Gemara Clarity

Tamid 28a

תמיד כ״ח ע״א

Learn Tamid 28a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Punishing sleeping Temple guards and the value of rebuke, then how the כהן who removes the ashes is chosen, and the start of the morning Temple routine.

Overview

This amud finishes the משנה about the לוים guarding the בית המקדש at night: a guard caught sleeping was struck with a staff and could have his clothes burned, and רבי אליעזר בן יעקב says this happened to his own uncle. רבי יוחנן praises the earlier generations for punishing even sleep a person could not help. That leads to teachings on the value of rebuke: רבי says a person should love rebuke, יש אומרים say to hold on to extra faithfulness, and רבי יונתן describes the reward of one who rebukes לשם שמים. The גמרא then asks how the משנה can say both that whoever wants to remove the ashes gets up early and that a lottery decides. אביי answers that the two lines describe the times before and after the lottery תקנה. He proves this from a משנה in יומא: there was once a race up the ramp, until a כהן's leg was broken and בית דין made a lottery. רבא answers instead that both lines describe the lottery period, and rising early only makes a כהן eligible. A new משנה then describes the morning: the כהנים enter the עזרה with torches, inspect it in two groups, and the lottery winner goes alone in the dark to remove the ashes, a description that continues on the next amud.

Opening lines

שָׁלוֹם עָלֶיךָ״!

"Peace be upon you!"

– נִיכָּר שֶׁהוּא יָשֵׁן,

[If he did not say it,] it was clear that he was asleep,

חוֹבְטוֹ בְּמַקְלוֹ.

he would strike him with his staff.

וּרְשׁוּת הָיְתָה לוֹ

And he had permission

The steps (20)

  1. StatementA sleeping guard is struck and his clothes may be burned
  2. StatementPeople hear the noise and know a guard was caught sleeping
  3. Statementרבי אליעזר בן יעקב: it happened to my own uncle
  4. Statementרבי יוחנן praises the earlier generations for their strictness
  5. Statementרבי: The right path is to love rebuke
  6. StatementAnother view: Hold on to extra faithfulness
  7. StatementOne who rebukes לשם שמים earns a portion with הקדוש ברוך הוא
  8. StatementThe rebuker also receives a thread of kindness
  9. StatementReturning to the next lines of the משנה
  10. ChallengeThe משנה seems to contradict itself
  11. Resolutionאביי: two time periods, before and after the תקנה
  12. ProofProof from יומא: the old race and the switch to a lottery
  13. StatementHow the fingers were raised for the lottery
  14. ProofThe ramp accident that led to the lottery
  15. ResolutionBoth lines describe the time after the lottery rule
  16. StatementThe ממונה opens the small door and the כהנים enter the courtyard
  17. StatementTwo groups check the courtyard and meet at the place of the חביתים
  18. StatementThe lottery winner removes the ashes
  19. StatementThe other כהנים remind him to wash and tell him where the coal pan is
  20. StatementHe goes in alone, with no lamp, by the light of the altar fire