Sukkah, Daf Mem Het, Part 6
Introduction
This section continues to interpret portions of the mishnah.
ומנוקבים כמין שני חוטמין וכו’. לימא מתניתין רבי יהודה היא ולא רבנן. דתנן, רבי יהודה אומר: בלוג היה מנסך כל שמונה, דאי רבנן – כי הדדי נינהו!
They had each a hole like a slender snout [one being wide and the other narrow so that both emptied at the same time]. Shall we say that our Mishnah agrees with R. Judah and not with the Rabbis as we have learned R. Judah stated, with one log he performed the ceremony of the water-libation all eight days; for if it agrees with the Rabbis, could they not both pour together?
The mishnah says that the hole into which they poured the water was narrow, whereas the hole into which they poured the wine was wide. This, at first, seems to agree with R. Judah who holds that the water libation was only one log (a measure) of water, whereas the wine libation was three. Since the amounts were different, they made one narrow so that they would complete at the same time. But the rabbis who hold that both wine and water were three logs would seem to require snouts of the same size for them to both drain out simultaneously.
אפילו תימא רבנן, חמרא סמיך מיא קליש. הכי נמי מסתברא, דאי רבי יהודה – רחב וקצר אית ליה. דתניא, רבי יהודה אומר: שני קשוואות היו שם, אחד של מים ואחד של יין, של יין פיה רחב, של מים פיה קצר, כדי שיהו שניהם כלין בבת אחת, שמע מינה.
[No,] You may say that it agrees even with the Rabbis, [the reason for the different sizes of the holes being that] wine is viscous and water is fluid.
This is also reasonable to say for if [our Mishnah went according to] R. Judah, [it should have used the terms] "wide" and "short" which he used; as it has been taught, R. Judah stated: There were two vessels there, one of water and one of wine, the mouth of the wine [vessel] was broad, and that of the water was strait, so that both should empty themselves together. This is conclusive.
The Talmud says that the Mishnah can even follow the opinion of the rabbis who hold that both libations were of three logs. Wine is more viscous and therefore takes longer to go down. So they would put the wine in the bowl with the wide snout and the water in the bowl with the narrow snout so that they would drain out at the same time.
The Talmud goes on to cite a baraita in which R. Judah uses terms that are different from those in the Mishnah. Whereas the Mishnah uses "wide and narrow" R. Judah’s baraita uses "broad and short." The different terms prove that the Mishnah does not follow R. Judah.
מערבו של מים. תנו רבנן: מעשה בצדוקי אחד שניסך על גבי רגליו, ורגמוהו כל העם באתרוגיהן. ואותו היום נפגמה קרן המזבח, והביאו בול של מלח וסתמוהו, לא מפני שהוכשר לעבודה אלא מפני שלא יראה מזבח פגום. שכל מזבח שאין לו לא כבש ולא קרן ולא יסוד ולא ריבוע – פסול לעבודה. רבי יוסי בר יהודה אומר: אף הסובב.
The one on the west was for water.
Our Rabbis taught: It once happened that a certain Sadducee who poured the water libation over his feet and all the people pelted him with their etrogs. On that day the horn of the altar became damaged, and they brought a handful of salt and stopped it up, not because the altar was thereby rendered valid for the service, but merely in order that it should not appear damaged. For any altar which does not have the ascent, the horn, the base and a square shape is invalid for the service.
R. Jose b. Judah adds, Also the circuit.
The Sadducees opposed the water libation for it was not found in the Torah. This was explained already in section three of this week’s daf.
In this baraita we also learn that on that same day that they pelted the Sadducees with etrogs, the altar was damaged, rendering it invalid for sacrifice. This seems representative of just how terrible a day it was. The priests temporarily fixed it up with a block of salt, but this was just for appearances sake. It did not actually render the altar valid. There are four or five parts of the altar that if missing, render the entire altar invalid. The ascent is the ramp on which the priests would go up. The horns were raised a cubit on each corner. The base was a cubit around the entire altar. The altar must have a square shape. The circuit is the walkway around the altar.