Today we begin the fourth chapter of our massekhet with daf TB Yoma 39. The first Mishna continues describing the lottery of the scapegoat sent to Azazel and the goat chosen to be the sin offering. A wooden box contained two “lottery tickets,” upon one was written “to Hashem” and the other “to Azazel.” When the High Priest selected the “lottery ticket to Hashem” with his right hand, this was seen as an auspicious good sign.
According to tradition the
Second Temple stood for 420 years. Today’s daf TB Yoma 39 describes the
exceptional merits of Shimon HaTzadik, the very first High Priest of the second
Temple. According to Pirkei Avot he was one of the last survivors of the Great
Assembly. (Avot 1:2) “Simeon the Righteous is
either Simon I (310–291
or 300–273 BCE), son of Onias I,
and grandson of Jaddua, or Simon II (219–199
BCE), son of Onias II. Many statements
concerning him are variously ascribed by scholars, ancient and modern, to four
different persons who bore the same name: Simeon I (by Fränkel and Grätz); Simeon II (by Krochmal in the 18th century, Brüll in the 19th, and Moore and Zeitlin in the 20th); Simon Maccabeus (by Löw); or Simeon the son of
Gamaliel (by Weiss). The scholarly consensus of the late 20th
century has fallen on Simon II.[2]
The Talmud, Josephus (who identifies him as Simon
I), Sirach and the Second Book of Maccabees all contain
accounts of him. He was termed "the Righteous" because of the piety
of his life and his benevolence toward his compatriots.[3] He was deeply interested in the
spiritual and material development of the nation. According to Sirach, he
rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem, which had
been torn down by Ptolemy Soter,
and repaired the damage done to the Temple in Jerusalem,
raising the foundation-walls of its court and enlarging the cistern into a pool.[4]
According to the
Talmud, when Alexander the Great marched
through Land of Israel in
the year 332 BCE, Simeon the Just, dressed in his priestly garments went
to Antipatris to meet him[5] although Josephus[6] states that Alexander himself
came to Jerusalem. As soon as Alexander saw him, he descended from his chariot
and bowed respectfully before him. When Alexander's courtiers criticized this
act, he replied that it had been intentional, since he had had a vision in
which he had seen the high priest, who had predicted his victory. Alexander
demanded that a statue of himself be placed in the Temple, but the high priest
explained that this was impossible. He promised instead that all the sons born
of priests in that year would be named Alexander.[7] Josephus relates the same
story, but identifies the high priest in the story as Jaddua rather than Simon.[8] This story appears to be
identical with 3 Maccabees 2,
where Seleucus (Kasgalgas) is mentioned.[9]
In his views, Simeon was midway between the Hasmoneans and the Hellenists. He was an opponent of the Nazirites and ate of the sacrifice offered by that sect only on a single occasion. Once a youth with flowing hair came to him and wished to have his head shorn. When asked his motive, the youth replied that he had seen his own face reflected in a spring and it had pleased him so that he feared his beauty might become an idol to him. He therefore wished to offer up his hair to God, and Simeon then partook of the sin-offering which he brought.[10] "(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_the_Just)
Because of his merits, our daf recounts the miracles that took
place in the Temple. “The Sages taught: During all forty years that
Shimon HaTzaddik served as High Priest, the lot for God arose in the
right hand. From then onward, sometimes it arose in the right hand
and sometimes it arose in the left hand. Furthermore, during his tenure
as High Priest, the strip of crimson wool that was tied to the head of
the goat that was sent to Azazel turned white, indicating that the sins
of the people had been forgiven, as it is written: “Though your sins be as
crimson, they shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). From then onward, it
sometimes turned white and sometimes it did not turn white.
Furthermore, the western lamp of the candelabrum would burn
continuously as a sign that God’s presence rested upon the nation. From then
onward, it sometimes burned and sometimes it went out.
“And during the tenure of Shimon HaTzaddik,
the fire on the arrangement of wood on the altar kept going strongly,
perpetually by itself, such that the priests did not need to bring
additional wood to the arrangement on a daily basis, except for the
two logs that were brought in order to fulfill the mitzva of placing
wood upon the arrangement. From then onward, the fire sometimes
kept going strongly and sometimes it did not, and so the priests could
not avoid bringing wood to the arrangement throughout the entire day.
“And a blessing was sent upon the offering of the omer; and to
the offering of the two loaves from the new wheat, which was
sacrificed on Shavuot; and to the shewbread, which was placed on
the table in the Temple. And due to that blessing, each priest that
received an olive-bulk of them, there were those who ate it and
were satisfied, and there were those who ate only a part of it
and left over the rest because they were already satisfied from such a
small amount. From then onward, a curse was sent upon the omer, and
to the two loaves, and to the shewbread, that there were not sufficient quantities
to give each priest a full measure. Therefore, each priest received just
an amount the size of a bean; the discreet, pious ones would withdraw
their hands, a bean-bulk being less that the quantity needed to properly
fulfill the mitzva, and only the voracious ones would take and eat
it. And an incident occurred with one who took his portion and that of his
fellow, and they called him: Son of a robber [ḥamtzan] until the
day of his death.” (Sefaria.org translation)
”
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