Oaths and Incense: Yoma 19b

The Mishnah states that the Jewish high court would make the High Priest swear on Yom Kippur morning that he would follow all instructions. The Gemara discusses the need for this oath. I find the discussion to especially interesting for reasons that I will explain after the text.

Why [make the High Priest swear this oath]? Lest the High Priest prepare the incense and light it on the outside [of the holiest part of the Temple] and then enter, for this is how the Saducees performed the ritual. [The Saducees were heretics, and this part of the ritual was performed by the High Priest alone.] Our Rabbis teach: Ones a Saducee [who had become High Priest] prepared and lit the incense [outside of the proper location] and then entered [the holiest part of the Temple.] [After completing the ritual] he exited feeling extremely joyous. The Saducee's father encountered him and said, 'My son, even though we are both Saducees, we are fearful of such actions.' [In other words, I hope you did not follow our customs just now!] The High Priest replied, 'All of my days I worried [about our interpretation of biblical verse related to the incense sacrifice]... now that I have the opportunity [to put it into action] how could I give up the opportunity?'

It was taught: Not many days passed before the High Priest died, was thrown in rubbish, and worms came out of his nose. [Note this was the same nose that smelled the prohibited incense.] Others teach that the High Priest was struck down as he exited the Temple, as Rabbi Hiya taught: A voice was heard in the Temple courtyard, and an angel came and kicked the High Priest in the face. The High Priest's fellows came and found a hoof print of a ox between the High Priest's shoulders. [According to biblical verse, angels had ox feet.]

Good Ethics: Yoma 19b

Rabbi Joshua Ben Levi said: Anyone who incorrectly suspects someone of wrongdoing merits lashes.

Married for a Day: Yoma 18b

After a number of pages from the Talmud that didn't inspire me to write, I've come to Yoma 18 through 21. Yoma deals with matters related to Yom Kippur, although in typical gemara fashion there are many digressions. These few pages are full of strange, gross, and beautiful things.

The central part of Yom Kippur while the Temple still stood in Jerusalem was the High Priest's performance of multiple rituals. It was very important for him to remain qualified for this duty. If he had a nocturnal emission, he would become ritually disqualified. In order to avoid such a circumstance, rabbis would keep him up all night learning Torah. He would also avoid eating eggs, which were believed to make men more vulnerable to excitement. This inspires the following discussion:

Rav Gidel taught in the name of Rav: Guests at a inn should not eat eggs or sleep in the innkeeper's clothing [as eggs bring on nocturnal emissions, and sleeping in the innkeeper's clothing makes nocturnal emissions more embarrassing for all.]

Rav, when traveling to Darshish, would announce: 'Who will be my wife for a day?' Rav Nachman, when traveling to Scachnetziv, would announce: 'Who would be my wife for a day?' [Note that polygamy was not banned until approximately 1000 c.e. Interestingly, this ban has expired in the last few years! Nonetheless, the Gemara then objects to such a practice. ] It been taught by Rabbi Elizer Ben Yaakov: A man should not have wives in different cities, lest we find a brother unknowingly marry his sister or a father unwittingly marry his own daughter, and we find the whole world populated by offspring of incestuous relationships...

[The Gemara responds to this objection.] Rabbis are famous [and thus their children will identify themselves readily as the offspring of Rabbi so-and-so, and thus not fall unwittingly into incestuous relationships.]

[The Gemara raises a second objection.] A woman must have seven days without menstrual bleeding [before consummation of a marriage]. [Thus how could the traveling Rabbi meet, marry, and consummate a relationship with a woman all on the same day? The woman should carefully check herself for seven days, requiring advance preparation]

[The Gemara presents two responses] The Rabbis would sent messengers ahead to seek out women who could prepare for the seven days before the Rabbi's arrival. As an alternate answer, the Rabbis perhaps simply wanted the company of a woman, without consummating the relationship, for one who has bread in the basket is not like someone without it. [It was forbidden to be alone with women other than relatives, and this permitted perhaps some company without actual relations, perhaps making nocturnal emissions less likely.]