Yoma 53a

יומא נ״ג ע״א

Learn Yoma 53a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

Placing the קטורת inside, the מעלה עשן requirement, and leaving a holy place or one's רב without turning one's back

Overview

The amud opens by finishing an earlier point: the כהן גדול piles the קטורת starting from the far side so he will not burn himself. A ברייתא then teaches from 'לִפְנֵי ה׳' that the קטורת is put on the coals inside קודש הקדשים. This rejects the צדוקים, who wanted it lit outside because of the פסוק 'כִּי בֶּעָנָן אֵרָאֶה'. The חכמים explain that this פסוק requires a מעלה עשן, a smoke-raising herb, and that leaving it or any spice out brings מיתה. The גמרא asks why that is not already a death penalty for an empty entry, and רב ששת and רב אשי each describe a case that explains it. The גמרא then asks why a second פסוק, 'וְכִסָּה', is needed, and gives several answers: root and leaf, יום הכפורים and the whole year, מצוה and לעכב, and עונש and אזהרה. A ברייתא of רבי אליעזר explains that the warning came before נדב ואביהוא died, and that they actually died for ruling on a הלכה in front of משה. Finally, the גמרא learns from שלמה at גבעון that one leaves a holy place without turning one's back, and applies this to כהנים, לוים, ישראל and a תלמיד leaving his רב, with stories about רבי אלעזר and רבא.

Opening lines

The steps (38)

1. ConclusionWhy the incense is piled from the far side
2. StatementThe incense must be placed on the fire inside, not prepared outside
3. QuestionWhat verse did the צדוקים rely on?
4. ResponseThe צדוקים' verse: 'I will appear in a cloud'
5. ChallengeThe חכמים point to the explicit verse
6. QuestionThen what does 'I will appear in a cloud' mean?
7. ResponseThe cloud verse teaches that a smoke-raising spice is required
8. ProofA second verse as the source for the smoke-raiser
9. ConclusionLeaving out the smoke-raiser or any spice makes him liable to death
10. ChallengeWhy not make him liable for entering for no purpose?
11. Resolutionרב ששת: the entry was accidental, the burning was deliberate
12. Resolutionרב אשי: he brought in one complete and one incomplete set
13. ChallengeWhy bring a second verse for the smoke-raiser?
14. Resolutionרב יוסף: the first verse teaches the leaf, the second adds the root
15. Challengeאביי: another ברייתא shows the root is the main smoke-maker
16. Resolutionאביי: the first verse teaches the root, the second adds the leaf
17. Resolutionרב ששת: the second verse extends the rule to שילה and the בית המקדש
18. ChallengeChallenge: another verse already teaches that the rule applies in later places
19. ResolutionRevised reading: the second verse extends the rule to the whole year
20. Resolutionרב אשי: one verse gives the מצוה, the other makes it indispensable
21. Resolutionרבא: one verse gives the punishment, the other gives the warning
22. ProofA ברייתא supports רבא: one phrase is the punishment, the other is the warning
23. StatementThe warning was given before the sons' death, and the punishment after
24. QuestionHow does the verse show the warning came earlier?
25. Responseרבא: 'I will appear' is future tense, so the cloud had not yet appeared
26. ChallengeIf no punishment had been given yet, why were בני אהרן punished?
27. ResolutionThey died for ruling on a הלכה in front of משה
28. QuestionWhat did they learn from the verse?
29. ResponseFire comes from heaven, but there is a מצוה to bring regular fire too
30. QuestionWhere do we learn that the כהן גדול walks out backward?
31. ResponseThe source is the verse about שלמה at גבעון
32. QuestionWhy does the verse put גבעון and ירושלים together?
33. ResponseLeaving is compared to arriving, so he faced the במה both ways
34. Statementכהנים, לוים and ישראל also turn sideways when they leave
35. StatementA student leaving his teacher also turns sideways
36. Proofרבי אלעזר stayed bowing until רבי יוחנן was out of sight
37. Proofרבי אלעזר walks backward when leaving רבי יוחנן
38. Proofרבא walks backward from רב יוסף until he is injured