2,711 pages of Talmud. A gem a day.

Today’s gem is magical. We have angels, prophets, and the changing of Hebrew writing!

We don’t often think of Judaism as having angelology, and yet the angels from Christianity and Islam come from Judaism. Today, the archangel Michael tells us where the location of the altar will be.

We also see the transition from ancient Hebrew script to the script we use today. I will put a picture after the Talmudic text so you can see.

The Gemara discusses the construction of the altar in the Second Temple. The Gemara asks: Granted, with regard to the location of the House, its shape was discernable from the vestiges of its foundations; but how did they know the proper location of the altar? The Gemara answers that Rabbi Elazar says: They saw a vision of the altar already built and Michael the archangel standing and sacrificing offerings upon it. And Rabbi Yitzḥak Nappaḥa says: They saw a vision of the ashes of Isaac that were placed in that location. And Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani says: From the entire House they smelled the scent of incense, yet from there, the location of the altar, they smelled a scent of burned animal limbs. Rabba bar bar Ḥana says that Rabbi Yoḥanan says: Three prophets ascended with them from the exile: One who testified to them about the size and shape of the altar, and one who testified to them about the proper location of the altar, and one who testified to them that one sacrifices offerings even if there is no Temple, provided that there is a proper altar. It was taught in a baraita that Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov says: Three prophets ascended with the Jewish people from the exile: One who testified to them about the size and shape of the altar and about the proper location of the altar, and one who testified to them that one sacrifices offerings even if there is no Temple, and one who testified to them about the Torah and instructed that it be written in Assyrian script [Ashurit] rather than the ancient Hebrew script used in the times of Moses.

There is so much that’s interesting on our daf today, but my gem is a short one: The verse states: “Then the Tent of Meeting shall travel” (Numbers 2:17). This verse indicates that even though it traveled it is still considered the Tent of Meeting.

There is something about seeing something dismantled… but each piece is still holy.

It makes me think of us when we are a mess, in pieces. We are still holy.

Two gems out of one text! The first gem is that Ravin taught that you cannot eat while the altar is in pieces. It’s a literal teaching but it’s also very profound.

The second is the response:

The Gemara relates: When Ravin ascended from Babylonia to Eretz Yisrael, he stated this halakha, that even items of lesser sanctity are disqualified if the altar is damaged or missing, in the presence of Rabbi Yirmeya. Rabbi Yirmeya said: Foolish Babylonians! Because they dwell in a dark land, they state halakhot that are dim. Have they not heard that which is taught in a baraita: At the time when the Jewish people would dismantle the Tabernacle in order to depart on their journeys in the wilderness, sacrificial food was disqualified from being consumed, since the altar was not in place. Nevertheless, zavim and lepers were sent out of the relevant partition; a zav was sent out of the Levite camp and a leper was sent out of the Israelite camp. And it is taught in another baraita: Sacrificial food could be consumed in two locations, i.e., one could eat it while the Tabernacle was in place and one could continue eating it after the Tabernacle had been disassembled and transported. 

Well, Rabbi Yerimiah disagrees, and disagrees hilariously! What’s good to know is that Babylonians tended to look down on the rabbis from Israel – so the response is funny indeed.

“She’s powdering her nose.” We all know she’s pooping.

Today’s daf discusses the altar Moses had as well as the altar Solomon built in the Temple. It says Solomon’s was bigger… but it wasn’t! So, why say it?

Rabbi Yosei presents an alternative understanding of the verse: Rather, what is the meaning of the phrase “because the copper altar…was too small to receive”? It is not referring to the altar built by Solomon, but rather to the copper altar built in the time of Moses, which was disqualified from use from the day of the Temple’s inauguration on. Rather than stating outright that the altar became disqualified, the verse employed a euphemism, like a person who says to his friend: So-and-so is a dwarf [nanas], and what he really means to say is that he is disqualified from performing the Temple service. Similarly, rather than stating outright that the altar built in the time of Moses became disqualified, the verse states that it was too small to accommodate the offerings sacrificed in the Temple.

So, they didn’t want to say the altar Moses built was disqualified so they said it was too small. Just like this hypothetical person said their friend was a dwarf… to be polite.

Okay, maybe I’ll go powder my nose now.

One of the topics we have on today’s daf is what wood is used to create the fire for incense.

The priests selected fine wood of a fig tree from the chamber of firewood, with which to lay out a second arrangementof wood on the altar so that coals from this arrangement could be used for burning the incense.

Rashi says they use fig trees because Adam and Eve used fig trees to cover themselves in the garden of Eden.

In Eden, Adam and Eve use the fig leaves to hide their shame; in the Temple, the fig tree’s wood becomes part of the incense that transforms what is hidden into something sacred and fragrant. The same tree that once covered human failure now contributes to divine worship — an evolution from embarrassment to elevation.

I want to build a spiritual center around our garden at the temple. Maybe that’s why this verse stuck out to me on the daf today: And this question was asked before the Sages in the vineyard in Yavne.

Yavne is the academy where the Sanhedrin gathered after the destruction of the Temple. It’s where the Mishnah was recorded, the seat of learning. It was an academy. This is the first I am hearing of them having a garden! Did they know gardening was meditative? That it could feed them spiritually and physically?

Then I checked Rashi’s commentary: בכרם – ת”ח יושבין שורות ככרם כך מפורש בברכות ירושלמי: They will sit in rows like a vineyard, as is explained in the Jerusalem Talmud in Berachot.

So, they may have “only” been harvesting sages. Yet, what they grew saved Judaism.

Amidst so many comparisons between the various sacrifices, we get a new mishnah that gives us four unique laws of the Passover Sacrifice: The Paschal offering is eaten only at night, and it is eaten only until midnight, and it is eaten only by its registrants, i.e., those who registered in advance to partake of the offering, and it is eaten only roasted, not prepared in any other manner.

The Passover Sacrifice is special. Today, Passover is the most observed of all the Jewish holidays. Perhaps it’s because it’s so special. Here, we see that only people who have “registered” for that particular lamb are allowed to eat of the sacrifice. It shows that they all had to plan, to think ahead, to make sure that they would be able to do the mitzvah. They had to opt in. Today, we still do. Sometimes we show up better for the things that are a little more demanding.

Did you know the priests carried switch blades? Yep. And apparently they kept them in today’s gem, the: Chamber of Knives.

Now, I had never heard of the Chamber of Knives, so I deep a deep dive. If you ever used to watch MTV’s show “Cribs” then this will resonate, because apparently there was an entire room JUST to hold the knives of the priests. And each priest had his own private cabinet (priests had lockers!). And, what did they do if a knive got dull or damaged? They had another entire room just to stash their rusty old knives!

That’s high status, to have a room just for things you use and another for things you don’t and never will.

Is it ever good to be envious?

On our daf today, Rabbi Yishmael compares the burnt offering blood placement to the placement Moses made when inaugurating the Mishkan (Tabernacle in the desert). Ge says, Just as there, with regard to the sin offering, the blood was placed discretely and with four placements, one on each corner, so too here, with regard to a burnt offering, it must be placed discretely and with four placements. However, they don’t place it with the four placements. So, why not? Apparently because there is no base in the southeast corner. The Gemara asks: What is the reason that there was no base on the southeast corner of the altar? Rabbi Elazar says: Because it was not in the portion of land of the one who tears, i.e., the tribe of Benjamin.

Here’s the gem: Rabbi Levi bar Ḥama says that Rabbi Ḥama, son of Rabbi Ḥanina, says: A strip of land emerged from the portion of Judah and entered into the portion of Benjamin, and the southeast corner of the base was on that strip. And the tribe of Benjamin the righteous would agonize over it every day, desiring to take it into its portion, due to its unique sanctity. . . Therefore, Benjamin the righteous was privileged and became the host of the Holy One, Blessed be He, as the Holy of Holies was built in his portion. As it is stated: “And He dwells between his shoulders.”

Benjamin (Jacob’s son, the brother of Joseph) had a vision that the altar would not be in his allotted portion and was so heartbroken over it that God rewarded him by building the Holy of Holies in his apportioned land.

So, is it ever good to be envious? When it causes you to be a better version of yourself, when it helps you to get your priorities and desires in order, then (and only then) envy can be a holy thing. When it brings us closer to God, then, yes, it’s good to be envious.