Yoma 55 a, b

How is the blood sprinkled on the cover of the Ark?  How might this ritual differ for the bull offering versus the goat offering? How does the High Priest count/keep track of the sprinkles of blood? The rabbis examine when the blood offerings are sprinkled in downward and upward motions.

At the start of this discussion, the rabbis speak of sprinkling blood in the same way that one would lash a whip upon another person. They discuss the notion of whipping toward the ‘bulk’ of the person rather than upon his/her shoulders or head (ie. the top of the ark cover).


Again, the rabbis use a description of violence without emotion or mitigating statements. Usually this has been done when describing cruelty toward animals. I am learning to mediate my own responses to this by attempting to understand its context. Animals were understood as noting more than our servant, helpers, etc. We were to treat them with respect, but their role was purely utilitarian.  They had no 'soul' and they did not have 'feelings' similar to those of humans.  And animals were connected to G-d through their own unique relationship with Him; they were G-d’s tools.

In my concurrent learning of Masechet Ketubot with R. Audrey Pollack, women and children are often regarded with similar emotionless apathy. Again, today, I read about cruelty, the whipping of another human being. It is used as a metaphor; a way in which we can better understand the very holy action of sprinkling blood on Yom Kippur. The obvious blood connection is not lost on me, either. All very disturbing, but also very telling about the world in which our rabbis lived and were inspired to interpret Tanach.

The rabbis wonder about keeping track of the bowls of blood placed on different pedestals. Rabbi Yochanan states a slightly different list, but the rabbis agree that there were thirteen different Shoferim (collection boxes in the shape of rams’ horns – narrow end up - to make stealing more difficult. The boxes were designated as follows:

• New shekels
• Old shekels
• Pigeons or turtledoves (sin offering/burnt offering)
• Coins for those who brought birds (free-will burnt offering)
• Money for wood
• Money for frankincense
• Gold for the Ark cover
• Animals (sin offering)
• Surplus money from guilt offerings
• Bird offerings of zavim and women after childbirth
• Nazirites’ offerings
• Guilt offerings of lepers
• Guilt offerings (freewill)

To end amud (b), the rabbis repeat some of the other teachings of Masechet Shekalim. They speak of how the new and old shekels work (Where the old shekel is last year’s late offering), what to do if someone’s offering is sent but that person dies before the offering has been made; the measuring out of terumah gedola for the priests.