, that are written of first in Leviticus in the section of the day (Yom Kippur), he did first; and then he did the mussafin (the additional offerings): the bullock burnt-offering, the seven lambs, and the goat offered outside — all with the afternoon tamid]. R. Akiva said: They [the bullock burnt-offering and the seven lambs of the mussafin] were sacrificed with the morning tamid. And the bullock burnt-offering and the goat offered on the outside was sacrificed with the afternoon tamid. [For it is written (Numbers 29:23): "Aside from the burnt-offering of the morning of the daily burnt-offering shall you offer these." It is seen, then, that the mussafin were offered close to the morning burnt-offering; and after that, the service of the day (Yom Kippur); and after that, the goat offered outside. And even though it is included in the mussafin, it cannot precede the service of the day, it being written in respect to it (Ibid. 29:11): "One kid of goats as a sin-offering, aside from the sin-offering of atonement," whence it is seen that the (offering of the) inner goat, part of the service of the day, precedes it; and then the eimurin of the sin-offering — all these with the third immersion; and then the taking out of ladle and coal pan; and after that the afternoon tamid. The halachah is in accordance with R. Akiva.]
	He laved his hands and his feet, undressed, went down and immersed, ascended and dried himself. They brought him white vestments, which he donned. He went in to take out the ladle and the coal pan. He laved his hands and his feet. He undressed, went down and immersed, ascended and dried himself. They brought him golden vestments, which he donned. He laved his hands and his feet and went in to burn the afternoon incense and to adjust [i.e., to kindle] the lamp. He laved his hands and his feet and doffed (the golden vestments). They brought him his own garments. He donned them and they accompanied him until his house. And he made a festive gathering for his friends when he went out in peace from the Temple.
	The high-priest officiates in eight vestments and a regular priest in four: coat, breeches, turban, and girdle. The high-priest, in addition, wears four: choshen [breastplate], ephod, robe, and tzitz (head-plate). In these, inquiries are made of the urim vethumim [i.e., the high-priest must be wearing the eight garments when he makes inquiries of the urim vethumim. How are inquiries made? The face of the inquirer is behind the priest who is inquired of. His (the latter's) face is towards the ark. The inquirer asks: "Shall I do this thing or not?" He does not ask in a loud voice and not in his heart, but in a low voice; and the holy spirit invests the priest and he looks at the choshen. He sees letters projecting from the choshen before his face — "Do this," or "Do not do this." For on the stones of the choshen were written the names of the twelve tribes, and Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, and "shivtei Kah" ("the tribes of the L rd"), so that the entire alphabet was represented. And the holy spirit informed the priest how to combine the projecting letters so that the meaning was apparent.] And inquiries are made only for the king, for the beth-din, and for the one acting on behalf of the congregation, [it being written (Numbers 27:21): "And before Elazar the priest shall he stand" — the king; "and all the children of Israel with him" — the one whom all the children of Israel are with, to go out to war after him — the priest anointed for war, the one needed by the congregation; "and the entire congregation" — the Great Sanhedrin.]

Chapter 8

	The following are forbidden (assur) on Yom Kippur: eating and drinking, washing, anointing, wearing shoes, and cohabitation. [We have "assur" (connoting rabbinically but not Scripturally interdicted) even though eating and drinking are punishable by kareth (cutting off), because of the other inuyim (afflictions, self-deprivations), which are not punishable by kareth. And these five inuyim correspond to the five inuyim mentioned in the Torah, viz.: (Leviticus 23:32): "A Sabbath of Sabbaths it shall be to you, and you shall afflict your souls"; (Ibid. 16:31): "It is a Sabbath of Sabbaths to you, and you shall afflict your souls"; (Numbers 28:7): "And on the tenth day of this seventh month … and you shall afflict your souls"; (Leviticus 23:27): "But on the tenth day … and you shall afflict your souls"; (Ibid. 16:29): "And it shall be to you an everlasting statute … you shall afflict your souls." And these (afflictions) in our Mishnah are also five, for eating and drinking are one.] And the king and a bride may wash their faces, [a king, by reason of (Isaiah 33:17): "The king in his beauty shall your eyes behold"; a bride, to endear her to her husband. She is called a "bride" all thirty days (after the wedding)]. And a midwife may wear shoes [because of the cold]. These are the words of R. Eliezer. [This refers to all of them: king, bride, and midwife. The sages forbid it. The halachah is in accordance with R. Eliezer.]
	If one eats (on Yom Kippur) the size of a large date (kotheveth), it and its seeds; and if one drinks (the size of) his full cheek, he is liable. [A kotheveth is less than (the size of) an egg. And even though the (minimum) quantity for all (of the Torah) "eatings" is an olive-size, this is because "eating" is written in respect to them. But here, where only "Every soul which will not be afflicted" is written (Leviticus 23:29), it is postulated that with less than a kotheveth one's mind is not set at rest, and he is "afflicted." In any event it is ruled that a half-size (of the interdicted quantity) is forbidden by the Torah; it is just that there is kareth liability and stripes only with the full size. ("full cheek":) Any quantity which, if moved to the side of the mouth causes one's cheek to visibly expand is called "his full cheek." In an average person, this is less than a revi'ith.] All foods combine to (the interdicted size of) a kotheveth; and all liquids combine to (the size of) his full cheek. If one eats and drinks, "combining" (of foods and liquids) does not obtain.
	If one ate and drank in one period of forgetfulness, he is liable for only one sin-offering, [for eating and drinking are derived from one verse and go under the same name.] If he ate and performed a labor, he is liable for two sin-offerings, [for these are derived from two verses and go under two names.] If one ate foods that are not fit for eating or drank liquids that are not fit for drinking, or if he drank brine or muries, he is not liable.
	Young children are not "afflicted" on Yom Kippur [i.e., one is not obligated to withhold food from them], but they are trained [by hours. If he was accustomed to eat at the fourth hour, he is fed at the fifth or the sixth, as he can tolerate it], one year before [he comes of age, if he is sickly and weak, and cannot "take" more] or two years before [he comes of age, if he is healthy. "Coming of age" is twelve years and a day for a girl (for she is not wont to show two pubertal hairs before then, at which time she is subject to punishment for transgression), and thirteen years and a day for a boy, before which time he is not subject to punishment.] (This is done) so as to accustom them to mitzvoth.
	If her fetus smelled food, she is fed until her soul is restored. [The fetus smells the food and she desires it, and if she does not eat, both are endangered. A sick person is fed on the opinion of experts [i.e., doctors who are expert in their profession]. And if there are no experts, he is fed on his own say, until he says: "Enough!" [The gemara explains: When is this so, that we rely on the opinion of experts? When the sick man says that he does not need to eat or when he keeps quiet. But if he says: "I need," there are no experts there; that is, their expertise avails naught, but he is fed on his own say, even if the experts say he does not need to eat.]
	If one were seized by bulmus [a sickness produced by intense appetite and endangering one's life (and which is known to have been cured when his appearance returns to normal)], he is fed even things that are unclean, until his eyes "shine." If one were bitten by a mad dog, [one possessed by an "evil spirit" (its signs: gaping mouth, dripping spittle, "hanging" ears, tail fallen between its legs, walking on the edge of the public road; some say: also, barking without being heard], he is not fed from the lobe of its liver. [Even though the doctors prescribe this, it is not a genuine cure which warrants permitting an unclean animal to him.] And R. Matia b. Charash permits it, [holding it to be a genuine cure. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Matia b. Charash.] R. Matia b. Charash said further: If one's teeth ache him, [the gums beginning to rot and (the malady) spreading to the palate and the throat], a drug [a curative herb] is paced into his mouth on the Sabbath, for there is a possible risk of life, and every possible risk of life overrides the Sabbath, ["every" to include such an instance when we are certain that he will not die this Sabbath, but there is a possibility that if the cure is not administered today, he might die on the next Sabbath; or, if the doctors prescribed the drinking of a potion for eight days, the first day being the Sabbath. I might think that he should wait until the evening so that he not desecrate two Sabbaths; we are, therefore, apprised otherwise.]
	If one were caught in a cave-in, and there is a doubt as to whether he is there (under it) or not; whether he is alive or dead; whether he is gentile or Jew, the debris is removed for him. [It is dug up and he is searched for. If they exposed up to his nose, whether from above (his head) downwards, or from below (his feet) upwards, and they found no breath, of a certainty he is dead, and no more digging is permitted on his behalf, viz. (Genesis 7:22): "All that had the spirit of life in its nostrils."] If they found him alive, it (the debris) is removed for him. [It is necessary to apprise us of this only for an instance where it was seen that he could live only a few moments and then die. We are hereby apprised that it is removed for him for the sake of those "few moments."] And if they found him dead, he is left there (until after the Sabbath). [We are hereby apprised that even those who hold that a dead body is not "rescued" from a fire (on the Sabbath) concede that in this instance the debris is not removed. For they permitted moving and carrying out a dead body, on the grounds that if it were not permitted he (the dead man's kin) might come to put out the fire, for "a man becomes distracted over his dead one." But here, if he is not permitted to remove the debris, what might he do that is Scripturally interdicted, that we should permit the one for fear of the other!]
	A sin-offering and a positive guilt-offering (as opposed to a "suspended" guilt-offering) atone [together with repentance. The tanna felt no need to mention this, for it is assumed that if he brings his sin-offering and his guilt-offering he has already repented. For if he had not repented, he would not bring an offering. ("a positive guilt-offering":) such as a theft guilt-offering and a guilt-offering of me'iloth (abuse of consecrated property)]. Death and Yom Kippur atone together with repentance. Repentance atones for lesser transgressions: for (transgression of) positive and negative commandments. For more severe transgressions, it suspends (punishment) until Yom Kippur comes and atones. [Repentance atones for (transgression of) positive commandments and for negative commandments linked to positive commandments. The conclusion in the gemara is that if one willfully transgressed a positive commandment or a negative commandment linked to a positive commandment, or if he unwittingly transgressed a negative commandment subject to stripes, and he repented, he "does not move from there" until he is pardoned. If he willfully transgressed a negative commandment subject to stripes, repentance "suspends" and Yom Kippur atones. If he unwittingly committed sins subject to kareth and judicial death penalty, the sin-offering atones together with repentance. And if he did so willfully, repentance and Yom Kippur suspend, and afflictions purge. This, only where he did not desecrate the Name. That is, where he did not sin and cause others to sin. But if he desecrated the Name, his repentance is not complete until he dies. And all this, only when the (institution of the) sent-away goat does not obtain; but when it does, it atones for all transgressions, lesser and greater (except transgressions between a man and his neighbor, which are not atoned until he conciliates his neighbor)].
	If one says: "I shall sin and repent; I shall sin and repent," [twice], he is not given the wherewithal to repent, [for since he transgressed and repeated, he does not separate from the sin, it seeming permitted to him.] (If he says:) "I shall sin and Yom Kippur shall atone," Yom Kippur does not atone. Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between man and G d; it does not atone for transgressions between a man and his neighbor until he conciliates his neighbor. This was expounded by R. Elazar b. Azaryah (Leviticus 16:30): "…of all your sins before the L rd shall you be cleansed" — Yom Kippur atones for transgressions between man and G d; it does not atone for transgressions between a man and his neighbor until he conciliates his neighbor. R. Akiva said: "Happy are you, Israel. Before whom are you cleansed; and who cleanses you? Your Father in heaven, as it is written (Ezekiel 36:25): 'And I shall sprinkle upon you cleansing waters, and you shall be clean' and (Jeremiah 17:13): 'The L rd is the mikveh of Israel' — Just as a mikveh cleanses the unclean, so the Holy One Blessed be He cleanses Israel."