Siete días antes de Yom Kippur, el sumo sacerdote es separado de su casa a la celda de falhedrin. [Porque todos los servicios de Iom Kipur son solo kasher con él, está escrito con respecto a Iom Kipur (Levítico 16:32): "Y el sacerdote hará expiación, quien será ungido". Y esta separación se deriva de lo que está escrito con respecto a los siete días de consagración, a saber. (Ibid. 8:33): "Y desde la puerta de la tienda de reunión no saldrás siete días", seguido de (34): "Como lo hizo en este día, el Señor ha ordenado hacer: hacer expiación por ti ", que nuestros rabinos explicaron:" hacer "—esto alude al (procedimiento con) la novilla roja; "para hacer expiación por ti"—esto alude al servicio de Yom Kippur, a saber: el sacerdote que quema la novilla roja y el sacerdote que realiza el servicio de Yom Kippur deben estar separados de sus casas durante siete días, ya que Aaron y sus hijos requirieron separación en los siete días de consagración. ("a la celda de falhedrin" :) Los nombrados del rey se llaman "falhedrin". Y debido a que los sumos sacerdotes en el segundo Templo después de Shimon Hatzadik pagarían para servir en el sumo sacerdocio y, debido a que eran malvados, no durarían su año y serían reemplazados cada doce meses como los nombrados por el rey.— por esa razón, esta célula se llamó "la célula del falhedrin".] Y otro sacerdote es designado "en espera" [para ser sumo sacerdote] en caso de que no sea apto [a través de keri (una emisión) o por impureza (tumah).] R. Yehudah dice: Una "esposa suplente" también está designada para él en el caso de que su esposa muera, está escrito (Levítico 16: 6): "Y él hará expiación por sí mismo y por su casa" —Su "casa" es su esposa. Entonces le dijeron: ¡Si es así, el asunto no tiene fin! [es decir, si estás preocupado por su muerte, el asunto no tiene fin. ¡Quizás también este (el "stand-by") morirá! Por el contrario, con tumah, que es común, estamos preocupados, por lo que designamos a otro sacerdote como stand-by. Con la muerte súbita, que no es común, no estamos preocupados, por lo que otra mujer no está designada como stand-by. La halajá está de acuerdo con los sabios.]
Ikar Tosafot Yom Tov on Mishnah Yoma
From his house. The explanation of the Ram is that this means from his wife so he won't touch a Nidda and become impure during the seven days.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yoma
Seven days... We separate the High Priest. Since all the service of Yom Kippur is not kosher except through him [Yuma 32a and many other places], as it says in regard to Yom Kippur (Vaikra chapter 16) "And the Cohen ,who will be anointed with oil, will atone." [note of the translator: from this verse we see that only the anointed Cohen, i.e. High Priest can perform atonement service of Yom Kippur]. And this separation is learned out for us from what is written in regard to seven days of the dedication [of the Mishkan] (ibid. chapter 8) "And from the entrance of the Tent of Meeting don't go away for seven days", and after this it is written (ibid.) "Just like was done on this day commanded Hashem to do to atone for you", and the sages expound: [the phrase] "to do" this is doings of the cow [red heifer], [and the phrase] "to atone for you" this is doings of the Yom Kippur. Thus, the Cohen that burns the cow [red heifer] and the Cohen serving on Yom Kippur, both require separation from their houses for seven days just like were required Aharon and his sons during the seven days of dedication [of the Mishkan]. [note of the translator: thus, from the proximity of the two verses, the verse that talks about the seven days of separation during the dedication of the Mishkan and the verse that was expounded to mean "just like was done on this day, commended Hashem to do for the procedure of the Red heifer and the Yom Kippur service", the sages learn that the Cohen that does the burning of the red heifer and the High priest that serves on Yom Kippur should be separated from their houses similar to the seven day separation of the days of dedication of the Mishkan.]
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yoma
Introduction
Tractate Yoma begins with preparations made seven days before Yom Kippur falls. This whole chapter deals with the week before Yom Kippur and how the sages instruct the High Priest so that he will be able to correctly perform the Yom Kippur service.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yoma
ללשכת פלהדרין – the officers of the king are called Palhedrin/counselors, for since that the High Priests that existed in Second Temple times after Shimon HaTzaddik/the Righteous (see Mishnah Avot, Chapter 1, Mishnah 2) would give money in order to serve in the High Priesthood, and because they were wicked, they would not complete their years, and would be exchanged every twelve months like the officers of the king, who would exchange them every year, therefore, they call this apartment the apartment/cell of the counselors.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yoma
Seven days before Yom HaKippurim they remove the high priest from his house to the chamber of the counselors and they set up another priest to take his place lest something should occur to him to disqualify him [from being able to worship]. Seven days before Yom Kippur they isolate the High Priest so that he doesn’t become impure. Part of the purpose of this separation was to keep him away from his wife, lest his wife become a menstruant and he have intercourse with her and thereby be defiled. If he contracted a serious form of impurity he would not be able to perform the service in the Temple. The idea of a seven day period of separation is also learned from the Torah which also speaks of a seven day separation period, albeit not before Yom Kippur. In Leviticus 8:33 Moses instructs Aaron and the other priests not to leave the Tent of Meeting for the seven days before the Tabernacle is initially consecrated. This separation period is seen by the Talmud as a precedent for the separation of the high priest before Yom Kippur.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yoma
ומתקנין לו – They would invite another Kohen to become the High Priest in his place if a nocturnal pollution would occur to him or some other kind of defilement.
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English Explanation of Mishnah Yoma
Rabbi Judah said: they even prepare another wife for him in case his wife should die, as it says “And he shall make atonement for himself and for his house” (Leviticus 16:6): “his house” this refers to his wife. They said to him: if so there would be no end to the matter. The Torah states that the High Priest makes atonement “for his house”, and the word “house” is understood by the rabbis to refer to his wife. This means that in order to be a high priest who can perform the Yom Kippur service, he needs to be married. Hence, Rabbi Judah says that they set up for him an alternative wife, lest his first wife dies right before Yom Kippur thereby preventing him from fulfilling the biblical verse. The rabbis respond that if we start worrying about such far-fetched possibilities, there will be no end to the matter. We will need to worry lest both the first wife and the second wife should die. Since the random death of his wife is unlikely, we don’t need to find him a second wife. However, the possibility that he should become defiled is not so unlikely, and hence he does need to be separated from his home a week before Yom Kippur. I should note that there are some interesting implications from this Mishnah on the rabbinic views of marriage. It is interesting that the rabbis demand that the “holiest” person in Judaism, the person responsible for the holiest service, must be married when he performs that service. This may be a statement somewhat directed against those Jewish groups who advocated celibacy, at least for their religious leaders. However, we should also note that during the week before his service, he is separated from his wife. In other words, there is some ambiguity here. He needs to be married, for the rabbis generally looked favorably upon procreation and upon sexual pleasure. However, they may have seen marital life as partially distracting and hence dictated a separation during this brief but intense period.
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Bartenura on Mishnah Yoma
אם כן אין לדבר סוף – if so, that he would concerned for his death, and there would be no end to this, lest she (i.e., his wife) would also die, but for defilement that is frequent we are concerned, therefore we appoint for him another Kohen, for death is not frequent that he would die suddenly, we are not concerned, therefore, we do not appoint for him another wife. And the Halakha is according to the Sages.
