אָמַר לָהֶם הַמְמֻנֶּה, בָּרְכוּ בְרָכָה אֶחַת, וְהֵן בֵּרְכוּ. קָרְאוּ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, שְׁמַע, וְהָיָה אִם שָׁמֹעַ, וַיֹּאמֶר. בֵּרְכוּ אֶת הָעָם שָׁלשׁ בְּרָכוֹת, אֱמֶת וְיַצִּיב, וַעֲבוֹדָה, וּבִרְכַּת כֹּהֲנִים. וּבְשַׁבָּת מוֹסִיפִין בְּרָכָה אַחַת לַמִּשְׁמָר הַיּוֹצֵא: After the priests completed laying the parts of the daily offering on the ramp, they went to the Chamber of Hewn Stone to recite Shema. The appointed priest who oversaw the lotteries in the Temple said to the priests: Recite a single blessing of the blessings that accompany Shema. And the members of the priestly watch recited a blessing, and then they recited the Ten Commandments, Shema (see Deuteronomy 6:4–9), VeHaya im Shamoa (see Deuteronomy 11:13–21), and VaYomer (see Numbers 15:37–41), the standard formula of Shema. Additionally, they blessed with the people three blessings. These blessings were: True and Firm, the blessing of redemption recited after Shema; and the blessing of the Temple service, which is also a blessing recited in the Amida prayer; and the Priestly Benediction, recited in the form of a prayer, without the lifting of hands that usually accompanies that blessing (Tosafot). And on Shabbat, when the new priestly watch would begin its service, the priests would add one blessing recited by the outgoing priestly watch, that love, fraternity, peace, and friendship should exist among the priests of the incoming watch.
אָמַר לָהֶם, חֲדָשִׁים לַקְּטֹרֶת בֹּאוּ וְהָפִיסוּ. הֵפִיסוּ, זָכָה מִי שֶׁזָּכָה. חֲדָשִׁים עִם יְשָׁנִים בֹּאוּ וְהָפִיסוּ, מִי מַעֲלֶה אֵבָרִים מִן הַכֶּבֶשׁ לַמִּזְבֵּחַ. רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר, הַמַּעֲלֶה אֵבָרִים לַכֶּבֶשׁ הוּא מַעֲלֶה אוֹתָן עַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ: The appointed priest said to them: Let only those priests who are new to burning the incense come and participate in the lottery for the incense. Whoever won that lottery won the privilege to burn the incense. The appointed priest said to them: Those new priests, i.e., those who had never performed the service, together with those old priests, i.e., those who had already performed it, may come and participate in the lottery to determine who takes the limbs from the bottom half of the ramp, where they had been placed earlier, up to the altar. Rabbi Eliezer ben Ya’akov says: The priest who takes the limbs up to the ramp is the one who takes them up from the ramp and places them upon the altar.
מְסָרוּם לַחַזָּנִים, הָיוּ מַפְשִׁיטִין אוֹתָם אֶת בִּגְדֵיהֶם, וְלֹא הָיוּ מַנִּיחִין עֲלֵיהֶם אֶלָּא מִכְנָסַיִם בִּלְבָד. וְחַלּוֹנוֹת הָיוּ שָׁם, וְכָתוּב עֲלֵיהֶם תַּשְׁמִישֵׁי הַכֵּלִים: The priests who did not win a lottery were still dressed in the priestly vestments that they were required to don when entering the lottery, so that if they won they would be prepared for immediate service. The appointed priest handed over these priests to the care of the attendants [laḥazanim]. The attendants would undress these priests and remove their garments, and they would leave only their trousers on them. After the priests donned their non-sacred garments, they would remove the priestly trousers and don their non-sacred trousers. And there were four storage compartments there in the Temple for the storage of priestly vestments for each priestly watch, and on each of them was written the use of the garment stored there: Trousers, tunic, belt, and mitre.
מִי שֶׁזָּכָה בַקְּטֹרֶת, הָיָה נוֹטֵל אֶת הַכַּף. וְהַכַּף דּוֹמֶה לְתַרְקַב גָּדוֹל שֶׁל זָהָב, מַחֲזִיק שְׁלשֶׁת קַבִּים, וְהַבָּזָךְ הָיָה בְתוֹכוֹ, מָלֵא וְגָדוּשׁ קְטֹרֶת. וְכִסּוּי הָיָה לוֹ, וּכְמִין מְטוּטֶלֶת הָיָה עָלָיו מִלְמַעְלָן: The priest who won the lottery to burn the incense would take the spoon used for carrying the incense. And the spoon was similar to a large gold vessel that held three kav, and the smaller vessel was placed inside the spoon. The vessel was filled to overflow with incense. And it had a cover to prevent spillage of the incense, and there was a type of cloth placed upon it from above, to preserve the fragrance of the incense.
מִי שֶׁזָּכָה בַמַּחְתָּה, נָטַל מַחְתַּת הַכֶּסֶף, וְעָלָה לְרֹאשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, וּפִנָּה אֶת הַגֶּחָלִים הֵילָךְ וְהֵילָךְ וְחָתָה. יָרַד וְעֵרָן לְתוֹךְ שֶׁל זָהָב. נִתְפַּזֵּר מִמֶּנָּה כְּקַב גֶּחָלִים, וְהָיָה מְכַבְּדָן לָאַמָּה. וּבְשַׁבָּת הָיָה כוֹפֶה עֲלֵיהֶן פְּסַכְתֵּר. וּפְסַכְתֵּר הָיְתָה כְלִי גָדוֹל מַחֲזֶקֶת לֶתֶךְ, וּשְׁתֵּי שַׁרְשְׁרוֹת הָיוּ בָהּ, אַחַת שֶׁהוּא מוֹשֵׁךְ בָּהּ וְיוֹרֵד, וְאַחַת שֶׁהוּא אוֹחֵז בָּהּ מִלְמַעְלָן בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁלֹּא תִתְגַּלְגֵּל. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָיְתָה מְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת, כּוֹפִין אוֹתָהּ עַל גַּב גֶּחָלִים וְעַל הַשֶּׁרֶץ בְּשַׁבָּת, וּמוֹרִידִין בָּהּ אֶת הַדֶּשֶׁן מֵעַל גַּבֵּי הַמִּזְבֵּחַ: The priest who won the right to bring the coal pan with the coals from the outer altar to the incense altar in the Sanctuary took the silver coal pan, ascended to the top of the outer altar, and cleared the extinguished coals from the perimeter of the flame to here and to there. Then he shoveled four kav from the consumed inner coals, which were burned in the depths of the flame, into the coal pan. He descended from the altar and emptied the coals into the coal pan made of gold. Approximately one kav of coals from it was spilled and scattered on the courtyard floor, as the capacity of the gold pan was only three kav. And a priest would sweep the scattered coals into the Temple courtyard drain that passed through the courtyard to drain the waste outside the Temple. And on Shabbat, when it is prohibited to extinguish fire, the priest would not sweep the coals into the canal; rather, he would overturn a pesakhter upon them. And the pesakhter was a large vessel that held a half-kor. And since the pesakhter was a very heavy vessel, there were two chains on it, to facilitate its standard use, removal of ashes from the altar: One chain with which a priest would pull the vessel filled with ashes down the ramp, and one chain that another priest would grasp from above, so that the vessel would not roll down the ramp and the ashes would not spill. And the pesakhter would serve three purposes: The priests would overturn it upon the coals that scattered in the Temple during the transfer from the silver to the gold coal pan on Shabbat, and they would overturn it upon the carcass of a creeping animal found in the Temple on Shabbat, and they would take the ashes down from atop the altar in it.
הִגִּיעוּ בֵּין הָאוּלָם וְלַמִּזְבֵּחַ, נָטַל אֶחָד אֶת הַמַּגְרֵפָה וְזוֹרְקָהּ בֵּין הָאוּלָם וְלַמִּזְבֵּחַ. אֵין אָדָם שׁוֹמֵעַ קוֹל חֲבֵרוֹ בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם מִקּוֹל הַמַּגְרֵפָה. וּשְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים הָיְתָה מְשַׁמֶּשֶׁת, כֹּהֵן שֶׁשּׁוֹמֵעַ אֶת קוֹלָהּ, יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאֶחָיו הַכֹּהֲנִים נִכְנָסִים לְהִשְׁתַּחֲווֹת, וְהוּא רָץ וּבָא. וּבֶן לֵוִי שֶׁהוּא שׁוֹמֵעַ אֶת קוֹלָהּ, יוֹדֵעַ שֶׁאֶחָיו הַלְוִיִּם נִכְנָסִים לְדַבֵּר בַּשִּׁיר, וְהוּא רָץ וּבָא. וְרֹאשׁ הַמַּעֲמָד הָיָה מַעֲמִיד אֶת הַטְּמֵאִים בְּשַׁעַר הַמִּזְרָח: The priest with the spoonful of incense and the priest with the gold coal pan filled with coals reached the place between the Entrance Hall to the Sanctuary and the outer altar, on their way to the Sanctuary. One of them took the shovel and threw it between the Entrance Hall and the outer altar. No person could hear the voice of another speaking to him in Jerusalem, due to the sound generated by the shovel. And that sound would serve three purposes: Any priest who hears its sound knows that his brethren the priests are entering to prostrate themselves in the Sanctuary at that time, and he would run and come to prostrate himself with them. And any Levite who hears its sound knows that his brethren the Levites are entering the courtyard to stand on their platform to recite the psalm accompanying the libation, and he would run and come to sing with them. And the head of the non-priestly watch, which stands in the courtyard as the agents of the Jewish people, would position the ritually impure priests and singers at the eastern gate of the courtyard, to make it clear that those priests were not performing the Temple service due to their ritual impurity.