Comentário sobre Yomá 3:15

אמר להם הממונה – he is the assistant.

Introduction Our mishnah begins to describe the services performed in the Temple on Yom Kippur. The first thing done was to establish that it was light enough outside to slaughter the morning tamid (daily offering). This procedure was followed every day as well.

צאו וראו – on a high place that they had in the Temple.

The officer said to them: “Go out and see whether the time for slaughtering [the morning sacrifice] has arrived.” If it had arrived then he who saw it said: “It is daylight!” After the second count, the first thing done was that the officer of the priests would tell another priest to go out and see if dawn had broken. The priest would stand on a high point in the Temple, look out and see if it had yet gotten light. The tamid offering can be offered as soon as it starts to get light, even before sunrise.

זמן השחיטה – for the slaughtering is invalid at night, as it states (Leviticus 19:6): “It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it…”

Matitya ben Shmuel says: “The whole east is light.” Even unto Hebron? And he answered “Yes.” Matitya ben Shmuel was the officer in charge of the counts done in the Temple (see Shekalim 5:1). He would further interrogate the one who claimed to have seen daybreak. He wanted to know that a substantial portion of the sky had started to become light. The Talmud Yerushalmi explains that he mentions Hebron because that is where the patriarchs and matriarchs are buried. They would begin the day, therefore, by reminding God of the merit accrued to them by virtue of their being descendents of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, as well as Sarah, Rivkah and Leah (Rachel was buried elsewhere).

ברקאי – the morning shines through and flashes (Talmud Yoma 28b).

האיר פני המזרח – this time is after the morning star that the first Tanna/teacher mentioned. And the Halakha is according to Mattitya ben Shmuel.

Until Hebron: Those who are standing below ask him "Has the light reached Hebron?" and he answers, "Yes." Hebron is mentioned in order to invoke the merit of the forefathers.

שפעם אחת עלה מאור הלבנה – it is not speaking about Yom Kippur, for it is impossible to ascend from the light of the moon so close to the morning light on Yom Kippur which is the first third of the month, but rather, at the end of one of the months when the moon ascends near the time of the crack of dawn, an error took place, and they suspected lest it was on Yom Kippur that another mistake would occur in a similar manner, therefore, they needed all of this.

Introduction The first half of this mishnah is a continuation of yesterday’s mishnah where we learned how cautious the priests were to ensure that dawn had truly broken before they slaughtered the morning tamid sacrifice. The second half of the mishnah proceeds with the descriptions of the Temple service.

הורידו כהן גדול – this is an individual matter, and now he returns to that which was taught above, “until Hebron” and he answers affirmatively, and after the one who sees responded, they would bring down the High Priest to the ritual bath for he needed immersion prior to sacrificing the daily offering [of the morning].

And why was all that necessary? Because once the light of the moon rose and they thought that the east was lit up and slaughtered the continual offering, [and afterwards] they had to take it out to the place of burning. The reason for all of the strict procedures which we learned in yesterday’s mishnah was that one time it happened that the moonlight was particularly strong and the priests thought that it was dawn. They then sacrificed the morning tamid before they realized their error. Since the tamid was slaughtered at night it was unfit and had to be burned at the “place of burning” where they would burn unfit sacrifices. They would then have been liable to offer another tamid sacrifice.

המיסך רגליו – it is a substituted word for his large defecation.

They led the high priest down to the place of immersion. On Yom Kippur the before they offered the tamid they would lead the high priest down to immerse himself, a requirement of which we will read more in mishnah three.

This was the rule in the Temple: whoever covers his feet required an immersion, and whoever passed water required sanctification [by washing] his hands and feet. “Covers his feet” is a euphemism for defecating (See Judges 3:24). A priest who defecates must fully immerse himself before serving again in the Temple. However, urinating only requires him to sanctify himself by washing his hands and feet and not his whole body.

לעבודה – not necessarily

Introduction This mishnah teaches a general principle with regard to immersing before service in the Temple.

עד שיטבול – and the matters are [understood] via a conclusion a minori ad majus, for just as the second to the High Priest is sanctified for the Holy {Service], from the Divine Service outside to the Divine Service inside, and from the Service inside [the Temple] to the Divine Service outside, and which requires immersion between each Divine Service, the individual who comes from his house which is from the “secular” to the Holy, does he not all the more so require ritual immersion?

A man may not enter the Temple courtyard or to worship even if he was clean until he immerses himself. There are actually two requirements in this section. The first is that one may not enter into the Temple courtyard unless he first immerses himself in a mikveh. The second is that one who is already in the courtyard may not begin to perform the Temple service until he immerses himself.

על בית הפרוה – on the chamber/compartment of the House of the Parveh.

Five immersions and ten sanctifications did the high priest perform on that day. The high priest will change his clothing from his normal priestly wear to special golden clothes and then back again five times during Yom Kippur. For each change he would need to sanctify his hands and feet by washing them, making a total of ten hand and feet-washings.

חוץ מזו – the first, which was in the non-holy area near the Gate of the Water, and it was at the side of his chamber.

And all in sanctity in the Bet Haparvah with the exception of this one alone. All of these washings were done in an immersion pool which was on top of a chamber called the “Bet Haparvah”. The “Bet Haparvah” was within the Temple courtyard. The one exception was the first immersion which we learned about yesterday. Since this immersion was done before he began the service it was done outside of the Temple courtyard.

סדין של בוץ – in order that he recognize that the Divine service of the Day (i.e., Yom Kippur) would be in linen garments, since he is accustomed to serve all year long in golden garments.

Introduction This mishnah proceeds to outline the precise order of the day’s worship. We need to remember that on this day the high priest must basically perform all of the work himself. Hence we will feel throughout this description a sense of his being hurried; after all there is a lot to do.

ונסתפג – be wiped off (i.e., dried off).

They spread out a linen sheet between him and the people. For modesty’s sake, when he got undressed they would spread out a linen sheet between him and the rest of the people. The Talmud explains that the reason for the sheet being of linen is to remind him that when performing services that are done only on Yom Kippur he will need to wear all white clothes from linen. The rest of the year he wears eight garments, four of which are made of gold (as we shall explain below).

וקדש ידיו ורגליו – from the basin (i.e., the laver for the priests in the Temple court), for he requires for all changes of clothing during the Day (i.e., Yom Kippur) sanctification for undressing and sanctification for dressing. But this first immersion [in the Mikveh] [is needed] since undressing was of weekday clothing, and tit was not necessary for sanctification of the hands and feet upon undressing.

He stripped off [his clothes], went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself. Now that the sheet is up, he can remove his clothes and go and immerse himself for the first time during the day. He then dries off and is ready to get dressed.

קרצו – he slaughtered it through the majority of the two signs (i.e., the windpipe and gullet), he who was fit for slaughtering.

They brought him the golden garments, he put them on and sanctified his hands and feet. The first clothes he wears are the same clothes that he wears all year long, the “golden garments”. The garments are: “a breastpiece, an ephod, a robe, a fringed tunic, a headdress and a sash (Exodus 28:4) and a “frontlet” (v. 36) and “breeches” (v. 42). In three of them there was some gold, in the breastpiece, the ephod, and the robe (it had golden bells) and the frontlet was made totally of gold. However, before he puts on his clothes he again washes his hands. Note however that when he removed his previous clothing he did not wash his hands because at that time he was just wearing his own clothes. From this point until the day’s worship is completed, he will wash his hands both when putting on new clothes and taking off the old ones.

ומירק אחר – Another Kohen completed the slaughtering, for the receiving of he blood is not fit other than by the High Priest who needs to do it quickly and receive the blood.

They brought him the tamid. After he has put on the clothes, they bring him the lamb to slaughter as the morning tamid offering.

על ידו – for him; alternatively, by him, after him and next to him, such as in the Book of Ezra (actually the Book of Nehemiah) (Chapter 3, verses 8 and 17): “Next to them, Melatiah the Gibeonite and Jadon the Meronothite repaired….”(and) “After him, the Levites repaired: Rehum son of Bani. Next to Him, Hashabiah, chief of Sof half the district of Keilah, repaired for his district.”

He made the required cut and some one else finished it for him. He received the blood and sprinkled it. The high priest begins the slaughtering process by slicing the animal’s neck in a means that renders it “kosher” fit for consumption. This means he cuts the windpipe and the gullet. Since there is a lot of service to be done, the high priest immediately receives the blood and sprinkles it. Someone else completes the slaughtering process so that the priest can be free to do other things.

He went inside to smoke the morning incense and to trim the lamps; Having slaughtered the tamid, the high priest now turns his attention to the incense. He enters into the Temple (the Ulam) where the golden altar is found and turns the incense into smoke (see Exodus 30:7). At the same time he removes the ashes from the menorah (ibid, and see above mishnah 2:3).

And to offer up the head and the limbs and the griddle cakes and the wine. He now must bring the head and limbs of the tamid sacrifice up to the altar (above 2:3). He must also offer his own daily minhah offering, which consists of griddle cakes (Leviticus 6:13-14). Finally, he must offer the wine that always accompanies the tamid offering (see above 2:3). The mishnah does not mention offering the tamid minhah (grain offering). Perhaps it is included in the “griddle cakes”, which also come from grain although they are prepared differently.

בין דם לאברים – Not specifically, for it is taught in the Mishnah (four) above, that he received the blood and toss it, and went in to offer the incense and to cleanse the lamps and to sacrifice the head and the limbs, but the incense is offered between the blood and the lamps. But, the Tanna/teacher [of our Mishnah] does not come now to inform us the order of the offerings one after the other how they were, but wants to state only that he tossing of the blood and the offering of the limbs did follow one after the other, for the incense interrupted between them, and the same law applies regarding the cleansing of the lamps after the incense offering prior to the offering of the limbs.

Introduction The mishnah now makes a note about the precise timing of the morning and dusk incense.

אסטניס – that his body was cooled off and cold.

The morning incense was offered up between the blood and the limbs, The morning incense is, as we learned yesterday, offered up after the blood of the tamid has been sprinkled on the altar and before the limbs have been offered.

מחמין לו חמין – on the Eve of Yom Kippur.

The dusk [incense was offered] between the limbs and the drink-offerings. The incense which is offered at dusk (Exodus 30:8) is offered after the limbs of the dusk tamid have been put onto the altar but before the wine of this tamid is offered.

ומטילין – on Yom Kippur, into the hollowed-out part of the building in the house of immersion (i.e., the Mikveh).

If the high priest was either old or of delicate health warm water they would heat some water for him and pour into the cold [water], to temper its coldness. If the high priest cannot handle the frequent immersions because the water is just too cold, they heat up some water on the day before Yom Kippur and put it into the cold water to temper its coldness. The Talmud explains that they would put some iron rods into the fire on the day before Yom Kippur and then on Yom Kippur put them into the water to heat it up. We should note that doing this outside of the Temple would be prohibited because of “sh’vut” rabbinic Shabbat prohibitions. However, in the Temple such prohibitions are waived.

שתפיג – to remove its coolness partially, such as they weaken/mitigate their taste (Talmud Betzah 14b).

לבית הפרוה – One sorcerer whose name is Parvah built it (i.e., the chamber) and it is called by his name.

Introduction The tamid offering is now complete and the high priest continues on with the day’s worship.

ובקודש היתה – that this second ritual immersion with all the rest of the ritual immersions, except for the first one, requires a sanctified place, as it is written (Leviticus 16:24): “He shall bathe his body in water in the holy precinct [and put on his vestments; then he shall come out and offer his burnt offering and the burnt offering of the people, making expiation for himself and for the people].”

They brought him to the Bet Haparvah, which was on holy ground. They spread a sheet of linen between him and the people. All of the day’s immersions except for the first one were done in a place called “Bet Haparvah” which was in the Temple courtyard (above, mishnah 3). As he prepares to strip in order to enter the mikveh, they again spread a linen sheet between him and the people.

ר"מ אומר – he first took off his clothing and afterwards sanctified [himself]. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Meir.

He sanctified his hands and his feet and stripped. Rabbi Meir says: he stripped [and then] sanctified his hands and his feet. According to the first opinion, he first sanctifies his hands and feet by washing them and then strips off the gold clothes that he has been wearing. According to this opinion, the sanctification is for the sake of the clothes which he is removing. Rabbi Meir, on the other hand, holds that the sanctification is for the clothes which he is going to put on. Therefore, he first strips off the golden garments and then he sanctifies his hands and feet.

בגדי לבן – the priest’s undercoat (see Tractate Yoma 35b), undergarment, belt and turban that are mentioned in the Torah portion of Ahare Mot (chapter 16), for all of the inner Divine service was with them, but the outer Divine service such as the daily offerings and the Musaf offering were [offered] in golden garments which he would use the entire year, and between each change of clothing requires ritual immersion and two sanctifications of the hands and feet from the laver [for the priests in the Temple court].

He went down and immersed himself, came up and dried himself. Now he goes to the mikveh, comes up dries himself off.

Afterwards they brought him white garments. He put them on and sanctified his hands and his feet. Finally, he puts on the special white garments worn on Yom Kippur. They are “a sacral linen tunic, linen breeches, a linen sash and a linen turban” (Leviticus 16:4). After having put them on he sanctifies his feet and hands again by washing them. This sanctification is certainly in honor of the clothes that he is now putting on.

פלוסין – thin and fine linen that comes from the land of Rameses. The Jerusalem [Aramaic] translation of Ramses is Pilusa (Pelusium, a town in lower Egypt) (see Talmud Avodah Zarah 39a).

Introduction This mishnah discusses just how expensive were the special linen garments which the high priest wore on Yom Kippur. Thinking of the high priest wearing very expensive white clothing on Yom Kippur brings to mind the white dress worn by a bride on her wedding day.

הנדוין – from the land of India.

In the morning he would wear Pelusian linen worth twelve minas (1200 dinar/; at dusk Indian linen worth eight hundred zuz, the words of Rabbi Meir. According to Rabbi Meir the linen clothes that the high priest wore in the morning came from the city Pelusium in Egypt. This city was in the northern end of the Nile, where the Nile ends and one turns east on route to ancient Palestine or Syria (plug “Pelusium” into Google and you’ll find this info as well!). The Targum (the Aramaic translation of the Tanakh) translates Ramses into Pelusium. The linen that the high priest wore at dusk was from India and it was slightly less expensive.

ובין הערבים – clothing that he wears to remove the censer and the coal-pan

The sages say: in the morning he would wear [garments] worth eighteen minas and at dusk [garments] worth twelve minas, altogether thirty minas. The sages say that the high priest’s garments were even more expensive than that, the morning garments being worth 1800 dinars/zuz and the dusk garments worth 1200. We should note that both agree that the morning clothes were worth more than those worn at dusk.

הכל שלשים מנה – for this, the Tanna/teacher [of our Mishnah] reviews the general principles, to teach us that thirty Maneh in total, to tell you that if he spent less for those of the morning and spent more for those of the evening, it does not matter.

These [costs] were at the charge of the community and if he wanted to add, he adds more out of his own pocket. The mishnah now teaches that if the high priest should wish to buy even more expensive clothing, he may do so but it must come out of his own pocket. His “expense account” which comes from the Temple funds is either 20 mina (2000 zuz), according to Rabbi Meir, or 30 mina (3000 zuz) according to the sages. Should he wish to spend more he must use his own funds.

אם רצה להוסיף מוסיף משלו – as long as he will give that addition as a gift to that which is dedicated as Temple property.

בין אולם למזבח – all of the north of the Temple courtyard was fit according to the law for the placement of the bull, for all it was before God, and they would not place the bull between the hall leading to the interior of the Temple and the altar, near the hall containing the golden altar, but rather because of the weakness of the High Priest, so that the pain-staking preparations of the burden of carrying the blood from afar should not weigh upon him.

Introduction The priest is now wearing his special Yom Kippur linen and is prepared to offer the first of the Yom Kippur sacrifices, the bull which atones for the high priest and his house. This is mentioned in Leviticus 16:6, and then again in verse 11.

ראשו לדרום ופניו למערב – by law, the head was in the hall containing the golden altar which was in the west and its back was in the east, but lest it cast excrement and it was a disgrace to show its privy to the eastern side, therefore, its head was to the south and its tail was to the north, which was much better. But the middle of its body was between the hall leading to the interior of the Temple and the altar, and it would wind/curve its head until its face was to the west.

He came to his bull and his bull was standing between the Ulam and the altar, its head to the south and its face to the west. The bull was standing on the northern side of the Temple courtyard, between the Ulam, which is the outermost portion of the sanctuary (the Hechal) and the outer altar, which is to the east of the Ulam. The head of the bull was facing south but they would turn its face west towards the sanctuary. In the Talmud they explain that they would put the bull here because some of its blood would need to be sprinkled inside the Holy of Holies and this was as close as they could bring the bull.

והכהן עומד – and his back was to the east.

And the priest stands on the eastside facing the west. The priest would stand on the east side of the bull, with his back to the altar and facing the sanctuary.

And he lays both his hands upon it and confesses. The priest would lay his hands on the animal, a practice done for all sin-offerings (see Leviticus 4:29, 33) and then offer up the confession, alluded to in Leviticus 16:6.

And thus he would say: “Please, ‘Hashem’! I have done wrong, I have transgressed, I have sinned before You, I and my house. Please, ‘Hashem’! Forgive the wrongdoings, the transgressions, the sins which I have committed and transgressed and sinned before You, I and my house, as it is written in the torah of Moses Your servant: “For on this day shall atonement be made for you [to cleanse you of all your sins; you shall be clean before the Lord”] (Leviticus 16:30). The language of the confession does not appear in the Torah and indeed it is not clear at all in the Torah whether the “atonement” mentioned in Leviticus 16:6 is an atonement achieved solely through sacrifice or through a verbal confession. In any case, the rabbis explain that a verbal confession was made. During this confession the high priest would explicitly state God’s four letter name (the tetragrammaton) but due to its extreme caution in stating God’s name the mishnah only writes “Hashem” which means “the name.” We should note that the way we pronounce this name now is not the way it was originally pronounced. The original pronunciation has probably been lost. “Yehovah” is certainly not the original pronunciation as it is based on the vowels from the word “Adonay”.

And they answered after him: “Blessed be the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever!” When the people heard the explicit pronunciation of God’s name they would respond by blessing God’s holy name. We shall see this ritual of confession and response repeated several times throughout the remainder of the tractate. Indeed, on Yom Kippur, if you’re still in shul, try to follow along in the “Avodah” service, which comes at the end of Mussaf. You will see many of the elements of these mishnayot incorporated into the service.

בא לו למזרח העזרה – they would not bring in the goats between the hall leading to the interior of the Temple and the altar because he wants to place lots upon them, but they were in the courtyard until the time of the slaughtering.

Introduction The high priest now proceeds to the two goats, one which will eventually be sacrificed and one which will be sent to Azazel.

וקלפי – a wooden hollowed utensil.

He then went to the east of the Temple court, to the north of the altar, the deputy high priest at his right and the head of the [priestly] family [ministering that week] at his left. The high priest now turns to the east of the courtyard, to the northern side of the outer altar. With him are the deputy high priest and the head of the priestly family whose turn it is to serve in the Temple. The priests were divided up into 24 priestly families, and each served a week in the Temple. Each division was divided into families, and each family would take one day of the week. The mishnah refers to the head of the family whose luck it was to have Yom Kippur fall on their day.

של אשכרוע – it is called BUSA in a foreign tongue. It is a form of tree and important.

There were two goats and an urn was there, and in it were two lots. Waiting for the high priest were two goats, as mentioned in Leviticus 16:5 and onwards. They will figure prominently in the day’s service and are perhaps its most famous element. Next to the two goats was an urn with two lots in it, as mentioned in 16:8. The lots will be used to determine which goat is sacrificed and which goat goes to Azazel.

בן גמלא – Joshua ben Gamla, when he was appointed to be High Priest, made them of gold.

They were of box-wood and Ben Gamala made them of gold and they would mention his name in praise. The lots were originally made of box-wood until Ben Gamala, who was a high priest, made them of gold.

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.

לא רצו ללמד על מעשה לחם הפנים – for the rest of the artisans did not know how to detach the bread from [where it sticks in] the oven (see Tractate Yoma 38a), so that it would not bread, because it was made like a broken chest.

Introduction Alas, along with those who were remembered for praise, there were those who were remembered for shame as well. Interestingly, all of those who were remembered for shame were denounced for the same transgression they refused to teach their secrets to outsiders, thereby preserving for themselves monopolies over how certain things in the Temple were run. It is clear that the rabbis were incensed by the preservation of such secrets; both for practical and I believe ideological reasons as well. Practically, their trade was in constant danger of being lost. Ideologically, it seems to me that the rabbis stood for a certain democratization of knowledge. With the exception of certain esoteric subjects, the rabbis believed that people should know the oral tradition. Those who kept its various aspects to themselves were condemning the tradition to be unjustly monopolized and even worse, forgotten.

לא רצו ללמד על מעשה הקטורת – they recognized one herb/grass whose name is a “smoke-raiser” (see Talmud Keritot 6a), that they would combine it with the ingredients of frankincense, and the smoke of the incense would raise straight up like a rod and would not turn to either side.

And these they mentioned to their shame:
Those of the House of Garmu did not want to teach anything about the preparation of the showbread. The trick with the showbread, according to the Talmud, was to take it off the sides of the oven, where bread was cooked (as is pita today) without it breaking apart due to its size. The House of Garmu (probably not related to “gourmet” but who knows!) knew how to do this but did not want to teach others.

פרק בשיר – producing a pleasant sound.

Those of the House of Avtinas did not teach to anything about the preparation of the incense. The incense was a complicated mixture of spices and some other materials which caused it to turn into thick smoke. The House of Avtinas did not want to teach others how they made the incense.

על מעשה הכתב – he would tie four reeds with his four fingers and write there four letters at once.

Hugros, a Levite knew a chapter [concerning] the song but did not want to teach it. Hugros knew certain tricks on how to improve one’s voice, but to his discredit, did not wish to teach others.

על הראשונים – Ben Gamla and Ben Ketin and Munbaz and Heleni his mother and Nikanor.

Ben Kamtzar did not want teach anyone his art of writing. According to legend, Ben Kamtzar could take four styluses in one hand and write four letters at the same time.

ועל האחרונים – the House of Garmu and the House of Abtinas, and Hugares the son of Levi and Ben Kamtzar, for even though the House of Garmu and the House of Abtinas gave reasons for their words that they did not want to teach [their special skills], lest a person who is not honest would learn and he will go and worship idolatry with this, but the Sages did not accept their words.

Concerning the former it is said: “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” (Proverbs 10:7); concerning the others it is said: “But the name of the wicked shall rot.” Concerning those listed in mishnah ten for praise we say “The memory of the righteous shall be for a blessing” but concerning those in our mishnah we say, “But the name of the wicked shall rot”, meaning let their memory be forgotten.