Study Yoma folio 52A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
למיעל להדיא. ורבי יוסי אמר לך: חביבין ישראל שלא הצריכן הכתוב לשליח.
to enter directly, as it is more appropriate for the High Priest to approach the Holy of Holies somewhat circuitously. And in response to this R' Yosei could have said to you: The Jewish people are beloved by God, as the Torah did not require them to make use of an agent, e.g., an angel, to intercede on their behalf. Instead, God hears the nation’s prayers directly. Consequently, the High Priest, who represents the people on Yom Kippur, need not approach in a roundabout fashion.
ורבי יהודה נמי, ניעול בין מנורה לכותל! משחרי מאניה.
The Talmud asks: But if an indirect approach is a mark of respect, in accordance with the opinion of R' Yehuda, too, let the High Priest enter indirectly between the candelabrum and the wall. The Talmud answers: If the High Priest walks by that route, he might blacken his clothes through the soot left on the wall by the candelabrum.
אמר רבי נתן: אמה טרקסין, לא הכריעו בו חכמים אי כלפנים אי כלחוץ.
R' Natan said: With regard to the one-cubit partition, the rabbis did not determine its status, whether it was part of the inside of the Holy of Holies or part of the outside area of the Sanctuary.
מתקיף לה רבינא: מאי טעמא? אילימא משום דכתיב: ״והבית אשר בנה המלך שלמה לה׳ ששים אמה ארכו ועשרים רחבו ושלשים אמה קומתו״, וכתיב: ״וארבעים באמה היה הבית הוא ההיכל לפני״, וכתיב: ״ולפני הדביר עשרים אמה אורך ועשרים אמה רוחב ועשרים אמה קומתו״, ולא ידעינן אמה טרקסין אי מהני עשרים, ואי מהני ארבעים.
Ravina strongly objects to this opinion: What is the reason for this uncertainty? If we say it is because it is written: “And the House that King Solomon built for YHWH was 60 cubits in length, and its width was 20 cubits, and its height was 30 cubits” (I Kings 6:2), and it is written: “And the House, that is, the Sanctuary, was 40 cubits long” (I Kings 6:17), and it is written: “And before the partition 20 cubits in length, and 20 cubits in width, and 20 cubits in height” (I Kings 6:20), and therefore we do not know whether the one-cubit partition was part of these 20 cubits of the Holy of Holies or part of these 40 cubits of the Sanctuary, then this problem can be resolved.