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Text Excerpt
עלה בכבש ופנה לסובב, ובא לו לקרן דרומית מזרחית, מזרחית צפונית, צפונית מערבית, מערבית דרומית. שירי הדם היה שופך על יסוד דרומית, ונאכלין לפנים מן הקלעים לזכרי כהונה בכל מאכל, ליום ולילה עד חצות.
He ascended the ramp of the altar and turned right to the surrounding ledge and he continued east, and he came to the southeast corner and sprinkled the blood of the sin offering there and then to the northeast corner and sprinkled the blood there, and then to the northwest corner and sprinkled the blood there, and the southwest corner, where he performed the 4th sprinkling and descended from the altar. He would pour the remainder of the blood on the southern base of the altar. And the meat portions of the offering are eaten within the curtains, i.e., in the Temple courtyard, by the males of the priesthood. And they are eaten prepared in any form of food preparation, on the day the offering is sacrificed and during the night that follows, until midnight.
גמ׳ היכי עביד? רבי יוחנן ורבי אלעזר; חד אמר: נותן אמה אילך ואמה אילך, וחד אמר: מחטא ויורד כנגד חודו של קרן.
Talmud: How does the priest perform the rite of sprinkling the blood on the corners of the altar? There is a dispute between R' Yoḥanan and R' Elazar. One says that the priest places the blood within a cubit on this side or a cubit on that side. He places the blood wherever he wants, provided that it is within 1 cubit of the corner of the altar. And one says that he sprinkles the blood on the outer edge of the corner of the altar, and it flows down on both sides of the altar.
אליבא דרבי אלעזר ברבי שמעון, דאמר: היא עצמה אינה נעשית אלא בגופה של קרן – דכולי עלמא לא פליגי; כי פליגי – אליבא דרבי. מר סבר: אמה אילך ואמה אילך – כנגד קרן הוא; ומר סבר: כנגד חודה אין, טפי לא.
The Talmud comments: According to the opinion of R' Elazar, son of R' Shimon, who says that the sprinkling of the blood of a sin offering itself is performed only on the actual corner, the one-by-one-cubit projection above each corner of the altar, everyone agrees that the blood may be sprinkled anywhere on the corner, and this will be a fulfillment of the verse: “And put it upon the corners of the altar of burnt offering” (Leviticus 4:25). When they disagree is only according to the opinion of R' Yehuda HaNasi, who holds that the blood may be sprinkled anywhere above the red line on the edge of the altar. One Sage holds that the blood may be sprinkled on the cubit on either side of the edge, because a cubit on this side and a cubit on that side is still considered to be on the corner. And one Sage holds that on its edge, yes, it is fit, but any further on either side is not.