Tamid 1:1-2

Tamid 1:1

The kohanim kept watch in three places in the Temple: in the Avtinas chamber, in the spark chamber and in the fire chamber. In the Avtinas and spark chambers there were upper levels from which the youth kept watch. The fire chamber was domed (so it had no upper level); it was a large room surrounded by stone slabs on which the elders of the Beis Av (the kohanim on duty) used to sleep, guarding the keys to the courtyard. The young kohanim would put their cushions on the ground. They didn’t sleep in their priestly garments; rather, they removed and folded them, then placed them under their heads and covered themselves with their civilian clothes. If one of them had a seminal emission, he would exit via the winding stairs that went beneath the Temple and was lit on each side by lamps until he reached the mikvah. There was a fire there, as well as an executive rest room. Here’s what was “executive” about it: if it was locked, one knew that it was occupied; if it was open, one knew that it was available. The kohein who had an emission would go down and immerse, come up and dry off, and then warm himself by the fire. He would then return and sit with his fellow kohanim until the gates were opened, at which point he would leave (because he would remain ritually unclean until nightfall).

Tamid 1:2

If a kohein wanted the task of removing the ashes from the altar, he would get up early and use the mikvah before the Temple official arrived. The official didn’t always arrive at the same time; sometimes he came when the rooster crowed, sometimes a little bit sooner or later. The official would knock on the door and they would let him in. He would then say, “Let whoever immersed come and participate in the lottery.” They would draw lots for the honor and whoever won removed the ashes.