At first, whoever wished to clear the altar in the morning cleared it. When they were many, the kohanim would run up the kevesh, and whoever got ahead of the other into the top four amot, against the altar, won; if they were level, the officer had them hold up a finger, and they were counted. Once, two arrived together; one pushed the other, who fell and broke his leg. Seeing that it came to danger, the Beit Din decreed that the altar would be cleared only by lot. The Gemara tells worse. One, beaten into the four amot, took a knife and drove it into the other's heart. Rabbi Tzadok stood on the steps of the Ulam: “Hear us, our brothers, house of Israel! It is said: if one be found slain in the land… For whom shall we bring the heifer: for the city, or for the courtyards?” All the people burst into tears. The young man's father came, found him still writhing, and said: “Let him be your atonement. My son is still writhing, and the knife has not become impure.” The purity of the vessels weighed more on them than the shedding of blood.
Dimensions
- the kevesh: 32 amot by 16, south of the altar
- the top four amot, against the altar
- Rabbi Tzadok on the steps of the Ulam
Sources
- Yoma 2:1“וּבִזְמַן שֶׁהֵן מְרֻבִּין, רָצִין וְעוֹלִין בַּכֶּבֶשׁ, וְכָל הַקּוֹדֵם אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ בְאַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת זָכָה”
- Bartenura Yoma 2:1“לִיכָּנֵס לְתוֹךְ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת עֶלְיוֹנוֹת שֶׁל כֶּבֶשׁ הַסְּמוּכוֹת לְרֹאשׁ הַמִּזְבֵּחַ, זָכָה לִתְרֹם”
- Yoma 2:2“וְדָחַף אֶחָד מֵהֶן אֶת חֲבֵרוֹ, וְנָפַל וְנִשְׁבְּרָה רַגְלוֹ. וְכֵיוָן שֶׁרָאוּ בֵית דִּין שֶׁבָּאִין לִידֵי סַכָּנָה, הִתְקִינוּ שֶׁלֹּא יְהוּ תוֹרְמִין אֶת הַמִּזְבֵּחַ אֶלָּא בְפַיִס”
- Yoma 23a“קָדַם אֶחָד מֵהֶן לְתוֹךְ אַרְבַּע אַמּוֹת שֶׁל חֲבֵירוֹ, נָטַל סַכִּין וְתָקַע לוֹ בְּלִבּוֹ”
- Yoma 23a“עָמַד רַבִּי צָדוֹק עַל מַעֲלוֹת הָאוּלָם… אָנוּ, עַל מִי לְהָבִיא עֶגְלָה עֲרוּפָה? עַל הָעִיר, אוֹ עַל הָעֲזָרוֹת? גָּעוּ כׇּל הָעָם בִּבְכִיָּה”
- Yoma 23a“הֲרֵי הוּא כַּפָּרַתְכֶם, וַעֲדַיִין בְּנִי מְפַרְפֵּר, וְלֹא נִטְמְאָה סַכִּין. לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁקָּשָׁה עֲלֵיהֶם טׇהֳרַת כֵּלִים יוֹתֵר מִשְּׁפִיכוּת דָּמִים”
- Deuteronomy 21:1“כִּי יִמָּצֵא חָלָל בָּאֲדָמָה”
- II Kings 21:16“וְגַם דָּם נָקִי שָׁפַךְ מְנַשֶּׁה הַרְבֵּה מְאֹד עַד אֲשֶׁר מִלֵּא אֶת יְרוּשָׁלִַם פֶּה לָפֶה”
- Middot 3:3“וְכֶבֶשׁ הָיָה לִדְרוֹמוֹ שֶׁל מִזְבֵּחַ, שְׁלֹשִׁים וּשְׁתַּיִם עַל רֹחַב שֵׁשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה”
Project decisionThe Gemara asks which of the two accounts comes first: if the murder had come first, a broken leg would have added nothing. Its answer: the murder came first, but it had been taken for an isolated misfortune; the broken leg showed that the race led to danger of itself (Yoma 23a). Nothing of the race is modelled: its entry is read from the kevesh.