## Zevachim Daf 62b

###### Zevachim 62b:1
[Zevachim 62b:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:1)

״בְּנֵי קְטוּרָה״. בְּנֵי אֲחָתֵיהּ דְּרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן הָווּ יָתְבִי קַמֵּיהּ דְּרַבִּי טַרְפוֹן, פָּתַח וְאָמַר: ״וַיּוֹסֶף אַבְרָהָם וַיִּקַּח אִשָּׁה וּשְׁמָהּ יוֹחָנִי״. אָמְרִי לֵיהּ: ״קְטוּרָה״ כְּתִיב! קָרֵי (עֲלֵיהֶם) [עֲלַיְהוּ] ״בְּנֵי קְטוּרָה״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**“The children of Keturah”** (Genesis 25:4). Although Keturah’s children were children of Abraham, they were not of the same caliber as Isaac. Similarly, Rav Yosef was saying that his other students were not of the caliber of Abaye. Having mentioned this term, the Gemara relates: **The sons of Rabbi Tarfon’s sister were sitting** silently **before Rabbi Tarfon.** In an attempt to encourage them to say something, **he began and said:** The verse states: **And Abraham took another wife, and her name was Yoḥani. They said to** Rabbi Tarfon: **It is written: “Keturah”** (Genesis 25:1), not Yoḥani. Rabbi Tarfon **read,** i.e., said, **about them** the phrase **“the children of Keturah”** as they were able to contribute only this small piece of information.


###### Zevachim 62b:2
[Zevachim 62b:2](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:2)

אָמַר אַבָּיֵי בַּר הוּנָא אָמַר רַב חָמָא בַּר גּוּרְיָא: גְּזִירִין שֶׁעָשָׂה מֹשֶׁה – אוֹרְכָּן אַמָּה, וְרוֹחְבָּן אַמָּה, וְעוֹבְיָין כְּמַחַק גּוֹדֶשׁ סְאָה.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Abaye bar Huna says** that **Rav Ḥama bar Gurya says:** With regard to the **logs that Moses prepared** for the mitzva of burning wood upon the altar, **their length** was **a cubit and their width** was **a cubit, and their thickness** was **like** that of **a leveler,** a kind of flat stick used to remove the excess grain **heaped** on top of a container that holds one ***se’a*.**


###### Zevachim 62b:3
[Zevachim 62b:3](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:3)

אָמַר רַבִּי יִרְמְיָה: בְּאַמָּה גְּדוּמָה. אָמַר רַב יוֹסֵף, וְלָאו הַיְינוּ דְּתַנְיָא: ״עַל הָעֵצִים אֲשֶׁר עַל הָאֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ״ – שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ עֵצִים יוֹצְאִין מִן הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כְּלוּם?!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rabbi Yirmeya says:** The length and width of the logs mentioned were measured **with a shortened cubit. Rav Yosef said: Is this not as it is taught** in a *baraita*: The verse states: **“Upon the wood that is on the fire that is upon the altar”** (Leviticus 1:8). The seemingly superfluous phrase “that is upon the altar” teaches **that the wood should not extend at all beyond** the area of **the altar** designated for the arrangement of wood. Since this area was one square cubit, the logs were exactly one cubit as well.


###### Zevachim 62b:4
[Zevachim 62b:4](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:4)

תְּנַן הָתָם: כֶּבֶשׁ הָיָה לִדְרוֹמָהּ שֶׁל מִזְבֵּחַ – אוֹרֶךְ שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם, עַל רוֹחַב שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה. מְנָא הָנֵי מִילֵּי? אָמַר רַב הוּנָא, אָמַר קְרָא: ״וְשָׁחַט אוֹתוֹ עַל יֶרֶךְ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ צָפוֹנָה״ – שֶׁיְּהֵא יָרֵךְ בְּצָפוֹן, וּפָנָיו בַּדָּרוֹם.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara discusses the ramp of the altar: **We learned** in a mishna **there** (*Middot* 36a): **There was a ramp** that was located **on the south** side **of the altar,** whose size was **a length** of **thirty-two** cubits **by a width** of **sixteen** cubits. The Gemara asks: **From where are these matters** derived, i.e., from where is it derived that the ramp is on the south side of the altar? **Rav Huna said: The verse states: “And he shall slaughter it on the side [*yerekh*] of the altar northward”** (Leviticus 1:11), which teaches **that** the altar’s **thigh [*yarekh*] should be** located **in the north, and its face,** i.e., the front of the altar where the priests ascend to it, should be **in the south.** The verse likens the positioning of the altar to a person who is lying down flat, in which case if his legs are to the north, his face is to the south.


###### Zevachim 62b:5
[Zevachim 62b:5](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:5)

אֵימָא: יָרֵךְ בַּצָּפוֹן וּפָנָיו בַּצָּפוֹן! אָמַר רָבָא: רָמֵי גַּבְרָא אַאַפֵּיהּ. אֲמַר לֵיהּ אַבָּיֵי: אַדְּרַבָּה – תָּרֵיץ וְאוֹתֵיב גַּבְרָא!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara asks: Why not **say** that its **thigh** should be **in the north and its face** should also be **in the north?** Perhaps the verse is referring to a person sitting with both his face and feet in the north. **Rava said** in response: **Place the man on his face,** i.e., the analogy is to a man who is lying down. **Abaye said to him: On the contrary, sit the man straight up** so that his face and his legs are facing the same direction.


###### Zevachim 62b:6
[Zevachim 62b:6](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:6)

אֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״רָבוּעַ״ כְּתִיב. וְהָא מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ דִּמְרַבַּע רַבּוֹעֵי! מִי כְּתִיב ״מְרוּבָּע״?! וְלִיטַעְמָיךְ, מִי כְּתִיב ״רָבוּץ״?! אֲמַר לֵיהּ: ״רָבוּעַ״ כְּתִיב – דְּמַשְׁמַע הָכִי וּמַשְׁמַע הָכִי.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rava **said** back **to him: It is written** in a verse that the altar must be **“square [*ravua*]”** (Exodus 27:1), which indicates lying down or crouching, as it is similar to the term *ravutz*, meaning crouching. Abaye challenges Rava: **But** this word is **necessary to** teach **that** the altar must be **square.** Rava responds: **Is it written** in the verse that the altar must be **square [*merubba*]?** The verse specifically uses the form *ravua* in order to allude to the word *ravutz*, crouching. Abaye counters: **According to your reasoning, is it written** in the verse that the altar must be ***ravutz*?** Rava answers: It **is written** in the verse that the altar must be ***ravua*, which** is a term that **indicates this,** i.e., that the altar must be square, **and indicates that,** i.e., that its positioning is comparable to that of a person who is lying down.


###### Zevachim 62b:7
[Zevachim 62b:7](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:7)

וְתַנָּא מַיְיתֵי לַהּ מֵהָכָא – דְּתַנְיָא, רַבִּי יְהוּדָה אוֹמֵר: ״וּמַעֲלֹתֵהוּ פְּנוֹת קָדִים״ – כׇּל פִּינּוֹת שֶׁאַתָּה פּוֹנֶה, לֹא יְהוּ אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ יָמִין לַמִּזְרָח.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara adds: **And** another ***tanna* cites** the source for the ramp’s positioning **from here, as it is taught** in a *baraita* that **Rabbi Yehuda says:** The verse states with regard to the future altar: **“And its steps shall look [*penot*] toward the east”** (Ezekiel 43:17), which indicates that **all the turns [*pinot*] that you turn should be only to the right** and you should turn **to the east.** Only if the ramp is in the south can one turn to the right and be facing eastward.


###### Zevachim 62b:8
[Zevachim 62b:8](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:8)

וְאֵימָא שְׂמֹאל לַמִּזְרָח! לָא סָלְקָא דַּעְתָּךְ; דְּתָנֵי רָמֵי בַּר (יְחִזְקִיָּה) [יְחֶזְקֵאל]: יָם שֶׁעָשָׂה שְׁלֹמֹה – ״עֹמֵד עַל שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר בָּקָר; שְׁלֹשָׁה פֹנִים צָפוֹנָה, וּשְׁלֹשָׁה פֹנִים יָמָּה, וּשְׁלֹשָׁה פֹּנִים נֶגְבָּה, וּשְׁלֹשָׁה פֹּנִים מִזְרָחָה״ – כׇּל פִּינּוֹת שֶׁאַתָּה פּוֹנֶה, לֹא יְהוּ אֶלָּא דֶּרֶךְ יָמִין לַמִּזְרָח.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara challenges: The verse indicates only that after a person turns he is facing eastward. Why not **say** that the ramp was located in the north and the priest turns **left** and faces **eastward?** The Gemara answers: This possibility should **not enter your mind, as Rami bar Yeḥizkiya teaches:** A verse describes the **sea,** i.e., the Basin, **that Solomon built,** in the following terms: **“It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward [*ponim*] the north, and three looking toward [*ponim*] the west, and three looking toward [*ponim*] the south, and three looking toward [*ponim*] the east”** (II Chronicles 4:4). From the order of the directions in which the verse lists the groups of oxen under the Basin, it can be derived that **all the turns that you turn should be only to the right** and **to the east.**


###### Zevachim 62b:9
[Zevachim 62b:9](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:9)

הָהוּא מִיבְּעֵי לֵיהּ לְגוּפֵיהּ! אִם כֵּן, ״פֹּנִים״ ״פֹּנִים״ לְמָה לִי?

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara challenges: **That** verse **is necessary to** teach **its own** information describing the Basin. The Gemara explains: **If so, why do I** need the verse to repeat the term ***ponim*, *ponim*?** It must be in order to teach how one turns while performing the sacrificial rite upon the altar, which, in turn, teaches the location of the ramp.


###### Zevachim 62b:10
[Zevachim 62b:10](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:10)

שָׁאַל רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹסֵי בֶּן לָקוֹנְיָא אֶת רַבִּי יוֹסֵי: אוֹמֵר הָיָה רַבִּי שִׁמְעוֹן בֶּן יוֹחַי, אֲוִיר יֵשׁ בֵּין כֶּבֶשׁ לַמִּזְבֵּחַ? אָמַר לוֹ: וְאַתָּה – אִי אַתָּה אוֹמֵר כֵּן?! וַהֲלֹא כְּבָר נֶאֱמַר: ״וְעָשִׂיתָ עֹלֹתֶיךָ הַבָּשָׂר וְהַדָּם״ – מָה דָּם בִּזְרִיקָה, אַף בָּשָׂר בִּזְרִיקָה!

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei ben Lakonya asked Rabbi Yosei:** Is it so that **Rabbi Shimon ben Yoḥai used to say** that **there is airspace,** i.e., a gap, **between the ramp and the altar?** Rabbi Yosei **said to him: And you, don’t you say so** as well? **But isn’t it already stated: “And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood”** (Deuteronomy 12:27)? The verse juxtaposes the flesh of the burnt offering with its blood to teach that **just as** the **blood** is presented upon the altar **via tossing** while the priest stands on the ground next to the altar (see Leviticus 1:5), **so too,** the **flesh** of the burnt offering is presented **via tossing.** In order to fulfill this requirement, the priest stands on the ramp and tosses the flesh over the gap between the ramp and the altar, so that it lands on the arrangement of wood.


###### Zevachim 62b:11
[Zevachim 62b:11](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:11)

אָמַר לוֹ: שֶׁאֲנִי אוֹמֵר, עוֹמֵד בְּצַד מַעֲרָכָה – וְזוֹרֵק.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Shimon ben Yosei ben Lakonya **said to him:** If the verse simply teaches that the flesh must be tossed onto the arrangement of wood, it does not prove that there must be a gap between the ramp and the altar, **as I say** that the priest should **stand next to** the **arrangement** of wood **and toss** the flesh onto it.


###### Zevachim 62b:12
[Zevachim 62b:12](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:12)

אָמַר לוֹ: כְּשֶׁהוּא זוֹרֵק – לְמַעֲרָכָה דְּלוּקָה הוּא זוֹרֵק, אוֹ לְמַעֲרָכָה שֶׁאֵינָהּ דְּלוּקָה הוּא זוֹרֵק? הֱוֵי אוֹמֵר: לְמַעֲרָכָה דְּלוּקָה הוּא זוֹרֵק! הָתָם מִשּׁוּם דְּלָא אֶפְשָׁר.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
Rabbi Yosei **said to him: When he tosses** the flesh, **does he toss** it **onto** a part of the **arrangement** of wood that is **burning or does he toss** it **onto** a part of the **arrangement** of wood **that is not burning? You must say** that **he tosses** it **onto** a part of the **arrangement** of wood that is **burning.** And **there,** according to your suggestion that the priest is standing next to the arrangement of wood, he would have to toss the flesh, **because it is impossible** to place the flesh directly into the fire without the priest getting burned. It would be unnecessary for the verse to teach that the priest tosses the flesh while standing next to the arrangement. Consequently, when the verse juxtaposed the blood with the flesh, it must be teaching that the flesh must be tossed over a gap between the ramp and the altar.


###### Zevachim 62b:13
[Zevachim 62b:13](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:13)

רַב פָּפָּא אָמַר: כִּי דָּם; מָה דָּם – אֲוִיר קַרְקַע מַפְסִיקוֹ, אַף בָּשָׂר – אֲוִיר קַרְקַע מַפְסִיקוֹ.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
**Rav Pappa says:** The requirement that there be a gap between the ramp and the altar can be derived from this verse, because the juxtaposition teaches that the flesh is **like blood** in the manner in which it is tossed: **Just as** with regard to the **blood** there is **space** on the **ground** that **interposes** between the priest and the altar, **so too** with regard to the **flesh,** there is **space** on the **ground** that **interposes** between the priest and the altar, i.e., he stands on the ground next to the altar and tosses the flesh onto the altar.


###### Zevachim 62b:14
[Zevachim 62b:14](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:14)

אָמַר רַב יְהוּדָה: שְׁנֵי כְּבָשִׁים קְטַנִּים יוֹצְאִין מִן הַכֶּבֶשׁ, שֶׁבָּהֶן פּוֹנִים לַיְסוֹד וְלַסּוֹבֵב; וּמוּבְדָּלִין מִן הַמִּזְבֵּחַ מְלֹא נִימָא, מִשּׁוּם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר ״סָבִיב״. וְרַבִּי אֲבָהוּ אָמַר: ״רָבוּעַ״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ The Gemara continues discussing the ramp: **Rav Yehuda says:** There were **two small ramps protruding from the** main **ramp** that led to the altar, **on which** the priests could **turn to the base** of the altar **and to the surrounding ledge** of the altar. They were **separated from the altar** by **a hairbreadth, because it is stated: “Roundabout”** (Leviticus 1:5), with regard to the altar. This indicates that nothing is attached to the entire perimeter of the altar. **And Rabbi Abbahu says** there is a different source, as it states: **“Square”** (Exodus 27:1), and if the ramps would be connected to the altar it would no longer be square.


###### Zevachim 62b:15
[Zevachim 62b:15](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:15)

וְאִיצְטְרִיךְ לְמִכְתַּב ״סָבִיב״, וְאִיצְטְרִיךְ לְמִכְתַּב ״רָבוּעַ״. דְּאִי כְּתַב רַחֲמָנָא ״סָבִיב״ – הֲוָה אָמֵינָא דְּעָגֵיל מִעְגָּל; כְּתַב רַחֲמָנָא ״רָבוּעַ״. וְאִי כְּתַב רַחֲמָנָא ״רָבוּעַ״ – הֲוָה אָמֵינָא דַּאֲרִיךְ וְקַטִּין; כְּתַב רַחֲמָנָא ״סָבִיב״.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
The Gemara continues: **And it was necessary** for the verse **to write: “Roundabout,” and it was necessary** for the verse **to write: “Square,” as, had the Merciful One written** only: **“Roundabout,” I would say that** the altar **can be circular.** Therefore, **the Merciful One wrote** that the altar must be **“square.” And had the Merciful One written** only that the altar must be **“square [*ravua*],” I would say that** the word *ravua* simply means rectangular and the altar can be **long and narrow.** Therefore, **the Merciful One wrote** the term **“roundabout,”** which teaches that the altar must not have some sides that are longer than others.


###### Zevachim 62b:16
[Zevachim 62b:16](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Zevachim/r/62b:16)

תְּנַן הָתָם: הַכֶּבֶשׁ וְהַמִּזְבֵּחַ – שִׁשִּׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם. הָנֵי שִׁיתִּין וְאַרְבְּעָה הָווּ! נִמְצָא פּוֹרֵחַ אַמָּה עַל יְסוֹד וְאַמָּה עַל סוֹבֵב.

**William Davidson Edition - English:**
§ **We learned** in a mishna **elsewhere** (*Middot* 37b): **The ramp and the altar** together were **sixty-two** cubits long. The Gemara challenges: The dimensions of **these are sixty-four** cubits, as the altar and the ramp were each thirty-two cubits long (*Middot* 36a). The Gemara explains: The thirty-two-cubit measurement of the ramp is explained by a *baraita* that states: It **is found** that the ramp of the altar **overhung** the **base** of the altar by one **cubit and** the **surrounding ledge** by one **cubit,** resulting in an aggregate length of thirty-two cubits.