Which way did he go? TB Yoma 50-51

 Yesterday’s daf TB Yoma 50 and part of today’s daf TB Yoma 51 analyzes whether the High Priest’s bull he confessed upon twice and slaughtered on Yom Kippur was a personal sacrifice or a public sacrifice. The basic conclusion of the Gemara was that it had aspects of both. It was a personal sacrifice because the High Priest had to pay for the bull out of his own pocket. Nevertheless, it had a public aspect since it not only attained atonement for himself, but also all this fellow kohanim. The Gemara also provides the disagreement about the atonement provided for the kohanim. “Do his fellow priests achieve atonement by the essence of the offering, i.e., part of the offering is sacrificed on their behalf, which means they are partners in the bull? Or perhaps they achieve atonement incidentally, while the main atonement is that of the High Priest. If the atonement of the other priests is merely incidental, the High Priest can effect substitution with this bull.” (Sefaria.org translation) 

Either way this bull is one of the unique exceptions because sometimes it was treated as a personal sacrifice and sometimes as a public sacrifice depending upon the circumstances. I have to admit that the above conversation was too theoretical for me.

Too many synagogues don’t have good signage and guests don’t know where the main sanctuary is and how to get there. I found the discussion which path did the High Priest take to enter the Holy of Holies to offer up the incense much more interesting. To visualize the Gemara, let me describe the Temple. Think of a rectangle with this short sides running West and East and the two perpendicular walls running north and south. The Temple was divided into two by two curtains. The Holy of Holies was situated in the upper one third of the Western side of the Temple. The Menorah, the Golden Altar, and the Tables were situated in the rest of the Temple closer to the two curtains. The Menorah was closer to the southern wall. The Golden Altar was just a bit off centered towards the northern wall. The 10 tables were along the northern wall. Obviously the High Priest had four possible paths he could take. One path was between the Menorah and the Southern wall; the second path was between the Menorah and the Golden Altar; the third path was between the Golden Altar and the Tables; and the last path was between the Tables and the northern wall.

“§ The Sages taught: When the High Priest walked to the Holy of Holies, he walked on the south side between the inner altar and the candelabrum. This is the statement of Rabbi Yehuda. Rabbi Meir says that he walked on the north side between the table and the altar. And some say he passed between the table and the wall. The Gemara asks: Whose opinion is introduced by the title: Some say? Rav Ḥisda said: It is the opinion of Rabbi Yosei in our mishna, according to whom there is only one curtain and who said that the entrance was positioned in the north. According to all opinions, the entrance to the Holy of Holies was located in the north, and since Rabbi Yosei believed that there was just one curtain, the High Priest would walk in a straight line toward this entrance along the north side of the Sanctuary.

“And Rabbi Yehuda maintains that there were two curtains, and therefore he could have said to you that although the entrance to the Holy of Holies was on the north side, because there were two curtains, one behind the other, the entrance was positioned in the south. The High Priest entered on the south side and walked between the curtains to the north of the inner curtain where he entered the Holy of Holies. The Gemara asks: And Rabbi Meir, in accordance with whose opinion does he hold? If he holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yehuda with regard to the place of the entrance, the High Priest should enter as explained by Rabbi Yehuda; conversely, if he holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, he should enter as explained by Rabbi Yosei.

“Actually, Rabbi Meir holds in accordance with the opinion of Rabbi Yosei, and he could have said to you: The tables, the one holding the shewbread and other tables next to it, were arranged north to south, and the table blocked him on the north side, and therefore the High Priest could not enter in a direct line, as the space was too narrow.” (Sefaria.org translation)

This conversation continues on tomorrow’s daf. Stay tuned.