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Text Excerpt
ומאי ארבע או חמש? לרבנן דאמרי נכנס נוטל שש, ויוצא נוטל שש, ושכר הגפת דלתות לא, משתים עשרה בעי מיפלג. בציר חדא מפלגא, חמש שקיל.
And what is the meaning of 4 or 5; i.e., when does the High Priest take 4 loaves and when does he take 5? According to the Rabbis, who say: The priestly watch that is incoming on Shabbat takes 6 of the loaves, and the outgoing watch takes 6, and the incoming watch receives no greater portion as payment for closing the doors, it is from 12 loaves that the High Priest must divide and take his share, but he receives half of the loaves less one, meaning that he takes 5. According to the Rabbis, the High Priest receives less than half; however, since it is inappropriate to give him a piece of a loaf, less than half is 5 whole loaves.
According to R' Yehuda, who said: The priestly watch that is incoming on Shabbat takes 7 of the loaves, two of which are payment for closing the doors; and the outgoing watch takes 5 loaves, it is from 10 that he must divide the loaves. Those two of the 12 loaves are a separate payment and are not factored into the tally of those designated for distribution. Subtract one from half of that total, as subtracting less than one loaf would lead to a situation where the High Priest receives a piece of a loaf, which is inappropriate. And therefore, the High Priest takes 4.
רבא אמר: כולה רבי היא, וסבר לה כרבי יהודה. ואלא מאי ארבע? הא חמש בעי למשקל!
Rava said that the baraita should be explained differently. The entire baraita is in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, and he holds in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda that only 10 loaves are divided. Rather, what then is the meaning of the statement that the High Priest takes 4 loaves? According to R' Yehuda HaNasi, doesn’t he need to take 5?