Study Zevachim folio 59A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
מזבח העולה וגו׳״ – מזבח בפתח אהל מועד, ולא כיור בפתח אהל מועד. היכן היה נותנו? בין האולם ולמזבח, משוך קימעא כלפי הדרום.
the altar of the burnt offering he set at the entrance to the Tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting.” (Exodus 40:29), indicating that no object was allowed to be located between the altar and the Tent of Meeting, whose parallel, in the Temple, was the Sanctuary. R' Yosei HaGelili derives from these verses that only the altar stood at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, but the Basin did not stand at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Where would they place the Basin? It was placed between the Entrance Hall and the altar, extended slightly toward the south. Therefore, although the Basin was closer to the Sanctuary than the altar was, it did not actually stand between the altar and the Sanctuary.
מאי קסבר? אי קסבר כוליה מזבח בדרום קאי – נוקמיה מכותל היכל ולדרום, בין אולם למזבח!
The Talmud seeks to clarify: What does R' Yosei HaGelili hold? If he holds that the entire altar stands in the south section of the Temple courtyard, let him stand the Basin anywhere from where the wall of the Sanctuary begins and southward, so that it is not opposite the entrance to the Sanctuary but it is between the Entrance Hall and the altar. This would allow for the optimal fulfillment of both verses (Exodus 40:29; Leviticus 4:7), as the Basin would be located between the altar and the Sanctuary without interposing between the altar and the entrance to the Sanctuary.
ואי נמי קסבר קדושת היכל ואולם חדא היא – נוקמיה מכותל אולם ולדרום, בבין אולם למזבח!
The Talmud continues: And even if he holds that the level of sanctity of the Sanctuary and the Entrance Hall is the same, in which case the Basin could not be located opposite the entrance to the Entrance Hall as this too would be considered a violation of the second verse, let him stand the Basin anywhere from where the wall of the Entrance Hall begins and southward, so that it is not opposite the entrance to the Entrance Hall but is in between the Entrance Hall and the altar. From the fact that R' Yosei HaGelili did not say that, it is clear he held that the altar was not located in the southern section of the Temple courtyard.