They [the priests] began heaping the ash onto the <i>Tapuach</i> [lit. apple; a pile] The <i>Tapuach</i> was in the middle of the top of the altar. Sometimes there was approximately three hundred <i>kor</i> [measurement of volume] on it. During pilgrimage festivals, they would not remove its ash, because it was a decoration for the altar [to show that it was being used frequently]. During the days [of the Temple], the priests were never lazy about removing the ash [when there was too much].
Bartenura on Mishnah Tamid
החלו מעלין באפר – afer they had piled up [the ato th sides or to surround the limbs and fat-pieces that had not been consumed, they would pull the ashes with trowels that were in their hands and bring them up to the pile (i.e., the place on the altar where the ashes were piled up, like a kind of large pile of ashes that was in the center of the altar heaped up and made like an apple.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Tamid
They then began to throw the ashes on to the heap (. This heap was in the middle of the altar, and sometimes there was as much as three hundred kor on it. After having cleared the limbs and pieces of fat, the other priests would take the ashes still on the altar and heap them onto the middle of the altar, onto a place called the “tapuah.” The pile of ashes on the tapuah could get quite high, as the mishnah testifies. However, when the tapuah began to overflow with ash, they would remove all of it and take it out of the city.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Tamid
פעמים עליו בשלש מאות כור – an exaggeration is taught, for never did they leave three hundred Kor to be upon it.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Tamid
On festivals they did not use to clear away the ash because it was reckoned an ornament to the altar. On festivals they let the ash heap grow even higher because by seeing the massive amounts of ashes, people could tell how many sacrifices had been offered. The large ash-heap was considered to be ornamental to the altar.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Tamid
וברגלים לא היו מדשנים אותו – they would not removethe ashes outside, even thogh it was a great deal on the altar.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Tamid
It never happened that the priest was neglectful in taking out the ashes. This section relates to the previous one. One might have thought that they neglected to clear away the ashes during the festival, perhaps because they were so busy with other matters. To dash this thought, the mishnah notes that the priests never neglected the duty of taking the ashes off of the altar. They left the ashes on the altar during the festival out of intention and not neglect.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Tamid
מפני שהוא נוי למזבח – so that it would appear that there were man sacrifices on the altar.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Tamid
מימיו לא נתעצל – meaning to say, that which was so many ashes, not on account of the laziness of the Kohanim, but rather as an ornament and to demonstrate that many sacrifices were offeed on the altar.
