תמיד ג׳:ד׳ — מבקרין אותו לאור האבוקות

Hello chevre and welcome back to our pre-Pesach Mishnayot series where we are learning Mishnayot related to the period of time between Purim and Pesach. Today's Mishna is the third Mishna in the series on the 10th of Nissan, Yud Nissan. We are continuing our discussion of having to check the Korban Pesach and also the Korban Tamid four days before it's going to be used as a Korban and our Mishna is quite the fascinating Mishna because our Mishna today is found in Masechet Tamid, Perek Gimel, Mishna Dalet. Masechet Tamid is a fascinating Masechet in which it basically takes you through the day in the life, the life in the life of the Beit Hamikdash from morning to night and how all the different parts of the Beit Hamikdash worked and how they opened the Beit Hamikdash, how they locked the Beit Hamikdash, how they brought the Korbanot and how the Kohanim, how they davened and all the different parts that were involved in in the Beit Hamikdash. It's one of those Mishnayot similar to the beginning of Masechet Yoma and and some others that really discuss the really and give you a great picture of how the Beit Hamikdash actually operated on a day-to-day basis. So the Mishna begins with Nichnesu Lelishkat Hakelim. The Kohanim, some of the Kohanim would enter into the into the room in which they stored the Klei Shareit, the kelim that were used throughout the day in the Beit Hamikdash. They were made from gold and silver, very beautiful, and והוציאו משם תשעים ושלשה כלי כסף וכלי זהב and they removed from that lishka 93 different kelim that they were going to use throughout the day. So the meforshim explain how do you get to the number 93? Some say it's because in the nevuah of Chaggai, Zecharya, and Malachi, Hashem's name is mentioned 93 times and so therefore according to there's one kli for each of the names of Hashem. But be it as it may, they took out all these kelim. Obviously on the busy days they may have taken out more kelim, but you know this is what their general daily routine was: 93 kelim. Okay. Second. The next part of the Mishna is the intriguing part about the Korban Tamid. Hishku Et Hatamid. So now it was getting now that they took the kelim out, they're ready to bring the morning Korban Tamid, the first korban of the day. And what they do is Hishku Et Hatamid. They give the Korban Tamid, the animal, something to drink, some water, Bechos Shel Zahav in a golden cup. There's a machloket in the Gemara whether it was actually made of gold or it looked like gold. But the the reason why you would give the animal to drink is because after it drinks, it will be easier to take the skin off after you shachted it will be easier to take the skin off if it is hydrated. So therefore you give it to drink to make the process of stripping the skin off of the animal easier. And according to other meforshim it's it also helps to prevent the animal from becoming a treifa when you shachted it. A treifa is an animal that has certain issues internally with it, at least in our context here, and related to the lungs. And so therefore by drinking it it lubricates the lungs and it will be less of a chance of it being a treifa. But be it as it may, you can just picture in your head them giving the animal to drink, it standing in the courtyard of the Beit Hamikdash and you're giving it a little bit of of a water ahead of it being shachted. Now and then this is the key. אף על פי שהוא מבוקר מבערב. Even though it was already checked from before, as we said before, our Mishna continues in the line of Mishnayot that understand that a korban being brought has to be checked for four days prior. So even though it was already checked from even the evening before, they checked it every day and they checked it before, מבקרים אותו לאור האבוקות. They would once again check the animal, the the Korban Tamid again, using the light of the torches. The torches would give light so that they could see in the Beit Hamikdash. It was dark, you know, it was the evening, it was just it was just becoming daylight. And so they had torches and they would once again check it for any blemishes, for any mum that might exist in the animal. So again our Mishna relates to Yud Nissan again because it's tied to the idea that just like in Pesach Mitzrayim they separated and bought the animals on the 10th of Nissan to give you four days in which to check for blemishes, so too here we again see that there's this constant need to check for the mum, for the blemishes, ahead of the Korban Tamid being brought. And with that, I wish you continuing hatzlacha.

Tamid 3:4 — Full Text

נִכְנְסוּ לְלִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים, וְהוֹצִיאוּ מִשָּׁם תִּשְׁעִים וּשְׁלשָׁה כְלֵי כֶסֶף וּכְלֵי זָהָב. הִשְׁקוּ אֶת הַתָּמִיד בְּכוֹס שֶׁל זָהָב. אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא מְבֻקָּר מִבָּעֶרֶב, מְבַקְּרִין אוֹתוֹ לְאוֹר הָאֲבוּקוֹת.

סֵדֶר הַבֹּקֶר: The Morning Preparation of the Tamid

The mishnah describes the sequence of actions before the Tamid is brought — and the torchlight inspection is the climax of that sequence

Morning Sequence — From Chamber to Inspection

נִכְנְסוּ לְלִשְׁכַּת הַכֵּלִים

The priests entered the Chamber of Vessels and brought out 93 silver and gold vessels — the full set of Temple implements required for the morning Tamid service.

הִשְׁקוּ אֶת הַתָּמִיד בְּכוֹס שֶׁל זָהָב

The Tamid lamb was given water to drink from a golden cup — a halachic requirement before slaughter, ensuring the animal's hide separates cleanly for proper flaying.

מְבַקְּרִין אוֹתוֹ לְאוֹר הָאֲבוּקוֹת

The lamb was inspected by the light of torches — a full examination for blemishes, even though it had already been inspected the evening before.

✦ The Key Phrase — אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא מְבֻקָּר מִבָּעֶרֶב

אַף עַל פִּי שֶׁהוּא מְבֻקָּר מִבָּעֶרֶב — מְבַקְּרִין אוֹתוֹ לְאוֹר הָאֲבוּקוֹת

"Even though it was already inspected the evening before — they inspect it again by torchlight." This phrase does two things at once. It tells us the morning torchlight inspection is mandatory despite prior checking. And it reveals, almost incidentally, that prior inspection was already standard practice — the evening-before check is simply assumed as the baseline. The lamb never arrived at the morning service uninspected.

שְׁנֵי שְׁלָבִים: The Two-Stage Inspection

The Tamid lamb undergoes inspection at two distinct moments — the mishnah treats both as obligatory, not redundant

Stage 1 — Evening Before

מְבֻקָּר מִבָּעֶרֶב

The lamb is inspected the evening before slaughter. This check happens in the Chamber of Lambs, likely in better light. It is the baseline that all lambs in the chamber undergo before their day of service.

→

Stage 2 — Morning of Slaughter

מְבַקְּרִין לְאוֹר הָאֲבוּקוֹת

On the morning of slaughter, the lamb is re-inspected by torchlight in the pre-dawn darkness. This is not a redundant check — it is a final confirmation that the animal that will be offered is unblemished at the moment it is brought.

הַמַּסְקָנָה — הַבִּקּוּר כְּמַעֲשֶׂה בִּפְנֵי עַצְמוֹ

Tamid 3:4 reveals that Temple practice treated inspection not as a formality but as a substantive act in its own right — one that must happen at least twice, at distinct moments, under different conditions. The "even though" clause is the mishnah's most important word. It tells us that prior inspection was already known and accepted — and that it was not sufficient. The morning torchlight check is required on top of it. This double-inspection pattern mirrors the Pesach Mitzrayim logic: four days of holding and watching before slaughter. The principle that an offering must be examined over time — not just at the moment of bringing — is embedded in the daily rhythm of the Tamid service.