Why chapter 5 of our massekhet is in the prayer book Zevakhim 47

Today we begin the fifth chapter of our massekhet. Even though this chapter contains basic information about the sacrifices, it is found here near halfway through the massekhet. This chapter opens up discussing where the actual sacrifices need to take place.

“MISHNA: What is the location of the slaughtering and consumption of offerings? The principle is that with regard to offerings of the most sacred order, their slaughter is in the north of the Temple courtyard.

“Specifically, with regard to the bull and the goat of Yom Kippur, their slaughter is in the north and the collection of their blood in a service vessel is in the north, and their blood requires sprinkling between the staves of the Ark in the Holy of Holies, and upon the Curtain separating the Sanctuary and Holy of Holies, and on the golden altar. Concerning all those sprinklings, failure to perform even one placement of their blood disqualifies the offering. As to the remainder of the blood, which is left after those sprinklings, a priest would pour it onto the western base of the external altar. But if he did not place the remainder of the blood on the western base, it does not disqualify the offering.

“With regard to bulls that are burned and goats that are burned, their slaughter is in the north of the Temple courtyard, and the collection of their blood in a service vessel is in the north, and their blood requires sprinkling upon the Curtain separating the Sanctuary and Holy of Holies, and upon the golden altar, and failure to perform even one placement of their blood disqualifies the offering. As for the remainder of the blood that is left after those sprinklings, a priest would pour it onto the western base of the external altar, but if he did not pour the remainder it does not disqualify the offering. These, the bull and the goat of Yom Kippur, and those, the bulls and the goats that are burned, are then burned in the place of the ashes, a place outside of Jerusalem where the priests would bring the ashes from the altar.” (Sefaria.org translation) Future mishnayot will discuss in detail other categories of sacrifices.

In an Orthodox prayer book there are two rounds of study. The Conservative prayer book contains only the first round of study. The first found begins even before the morning’s blessings. The first round is familiar to every regular davener. It includes the blessings for studying Torah, Torah verses (usually the priestly benediction), a Mishna from massekhet Peah, and a selection from the Gemara in massekhet Shabbat. The second round after the morning placings and is all about sacrifices. It follows the same format of round one, verses from the Torah, Mishna, and Gemara. The Goanim instituted this tradition and selected our chapter to be the one studied. One of the distinguishing aspects of these mishnayot of our chapter is that they do not contain any disagreement between the sages! Entering into prayer without disagreement and argument is essential for the proper kavanah, intention.

When the Temple stood, the main mode of worship was animal sacrifice. When the Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE, sacrifices were no longer able to be offered up. Instead the rabbis ordained that prayer is a suitable substitute to animal sacrifice. The midrash has Abraham asking God how Israel would achieve forgiveness when the Temple will lie in ruins and they could no longer offer sacrifices. God replied, “Wen Israel recites the scriptural order of the offerings, I will consider it as if they had brought the sacrifices and I will forgive their sins” (Megillah 31a, Ta’anit 27b) Rav Yitzhak said: “The Torah writes ‘this is the Torah (i.e. the teaching),  Of the sin offering’ (Leviticus 6:18) to imply that whoever involves himself in the study of the sin offering is regarded as if he had actually offered a sin offering (Menakhot 110a).

“The section dealing with the sacrifices logically follows the previous prayer, atah hu, which longs for Israel’s redemption. Given the fact that the offerings require the existence of the Holy Temple as the spiritual center of the nation, we pray that God gather us in from our dispersion. Then, her message will become a truly universal one, for God will have set us up  ‘for renown and praise among all the peoples of the earth.’

“The offerings whose laws are about to be recited are all communal ones; the sages chose them because they illustrate our wish that Israel become united as a single nation in God’s service.” (The Complete Artscroll Siddur, Page 30)