Yoma 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.]