Study Zevachim folio 63A with parallel Hebrew-English text, traditional commentary, and modern study tools. Free access to Babylonian Talmud online.
Text Excerpt
אמר רמי בר חמא: כל כבשי כבשים – שלש אמות לאמה, חוץ מכבשו של מזבח – שהיה שלש אמות ומחצה ואצבע ושליש אצבע בזכרותא.
Rami bar Ḥama says: The slope of each of the minor ramps, was 1 cubit of rise per 3 cubits of run; this was true aside from the main ramp of the altar, which rose 1 cubit in 3½ cubits and one fingerbreadth and 1/3rd of a fingerbreadth, measured by the tip of the thumb. The slope of the main ramp of the altar was slightly less than that of the minor ramps in order to make it easier for the priests to ascend the ramp while holding the sacrificial portions.
מתני׳ מנחות היו נקמצות בכל מקום בעזרה, ונאכלות לפנים מן הקלעים – לזכרי כהונה, בכל מאכל, ליום ולילה עד חצות.
Mishnah: Handfuls were removed from the meal offerings in any place in the Temple courtyard and were consumed within the area enclosed by the curtains by males of the priesthood, prepared in any form of food preparation that he chooses, e.g., roasted or boiled, for one day and night, until midnight.
גמ׳ אמר רבי אלעזר: מנחה שנקמצה בהיכל – כשירה, שכן מצינו בסילוק בזיכין.
Talmud: R' Elazar says: A meal offering that had its handful removed in the Sanctuary is valid, as we found with regard to the removal of the two bowls of frankincense that were placed beside the showbread on the Table, which was located in the Sanctuary. On Shabbat, these bowls of frankincense were removed and burned on the altar, which allowed the showbread to be eaten. Removal of the bowls of frankincense paralleled the process of removing a handful from a meal offering; just as the removal of the bowls took place in the Sanctuary, so could the removal of a handful of the meal offering be done in the Sanctuary.