Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 5 The verses of praise, glory, and prophetic vision in the daily prayers are worth pausing and sinking into from time to time! To explain what is meant by the “purity” of the incense altar …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 5 How did High Priest purify the incense altar on Yom Kippur? How does the incense altar differ from the main altar? Why was Rabbi Akiva overruled? Why were the farmers of Jerusalem grateful that …

The High Priest did a lot of running on Yom Kippur! Did he sprinkle the blood of bull and goat directly on the curtain that separated between Sanctuary and Holy of Holies? Rabbi Elazar and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai went …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 4 The Ark of the Covenant rested on the Foundation Stone in the Holy of Holies. The Sages debate whether this stone represents the initial point for God’s creation of the whole world. On Yom …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 4 Was the Ark of the Covenant exiled to Babylonia or buried in the Temple Mount? How did the High Priest perform the required sprinklings on Yom Kippur? Why are the staves of the ark …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 3 How does the High Priest enter the Holy of Holies? How does he approach the place of the Ark of the Covenant? How does he pour the incense onto the hot coals? How does …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 2, 3 John Steinbeck’s commentary on God’s lesson to Cain in Genesis 4:7 reveals the importance of translating the Torah as it was intended. A different word in the same verse provides one of the …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 1, 2 Tachanun: the daily confession of communal sins. Who purchases the Yom Kippur bull? Does the High Priest take a detour on the route to the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur in deference …

Topics covered: Chapter 5, Mishna 1 Why is the word “after” included in Genesis 22:13 re the ram with horns caught in the thicket? If the High Priest dies on Yom Kippur after slaughtering his bull, may the replacement High Priest …