Yoma 54a

יומא נ״ד ע״א

Learn Yoma 54a step by step: Aramaic beside English, every question, answer and proof colour-coded.

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Topic

The fate of the ארון after the חורבן, how its poles were seen through the פרוכת, and the showing of the כרובים to ישראל on the רגל

Overview

This עמוד asks what happened to the ארון when the מקדש ראשון was destroyed. One view says it went into exile, reading 'כל הדרה' as 'her chamber.' רבי שמעון בן יוחי says it was hidden in its place, because the פסוק about its poles says 'they are there to this day.' רבה challenges עולא from the יבוסי, where 'to this day' cannot mean forever. עולא's answer, that the extra word 'שם' means forever, is refuted from בני שמעון, whom סנחריב exiled. The חכמים say the ארון was hidden under the floor of the לשכת דיר העצים, and a משנה tells of a כהן who found the spot and died. The גמרא then explains how the poles were 'seen and not seen': they pressed the פרוכת out like a woman's breasts. רב קטינא says the כרובים were shown to the people on the רגל as a sign of ה׳'s love. The גמרא defends this with the parable of a bride, and then asks which מקדש he meant, giving two answers: the gate curtains of the מקדש ראשון, or carved כרובים on the walls of the מקדש שני. The explanation of 'כמער איש ולויות' continues on the next עמוד.

Opening lines

The steps (33)

1. Proof'All her splendor' means 'her chamber'
2. QuestionWhat do you say?
3. ResponseThe ארון was hidden in its place
4. QuestionHow does that verse prove it?
5. ResponseBecause it says 'to this day'
6. ChallengeDoes 'to this day' always mean forever? The יבוסי case
7. ProofNo one passed through יהודה for fifty-two years
8. ProofBrimstone and salt covered the land for seven years
9. Proofרבי יוחנן's source: the word 'covenant' links two verses
10. Resolutionעולא answers that the word 'there' makes the difference
11. ChallengeA verse about the sons of Shimon also says 'there to this day'
12. ProofSennacherib already mixed up all the nations
13. Conclusionעולא is refuted
14. StatementThe חכמים say the ארון was hidden in the לשכת דיר העצים
15. ProofA כהן found an odd floor tile and died before telling
16. QuestionWhat was the priest doing?
17. ResponseHe was working with his axe
18. Proofכהנים בעלי מומים sorting wood, an axe fell, and fire burst out
19. ChallengeTwo phrases in the same verse seem to contradict
20. ResolutionThey were seen and not seen at the same time
21. ProofA ברייתא shows the poles moved but did not tear through
22. ResolutionThe poles pressed against the curtain like a woman's breasts
23. StatementOn the רגל the כרובים were shown to the people
24. ChallengeEven the לויים could not look at the holy vessels
25. ResolutionThe parable of the bride
26. ChallengeChallenge from the כהן who found the ארון's hiding place
27. ResolutionAfter the divorce, the old modesty returns
28. ChallengeWhich מקדש did רב קטינא mean?
29. Resolutionמקדש ראשון, and the פרוכת of the gates
30. ProofThirteen פרוכות in the מקדש
31. ResolutionThe statement refers to the מקדש שני and its pictured כרובים
32. ProofA second verse about the carved figures
33. QuestionWhat does 'like the space of a man and wreaths' mean