The chamber of the Avtinas family, where the incense is prepared. According to the Jerusalem Talmud, it is built above Sha'ar HaMayim: the tour sets it as an upper floor on that gate, at the east end of the south wall, against the Lishkat Parhedrin. The Kohen Gadol is brought there on the eve of Kippur. His first immersion of the day takes place close by, “on top of Sha'ar HaMayim, beside his chamber” (Yoma 19a), not in the Avtinas chamber. Inside, the mortar in which the incense is pounded, the makhteshet — the one from Beit Avtinas is counted, along with the Table and the Menora, among what was carried off to Rome —, and the table where the eleven sammanim are weighed before each is pounded separately. The Avtinas family kept the secret of the incense, and the Mishna counts it to their shame. The Sages dismissed them and brought craftsmen from Alexandria: these knew how to blend the spices, but not how to make the smoke rise — theirs spread out every which way, while that of the Avtinas rose straight as a stick. When recalled, the family came back only for doubled wages. Their reason: they knew the Temple was destined to be destroyed, and feared that an unworthy man would learn the craft and use it for idolatry. They are praised as well: no bride ever went out perfumed from their homes, so that no one would say they perfumed themselves with the incense. After the destruction, one of them handed Rabbi Yochanan ben Nuri the scroll of spices, and Rabbi Akiva said: from now on, it is forbidden to speak ill of them.
Dimensions
- above Sha'ar HaMayim, at the east end of the south wall
- one-ama-thick walls
- 3 × 4 window to the north, onto the Azara
- the makhteshet and its pestle
- a table, a scale, eleven bowls: one per samman
Sources
- Jerusalem Talmud Yoma 1:5“עַל גַּבֵּי שַׁעַר הַמַּיִם הָיְיתָה וְסָמוּךְ לְלִישְׁכָּתוֹ הָיְתָה”
- Yoma 19a“חוּץ מִזּוֹ שֶׁהָיְתָה בַּחוֹל, עַל גַּבֵּי שַׁעַר הַמַּיִם, וּבְצַד לִשְׁכָּתוֹ הָיְתָה”
- Yoma 19a“וְלָא יָדַעְנָא אִי לִשְׁכַּת פַּרְהֶדְרִין בַּצָּפוֹן וְלִשְׁכַּת בֵּית אַבְטִינָס בַּדָּרוֹם, אוֹ לִשְׁכַּת בֵּית אַבְטִינָס בַּצָּפוֹן וְלִשְׁכַּת פַּרְהֶדְרִין בַּדָּרוֹם”
- Yoma 19a“תָּנָא: לְלַמְּדוֹ חֲפִינָה”
- Shekalim 5:1“בֵּית אַבְטִינָס עַל מַעֲשֵׂה הַקְּטֹרֶת”
- Yoma 3:11“שֶׁל בֵּית אַבְטִינָס לֹא רָצוּ לְלַמֵּד עַל מַעֲשֵׂה הַקְּטֹרֶת”
- Yoma 38a“וְהָיוּ יוֹדְעִין לְפַטֵּם כְּמוֹתָם וְלֹא הָיוּ יוֹדְעִין לְהַעֲלוֹת עָשָׁן כְּמוֹתָן. שֶׁל הַלָּלוּ — מִתַּמֵּר וְעוֹלֶה כְּמַקֵּל, שֶׁל הַלָּלוּ — מַפְצִיעַ לְכָאן וּלְכָאן”
- Yoma 38a“יוֹדְעִין הָיוּ שֶׁל בֵּית אַבָּא שֶׁבַּיִת זֶה עָתִיד לֵיחָרֵב… שֶׁמָּא יִלְמוֹד אָדָם שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְהוּגָּן וְיֵלֵךְ וְיַעֲבוֹד עֲבוֹדָה זָרָה בְּכָךְ”
- Yoma 38a“מֵעוֹלָם לֹא יָצָאת כַּלָּה מְבוּשֶּׂמֶת מִבָּתֵּיהֶן”
- Yoma 38a“מֵעַתָּה אָסוּר לְסַפֵּר בִּגְנוּתָן שֶׁל אֵלּוּ”
- Keritot 6b“הָיוּ מַחֲזִירִין אוֹתָהּ לְמַכְתֶּשֶׁת פַּעֲמַיִם בְּשָׁנָה… וּכְשֶׁהוּא שׁוֹחֵק, אוֹמֵר: הָדֵק הֵיטֵב, הֵיטֵב הָדֵק”
- Avot D'Rabbi Natan 41:12“אבל מכתשת של בית אבטינס שלחן ומנורה ופרוכת וציץ עדיין מונחין ברומי”
- Rambam, Hilchot Klei HaMikdash 2:5“וְאַחַר כָּךְ שׁוֹחֵק כָּל אֶחָד מִן הַסַּמָּנִים בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ הָדֵק”
- Middot 1:1
- Tamid 1:1
- Yoma 1:5
- Yoma 3:3
- Tosafot Yom Tov Middot 5:4“וזו שבצפון של בית אבטינס היא”
Project decisionAdopted: the Jerusalem Talmud (Yoma 1:5), the only source to put the Avtinas chamber “above Sha'ar HaMayim”; the tour takes it literally and makes it an upper story (Tamid 1:1) built on top of the gatehouse. Open question: Yoma 19a gives the Kohen Gadol two chambers, Parhedrin and Avtinas, one in the north and one in the south, without knowing which is where; its reasoning would put Avtinas in the north before being rejected, and Tosafot Yom Tov (Middot 5:4) also considers Avtinas in the north. By putting both Avtinas and Parhedrin in the south, the tour departs from Yoma 19a. Tour's choice: the one-ama walls, the 3 × 4 window onto the Azara, the table, the scale and the bowls, since the sources name only the mortar. No source says what the mortar was made of; the tour makes it bronze, as the Rambam requires the vessels of the service to be of metal (Beit HaBechirah 1:18).