BSD
Sukkah 55b
Tishrei 4, 5784. September 19, 2023
Short notes:
1- Our משנה describes the משמרות and their allocations for the קרבנות on Sukkos.
We discussed the overall concept for the establishment of the משמרות. It is a logical idea, as the Rambam writes, to avoid chaos.
With the many Kohanim all wanting to do the עבודה, a system had to be set up organizing them into families or groups and designating the week for their עבודה.
משה רבינו -2 established 8 groups or משמרות and דוד ושמואל הנביא expanded them into 24 משמרות, rotating continuously with one משמר working per week. Each משמר was itself divided into 6 or 7 בית אב.
3 – All throughout the year, only members of that particular משמר would do the עבודה that week.
However on Yom Tov, for the קרבנות that were unique for that Yom Tov, all Kohanim would enter into a lottery.
We touched briefly if this division is a מצוה or a תקנת נביאים.
רמב”ם ורמב”ן
For many years after the חורבן many Kohanim knew what משמר they belonged to.
Our Mishna describes the קרבנות of סוכות and the system used thus allowing all משמרות to take part in their עבודה.
We discussed the topic of a Kohen that knows today what his משמר is, and knows that this is his משמר’s week or day, is prohibited to drink wine all that week or day.
Why?
The בית המקדש may be rebuilt momentarily and he will be called to do the עבודה and will be disqualified due to his drunkenness!
4- Mentioned the fascinating take of the Rebbe on this idea of כהנים not drinking wine because the בית המקדש will be built instantly.
If a Kohen drinks a רביעית of wine he cannot do he עבודה.
Now, to shake off the influence of the alcohol content in a רביעית, one would need to wait the time it takes to walk a מיל. This short period is sufficient to be considered sober. That is under a 24 minute stroll.
רבי אומר אומר אני כהנים אסורין לשתות יין לעולם אבל מה אעשה שתקנתו קלקלתו ואמר אביי כמאן שתו האידנא כהני חמרא
כרבי מכלל דרבנן אסרי מ”ט מהרה יבנה בית המקדש ובעינן כהן הראוי לעבודה וליכא הכא אפשר דמספר ועייל אי הכי שתוי יין נמי אפשר דגני פורתא ועייל כדרמי בר אבא דאמר רמי בר אבא אדרך מיל ושינה כל שהוא מפיגין את היין לאו מי איתמר עלה אמר רב נחמן אמר רבה בר אבוה בלא שנו אלא כששתה שיעור רביעית
So basically, this הלכה is saying that a Kohen (who knows his family’s lineage and his משמר) is prohibited from drinking wine because within less than 24 minutes, the בית המקדש is rebuilt in ירושלים, and he, this כהן , is also transported there and may be called to do the עבודה!!!!
5- We mentioned that the 24 משמרות was a tradition that many families of כהנים kept on identifying with for hundreds of years after the חורבן הבית.
See here.
A גמר חתימה טובה to all.