Mishnah Sukkot - Chapter 5

(1) The flute [was played sometimes on] five [days], and [sometimes on] six. This was the flute of the place of [water] drawing, which does overrides neither Shabbat nor holidays.

They [the Sages] said: Anyone who has never seen the rejoicing at the place of [water] drawing, has never seen rejoicing in all his days.

(2) At the departure of the first yom tov of the festival, they would descend into the women's court, and they would arrange there a great arrangement. And four golden candelabras were there, and four golden basins at their heads, and four ladders to each one, and [upon them were] four of the rising youth of the priesthood, and in their hands were jars of oil holding one hundred and twenty logim [a liquid measure], which they would pour into each of the basins.

(3) From the worn out pants of the priests and from their [worn out] belts they would tear [pieces], and they would [use them as wicks to] light with them. And there was not a courtyard in Jerusalem that was not illuminated by the light of the place of [water] drawing.

(4) Pious people and men of [great] deeds would dance before them with lit torches in their hands, and says before them words of song and praise.

And the Levites [would play] with lutes, and harps, and cymbals, and trumpets, and countless musical instruments, upon the fifteen steps which descent into the women's court, corresponding with the fifteen songs of ascents in the Psalms, that upon them the Levites would stand with their musical instruments and sing.

And two priests would stand at the upper gate, which descends from the court of the Israelites to the women's court, with two trumpets in their hands. When the rooster [first] crowed, they would blow a tekiyah [a steady blast], and a teruah [a broken blast], and [another] tekiyah. When they arrived at the tenth step, they would [again] blow a tekiyah, and a teruah, and a tekiyah. When they arrived at the court, they would [for a third time] blow a tekiyah, and a teruah, and a tekiyah. They went on, blowing and walking, until they arrived at the gate that goes out to the east.

When they arrived at the gate that goes out to the east, they turned their faces westward [towards the Temple], and said, "Our ancestors, who were in this place, their backs were [turned] towards the Temple of Hashem, and their faces eastwards, and they would bow eastward to the sun; but we, our eyes are [raised] towards God." Rabbi Yehudah says: they would repeat and say, "We are for God, and our eyes are towards God."

(5) In the Temple there would never be fewer than twenty-one [trumpet] blasts, and they would never increase beyond forty-eight [blasts].

Every day there were twenty-one blasts there in the Temple: three for the opening of the gates, and nine for the tamid [continual offering] of the morning, and nine for the tamid of the evening. And for the musafim [additional sacrifices offered on Shabbat and holidays], they would add another nine.

And on the eve of the Shabbat they would add another six: three to prevent the nation from [doing] work, and three to separate between the sanctified [day] and the mundane [week days].

On the eve of Shabbat during the festival [of Sukkot] there were forty-eight: three for the opening of the gates, three for the upper gate, and three for the lower gate, and three for the filling the water, and three over the altar, nine for the tamid of the morning, and nine for the tamid of the evening, and nine for the musafim, three to prevent the nation from [doing] work, and three to separate between the sanctified and the mundane.

(6) On the first holy day of the festival there were thirteen bulls there, and two rams, and one goat [to be offered, each one by one of twenty-four shifts of priests]; there remained fourteen there sheep for [the remaining] eight shifts.

On the first day, six [of those shifts] would offer two [out of the fourteen sheep] each, and the remaining [last two shifts, would offer] one each.

On the second [day, when the first set of shifts offered only twelve bulls, in addition to the rams and goat], five [of the remaining nine shifts] would offer two [sheep] each, and the remaining [four shifts], one each.

On the third [day, when eleven bulls were

offered by the first set of shifts], four [of the remaining ten shifts] would offer two [sheep] each, and the remaining [six shifts], one each.

On the fourth [day, when ten bulls were offered], three [of the remaining eleven shifts] would offer two [sheep] each, and the remaining [eight shifts], one each.

On the fifth [day, when nine bulls were offered], two [of the remaining twelve shifts] would offer two [sheep] each, and the remaining [ten shifts], one each.

On the sixth [day, when eight bulls were offered], one [of the remaining thirteen shifts] would offer two [sheep], and the remaining [twelve shifts], one each.

On the seventh [day, when seven bulls were offered], they [the remaining fourteen shifts] were all equal [i.e. each shift offered one of the fourteen sheep].

On the eighth [day], they returned to casting lots [to determine which shifts would bring the offerings], just as on other pilgrimage festivals. They would say, "Whoever offered bulls today should not offer tomorrow; rather they should go back in the rotation."

(7) At three points during the year all the [priestly] shifts were equal in [their shares in] those [offerings] spoken of for the pilgrimage festivals [i.e. they all shared equally in those parts of the festival offerings given to the priests], and in the distribution of the showbread. And on the Atzeret [i.e. the festival of Shavuot] they [the distributors] would say to him [i.e. to each priest], "Here is unleavened bread for you; here is leavened bread for you."

A shift [of priests] whose time [to serve] was set [on a particular Shabbat, which then coincides with a festival], they offer the temidim [continual offerings of the day], vow [offerings], voluntary offerings, and all remaining public offerings, and they would offer everything else [that is unrelated to the offerings of the festival].

If a holiday falls next to Shabbat, either preceding or following it, all of the [priestly] shifts would be equal [in their share] in the distribution of the showbread.

(8) If one day fell separating between them [between Shabbat and the holiday], the shift [of priests] whose time [to serve] was set [to be on that Shabbat], would take ten breads, and that [priestly shift] which tarried there [through Shabbat, although it was not their time to serve] would take two. And on the remaining days of the year, the entering shift would take six [breads], and that which [already served and] was leaving would take six.

Rabbi Yehudah says: that which was entering would take seven, and that which was leaving would take five. That which was entering distributed [the breads] in the north [of the Temple court], and that which was leaving [distributed] in the south.

Bilgah [one of the priestly shifts] always distributed [their share of the bread] in the south, and their ring [for hanging the sacrificial animals] was fastened [down on the wall], and their window [to their chamber] was blocked up.