Julian Ungar-Sargon

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Daf Ditty

A wide-ranging commentary on the daily page of Talmud.

Yoma 39: Lottery for Life

jyungar May 20, 2021

For the source text click/tap here: Yoma 39

To download, click/tap here: PDF

Having finished describing the preparations for the avodah…

The fourth perek of Masechet Yoma begins on our daf with a portrayal of the service itself, beginning with the lottery where the kohen gadol drew lots to determine which of the goats would be sacrificed on the mizbe’ach and which would be the scapegoat, which would be sent to Azazel.

The kohen gadol stood with his assistant to his right and the head of the family of kohanim who were serving in the Temple to his left. If the lot indicating that the animal was to be sacrificed to God appeared in his right hand, the assistant would call out “raise your right hand.”

If it appeared in his left hand, the head of the family of kohanim would say “raise your left hand.”

The Gemara quotes a baraita that teaches that for the forty years that Shimon ha-Tzaddik served as the kohen gadol, the lottery always came out with the animal to be sacrificed in his right hand. After his death, it occasionally came out in the right hand and occasionally in the left.

The baraita continues with a list of other miraculous events that took place during Shimon ha-Tzaddik’s tenure and stopped after his passing.

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Julian Ungar-Sargon

This is Julian Ungar-Sargon's personal website. It contains poems, essays, and podcasts for the spiritual seeker and interdisciplinary aficionado.​