החליל – many kinds of musical instruments were there, and by the name of the flute, as its sound is heard more than the others, all of them are called by its name.

חמשה וששה – sometimes five [days] and sometimes six [days]. If the first day of the Festival [of Sukkot] occurs on Shabbat, the flute [is sounded] for six [days]; if it (i.e., the first day of the Festival of Sukkot) falls on the other days of the week, the flute [is sounded for] five days, because it does not supersede neither the Sabbath nor the Holy Days [of the Festival].

שמחת בית השואבה – because all of this rejoicing is on the drawing of waters of libation, they called it the Rejoicing of the House of Drawing on account of (Isaiah 12:3): “Joyfully shall you draw water [from the fountains of triumph].”

תקון גדול – they would surround it with balconies (see Talmud Sukkah 51b), and would place the women above and the men from below, in order that they would not come to act with irreverence.

בראשיהן – at the top of each Menorah/candelabrum.

מבלאי מכנסי כהנים – from the rags of the pants of the Kohanim/priests, and from their old belts.

היו מפקיעים – they tear them to make wicks.

שלא היתה מאירה – because the Menorahs/candelabrums were fifty cubits tall and the Tempe Mount was tall and its light would shine throughout the entire city.

באבוקות של אור – with four torches or eight (Talmud Sukkah 53a), this one who throw it and the other person would receive it.

דברי שירות ותשבחות – there were those from them that would say: “Happy is our childhood that we did not embarrass our elders,” these are our pious ones and men of deeds. And there were those who would say: “Happy are our elders who atoned for our childhoods,” these are the repentant individuals. Both groups would say: “Happy are those who did not sin, and he he who did sin and was pardoned.”

שעליהם הלוים עומדים בשיר – at the joy of the house of the water-drawing. But the platform for the song of the [sacrificial] offering was near the altar.

תקעו והריעו ותקעו – this was a sign to go and fill up water for libations from the Shiloah.

הגיעו לעזרה – to the ground of the Women’s courtyard.

הפכו פניהם למערב – to the side of the courtyard and the Temple, in order to state this matter.

שונין – they would repeat saying.

אנו ליה – they would prostrate and give thanks on what had taken place.

וליה עינינו – to trust in what will come.

שלש לפתיתת שערים – When they open the gates of the courtyard, they would sound [the Shofar] with a Tekiah (a succession of connected notes), Teruah (a tremolo) and a Tekiah, and it would be considered to them as three Tekiot.

ותשע לתמיד של שחר – when they would offer the daily libations, the Levities would recite songs, and [during] three periods they would stop, and during each period the Kohanim would sound [the Shofar] Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah, and the people would prostrate themselves [the Tekiah, Teruah, Tekiah would be considered to them as three], hence there were nine Tekiot.

להבטיל העם ממלאכה – the first Tekiah [in order to] suspend [from working] the people that are in the fields, the second Tekiah [caused] that the shutters would be removed and the stores would be locked, and at the third Tekiah, he removed what had to be removed and hid what had to be hidden what had been warmed and they kindled the candles.

ושלש להבדיל בין קודש לחול – after the first soundings [of the Shofar] , he delayed in order to roast a small fish, and he then [sounds] a Tekiah, and Teruah and a Tekiah. These three later soundsings to announce that the day has been sanctified.

שלש לפתיחת שערים – of the courtyard where they sound the Shofar daily.

ושלש לשער עליון – as we have said above (Tractate Sukkah, Chapter 5, Mishnah 4), two Kohanim stood at the upper gate and when the cock crowed, they would [sound] the Tekiah, the Teruah and the Tekiah.

ושלש לשער התחתון – as it is taught above (ibid.), whent hey arrived at the courtyard, they sounded the Tekiah, Teruah and Tekiah, and they lengthen them until they reached the lowest gate, as it is aught, they would continue to sound the Shofar until they arrived at the gate that leaves from the east, and thus they called the three of the lowest gate, and the three of the tenth ascending step are not considered, for this Tanna/teacher holds like Rabbi Eliezer ben Yaakov who stated that they do not sound the Shofar at the tenth step/ascent.

ושלש למילוי המים – after they drew the water and came to the Temple courtyard through the Water Gate, they sounded the Tekiah, Teruah and Tekiah.

על גבי המזבח – as it is taught in the Mishnah of [the fourth] chapter of [Tractate Sukkah], “Lulav V’Aravah/the palm branch and the willow (Mishnah 5), and they put them standing up on the altar, they sounded the Tekiah, the Teruah and the Tekiah. But our Tanna did not bring here [the case] when the Eve of Passover occurs on Shabbat, when the Passover sacrifice is slaughtered in three classes/groups and there were many soundings of the Shofar there, because it was not all that frequent when the Eve of Passover would occur on Shabbat. And that which is taught in the Mishnah (our text, Tractate Sukkah, Chapter 5, Mishnah 5; see also Tractate Arakhin, Chapter 2, Mishnah 3 for a similar phrasing), that we don’t add to the forty-eight sounds of the Shofar, it is not exact., for when the Eve of Passover falls on the Shabbat, there are times when they add up to fifty-seven sounds of the Shofar.

יום טוב הראשון של חג וכו' – there were twenty-four divisions for duty for the Kohanim/priests in the Temple and all of them ascend for the Festival [of Sukkot] and all of them are worthy of the obligatory sacrifices that come on account of the Festival, and sixteen divisions for duty offer sixteen cattle, which are thirteen bulls and two rams and one goat, hence, there remained eight divisions of duty for the fourteen sheep, six of the divisions of duty from the eight would each offer two lambs, which are twelve lambs and the rest of them, the remaining two divisions of duty, would offer one apiece.

בשני – when one of the bulls is diminished and there remained nine divisions for duty for fourteen sheep, five of them would offer two apiece, which is ten. But the rest which are the remaining four divisions for duty each one offers one lamb.

בשלישי – when another bull is diminished from the bulls [offered], and there remained ten divisions of duty for fourteen lambs. Four divisions of duty would offer two apiece, which is eight, and the rest [offer] one apiece, six lambs for six divisions of duty.

בשביעי כולו שוין – the divisions of duty [are equal. And they offer equivalent [numbers] of lambs, for each one offers one each, for there are only seven bulls, two rams and one goat for ten divisions of duty. There remained fourteen lambs for fourteen divisions of duty.

בשמיני חוזרים לפייס כברגלים – one bull, one ram and seven sheep which are offered on the eighth [day of Solemn Assembly/Shemini Atzeret] which are not offered according to the order of the sacrifices of the Festival [of Sukkot] according to the order of the divisions of duty, but each of the divisions of duty come and appease them [through a lottery], just as they appease during the rest of the Festivals. And the order of the allotment is described in the first chapter of Yoma (actually, in the second chapter, Mishnayot 2-4).

אמרו משמר שהקריבו פרים היום – they would not offer bulls on the morrow, for the division of duty that offered lambs yesterday, we don’t allow them , but they return in the nighttime.

באימורי הרגלים – in what is offered on the Festivals, that is to say, the sacrifices that are offered on the Festivals, where all the divisions of duty for priests were equivalent, such that the breast and the foreleg of the Festival peace-offerings of each and every person and the burnt offerings made for appearance [in the Temple] and of the Additional offerings/Musaf of the community and the goats of the sin-offerings.

ובחלוק לחם הפנים – when the Shabbat occurred during the festival, for on the Sabbath they would remove it and set up another, as it is written (Leviticus 24:8): “He shall arrange them before the LORD regularly every sabbath day…”

ובעצרת – when it occurred on Shabbat, and there is division/distribution of the Hametz/leavened two loaves [of Shew Bread] and the distribution of the Shew Bread when it is unleavened, we say to each and every one that we are giving him their portion of the shewbread, “here you have unleavened.” For since we do not divide a sacrifice corresponding to a sacrifice, but from each sacrifice each person takes his portion, as we derive it from (Leviticus 7:10): “[But every other grain offering, with oil mixed in or dry,] shall go to the sons of Aaron all alike,” therefore, we announce to him when we give him his portion, whether from unleavened bread or from leavened bread.

משמר שזמנו קבוע – to serve on this Shabbat where a Festival occurs during it.

מקריב תמידין – which are not for the Festival.

נדרים ונדבות – which had been vowed or donated all year long and they were brought on the Festival.

וכל קרבנות צבור – which includes the bull for the unconscious/forgetful matter of the entire community and the goats for idolatry when the court erred collectively in their teaching and most of the community followed their decision, and if it this occurred on the Festive, the division of duty whose time is fixed offers that sacrifice.

מקריב את הכל – to include the altar’s summer time (a time when the altar was unemployed for private offerings, and the free-will burnt offerings had to be supplied from the Temple fund – see Mishnah Shekalim, Chapter 4, Mishnah 4 and Talmud Sukkah 56a), when it is unused for the offerings of the daily offerings have ceased and they do not bring thee vows or donations, they take from the excess monies from the remnant of the Temple treasury for congregational sacrifices and purchase from it burnt-offering sacrifices and offer them, and they are donations of the community, and even those if they were offered on the Festival, the priestly division of duty whose time is fixed offers them.

בין מלפניה בין מלאחריה – if Yom Tov/The Jewish Festival fell after Shabbat, even though there would not be a Sabbath during the Festival, even so, since it is necessary to advance their coming from Friday for the Festival, for on the Sabbath, they would not be able to come, we divide the shewbread [between them]. And similarly, if the eighth day came before it on Friday/the Eve of the Sabbath, even though there is no Sabbath in the midst of the Festival, we divide it [among them], for they would not be able to go.

חל להיות יום אחד מפסיק בינתיים – such as when the first day of the Festival occurs on Monday, when they could come on Sunday and they advanced their arrival to the previous Friday, or if the last day of the Festival occurs on Thursday, and they are able to go on Friday, but they were detained there on that Shabbat. All the divisions of duty that tarried there do not take other than the two loaves [of shewbread].

ומשמר שזמנו קבוע נוטל י' – and they divide them up between the division of duty that enters and the division of duty that leaves in the manner of all the weeks of the year.

הנכנס נוטל ו' – that the divisions of duty are exchanged on Shabbat, this one works in the morning and that one works in the evening.

הנכנס נוטל שבע – they take an extra two loaves as compensation for the locking of the Temple doors when they lock the doors that were opened by the departing division of duty in the morning. But the Halakha is not according to Rabbi Yehuda.

הנכנסים חולקים – between them is the bread that arrives for their portion.

בצפון – in order that it would appear to all that they are entering, and the north is essential, for it is fixed for the slaughtering of the Holy of Holies.

והיוצאים חולקים בדרום – so that it would appear that they are departing and taking leave, therefore they changed their place towards a direction that is not essential.

בילגה – the name of a family.

לעולם חולקת בדרום – and even when it enters, it is a fine that they (i.e., the Rabbis) placed upon them.

וטעבתה קבועה – twenty four rings were in the Temple courtyard at the place of the slaughtering [in the Temple] for the twenty-four divisions of duty of the Priests, and the rings of each division of duty were open on one side and turned upwards and they would bring in the neck of the animal into it and go back and turn its opening downwards into the floor, and the ring of Bilgah was fixed and never turned, and they needed to use that of others, and it was a disgrace for it (i.e., this family).

וחלונה סתומה – the windows were in the chamber of the slaughtering-knives (see Mishnah Middot, Chapter 4, Mishnah 7), where they would hide their knives. But the window of the division of duty of Bilgah was closed, and the rabbis fined them because of something that happened, that one woman from the Bilgah division of duty , and Miriam the daughter of Bilgah was her name, was guarded and married to one of the captains of the Grecian kings (see Talmud Sukkah 56b), and when the Greeks entered the Temple, she went and struck the altar with her sandal and said: “Lucas, Lucas” {which means, “wolf, wolf,” in the Greek language] (an opprobrious epithet of the altar), “how long will you withhold the money of Israel and you don’t stand up for them at the hour of their need/distress?” And when the Sages heard of this matter, they established her ring and blocked up the window of the entire division of duty, for they said that if not that she had heard from her father that he was despising the Divine service, she would not have said this. But because of her father, they (i.e., the Sages) fined the entire family, for woe it is for the wicked and woe to his neighbor; good for the righteous and good for his neighbor.