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Tamid () is the ninth tractate in
The Mishnah on Tamid is divided into seven chapters (six in Lowe's edition of the Mishnah), containing 34 paragraphs in all:
* Chapter 1: The priests kept watch in three places in the Temple; where the young priests were on guard, and where the older ones slept who held the keys (§ 1); all who sought admission to remove the ashes from the altar were obliged to prepare themselves by a ritual bath before the officer appeared; when he appeared and when he called upon the priests to draw lots (§ 2); the mutual greetings of the priests (§ 3); how the one chosen by lot to remove the ashes from the altar performed his duties (§ 4).
* Chapter 2: How the other priests continued the task of cleansing the altar (§ 1); the piling of the ashes, in the center of the altar, into a hillock, which was considered an adornment (§ 2); the supply of fuel for the altar and the kind of wood used (§ 3); the arrangement of the wood and fire in layers (§§ 4-5).
* Chapter 3: The drawing of lots for various official duties, such as slaying the tamid, sprinkling its blood, and cleansing the altar and the candlestick (§ 1); the announcement of the time of slaying the morning sacrifice (§ 2); the bringing of the sacrificial lamb, which was given to drink from a golden cup before it was killed; who was charged with taking it to the place of sacrifice (§§ 3-5); the mode of cleansing the inner altar and the candlesticks, together with the statement, in conformity with Ezek. xliv. 2, that no man ever passed through the postern on the southern side of the large door; how the opening of this great portal was heard as far as Jericho, as was the sound of the trumpets and other music of the Temple (§§ 6-9).
* Chapter 4: The ritual for killing and dismembering the sacrificial lamb; how the parts of the sacrifice were brought to the altar.
* Chapter 5: The daily morning prayer in the Temple, which was supplemented on the Sabbath by a benediction on the division of priests who then completed their duties (§ 1); the drawing of lots for offering incense; the question as to whether one might make this offering twice, and the mode of burning the incense (§§ 2-5); the "magrefah," a musical instrument used in the Temple ( see Organ), and the various priestly and Levitical meanings of the signals given on it (§ 6).
* Chapter 6: Additional details in regard to offering incense.
* Chapter 7: The ritual used in case the high priest himself performed the sacrifice; the mode in which he pronounced the benediction on the people; the divergency of this benediction from that bestowed by the priests outside the Temple, and the music which accompanied the high priest's performance of his functions (§§ 1-3); enumeration of the Psalms sung by the Levites in the Temple on the various days of the week (§ 4).
Kodashim
150px, Pidyon haben
Kodashim () is the fifth of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta and the Talmud, and deals largely with the services within the Temple in Jerusalem, its maintenance and design, the ''korbanot'', or sa ...
, which is the fifth of the six orders of the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...
, Tosefta
The Tosefta ( "supplement, addition") is a compilation of Jewish Oral Law from the late second century, the period of the Mishnah and the Jewish sages known as the '' Tannaim''.
Background
Jewish teachings of the Tannaitic period were cha ...
, and the Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...
.
The main subject of Tamid is the morning and evening burnt offerings (; ), but it also deals with other Temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
ceremonies. The tractate includes information about the Temple Service from sages who had been present at the Temple and witnessed the service. This tractate contains few disagreements between the sages and few exegetical derivations. It is written as a historical description of the service.
Mishnah
The Mishnah on Tamid is divided into seven chapters (six in Lowe's edition of the Mishnah), containing 34 paragraphs in all:
* Chapter 1: The priests kept watch in three places in the Temple; where the young priests were on guard, and where the older ones slept who held the keys (§ 1); all who sought admission to remove the ashes from the altar were obliged to prepare themselves by a ritual bath before the officer appeared; when he appeared and when he called upon the priests to draw lots (§ 2); the mutual greetings of the priests (§ 3); how the one chosen by lot to remove the ashes from the altar performed his duties (§ 4).
* Chapter 2: How the other priests continued the task of cleansing the altar (§ 1); the piling of the ashes, in the center of the altar, into a hillock, which was considered an adornment (§ 2); the supply of fuel for the altar and the kind of wood used (§ 3); the arrangement of the wood and fire in layers (§§ 4-5).
* Chapter 3: The drawing of lots for various official duties, such as slaying the tamid, sprinkling its blood, and cleansing the altar and the candlestick (§ 1); the announcement of the time of slaying the morning sacrifice (§ 2); the bringing of the sacrificial lamb, which was given to drink from a golden cup before it was killed; who was charged with taking it to the place of sacrifice (§§ 3-5); the mode of cleansing the inner altar and the candlesticks, together with the statement, in conformity with Ezek. xliv. 2, that no man ever passed through the postern on the southern side of the large door; how the opening of this great portal was heard as far as Jericho, as was the sound of the trumpets and other music of the Temple (§§ 6-9).
* Chapter 4: The ritual for killing and dismembering the sacrificial lamb; how the parts of the sacrifice were brought to the altar.
* Chapter 5: The daily morning prayer in the Temple, which was supplemented on the Sabbath by a benediction on the division of priests who then completed their duties (§ 1); the drawing of lots for offering incense; the question as to whether one might make this offering twice, and the mode of burning the incense (§§ 2-5); the "magrefah," a musical instrument used in the Temple ( see Organ), and the various priestly and Levitical meanings of the signals given on it (§ 6).
* Chapter 6: Additional details in regard to offering incense.
* Chapter 7: The ritual used in case the high priest himself performed the sacrifice; the mode in which he pronounced the benediction on the people; the divergency of this benediction from that bestowed by the priests outside the Temple, and the music which accompanied the high priest's performance of his functions (§§ 1-3); enumeration of the Psalms sung by the Levites in the Temple on the various days of the week (§ 4).
Talmud
The extant gemara on Tamid in theBabylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the centerpiece of Jewi ...
covers only three chapters of the tractate (chapters 1, 2, and 4). It is the shortest tractate of gemara in the Babylonian Talmud consisting of only seven pages. There are approximately only 4,600 words in the tractate.
It contains several sayings and ethical maxims of importance, as well as stories and legends of much interest. For example: "The Pentateuch and the writings of the Prophets and the mishnaic sages contain specific exaggerated expressions which can not be taken literally, such as, 'The cities are great and walled up to heaven' ()".
It also contains legends concerning Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip ...
, his conversation with the sages of the South, his journey to Africa, and his adventures among the Amazons and at the gate of paradise.
Commentaries
Rishonim
Almost none of the famous early commentators extended their work to Tamid. Surviving commentaries include: * The "Mefaresh" (''commentator''). Occasionally attributed to Samuel ben Meir or toRashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi ().
Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...
, but it cites Rashi's genuine commentary to b. Shabbat 19b by name on b. Tamid 25b s.v. בית המוקד. Solomon Adeni writes that it is assembled from Rashi's commentary on b. Yoma (b. Tamid 33b), but only some content can be found there. On b. Tamid 27b s.v. שריא the Mefaresh cites to Yoma as his teacher, but the citation does not match Rashi's commentary. Variously attributed to Shemaiah of Soissons (The Vilna printers' ''Shita Mequbetzet'' 28a:5, 29b:5, 31a:4, 31b:3, appears to refer to the Mefaresh as ר"ש; these comments are not found in Adeni's holograph manuscript), but there is a different commentary to b. Tamid under his name found MS Opp. 726 and published by Fuchs (2000), and Isaac ben Baruch, a Tosafist, though pseudo-Abraham b. David quotes a different commentary on b. Tamid in his name (27b, s.v. בית המוקד.).
* The Anonymous German Commentary published by Fuchs (2000).Fuchs, U. (2000). שני פירושים חדשים על מסכת תמיד - פירוש ר' שמעיה, ופירוש אשכנזי אנונימי. קובץ על יד,97-141.
* Shemaiah of Soissons, found MS Opp. 726 and published by Fuchs (2000).
* That attributed to Gershom ben Judah, from the school of Isaac ben Judah (c. 1064-1100).עפשטיין, א. (1999). פירוש התלמוד המיוחס לרבנו גרשום מאור הגולה. Netuim, 107-133. See also Epstein's ''Das talmudische Lexikon Jechuse Tannaim we-Amoraim und Jehuda b. Kalonimos aus Speier'' (1895), pg. 16. This commentary cites no German but two French words.
* That mistakenly attributed to Abraham ben David
Abraham ben David ( – 27 November 1198), also known by the abbreviation RABaD (for ''Rabbeinu'' Abraham ben David) Ravad or RABaD III, was a Provençal ḥakham, an important commentator on the Talmud, ''Sefer Halachot'' of Isaac Alfasi, an ...
, possibly the work of Baruch ben Isaac (according to Abraham Epstein; Ephraim Urbach disagreed) or Eliezer ben Joel HaLevi (according to David Luria). Zecharias Frankel believed the author Sephardic, while Heimann Michael argued he was Ashkenazic. Yaakov Sussmann agrees with Michael; see also his sources n. 53-4.
* That attributed to Asher ben Jehiel
Asher ben Jehiel (, or Asher ben Yechiel, sometimes Asheri) (1250 or 1259 – 1327) was an eminent rabbi and Talmudist best known for his abstract of Talmudic law. He is often referred to as Rabbenu Asher, “our Rabbi Asher” or by the Hebrew ...
. Epstein believed this commentary, which explicitly disagrees with Asher b. Yechiel's genuine commentary to b. Berakhot, to be the work of another scholar.
* Samuel ben Isaac, an otherwise unknown Franco-German rishon, published by Bezalel Zolty (1986).
* Menachem HaMeiri, almost entirely a commentary on the Mishna but with a few notes on the Gemara as well.
Acharonim
*The ''Binyan Shelomo leChokhmat Betzalel'' of Solomon Adeni (d. 1625). Among this work's sources were the notes of Adeni's master,Bezalel Ashkenazi
Bezalel ben Abraham Ashkenazi () ( 1520 – 1592) was a rabbi and talmudist who lived in Ottoman Israel during the 16th century. He is best known as the author of the ''Shitah Mekubetzet'', a commentary on the Talmud. Among his disciples were ...
; the printers call it ''Shita Mequbetzet''.
* Baruch Bendit of Zabłudów, ''Ner Tamid'' (1789)
* Moshe Greenwald, ''Olat Tamid im Minhat Tamid'' (e.p. 1936)
* Amitai ben-David, ''Ner Tamid'' (2004)
References
{{Mishnah