Study Yoma folio 35B with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מיתיבי: ״ולבשו בגדים אחרים ולא יקדשו את העם בבגדיהם״,
The Talmud raises an objection. It is stated: “And it should be that when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they should be clothed with linen garments; and no wool should come upon them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within” (Ezekiel 44:17). This verse is referring to the Yom Kippur service, as during the year the High Priest performed the service in 8 priestly vestments made partially of wool. Two verses later the prophet says: “And when they go forth into the outer court, into the outer court to the people, they should remove their garments in which they serve, and lay them in the sacred chambers, and they should put on other garments, so that they do not sanctify the people with their garments” (Ezekiel 44:19).
The Talmud infers: What, doesn’t “other” mean more important than the first set of linen garments? The Talmud rejects this: No, although “other” means different garments, it means garments inferior to them, the first set of linen garments. The High Priest does not don a second set of garments to effect atonement; rather, he dons them in deference to God to remove the spoon and the coal pan from the Holy of Holies.
תני רב הונא בר יהודה, ואמרי לה רב שמואל בר יהודה: אחר שכלתה עבודת ציבור, כהן שעשתה לו אמו כתונת — לובשה, ועובד בה עבודת יחיד, ובלבד שימסרנה לציבור. פשיטא?
Rav Huna bar Yehuda, and some say Rav Shmuel bar Yehuda, taught: After the public service concluded, a priest whose mother had made him a priestly tunic may wear it and perform an individual service while wearing it, such as removal of the spoon and the coal pan, which is not a service in and of itself, provided he transfers it to the possession of the public. All services performed by the priest must be performed while he is wearing sacred garments owned by the public, as all the Temple vessels are. The Talmud asks: This is obvious; once he transfers it to the possession of the public, it is Temple property like any other vessel that an individual donates to the Temple. What is novel in this statement?