The Tamid Sacrifice

3:1. The superintendent then said to them: Come and cast lots to see who is to slaughter, who is to sprinkle the blood, who is to clear the ashes from the inner altar, who is to clear the ash from the menorah, and who is to lift the limbs onto the ramp: the head and the right hind leg, the two forelegs, the tailbone and the left hind leg, the breast and the neck, and the two flanks, [as well as] the entrails, the fine flour, the griddle cakes, and the wine. They cast lots, and whoever was chosen, was chosen.

2. He then said to them: Go out and see if it is yet time for the slaughter. If the time had come, the one who saw would say: There are flashes. Matya ben Samuel says: [He used to say:] Has the whole of the east [of the sky] lit up as far as Hebron? And he [the observer] would answer: Yes.

3. He said to them: Go out and bring a lamb from the chamber of lambs. Now the chamber of lambs was in the northwestern corner. There were four chambers there: the chamber of lambs, the chamber of seals, the chamber of the fire room, and the chamber where the showbread was prepared.

4. They went into the chamber of the vessels, and they took out ninety-three vessels of silver and gold. They gave the animal for the daily sacrifice a drink from a cup of gold. Although it had been examined on the previous evening, it was now examined again by torchlight.

5. The priest who was chosen [to slaughter] the tamid took it along with him to the slaughterhouse, and those who were chosen [to bring] the limbs followed after him. The slaughterhouse was to the north of the altar, and on it were eight small pillars, on top of which were blocks of cedar wood, in which were fixed hooks of iron—three rows in each [block]—on which they would hang [the tamid], and they would strip its hide on tables of marble that stood between the pillars.

6. Those who were chosen to clear the ashes from the inner altar and from the menorah would go first, with four vessels in their hands: the teni, the kuz, and two keys. The teni resembled a large tarkav of gold and held two and a half kavs.¹ The kuz resembled a large gold pitcher. And two keys: one of the two keys would reach down to the “cubit of the armpit,”² and the other opened immediately.

7. He then came to the small opening on the north. The great gate had two small openings, one on the north and one on the south. No one ever went in by the openings on the south, about which it is stated explicitly in Ezekiel: And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it” (Ezekiel 44:2). He took the key and opened the small opening and went into the cell and from the cell to the sanctuary, until he reached the great gate. When he reached the great gate, he drew back the bolt and the latches and opened it. The slaughterer did not slaughter until he heard the sound of the great gate being opened. [ . . . ]

9. The one who was chosen for clearing the ashes from the inner altar went in carrying the teni, which he set down in front of it. He scooped up the ash in his fists and put it into it, and at the end he swept up what was left into it, and then he left it there and went out. The one who was chosen to clear the ashes from the menorah went in. If he found the two eastern lights burning, he cleared the ash from the rest and left those two burning. If he found that those two had gone out, he cleared away their ash and kindled them from those that were still lit, and then he cleared the ash from the rest. There was a stone in front of the lamp with three steps on which the priest stood to trim the lights. He left the kuz on the second step and went out.

4:1. They would not tie up the lamb, but rather they would string its legs together. Those who were chosen [to bring] the limbs took hold of it. This is how it was strung up: its head was to the south, and its face was turned to the west. The slaughterer stood to the east of it, facing the west. The morning tamid was killed by the northwestern corner of the altar at the second ring.³ The evening tamid was killed by the northeastern corner at the second ring. While one slaughtered, another received the blood. He then proceeded to the northeastern corner and cast the blood on the eastern and northern sides. He then proceeded to the southwestern corner and cast the blood on the western and southern sides. The remainder of the blood he poured out at the southern base of the altar.

2. He would not break the leg, but he made a hole in it at the [knee-]joint and suspended it from there. He then began to flay it until he came to the breast. When he came to the breast, he cut off the head and gave it to the one who was chosen [to bring it onto the ramp]. He then cut off the legs [up to the knees] and gave them to the one who was chosen [to bring them onto the ramp]. He then finished the flaying. He tore out the heart and squeezed out the blood in it. He then cut off the forelegs and gave them to the one who was chosen [to bring them onto the ramp]. He then went back to the right leg and cut it off and gave it to the one who was chosen [to bring it onto the ramp], and the two testicles with it. He then tore it [the remaining carcass] open so that it was all exposed before him. He took the fat and put it on top of the place where the head had been severed. He took the innards and gave them to the one who was chosen to wash them. The stomach was washed very thoroughly in the washing chamber, while the entrails were washed at least three times on marble tables that stood between the pillars. [ . . . ]

5:2. He said to them: Those who are new to the incense, come and draw lots. And whoever was chosen, was chosen. He then said: New and old, come and draw lots to see who shall take up the limbs from the ramp to the altar. R. Eliezer ben Jacob says: The one who brought the limbs onto the ramp also took them up to the altar.

3. He then handed them over to the attendants, who stripped them of their garments, leaving only the pants on. There were windows there on which was inscribed the name of the garment to which each was assigned.

4. The one who was chosen [to offer] the incense took up the ladle, which was like a big tarkav of gold and held three kavs. And the [small] dish was in the middle of it, heaped up with incense. This had a covering, over which was spread a piece of cloth.

5. The priest who was chosen [to use] the firepan would take the silver pan and ascend to the top of the altar and clear away the live coals to this side and that, and he would rake [the coals]. He then went down and poured them into a gold [firepan]. About a kav of the coals was split, and these he swept into the channel. On the Sabbath he used to put an overturned pot on them. This pot was a large vessel that could hold a letek. It had two chains: with one he would draw it down, and with the other he would hold it above so that it did not roll over. It was used for three purposes: for placing over live coals, [for placing] over a [dead] creeping thing on the Sabbath, and for drawing down the ashes from the top of the altar.

6. When they came between the sanctuary and the altar, one took the magrefah [a musical instrument] and threw it between the sanctuary and the altar. People could not hear one another speak in Jerusalem from the noise of the magrefah. It served three purposes: When a priest heard the sound of it, he knew that his fellow priests were going in to bow down, and he would run to join them. When a Levite heard the noise, he knew that his fellow Levites were going in to sing, and he would run to join them. And the head of the ma‘amad used to make the unclean stand in the East Gate.⁴ [ . . . ]

7:1. When the high priest went in to bow down, three priests supported him: one by his right, one by his left, and one by the precious [onyx] stones [on his shoulders]. When the superintendent heard the sound of the footsteps of the high priest as he was about to go out [from the sanctuary], he raised the curtain for him. He went in, bowed down, and went out, and then his fellow priests went in, bowed down, and went out.

2. They went and stood on the steps of the sanctuary. The first ones stood at the south side of their fellow priests with five vessels in their hands: one held the teni, the second the kuz, the third the firepan, the fourth the dish, and the fifth the spoon and its covering. They blessed the people with a single blessing, except in the country they recited it as three blessings and in the Temple as one. In the Temple they pronounced the divine name as it is written, but in the country [they used] its substitute. In the country the priests raised their hands as high as their shoulders, but in the Temple [they raised them] above their heads, except the high priest, who did not raise his hands above the diadem. R. Judah says: the high priest also raised his hands above the diadem, since it says: And Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them (Leviticus 9:22).