The superintendent then said to them: come and cast lots, to see who is to slaughter, and who is to sprinkle the blood, and who is to clear the ashes from the inner altar, and who is to clear the ash from the candlestick, and who is to lift the limbs on to the ascent: the head, the right leg, the two forelegs, the tailbone, the left leg, the breast and the neck and the two flanks, the entrails, the fine flour, the griddle cakes and the wine. They cast lots and whoever won, won.

He said to them: Go out and bring a lamb from the chamber of lambs. Now the lamb’s chamber was in the north-western corner. And there were four chambers there the chamber of lambs, the chamber of the seals, the chamber of the fire-room and the chamber where the showbread was prepared.

They went into the chamber of the vessels and they took out ninety-three vessels of silver and gold. They gave the animal for the daily sacrifice a drink from a cup of gold. Although it had been examined on the previous evening it was now examined again by torchlight.

The priest who had won the right to slaughter the tamid takes it along with him to the slaughter house, and those who had won the right to bring the limbs up followed after him. The slaughter house was to the north of the altar, and on it were eight small pillars on top of which were blocks of cedar wood, in which were fixed hooks of iron, three rows in each, upon which they would hang [the tamid] and they would strip its hide on tables of marble that stood between the pillars.

Those who had won the right to clear the ashes from the inner altar and from the candlestick would go first with four vessels in their hands the teni, the kuz and two keys. The teni resembled a large tarkav of gold and held two and a half kavs. The kuz resembled a large gold pitcher. And two keys: One of the two keys would reach down to the “amah of the armpit” and the other opens immediately.

He then came to the small opening on the north. The great gate had two small openings, one on the north and one on the south. No one ever went in by the openings on the south, about which it is stated explicitly in Ezekiel, “And the Lord said to me, ‘This gate shall be closed, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, for the Lord God of Israel has entered by it” (Ezekiel 44:2). He took the key and opened the small opening and went in to the cell and from the cell to the Sanctuary, until he reached the great gate. When he reached the great gate he drew back the bolt and the latches and opened it. The slaughterer did not slaughter till he heard the sound of the great gate being opened.

From Jericho they could hear the sound of the great gate being opened. From Jericho they could hear the sound of the magrephah. From Jericho they could hear the noise of the wooden pulley which Ben Katin made for the laver. From Jericho they could hear the voice of Gevini the herald. From Jericho they could hear the sound of the pipes. From Jericho they could hear the sound of the cymbals. From Jericho they could hear the sound of the singing [of the Levites]. From Jericho they could hear the sound of the shofar. Some say also of the high priest when he pronounced the divine name on Yom Kippur. From Jericho they could smell the odor of the compounding of incense. Rabbi Elazar ben Diglai said: my father had some goats in Har Michvar, and they would sneeze from the smell of the incense.

The one who had been chosen for clearing the ashes from the inner altar went in carrying the teni which he set down in front of it, and he scooped up the ash in his fists and put it into it, and in the end he swept up what was left into it, and then he left it there and went out. The one who had been chosen to clear the ashes from the menorah went in. If he found the two eastern lights burning, he cleared the ash from the rest and left these two burning. If he found that these two had gone out, he cleared away their ash and kindled them from those which were still lit and then he cleared the ash from the rest. There was a stone in front of the candlestick with three steps on which the priest stood in order to trim the lights. He left the kuz on the second step and went out.