If it (the festival) fell out so that one day separated them (Shabbath and the festival), the fixed watch takes ten chaloth and the tarrying (watches), two, [i.e., If the first day of the festival fell on Monday, in which instance they (the other watches) could have come on Sunday, and they came earlier, on Friday — or if the last day of the festival fell on Thursday, in which instance they (the incumbent watches) could have left on Friday, and they remained there for Shabbath — all of the tarrying watches take only two chaloth, and the fixed watch takes ten, which are divided between the incoming and the outgoing watch as on all the Sabbaths of the year.] And on the other days of the year, the incoming watch takes six and the outgoing watch takes six. [For the watches change on Shabbath, one performing the morning service; the other, the evening.] R. Yehudah says: The incoming takes seven and the outgoing five. [The incoming takes two additional chaloth for locking the doors, [which the outgoing watch opened in the morning. The halachah is not in accordance with R. Yehudah.] The incoming divide [the breads due them] in the north [so that it be evident to all that they are entering, the north being the prime location, designated for the slaughtering of holy of holies], and the outgoing, in the south [so that it be evident that they are leaving — wherefore they changed their location to one which is not prime.] [The watch of] Bilga always divides in the south, [even upon entering], and its ring is clamped down. [There were twenty-four rings in the azarah at the slaughtering site for the twenty-four priestly watches. The rings of all the watches were open on one end. They were turned upwards, the animal's neck was placed inside, and they were then turned downwards into the ground. The ring of Bilga was clamped down and could not be turned, so that it had to use the rings of others, and it was demeaned thereby], and its window was closed [There were windows in the lishkoth of the (priestly) vestments where they secreted their knives; and the window of the watch of Bilga was closed, the rabbis having penalized it because of a particular episode, viz.: A woman of (i.e., kin to one of) the watch of Bilga, Miriam the daughter of Bilga, became an apostate and married a Greek officer. When the Greeks entered the sanctuary, she went and kicked the altar with her sandal, crying: "Lukos ("wolf" in Greek), Lukos, how long will you (continue) to consume the wealth of Israel and not stand up for them in time of need!" And when the sages heard of this (after the ascendancy of the Hasmoneans), they clamped down the ring and closed the window to the entire watch of Bilga, saying that if she had not heard her father demeaning the priestly service, she never would have spoken thus. And because of her father they penalized the entire family — "Woe to the wicked one, and woe to his neighbor! Happy is the righteous one, and happy is his neighbor!"
Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
חל להיות יום אחד מפסיק בינתיים – such as when the first day of the Festival occurs on Monday, when they could come on Sunday and they advanced their arrival to the previous Friday, or if the last day of the Festival occurs on Thursday, and they are able to go on Friday, but they were detained there on that Shabbat. All the divisions of duty that tarried there do not take other than the two loaves [of shewbread].
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
Introduction
The final mishnah of Sukkah is a continuation of yesterday’s mishnah which dealt with the division of the showbread.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
ומשמר שזמנו קבוע נוטל י' – and they divide them up between the division of duty that enters and the division of duty that leaves in the manner of all the weeks of the year.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
If one day intervened between them [Shabbat and Yom Tov], the watch whose time of service was fixed [for that week] took ten [of the] loaves, while they that were detained took two. Yesterday we learned that if Shabbat fell next to Yom Tov (the first or last day of the festival) then all of the watches divided the showbread evenly. Today we learn that if there was one day in between Shabbat and Yom Tov, the watch whose week it was would get most of the showbread but not all. Since some of the watches might not be able to begin their way back home because they lived too far away to make it in one day, or might need to get to Jerusalem before Shabbat, they were compensated by getting at least a little bit of the showbread.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
הנכנס נוטל ו' – that the divisions of duty are exchanged on Shabbat, this one works in the morning and that one works in the evening.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
On all other days of the year the incoming watch took six loaves and the outgoing watch six. Rabbi Judah said, the incoming watch took seven and the outgoing five. At all other times of the year the incoming and outgoing watches would split the showbread evenly. The watches would actually switch their service on Shabbat. The new watch would arrange the new showbread and the two would split the showbread from the previous week. Rabbi Judah says that this division was not completely equal.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
הנכנס נוטל שבע – they take an extra two loaves as compensation for the locking of the Temple doors when they lock the doors that were opened by the departing division of duty in the morning. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
The incoming watch divided it in the north, and the outgoing in the watch. In order that the watches should not get confused, the incoming watch would divide the showbread in the northern section of the Temple and the outgoing watch would divide in the south.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
הנכנסים חולקים – between them is the bread that arrives for their portion.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Sukkah
[The watch of] Bilgah always divided it in the south; their ring was fixed and their alcove was blocked up. Bilgah is the name of one of the watches (see I Chronicles 24:14). According to the mishnah and other rabbinic sources they were punished for the sins committed by Miriam, the daughter of one of the priests. Miriam committed apostasy and married a Greek soldier, and when the Greeks entered the Temple during the time of the Maccabees she came in with him and acted in a disrespectful manner to the Temple. As a collective punishment for the whole watch they always divided in the south, as if to say that even when they were entering their service, it is as if they are on their way out. Alternatively, the Talmud says that Bilgah may have been punished because they were constantly late in arriving to serve in the Temple. In the Temple there were twenty-four rings, one for each watch. When skinning a sacrifice they could put the animal’s neck through the ring and have it held up while they skinned it. Bilgah’s ring was closed up so that they couldn’t use it. In addition, every watch had its own alcove in which they could store their knives. Bilgah’s was closed up, again as a punishment for their misdeeds.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
בצפון – in order that it would appear to all that they are entering, and the north is essential, for it is fixed for the slaughtering of the Holy of Holies.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
והיוצאים חולקים בדרום – so that it would appear that they are departing and taking leave, therefore they changed their place towards a direction that is not essential.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
בילגה – the name of a family.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
לעולם חולקת בדרום – and even when it enters, it is a fine that they (i.e., the Rabbis) placed upon them.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
וטעבתה קבועה – twenty four rings were in the Temple courtyard at the place of the slaughtering [in the Temple] for the twenty-four divisions of duty of the Priests, and the rings of each division of duty were open on one side and turned upwards and they would bring in the neck of the animal into it and go back and turn its opening downwards into the floor, and the ring of Bilgah was fixed and never turned, and they needed to use that of others, and it was a disgrace for it (i.e., this family).
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Bartenura on Mishnah Sukkah
וחלונה סתומה – the windows were in the chamber of the slaughtering-knives (see Mishnah Middot, Chapter 4, Mishnah 7), where they would hide their knives. But the window of the division of duty of Bilgah was closed, and the rabbis fined them because of something that happened, that one woman from the Bilgah division of duty , and Miriam the daughter of Bilgah was her name, was guarded and married to one of the captains of the Grecian kings (see Talmud Sukkah 56b), and when the Greeks entered the Temple, she went and struck the altar with her sandal and said: “Lucas, Lucas” {which means, “wolf, wolf,” in the Greek language] (an opprobrious epithet of the altar), “how long will you withhold the money of Israel and you don’t stand up for them at the hour of their need/distress?” And when the Sages heard of this matter, they established her ring and blocked up the window of the entire division of duty, for they said that if not that she had heard from her father that he was despising the Divine service, she would not have said this. But because of her father, they (i.e., the Sages) fined the entire family, for woe it is for the wicked and woe to his neighbor; good for the righteous and good for his neighbor.
