Commentaire sur Yoma 3:10

בן קטין – he was a High Priest.

Ben Katin made twelve spigots for the laver, for there had been before only two. He also made a mechanism for the laver, in order that its water should not become unfit by remaining overnight.
King Monbaz had all the handles of all the vessels used on Yom HaKippurim made of gold.
His mother Helena made a golden candelabrum over the opening of the Hekhal. She also made a golden tablet, on which the portion concerning the suspected adulteress was inscribed.
For Nicanor miracles happened to his doors.
And they were all mentioned for praise.
Since at the end of yesterday’s mishnah we learned that Ben Gamala made the lots out of gold and he was praised for it, today’s mishnah teaches other ornaments that were donated by individuals and for which they were praised. You can think of this mishnah as an ancient dedication plaque!
Section one: Ben Katin, who was also a high priest, made twelve spigots for the Temple’s laver, a fancy word for sink (see Exodus 30:18-21). The Talmud explains that this was so each of the twelve priests who were offering the tamid (see above, mishnayot 2-3) could have their own spigot.
Ben Katin is also credited with another improvement in the Temple, this one also connected to issue of water. He made a wheel that went into the water cistern which would cause the water in the laver to be connected to the water in the cistern. The reason for this is that any water left out overnight in a vessel in the Temple is rendered unfit. Without this wheel, the water left over in the laver would need to be emptied out every morning.
Section two: King Monbaz was king of Adiabene, which is north of Israel, and is now part of Turkey. He, as well as his brother and mother, are mentioned as converts in Josephus. They ruled in the first century C.E., slightly before the destruction of the Temple. According to the mishnah, he paid to make the handles of vessels out of gold, in cases such as a knife, where the vessel itself could not be made of gold.
Section three: Monbaz’s mother, who is also mentioned in Nazir 3:6, made a golden candelabrum to stand at the entrance to the Hekhal.
Helene also made a golden tablet on which to write the chapter of the Sotah (Numbers 5:11 ff.) From here the priest could copy the words when he needed to perform the sotah (suspected adulteress) ritual (see v. 23).
Section four: Finally, the mishnah obliquely mentions Nikanor’s doors and the miracles that happened to them. The Talmud (Yoma 38a) explains: “What miracles happened to his doors? They say that when Nicanor had gone to bring doors from Alexandria of Egypt, on his return a storm arose in the sea to drown him. They took one of his doors and cast it into the sea and yet the sea would not stop its rage. They wanted to cast the other into the sea. He rose and clung to it, saying: ‘Cast me in with it!’ The sea immediately stopped its raging. He was deeply grieved about the other [door]. When he arrived at the harbor of Acco, it broke through and came up from under the sides of the boat. Others say: A monster of the sea swallowed it and spat it out on the dry land.”

עשה י"ב דדין לכיור – in order that there would be twelve Kohanim who would be worthy of an allotment of the daily morning offering would sanctify [themselves] at the same time, and even though there were thirteen Kohanim as we have said in the chapter at first (Chapter 2, Mishnah 3), he did not make a spigot for the slaughterer, for the slaughtering was fit to be done by a non-Kohen.

מוכני – a wheel to sink [the wash-basin] into the cistern, so that its waters would be collected in the cistern so that it would not be disqualified through lying overnight.

נברשת – candelabrum.

שפרשת סוטה כתובה עליו – so that there be no need to bring a Torah to write from it the portion of the Sotah/the woman suspected of adulterous relations (Numbers chapter 5, verses 11-31).

נקנור – the name of a man.

נעשו נסים לדלתותיו – that he went to Alexandria of Egypt to bring doors, and upon his return (see Talmud Yoma 38a), a great storm arose at sea to drown them, he took one of them and cast it at the sea to make them (i.e., the ship and its passengers) lighter, and they requested [of him] to cast the other [door], he said to them: cast me with it; immediately the sea relaxed from its vehemence. When they reached the port of Acre, it [the door] burst forth and came out from under the walls of the ship.