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Tamid 5:6-6:1

Tamid 5:6

When the kohanim arrived between the hall (ulam) and the altar, one of them took a magreifa (apparently a percussion instrument) and threw it between the hall and the altar. People in Jerusalem couldn’t hear one another speak over the sound of the magreifa. Three things were accomplished when this sound was heard: (1) a kohein would know that his fellow kohanim were going in to bow down so he would run to join them; (2) a Levi would know that his fellow Leviim were going in to sing so he would run to join them; (3) the head of the Israelite duty division (the maamad) would make those who were ritually unclean stand in the eastern gate.

Tamid 6:1

They started to climb the steps of the hall; those who had won the right to remove the ashes from the inside altar and the Menorah went first. The one who had cleaned the inside altar went in and took the basket (which was left there earlier, as described in mishna 3:9), bowed down and left. The one who was to clean the Menorah went in; if he found the two eastern lights burning, he would clean the easternmost light and leave the western one of these alone since it would be used to light the Menorah in the afternoon. If he found the western light extinguished, then he removed the ashes and re-lit it from the outside altar. He took the jug from the second step (where it was left in Mishna 3:9), bowed down and left.

Author: Rabbi Jack Abramowitz