Study Sukkah folio 48B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
כמין שני חוטמין דקין, (ואחד) מעובה ואחד דק, כדי שיהו שניהם כלין בבת אחת. מערבו — של מים, מזרחו — של יין. עירה של מים לתוך של יין, ושל יין לתוך של מים — יצא.
with two thin perforated nose-like protrusions. One of the basins, used for the wine libation, had a perforation that was broad, and one, used for the water libation, had a perforation that was thin, so that the flow of both the water and the wine, which do not have the same viscosity, would conclude simultaneously. The basin to the west of the altar was for water, and the basin to the east of the altar was for wine. However, if one poured the contents of the basin of water into the basin of wine, or the contents of the basin of wine into the basin of water, he fulfilled his obligation, as failure to pour the libation from the prescribed location does not disqualify the libation after the fact.
רבי יהודה אומר: בלוג היה מנסך כל שמונה. ולמנסך אומר לו: הגבה ידך. שפעם אחד נסך אחד על גבי רגליו, ורגמוהו כל העם באתרוגיהן.
R' Yehuda says: The basin for the water libation was not that large; rather, one would pour the water with a vessel that had a capacity of one log on all 8 days of the Festival and not only 7. And the appointee says to the one pouring the water into the silver basin: Raise your hand, so that his actions would be visible, as one time a Sadducee priest intentionally poured the water on his feet, as the Sadducees did not accept the oral tradition requiring water libation, and in their rage all the people pelted him with their etrogim.
כמעשהו בחול כך מעשהו בשבת, אלא שהיה ממלא מערב שבת חבית של זהב שאינה מקודשת מן השילוח ומניחה בלשכה. נשפכה, נתגלתה, היה ממלא מן הכיור. שהיין והמים מגולין — פסולין לגבי מזבח.
R' Yehuda continues: As its performance during the week, so is its performance on Shabbat, except that on Shabbat one would not draw water. Instead, on Friday, one would fill a golden jug that was not consecrated for exclusive use in the Temple from the Siloam pool, and he would place it in the Temple chamber and draw water from there on Shabbat. If the water in the jug spilled, or if it was exposed overnight, leading to concern that a snake may have deposited poison in the water, one would fill the jug with water from the basin in the Temple courtyard, as exposed wine or water is unfit for the altar. Just as it is prohibited for people to drink them due to the potential danger, so too, they may not be poured on the altar.